FURBO Dog Camera Review…Ramble

It was a Friday afternoon in June, when I came home to find my flat in London had been burgled. Elle, my beloved French bulldog, had been home alone. I had bolted the two locks on my door, which was kicked so hard, the doorframe was violently broken. Neighbors were home and did nothing. Police, carpenters, etc. all told me and showed me how the front door lock was worthless and could be opened with a plastic bottle in two seconds.

Elle was shaking. Adrenalin and calm took over as the appropriate calls were made. Elle has over 16K Instagram followers. She gets email offers on a regular basis. I had been offered several dog cameras which didn’t work out for various reasons. Then, FURBO  reached out post burglary. I was very interested and wanted to spread the joy of community and gift others, so we agreed to a giveaway as well.

For me, FURBO Dog Camera is a Godsend. Even leaving the flat for a ten minute walk without Elle started to weigh on me as even the excellent police recommended lock and London bar (a reinforced bar that goes around the lock, under the doorframe to prevent break-ins) didn’t outweigh the stabbings that started happening in West London- one happened on our block four days prior to us moving. We lived across from the Kensington-Olympia Overground and it turns out any train station will attract a variety of violent people.

The greatest thing about FURBO is not only being able to check-in on Elle when I’m not there, or toss her treats if I’m running late, it’s the alert reminders like “Your dog just took a selfie,” or “Human activity detected, do you want to see who it is?”

As a New Yorker, who is a lot more mild in my approach after living in London, imagine what I would have said if I had the FURBO there and see the human activity alert? I certainly would have run back home as I was a mile away and only gone for under two hours doing a client presentation.

SET-UP: Download the app. Plug in the FURBO. It connects over WiFi and then an update automatically begins. I’ve set it up twice and it never needs the full 3-5 minutes they ask you to wait for set-up.

When you open the app, you can observe, take photos or video, toss a treat and talk to your pet. There’s actually two way talking so imagine this scenario:

ME: GET OUT OF MY FLAT. I’m two minutes away with a Policeman.

BURGLAR: F U #$%#%#$%@. 

Grabs all handbags & stuffs jewelry in pockets, runs out of flat. 

All I cared about was that Elle was alive and uninjured. She was shaking and did get a doggy calming pill that is normally for airplane travel, and even then, almost never necessary. If I had been able to talk to her on the way home, it would have been more calming for her.

If you have a sick dog, this allows you to stalk them, or a colleague that loves dogs and needs a stress break by watching your dog snooze, I highly recommend this, especially if you work long hours. You don’t have to use the treat functionality, sometimes Elle wouldn’t eat the treats until I arrive home. Me talking to her is a bit confusing, so I don’t do that as much as I used to in London.

Elle will take the treats in New York. I’m happy I can check in on her from around the block and get update notifications. FURBO Dog Camera also worked for me in two different countries and cities. It has night vision, so I don’t have to leave all the lights on for Elle. The wide angle lens captures a lot, so clean up your space before you let those co-workers watch your furbaby.

Overall I would say this is totally worth it. You can find one on Amazon Prime.

 

 

 

The Real Fashion Bitches…Ramble

Our favorite canine fashionista, Mrs. Sizzle asked for Elle to come to Lincoln Center for a Fashion Week this past Saturday. As soon as we arrived it was a whirlwind of activity and visual adventures in every direction.

Wh

Mrs. Sizzle has partnered with Swatch for a new line called Me and My Pet. See the Frenchie-faced watch I am showing Elle in the photos? Maybe it’s time to start wearing a watch again, instead of relying on my smartphone for the time.

From Hound & Tooth – a new fashion law of adorable socks for dogs, to Andy Duran and his blonde pomp, to Ruby Fang and Fashionsta Beca Alexander, Elle loved being in the spotlight. We even met a nice teenager walking away from Lincoln Center.

However, as the temperatures dropped, our excitement turned to disappointment. While waiting in a long queue outside Marc Jacob’s BookMarc, Elle started to shake. Despite a 6 p.m. kick-off for a charity event with Love Magazine, the line did not move for two hours. That was, until the arrival at 7 p.m. of Kendal Jenner. I am here nor there with Kendal, but I really wanted Elle to meet Marc’s dogs- Choo Choo Charlie and Neville Jacobs. It was a bummer to realize the non-moving queue was orchestrated to create maximum buzz around Kendal and Gigi Hamad switching places while hundreds of people froze for several hours in a line that wrapped around the block.

Once Elle started to shake we left. Fashion is a wonderful source of inspiration and fun, but Elle’s health comes first. Once I started walking, I realized my toes were numb. Thankfully there was no frostbite, but we still felt the ice.

Brand of the Week: Warby Parker…Ramble

Brands are a part of our lives. I enjoy exploring new brands, which pop up almost on an hourly basis, so I decided to take that inspiration and start this feature.

A few weeks ago I was watching a friend’s foster (now officially adopted!) dog while she was out of town. I had a late night and put my glasses on the coffee table. No sooner had I closed my eyes for a moment, when I heard the crunch. I’ve been wearing glasses since I was five. I knew that crunch was the lens of my all-time favorite glasses (Phillip Lim!) being destroyed.

I used to sell glasses in high school. I know when they are bound for the trash, but against all odds, I took them to my optometrist. I even passed Usher on the way and he smiled at my beloved Elle. I took that as a good sign. Alas, not even the radiant glow of Usher’s smile, could work magic on saving my glasses. Thus, a search began for a new pair of glasses. My prescription was outdated as is my health insurance. (Yes, I hear you all scolding me. Hire me, if you care so much cheeky monkeys!)

I went to the Brooklyn Flea Market. There were some great frames there, but alas, no eye doctor. Lenscrafters wanted more cash than my pricey optometrist for an exam. I was exploring all different options. Then I received the weekly newsletter from GOOP with a very good reminder — Warby Parker! I made an appointment. They do have walk-ins, but you may have to wait a while.

Some cool facts about Warby Parker:
1) The company was started by friends who asked the question: why do glasses cost so much? 2) WP will send you FIVE pairs of frames to try on and you have five days to pop them back in the mail – with or without your prescription.
3) There is a photobooth in the store so you can show off your new specs online. Sharing is caring! It also helps if you are by yourself and want to see how they look on your face or get other opinions.
4) Exams are only $50 bucks. They do not test for contact lenses.
5) For every pair of glasses sold, Warby Parker donates a pair to someone in need!

6) You can have the glasses sent directly to your home (of course, I knew I would need adjustments so I had them sent to the store).

There are some limitations, but keeping the above cool facts in mind, you can easily overlook them:
1) You cannot order tints, but if you have a thick prescription you can still get the ultra thin lenses (as I did).
2) While there is a good selection of cool looking frames, there is a limit. Not every style is going to fit you. The salespeople are there to help!
3) It will take 7-10 days to get your order onto your face. You are a style maverick and glasses are something you wear every day, so what’s the rush?

I went to the store and I’m glad I did. Who doesn’t love a flagship? I had looked at frames obsessively online and thought I knew exactly what would work for me. I even took a bunch of selfies since I am blind without my contact lenses (which I didn’t want to wear to the eye doctor). I have lost a significant amount of weight since the last time I purchased glasses and my face has changed. All the frames I am normally drawn too, were far too large for my face. Luckily, Warby Parker has a really helpful staff.

Dressed in a newsboy cap, suspenders and sweet kicks, the salesman who assisted me at 121 Greene Street, was able to combine my personal taste (bold!) with a frame that would best hold my (horrible) prescription. It was a pair I never would have selected, but in the end I could not be happier. It was thinner than I was used to, however there are a pops of blue I just adore. When I picked them up the other day, I exclaimed with relief “they look good!” as I took another selfie in the store. The customer next to me agreed. Meow, say hello to my new glasses.

 

I even wore them out of the store to dinner at the fabulous Hudson Clearwater and caught the eye of a tall drink of trouble (who was on a date with someone else!) Sorry honey, but guys do make passes at girls wearing Warby Parker glasses!

Thanks to the Warby Parker team for a great experience.

 

 

Partners Ditch Partners…Ramble

Photo orginally on Indianshangout.com

David Arquette and Courtney Cox have announced their separation. Major bummer for little Coco! They did release this statement:

“We have agreed to a trial separation that dates back for some time … We are comfortable with the boundaries that we have established for each other during this separation and we hope that our friends, family, fans and the media also show us respect, dignity, understanding and love at this time as well.”

They’ve always said they were in counseling to keep their marriage alive. It did occur to me how sad the cycle will be for them as Arquette had told People in June:

“It’s nostalgic,” about filming “Scream 4” with Arquette. “We met on ‘Scream 1,’ and on ‘Scream 2’ we were kind of on-and-off dating. And by ‘Scream 3’ we were married. And now on ‘Scream 4’ we have a child. It’s sort of an amazing marker throughout our lives.”

It is sad that now you say “Scream 4” the cycle is final with divorce on the horizon.

Oddly enough, Arquette’s Propr clothing line partner, Ben Harper has also announced he is divorcing his wife of five years, Laura Dern. What’s up with that timing? Best of luck to all parties involved and hope Courtney and David can remain friends as their statement indicates.

p.s.

“Just in” couple split news (this is giving me a Farrah Fawcett-Michael Jackson upstaging death flashback) Christina Aguilera seems to have caught the Urrrrsher separation disease as in ‘baby you are no good for my career & I love it more than you so see ya” and announced a separation from her hubbie Jordan Bratman. What?

The Ultimate Tub…Ramble

There are a lot of designer items out there that seem absurd.

IMHO falling into this category :

a) Gold Toilet Bowl

b) A Lear Jet toilet (you just pull aside a curtain…ick!)

c) Handbags for children that are $3 grand in a recession

but…I saw this shiny, shiny store in Soho the other night and had to wander over to investigate. I was confronted with a bathtub in the shape of a high heel! Too much? Never! hahaha.

Do you have those come in an 8?

5 Questions with tidepooler…Ramble

Celestial

@tidepooler has always been a breath of fresh air and creativity. She is so sweet and easy-going it’s addicting to be around someone so genuine. We worked together at VH1, where she always remained upbeat and willing to work out even the most tedious of problems. One of my favorite things about Celeste is her design aesthetic. She was always putting items together in a truly beautiful way with a smile on her face.

Since our Viacom days Celeste got married and moved to Berlin for a few years and then last year moved to the West Coast. I wanted to check in with her to trace how this has effected to her creative mind.

Location: Berkeley, California

Vocation: Freelance Writer

Sign: Leo

web: http://www.celestesunderland.com

blog: http://www.tidepooler.com

1) How do the design aesthetics differ between Brooklyn, Berlin and California?

These three places mentioned together makes me think of the architecture. Berlin has so much history, which a lot of the architectural design stems from. You’ve got these gorgeous pre-war buildings that survived the bombings, with crown mouldings, wide-planked wooden floors, and beautiful French doors that open out on to little balconies. Some of them still have their old porcelain coal heaters. Then there are the incredible platenbau apartment blocks from the 1960s

Always in-style

that are so fascinating. A couple of my favorites include this one with sliding windows in different tones of green, then there’s one down the street from it with a big rainbow painted across the facade. Brooklyn of course has all those wonderful Brownstones. I love those Victorian marble mantelpieces. In contrast, California seems so new, but also very retro. We had to get a car when we moved out here, so we got a 1983 Mercedes wagon. It just seems to fit the California aesthetic. Plus it runs on biodiesel – very California.

2) What kinds of items are you knitting these days? I think the most amazing thing I’ve seen by you was the green ‘butt warmer.’

That’s a genius item that really should have made me a millionaire. I’ve actually been working on the same scarf for over three years now. You might be imagining some epic 40-foot neck wrapper, but sadly, it’s only now nearing normal scarf length. But my latest craft project is making dolls! I’m having so much fun creating characters named after my six aunts: “Astronaut Patty,”

Marie Antoinette

“Mary Antoinette,” “Cathy Cat,” “Susie Blue Bear,” “Princess Margaret,” and I haven’t decided what the “Laurie” character will be. I’ve been wanting to make something to sell on Etsy for a while now, and am so happy to finally have come up with something. Check out my shop!

3) How does living abroad open you up creatively?

It’s such an amazing experience because everything is foreign. The language, the cultural expressions, the atmosphere… So it’s always exciting. I love that. Berlin is very special in terms of creativity. It’s a vastly international city, filled with tons of artists from all over the world. I really got the sense that you could do whatever you wanted artistically. People are constantly experimenting there. And of course there’s judgement, but at the same time there’s this remarkable sense of freedom. I don’t feel like you have that here in the United States, I guess mostly because it’s extremely difficult financially to pursue your artistic endeavors.

There is art in everything!

4) Your apartment was recently featured on Apartment Therapy which landed you a blogging spot for them. What will be your main focus to write about?

I’ll be writing “Green House Tours” for Re-Nest, Apartment Therapy’s green living site, and I’m super excited about it. I’m looking for beautiful, exquisitely decorated homes, that tie in eco-conscious elements – things like sustainable design, salvaged materials, repurposed spaces, small spaces… I’ve been wanting to break into the home design realm for ages now. One of the reasons why I started my own blog, Tidepooler, was so I could write about the home, in addition to other things that interest me, like weddings! (note: wild applause for @tidepooler!)

I love writing about so many different topics. In a single morning my brain could switch between scientific research, travel , jazz , Germany , and now green homes!

Try not to be set in stone!

5) How will you accommodate your space when your family expands?

We just bought a crib yesterday! Got the “Gulliver” from IKEA. It’s a really nice design and seems

sturdy. It’s still in the box, in a little interior room of our loft apartment, which will be the baby’s room come June. Right now it’s our super-sized walk-in closet, but I’m excited to turn it into a cute nursery. I got a green chenille rug from Target the other day for just ten bucks, and my friend Carly sent me the sweetest Matryoshka doll mobile, which I’ve already hung over the spot where the crib will go. It was a serendipitous gift because I’ve been infatuated with this Matryoshka fabric for a while, and now I think I’m going to have to go ahead and get some. Every baby should have a crib skirt to match her mobile!

Vitra Haus Me…Ramble

It feels like Christmas morning when I see incredible architecture like the Vitra Haus. Living in New York there is such an interesting relationship to space. Sometimes it’s easy to forget the larger world and the vision of fields of spaces with crops and peace. What I love even more is that consumers can come be in awe of this structure and actually go home with their own finds buying Vitra products. Who wants to go on a field trip?

Untwisting the Mind with Helpful Design…Ramble

This beautiful hallway looks like a chic, modern hotel doesn’t it? They even have a chair in case you want to stare at the rug a little while longer and a stag in case you need someone to talk to but don’t use those doors. They don’t work… you open sections of the walls.

Sound a like a practical joke?  It’s actually the hallway of a mental instuition by nendo, you know the creator of the cabbage chair?

While nendo’s design is supposed to soothe and avoid patients starting from a negative space- a closed door, I’m wondering what this would be like in person. A door that never opens is a little bit of a mind bending isn’t it?  How is this really going to help people who want to get back to feeling part of life? Might I suggest spending a litle time with the Japanese thereupeutic robot  Paro? I find him a little more soothing and he’s portable.