Paw-sitively Fabulous: Mom & Pup Fashion for the Fourth

Hello and Happy Fourth of July Weekend!!

Holly and I are so excited to be travelling back to Colorado this year to visit my family for the Fourth, especially since my mom's birthday is the Fifth! We had a great Fourth of July with friends last year, but Holly was not a big fan about being in close proximity to the fireworks, so we have learned our lesson and will instead be sticking to a low-key evening barbecuing with family far far away from any big scary noises!

I'm also really excited about the outfits I have picked out for Holly & myself this year. Usually I keep my Fourth of July look low key with denim shorts and my American Flag scarf, but as soon as I saw these pants from the Gap I knew I had to indulge. The pattern is definitely patriotic but not so over the top that I can't wear them with a chambray shirt to work post Fourth festivities.

For Holly, I have an "Uncle Sam" costume from last year that she does look quite dashing in, but I can never really help but shop around for new wardrobe options for her when the opportunity presents itself :). And she's happy wearing whatever as long as people tell her she looks cute and I let her dig while wearing it (really mostly the second one)!

This year, I'm loving the Ralph Lauren Flag Hooded Dog Fleece, though I am a little worried that it could get warm in the July heat. For an evening outdoor BBQ in Colorado, though, the little bit of extra warmth might be just right!!

I'm also completely head over heels for this Miss USA dog dress, but it seems to be sold out everywhere in Holly's size!! If someone happens to stumble across it in their internet dog outfit searching (this is a thing people besides me do, right?) leave a link in the comments! I will be eternally grateful :)

Of course, the thing we're MOST excited to wear this holiday are our matching sparkle Fourth of July bows from Jumping and Jellybean. I know I have talked up this shop before, but Molly seriously makes the most adorable things, and I can't help but keep adding to my growing Jumping and Jellybean collection!

Holly senses there may be another matching outfit in the works.

PS--I'm also seriously obsessing over her latest coffee cozy, which is not only a seriously cute compliment to my upgraded walking wardrobe, but also benefits a great rescue organization!! Sparkle, puppy love, and proceeds to charity? Trust me, it's already in my cart :)

Have a fun & safe Fourth of July!

Until Next Time, Darlings!

Summer Walking Wardrobe Revamp!

After seeing this article on The Bark Post a few weeks back, I have been thinking a lot about the possibility of a "meet cute" during my morning walks with Holly. In fact, I have a friend who met her husband while they were both out taking their pups on a stroll in the early morning hours. Not only will I know this handsome gentleman is a fellow dog lover, but I also get Holly's immediate read on a potential love interest! Win-win!

Of course, in order to have a "meet cute" with a dashing stranger, I have to actually feel like I look cute. And let me tell you--this can be tough to pull off with no makeup, no coffee, and an eager to walk pup not allowing for any pre walk primping. However, I know I need to step up my game a bit to go from "I just rolled out of bed" to #Iwokeuplikethis. Here are some pieces I'll be adding to elevate my confidence and style without sacrificing walking time:

Clockwise from Upper Left:
Headband, Sweaty Bands
Turban, BabyJulesBoutique12
Leggings, Victoria's Secret
Tee, Megan Lee Designs
Yoga Pants, Victoria's Secret
Sweatshirt, Unit-Y (on sale!)
Sweatshirt, Lululemon (on sale!)

Do you know someone who met their S.O. through their pup? I'd love to hear the story! Share in the comments below :)

Until Next Time, Darlings!

Paw-sitively Fabulous: Barkfest At Sniffany's Photo Session

I'm so excited to finally share our fabulous photos from our portrait session with Seriously Sabrina Photography. Sabrina was so wonderful to work with, and really took the concept and ran with it! I told her while we were strolling thorough the Park that seeing engagement photos on Facebook inspired me to photograph the most significant relationship in my life, and I truly feel like she was able to capture that through these images. Enjoy!

Until Next Time, Darlings!

Spring Fling: Our Warm Weather Walking Essentials

As I write this, it is a balmy 37 degrees outside and the forecast calls for snow, but you know what they say, March snowstorms bring April....something.

Despite this week's cold temperatures, a 64 degree high last Saturday was a sure sign that Spring is (finally) on its way. Still, even a promise of an afternoon high can still mean morning walks are brisk, breezy, and sometimes rainy (like we need more moisture after all this snow!). Below, the things we're loving to stay cute while staving off all the April Showers!

1. Barbour Bedale Jacket

To say I am obsessed with my Barbour Bedale jacket would be an understatement. This brand's equestrian-inspired waxed jackets have long been a favorite of British royalty, spotted on everyone from Duchess Kate to Princess Di and even the Queen Mum herself! They are a perfect light Spring layer on brisk days, and the optional zip out lining and snap on hood make sure you are armed for any sudden transitional weather changes. The price tag is daunting, but with trendsetters such as Olivia Palermo making them stylish for streetwear as well as sweatpant-clad strolls, I know I will be getting enough daily wear to make the investment worth it!

The unisex "Bedale" style has been spotted on everyone from Prince William & Kate Middleton to Olivia Palermo

2. So Low Yoga Pants

I first fell in love with So Low's super soft foldover yoga pants at a small store in Boulder, Colorado while I was still in high school. At the time, the brand was a small start up (designed by the owner's sister and fellow Colorado native), and I was thrilled to find the pants worked well on my athletic legs and hips without being too large in the waist (the clever foldover waistband allows you to adjust the fit and rise with ease). Since that day, the brand is booming, and now the pants can be found at major retailers such as Bloomingdale's as well as at solowstyle.com.

3. J Crew Leopard Print Baseball Hat

6:30am walks mean two things: sun in your eyes and less than perfect hair. A baseball hat is the obvious answer, but since I am not what one would call an avid sports fan, I feel a little silly representing a team I know nothing about. That's why I'm so excited about the recent rising trend of pretty baseball hats, especially this fun leopard one from J Crew. The shape may scream sporty and casual, but the print is 100% girly and fun!

Practical and cute for the Spring sun!

 4. For Holly: Weatherbeeta dog blanket

I would be remiss if I didn't mention what Holly will be wearing during our transitional weather walks! We love our equestrian-inspired pup coats, and the Weatherbeeta rainstop windbreaker is a personal favorite for days when it is a bit chilly and rainy. It's got a bit of fill to stave off early Spring breezes, and the rain resistant material ensures that she stays warm and dry. As a bonus, she can match my parent's horse and donkey, and the only thing we love more than equestrian-inspired coats is matching ensembles!

There is a possibility I oversold how willing Holly is to walk in the rain, even in a cute jacket :)

Until Next Time, Darlings!

Miracle on Fifth Ave (part two): Must Be Santa

A couple of weeks ago, I was browsing Twitter when I spotted a Tweet from Manhattan luxury department store, Bergdorf Goodman, that read "visit Santa and we'll give you cake."

Being both a fan of Santa and free cake, I clicked on the embedded link and discovered a charming article on the store's blog about why one should visit Santa. The icing on the not-so-proverbial cake (did I mention there was cake?) was the main photo, which featured Santa holding a puppy. I tweeted that we were so there, and was super excited when Bergdorf's tweeted back!! My first maje retailer reply tweet--this was totally Santa's magic at work!

Like many things at Bergdorf's, Santa was quite exclusive. I e-mailed the address at the bottom of the article requesting an audience with him during his Sunday 12-6 hours, and soon heard back from an elf that we were booked for 12:45 the following week. Holly and I worried all week what to wear and what to ask for (if you need an appointment, that definitely makes this the real Santa, right?), and ultimately decided to go with a black sweater with faux fur accent look, and to ask for a great apartment I had seen the day before. If anyone can sway the tricky Manhattan real estate market, it's Santa Claus!

Upon our arrival on Bergdorf's 7th floor, we were greeted by two employees who immediately knew our names. "We have the 12:45 with Santa?" "Oh, of course, Mary and Holly, right this way." Holly, my friend and I were whisked back to where Santa was waiting, ushered in by an elf, and posed for our session with the man in red. He tried to take Holly in his lap (apparently just the last week he had SEVEN dogs at the same time!), but she was not having it and stayed in mine. The photographer on the scene was incredibly patient when Holly decided mid photo shoot to go in for a kiss from my friend! Even though he and the elves tried their best to perk her ears forward, she kept them straight back and looked a bit annoyed every time the camera flashed, but the free polaroid we were provided with still turned out very cute!

Holly was not much of a fan of this Santa either. Oh well, there's always next year!

We had a quick chat with Santa about our year's wishes, gathered our fun red and green cake pops, and went on our way. Our polaroid is now perched on our Christmas tree, reminding us that here in New York City, holiday magic exists right outside our door.

Until Next Time, Darlings!

Holly's Holly-day Gift Guide

With only 2 weeks until Christmas (we can't believe how quickly it came!), Holly and I have been busy elves getting together gifts for everyone on our list. This year, no surprise, many of our gifts are pup themed! Here are some of our favorites that we picked up:

For our dog walker: We are very thankful for our dog walker, who comes to take Holly out for about an hour every day and makes her nice and tired while I'm at work! Since it has been especially blustery these past couple days, I ordered her an adorable paw print coffee cozy from Jumping and Jellybean on Etsy to wrap around post walk lattes and cups of cocoa.

Super talented fellow blogger Molly runs Jumping and Jellybean, and I am in love with her gorgeous handmade designs!

 To keep her warm while Holly drags her through the snowy park, I chose the Textural Bobble Hat and matching Bobble Cowl Scarf from the Gap. The set was so cute I also picked up the hat in pink for myself, and may need to go back for the matching scarf!

The faux fur detail at the top of this hat makes the set feel expensive (and adds whimsy)!

I have to admit it was tough to gift this cozy scarf, and I may need to order my own before the season ends!

For my dad: We always joke that my dad is Holly's "Grandpa," so when I saw this hilarious frame on Amazon, I knew I had to pick it up for him. Now he can proudly show off his furry grandchild in the office when his coworkers brag about their human grandchildren!

We will include a picture from my dad's recent visit to New York so he can brag about Holly in style!

For Holly's Pup Friends: Holly has made several friends in the neighborhood over this past year. Since our test run with Puppycake Pup Cake mix went so well, we plan on making some of our closest puppy friends a sweet treat, and maybe baking up a little something for their parents as well! Holly is not keen on sharing treats, but something tells me she won't mind sharing a few with our neighbor, Jake, a Pitbull mix she loves to play with and snapped a hilarious picture with outside of Bloomingdale's.

Holly with her "boyfriend" Jake...the one pup she is willing to share treats with!

Until Next Time, Darlings!

Weekend Wander: Miracle on Fifth Avenue

One of my best friends from college and I have a tradition where every year we take in the Christmas joy on Fifth Avenue, red Starbucks cups in hand, starting at the Rockefeller Center tree and winding up through the holiday windows until we reach Bergdorf Goodman on 58th & 5th. Bergdorf's is renowned for their high end holiday windows, and their 7th floor boasts an over the top holiday room where my friend and I select one ornament per year that we gift to one another to have matching on our trees. This year, we decided to bring Holly along for the fun.

I will admit, neither myself, my friend, or Holly is really a big fan of the ridiculous crowds of tourists that gather on Fifth during the holidays, and somehow either from the magic of New York at the holidays or from blocking the bad memories from our brains, we seem to forget every year just how horrible it is. My friend and I met in front of the tree, me with a shivering Holly in my arms, and immediately agreed to get out of dodge, crossing to the slightly less congested side of the street to our next stop, Trump Tower.

There is a Starbucks on the second floor of Trump Tower where we usually get our holiday drinks. The plan was for my friend to go get them and for Holly & I to wait a distance away, since she is usually not allowed in places where food is served. However, we found ourselves passing several employees (both Trump and Starbucks), pup in tow, and not being turned away! It was truly a Christmas miracle--we finally found a Starbucks where Holly can come along!

Energized by our pup-friendly discovery and Carmel Brulee Lattes, we next popped into Henri Bendel to check out the holiday gift display recently set up on the third floor. I was shocked how much space is up there (in the past only a small landing has been open to act as a last minute gifting and wrapping center), and my friend was shocked by how much extra time we needed to move through the crowds when people were stopping to comment on Holly's sweater :) . I always love how friendly the people at Bendel's are to her, especially in the Heritage Room where the puppy gifts are located!

Next up was our final and most important destination, Bergdorf's. We jumped on to the elevator and arrived on the 7th floor, where on the way to the Christmas decorations we were distracted by a collection of jewelry by Monica Rich Kosann. I was immediately drawn to the "Forever Loyal" charm in sterling silver, which features a paw print with white sapphires and a plain back that can be engraved with your puppy's name.

The charm also comes in yellow gold with diamond accents.

While we were ogling the pretty jewelry, Holly took it upon herself to make a new friend. There was a distinguished older man sitting at a table in the middle of the room who we couldn't help but notice when we had come in. He was signing large coffee table books and had two assistants directing the gathered crowd, who were excitedly posing for pictures with him and gushing over his presence. He and Holly noticed each other and he called her over, and after a nervous morning my little pup ran right over, tail wagging, and started licking him excitedly on the hand!

It turns out this man was famed photographer Ormond Gigli, and he was signing a coffee table book ("Girls In The Windows: And Other Stories") that explores the incredible backstory of his most famous photograph, Girls in the Windows, which was snapped from a fire escape in 1960 one day before the brownstones featured were demolished, and featured 47 models, friends, and wives of employees all dressed in their own wardrobes. 

Ormond Gigli's "Girls In The Windows."

Mr. Gigli was very sweet to Holly, and when I remarked on how comfortable she seemed around him, he said he feels like dogs recognize people who know and love dogs, which I absolutely agree with!

After this wonderful and surprising bit of New York magic, we whisked Holly to the holiday room, where she helped in selecting this year's holiday ornament (mostly by licking glitter off the ground and nearly knocking over several $500 nutcrackers on display). We settled on a jolly snowman that has a similar motif to the sweater Holly wore to meet Santa last week. 

Our friendly snowman--I named mine "Rolph." 

Bergdorf's also has a pup-friendly Santa who visits the seventh floor on Sundays from 12-6 and can be visited by appointment only, so Holly and I are planning on making a special trip back next week! Perhaps this time she won't growl at the poor man!

Holly growled at the Santa at Bloomingdale's, so we hope Bergdorf's will  put her back on the "nice" list!

Until Next Time, Darlings!

Happy Holly-Days (Part One): Pictures With Santa

Last year, a dear friend of mine came in to town in mid December from LA, and we decided to take Holly to Bloomingdale's to tell Santa what a good pup she had been. While we were waiting in line, we noticed a few other pooches waiting to do the same, and learned that Bloomingdale's (59th Street) is the only major New York City department store that allows dogs to pose with Santa.

Santa and the photographer were a delight, and I knew I had to make the trip an annual tradition. Holly and I have been looking forward to going since the 1st of November, especially since her grandpa (my dad), will be in town for Thanksgiving and get to join in on the fun!

Since this year will be a multigenerational family affair, I wanted to make sure we had coordinated outfits so we would have a cohesive theme (my dad was thrilled when he was given these marching orders...hehe). I started browsing wag.com for options and stumbled across an adorable dress from famous designer Isaac Mizrahi, but unfortunately they were sold out of Holly's size :( . Isaac Mizrahi's pooch line is super cute and well priced (the dress was under $20!), though, so I know I will return to it when Holly needs an outfit for future events.

This Isaac Mizrahi dress was super cute and festive, but sold out in Holly's size.

I decided our holiday photo wardrobe crisis was the perfect opportunity to add another Fab Dog sweater to Holly's collection. After some browsing of the holiday selection available, I decided on this cute snowman style. I'm a little worried that the light blue color will make people think she's a boy, but it was so cute I decided it was worth correcting a few people!

This snowman sweater was too funny to pass up!

Inspired by Holly's cute snowman sweater, my dad and I will both don blue sweaters as well. I will share pictures right after we take them--I'm sure they will be paw-sitively fabulous!

Until Next Time, Darlings!

Holly, it's cold outside: Winter Walking Essentials for You and Your Pooch

From early November decorations to holiday music playing on loop in Petco, New York got into the holiday spirit very early this year. One look at the forecast this morning showed that the weather decided to join in on the trend as well.

I was hoping to wait until Black Friday to stock up on our cold weather walking gear, but a forecast of 23 degrees and wind made me wish I had started a little earlier! Here's what Holly and I rely on for Winter weather walks, and what we hope to add to our closet next week (if we don't freeze by then!). 

For me: I already love my 3 in 1 jacket from Colombia Sportswear, which has a waterproof hooded shell exterior and a zip out fleece liner that allows you to wear it as a windbreaker, standalone fleece jacket, or the way I wear it the most as a fleece lined windbreaker that can also stand up against surprise freezing rain or snow. It also has huge pockets that fit my phone, pedometer, gloves, and spare treats for clicker training. I found mine on Sierra Trading Post for more than 60% off and .99 shipping, and they currently stock many similar styles for the upcoming season. 

This Colombia Sportswear 3 in 1 jacket keeps me insulated from all kinds of walking weather,
and has roomy pockets for treats.

One of the things I have the hardest time with is finding gloves for walking Holly. Many traditional gloves are too thick and slippery, making it difficult for me to have a firm grip on Holly's leash (absolutely necessary for the moments she sees a squirrel and goes dashing through the snow). The best solution I have found are gloves designed for winter horseback riding. They have to be warm enough to protect a rider's hands from the outdoor elements, while thin enough and with enough grip for them to control the horse's reigns and cue their movements. Dover Saddlery offers pairs for under $20 that are warm and have extra grip so your pup's leash stays safely in hand. 

Riding gloves proved the perfect solution to our warmth & leash grip needs.

I have two go-to footwear items for Winter months. The first, for chilly days where snow and ice are not an issue and I want to be able to have the freedom of movement provided by a traditional athletic sneaker, are my Adidas Climawarm Blast Running Shoes. They are designed to keep feet warm and dry during outdoor walks and runs in cold weather, and are still supportive enough for long park treks on the weekends. 

For icy and snowy days when the treads on a running shoe just won't cut it, I reach for my Sorel Tivoli boots. They are just as warm as my favorite Uggs while being much more water resistant, allowing me to tackle icy puddles in the street and muddy paths in the park while still keeping my toes toasty. 

Now for our Winter Walk Wishlist: it became apparent this morning that my standard yoga pants  would not stand up to freezing winds, and I need something more to keep my legs warm. Luckily yoga clothes guru Lululemon has a pair of pants specifically designed for outdoor dog walks in chilly temperatures, the Dog Runner Pant, which features a wind and mud resistant exterior and a cozy "Rulu" lined interior that wicks away moisture and keeps legs warm. 

I was not the only one suffering from cold weather blues this morning, though. Holly had a growth spurt this year that left her backside hanging out of her puffy coat and shivering in the freezing wind!! As a quick fix, we ordered a Fido Fleece jacket from Amazon, which will cover her legs, tummy, and bottom under her current jacket to keep her extra warm on blustery days.

After Black Friday, we hope to add the Ralph Lauren Striped Reversible Dog Vest in pink and navy to Holly's Winter wardrobe, which when combined with the Fido Fleece will have Holly covered from neck to tail and keep her comfy enough to enjoy our long walks even when the weather dips below freezing. 

These cold weather staples should allow us to continue our fun morning routine of long walks even now that New York's notorious Winter seems to be upon us. But if all else fails, Holly knows the recipe for a perfect snowy Sunday is a cozy blanket and a full Netflix Queue. 

Until Next Time, Darlings!