More times than others I never know how to start writing a new post (if I was 15 and this was Live Journal it would definitely be DEAR F*CKING DIARY) Alas, I'm 25 and sitting in bed with a hot chocolate at 10.30pm on a Tuesday night, candles burning and relaxing music on. I'm a week away from finishing what has felt like the longest stint ever on this BBC job. 4 months is a pretty long gig for us freelance folk. 11 hour days and a 3 hour commute on top of that has tired me right through to my soul. But hey, I'm almost finished and won't need to work again until mid January, so it's not all bad. It's been an amazing programme to work on and such a gem for my CV, I can't wait to share the show with you when it airs next year. For now, I've been able to save a little bit of money and I move into a new flat next month too, just me and the cats. What a crazy, crazy year this has been and although I am beyond tired right now, I'm excited for whats to come and I have a feeling this year will finish on an absolute high. Also, perks of the job - I nabbed this faux fur coat above from the Costume sale at work. It's a Zara number, £79 and I got it for £30 when it was only worn for half a day in a scene by one of our actresses. It makes me feel like a teddy bear!
Onto the equally as furry nature of this post, I wanted to show a bit of cat related appreciation and give you an update on how Binx is doing (I took these pictures on Saturday so hopefully you'll let me off with the name of this post too...)
I had to do a double take when one of my favourite makeup brands Shu Uemura teamed up with none other than Karl Lagerfelds cat, Shupette, to launch a makeup collection - La Maison De Shupette. The makeup isn't for cats of course, it is for us lovely humans. Shupette is one of the most beautiful kitties I have ever seen and I absolutely adore how cute this range is. I'm wearing the lip and eye palette in the picture above but you can see a closer look further down. My Adventure Time phone case has been on it's last legs for a while, so I finally replaced it with this Gemma Correll Cat print case from Iconemesis. It's super sturdy and I've always been a big fan of Gemma's quirky illustrations (her 'where you will find me at parties' one could not be closer to the truth) They also do a Pug print one too if you're more of a dog lover, plus prints from a handful of other lovely artists if you're looking for an iphone case that's a bit different.
The Parisienne Chic lip palette is absolutely lovely. I'm wearing the colour on the left in the very first picture. I don't wear lipstick if I know I've got a long and busy day ahead, so the rose tinted vaseline is normally my go to but these lip colours are great because they are similarly moisturising and have a great burst of colour to them. I was initially worried that the eye-need-shu trio would make my eyes look circa school disco 2001, however they are a lot softer in colour than I initially thought. Made for a cute girly eye that could go from marshmallow to cranberry. Nice change for these winter months that isn't boring brown and cream! I have mixed feelings about the packaging and illustration of Shupette. She's a lot cuter in real life and I feel like they could have done her justice a bit more! However I do still find it quite sweet. Just realised I have my David and Goliath cat print pj's on in that picture above too. Am I gaining all the crazy cat lady points yet?
Now onto my little furry little rascal Binx. This boy has came on leaps and bounds since I rescued him, he was only 4 weeks old and weighed a measly 900g. Fast forward to today he's over 2.5kg, has had both jags and the vet doesn't need to see him again until he gets neutered at 6 months old. Dexter has been such a good big brother to this new addition, very patient and kind towards him, and almost 'showing him the ropes' like the Dear Kitten video (which is so sweet I could cry!) Both boys are addicted to drinking out of anything that isn't their water bowl, even though they have fresh water every day. My glass of water is normally second choice and in first place is the bathroom tap. So I got them this water fountain from Feedem, which Binx absolutely loves but Dexter is definitely still a tap man. The only think I don't like is wee creepy crawlies seem to gather underneath the actual machine base - anyone got any ideas of how I stop this? Have you ever used a water fountain for your cat/dog?
Binx definitely only has two settings at the moment - cute and sleepy (which isn't very often) and manic hyper mode, which are broken up with brief toilet and food/water breaks. He is an absolute rocket, full of energy and literally wants into EVERYTHING I touch around the house. Changing bedsheets? I will help you Ayden. Folding washing? Hi Ayden can I be of assistance with this! And anything new that comes into the house has to be given the once over and approval by him too (normally sniffed and licked to death)
I got this beautiful flower delivery from Appleyard London as a wee pick me up, and naughty Binx was straight in about it as soon as they arrived. I only found out a couple of years ago that Lillies are poisonous to cats, so despite them being my favourite flowers I never have them in the house anymore. So I went for this Rose Envy bouquet which contains roses, red berries and blue veronica. Despite being delivered by post they arrived really fresh and lasted about half a week longer than most of my supermarket bought flowers do (bad Ayden, I know) But hey, sometimes we are allowed to treat ourselves, right? It is really refreshing to have Christmas Flowers in the house that aren't all red or plain poinsettas! They came with a free box of chocolates too, which I took into the office and they were ALL inhaled over tea break. They're lucky I'm so bloody good at sharing.
All in all, I like cats. Have you guessed? Binx is absolutely crazy, but I guess that's just kittens for you. Dexter is such a gentle giant so I'm hoping he will be a calming influence over time. Oh and does anyone want to buy a Mulberry handbag completely covered in bite marks? Kitten not included... well, not yet ;) Just kidding, wouldn't change my furry family for the world.
