Gratuitous Cat Post

Coz there just hasn't been a cat on here in too darn long, gosh darnit!

Have a fantastic weekend! :) 

Ho Hey!

This is a song that's been on rotation for me for a while now, so I'd like to share it with you. It's a really sweet and pretty song by The Lumineers. Hope you like it!


Thanks to @thelimeline for sharing!

What songs or bands are you loving at the moment?

A Recent Illustration...

5 x I Love - Escapography

I love photography that has the power to take you away to a different time and place, that let's you escape and feel something...

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14 Days of Happiness

14 Days of Happiness is a cool series of happiness tips by stationery boutique, Kikki.k...

"We wanted to play a part in helping to spread a little more happiness around the world and inspire people to be happy more often. We hope to encourage people to stop and think more consciously about being happy and to welcome more moments of happiness – big or small – into their everyday life."

 Check out the full series here!

Monroes Coffee Shop - An awesome new spot for Durban!

So the other day on my way to "work" (see: coffee shop with free wifi) I happened to see this little spot that I hadn't noticed before - a garage door opening with beautiful succulents in the doorway and what looked like interesting stuff inside... I was hooked, so I walked over to have a look.

Turns out it's a cool new coffee shop for Durban (Yay!) called Monroes. It's an awesome little spot with a really cool aesthetic and vibe inside, free wifi, friendly owner, and what looked like lots of yummy goodies - and, of course, good coffee. Take a look...

"Monroes Coffee Shop is a quaint artsy style café providing the perfect mix of vintage decor, photography, home style coffee bar/deli food and of course a great cup of coffee."

You can find Monroes at 350 Gale Street (opposite The Factory Cafe, inside a signage and printing company).  They're open Monday to Friday,  8:30am to 4:30pm. I didn't sit down to sample their stuff last time, but I hope to do so very soon! Let me know if you'd like to join me :)

UPDATE: On a recent visit I noticed some big changes and it seems the management has changed, as well as the decor, menu offerings and service. No longer worth a visit, I'm afraid. 

Make Someone Happy

I love this happy little video by Joy Deangdeelert Cho at Oh Joy!
I've always wanted to do something like this... share random bits of happiness. *Adds it to my ever-growing to-do list*
Hope it inspires you, too :)

Happy Friday! 

Have a happiness-filled weekend :)

What Does Your Workspace Look Like?

It's always cool to see where creative people work, what their desks and surrounds look like. 

I really love the studios here that are filled with plants, I'd love to have one like that, with big windows and lots of natural light. The downside to that may be all the delicious sunlight streaming in - I might end up napping with my cats all day!

The above two pics are pretty dark, but it suits my night-owl habits and my love for rainy, "gloomy" days. I just feel so much more productive late at night and in cold weather!

What does your workspace look like? 

Send me pics by next week Monday, if I get enough sent in I'll post 'em up here and share mine :)

Pics from here.

Why Do You Craft?

Look at the awesome package I received in the post the other day! I'd completely forgotten about this so it was a happy surprise for me. Whycraft.com is a cool site where you can see short notes people have left explaining why they craft. You can also add your own note about why you craft. 

This is what they say about it...

"It's open-ended and you can say just about anything. Whycraft.com lets you make as many posts of up to 200 characters as you would like.
From crocheting to carpentry, craft is not exclusive—the possibilities are endless, and you have something to say…"

“I craft because I can't imagine not making things with my own two hands. It opens my mind and frees my creativity in a way that can't be done on the computer. And in the end, I have a tangible object!”

Amy Peck / Sewing, etc.

“I find flow in Craft. It offers a mind/body connection not available through digital work. "Disconnect," "unplug," whatever you call it - there is a mediative energy in creating with your hands.”

Sarah Rutherford / Letterpress

“I craft as a release. With a high-stress job in a high-stress world, there just aren't many ways to relax without feeling guilty. As I craft, I know I'm being productive and that's satisfying.”

Erin R / Fiber Arts

Why do you craft?

And if you don't, why not?

Update: Here's an interesting little article on Why We Create.

60's Flashback for Italian Fashion

Wow, how awesome is this shoot for Lazzari's 2012 Spring/Summer collection?! Absolutely love the 60's styling, not to mention the clothes and the model! Great combo, great shoot.

Found via. 

Super Yummy Citrus Cake + Recipe!

So a pretty long while ago I came across an image on Pinterest of a cake that was decorated with inspiration from Stella McCartney prints, and I really loved how it looked. So I bookmarked it to pull out when a suitable occasion came along for me to try it out. That happened a few weeks ago for Eid. 

So this was my version of it - planned it a bit differently, but there were some minor glitches which made me change it up a bit, but I was still happy with the way it turned out. It was also a total hit with everyone who tried it! I really loved the citrussy icing and the lemon curd centre, YUM! And the cake itself turned out yummy, too. It's a great recipe to start Spring :)

This was the original cake, and you can find the recipe here. 

Happy Friday!

While everyone's been moaning about the days of heavy rain we've been having, I've been loving it! When I look outside and see the mistiness and rain and the bright green plants standing out so vibrantly against that, it makes me feel so happy and fresh and alive! It feels like what I imagine Ireland to be like (I'm dying to go there!). It also makes me feel productive and creative, which is awesome for working.

I've got so many ideas in the pipeline and am trying to get them all together while also trying to finish off this blog revamp. The main reason for it taking a while is that I can't decide what sort of look I want to go with, haha! But I want to get that sorted asap.
If you're a blogger or creator of any kind and would like to collaborate with me in any way - blog, illustration, or otherwise - please drop me a mail and let me know. Very keen to get into new areas and come up with new things (ceramics, wood, stationery, prints, fabrics...), and I hope to make those things happen soon :)

Next week I'll have a yummy summer cake recipe to share with you, plus some holiday pics from my past weekend away.

Have an awesome weekend! 

The Flowers Personified by French Caricaturist, J.J. Grandville

I just came across these fantastic illustrations by French caricaturist, J.J. Grandville. They're from 1847, which is at least half of what I love about them! Stuff with so much history behind it really mesmerises and fascinates me, so this was a real treasure - over 150 years old!

These particular illustrations are part of a series of satirical botanical illustrations titled Les Fleurs Animées - The Flowers Personified.

Scanned versions of his original etched illustrations are available here if you'd like to see more!

Found via.