Meow! Roar!

I love getting post! Now that I have a full-time job, it's a good job that I'm not that bothered about waiting a little while to get things that I've ordered, the last two Saturday mornings have seen me visiting the local delivery office. It's so nice to get post when it's something you really like though, sometimes it feels like receiving gifts.

Last weekend's delivery was particularly good and it's been a little while since I've done a blog like this so I figured I'd share with you what I got. Although I'm pretty pleased with these 'gifts to myself', I'm really making a conscious effort to be good with my spending and it's been working out okay so far. It might be because I've been 'doing more' (and my dumb car) but I've been trying to work out how things seem to be harder now than they were when I was working at the cinema and it kind of has me stumped.


First up is this cute tote and purse set. I have reading blogs to thank for this one as after seeing the little one on Wish Wish Wish, I got a major case of cat-bag envy feels. As you can imagine I was only too delighted when I saw the set on ASOS Marketplace came with a large white cat tote too - had to have! This is definitely one of those times where it was worth looking up on eBay as I found this for nearly £10 less from this seller. I'm really glad I got it for the the cheaper price, firstly because I could never truly justify over £20 on a tote bag, how ever cute and secondly because although they're super cute they're pretty cheap-feeling and arrived really creased.

I can't wait to use them but I'm not risking it until the sun is properly out. I'm a little undecided over what to use the smaller bag for as I'm an 'everything needs to go in one bag' kind of girl and I could just about get my purse in it. I'm thinking about using it as a make up bag as my current one is a little tired but we'll see, that grumpy face is too good to waste!



My real-life funny white cat

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To celebrate the launch of their brand new website, the lovely Designosaur were offering great discounts on some of their necklaces, another offer too good to pass up given that I've been coveting their dinosaur necklaces since spotting them in Porta last year. I've been admiring their pieces on their Etsy page for ages, but I have to say their new shop looks fab and I'm looking forward to seeing even more from them.

They're already stocking in a few shops in Brighton and London and even The Natural History Museum (one of my favourite places in the whole of London). They've just announced their awesome lucky dip boxes which promises higher value than the retail price you pay and is guaranteed to include dinosaur EVERYTHING! ♥



This might be my new favourite necklace, I was worried when I first looked at it that it would be a little short but it's perfect and goes really well with collared things. Triceratops are my favourite dinosaurs too - then Brachiosauruses because their name is fun to say.


Because of the new shop, I also got this neat ring as a free gift. Moon won't be pleased because I always pick kind of stabby rings, but this one is so cool, I think it's worth it.


Already pride of place on my necklace rack.

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The last bit of lovely post wasn't for me, but I thought I'd include it because it's pretty cool. As I mentioned, Moon's Dad did a sneaky move to Northern Ireland over the Easter weekend and we're visiting him over the May Bank Holiday. As a moving in gift I found this British Railway poster for the town he's moved to online, I really like the design of these posters and I've seen them around for various places. As it's a new home, I figured Moon's Dad would like some art and we were pleased to confirm with him over E-mail that he really likes this and actually bought one for Moon's Nana while wanting one for himself anyway. We're hoping to pop it in a nice frame for him but as we're flying this time, it's probably a better idea to wait until we drive and take the ferry.

Travel Posters Online has a great selection of posters from all over, if they weren't so huge I'd buy one for everyone I know who lives in each different place. I love the nostalgic feel and I sure hope Portrush is as pretty as it looks in the picture. Despite going to Ireland a lot when I was younger, it was usually Belfast when we were in Northern Ireland because that's where most of my family was so I'm getting more excited by the day.

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Have you received any nice post lately? Do you like unwrapping things you've bought online like they're presents too?

What I Wore: 02/09

Here's what I wore for my lunch date with Moon on Sunday. I would have loved to have worn a skirt and I should really have worn trousers, I have my fingers and toes crossed for an Indian summer. Although I love autumn, I'm not quite ready to put my sandals away just yet. It's nice to still have a chance to show off what I'm wearing as soon it will be all about wearing the same winter coat day in and day out.

Cardigan: Topshop
Necklace: Gift
Shirt: Vintage — To Be Worn Again, Brighton
Bag: Yucca
Shorts: Uniqlo
Tights: Marks & Spencer
Shoes: Red Herring, Debenhams

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I suppose something nice about having to put my autumn wardrobe to use is getting to discover items I'd forgotten about, so it's like having new clothes. I'm hoping it will curb my spending a little, I've been living in this Topshop chunky knit lately and it's nice to have it back.

Stones and Photographs.

I meant to do this forever ago but it didn't really fit with any of my other posts at the time and I wanted the 'holidayness' to die down a little first. I wanted to share this with you for two reasons, one because I wanted to show you the new bag that Moon bought me while we were away, and because I found myself carrying some odd things around without realising.

I totally love this bag, and fell for it a little when we were nosing around Marmaris and had a look in MODA. It's real leather but was pretty reasonably priced considering, it was so nice of Moon to get me a holiday gift. On my return, I also found that it's very similar to a bag from Modcloth that I mentioned in Tuesday Tabs months ago, and I actually like this one a lot more. ♥


From left to right: Handbag: Moda Accessories / Instant photographs / Passports / 18-105mm lens / Pens / Spare battery / Extra instant film / iPod Touch / Pebbles / Instax 500AF / Sunglasses
Not pictured: Nikon D90 & 35mm lens




These were in here for my mum, recently wherever I go, I always bring her back stones for her fish tank, I can't really explain why I started doing it, but she's always really pleased.


I really enjoyed taking lots of instant film while we were away - I'll share these with you soon, I promise - and it was actually quite nice to carry them around in my handbag and look at them.

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I've seen quite a few other 'What's in my Bag' posts, so I thought I'd give it try myself as my bag was a bit different from how it usually is. It's much more boring now though, I think, with so many more pens.

Tuesday Tabs #22

Hello, Everyone!
I'm genuinely kind of sad about being such a lazy blogger recently, but I've been so busy with work and the weather has been so crappy that even when I haven't been doing anything, I've just been snuggling up and eating (a lot), so I'm afraid I've not really had much to say. I have some nice things to show you this week though, and I want to get things back on track and re-assess things before I start work tomorrow evening.

Life is bloody hard, I have to start thinking about in-goings and outgoings, which was kind of horrible as I had to make a small stopover at the Bank of Mum, despite having a full-time job. I guess I understand why so many people are still living at home, it's much easier. It's not that I'm struggling, I'm just full of worry all the time, but I guess you can tell that that's quietly my general disposition anyway.

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(via Stars Stripes Skulls Lights)

My favourite Jenna Marbles moment, Kermit is one of the best dogs. ♥


Half Full/Half Empty Tote Bag, £8.50, Lazy Oaf
It's been a little while since I've found myself on the Lazy Oaf website, not for any particular reason, I guess just because I haven't had the time. While I have no need for any more tote bags, and am already the proud owner of another Lazy Oaf tote that I picked up at their Christmas pop-up shop, but I really love the design of this one. Basically I just really love Lazy Oaf.


Frenchie Dog Ring, £24, Lazy Oaf


Stig Lindberg - Swedish Tea Time A3 Print, £12.45, Re Style Shop
This would sit beautifully next to our Pie & Vinyl print, it's so vibrant.


You And Me And The Cat Print, £24.41, Ashley G
I'm not sure if I've blogged about this before or not, but I adore this print from Ashley G, in fact, there are a few of her pieces that I've love to own. This would look lovely in our study, although as it's a bit cat-centric I don't think Moon would go for it. Maybe when we get a dog, he'll go for the dog alternative.


Vintage Cat & Stripe Dress, £47.19, Rusty Cuts
This dress is too good (for obvious reasons), I don't think I can handle it.


Lord Pug Necklace, £18, Cheap Frills
I haven't bought any new jewellery in quite a long time. This is adorable and suits my general 'I love Animals'-themed wardrobe ♥.


I'm on a major scout-out for a summer handbag. Although my mum has been lovely and picked me up one of my cousin's handbags while she was over in Hong Kong, I've no idea when I'll be home again yet so it's currently a toss-up between these two. It's so hard, I love the pink one's shape but I like the colours of the other one. See how hard life can be?!
Left: River Island Fluro Messenger Bag, £25, ASOS
Right: ASOS Colour Block Nylon Hobo Bag, £35, ASOS

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Link Love: ♥

Andy Hope's 'Being Brave' — Portrait series by photographer, Andy Hope documenting children going in for dental procedures at Sheffield Children's Hospital.

Goodnight Little Spoon - Weekly List 17 — Goodnight Little Spoon is one of my favourite blogs for inspiration, it's list-heaven! Bianca posts so many great lists, in so many forms, from things she's done to things she wants to do. She's also big on Keri Smith's 100 Ideas and I love the way she interprets them.

Street-art from Austrian artist, Meersau — Sometimes I forget how good 'good' street art can be.

Emmerlie Jay's 'She Said' Beauty Box Review — These seem like a more youthful alternative to Glossybox, and it's slightly cheaper so may be worth a trial run.

Teal Vintage French Telephone — This is one of the nicest telephones I've ever seen, but we don't need two telephones :(

How to Make Your Own Nail Polish in Any Colour — Nail varnish is definitely one thing that I don't need extra, but this is a pretty simple tutorial to make your own custom colours using just eyeshadow, clear nail varnish and a toothpick.

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Today is full of housework, accounts and cooking. I'm also jumping back on the 'proper job hunt' wagon as that's another thing that's been seriously neglected in the last few weeks. I've done the productive thing of moving my laptop back to the study so I'm going to try and keep it like that. Honestly, I was pretty happy with keeping it in here, but Moon gets lonely if I go 'interneting' in the evening, as he often just sits in front of the telly with his laptop, nuisance, it isn't as though the flat is huge.

Thanks for reading, I'm off to sort my life out.

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Currently Listening To: Shallow Bed - Dry The River

Brighton Buys.

I just can't help it that most of my favourite shops happen to be in Brighton. So I might have picked up a few things when Moon and I were down there for his birthday yesterday. Saying that, I still have major sights set on my new fave, Porta and, I'll know I've made it once I can pick up a dress from Get Cutie and not give a damn, they're so beautiful.

I may not have splashed out in the shops mentioned above, but I'm pretty pleased with yesterday's gifts to myself, I mean I'd already bought Moon presents, so...


Cat-print canvas bag, £9.99, AHA Brighton
The shop I bought this from was great, I'd love to go back and buy so much more. It was mainly a Japanese gift shop, so I expected it to be really overpriced but it was actually really reasonable, I was pleasantly surprised. I'm so happy with this bag, I mean for obvious reasons but also because it's a great size. It seems really sturdy so far, so it will be good as either an everyday bag or for overnight.




The Art of My Neighbour Totoro, £20, Dave's Comics
Although this was pretty expensive, I feel no remorse as it's totally worth it, books are nearly always worth it. We turned the corner at the end of Dave's Comics in Sydney Street and were greeted by a whole series of similar Studio Ghibli books. I'm already hoping to grab the others and will be keeping a beady eye on Amazon in order to complete the collection. They might be a bit cheaper on Amazon but I do feel like I've done my bit to help out an independent Brighton retailer so it's not that big a deal.



So this last buy is a bit of a weird one, having semi-fallen for a bluebird print cushion in Get Cutie, I thought I may be able to pick up some cute fabric from one of the many fabric shops in Brighton and make my own animal themed cushion, and fell for this one instantly. I do in fact know how to make a cushion as it was one of the first things I ever learnt how to sew, much to Moon and his brother's surprise! I have a tendency to dip in and out of craft but I can do it. Besides, being the nerd I am, I've been tuning in regularly to Superscrimpers on Channel 4 and I'm feeling inspired. I'm not sure if I'll go for a cushion insert or wadding, but there's no doubt about it that this cushion's getting made. I'm feeling zero shame over the fact that two out of three things I bought today were cat-themed, in fact there's a cat in MY Neighbour Totoro too... haters gonna hate.

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Watch this space, it's a two-blog kind of day. I've got some photos that are actually from Brighton to show you. ♥

A bit more hearting.

♥ *derp
Doing a bit of link saving, and this has been a pretty good day for finding stuff, despite some how spending a lot of today in leaves and outdoors.
Moon's currently completely disengaged with me and watching the football so I thought that now was as good a time as any to write this.

There are too many nice bags everywhere, and just after I bought this great one, which I also love, owhhh the perils of having an unsatisfactory bank balance.

(via The Dainty Squid)

She's Got Purseonality Bag - ModCloth, $59.99
I think that there might me too much novelty to this bag for me because I have a tendency to get bored, but it's so readily available and fairly reasonably priced, and it's face(!)

Eye Clock - Lazy Oaf, £20.50
Lazy Oaf make the cutest things, they have a great blog and I'm definitely popping to their pop-up Christmas shop when the event rolls around on the 26th. They also have great bags, of which I want all.

Happy Socks Split Dots Pink Socks - Lazy Oaf, £8
Well, I said I was loving Lazy Oaf, I'm really into cute socks rn as well. Kind of getting bored of Primark-standard, and these would look so nice poking out the top of my boots.

Rubik's Cube Mug - Urban Outfitters, £12
Now, I love a fun mug as much as the next person, but I really am beginning to think that Urban Outfitters are missing it when it comes to prices. Topshop has the same problem, I can't afford anything, or at the very least, justify a tiny one-off purchase. While browsing UO's latest offering of Christmas stocking fillers I came across a 'new' Gameboy Original for £80 (EIGHTY)! I mean £12 for a mug is one thing, it might be an unbreakable mug or something, but how old is the Gameboy again exactly? Surely even the hippest of hipsters isn't that stupid, I guess they could make a necklace out of it or something...

(via HelloAntonia)

I was a bit torn while watching last week's Pier's Morgan's Life Stories, because it meant enduring Piers Morgan. However, pushing on did mean that I absorbed a bit of how wonderful Rolf Harris is and remembered how much I might have loved him as a child. I might have even downloaded an album, and even paid for it, or not, but maybe, definitely...

(via Rolf Harris Entertainer)

I didn't really intend to post this, I have some fun photos to show you so I promise things will get a bit more visual soon.