My Favourite Old Lady.

I figured that I mention my cat, Doll so much but hardly ever talk about Suzie anymore. Suzie is our family cat, who was adopted full-time by my Gran when we were busy moving a few years ago. As she had her every need attended to, we decided to let her stay with my Gran, and in her older years I'd definitely say it's overall the better thing for her anyway.

We share a birthday so these were taken a couple of weekends ago when I was staying with my Gran. She's like my sister and the nicest cat, although Dolly's improving there's a lot she can learn from Suzie, who's now the grand old age of 17. She's been part of my life for such a long time and is always pleased to see me so it's hard to imagine how I'll feel when she's not around anymore but she's hanging in there well and truly as despite not being up to hunting (she's brought us in bats and even bunnies among the usual birds and mice!) and slowing up, she's a lot more with it than her age would imply. She's really easy to take photos of and likes nothing more than cuddling up on the nearest person's lap.

Getting and getting.

This photo sure makes me look small, I'm pretty sure I'm not actually that small.
Although I've passed the age of getting presents from every person I've ever met, I felt truly spoilt on my birthday this year. I got so many surprises as well as so many things I wanted. I know some people don't think of their birthday as a big deal and generally I suppose I don't go as crazy as some other people I know, but I like to feel spoilt and get nice things, it's not like it's my birthday every day.

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These light switch faces were a secret gift from my best friend sent with my birthday card, she's so thoughtful. I first spotted these in the window of Maiden back in November, now I have two classy light switches in the kitchen, they've been already become a hidden talking point. My prized gift was my Nikon One, I hope to take it on a few adventures this weekend but it still feels like I'm cheating on my D90, I guess I'll just have to alternate. Also pictured are my new kitchen knives, not the most glamourous of gifts, but probably the most needed.Note the kind birthday card from aforementioned best friend.


Gift from Moon: This was a surprise and something I wanted, it's from Tesco of all places, but I love it, and it already goes with my kitty cushions. I've been loving Cath Kidston's soldier designs and this comes very close and the rest of it is my favourite color ♥.


Gift from Moon: This pin is from Cath Kidston and compliments my new cushion so well.


Gift from Moon: Sadly I don't have this anymore as it was a bit big and no longer in stock when we sent it back. It's from Cath Kidston too, I genuinely wish I could have kept it but at the size it was it was kind of unflattering and a shame to waste such a nice dress, I loved the alternative take on polka dots.


Gifts from Moon: Moon and I are sometimes weirdly in sync, I happened to be browsing 'Drive' posters just a few weeks before and this beaut landed in my lap, all the way from America in a pretty frame. It's one of our favourite films, definitely has potential to easily become a classic. He also picked me up a vinyl of Wall of Arms by The Maccabbees as they're my favourite band and it's my favourite album - we do have a lot of vinyl for people who don't have a record player but this is a perfect piece of artwork and I love the scale.


Gift from my sister: This is actually my third name necklace, I've not had the best luck and they always seem to break on me. Hopefully this one won't, I love how huge it is.




This was a jokey gift from my Gran filled with cat toys for Doll, it's quite a useful tin though and appropriate.

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The weekend after my birthday we headed 'home' home to Dorking, and after a trip to Brighton, we spent the Sunday morning at our favourite car boot in Rusper, we hardly ever go away empty handed as was the case this time.

As soon as we got home I had to put her on the shelf, she sat there for a good 5 minutes.
We have far too many books and DVDs and it's been annoying me from the moment we unpacked them that they had to sit on just one shelving unit together, so we picked up this for just £5 and it doubles nicely as a side-table. We couldn't resist this vintage 1930s Thermos for £3, we're thinking to give it dual use as both a vase and as a plain ornament.


Before


After/Now.



So satisfying to see all my books in one place.



For Reading, although the weather ended up not really permitting it and I was covered in a jumper nearly all the time, a few of us decided Hawaiian shirts would be a good idea. I got these from 'To Be Worn Again' in Sydney Street for £5 each, a bargain, and I'm looking for any excuse to fit them into my everyday outfits.


I yammered on about these after my first visit to Porta in Brighton. It's a tiny person necklace, it was in the sale and just £14, I had to have it after searching everywhere with no joy.

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Have you received any nice gifts lately or bought yourself anything nice?

Lasers! Oh My!

As I'm super behind, if you're a regular reader you may have seen in my last 'Photo An Hour' post that for my birthday Moon and I nipped out to a little place in Oxford called Atomic Pizza, I know it's a duo with it's sister-restaurant being in Bristol but it feels really 'independent' and as the daughter of someone who used to be an independent restaurant owner I often feel more akin to places like this, maybe not necessarily for that reason in this case, but generally I do love trying out local places over large chains.


I actually fancied trying this place out after having a little creep on a girl I worked with at Vue's Instagram, her photos made my mouth water and it looked so cool, I knew I had to go! I always get to go somewhere nice on my birthday so that's where I picked, I had no idea that it would be so up my street or so reasonably priced. There's retro memorabilia everywhere - you may be able to tell that's something I'm really in to from my frequent visits to vintage markets and carboots - right down to the names of the dishes on the menu, a touch I really appreciated. We were sat next to a screen that showed trailers of old Hanna Barbara cartoons like 'Captain Caveman' and 'Wacky Races'. I went for a Coke Float and we had nachos to start, Moon had a pulled pork burger and I went for the 'Babe Ruth' (I had to), which was a burger with mustard, ketchup, onions and hotdogs and the nicest onion rings I've ever eaten, oh my God. For the two of us, including a few drinks it was only a little over £30 which I think is great given the dining experience; our waitress was really attentive and had the neatest nail art.





Kind of wish we'd asked for stickers with our dishes as you can collect them.




Moon went for their chilli fries, which weren't what I thought they would be but really tasty all the same.


Instead of mints we got Vimto lollipops ♥


The best wallpaper I've ever seen.



Outfit details here.





I'd easily recommend it to anyone, even though it's around 40 minutes outside of Newbury, it was worth the drive and I'll definitely be insisting on taking my friends here on their next visit, one of my favourite ever birthday meals.

Tuesday Tabs #30

I missed out on Tuesday Tabs last week due to being super busy with trying to get so much stuff done before leaving for Reading, but I'm back with this week's loves. I'd also like to take the time to thank you for the recent kind comments, I love getting your feedback and knowing that someone's listening. I started my new job today and I'm feeling pretty perky, I think it's the high of being paid more than minimum wage or even being paid at all! The commute is definitely not the worst I've done, but I'll talk to you again if I still have to do it in the winter.

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Longsleeve Cheetah Print Shirt, Topshop
Very high on my list of things I need.


Raspberry Print Collar Dress, Dorothy Perkins
This dress is so nice, and the collar is just adorable. If only it was in the sale for a little longer then I would be able to justify it once I got paid, it would be lovely for work, I might think about picking it up anyway though.


ThinkGeek
Gemma Correll and cats?! Perfect.


Freya Art
How nice are these from Freya Art, they remind me a lot of Rob Ryan, which can't be a bad thing. I think I really need that kitty print on my wall now.


Irritatingly obsessed with this song right now.


Manatees Keeping It Real, What Party?
I spotted designs from What Party? when I was at the Renegade Craft Fair way back in October and had forgotten about them until they cropped up again recently. I've made sure to bookmark them well and truly, the one is my favourite at the moment but I love all of them, yo!

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Link Love: ♥

Edited by Louise Gray at Topshop — Finally Topshop have done a collection I can really sink my teeth into from the quirky contrast shirts to the amazing glittery nail polishes, this is all right up my street and the first time I've felt akin to Topshop in what feels like forever.

Cakes in a Jar — I think I'm going to start saving my jars so I can try some of these out, they look delicious.

A Commitment Made by the Sea from Justin Aaron — I've been spending a little time researching wedding photographing even though the next wedding I'm shooting isn't for a couple of months. Although I complained about it quite a lot during my degree, I do know how important research can be for inspiration and Justin Aaron's images are certainly that.