January In Review

Wow, January is over already? I'd better get stuck into my 2013 goals in a serious way! I feel like I'm only just recovering from the hectic end of 2012. Here are some of my favourite posts from January:

My Arms Are Open Wide // my 2013 goals and thoughts on the new year

Thank You // My sponsors helped me raise $100 to donate to the Cat Protection Society

The Totally Awesome Blog Hop // I co-hosted with some lovely bloggers, plus I met so many new bloggers! Thanks for leaving so many comments and so many new blogs to follow :)

New Design // My first blog design, for The Story Project

What I Wore - Cats and Astroturf // Not many outfit posts this month due to the heatwave! This one was an impromptu location shoot, we found this weird inside astroturf/mango tree/fairy lights garden.

Nico Organised Neatly // Everyone love a Nico ;) She appreciated all of your kind comments 

Photo 101 - Getting To Know Your Camera // Another part in my Photo 101 series

Wordless Weekend // I love sharing these weekly photos, this museum one with photos from my lovely fiance was popular with you!

January was a whirlwind of catching up from the Christmas period. I think I've found my feet now, and I feel like I'm in a good place as far as getting my organisation flowing for the year. Thinking back, I'm not sure what I have done. The hot weather has definitely made me a little more languid than usual. February is the month of organising my garden, harvesting some seeds, planting new crops and trying AGAIN to have a herb garden that is living. I have to do a lot of planning for Japan (including Japanese lessons), and I have a bit of design work scheduled, outside of my regular job, so the one thing I can predict is that I'll be busy. Wish me luck!

If you're missing the Lovely Letters exchange, there is a couple of ladies running a new penpal community site called "The League of Extraordinary Penpals" Friday is the deadline for early sign-up, so if you're interested in finding out more and perhaps signing up, just head on over to their site.

What does your February look like? I hope your year has gotten off to a good, productive start.

Kitty
xo

P.S. The Personal Planner giveaway winner is Reva! Congratulations, I'm emailing you now :)

Meet my January Sponsor team

I'd like to introduce you to my January sponsor team today. Please show them your support by visiting and following along if you enjoy their work, they're all lovely ladies and I'm proud to have shared my sidebar with them this month. Take it away, Jessie!

blog // pinterest // bloglovin' // instagram

I blog about my love for design, nature and life.  I love to decorate, thrift and ride my bike.  I am passionate about the environment and enjoy spreading awareness through my blog.

My favourite post // Ways I Have Gone Green

blog // twitter // instagram // pinterest

Bodacious Thought features a wide array of different topics like personal style, inspiring images and videos, snail mail and daily memories. To be fair, I just write about what I enjoy and I hope you enjoy it too.

My favourite post // Chunky Knits for Studying

blog // twitter // instagram // facebook

Hey there! I'm Kelsey and I blog at Stories of Kel. I'm a master aesthetician in Salt Lake City who writes about her love of skin care, health, and beauty.

My favourite post // Childhood Photos of Me

blog // twitter // facebook // pinterest

I'm Sabrina from The Little Owl. The Little Owl is a lifestyle blog that focuses on DIYs, recipes, style, and inspiration.

My favourite post // What I Wore: Key Dress and Mint Tights

blog // twitter // facebook // pinterest

I believe what you are happiest doing at 5 is probably what you will be happiest doing in life. For me that is drawing pictures and dressing up! My blog is about my family life as a stay at home mum and freelance illustrator.

My favourite post // My First Diana Roll

blog // facebook

I am a Canadian resident living in America with my husband.  I make posts of life, beauty, reviews and vegetarianism.

My favourite post // 2012 Reflections Tag

blog // twitter // facebook

I'm Jennifer and I'm just a simply complex tattooed lady who is finding my way in the world of books and blogging and a fiscally challenged life in Athens, GA.  I love to put rosemary in everything, search for vintage dresses and cardigans, drink pots of hot tea, camp on a whim, hunt down street/folk/outsider art in weird places and (try to) craft on occasion.  Stop by m'blog and say hi!

My favourite post // All About Aprons (I LOVE vintage aprons, in case you're wondering)

blog // twitter // pinterest // bloglovin'

Hola. I am Ruzu, the girl behind princess corner, I have this place to share my obsessions, passion, adventures, art and personal style. Currently I moved out of El Salvador, and now I am living in Costa Rica, making come true one of my dreams, fashion design, so I have many new things to share.

My favourite post // Church de La Merced

blog // pinterest I created Share the Love in 2011 after getting engaged to my now-husband Sean. Initially, it was a private blog to share wedding information with my bridal party. After our wedding this past August, I decided to make my blog public, keep writing and see where this part of the journey leads me!  I had no idea how big (and fun!) was the blogging world. Now I write mostly for the social aspect, and for the love of writing.  And I write about things I love: food/cooking, vegetarianism, animals, art, my life.  Come say hi, I'd be honoured to "meet" you!

My favourite post // Vegan Tuesday - Slow Cook Recipe

I thought I'd share my favourite posts from my small sponsors this month. It's not part of the small sponsor benefits, but it's nice to do a little shout out when I have the chance, they're special too!

Stars In Jars // Beach House Concert Live in Seoul
Lovely Llorys // What I Wore - Pink and Business
My Dearest Friend // Some Desk Organization for the Uninspired (I might need to do this!)
Sew Darn Thrifty // On Fostering
Unlaced Heart // Love Lives Here
Pulp Sushi // 52 Lists - Things You Should Be Proud Of
Fabulously Vintage // DIY Terrarium with Succulents
Book and Bird // The $5 Flower Jar
Red Parka Diaries // Sunday Snippets #13
Kyla Is Inspired // Some Projects
Misanthropy Creations // Pink Flower Bouquest Hair Clip Pin Barette Set

Thank you so much for checking out my January sponsors. If you're interested in sponsoring in February, feel free to check out the details such as stats and prices on my sponsor page. If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to email me, I'm always happy to have a chat with you :)
kittyandbuck {at} gmail {dot} com

Kitty
xo

Sponsor Call for February

Well, January has just gone by in a flash! It's time to remind you, if you're interested in sponsoring during February, now is the time! February is a pretty boring month around here.... Just kidding! It's my one year birthday! Blogiversary... whatever you want to call it! I might need to celebrate with you...

My sponsorship options are extremely affordable for your blog or online shop, whether you're just starting out or are already established. There are 3 levels of sponsorship with various features  so have a look to see which one is right for you! My February XL ads are both sold out, but you can reserve one for March. you can also purchase a 3 month pack of the Large or Small ads for a discounted rate. Aside from posting regularly and constantly trying to improve my content, I also advertise on a range of blogs, from large to small in order to gain as much new traffic for myself, and in turn, my sponsors! I've updated my stats on my sponsor page (January has been an awesome month for this little blog!) and I've also updated to include some testimonials from previous sponsors, so you don't have to take my word for it ;) I use Passionfruit ads, it's super easy to purchase ad space, but please, if you have any questions, or need help designing your ad, just send me an email, I'm happy to have a chat.
kittyandbuck {at} gmail {dot} com

If you're ready to purchase, you can do so below, or over at my sponsor page. Thanks so much for supporting Kitty & Buck, through sponsoring, following, and most importantly, reading and commenting, I'm so proud to reach my one year milestone!

Wordless Weekend #9

Kitty
xo

Found #44

I'm loving this colour block cardigan from Couverture & The Garbstore. It's on sale too, in case you're feeling pretty wealthy but thrifty all at once!

via: Couverture & The Garbstore

I could really use an enormous world map, I would love to pin all of the places I've visited. You can't seem to get them big enough though, although the old vintage wall charts would be pretty great. This wallpaper though, now that's amazing! I would love to have this on a wall in my home. I found this image on design inspiration, but I cannot find the original source, aside from a reference to Hanabero Collective. If you know the source, please let me know and I will credit it.

via: Design Inspiration 

I almost lost my mind when I saw these snowflake images via The Closet Intellectual. I thought it was some kind of mould to make pretty ice. I KNOW snowflakes are really beautiful, but I've never really seen one close up. I've only ever live in a snowy place once, and it was London, and it was city snow. Kinda splotchy (but still insanely beautiful) I cannot wait for the day I get to see snowflakes, especially if my macro lens can make such beautiful images to remember forever :)

via: Petapixel

I've been saving these images of authors on bicycles for ages now. I love this little collection, the Henry Miller picture below is an awesome image in it's own right, and Ray Bradbury on a bike? I couldn't resist showing you that one! I bet he has a flask of Dandelion Wine in his pocket too.

via: Flavorwire

This is an interactive music project called "In Bb" and is a collaboration between a group of artists. You play all of the youtube videos on the page at once and can mix the audio levels using the volume control. It's quite a lovely sound and you can play around for ages with all of the mixes. Almost like a real life sound engineer ;)

via: inbflat

I hope you enjoyed my finds this week. What's happening for your weekend? It's Australia Day tomorrow, and in true Australian tradition, because it falls on the weekend, we get Monday off work, as an honorary Australia Day I guess. So I have a 3 day weekend, I imagine there will be BBQ-ing sunshine, colour and probably some design work as well.

I hope you have a fabulous weekend, wherever you may be,

Kitty

xo

Guest Post with Jessie from My Mod Style - Chickpea Tacos Recipe

Hello Kitty & Buck readers!! My name is Jessie and I blog over at My Mod Style. One of my favorite things to share on my blog is vegan recipes. I thought I would share one of my favorite meals with you. Since I'm vegan I often get asked, "What do you eat????" I eat all kinds of fun plant based meals that are very healthy and delicious. One of my favorites is Chickpea Tacos. We eat this meal almost weekly because we love it so much. Plus it's super easy to make. If you love guacamole like I do, this meal is for you!


This recipe was adapted from a recipe by Lindsay Nixon. She makes all kinds of great plant based meals. Our food choices are heavily influenced by her cookbooks. We try to use as many organic foods as we can while cooking. We also do not eat foods that have added oils or have very little.

INGREDIENTS FOR CHICKPEA TACOS:
2 cans of Chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 tbsp Liquid Aminos (If you can't find Aminos, you can substitute Soy Sauce)
4 tsp Lime Juice
4 tbsp Taco Seasoning, use this recipe to make your own
Tortillas - we use these, sprout wheat and good for you! No added oils.
Kale, you could use any lettuce or greens

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

So what do you think? Easy, right? They are so yummy! I love them! I hope that you will try them. If you do please let me know. I like simple meals that can easily be changed to how you like them. You can add whatever toppings you like and use whatever taco shells you want. This is just how we eat them. As far as the guacamole goes, my husband always makes it. He only uses lime juice and garlic salt. He just does it to taste. I hope you enjoyed my recipe post! I do have more on my blog if you are interested. You can view them HERE.
Thanks Kitty for having me!

Thanks so much for sharing this recipe Jessie! I actually made this for my dinner (and lunch) this week and I can confirm it's deliciousness! I'll definitely be making it again. You should give it a go, you won't be disappointed. And please head over to Jessie's blog and say hi as well, she's a great blogger and an all-around nice gal! I know she will welcome you with open arms :) Kitty xo

Giveaway - Who wants to get organised?

Who made a resolution, goal or secret promise to themselves to be more organised this year? Anybody? Everybody? Good. Me too. I'm a busy lady, I work full time, blog almost full time(!), I exercise, contribute to cooking and housework, take care of my kitties, I'm a blog designer, I need to make room for a social life, plus my hobbies (like sleeping). Honestly, it would all be impossible without some kind of schedule. I know two things about the majority of you from my survey (yep, I've been spying on you)
1. You are most likely a fellow blogger
2. You want me to share blogging advice with you

My best advice is:
YOU NEED A PLANNER

How about I give you one? Personal Planner has generously offered one lucky winner a planner of their choice, up to the value of $45(AU). These are not ordinary planners, you get to customise the look and layout to suit you, from front to back.

You can change colour, text and design on front/back cover as well as inlay. There are also clever boxes for to-do list, gym session, preschool, idea of the week and weather. Friend’s and family member’s birthdays can also be added to the inlay directly from Facebook. They print and deliver the finished product directly to our your doorstep.  These are my highlights:

• Design the front/back cover
• Tons of ways to design the inside to suit your style & needs.
• Add friends & family members birthdays to the inlay 
• Choose between 4 different sizes
• You choose the start date. 
• The customisation is fun and easy :)

If you want to find out more, head over to their website and facebook pages. I know you'll want one for yourself, so just enter the giveaway below! The giveaway will run for a week, it's open internationally and you have several bonus entries too, good luck, my about-to-be-organised friends!
--> The website is up and running again now, so check it out!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What I Wore - A Dress with Horses on it

You'd be forgiven for thinking I live in some kind of a time warp and am suddenly experiencing fall. No folks, those leaves are brown and no longer attached to the gentle fingers of their mother tree because they are suffering from heat exhaustion. I saw a comment (hi Erin) that I've not been uploading many outfit pictures because of the heat. That would be correct. Today was a bit cooler, but quite windy! So I think all the toasted leaves fell to the ground, making an autumnal playground for my pictures :) I've had a really poopy day at work for about the past 5 days, so I thought to cheer up, I'd pop on some bright lipstick, a coral cardigan and my favourite horse dress.

 Oh, and I bought my twin along for the shoot too! She's pretty funny looking but I don't mind.

Dress // Luck Be A Lady Dress in Equine // Modcloth 

Shoes // Robin Oxford in Tan // c/o Bared

Cardigan // Urban Outfitters (old)

Telescope Necklace // Gift

Earrings // Lemon Sorbet Earrings (Entwined) // Epheriell

Glass Ring // Markets

Turquoise Ring // Gift

I loved the style of this dress right away, and I would've liked it in a plain colour to show off the lovely pleats and cut a bit better, but, uh, when Modcloth says 50% off, I'm not fussy :) And I love it, the fabric is quite thick, the fit is super comfortable and the belt it comes with is adorable. I'm finding the full skirt a challenge in the slightest breeze, but I'm totally paranoid about flashing people to begin with. I think because I'm quite tall, dresses usually already feel a bit short on me ;)

You know I love these shoes, right? I tell you every time, they are made in Australia, designed by a podiatrist, there's not a lot more I want in my shoe than comfort and locally produced! (you can read more here) I'll save the best until last - my lovely necklace. Remember when the world was about to end? Well, C and I thought it was quite funny, about 5 minutes before the allotted time, to exchange just one of our Christmas gifts for each other, just in case the world did end, at least we were doing something fun at the time. (It was a big fat excuse to open a present early, but hey) I received this gorgeous retractable telescope necklace and I gave C a fragrance from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab.

Kitty
(and mysterious twin)
xoxo