Make sure to enter the photoshoot giveaway!

There are still a few days left to enter guys, make sure to enter! {For South African citizens, willing to travel to Gauteng, only}

Gobbolino, the witch's cat

On Monday, a colleague of mine arrived at the office with a box that was spilling over with a brown and black striped blanket. Curiosity was sparked at this sight, but even more so, when the box started making noises.

I was at an event for most of the day, but when I got back in the afternoon, the office was abuzz about the cute ginger ball of fur that was estimated to be about one week old. His or her mother abandoned him/her and her siblings and, while I'm not sure what happened to the other kittens, my colleague would do everything in her might to keep this little thing alive.

The kitten, yet to be named, has made my heart melt! Me, an absolute dog lover! The reason it has not yet been named, is because the colleague is still fearful of his life. He has a little infection at the moment, but she took him to the vet, got him the meds and right food he needs and he gets fed by the hour. That is commitment.

This little critter made me think about one of my favourite childhood stories, that of Gobbolino, the witch's cat. Gobbolino's good heart saw him avoid his destiny as being a magical cat, and unlike his sister Sootica, he did not like doing magic, or turning mice into toads. He goes on a number of journeys, and eventually ends up being stripped of his magic and returning to the farmhouse where he first set of to, to become a normal kitchen cat.

The one thing that both Gobbolino and this little one have shown is the utmost courage. Where Gobbolino had the courage to set out on faraway adventures in search of his one true home, this one has the courage and will to live and fight!

We often take life so for granted and often don't stop to say thanks for what we have! I am grateful that there are people out there that are willing to go out on a limb {in this case, she actually went out on a gutter} to do anything for animals and which inspires me to help where I can.

Do something good this cheery season and perhaps visit a shelter. Even if you can't give any monetary or food donations, just give those poor pets some love! I know I am definitely going to.

Photos were taken by our resident photographer Duane Daws.

Emet Photograhphy {giveaway}

Listen up everyone, you can stand a chance to win a photoshoot, courtesy of Emet Photograhpy! How amazingly exciting is that?!

Look at how excited these two are.

You could win this:

First prize:

Photo-shoot to the value of R600-00 - 2 x Photographer’s

                                                                         1  hour Photo-shoot

                                                                         DVD containing a minimum of 70 hi-quality photos

                                                                         Photo-shoot must take place within the
                                                                         Pretoria-area or winner must pay
                                                                         travelling     

                                                                         costs at R3 per kilometre from Rayton

Digital Photo Frame to the value of R600-00

Second prize:

Photo-shoot to the value of R600-00 - 2 x Photographer’s

                                                                         1  hour Photo-shoot

                                                                         DVD containing a minimum of 70 hi-quality photos

                                                                         Photo-shoot must take place within the Pretoria-area or
                                                                         winner must pay Travelling
                                                                         costs at R3 per kilometre from Rayton

Choose between a couple shoot, a family shoot, a maternity shoot or a newborn shoot. The winner must redeem their prize before the end of February (with exception to newborn and maternity) and must reside in the Gauteng area or be willing to travel to Gauteng for the shoot.

A Babyshower!

Our online team's editor is expecting her first child, a baby boy in January, and seeing as we are closing for the holidays next week Friday - which is followed by our year end function - a colleague and I decided to organise a baby shower for her. I quickly designed an invite to send to the other people in the office and I thought it was quite cute!

Another colleague pitched in and said that she would like to bake a cake, carrying on with the airplane, blue and grey theme, and I was more than excited when I saw the end result! The lunchbreak baby shower was held at Mugg & Bean Bedford Centre and I have to commend them for their excellent service. I approached them the day before and asked them if they would set up our table with some nice balloons, to give it that extra special feel.

The quality of the photos aren't the best, because it was taken with an assortment of phones and I forgot to bring my camera. All in all, it was great and she did not expect a thing, even though I sit right next to her and had a lot of people whispering and coming to my desk more often.

Also, couldn't resist a snap with the balloons. I love balloons.

Owning a Boxer

Well hello all ye' SFL readers!!!!

Maddie from Thriftary here.

I am SO excited to be hanging out with all you friends today. Mostly because I get to talk about one of the cutest and wrinkliest and hyper parts of my day. My little boxer dog, Macey.

My husband and I got Macey about two months after we got hitched, almost 3 years ago. Wow. I can't believe she is almost 3. We picked her up from a farm in Atlanta, GA. She was the tiniest little thing, with a lot of bowel issues. We are very sure that she was not born into a good situation. She was only about 6 weeks old when we got her!

She was immediately a snuggler and super playful, even though she was in pretty bad shape for the first 6 months or so. We were in and out of vets offices, trying different methods to figure out why that poor little girl just couldn't hold it in. It turns out, she has colitis, and had to be put on a very strict food diet at a young age. There were so many times that my husband and I questioned wether we could afford to keep Macey in those early days... And every time we were just brought to tears by her sweetest disposition.

Oh my goodness. All of these old photos are killing me! Anywho... After we got Mace Face's colitis under control... It was all downhill from there. She was super smart, REALLY hyper and the most loyal companion in the world.

So many people told us (those who didn't own boxers) "don't get a boxer!! They are so cute but so hyper and will chew your house to bits." 

Well folks. You are sadly mistaken. I think that most dogs would unfortunately fall under that category if you don't give them the attention they need!

Macey is:

 - The easiest dog to train. She wants nothing more than to do exactly what Ben and I ask

 - If Macey get's chastised, she tends to lean her head really low and crawl away

 - Early on, we taught Macey to "Die" which is a trick where she lays down and rolls over. This is ANOTHER way that she shows us she is really really sorry.

 - The only thing that she has ever chewed is socks and trash. Annoying... Yes. But not irreplaceable.

 - She LOVES to hike and camp and jog. She is definitely in her element when she's got her backpack on and she's on a mission.

 - She has never met a dog she didn't like. Now, some dogs may not like her because she is SO loving (she tends to lick other dog's faces instead of sniffing them, in salutations) but not the other way around.

 - Macey is very protective of Ben and I. Until she realizes that you are not a threat, and then she tends to jump and kiss.

 - Macey would sleep on top of me every night if I let her. However, my husband won't let that happen (though we do steal a couple hours of cuddle time when he works late).

 - Though Mace is about 50 lbs now, she still acts like a lap dog.

 - Macey has the boxer lean, where she loves to sit on your toes and lean on your leg and stare off into the distance. Just to let you know that she is there and she's got it all under control.

All this Macey talk is getting me teary eyed.

Typical of the boxer breed, Mace is a completely playful and adorable addition to our family. We wouldn't be the same without her.

--------------------------------------

Check out other breed posts:

- Owning a Staffie -

 - Owning a Golden Retriever -

- Owning a French Bulldog -

- Owning a Bloodhound -

- Owning an Oreo -

Prezzies and parties

 

I'm not going to write a lot of words today, because I had quite a busy day and am now too lazy to type anything. I thought I was going to dread turning 25, after all, it is a quarter of a century, really old! But if you were to ask me my age today, I would probably still say 24. What made it great was that I was blessed with great gifts that had a lot of thought put into them and shared the day with amazing friends! yay! Even though Flip got me an engagement ring just little more than a week ago, he still spoiled me with Bodyshop goodies. What more could a girl ask for?

 

 

This pretty much sums it all up. Random, quirky and a bit weird, just like me!

It's my birthday!

I caught this snapshot at a tri-birthday party this weekend,  more on that tomorrow, but today... 

Let's horse around!

Friday Fancies: dress yourself

I am loving this week's Friday Fancies theme, as it calls for us girls to choose an outfit we would wear everyday, something we would dress ourselves in. Tomorrow is a friend of mine, her boyfriend and my birthday party, combined. She had her birthday on Tuesday, mine is on Monday and his is on Tuesday again. So, if not, why not?

This is the outfit I am longing to wear for the party. Ironically, I just bought the shoes yesterday, and I am wearing them right now :)

Seeing as we are summering it up here in South Africa, I thought I would go for this lovely Anglaise tiered summer dress from Mr Price, paired with these awesome pointy Ikat printed stud pumps, also from Mr Price, a pretty bun and my favourite new accessory, my engagement ring. You can read about how Flip proposed here.

I simply cannot believe that we are at the end of November already! Where did this year go? Thus far, November was surely my favourite month of this year, but I have a feeling that December will be even better with the birthday and Christmas coming along! Which month was your favourite and why?

The book of love: the next chapter

"I love it when you give me things

and you

you ought to give me wedding rings"
-The book of love by Peter Gabriel

On Saturday, November 24, Flip went down on one knee and asked me to be his wife. Of course I said yes! I feel a bit guilty, because we had a disagreement in the morning and had a little tiff, Flip went for a drive, to pick up eggs and bread for breakfast {little did I know that he was going to pick up the ring and phone my mom to trick me into going somewhere}.

As I just mentioned, my mom phoned me and came up with a story that there was some horticultural expo at the Botanical Gardens in Pretoria and that we had to join them because a tree that she bought Flip died from trauma after Mila ate it and there was going to be a lunch included, what have you. I phone Flip, he says its fine we can go. {I should have known something was up here, because Flip doesn't just easily agree to do something, especially when it includes gardening. I did have a little hunch.}

 So eventually when we get there, it is raining, I don't see my parents' car anywhere and neither do I see signs of this expo, so I'm getting a little bit suspicious. After walking in circles {and on a mountain trail, where we saw dassies} to where he thinks it might be, we end up ironically close to a waterfall, inside a rain forest. We had to stop a few times while walking to catch my breath, because I was still reeling from the cold I had earlier. But the walk was so nice. Flip kept on bringing up highlights of our relationship. "Do you remember that time we walked in a real rain forest in Mpumalanga? Or that time when..." Going down memory lane was a solid reminder of why I was so in love with Flip and the long journey that we have already taken together. 

Anyway, when we finally reached the waterfall we found that it was not working. I'm ready to walk on and Flip asks if I'm in a hurry, noticing how lovely the spot where we were standing looks. He joked that my parents are at the bottom of the waterfall and that I had to call to them, so I did. "Your parents aren't here," he said and then he went down on one knee and asked "Megan, will you marry me?" I put my handbag down and starting crying. I said yes and Flip said "Well would you mind taking the ring now so I can get up?"  He put the ring on my finger and we kissed. And I cried all the time.

The sad thing is that we didn't get any photos, because there was no one around to take photos and we also didn't take our cellphones. But I am now the future Mrs van Wyngaardt and our love story will keep on growing.

Ad infinitum

The book of love: the middle part

   The book of love is full of facts and figures and lessons on dancing. Did you know that Flip can't dance? I'm also not willing to teach him, my toes have suffered too much for that. But perhaps we will join a dance class.

Did you know that the guy I reffered to in the last post was not Flip? No, oh no, this guy {if you missed it, read over here} was a creep and just served for a couple of good laughs between friends and I. I digress and picking up where I left off, I was looking for the a new flatmate, and a few people came to have a lookm, but nothing came of it.

Then one day, another guy answers the ad. We organise a looksee for the cottage and he decides to move in the very next day. Let us call him Dr No for all blogging purposes. So Dr No and I get along great, become friends, I develop a crush {oh yes I did} and get introduced to his friends, among them Flip. I like twists, huh?

But before Flip and I even met, Dr No showed me some pictures on his computer and I stopped at this one picture and blurted out loud: "who is that hot guy and when are you introducing him to me?" Introductions soon followed and Flip fell in love with me.

But then we didn't see each other for about three months. He says I did something to upset him at a braai. I don't recall any of it. But he just couldn't resist and had to see me again.

The unofficial, joke story, of how Flip fell in love was when he was teasing me about my crush and I stabbed him with a fork in the leg. Not long after that, I received a message on facebook from Flip. "Hi, I'm going to be honest. I think you are awesome. And hot. that is all for now." I didn't reply, but was enamored by the message. I gave him my number through Dr No and we messaged each other.

A few days, or perhaps weeks, later I was asked on our first date. Flip took me for sushi, and I have never eaten sushi before. I also had no plans to eat it. But now i'm addicted. We also shared our first kiss that night.

About two weeks into the whole dating scenario, a friend of mine came over to colour my hair and Flip was banned from seeing me, because when is it ever pretty when colouring is involved. My flatmate sneaked in during the colouring session, and I thought something was up. We were sitting in the living room and when I went to my room, after washing the colour out, what did I find?

On my bed there lay 44 roses, 22 white and 22 deep red long stem roses. I might have started crying, because this was the first time any guy did something like this for me. And of course, I was smitten, head-over-heels in love with Flip. Still am to this day. Wouldn't you be?

And you know what the best thing is? The flowers never stopped coming. Flip loves to surprise me at work with a massive bunch of flowers and he loves to surprise me with little things that have meaning to us.

One last thing for today. You know when you have the talk, about whether you are becoming an exclusive couple or not? Flip asked me like this: "Miss Wait, shareholders in Van Wyngaardt and company have decided that you would be a significant asset to the company and we can see great growth with you as a partner. Would you like to enter this transaction?"

More coming tomorrow!

The book of love: the prequel

Every time The book of love by Peter Gabriel starts playing my iTunes, I curse. Like someone with tourettes. It's usually along the lines of "shit, dammit, I love this song!" Yes, I'm paradoxical like that. This isn't the only that stirs me up, for example, One Day by Elbow, Tomorrow by James and a whole array of other songs has me churning out cursewords of joy.

Anyway, Peter Gabriel croons that the book of love is long and boring and that no one can lift the damn thing. I hope that our book of love is too big and heavy to lift, but long and boring? Heck no.

Take for example the story of how we met. I believe in things like fate, but I also like to believe that our love story is also all part of God's plan. Thinking back to a little more than two and a half years ago, I am sure that this was wall part of my bigger picture.

So where do I start? Perhaps here. I was fresh out of varsity, first year worker, living in a two bedroom garden cottage with my aunt. The daunting reality of being in a new city, without any friends there and my boyfriend miles and miles away was getting to me. I had anxiety attacks like some people have food, constantly. My then boyfriend became an ex. And I no longer believed in love.

Moving along, I was soon also looking for a new flatmate as my aunt had decided to move and a friend of mine wanted to move in. As Murphy would have it, on the day she had to move in, she could no longer. I was stuck and would not be able to pay the rent on my own.

So I put out an ad on Gumtree and Junkmail {its pretty much like Craig's list} for a flatmate and got a few answers. One included a guy whose answer read: "I would treat you like a princess every day of your life and do anything you would like me to do. I would look after you and cook for you..." Something along the lines of that. He also attached a photo.

Want to know more about this guy? Read on tomorrow.

book of love peter gabriel mp3 | lyrics

free music downloads | music videos | pictures

No-bake chocolate eclair dessert

My aunt sent me this recipe in an email yesterday and I couldn't resist sharing it. Mmm, my birthday is around the corner, perhaps I should serve this as the pudding? Or perhaps for Christmas lunch?

You will need:
1 x packet of Tennis Biscuits
1 x box of instant vanilla pudding
1 x box of Orley Whip (my aunt said that she would prefer using real cream)
cocoa
milk
butter
vanilla
(this recipe didn't come with any measurements, so this are all guesses)

Method:
Firstly, pack a layer of tennis biscuits in a pan. Mix the cream and instant vanilla pudding, and layer this on top of the cookies. Continue with this method until the cookies or filling is finished.

Now, boil the cocoa, milk, butter and vanilla together to make a nice chocolatey icing. Pour this over the layers of biscuits and cream.

Pop it in the fridge and resist the seduction until the next day.

Enjoy!


Picture from Claremont Road

Owning a Golden Retriever

 After writing about what it is like to own a staffie, I thought it would be great to expand this and focus on other breeds as well. SFL rounded up a few other bloggers to tell us about what it is like to own their dog. This will be a weekly feature, each week showing a different breed.

 ..............

Hello SFL readers! I'm Danielle, the blogger behind Taking Notes...Coast to Coast. Megan asked me to share with you a little of what life is like living with a Golden Retriever. You see, I own the WORLD'S CUTEST PUP! So he's pretty easy to gush about :) Without further ado, meet Huckleberry!

Huckleberry is my one year old fur baby, full of snuggles and wet nosed kisses. My husband and I got him when he was only 8 weeks old, so basically he's like our child. 

There is a reason Golden Retrievers are the 4th most popular dog in North America. First off, these dogs are lovers to their core. If you don't want a little shadow follow you around from room to room, a Golden may not be the breed for you. When I walk into the kitchen, the soft thud of his padded feet is right behind me. When I go outside to do yard work, he's never more than a few steps away. And when I swing the bathroom door open after a long shower, there's his sweet little face staring up at me. Golden's don't simply like people, they need to be near you to live a happy life.

Not only are Golden's lovers, but also they are also extremely gentle, making them great around young children and other small animals.

Thirdly, Golden's have a lot of energy. They are called Retrievers because, well, they love to retrieve! Huck loves to run, play tug-of-war, and demolish all the sticks in our yard. He's a busy body who can go from sun up to sun down. Yet, on the flip side of that, Golden's also have a very eager-to-please demeanor, making them an easy breed to train! You can read some of Huck's favorite tricks here!

Overall, Goden Retrievers are loving, gentle, social, active dogs that make great family pets! Having Huckleberry has truly changed my life! He constantly keeps me and my husband laughing and he somehow knows how to make the stress from a terrible day melt away with simply the happy grin on his face and feverish wagging of his tail. And, well there is just something about this pup that makes me want to be a better person --that's how I know Huckleberry was the perfect match for me.

To read some of my favorite post about Huckleberry and his own series entitled Love, Huck click here!

Emotional deathtrap ride

As much as I would love to say that this is a new thrill ride at the local theme park that I tried over the weekend and took a thousand photos of, to write about, you know, it isn’t. It’s just every day life lately.

To start, I would like to thank the people who choose to come to work in their best “I’m about to die, I’m so ill” suit. Thanks honey for giving me this debilitating cold. I had a great weekend, trying to breathe through my nose while I sleep, trying to walk from the living room to the bathroom without feeling like I just ran a 500 km marathon, trying to eat, as my appetite has totally forgotten that I exist.

Oh yes, and one last thing. Thanks for making me ill, because you are to damn stubborn to go to the doctor and sit around work until you get booked off, so you can go and recover so nicely. This is also now keeping me from the gym, which makes me even grumpier than I normally am. Thanks.

Part of this thrill deathtrap ride is the inexplicable tears. What the hell? I took pride in the fact that I was such a badass made-of-armadillo-scales-and-elephant-skin at school. I think I cried twice. Now, if you just look at me funny, I cry. Puppy on tv? Tears. Baptisms? Tears. Weddings? Tears. A funny joke? Tears. This is getting too much.

Right now, I can make Statler and Waldorf look like the two nicest people on earth.

I hope it’s just year-end stress that’s getting to me. Can the holidays not come any sooner?

Do you have year-end anxiety? How do you deal?

My fingers are itching

People are really getting creative out there, now that there are more and more ways to share your ideas, and the DIY's that are floating out there are just making my fingers itch. Everyone loves making their homes , or themselves, look more beautiful, and what better way than to do it by yourself?

    DIY bedpost legs

1. Tired of the same old hairstyle? These easy how to's sure got me interested in trying something new.
2. Cute shoes!
3. These awesome dipped bedpost legs will add a Scandinavian kick to your bedroom. {It's in French}
4. Pretty up something arbitrary, like this file cabinet.
5. This cute DIY takes me back to hot summer evenings, when I would drag my mattress and pillow out and sleep under the stars with my dogs.

Owning an Oreo {you read right}

 After writing about what it is like to own a staffie, I thought it would be great to expand this and focus on other breeds as well. SFL rounded up a few other bloggers to tell us about what it is like to own their dog. This will be a weekly feature, each week showing a different breed.

 ..............

Hiya! I’m Rach, from This Italian Family, and I am so excited to be here today! Meg asked if I would share some of my pup’s quirks with you guys so here we go! Oreo is a mutt. I’m not really sure what all he is mixed with. Possibly a mixture of an American Pit Bull Terrier, Boxer, and Dalmatian. Whatever he is, my husband and I adore him. He is definitely our baby. Yeah, we are so those people. ;) 

Quirks about our pup:
- He is the laziest dog I’ve ever seen. My husband, Christopher, and I are always joking about just how lazy he is. The good thing about this is that he isn’t demanding of us. And he is a huge snuggler. :D- Despite being lazy, when we do go outside and play he LOVES it. He adores the sunshine and running and playing with our friend’s doggies!

- He is super smart! Not only does he know how to come, sit, wait, stay, release, shake, back, down, roll over, grovel, bow, up, off, dance, and go to the window/kennel/bed on command… he can even play hide and seek and open unlatched doors! He can also get out of pretty much any kennel he wants to. He is like Houdini!

- While Oreo is well trained, he is also stubborn. Particularly when he is off his leash in wide open spaces (like the dog park). He suddenly forgets every word he’s ever known including his name and he definitely acts like he doesn’t have a clue who we are. It’s kind of hilarious. He takes off in leaps and bounds and you begin to wonder if he will ever come back. While it is funny, it’s also a bit scary sometimes to see him take off and not respond when we call so we are working on dog whistle training him. 

- Anytime someone comes to our house he is convinced that they are there specifically to see him. He is especially great with kiddos and lets them pull on his ears and tail and sit on his head and snuggle with him. He’s just a sweet guy all around. :)

We adopted Oreo 2 years ago and have loved having him as part of our family. If you are thinking about getting a pet, definitely check out your local shelter! You might just find your new best friend. :)

Byeeee!

.............................................

Would you like to participate?

Drop me an email or comment here!

things I hate about the gym

I will not be the first one to speak about this, but there are a few things I hate about going to the gym. It ruins the fun experience and just annoys the living weights out of me. Luckily, I listen to my music most of the time and don't catch these annoying things, but when I forget my earphones, I am subjected to some of the most atrocious crimes of gymming.

1. The surprised people. The girl or guy who sees someone in the gym and proclaims loudly: OMG! What are you doing here? I would reply with something like: "you know, just attending my pet fish's funeral."

2. The stupid fat people. In no way or manner am I picking on fat people, or saying that all fat people are dumb. But I have noticed, from obnoxiously loud conversations, that the same overweight people who love to tell people how fat they are and how nothing that they do actually works, are the same ones I always see walking around meaninglessly and are the same ones who never gets on the equipment. Perhaps that's where you are going wrong.

3. Burpees. Damn them to hell, I hate them! But they work, people. They actually work, I should just get myself to do more of them, because normally I want to start crying after 5.

4. The guys. Not all of them, most guys are cool and not at all irritating. But I'm sure you know the ones I'm talking about. The one who says "jeezlike, I'm going to burn some steel today, hey." or "That oke didn't stand a chance, I would have..." and then follows a number of ugly Afrikaans cursewords. Finally, the ones who flex at themselves in the mirror and says "check my guns, hey. I'm mighty fine, hey". Yes, they really exist. And yes, I think my gym has the biggest concentrate of them in the universe. 

5. The couple. Guys, it is okay to gym with your other half, but let go. This is not a date, you can let go of his hand, she will be okay without you. 

6. The pretend personal trainer. {I might be guilty of this, but only in a joking way} The people who try to tell you that you are doing something wrong and that you should be doing something this way. Okay, I'm so guilty of this, but only with my friends and never with someone I don't know.

7. The unbelievably gorgeous girl. Just because I'm jealous. I have seen a few of them at my gym, so pretty and so fit. She doesn't even break out in a sweat, and afterwards, she meets her friends at the restaurant or coffee shop just outside the gym for dinner or drinks. Damn you.

8. The hogger. You and I pay the same price to use the same equipment, but time is also money so move the eff along to the next thing and stop being such an ass. If the equipment says max 20 minutes during peak hours, then do your 20 and move on

Arthlete picture

What are some of the stuff that drives you against the walls when going to gym?

 After writing about what it is like to own a staffie, I thought it would be great to expand this and focus on other breeds as well. SFL rounded up a few other bloggers to tell us about what it is like to own their dog.

 This will be a weekly feature, each week showing a different breed.

 ..............

First things first...

Frenchie= French bulldog

(just didn't want you to be confused throughout this whole post!)

and this is Ernie, our 2 year old Frenchie...

Owning a Frenchie is one of the most rewarding things in my life, second only to my faith and marrying my husband. They aren't a common dog but have been in the media quite a bit lately (Modern Family, Sketchers commercials), making them a hot dog, no pun intended. I actually had never seen a Frenchie in person until we went to pick up our bundle of chunk from the breeder. For those of you unfamiliar with the breed, interested in getting one, or just want to see cute pictures of Ernie, I am going to give you some info on owning one of these cuties.

Size: this is what attracted me to Frenchies. Ernie is an average sized Frenchie standing about a foot tall and weighing 24lbs. He is really muscular and lacks rolls which is not the Frenchie norm. Larger Frenchies are 30-32lbs and smaller ones, like Ernie's parents, are 19-20lbs. Seriously Ernie's neck is so thick and he is super barrel chested.

Look: Frenchies are known as "frog dogs" and have a very distinct look about them. They have Brachycephalic syndrome meaning flat faced (along with pugs, Pekingese, etc). I love his squishy little nose and die for his batty ears that always stick up! Because of their flat faces, Frenchies often have breathing problems and bad gas due to inhaling their food without chewing it. Ernie is definitely an offender! Frenchies come in many different coats and Ernie is a reverse brindle- black with blonde highlights. They also come in fawn, cream, and fully black. All Frenchies have a white spot on their chest varying in size, Ernie's is really small. They also have nubs for tails!

Personality: Frenchies (and most bulldogs) are really stubborn. We tried to break this from the beginning with training but Ernie is still pretty stubborn. He is such a happy guy but knows how to push our buttons. For example, we will take up his ball so he will eat and he runs right up stairs and finds another ball that he has stashed away. He wants to do things on his time. Ernie is such a ham and literally stares and poses at the camera when I pull it out. He loves licking babies and is quite the party animal at parties. 

Activity: since Frenchies are normally chunky and sometimes overweight, most of the time they are pretty lazy...but not Ernie! He spends lots of time sleeping and cuddling during the day but that boy has more energy than any 2 year old  I know! His favorite toy is a tennis ball and he could spend hours playing fetch. He also loves playing with other dogs, wading in the water and "hunting leaves", going for walks, and chewing on empty water bottles. When we tell people how active he is, they are amazed! We thought it was a phase but man he has got some energy! He loves when my husband chases him around the house too.

Health: Frenchies have a 10-12 year lifespan but we are hoping to extend Ernie's by feeding him a holistic, grain free diet. Frenchies have lots of nasal/breathing problems because of their squished nose so we make sure Ernie gets lots of rest and water after he plays. They also have hip problems because they are so top heavy. Something interesting is that Frenchies have to be artificially inseminated because most of them are too top heavy to mount and they have to be born via C section.

Cost: because they take so many resources to conceive/birth, Frenchies are expensive running between $1,500-upwards of $3,000 for AKC show dog parents. Healthcare can be an added cost but prevention is the best medicine!

If you are looking for a sweet, loveable dog to become a not only a pet but a true family member, I highly recommend Frenchies. Ernie can be a major toot and definitely isn't as obedient as his lab retriever cousin, but we love him so much. And he loves us. He gets so excited when he sees his mom and dad and gives us unconditional love, support, and cuteness with his big ol' smiley face. He will make a wonderful big brother to our human babies one day, but for now, he is our chunky first born fur baby!

Check out more Ernie posts here!

Rusks - a recipe

Don't you just love that word? Rusk-s. It sounds like you are calling a cat while pronouncing it, no? Well, rusks are definitely a breakfast or snack favourite of mine and the 'healthier' it is, with seeds, and raisins and bran, the better!

I explored the internet a bit and found this lovely recipe from Ideas Magazine's website, which got my mouth watering and me pining to buy an apron. Or baking utensils for that matter.

Seed and bran rusks
Makes: about 40
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 45-50 minutes, plus drying time
Oven temperature:170°C


• 545ml (500g) butter
• 350ml (300g) brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 500ml buttermilk
• 1kg self-raising flour
• 10ml baking powder
• 200g bran flakes
• 500ml (135g) digestive bran
• 150ml (115g) raisins
• 100ml sunflower seeds
• 30ml sesame seeds
• 30ml linseeds

1 Melt the butter and the brown sugar together in a saucepan. Set aside to cool. Add the eggs and the buttermilk.

2 Sift the flour, baking powder and 5ml salt together. Add the bran flakes, digestive bran, raisins and seeds. Stir in the egg mixture. Shape into balls and place next to each other in a greased roasting pan. Bake in a preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes.

3 Turn onto a wire rack and cool slightly, then break into rusks. Place the rusks onto wire racks and stand them on baking trays. Reduce the oven temperature to very low then return the rusks to the oven and leave them to dry out for 8 to 10 hours. Store the rusks in airtight containers.

Easy peasy!