Crimson & Clover

Earrings from Bling.
Dress from Valleygirl.

Peeling Wallpaper

Oh look, it's me, in my childhood bedroom. The roof and ceiling sagged under the heavy snowfall last winter, so it's been replaced. Which means the wallpaper's being stripped soon and the room will be repainted. I hated this wallpaper so much when I was younger, and took to covering every inch I could manage with pictures and posters. Actually, I still don't really like it, but whatever.

I'm game.

Suzy invited us all to copy her, so I am. Rules:

1. Post your first ever Facebook profile picture.

2. Pick one photo (only one) from each consecutive year up to the present one.

3. Explain.

2008

I guess this photo was taken during my transition from MySpace and Bebo to Facebook in 2008, as it appears on all three profiles. It was taken on the front step of my parents' house, and that's our family cat Lucky. We found out just last week he has glaucoma in his left eye so it's being removed.

2009

That's my first cat, Vodie, who was run over later that year and is now tattooed on my thigh. We lived in a little studio apartment in Mt Victoria, and I had just reunited with Charlie... I guess we were "dating". Also, those terribly hipsteresque glasses do have prescription lenses, I swear (I usually wear contacts).

2010

This was taken during some occasion which was celebrated at Coyote with friends - I can't remember what though. Duckfacing was all the rage, I guess. This would have been shortly after Charlie and I moved into our apartment together.

2011

Not-so-subtly showing off my tattoo by Simon Morse, which is still not finished (my bad). Glasses make a reappearance. This was taken in the lounge of our previous flat.

2012

This is my current profile picture, that I posted the day after I dyed my hair back to brown, and was taken in the lounge of our current place that I adore. And I'm wearing lipstick for one of the first times in my entire life.

I might do a few more retrospective photo posts in the future, they're fun.

Buttercup

I can't sorry, I need to wash my hair.

Soliel

Alternately

Chevron knit top from Trade Me (originally Millers).

Ceiling

I got told off on Twitter for not featuring enough Wallace on my blog lately. Fair call. It's been a beautiful sunny day today, and daylight saving has begun. Summer, summer, summer.

Spring

Pink and grey poppies dress from Jay Jays.
Long grey cardigan from Glassons.
Purple paisley scarf from boutique in Left Bank.
Gold Kiss Ring from ASOS.

It's officially spring here in New Zealand, and I'm hoping we can soon say goodbye to multiple layers and excessive heating bills. At the moment the weather is still typically temperamental- last week we had warm sunshine in the morning, and howling southerly winds and extremely heavy hail in the afternoon. Madness, and a frustration when it comes to dressing for work before dawn!

As much as I often miss living in an inner-city apartment, it sure is nice to have a little backyard (and I know, we're still hardly in the suburbs). I absolutely can't wait until summer finally arrives- beers after work on the lawn is going to be bliss!

This week I'm booking flights so I can definitely 100% confirm I'll be going to my friend Vikkie's wedding in November. She's getting married in Whangarei, and I'm sooo excited to spend four days up there. I've never been that far north and I hope the weather will be amazing. I'm also going to my best friend Sarah's birthday in Tauranga in December, so this year is certainly giving me my flying fix!

Wallace love & a thank you giveaway.

I was planning to take some pictures of my clothes, but decided Wallace looked way cuter. Now I'm just waiting for Charlie to get home so I can watch the new episode of Breaking Bad! Yayayay. I've also started watching Game of Thrones, and so far so good! We're kind of TV obsessed.

I've also decided to host a little giveaway to say thanks to everyone who has been reading. Apologies to male readers that the prize is a little girly! I have this dainty little ampersand pendant/charm (chain not included) from Winsome Creations to send to one reader, from anywhere in the world. All you need to do to enter is leave a comment with your email address on this post by 6pm Friday 2 September (New Zealand time, for my convenience!) You don't need a blog to enter. Good luck, and thanks again!

Haere mai

Hey everyone. I've now had three different people tell me in the past couple of weeks that they know someone in Wellington who has never met me but reads my blog. Which is awesome, and a little daunting. But mostly awesome. I blog because it's fun, and something to keep me busy when I don't have the opportunity or energy to get creative. It's also a hell of a lot easier on my hand than writing in a journal, though obviously a lot less personal.

Anyway, if there's anyone who has any suggestions or requests of what you would like to see on here (or see more of), please feel free to let me know- you can comment anonymously if you prefer. Otherwise I'll keep doing what I'm doing. Thanks for stopping by!

I finally got a new coat. And a haircut. And fake cheekbones in the sunlight.

Pastel

Yellow bicycle necklace from The Morose Bee.
Long grey cardigan from Cotton On.
White & pink dress from Paper Bag Princess (originally Glassons).

Hard Light.

White Fuck Swag Tee by BLVCK SCVLE from Karmaloop.

This is what happens when I stay up too late.

Homebodies

Apologies for my lack of 'wordy' posts over this past week or so. I spent the long weekend at my parents' house, lounging around and catching up with old friends at a party. I came back to Wellington and got all cranky and PMSy- not the best frame of mind to be in for blogging! Don't you love being female? Apologies to any male readers for my overshare, you fortunate bastards. All's well now though, and in two days it will be the weekend again!

As you may have noticed a couple of posts ago, I got my new tripod from my Dad while at home, so I can now begin the daunting task of posting portraits of myself, wearing stuff. Exciting, huh? It's a little embarrassing and I feel like a bit of a dick, but at the same time I really want to do it. I think it'll be good for me overall, in terms of teaching myself how to dress nicely again, keeping an eye on my weight and what clothing is just not working for me (have already banished a shirt to the 'not-until-I-lose-5kgs' drawer after yesterday's attempt), as well as indulging my conceited self in growing a collection of pictures-of-me. Plus, people are definitely my favourite subject to photograph, and what better model to use than the always-available me? I have no delusional NZNTM aspirations, let me assure you. Mock all you want, but I hope some of you will offer support or constructive criticism in your comments!

In other news, Wallace has fully recovered after his trip to the vet, however the past couple of days he has been a big pain in the butt with his constant meowing. And I mean constant. When I first got him from some crazy farmer lady in the Horowhenua (he lived in a greenhouse) she assured me he was neutered, and being the naive sweetheart I am, I didn't bother to double check. His super-fluffy coat kept his boy bits hidden for a while, but after I'd had him a while it was obvious he was in fact all-male. Thanks, lady. It's no big deal, and since I corresponded with her through my now-dead Hotmail account, I couldn't send her a grumpy email once I realised. It means I definitely over-paid for him, but what can you do. He's worth it. So yeah, he's almost fully grown now and his meowing definitely seems to be mating-related. Have booked him in to get neutered on Monday, so hopefully that will settle him down. I'd always planned to get him neutered eventually, is just a bit of a pain that it's now urgent- obviously being an indoor cat there was no concern about him knocking up any sexy lady cats, so I hadn't bothered to get around to it.

I know many people are critical of my decision to have an indoor-only cat, and that's fine. But I thought I'd write down my reasons. Just, y'know, because I'm in a typing mood. My previous cat, Vodie (the one tattooed on my right leg), was an indoor/outdoor cat and he was run over at around a year old, while I was at work, when I lived alone just a few hundred meters away from my current residence. As anyone with a heart knows, losing your pet is just the worst, and Vodie was my second cat to be killed on the road. You can read more about what Vodie meant to me on the post about my tattoo here if you wish. When I decided to get a new cat, I'd been thinking about it for several months after Vodie died. I lived with Charlie in an apartment in the CBD, and though the apartment had a fire escape that spiralled down to the ground, there was no cat door and being in the central city it was impractical to have an indoor/outdoor cat. I'd read about people keeping indoor-only cats online, including over on The Dainty Squid blog, and started doing some more reading up about them. Basically I was absolutely desperate for a cat- I may dislike children, but my maternal instincts go into overdrive when it comes to fur babies. I knew I would have to either get a very young kitten, or a grown cat already accustomed to being indoor-only. It took a few weeks of scouring Trade Me before finding anything suitable. I found a pair of adorable full grown indoor-only cats, but they were only going as a pair which wouldn't work. I eventually came across a listing for the then-unnamed Wallace, and after I emailed the farmer lady I discovered he had grown up in a glasshouse... Obviously I ended up adopting him.

Since we've now moved out of the CBD to a house with a yard, a lot of people, including Charlie and Matt at times, don't understand why I still want Wallace to remain an indoor cat. I adopted ('bought' sounds so... commercial) Wallace with the knowledge that provided he remains healthy, I'll potentially have him for the next 15-20 years. I'm only young, and I don't see myself moving away from rental properties within that time period, so there's a very real chance that in the future I'll move back into an apartment. I adopted him knowing that my choice of rental properties will be restricted by having him, and I don't mind that at all. But in my opinion it wouldn't be fair to him to introduce him to the great outdoors here, only to move house again in the future, and make him indoor-only again. Obviously apart from his current desire for a lady friend, he has always been perfectly content with living in a confined space- it's all he's ever known.

Life is full of unforeseen events, but to the best of my ability, I never want to be a cat owner who has to rehome my cat because my living circumstances have changed. If I decide to travel in the future, I have decided that I will only do so if I can find temporary accommodation for Wallace- he's my priority. If I decide to move to Australia (or anywhere else I guess, but even Australia is a bit of a pipedream) during his lifetime, it will only be if I can afford to move him with me. I am definitely a crazy cat lady, and you're welcome to think that way! I just appreciate it when those who don't understand my decision at least accept it, as I do others' decisions to have children or get married or love roller derby.

Happy Wednesday, lovely readers.

Public Holiday

Rust knitted beanie from Frutti.
Sheer black shirt dress from Farmers.
Black roman ballet tights from Romwe.
Brown leather boots from Paper Bag Princess.
Rings from Romwe.

Autumn (apparently)

We've had freezing rain and wind all week, but Saturday is perfect! Above are photos I took around the city this morning. I got up early and walked with Charlie to work, then raced to the post office to pick up Matt's present- his birthday is tomorrow, although we'll give him the gift tonight. I believe the plan for tonight is drinks and town, which should be good. Sticking to beers tonight, and no Hennessy on the way out the door like last time- oh dear.

My parents are also in town this weekend, so should see them tomorrow. It's only one o'clock, so I think I'll get some house cleaning in before I get sucked in by Facebook or my Reader or something... have a brilliant weekend everyone!

PS: I know everyone's in the same boat, but how annoying is it that the Google Friend Connect box is missing! If you're a newcomer and would like to follow me, I think clicking here will enable you to do so (let me know if it works or not!) Get your shit together, Blogger! I know we're lucky to have such a great free service, but it makes me so paranoid that all my content will just disappear one day!

Last month.

And Sunday comes afterwards.