Call me Fifi

Okay, so how huge was Woofstock? Ummm, let's just say it was a massive doggie day out (you better believe it when they say it's the largest dog festival in North America). In fact, Spot the Whippet is now zonked on the sofa with a grumbling belly after scarfing down tons of free samples. For me the coolest find of the day was the totally brilliant pet photography by Jason Krygier-Baum. His large-scale and very coy Poodle portrait totally stopped me in my tracks, and made me think that it's time for Spot to get ready for his close-up. Oh, and just so you know, while you might agree with me that the supermodel below looks just like a Fifi, her real name is just as beguiling - Paree.

Me and Mr Millan

I'm ending Friday as happy as a clam because, yep, Spot and I got the chance to fulfill just about every dog owner's dream this week - Hang out with Cesar Millan, who'd made his first ever trip to Toronto to talk about Swiffer and creating a clean and calm pet - and people - friendly home. But not just Cesar, since his gorgeous and incredibly calm Blue Pitbull, Junior, was also on hand for moral (and hand licking) support. And yes, of course I peppered him with tons of questions on Spot's bad habits which, no surprise, mostly came down to training, and letting our mischevious little Whippet know exactly who's boss...

That first shot shows Spot relaxing in his smart black Chilly Dogs coat before our meet-and-greet. The next shows me and Cesar chatting on the couch (I totally get what he said about not making cleaning stressful, and how your dog can pick up on those cranky vibes). And then the final snap caught Cesar in mid "Tsst" when Junior and Spot were getting a tad too rambunctious. Major thanks to writer/photographer Laura Muir (check out her cool blog here) who kindly came along and took all the pictures.

  

Finland to Japan to Canada

On the eve of the nice folks at House & Home posting a gallery of both our houses (take a look here) I thought it would be fun to share the latest addition to the interior - snazzy new pillows. We scored the vintage Finnish Fin-Helen fabric in Tokyo - of all places - at Siige in Nakemeguro, well, truth be told, David actually grabbed it and reminded me how we needed new pillows. The pillow 'need' comes from the fact that Spot the whippet likes to chew (and chew, and chew) pillows, and all the ones we had hanging out on the sofa looked like they'd been through the wars. Thankfully Spot is pretty much past this phase, and for the most part uses any and all pillows as a snoozing aid (right this sec he's asleep with his head buried in a pillow I made out of an Orla Kiely tablecloth). Smart dog.

Spot vs. Rug, Spot wins

The living room rug is a gonner. We had a major attack of the chewing puppy, both yesterday and the day before. Is Spot trying to tell us something (other than the fact he thinks it's fun)? On the first day it looked a bit like a map of Cyprus, and then he finished up yesterday by re-working it into a Mickey Mouse hat (y'know, the one with the ears). Take a look at the blurry cell phone shot below, turn your head 90 degrees anti-clockwise and squint a little. Do you see what I mean?

So, we're going to have to get a replacement rug and I'm thinking that Flor carpet tiles are the perfect solution. Seriously, if he decides to go to town on a particular square we can just pop it out and replace it - And wait patiently for him to get through this chewing phase. He's a perfect chap otherwise, and from what we hear at the dog park we should be lucky he doesn't have a passion for cell phones, remote controls and underwear. That second snap is the Flor carpet that we're considering which, hilariously enough, is a houndstooth pattern called All Bark and No Bite...