everything pets + a tiny human
Hello February. February is the official month of love and with everything that is going on in our world right now, let’s show a little extra love to others. I know I will be hugging my babies a little extra this month…
Download your February calendar here
Thank you for reading
by 
It’s the month of love and the ever so handsome Mr Duke would like to send bunny smooches to all the beautiful ladies out there!
Much love
xoxox
Download your February calendar here
Thank you for reading
by How do you say goodbye to your best friend? I still don’t know even after losing you.
You were my best friend and at times my only friend! We were together for almost fifteen years, and I would say the most important fifteen years of life. I was sixteen years old and trying to find my way, you gave me purpose and responsibility.
This tiny bundle of excess skin, ears and paws came into my life and it was without a doubt love at first sight. I was literally obsessed with you. I guess I felt like a new mum does after giving birth to her child, I was proud of you, showing you off at every chance I got and one hundred percent devoted to you.
The cuddles we shared were endless and of course the best. No ones cuddles can compare to your cuddles my boy. You wanted to be on top of me all the time, at the very least right beside me. Nicknamed my cuddle bug for a very good reason, we would snuggle under the duvet for hours. In those moments my heart was completely at peace. As you got older your cuddling intensified, as if that was possible. Spoilt with an Egyptian cotton duvet set because quite frankly I wouldn’t have it any other way! The way your tail would wag when you were dreaming made my heart burst with happiness. I always hoped you were dreaming of me 🙂
Our time in South Africa, and most of your life, we enjoyed quite a few beach holidays together. Those holidays were my absolute favourite ones. You even managed to escape out the gate of my grandmothers house and I spent two hours looking for you in the pouring rain sobbing my heart out, convinced you were gone and a cane rat had eaten you! Listening with your ears was never your strong point so luckily I found you, harnessed you up and took you home. Phew!
You loved our holidays at the beach, well the beach sand in particular. Digging trenches for days and managing to get yourself totally covered from snout to tail. It was all such fun.
When your dad came into our lives thirteen years ago, you were not sold on the idea of having to share me. In fact I don’t think you ever were, haha! You were convinced I could only cuddle you and give only you my undivided attention. Of course I was on your side and it was definitely a ‘Love Me Love My Dog’ kinda situation… Luckily that didn’t put dad off at all. I think it made him love you even more because he knew you would protect me no matter what. It showed your loyalty towards me.
Then it was time for our Zambian adventure to commence. With you by my side I knew I could handle anything. Our flight to Zambia was the longest two hours of my whole life. I was a nervous wreck. So many thoughts were running through my mind. Were you scared, were you warm enough, was it too loud for you. We landed, I rushed through customs, collected our baggage, gave dad a half hearted hug and kiss and immediately said “We need to get Oscar NOW”. Bearing in mind it was about forty degrees celsius outside and now I was worried you would overheat or dehydrate. Dad firmly told me to wait in the car while he goes inside, he didn’t want me to get upset if I saw something I wasn’t happy with. Dad came rushing out the cargo hold to call me, I bounced out the car because I thought something was wrong… I peered into the hold and saw the most gorgeous boy sitting so proper and so calm in his specially made flight crate. A wave of massive relief and happiness flooded over me. My boy was totally fine. He handled that plane trip like a champ! Our new adventure had just begun…
You were never the ‘fetch’ kind of pup and as a result your toys just piled up until your toy boxes were overflowing. Enter Zara… All your toys were gone within a few weeks! I was a little apprehensive about getting Zara because we had been kicked out of two different doggy schools for your apparent aggression towards any other dog in your need to protect me. Ooops…
Needless to say, you were a fantastic big brother to Zara. You don’t show your emotions like Zara does, but in your own way you adored her and she knew it. You taught her so much, how to eat like a lady, how to model like a beauty queen and most importantly how to cuddle.
You were an amazing big brother to our bunny babies too. So kind and gentle towards them. You taught Zara gentleness too. She watched how you loved your bunny babies and copied you.
To say that I miss you is a serious understatement. In fact there are no words to describe the feeling of loss that I have. I wake up every morning and see your empty bed, and the pain in my heart from the day before returns. At night I still make your bed in the exact way you loved it. I don’t think I will ever stop making your bed. Zara sniffs your bedding, does some twirls and then settles down for a while before going off to her own bed. She misses you too.
Stylish Paws and everything about it was created because of you. It started off as just a small website selling one item, now I have a beautiful online store that showcases stylish and unique pet goodies plus this amazing blog. I am so proud of Stylish Paws and what I have made it into, but it’s all because of you my boy! You will always be the face of Stylish Paws. I will never stop sharing you with the world. I will push through the pain and promise to keep moving forward. Product reviews and photoshoots will never be the same without you but I promise to showcase Zara in the best way I know how. I promise to carry on for you.
The love and support I have received from the amazing Instagram community that I find myself in has been overwhelming. I continue to get messages asking how we as a family are coping, genuine messages of love and concern for us. Instagram is a wonderful thing, I have made some beautiful friendships thorough the app. It was the place I started sharing Oscar first. The place where people started falling in love with him, people from all over the world. I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
Life goes on and for the time being we are adjusting and learning how to do life without Oscar. It’s tough, extremely tough. I have only known life in Zambia with Oscar. We started this adventure together, now I have to carry it on. Zara has brought immense joy into our family and I do believe that she has helped me with this huge loss. I thank my husband for her. I thank him for having the foresight of knowing and understanding I would need her to get through this.
Oscar, I will never stop loving you.
Until we meet again…
Love always
Mom
xoxox
Welcome to June.
This month features the suer cute Amigos: Peaches, Duke and Charlotte.
Enjoy.
Download the June calendar here
Thank you for reading
Oh how I love Valentine’s Day. You either love it or hate it. Why hate it when it’s the day of love? Those that hate it say “why should I show you how much I love you on just one day”. Easter is one day, Christmas is one day and your birthday is one day, so what’s the difference?
It’s important to show the ones you love just how much you love them all the time, agreed not just on February 14th. But just go with it, enjoy the cliche of small white teddy bears holding red hearts, yummy indulgent chocolates and champagne, and long stem roses that cost an arm and a leg just because it’s Valentine’s Day.
Oscar and Zara know exactly how much they are loved. I tell them everyday basically all day that I love them and I know they understand every word!
Zara is not shy to show me how much she loves me back. Each and every morning she brings me a present. These presents are her toys, her most prized possessions of course, she chooses just one and that’s the gift of the day. This is such a special thing we have going, I wake up every morning wondering which toy i’ll get gifted with. I never taught her this at all, she one day started doing it and it’s now a ritual. Zara is also the queen of kisses. She pins me down (because yes she is stronger than me) and attacks me with her tongue! The love that Zara has is like nothing I have ever experienced, it’s so over the top and just so Zara.
Oscar on the other hand is a little more reserved in his expressions of love. His way of telling me he loves me is by never leaving my side. And I mean never! He follows me all over the house no matter what. I try get up and sneak out the room if he is snoozing (I don’t like disturbing his sleeps) but that nose of his picks up a scent that says “mom has left the room”. He is up like a rocket and finds me in three-seconds flat. He is by far the most loyal steed I have ever encountered. He is one hundred percent devoted to protecting me.
So naturally this Valentine’s Day I have made them some yummy bright red heart-shaped treats to devour….
Valentine’s Day Treats
Ingredients
2 cups beetroot puree
2-3 cups flour
2 tbs coconut oil
1 egg
Directions
Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees. In a mixing bowl mix together your beetroot puree, coconut oil and egg. Then add your flour one cup at a time until you have a lovely dough. This dough can be slightly soft sticky, as long as you can roll it out it is fine. Gently roll out your dough and using heart shaped cookie cutters cut your treats. Place them on a greased baking tray and bake for +- 30 minutes or until cooked. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool. The bright red colour of these treats is just gorgeous and your pups will LOVE them.
Whatever you decide to do or not do this Valentine’s Day, make sure you let those around you know how much you love and appreciate them. I know I will. <3
Thank you for reading
A very warm welcome to my three musketeers, Charlotte, Duke and Peaches. A month ago we adopted these three gorgeous babies who needed a loving home and a family to call their own. Finally my heart felt strong enough to welcome more fluff balls in after the sudden loss of Valentine and Duchess earlier this year. If anything, these three have reassured me just how much I loved, and still love Valentine and Duchess!
Naming them was a little tricky. When I got Valentine and Duchess, I had wanted a bunny for so many years and knew I would name him Valentine. Duchess just came to me after we found out that he was in-fact a she-haha! These three had me stumped. Until I started to see their personalities come through and as I got to know them they each reminded me of animated movie characters. Charlotte became Charlotte because she is shy but very regal-just like Charlotte from Charlottes Webb. Duke became Duke because he is very pushy and forces attention on himself-just like Duke the dog from The Secret Life of Pets. And Peaches became Peaches because she is a little different from the other two, it took her a while to fit in and become comfortable in her environment-just like Peaches from Ice Age. And that is how my three musketeers were named 🙂
Oscar as usual is great with his babies. All he wants to do is kiss them and slobber on them. They come up to him too and give him a good old sniff then go about their business as usual. Zara is very intrigued by these little fluff balls. She was very young when we had Valentine and Duchess and she just wanted to run after them, which of course was not the way to behave. With these three she is a little older, has been to puppy training so she listens and understands things a whole lot better. She sits and watches them for hours through the glass door that leads into their play room. Her interaction with them is supervised at all times and we are slowly building up what she can and cannot do around them. She is rather funny, when Charlotte, Duke and Peaches come up to her for bunny kisses she freezes like a statue! Does not move a whisker. It is quite funny to watch. I am confident we will get to a stage where Zara will happily lie and watch over these three as they run up and down the passage and explore the house just like Valentine and Duchess did. It’s a learning process for us all but so far her progress is unbelievable and I am immensely proud of her!
All in all life with three baby bunnies is amazing. They trash their room every single night, which I believe is their way of showing me just how much they appreciate all the hay, treats and toys they get. I get special bunny kisses all the time, and recently Duke and Peaches have taken to the idea of having power naps in my lap. It is just the best!! I am loving being a bunny mom again…
Thanks for reading.
Happy November everyone. I cannot believe that year end is almost upon us… Make this November one to remember!
Click here to download your November calendar
Thank you for reading
Wow, where has an entire year gone? I have no clue, but what I do know is that my baby girl is not such a baby girl any more. Happy 1st birthday to Zara! From the moment she waltzed through our front door, she knew and we knew that she was home. She casually made herself comfy in Oscar’s teepee as if she had been here before. Of course Oscar was not sure what to think of this new fluff ball who had decidedly taken over.
Zara has grown into the most lovable, caring, loyal and beautiful girl in the world. Right from the beginning she just fitted into our family life, adjusted to how things worked without so much as a whimper. She never cried at night or messed in the house. We were the ones who woke her up for midnight toilet breaks. Her larger than life personality has made this year full of fun with lots of laughter.
I will admit, I needed some convincing that a Rottie would be the perfect addition to our family… Oscar is my very first pooch and it has always been just him, so forgive me if I had his best interests at heart here. After doing extensive research, I kind of got a sense for what we would be in for and agreed. After all I am a firm believer in the way you raise a puppy will affect their behaviour as an adult-much like raising a child.
I am not sure the research really did prepare me for Zara (haha) but I will say I am 100% a Rottie mom and totally fallen in love with the Rottie breed. She is quite frankly a dinosaur who eats us out of house and home, has mad half hours and trashes the living room and bedrooms, who takes toys out her toy box and leaves them all over the place, runs around at 7am squeaking her favourite snake toy, steals socks at any moment she can, brings me rocks as surprise presents and completely takes over our bed at night, but you know what… I wouldn’t have it any other way!
She has brought out the playful side in Oscar again and the two of them have their own unique way of playing together. She understands that he is older and he has boundaries and when he says enough she happily leaves him and comes to play wth us instead. She adores her brother and constantly sneaks licks and kisses on the top of his head. She watches him ever so patiently while he eats his breakfast and dinner to see if he has left her any scraps to nibble on. She watches him snore with great curiosity and tries to sneak in a cuddle or two every now and then.
She greets us in the mornings like she hasn’t seen us in years with a smile from ear to ear and loads of kisses and cuddles. She has the cutest morning tradition where she runs to her toy box and brings me her toy of choice as a gift, a wake up gift. Returning home after being out for a few hours is like pandemonium! Her excitement is off the charts with cries that resemble a hyena. Of course she sniffs around to see if there are gifts and usually there are-yes they are spoiled 🙂 Now returning home from a holiday is pandemonium times a hundred… She honestly gets so excited she does not know what to do with herself. She has a hard time choosing who to get cuddles from first, myself or dad. It’s a tough choice for such a loyal pup. When we get back from holidays both Zara and Oscar do not leave our sides for hours. Literally following our every move, making sure we don’t suddenly disappear again.
So today we celebrate Zara’s first birthday and no birthday would be complete without presents and cake! So here is the recipe for Zara’s birthday cake:
Cake
Ingredients
3 ripe bananas-mashed
4 tbs honey
1 egg
2 cups water
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup oats
1 cup peanut butter
1tbs coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla essence
Directions
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees. Mix together all the wet ingredients until properly combined. Then add in the oats, baking powder and flour and mix all together. I used a hand beater to make it easier and quicker. Once everything is mixed properly pour the cake batter into a greased cake tin and bake for 30-40 minutes or until cooked through. Once cooked leave the cake to cool completely before decorating.
tip: if you have any left over cake after the celebrations, cut it into slices and put them in tubs and freeze for a yummy frozen treat for your pooches!
Frosting
Plain yoghurt
Peanut butter
For the frosting beat together equal parts of yoghurt and peanut butter. If the frosting seems a little thick/stiff then add more yoghurt until you are satisfied with the consistency. Once your cake has cooled completely go ahead and frost your cake.
tip: if you have any frosting left over, simply scrape it into silicone moulds (I used heart shaped ice trays) and freeze. Then pop them out and store them in an airtight container in the freezer for yummy frozen treats for your pups. Oscar and Zara LOVE these!!
Treats
Ingredients
3 ripe bananas-mashed
1 egg
1 tbs coconut oil
2 tbs natural peanut butter
2 cups flour
Directions
Pre-heat your over to 180 degrees. Mix together the mashed banana, egg, coconut oil and peanut butter until all combined. Then add in the flour one cup at a time until you have the perfect dough consistency. Lightly flour your surface and roll the dough out, using fun cookie cutters cut out the treats which will decorate your pups birthday cake. Place them onto greased baking trays and bake for +-20 minutes or until golden brown. Leave them to cool completely before decorating your cake with them. Any extras can be out in an airtight container and stored in a cool dry place or pop them in the freezer for another day.
Presents
Zara has come to LOVE getting presents and new things. Her new toy becomes the favourite of the week, almost as if to show just how much she appreciates it. For her first birthday we decided to get her some water toys. She is such a water pup and loves swimming and playing in the sprinklers. We thought her own doggy sprinkler would be a great idea as well as a doggy water fountain, some toys to play in the pool with and some treats and chews too.
I am so grateful to have both Zara and Oscar in my life. Without them I would honestly be lost. My days revolve around them, cuddles, baking treats, playing games and going for walks. They mean the world to me and today we celebrate Zara’s first year in my world. Happy birthday my baby girl-Yes you will always be my baby girl!
Follow us on Instagram where we are hosting #zarasbirthdaysafari party. Everyone is invited and anyone can join! Watch our Instagram story to see all the fun we are having celebrating this wonderful day.
Thank you for reading.
On 24 May 2017, our family suddenly changed. We lost our two beautiful bunnies. The heartache is unreal and I miss them beyond words! It’s a pain I don’t wish upon my worst enemy.
“Whoever said it’s just a bunny, has never loved a bunny” Valentine and Duchess meant the world to all of us.
I remember bringing these two fluff balls home and introducing them to Oscar. It was love at first sight from both sides. I never taught Oscar how to behave with them, he just knew. He knew to be gentle, he knew not to chase them. We would spend hours in the garden together just relaxing, watching Valentine and Duchess get more confident and explore different parts of the garden. Oscar would just lie there watching over them like the protective big brother. They would run around inside, binky up the passage and take cover under the bed for much needed naps. I very quickly learnt their personalities… Valentine was very shy, but he loved showing me how much he loved me by binkying all the time and enjoying my tickles. Duchess lived up to her name, she was ever so lady like in her ways. She ate like a lady, hopped like a lady, and slept like a lady. When she showed me a binky I knew my two fluffs couldn’t be happier. Zara was still getting used to the idea of these two fluff balls hopping around. She would just lie and stare at them through the window of their play room. They of course were not intimidated by her size and would pretty much just sniff her and hop on by.
The worst part of having fluffy family members is by far the day they leave you. Losing Valentine and Duchess was such a shock, it happened so quickly! Our vet tried absolutely everything she could to save them. For now I have left their play room exactly as it was the morning we rushed them to Dr Sally. They had the best time running through their tunnels, playing in their ball pit and relaxing in their castle. I will never be able to replace my Valentine and Duchess and I would never want to but I do know that I can give two more bunnies an amazing life, and I will when the time is right and I feel content enough with making that decision.
I have the most beautiful memories of Valentine and Duchess which I will treasure forever and ever. I have thousands of photo’s and videos which I have gone through over and over, laughing and crying at the same time. My heart is hurting and I know it’s ok for it to hurt but I am at peace knowing they are free and not in any pain.
Binky free my sweet loves. I will never stop loving you, ever!
Thank you for reading.
Can you believe it is the 6th month of the year already… I can’t!! We hope your month of June is filled with love and happiness.
Download your June calendar here
Thank you for reading.
