working caturday

hi y'all!

sorry for the absence / silence - i'm afraid i've been a little bit AWOL from this here blog in the past week, mostly because it was both my birthday week and my last (unofficial) week of holiday!

this is a scheduled post, so by the time it goes up on my blog, i should be sitting in the PE airport waiting for my transport to Grahamstown. exciting, isn't it? ;)

with that in mind, i thought this week's theme could be cats at work. which sounds totally incongruous. this cat would agree with me, it seems...

...but, somehow, i've managed to find two photos (which sounds like such a little! ha!) of office cats:

wow, don't they both just look thrilled to be working? cause that's going to be me, very soon ;)

and finally, i have the best video known to mankind to share with you, and as a bonus (or in sticking to the theme, whichever you like best), you can watch it right here...

yep - CATVERTISING. where do i sign up? because i'm definitely in :D

love!

twenty-one before twenty-one

as i finish up this (rather wordy, i must warn you) post, there're just three more hours till it's officially my birthday! it's quite surreal, and feels a little like it's snuck up on me this year - but no matter. i have an outfit picked out, i have a couple early presents already (a beautiful pair of purple gumboots from my parents yesterday - yes, i finally got gumboots! - and cash from my grandpa today), and as we speak, my mom has just finished baking me a bona fide lemon cake. A LEMON CAKE, GUYS. with cream cheese icing and everything. i'm a lucky panda :)

anyway, a lot of what i've been doing this holiday is internet surfing, and i've spent a fair amount of time over at A Beautiful Mess. something i discovered while perusing this mighty fine blog is that both Elsie and Emma have adopted the tradition of birthday lists. each year, when their birthdays roll around, they make a list of things they'd like to accomplish over the course of that year, with as many goals as their newly-turned age. so, for instance, when Elsie turned 28, she had a list of 28 goals, and called it "28 before 29" - 28 things to try to achieve before turning 29. awesome, right? :)

of course, when i was thinking up goals to put on my list, i came up with a solid 21 things that i really want to do. instead of, you know, TWENTY things. because tomorrow i turn TWENTY. well done, Hannah! so i decided to change the rules, and make the number of my goals equal to the age that i'll be approaching all year. problem solved ;)

without further ado, then, here's my twenty-one before twenty-one:

1. learn to make macarons
...because i love the suckers, and have had them so seldom, and apparently need to challenge myself. i've been doing a ton of research (online, of course... ha!) and i'm ready to make my first attempt later this week. i am determined to make them awesome... and blog about them ;)

2. sew a dress
...because i've been planning to do this forever, and i have the fabric already (cute cherry print, guys!) - so it's about time i made a start :)

3. design something that captivates me
i'm so excited about focussing on Communication Design this year, and getting hands-on, practical knowledge and know-how from people who are so good at what they do - so i'm challenging myself to design something this year that i can sit back and be 150% proud of upon its completion.

4. write a love song
yay, soppiness! :) really though, i'd like to write a funny, cutesy, cheesy love song. i don't really care how stupid or inane it is... ha!

5. learn basic guitar chords (by heart!)
...because guitar is awesome, and i can think of very little better than sitting around strummin' on a guitar and singing my own versions of songs - and the best way to start is to learn the basics.

6. take a trip to St Matthews
this little missionary settlement near to Grahamstown has been a part of my heart since i read Marguerite Poland's Shades all of 3 and a half years ago, and i've wanted to visit it since moving to Grahamstown... so i reckon it's about time i get my act together.

7. get rid of things i don't need
...which i've already started to do! i'm a serial pack rat, but have reached the point where i need to give away or throw away stuff that is no longer of any use to me - so it's an aim of mine this year to live with less.

8. write (at least) 10 poems
i wrote so little last year from a creative standpoint, and it pains me! even if they come out contrived or silly, i want to try to express myself in poetry again, and rekindle my little inner bard :)

9. donate blood regularly
...because it's something that i think is so important, and it also fell a little by the wayside last year.

10. plan an event from the ground up
what a terrifying thought, right? ;) but whether it be an Inkwenkwezi event or a party or a... something-else-that-isn't-one-of-those-two-things, i think it'd be cool to be involved in the planning of an event from its bare bones to its fruition. if it's a flop? ...well then, it's a flop ;)

11. start - and finish - a journal
*ahem* i am notoriously bad at this. i have numerous blank journals piling up in my room. no good, right? well, i plan to put a stop to it at once. i.e. starting tomorrow :)

12. learn a new dance 
...because i miss ballroom dancing (which i was forced to do in high school) and i think it'd be a fun way to get up and get moving! even if it means i learn from a YouTube video, i don't mind. heck, maybe i'll invent a new dance. that'd be even better!

13. try a food i can't pronounce
...which will inevitably entail me stabbing at the menu for the waiter to see what dish i want while i massacre its pronunciation in an attempt to get my point across. 10 more points to me if i order it without knowing what's in it ;)

14. take better care of myself
...and by this, i mean get more sleep, get more exercise, and eat better. and any other positive life changes that can fit under this vague goal ;)

15. dance in the rain (at least once)
...because why not? "i don't know why, but with you i'd dance in a storm in my best dress..." - yeah, quoting Taylor Swift. let's move on!

16. learn to drive - and get my license
...which is possibly the most important goal, yo. because i'm twenty and i can sort-of drive an automatic car... in an empty parking lot... on a good day. sad.

17. write (at least) 10 heartfelt, handwritten letters
it's an art that needs reviving, which is all i'll say.

18. go to a Sharks game
...because IT HAS BEEN TOO LONG, and there're finally some opportunities for me to watch my beloved team live again :)

19. have a picnic
if i need to explain this, we have a problem. picnics are great :)

20. fly a kite
...because it's randomly awesome.

21. take more photographs
...because i want to document more of my daily life, and make a concerted effort to make this blog more of a personal account of that daily life - and what better way to do it than with photographs?

i'm gonna try my hardest to achieve these 21 things this year - but if i don't, i won't be heartbroken. i'd just like to work towards them for the fun of it!

otherwise, nearly happy 20th birthday to me... i'll leave you with an image of my dream cake ;)

and NOW it's time for me to bid you adieu as i prepare to follow and scream for the 49ers, who're taking on the Atlanta Falcons in the National League Championship - less than an hour to go!

caturbirthday

it's still raining merrily here, as it was last Caturday, but i have other fish to fry today! see, on Monday it's my birthday :D which, of course, first obliges me to share this:

oh, Grumpy Cat, how i adore you.

on Monday, i'll be able to say this:

...while holding up all of my fingers and commandeering someone else to hold up all of their fingers as a part of the equation, too. 

which is just a complicated way of saying i'm turning 20 ;)

so, like i did with Christmas, i thought i'd draw up a fun, imaginative birthday wishlist - with a really special theme. and can you guess what that theme might be?...

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12

...of course it had to be cats :D

and yes, i really am a cat lady. ha!

thanks again to ModCloth for their incredible range of items pertaining to cats (these people FEEL me!) as well as to the other random places where i found great cat products :)

happy Caturday, everyone, and look out for a kinda special post from me tomorrow :)

♥

tissues for mooses. meese. something.

now that i have your full attention with that intriguing heading (ha!), let me explain myself.

today i'm featuring the artwork of the fabulous Kelly Bastow, whose blog title on Tumblr (where i found out about her) is... MOOSEKLEENEX. i don't know the meaning behind it, but i'm sure it's important in some way. yes.

anyway, Kelly is an incredible illustrator, something which i discovered after perusing her Tumblr page for a short few minutes (i mean, i perused her page forever, but i discovered that she was brilliant in the first couple minutes), and so i had to share some of my favourite illustrations and cartoons with y'all :)

(oh, and just so you know, all sources can be reached by clicking on the images)

does this not look amazing? heavenly? sublime? all of the above?

i'm familiar with this feeling :)

hey - something i'm actually doing! i'll post about it on Sunday, so check back then to see what i mean ;)

"The string between them grew incredibly long, so long it had to be extended with many other strings tied together: the wind of his yo-yo, the pull from her talking doll, the twine that had fastened his father's diary, the waxy string that had kept her grandmother's pearls around her neck and off the floor, the thread that had separated his great-uncle's childhood quilt from a pile of rags. Contained within everything they shared with one another were the yo-yo, the doll, the diary, the necklace, and the quilt. They had more and more to tell each other, and less and less string."

(from the story of the Sixth Borough in Jonathan Safran Foer's Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close)

if it were, i'd be such a sinner... :|

so do i! ...hee.


familiar with this feeling, too :|


yay for all kinds of different trees!


my daily struggle at varsity, haha...


and now i'm thinking of Brave! :)


oh, hi, cute.


only the story of my life.




profiles. yes.

oh, and SIMPLE PLEASURES IN LIFE...















alriiiiight, now we're talking.


my favourite thing about this illustration is the owl's unimpressed expression... just bein' honest here.

 and finally:

so, there you have it, folks - i'm positive that you'll agree that Kelly Bastow is a phenomenal artist, and i reckon you should love her art as much as i do!

:)

just super

right - who's getting excited for Man of Steel? :D (if your answer is, "not me", by the way, you should probably leave this blog post now... and never return.) i honestly cannot wait for it to come out already! the trailers are both fantastic, as are the posters and everything else that's been released so far.

in lieu of being able to watch the movie right.this.very.instant. (boo hoo), i've compiled a bunch of funny and inspiring portrayals of Superman by various artists. if you're keen to get to the origin of any of the images, just click on the image and it'll take you straight to where i found it :)

first off, here's a rather amusing comparison between Superman and Batman...

...and continuing in the humorous tone is this portrayal of Clark at the beach with Lois - note his suit-worthy tan ;) (oh, and i adore Lois's costume. that's all.)

then, of course, ever the rescuer of tiny kittens from the heights of trees...

and then an abstract portrayal (which i think is really incredible)

another funny...

and, of course, there's the incredible Alex Ross's portrayal of the Man of Steel:

and finally, my favourite image of all - a geometric Superman by Liam Brazier. isn't he fantastic? :)

 

i'll feature more on superheroes in general some time soon, but for now i'm a firm believer in the red, yellow and blue!

have a super night, everyone ;)

rainy caturday

"One can find so many pains when the rain is falling."

- John Steinbeck

bah - it's been raining cats and dogs since Thursday! (see what i did there? ;) heh.)

i've been occupying myself with a lot of Downton Abbey (of course) - my mom and i have watched practically the entire first season today... but perhaps i should rather be watching this show, it being Caturday!

i can't get over how fantastic it is :) if anyone would like to buy me the shirt (ha!) my birthday is in less than two weeks and it's on special for the next two and a bit days... heheheh!

moving on, this weather's driving me to the brink of insanity, to the point where i couldn't even think up something clever for today's post... so you're stuck with a combination of cats and rain. i apologise in advance ;)

"this'd be jolly good fun if the umbrella actually covered my head - ugh!"

"ah, the poor devils who have less attractive reflections to stare at in this weather...!"

"it's all over me... get it off!!!"

"O, blasted little shiny things, why do you remain out of my grasp?"

in all honesty, i'd probably be happier if it were actually raining cats and dogs... or just cats and cats ;)

ah well - it'll clear up soon, and till then i have a kitten to cuddle, books to read and Downton Tabby... erm, Abbey to keep me occupied! :D

edited to add:

really, what this weather has done to me! of course, my theme for this week should've been FOOTBALL... since my beloved 49ers are playing the Green Bay Packers in the NFL playoffs in a few hours! so, here're some honorary football-cat pics to make up for my mistake:

quarterback kitty

going for the conversion...

and my personal favourite:

TOUCHDOWN! :D

GO 49ERS! BEAT THE PACKERS!

kbye.

soppy time

meh... Chris left yesterday and i sincerely wish he hadn't! but i'm so, SO grateful that he got a chance to come and visit me (i don't think i would've survived without it, to be perfectly honest) and i'm looking forward to seeing him again in only 18 days (!) - not so bad, right? :)

in the meantime, i'm watching episode after episode of Downton Abbey (which rules my life, just by the way) and blogging about how awesome love is. like now. when i share a whole bunch of lovey things with you, my dear readers, to the point where you cringe and run away because there is JUST TOO MUCH AFFECTION! only the strong will survive, so are you ready? ;) k, here we go.

and my absolute favourite...

:D

so, just for the record, i love bacon (see above), i love love and i LOVE Chris! and now i'm off to watch another episode of Downton... kbye ;)