CONGRATULATIONS Maureen O. for having our favorite blog post and winning $100 from Blueblood! We love the story of your creative inspiration…from rubber bands no less! Thank you to ALL of our bloggers and your wonderful posts. We think all of you deserve to be rewarded, so look in your email inboxes today for a special treat from us.
xo Alexis and Tina
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I’ve always LOVED Halloween. It’s the time of year that marks the beginning of the holiday season when the air becomes crisp and permeated with the smell wood-burning fireplaces. Growing up on the East coast, it was the time of year to walk through leaves as they crunched under foot- a reminder to start thinking about what I was to be for Halloween this year?
Mom was not the arts and crafts type, so each year I would make my own costumes. While I have always been creative, my execution has not always been the greatest. A seamstress I am not! However, I suppose when your a little kid, the crappy thrown together costumes have a certain charm? Over the years I have been everything from a Siamese backward mad scientist attached to my best friend to Cyndi Lauper (although I learned that no matter how much orange hair dye you spray on black hair it’s not going to show up!) I was Pocohontas and G.I Jane and even the Corpse Bride. Yes, that was only a few years ago.
At this point in my life, I have not yet had children and Halloween is the time of year I always think it would be most fun to have them. I love seeing their little outfits in Halloween parades and how excited they get when you put candy into their trick or treat bags. I too am a little kid at Halloween. Even in my thirties, I get excited about fishing through a plastic pumpkin anticipating what I might pull out: a mini Snickers? Sweet Tarts? Perhaps my favorite… a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup?!
By October of 2006, my first Halloween with Gretel, we had both made lots of new friends at Alta Plaza, our dogpark in Pacific Heights. There I met a group of dog lovers equally fanatical about their pooches, which of course led to meeting my business partner, Tina and the inspiration to start BLUEBLOOD.
When I was told there would be a Halloween contest at our park, I jumped at the chance to enter Gretel. Here was my chance to dress up MY child. Better yet, she would not protest or have an opinion about her oufit. Being the good sport that she is, Gretel would surely let me dress her in anything. But how could I do that to her, I thought? I grew up with big dogs and was never a doggie clothing kind of girl. But I figured it’s only one day and after all, it was Halloween!
There was only one problem. I found it impossible to find an outfit that would fit Gretel’s unique and curvy figure. She has no legs, but is as long as a lab, she has a huge chest and a belly the touches the ground. Once again I found myself kludgening together a home made outfit. If I was going to do this I was going to go big I thought! So, I decided to dress Gretel as someone equally regal and elegant: the most stylish First Lady, Jackie Onassis.
I made her a tweed Chanel-esque suit and matching pill-box hat, which to everyone’s suprise stayed put all evening as it was affixed to her little head with an elastic band. More impressive were her Jackie O glasses which not only stayed in place but seemed to transform Gretel into charater. There she stood with her nose in the air as if to look down at the other dogs as if they were mere peons. To top it off her ensemble, Gretel sported a string of pearls which matched the buttons on her tweed suit. The outfit was of course terribly sewn. As she walked around, her chest stuck out further and further and her suit became ratty and frayed. But, I guess that charm rule applies to dogs as well as children- Gretel was a hit! To this day people refer to her as “Jackie O”.
Someone at the park told me I just HAD to take her to Golden Gate Park for their costume contest the following day and of course, I did. As Gretel was called on stage, in typical Gretel fashion she did not want to budge. I had to practically drag the poor girl across the stage and felt like a mean stage mom as I did so. Despite her lack of runway skills, Gretel took third place in the contest and ended up in the Chronicle and Children’s National Geographic.
The following year people started asking me, “What is Gretel going to be this year?” Oh no, I thought. What have I started?! People now EXPECTED costume greatness from us. How would I ever top Jackie O and frankly did I have the time? Well, not really. But I felt somewhat obliged not to let people down and I always liked a good challange. So I decided to stick with the “important women in history” theme and transformed Gretel into Queen Elizabeth the Ist. My sewing skills had slightly improved and this time with Tina and Jenny’s help, I dusted off and used my sewing machine. Her Fleur de Lys satin coat was adorned with lace and velvet and topped with my Nana’s antique rhinestone pin. 
Oh and in case you are wondering… her Elizabethan collar is made of coffee filters : ).
To celebrate the launch of our fabulous new website, we’re giving away some chic gear for your pups! A collar & lead set (of the winners’ choice) will be sent to each of our three winners.
We always wonder what our pups are doing when we leave them home alone.
We’re sure that when Foggy and Gretel are left alone, Foggy tries to convince Gretel to munch on her Auntie’s favorite pair of designer flats.
If you were to install a puppy-cam, what would your pups’ video look like?
Submit your entries to info@bluebloodpups.com (subject line: Twitter Giveaway) by Friday, August 21st, at 9 pm Pacific.
The three winners will be announced on next Monday’s blog entry!
xoxo
Tina & Alexis
P.S Follow us on Twitter or Become a Fan on Facebook (and tell your friends, pretty please!) to find out about more giveaways, special discounts and other fun contests we’ll be holding on a regular basis!
Ever since I was a little girl I have admired the French for their sense of style and emphasis on practicality. Whether it be a hand bag, dog collar or interior, great looking & utilitarian is a combination that exemplifies great design. Tina and I are excited to launch our stylish, reversible Beach/City tote this month. When coming up with the original concept, I was greatly inspired by the beautiful canvas totes I had seen in Provence, where I was lucky enough re-visit this month.At the Farmer’s Market in St.Remy both women and men carry re-usable, stylish grocery bags filled with fresh produce, cheeses and flowers. Whether conscious of it or not, the French have been fashionable and environmentally responsible for years, long before “being Green” was en vogue. Especially in today’s world, functional, good- looking, Green designs are more relevant than ever. Whether it be a place to throw your laptop, fresh produce, chuckit or burp cloths, we love the idea of debuting a great- looking, multi-use bag.
I also admire how much pride the French take in beautiful presentation. From soaps to prepared foods, fabrics to art supplies, everything is artistically packaged and displayed. We visited the flagship Tea Marriage store, which takes up an entire block in the Marais district in Paris. It is not just a beautiful shop, but also an elegant tea room, a museum filled with antiques and an homage to the history of tea. It is the kind of shop that reminds me why I wanted to be a designer in the first place.
France may have its short-comings. I certainly missed sanitary public restrooms, decent shower pressure and my BIG American lattes in the morning. But, I didn’t miss them much. I dealt with the less invigorating showers and instead drank espressos. But as you can imagine, it isn’t too hard to deal with life in Provence. Of course vacation is always an escape from the “real world”, but French people really do live a different kind of everyday life. They are not all glued to their Crackberrys 24/7. They take their time at meals, slowly sipping their wine and savoring their food. They take time to travel with their families and still close their businesses on Sundays. They know how to live and they do it with style!
France, I will miss you and I can’t wait to see you again. A’ bientot, j’espere!
xoxo
Alexis
This past weekend, we went on a weekend family trip to the Solage Calistoga. It was an eco-chic and pup friendly resort operated by Auberge Resorts. When we got to our suite, even though we never travel without our own BLUEBLOOD bed, there was a doggie bed waiting for us. They even remembered to include bowls and treats too!
Calistoga itself wasn’t as dog friendly, so we decided to drive slightly south to St. Helena and Yountville. We went to Redd for lunch on Saturday , and then our favorite, Bistro Jeanty on Sunday. Both places have great patios where we could relax and hang out. The wait staff at both restaurants were friendly and nice enough to bring us plenty of ice cold water. We also tried to stop at the Bouchon Bakery for their famous foie gras doggie biscuits, but unfortunately they were all sold out.
On our way back to Calistoga, we stopped by Fideaux in downtown St. Helena to check out the shop. They carry BLUEBLOOD beds in both of their stores (the other is in Healdsburg).
Overall, the trip was fun, but I’m glad to be back at home. No city is as welcoming as San Francisco. Plus, since I’m named for the famous weather in San Francisco, I was glad to see, as we got home, that the fog has rolled in, and it’s starting to feel like summer time again in the city.
