fridays with oscar

it’s fridays with oscar, but oscar is taking a raincheck from his weekly gig. you see, the falcons are playing in the super bowl this sunday, y’all. so guess who’s getting his game face on? ok, in all honesty, i’m the one prepping for the game this week. who doesn’t like a dip (or two) come super bowl sunday? but whenever i’m whipping something up in the kitchen oscar is my faithful companion to the end. there’s always a chance a few crumbs find their way to the floor. and don’t worry, i’m sharing a family favorite at the end of this post.

today, i thought you might enjoy some photos of oscar when he was just a pup. from the beginning, oscar tagged along on our photo shoots. and mr. style would snap a few pics for a record of his puppy days.

two years ago, almost to the day, we floated the first photo of oscar on instagram. as you can imagine, he was an instant hit. this is the very first photo of oscar to go live.

labels: denim Ann Taylor; sweater Banana Republic; cardigan LOFT (similar here)

the following week oscar didn’t make an appearance on instagram. readers immediately asked where that cute german shepherd puppy was. the rest is history. here we are on one of our daily walks in san francisco.

for those of you new to the blog, here’s a little backstory as to how oscar joined our family. but first, i have to backtrack to the days when buster was top dog in our lives. here’s a photo of our english bulldog, buster.

buster was born with a congenital heart disease (the very same one mr. style lives with) and we knew from the beginning his life might be cut short at any time. well, he made it to age 6. one day when he was on a walk with mr. style he looked up at my husband then lay down on the sidewalk as if to say he couldn’t muster the strength to take another step. mr. style scooped buster in his arms and ran the rest of the way to our apartment. i’ve always been thankful i was home that october afternoon as i could say my goodbye to our noble bulldog before he slipped away. we still miss you, buddy!

three months passed by and our apartment was soooo quiet. there was no buster to greet us at the door and wiggle and waggle his hello. no daily walks up the hilly streets of san francisco then back down. our hearts were broken. until christmas of 2014. that’s when i decided it was time we heal our wounds and find a puppy to share our home with. a friend from work (thanks, marlene!) suggested looking into a rescue foundation by the name of milo. and that’s exactly what i did one afternoon after work. to my delight, i discovered 7 german shepherd puppies were scattered across several different foster homes. you see, their mother had suddenly died and there was no one to take care of them. oscar was one of those pups.

mr.style wasn’t 100% convinced about a new puppy. there was all that training that needed to be done. and he was still missing his old buddy. but we hopped in the car anyway, in spite of the protests, the day before christmas to take a look at oscar. guess who’s heart melted at first sight? both of ours did, but mr. style and oscar have a very strong bond that began the moment they laid eyes on each other. here’s oscar’s first day home.

labels: denim Ann Taylor; shirt Gap (similar here and here); belt Banana Republic (similar here and here); shoes Ralph Lauren (similar here and here)

labels: denim Ann Taylor; shirt Banana Republic; cardigan J.Crew; shoes J.Crew (similar here)

labels: chinos Banana Republic (similar here); sweater Joie (similar here); shoes (similar here)

labels: denim Banana Republic; sweater Ralph Lauren (similar here and here); shoes Cole Haan (similar here and here)

labels: denim Banana Republic (similar here); shirt Banana Republic (similar here); shoes Nine West (similar here)

here’s a few fun facts about german shepherds: affectionate with family, kid friendly, easy to train, intelligent, high energy level, among the top 10 most popular breeds. during world war I german shepherds served as red cross dogs, messenger, rescuer, guard, sentry, supply carrier.

the most recognizable german shepherd to date was Rin Tin Tin who was plucked from a bomb-riddled kennel in france by an american soldier. after the war, the corporal returned to his home in los angeles with his puppy in tow. that corporal not only trained his puppy but turned him into one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, receiving over 10,000 fan letters a week.

needless to say, i’m one of oscar’s biggest fan’s and can’t sing enough of his praises.

are you ready for that dip recipe? here it is. go falcons!

spinach and goat cheese stuffed mushrooms

ingredients

• ½ cup of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained well
• 3 Tablespoons of sun-dried tomatoes, diced
• 6 oz. of goat cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon of dry basil
• ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder
• 12 baby portabella mushrooms

instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400º.
2. In a large bowl mix frozen chopped spinach {that has been thawed and then drained well to remove moisture}, diced sun-dried tomatoes, dry basil, garlic powder, and softened goat cheese. Use a hand mixer to mix together. Set aside.
3. Remove stems from portabella mushrooms.
4. Place mushrooms on a baking sheet, cap side down.
5. Stuff each mushroom with the spinach goat cheese mixture and place back on baking sheet.
6. Put in oven and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.
7. Remove from oven and let cool down for 5 minutes.

oscar and i wish each of you a lovely weekend.

Beth Djalali

is the Founder and CEO of Style at a Certain Age. She writes Sundays-Fridays on all topics ranging from fashion, health, wellness, home design and more.

She’s 65, 5’8, and size 8.

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