What do you see?

The images below display one of Mark's old shirts cleverly knotted and transformed into a chewing toy for our puppy, Babas. 

She surprisingly untangles it without tearing it apart.  NOTE: I wash it often, yuck! . . . I see a heart, what do you see?

NOT my red cowboy boots...Babas!

I make this hairy monster one-of-a-kind toys, feed her yummy snacks, and rub her belly, but apparently nothing satisfies her more than my favorite pair of cowboy boots. 

Happy Friday from my little Bohème and her giant new bird...

This two-foot long companion makes Babas Bohème extremely happy. I had to make her a giant bird because she completely destroyed the smaller (earlier) models.

my first snow...

I promise not to turn this blog into a dog journal, but I just had to share with you this shot of Bohème's sprinkled face taken this morning.  
Oh, those simple little moments. . .Yes, winter has officially arrived in Montreal.

The haute bohémienne...Loulou de la Falaise (4 May 1948 - 5 November 2011)

I used last weekend's copy of the Financial Times as a base-membrane inside Babas Bohème's cage earlier this week, and this morning, as I was cleaning the shredded remnants, she highlighted a story I had somehow missed titled, The haute bohémienne with an innate approach to fashion. It was an obituary for Loulou de la Falaise, (model, muse and jewelry designer) who passed away Saturday, November 5, 2011 at the age of 63. Now, I must admit that I had no idea who she was before this morning...how? I don't know...but what a family tree. . .Thank you Babas!

Quote under picture of Loulou with YSL, 

Legend has it that she was baptized not with water but with Schiaparelli's famous perfume, "Shocking".

Here are a few fast facts about Loulou. . .but warning, there are so many more.

> She was born Louise Vava Lucia Henriette Le Bailly de la Falaise. WOW!
> Her father was Alain de la Falaise, a French aristocrat and her mother was Maxime de la Falaise, 
   a model and fashion muse herself for Elsa Schiaparelli and an Andy Warhol socialite.
> Loulou de la Falaise was a friend and inspirational muse to Yves Saint Laurent.
> Her first marriage in 1966 (AT THE AGE OF 18!) was to Desmond FitzGerald, the Irish Knight of Glin.
> Her second marriage in 1977 was to Thadée Klossowski de Rola, son of the French artist Balthus.

I feel like a need to read a book about her life...too many incredible details.  the guardian published an informative obituary, read here.
Image below of Loulou by photographer, Richard Avedon, 1970.

Solitary confinement...

Oh yes, my petite Labernois, Babas Bohème, is getting bigger and stronger.  She puts quite a performance when she sleeps and when she wakes up.  It breaks my heart to incarcerate her, but it's a necessary evil when I absolutely need to get something done without interruption or when I must leave the house.  Most of the time she falls asleep, but if she wakes up before I get home, well her cage is a mess.  
After her solitary confinement episodes, she often leaves behind inspirational compositions. . .hence the picture above.  (Hmm, maybe there is a book idea here). Oh how frustratingly rewarding it must feel to shred that newspaper!  Poor Mr. Porter, somehow he survived unharmed, this time! 

Meet Babas Bohème...our MIRA puppy.

2 weeks ago today, Mark and I picked up our puppy, Babas Bohème, from the MIRA foundation's training center located about 45mins east of Montreal. We will be fostering this cutie for a year. And yes, I know, it will be extremely hard saying goodbye to her after 12 months, but this is our way of giving back. 


MIRA logo below.

  

A few fast facts about the foundation. For more info click HERE.

Founder:  Founded in Quebec, Canada by Éric St-Pierre in 1981.

Mission: Trains and provides dogs (free of charge) for individuals with visual and motor disabilities, and children with disorders such as autism.  

Breed: "Labernese" : half Labrador / half Bernese Mountaing dog.

Our job as foster-parents: Socialize her and teach her basic discipline.  

Professional training is done by MIRA experts.

 

We call her Babas Bohème. 

She was born the 25th of July.

The pics above are of Day 1: (left) The day she left the training center for the first time, she fit inside a medium-sized basket. (right) First steps into our studio. She felt at home instantly!

Babas: (Unofficial name) Spanish for drool. 

Bohème: (Official MIRA name) a. French for bohemian. 

b. A person (as a writer or an artist) living an unconventional life usually in a colony with others. (According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary). 

She's a big-fluffy puppy full of teething energy! 


We took her apple-picking last week and she loved it.  
She was seduced by a plethora of sweet smells. 
Although, I did find it curious that she didn't try to eat or play with the apples, 
only the grass, leaves, and branches.

Perhaps this explains why she's infatuated with my green babies at home.  
She barks at them and then eats their leaves...hmmm.
I better put a stop to this soon.

Mark and I have been looking for puppy toys, 
but there are very silly things out there . . . 
not good enough for our puppy! 


And so, 
I decided to make her a couple of Charles and Ray Eames inspired birds 
out of old fabrics. 
The solid red bird was created out of an old pair of childhood winter tights. 

The patterned bird was created from a piece of 1970s curtains that once adorned my grandmother's house in Mexico.  I loved these curtains growing up! 

What are they stuffed with, you wonder? With several pairs of Mark's old socks and my old Victoria Secret's bra "stuffers" from those teenage years. (I have no idea why I saved these!)

She plays with them, tries to kill them (should I be encouraging this behavior?), sleeps on them, etc. It's extremely rewarding witnessing such glee!  

NOTE: I do have to stitch them every now and then.  Those baby teeth are fierce!