Mother's Day Gift Guide

Bowls from House Envy // Copper frame from Cox and Cox //
Blue tit cushions from Live Like the Boy // Keyring from What I Always Wanted

Quick, it's not too late to order something lovely for Mother's Day. I've gathered together a few pieces that have the potential of bringing a smile to your Mum's face this coming Sunday. 

Beautiful bowls for her to enjoy her breakfast. A super cool yet delicate landscape frame for her to display captured memories. A cute cushion for her to get comfy in her favourite chair when doing her weekly crossword. A garden shed keyring because you know that's where she'll be most of the spring and summer.

What Mother's Day gifts have you opted for?

Claire x

Our Pup, Zara

I recently mentioned how 2014 was the year we said goodbye to our two year old dog, Zara but I didn't go into much detail, apart from this post which only told half of the story. I finally decided that it's time to open up a little bit and let you know more about what happened. 

Zara showing off her best puppy dog eyes

We weren't ready to say goodbye but unfortunately the world isn't always a kind place. 2nd June 2014 was one of the worst days of my life.  It was supposed to be a day full of happiness as my husband and I celebrated two years of marriage.  Instead we had to drive to Leahurst Campus at The University of Liverpool to see our beautiful English Springer Spaniel, Zara for the last time.

I previously posted about Zara here when we honestly thought she was on the road to recovery and we were through the worst but sadly we were wrong.  Zara ended up having several seizures caused by bleeding on the brain.  No one could tell us why she was bleeding on the brain but it could have had something to do with the clotting problem, which surfaced when we had her spayed. The bleeding could not be stopped and she deteriorated rapidly, to the point where she could no longer stand without the help of a sling. When we walked into the veterinary room she was still wagging her tail and over the moon to see us but it was obvious, even before the vets told us, that she was not going to recover.  Every bone in my body did not want to make that decision but we had to do what was best for Zara. The vets allowed us to take some time to say goodbye and she slipped away peacefully as we stroked her and held her tight. It was so hard to let go. 

Puppy Zara / Springer Zara / Muddy Zara / Loyal Zara

The untimely loss of our beloved Zara hit my husband and I extremely hard and is something that we still have to battle with every day. I never really had pets growing up and so nothing could have prepared me for the feeling of loss and helplessness that followed and overwhelmed me on a daily basis. I could just about hold it together at work and thankfully my close friends had pre-warned everyone in the office not to talk to me about Zara. This definitely helped as I was able to get on with my day-to-day job and talk about Zara as and when I felt up to it.  Some days were, and still are, harder than others.

It took us about 4 weeks to decide that we could not go on without introducing a new dog into our lives.  We are dog (and cat) people and coming home to an empty house was turning out to be the worst part of our day.  Your home should be your sanctuary and where you feel happiest and safe.  Without Zara our home felt empty and actually depressing. I was used to opening our front door to be welcomed by the happiest of pooches as she bounded up to me until I paid her some attention.  I've come to realise that this kind of welcome cannot be replicated in anyway by humans. It just can't. 

We started looking for a new puppy and quickly fell in love with little Luna the Springer Spaniel-cross-Poodle who joined our family in July.  She is an absolute delight and is just what we needed after several months of uncertainty and pain. If people tell you to wait before getting another pet, my advice is do not listen to them. Pets bring so much joy and if they can help heal a broken heart then that is only a good thing in my book. 

Luna at 3 months - our fluff ball

Zara was only in our lives for two short years but she was the best companion we could have ever asked for and as close to a child as my husband and I have had together. We loved her so much and we're grateful for all the fantastic memories she gave us. The unconditional love that dogs show is so special and I'm sure all you dog lovers out there will agree. Z will forever be in our hearts. 

Thanks for reading.

Claire x

Received

I thought I'd quickly share a little selection of the gratefully received gifts that I found under my Christmas tree this year:

'it' by Alexa Chung so that I can channel my inner cool-girl, plus its dusky pink cover looks great on my bedside table; x2 little glass jars with birdie toppers which are super cute and will no doubt continue to pop up in my future #shelfies; the Remington Keratin Therapy Pro Dryer so I can at least try to get a little closer to the perfect blow out; Sigma Beauty Tapered Blending Brush E40 which will help me cover the dark circles as I recover from a season of overindulgence; a snuggly mink-coloured dressing gown to keep me warm through the winter nights; ESPA Body Lotion and Body Wash in a heavenly scent of Lemon, Ylang Ylang and Crushed Tonka Beans; and a galleried mirror tray to perfectly display my perfume collection. 

Huge thanks to my friends and family for my beautiful gifts :)
What lovely things did you discover in your stocking? 

Claire x

two years

Two years ago today was a very good day.  

Claire x

Rollercoaster

The past few months have been a bit of a rollercoaster and hence my blogging schedule (if you can call sporadic, unplanned posting a 'schedule') has all but completely vanished.  

Our English Springer Spaniel Zara has given us quite the scare recently and so I've been a bit all over the place.  Allow me to explain...

Zara was coming up to two years old and we decided to get her spayed.  The operation went smoothly and she was allowed home the same day.  However, the rest of her recovery has not been quite so straight-forward.  There have been several rushed trips to our vet, the emergency vet and in the end a referral to The University of Liverpool veterinary school where she was seen at the Leahurst campus in the small animal teaching hospital.  They found out that she had an internal bleed caused by a dislodged suture which resulted in her requiring an emergency operation.  After this second op we thought she was on the road to recovery, unfortunately we were wrong and nobody quite knew why.  She underwent lots of tests and several potential diagnosis were mentioned.  It was thought that she had a genetic blood disorder which prevented her blood from clotting.  The treatment for which was intravenously fed plasma.  After a couple of weeks at Leahurst and close to 10 bags of plasma her blood results were still not improving.  The vet called us in.  Arriving in that consultation room was a bittersweet moment.  We were delighted to see her after what felt like forever but the news from the vet was not good.  They said that they could not stop the internal bleed and that she was not reacting to the treatment.  There was nothing more they could do.  They advised us to take her home and make her comfortable but that she would deteriorate at an unknown pace and eventually need putting to sleep.  

Poorly pup

My husband and I were complete wrecks.  We might not be parents to human babies just yet but our pets are our family and feel like our children.  We brought her home and decided to make sure she enjoyed whatever time she had left.  The first thing we changed was her diet, no more kibble for Zara, oh no.  She dined on steak, black pudding and liver as well as many other fine doggy treats.  We took her on small lead walks and captured a ridiculous amount of photographs.  

It was difficult to remain positive during this time.  Every day I expected the worse.  I couldn't concentrate at work.  I found it difficult to eat and was almost constantly nauseous.  Zara hadn't quite finished shocking us just yet.  The vets in Liverpool had sent her bloodwork to a specialist in America.  When we eventually got the results, everyone was shocked.  They were normal.  

The vets still don't know what or if there's something wrong with Zara's blood but she is currently happy, healthy and as bonkers as ever.  Her swollen blood-filled stomach has completely vanished as her body has reabsorbed the blood.  She looks and acts exactly as she did before the operation.  We're baffled but in a very good way.  

Happy pup

We understand that she might not necessarily be entirely out of the woods yet but we're certainly feeling much more positive than we did a few weeks ago.  We keep counting our blessings.  

I'd like to say a massive THANK YOU to all our friends and family that have really been there for us during this extremely stressful time.  I'm hoping with a bit more stability at home I'll be able to hop back on the 'blog-waggon'.

CB x