Renaissance Aveda Spaaaaah and Salon in the Hotel Monaco

the life of a dog seems easy and sweet,

a nap here, a nap there, a trick and a treat.

but oh, don't you know there's work to be done!

it's not all just relaxing in the afternoon sun!  

there are squirrels and birds that need to be chased,

and big mean old dogs that must sometimes be faced.

a walk in the park is a workout for me,

my legs are quite tiny, so i make up with speed.

so sometimes my muscles get tired and sore,

and those times there's nothing that i adore more,

than strolling downtown to hotel monaco,

and the aveda salon where the beautiful go!

it's owned by our friend, the sweetest sweet, carrie,

and jessica works there, AND lisa, so merry!

the hotel monaco loves everyone's pets,

and the renaissance spa and salon always gets,

people just strolling around with their dogs,

and they're nice and they're cool and give water for jogs!

i can walk in the spa and say hi to my friends,

and if lisa's not busy, she'll massage my sore ends!

and my middle, of course, my round little tummy,

that gets hungry for treats, and they have 'em, so yummy!

so if you're coming to denver and can't leave your pet,

come to the hotel monaco and and at the spa you will get,

the best beauty treatments in all of downtown,

my friends are the BEST of the best, hands (paws) down!

renaissance aveda spa and salon gets two HUGE paws up!  go there and visit our friends!  the best facials, massages, and salon services in town!  

Dazbog for Da Dog!

i like the smell of coffee.  i do.  whenever my mom makes some at the house, i like to sit in the kitchen and just sniff away.  she won't give me any, of course, but if i hop up and give her a smooch on the lips right after she takes a sip, i can get a little taste!  aha!  well, of course we run out of coffee all the time, so when that happens, we walk over to our wonderful coffee shop down the street- dazbog.  

dazbog is on 12th and clayton and has an awesome tree-covered patio.  there are always dogs there, so i don't mind being tied up out front!  my mom can see me from the counter, so that's good, too.  she says the coffee is amazing and, of course, everyone there is really nice.  and cute! they have fruit and yogurt, too, which i love.  it's a great place for me and my mom to hang out and work because they have wi-fi, and the people watching ain't so bad, either.  :)

dazbog gets two big (and wired!) paws up!   see ya' there!

My Mama Loves Pappa's!

my mom is a whole foods freak.  she loves it, buys almost all of our groceries there.  the only bad thing about it is there's no place within eyeshot for me to be tied up. they seem really nice, they even have a sign on the patio that says to let them know your doggy is outside and they will bring a treat, but my mom is too much of a freak to let me out of her sight.  anyway...

fortunately, we have a sweet family-owned little grocery store right down the street!  pappa's is on 12th, just east of elizabeth, and the people who work there are THE nicest!  we started going in there when we could run out eggs, but they have a lot of great staples and some fun deli food! they also have a great variety of cold beverages, which we plan on taking advantage of this summer.  AND they even have a post office in the back! bonus!

but the best thing about pappa's is that there is a place to tie me up right by the front door.   after my mom walks in, i sometimes start to get a little nervous, and whomever is working the front counter always catches my eye and makes me feel better.   it's a small place so mom can get in and out really quickly, and always feels safe about leaving me outside.  

we love our little grocery store and give it two paws up!  

It's Greek for Me!

my mom and i live close to the strip of shops and restaurants on 12th avenue, just a couple blocks east of york, and my new favorite place is chef zorba's greek restaurant!   yummmmm!

they have a patio, of course, so we can sit outside and have breakfast or a glass of wine and appetizers in the afternoon.   i love the waitresses there, they are always so nice!  and they are always really, really busy and running around like crazy.   it's a great neighborhood place; it seems like "cheers" sometimes.  we haven't been there enough for them to know our names, although you'd think they'd remember ME!  ;)   when we're getting take out, my mom ties me up right by the door since i can't walk in.  she won't leave me just anywhere, she has to feel safe and be able to see me from wherever she is.  there are always people on the patio, so i have someone to talk to while she's paying.  sometimes people stop and pet me and tell me i look just like a lamb.   i really need to learn how to baaaaaah...!

for having some of my favorite food to beg for (lamb kabobs!  yum!) and for being so convenient, i give chef zorba's two paws up!  

I'm Not Vegan, But I LOVE Ahimsa Footwear!

ahimsa footwear is one of those cute places you see when you're speeding down park (bark?!) avenue, and think "i should really check that out".  it's in a sweet little house, and, because it has only vegan products, it's intriguing! even though i enjoy chomping on some beef every once in a while, i have to respect their philosophy to do no harm to animals! 

well, when my mom and i were walking downtown yesterday, we happened past and decided to check it out.   my mom peeked in the door and informed the man behind the counter that she had a dog and asked if it was okay, and he said "of course!".   we liked it already!  

my mom commented that she had never seen me so comfortable in a retail store, and i guess that was true!  the nice man's name is phil, and he gave me a treat (vegan, of course... and delicious!) right away, so, of course i loved him!  he was also just very sweet.  my mom was drooling over a rust-colored tote bag that was made of glazed fabric, so i will have to keep that in mind for her upcoming birthday.  they had lots of really cute bags and belts and shoes that i would love to chew on!  i have a feeling that we'll return when we're in a position to carry a bunch of things home.  it's actually close to where we live, so...  we'll be baaaaaaaaaaack!

we think phil's wife owns the store and we will be excited to meet her, too!  i give ahimsa footwear two paws up!! gotta love that they respect animals so much!  and our friend, phil, is awesome!!!

I'm Always Jonesin' for Jonesy's!

we've been hearing about jonesy's for quite a while- a friend of my mom's works there- and we kept seeing it while we were driving past to go to wahoo's fish tacos (because it's really hard to NOT go to wahoo's!).  well, we finally decided to make it a destination last monday, and we are SO glad we did!   

first of all, they have a really cute little patio where i can hang out.  it's on the logan side of the building, so it's good for people watching- and for me to sit and get attention from passersby! hellllllooooooo!  there's a community doggy water bowl- which i don't usually get to drink from because my mom thinks the water is always too dirty- but this one was filled with cold, fresh water. that was a good sign!  the waitress who came out to greet us was SO nice and verrrrrrry welcoming!  we were there with aunt tonja and clary, so she had a dog AND a kid to deal with, and she was just delightful!  she looked all of us directly in the eye when speaking to us (including me and clary) and always made sure that each of us had everything we needed.  tonja and mom were impressed with the compact wine list as well as the menu.  they ordered truffle fries right off the bat and... well... i don't think i've had (i.e. begged for) anything more delicious! my mom gave me one because i was so curious, but it was so good that i couldn't help myself from barking for more!  i got one or two more, but that was all i could scam.  so i just relaxed and hung out on the sidewalk while everyone ELSE ate truffle fries. and lamb sliders.  and thai beef salad. i didn't think that was so fair, but... what can i do?!   it's a dog's life!

welllllll, right after the food arrived, so did the rain! torrential, scary rain, complete with lightning and thunder!  we had to race inside for a little bit, because we weren't quite finished, and were able to walk right in. our wonderful waitress took care of moving everything and the manager made sure we could be accommodated in the booth right next to the door.  i was glad i didn't have to sit outside in the pouring rain while everyone else finished up, so i was careful to stay put.   i might have begged a little bit, but i'm not really admitting anything... !!

i give jonesy's two HUGE paws up!  my mom and i have never felt more welcomed anywhere in denver!  thanks to jonesy's and their amazing staff!  if they could make a doggy version of truffle fries... aaaaaaaaahhhhh!  that would be SO great!!!  i'll keep my paws crossed...!