The {Trolly Stop}ped the Dogs for a Picture

Hey everybody! I want to share this great idea I saw tonight at the Trolly Stop hot dog restaurant on Franklin Street.

After I ordered my moose-tracks ice cream, I started to walk around and check things out. This was my first time at the Trolly Stop, so naturally I wandered a little. They had great posters, quotes, and pictures all over the walls. As I looked up above the ice cream bar, I saw a huge collage of pictures; at first I thought they were just pictures of people who had stopped in to get a hot dog. Being a kind of short person, I guess I missed the sign that said "You and Your Dog" haha. All the people in the Polaroid pictures had their dogs with them and had stopped for a picture. Each person wrote the dog's name and date of the visit on the picture. It was really interesting to see the dogs and all of the creative names people come up with for their pups. Crowd favorite: Wolf Gang. I'll assume no connection to NC State! I look forward to seeing how this wall of fame expands in the coming years.

Like Sutton's Drug Store, one of my favorite places in Chapel Hill, Trolly Stop made a great display of their loyal customers through pictures on the walls. In both restaurants, the pictures make you feel welcome and feel that the place really cares about its customers... at least that's how I felt! Nice work guys. Hopefully some of those pups got a hot dog out of the photo op! TBD on whether pups can eat hot dogs... I'm no veterinarian here.

For my own collection of all the Dogs of Chapel Hill I've encountered, be sure to follow @dogsofchapelhill on Instagram!

Until next time,

Lily

The Art of Meeting People

As many of you know, I love meeting people (and dogs). I want to share some of my thoughts with you about meeting people and how dogs can help.

"Guys with dogs get girls" is a line we all laugh about, but I've found it to be pretty true. A better way of phrasing that is probably "people with dogs get more love from strangers." If only we treated everyone as if they had a chunky little 6-week-old puppy! 

I accredit this funny truth to people's love for dogs, our need for an "ice breaker" to talk to new people, and how dogs make people more approachable. Maybe it's just me, being such a dog person and all, but I don't think I'm the only one! I'll stop and talk to anyone with a dog. Especially in the recent months being the Dogs of CH blogger, I seem to notice people with dogs right away. I'll smile and look at the dog and if the person looks like they have time, I'll ask what his name is and how old he is. However, the conversation doesn't usually go past talking about the dog. Funny how that happens. I guess that's the icebreaker aspect of it all. However, if I were actually looking to take the conversation further, I'm sure that'd be more possible after talking and learning about the person's best friend. One thing is, people LOVE to talk about their dogs, so that's a great conversation starter anyway. The second thing is, most people aren't annoyed by people who like their dog- it makes the person feel loved too!

So why not ask questions and meet new people along the way? People are interesting! Many times, it's the strangers you really learn things from. The ones who you stop and talk to on your walk. The ones who you give a compliment to in the dressing room ("Wow, that looks beautiful on you. You should definitely buy that.") The ones who see you in Trader Joe's pondering over whether or not to get the salted dark chocolate almonds and tell you to go for it because you deserve it today. These aren't necessarily the people you'll pick out of a crowd in 20 years, but you'll remember the compliment or the conversation because it made some mark on you and on your life in some way. All in all, it comes down to making people feel good. That's what I've decided. So it's true, people with dogs get more love from strangers. They are more approachable because the dog is an instant conversation starter! By asking about the person's dog, you're asking about something he/she really cares about... so why wouldn't that start a meaningful conversation? 

Be bold and meet new people. Make people feel good. Dogs make meeting people simple, but striking up a conversation with another kind of compliment is probably just as effective. Spread kindness and be nice to people. Being nice can go a loooong way. You don't know what to expect from people, but it's probably worth the conversation anyway. So talk to strangers every once in a while. You don't need a dog there to break the ice. They help, but are not necessary! Even if you don't get anything out of the interaction, something you say might change the other person's life. You never know if that guy at the bar with the cute dog might be the one, right? That's the art of meeting people. 

Until next time,

Lily

Mindful or Mind Full? Be Like Your Dog.

Hello everyone! I saw this picture on Instagram last night and wanted to share it with all of you. We've talked a lot about mindfulness in the Branding of Me this semester, so this post quickly caught my attention. The caption was "Why your dog is happier than you." This is an interesting concept to think about and the illustration above describes mindfulness in such a simple but meaningful way.

As you can see, the human is walking along with a million things running through his head. Meanwhile, the dog is being present, thinking only of what's in front of him. The dog is appreciating the trees and the sun that lie in front of him, while those are not even in the human's thought bubble. Practicing mindfulness is about being like the dog in this image. It's about being present in your life and in the current moment, being aware of your surroundings, and appreciating what's in front of you right now. 

As I complete my final semester at Carolina, I'm realizing the importance of this very concept. We beat Duke on Saturday, today the sky is blue, I'm healthy, happy, and I'm at Carolina!! It is truly a great time to be alive (S/O Emory). Sure, I could be down on myself thinking of all the "coulda/shoulda/woulda" moments of college, how soon my friends and I will no longer live within a mile of each other, and how soon YoPo won't be quite as close to home. However, I'm trying to be mindful here! It's "midterm week", yeah yeah. But Spring Break is next week! Exciting things are happening and there are so many great things to look forward to. As my mom told me this morning, "Everyone says that these are the best 4 years of your life. They are partially right, but these are really only 4 years of all the great years in your life." Thanks for some perspective Mom. Moms really do know their stuff, don't they?

So from here on out, I'll go with the cliche motto of "Don't be sad that it's over, be glad that it happened." And the greatest part is.... it's not over yet!!! Cheers to the many happy college moments and other happy times to come. Let's be mindful instead of mind full. Be like the dog. Have a happy day because it's ALWAYS a great day to be a Tar Heel.

Until next time,

Lily

**If anyone knows the original artist, please let me know so that I can credit them.**

Sonoma

Sonoma and Amanda

You may be thinking "Williams-Sonoma", "Sonoma wine country", "Sonoma County"... but what(who) I'm going to tell you about is Sonoma Schroeder. A sweet 9-year-old family dog and a mighty fine resident and Dog of Chapel Hill. A "mini" golden doodle (mini poodle + golden retriever) from Liberty Pines Doodles. I promise I'm not (too) biased folks, this really is a coincidental pattern of blog posts about golden doodles. Anyway... I met Sonoma through her sister Amanda and loved her from the start. As an older dog, she has a lot of personality and clearly a lot of love for her family. We had our interview at Merritt's - the home of an incredible BLT and one of my very favorite local spots in Chapel Hill. If you haven't been there, go ASAP. It's not going anywhere, but it will make your life instantly better with that first overwhelming whiff of bacon when you walk through the door. 

We sat outside on a beautiful Sunday afternoon as Sonoma very diligently sniffed for bacon scraps under every table. She was friendly to all the BLT eaters and the other dogs walking by. She'd wander off on her long leash and we'd have to reel her back from greeting the people sitting at the table next to us.. A people person, really. She loves to have her time with her family and spends an hour or so before bedtime most nights resting in the human bed with her family. She's not so fond of other people being on her dog bed though... a little territorial in that way. Somoma also loves other dogs and tries to act tough around them, but she usually gives in and rolls over on her back when playing with little dogs. I think that's one of the many things that witness to her sweet sensitivity. She gives kisses on command and even licks away the tears when you cry. That may be for the love of the salty taste too, but we'll give her the benefit of the doubt and credit her sensitivity instead.

As for the other things that make Sonoma's life full and happy, she loves a good kong with peanut butter in it - ATTN. dog owners: these are great when frozen! For recipes to make for a kong and make your puppy extra happy, go here. 

Sonoma also enjoys being at the beach, but has never quite grown to like the waves. She doesn't much like stairs either in her older years, possibly because of her eyesight and trouble with depth perception. But get this girl an elevator and she's good to go! Who needs stairs anyway, right?

Throughout her nine years, Sonoma has certainly mellowed out and learned to appreciate the calm parts of being a dog. Her puppy times creep back in every now and then and she has certainly not lost her spunk, but she enjoys a good day of napping too. Who doesn't though? She's "tolerant" of cuddles and loves to show her family that she loves them. Especially her mama who keeps an eye out for her during the day and night. For her family and everyone she meets, she makes them happy and takes away any and all bad feelings. At the end of the day, that's what we all need. We should all be like this sweet Sonoma.

A huge thank you to Amanda for telling me her story and for sharing her puppy time with me! Thank you also to all of you who tune in and show love for the Dogs of Chapel Hill. If any of you know any Tar Heel pups, please let me know! I'd love to meet them and have them on the blog. Have a lovely start to your week! 

Until next time,
Lily