Best of 2013 - On Kitty & Buck

This is probably the final "Best of 2013" post, if only because it's New Year's Eve-Eve! You can catch my post on the best live music I enjoyed in 2013 and my top experiences of the year too. Today though, it's all about Kitty & Buck.

The most popular post was (by far) my DIY on making Japanese Paper Book Covers. I'm so glad people pinned this and shared it on Facebook, because I can only hope there are lots of satisfied book-cover-makers out there (and tonnes of pretty books!)

The second most popular post was my Great Escape from the 9-5 life! There is a really supportive network in the blogging land for potential entrepreneurs, self-employed folk and people aspiring to quit their day job. A lot of shares were from these fine people, plus some of my lovely readers who were inspired by my journey.

Onto some of my other favourites from 2013 - I continued with the Photo 101 Series, with some posts on "Getting To Know Your Camera" for people who are learning the more advanced settings on their cameras (anything above auto!)

Nico Organised Neatly was a huge hit! I'm biased, so I love photos of Nico, but you guys did too. I might do a series of these in 2014. All I need to do is stack some things around with a little hole in the middle, and wait mere moments for Nico to insert herself into the ordered chaos.

Another popular post was the DIY on hair dye - for pastels and brights. I always get tonnes of questions about how I dye my hair, so hopefully this helps you out if you're wondering, or wanting to get some fun colours in your own hair.

A lot of you related to this post on living a life without regret. I often think of this story, especially when I need a kick up the butt to get moving on a project or dream that I've been putting off.

It's quite difficult to choose a favourite Wordless Weekend post. But I loved taking these photos the morning after an earthquake in Takayama, Japan. The contrasting still of the morning and the beautiful paper cranes were really special.

Another favourite from our visits to Japan is the powerful moss in Yakushima.

Honestly, the greatest day of the year was probably Cherry Blossom Day in Kyoto :) You don't see pure bliss like that every day.

I was feeling like a slacker on the outfit posts this year, but there's evidence against that. Wow, I wore a lot of clothes ;) (click on images or links below to see the full posts)

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5

6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10

11 // 12 // 13 // 14 // 15

16 // 17 // 18 // 19 // 20

21 // 22 // 23 // 24 // 25

26 // 27 // 28 // 29 // 30

Kitty
xo
   

Best of 2013 - Experiences

We met some amazing people, went to wonderful new places and learned new things in 2013. Here are some of the highlights!

Meeting James Nachtwey. If you haven't heard of the photojournalist and war photographer, you've still probably seen some of his famous photographs. C and I attended a talk by Mr Nachtwey at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney. It was very difficult to watch the reels of his photographs, even though I'd seen them before. The stories behind them were often heartbreaking, and it is difficult to imagine from our comfortable place in the word, the hardships that others endure on a daily basis.

"I have been a witness, and these pictures are

my testimony. The events I have recorded should

not be forgotten and must not be repeated."

-James Nachtwey-

If you ever have the chance to see him speak, I highly recommend it. He spoke so well about the strength of the human spirit, and it was amazing to see him discuss so eloquently the complex issues surrounding the various conflicts, famines and social issues that he has covered, with a stoic and ultimately positive face. He was so humble about his talents and achievements and would not indulge any audience questions that sought to glamorise his job or the events he had witnessed. After the talk, we managed to have a brief chat, shake hands and have our copy of "Inferno" signed.

Witnessing the cherry blossoms in full bloom in Kyoto. I already blogged about our perfect day :) You can probably preface everything in this post with "If you ever have the chance, you should totally do this" I know travel isn't for everyone and often seems financially daunting. We managed to go to Japan twice this year, and I received a few side-eyes from people who probably thought that we were perhaps spoiled a little from mommy and daddy (neither of us have well-off families, and we've both supported ourselves since we were still in high school). Truth is, we worked really hard and saved our pennies. Once you pay for the big things (transport, accommodation), everything else is just what you'd normally spend on day to day living anyway, give or take a few dollars. For me as well, the cost of living in Japan is cheaper than Sydney, yes, even in Tokyo. So eating out and shopping is way more affordable. If you're interested, I'd be happy to share some budgeting tips in the new year on how to travel without millions (or thousands) of dollars... Let me know!

Anyway, the cherry blossoms.  Riding our bikes along the banks of the Kamo River, wandering along the canals in the Geisha district under a gentle rain of pink and white petals, eating okonomiyaki and drinking plum wine. Meeting new friends, seeing new places. In the midst of the constant drizzle over Japan, the clouds broke and we managed to squeeze in an absolutely magical, petal-filled day. I'll definitely remember that trip forever :)

Quitting my day job. Probably the hardest thing that happened to me this year (thank goodness, since many harder things can happen to someone) but also the most rewarding and definitely the best thing that happened as well. My gut reaction was 'uh-oh, what have I done?'. To be honest, that was also the reaction of many people around me (I had full encouragement and support from C though!) I suppose I grew up (like many) being taught that you finish school, get a job, work hard in an office until you are 65 and then retire. I knew that wasn't for me and I think, 6 months into my self-employment, I'm certain that I've made the right decision and now have so much more freedom to pursue a life more tailored to my expectations (i.e. enjoyable, adventurous and meaningful!)

I'd love to know your top experiences of 2013. Looking back, I think it's been the best year yet!

Kitty
xo

   

Best of 2013 - Music + Gigs

We went to a bunch of shows in 2013, here's a selection of the most memorable.

2001: A Space Odyssey | I love this film and was so excited to see a live performance of the soundtrack accompanied by a screening of the film in the Sydney Opera House. I learned one valuable lesson. Even though I know the movie by heart and don't need to sit in the front row, the nosebleed seats in the Sydney Opera House are near impossible to bear. So squishy and high up it was nauseating. Duly noted. Other than that it was incredible to see the film brought to life with a live orchestra. I never tire of hearing a huge group of musicians show off their talents.

Bat For Lashes | Natasha Khan is just lovely. This show was plain wonderful on every level. The crowd were polite and calm (!) and Ms. Lashes was the epitome of professional. Her performance was fun and she sounded great. She wore a beautiful rainbow cape ensemble from local designers Romance Was Born and just put on a fabulous show, complete with humble thank-you's after each song. There was much dancing and the odd awkward karaoke moment.

Zelda Symphony | Geek out alert! We took a friend who is a fellow avid Zelda fan along to the Opera House to hear the Zelda Symphony Performance. (It's always a good excuse to take someone to something you want to see too!) Again, it's exciting to see a performance inside the Opera House and I was doubly excited to spot one of my old classmates from school playing violin! She always practised so hard, so I'm really proud that she has achieved that level of success. The Zelda music was cool too.

Dead Can Dance | Another show at the Opera House. I was looking forward to this show, but the crowd and perhaps something with the band was a bit off. I wanted to enjoy it, but we ended up leaving a bit early. Lisa Gerrard has such an amazing voice though, which we were both in awe of.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor | This show was just incredible. I really love Godspeed, so maybe I am biased, but I was drawn in and throughly admire the hypnotic nature of this music. It was great to see the gradual build up of their songs performed live.

Cat Power | Oh, Chan. We saw Cat Power when she did the Jukebox tour and waited with some misgivings for her to appear on stage. The previous time she was in Sydney (I heard), she broke down on stage and was heckled by some fine members of our city as she hid behind the piano. When she eventually appeared, she put on a brilliant show. This time. Jeez. I don't know. Her performance was amazing, her voice is beautiful, but it was sad to watch her seek attention in such a negative fashion by constantly referring to her drug and alcohol abuse. I hope she sorts herself out because her music is beautiful but she seems like such a fragile lady.

The Drones | Great Australian rock band - please don't spit on the Opera House though. It felt odd to have a super loud show inside the concert hall with drunk people spilling beer on the nice seats. Maybe it was just a weird juxtaposition that I couldn't resolve. Normally The Drones are amazing but I don't think they're a sit down kinda band, you know?

Blade Runner/Vangelis | Another orchestra performance, this time of another favourite film, Blade Runner. It was pretty great, although the cello player had his mobile on in his bag on stage and it kept transmitting through the speakers. Kinda distracting. The music was beautiful though, it definitely transports you to a futuristic rainy cityscape.

Goblin | The Italian masters of horror soundtrack fame (Suspiria, anyone?) did not disappoint. At all. The original members are getting on, but they rocked out like it was the best night of their lives. At the end they turned on the lights to check out the crowd and thanked us profusely. The amount of fun they were having was contagious, it was just great to witness. And that keyboard rack... oh boy. What an amazing collection of beautiful instruments.

Sonalio | We finally managed to catch our friend, Takuto's band in Tokyo. It was really fun watching the opening acts, who were, in my opinion, a Japanese version of post-rock style. (There's probably a proper genre, but I'm hopeless with the specifics of that stuff) There was a lot of spoken word which was super emotional and serious, I wish I could have understood. Sonalio put on an amazing show, damn these guys are good! Takuto is a fellow motion graphics designer and he created a really cool projection show. I'm so happy we were in Tokyo at the right time to be invited to such a special night. (and how great is it that the show was called "Teddy Party"? I love Japan.)

Takuto rocking out on his bass :)

Sleep | Another gig I was super excited for that the crowd kinda ruined for me. If you're familiar with Sleep, you'll know that they play really heavy, slow music. Honestly, I've never seen a more violently excited group of stoners(?). The moshpit was kind of out of control with fist-fights, head butting and general mayhem. We stayed for awhile, but got fed up fairly quickly and watched from the edges. Since when did doom music incite such rage? (Is that a silly question?) Meh. That's Sydney for you. Like that one time we went to see Guitar Wolf and a skinhead threw a glass at Guitar Wolf's face and broke his tooth :( The next time we went to see Guitar Wolf, the gig was full of "loli girls", go figure.

We saw sunn o))) and Boris in Melbourne a few years back, (same kinda scene as Sleep) and it was a pretty laconic gig. Maybe that highlights the difference between Sydney and Melbourne? (no rivalry guys, we know who's better - and I'm a traitor)

But I digress. Looking back at 2013, we went to so many big shows, I can hardly believe it! There seemed to be a wealth of great music going on in our city this year. Did you see any amazing bands this year? I'd love to find out if we have music tastes in common, or what kind of shows you've been to :)

Kitty
xo

   

2013 Goal Progress

Can you believe that we are so far through 2013? I wonder if the years are going faster because I'm getting older, or if it has something to do with technology, always being 'switched on' and having less downtime than we had previously. Does anyone have the answers? I think would probably slow down if I moved to a farm without any internet access. It seems like a nice thing to do actually, just to live instead of consuming information at an impossible rate.

That said, I chose some goals that I wanted to achieve in 2013, with the plan to be more present in the moment and follow some of my dreams that I've been working on for awhile now. There are a couple of goals that I've achieved that I'd like to do a post on, all by themselves, so today, I'm just going to do a little checklist to show you how I'm going, and cross some items off my list. Because crossing items off a list is one of my best things.

1. Quit my day job

Guys. I DID THIS. I'm actually kind of blasé about the rest of the list, since this was #1 and the thing I really wanted to get done this year. I'm now working on my ability to say no occasionally, as since I started freelancing, I've been too busy to do much else. But I am loving it! Looking forward to see where this takes me :)

2. Play my bass more

3. Learn to play a new instrument (piano, violin, ukelele?)

4. Take at least 10 dance classes

I haven't done this yet, but in my defence, I've been having the worst feet problems this year. Any kind of 'light-footed' exercise (see; aerobics, boxing and obviously dancing) sets off the most awful toe-curling foot cramps. It's just disgusting. I've just seen the Foot Dr. and received some orthotics, next step is new gym shoes then, hopefully, dancing. On a positive note, I have started running a few times a week, I never thought I'd be able to run, but there you go. Turns out you just turn the treadmill to 'run' and make your feet move so that you don't faceplant.

5. Go camping

Soon, since it's starting to warm up. I guess my outback adventure didn't count, even though I was 'roughing' it in the middle of nowhere. No tents were involved...

6. Write one song per month

7. Do some work on the music room

8. Take an overseas holiday

If you've been reading my blog for more than 24 hours, you probably know that I've recently been to Japan. You can read about it, and look at the pictures in these posts. I'm so pleased with our trip and looking forward to the next one. We are both totally enamoured with Japan! We've even started watching the Japan TV Channel and will be doing a Japanese course to prepare for the next trip!

9. Sew a dress from scratch

10. De-clutter

I've done some. There's always more, isn't there?

11. Listen to more music

Yes, but definitely need more of this!

12. Take at least one day off each fortnight

I haven't been keeping a tally, but yes, I think I have. I stopped blogging EVERY day, which clears me for one day off a week, sometimes! Hooray.

13. Get my lomo LC-A fixed

14. Shoot at least 6 rolls of film

I'm on to my 3rd roll. I need to pick up the pace! I'm counting 'packets' of polaroid as rolls of film. I shot some film in Japan and the outback on my lomo Sardinia, which I just got, so I can't wait to see how (if) those photos turn out.

15. Sleep at least 6 hours each night

Yes! Yes! Just. Barely. But yes.

16. Read at least 12 books

Again, I have started. I was going so well at the start of the year, the last few months I have slowed down. I'm confident that I'll make it though!

17. Keep my little garden going

Yes and no (I'll give myself this one). It was looking great before I went to Japan (which was our Autumn) There's definitely some seasonal rotation required and some new veggies to be planted soon!

18. Walk to the river near my house (It's about 15km round trip)

Not yet! Again, Spring will be perfect for this.

19. Frame and hang some artwork

Yes, some has been done! Would like to get some more done before the year is out.

20. Make a new friend

Heh. I have, but they all live far away. I was aiming for a more... local new friend. There's still time! I suppose I shouldn't be greedy ;)

21. Keep a "Good Things" jar

I went as far as cleaning out one of my Grandma's old preserve jars to use. Does that count? No? Damnit.

22. Meditate daily (even if it's for 10 minutes)

No. No. I even signed up for a meditation course and proceeded to ignore it every day. I have this problem, whenever I meditate I fall asleep. I need to try harder...

23. Spend more 'quality' time with C. Dinners, movies, day trips, walks - that kind of thing

Yes, but there's always room for more.

24. Go on a picnic somewhere new

It doesn't count when you're on holiday, does it? I'd feel like I was cheating. Not yet.

So I'm slowly chugging through my list, hopefully I will get some time to knock a few more off the list in the coming months. Did you set any goals this year? I've kind of been avoiding looking at mine because I've been so busy*, but now I've assessed it, I don't feel so bad. Since leaving my job, I feel freedom to shift my priorities a bit. I'm looking forward to catching up on my progress a bit later on!

*I know everyone says they are busy. But let me say, this week I was relieved to realise that Autumn and Winter are on their way, only to then realise, with dismay, that it's actually Spring/Summer here. I am so hectic and frazzled that I have NO IDEA which season it's supposed to be. It doesn't help that we went to Japan (their Spring, our Autumn) and it was snowy-cold, then our winter was warm, I went to the desert, which was like the middle of summer and now everyone I seem to talk to is in the Northern Hemisphere and farewelling summer. Phew. In short. I'm sorry if I owe you an email. Seriously.

Kitty
xo

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March in Review

Well March has gone by in a flash! I suppose I was so caught up in planning for our holiday that everything else is a blur. Here's a reminder of our favourite posts this month:

I snapped some photos as I drive through the car wash for the very first time. I was pretty excited and delighted, it's a little scary but so much fun! I love how the photos came out too, I was worried they'd be blurry and nonsensical, but I managed to get some really interesting shots.

Wordless Weekend in the Car Wash

A fun outfit shot on a gloomy day. I love all of my 'fruit' accessories, I have a pretty good collection now.

What I Wore - Spotted Strawberry

I hope my travel and vacation tips helped any would-be travellers out, I enjoyed sharing my tips gained from my travel experiences over the years.

Vacation Planning Trips

Photos by the beach on a super windy day! In one of my favourite dresses :)

What I Wore - Daisies In The Breeze

This interview with Amanda was so much fun to write and I really enjoyed reading her answers as well, I hope you found it interesting.

Interview with Little Lady Little City

One last travel-themed post, because so many people cannot believe we travel with carry-on across the world. In this post I show you how!

DIY - Packing Light

C and I took a little jaunt up to Katoomba, which is about an hour and a half driving west of Sydney. It's a lovely little Art Deco era town in the mountains, and I'm actually going to cheat and share some pictures from our trip over the next couple of Wordless Weekend posts, as I won't be editing photos in Japan (I'll save the Japan scenery for when we return) I booked the couple of nights in the mountains on a whim, needing a refresh from the city, and then a few weeks later, booked Japan. I considered cancelling the mountains trip, but hey, you can never have too many holidays, I say!

Everything else is really a blur for me this month, so I'll leave it at that. Thanks for reading, following and commenting, I love hearing your thoughts and sharing stories and inspirations with you. April holds some exotic Japan adventures for me, so I'm looking forward to my next monthly recap so I can tell you more about it!

Kitty
xo

Oh my, a whole year, already?

In case you didn't notice all of the awesome blogaversary giveaway action over the past month, Kitty & Buck has turned the big… 1. I thought instead of the usual end of month review, I might go over the first year, since there was only me and C here when the first post went up! I think Kitty & Buck has gone pretty well over the past few months! It's hard to measure success in the blogging land, there is always someone who writes better, takes better pictures, has better tutorials or insights. But I have worked my butt off and I am pretty pleased with the results so far. The only person I need to please is myself, and if others are informed or inspired as a result, that rocks!

Over the next 12 months I'd like to focus on making my content more professional and planned, while still keeping it personal and relatable, and most importantly, FUN! I'll be creating a few blogging tips posts soon, but I don't want to rush them, and since I'm off to Japan in 3 weeks(!) I might wait until I get back, so I can create a more thorough, focussed series for you. There's a tonne more coming up this year, but for now, let's check out some of our favourite posts.

My first post, a self-portrait, in what started out as a photo-a-day blog :)

The kitties got up to some mischief one Caturday. I love this photo of my dear cat Hobbes, who now resides in some kind of awesome kitty heaven :') It's still hard to look at these pictures.

Easter Hair, where I breakdown my colour mixing methods. I need to attempt this colour palette again next! My hair is VERY overdue for a touchup, I know!

One of my early outfit pics, wearing a beautiful lace dress I found at some antique markets, with lovely views of Sydney Harbour to boot :)

I loved the location of this shoot, which we stumbled across one afternoon. Oh, and I also adore this dress! Daisies in the Pines.

Not only the highlight of my blogging year, but a highlight of my life. I saw a moose. I've seen Christian Slater, Tom Cruise, Drew Barrymore... various other 'super' famous people (you get that living in London I guess) but The Moose. Well. He wins, hands down.

I started Kitty's Book Nook. I'd like to add more books to the 'nook' and hope to get back into it this year. This is one of my top 10 books, The Singing Creek Where The Willow Grows

Another tale of our great American Road Trip (I really need to fix my tags of this and put the adventure all in one spot!) This episode sees us in Rhode Island, Newport to be precise, ogling the mansions where Dark Shadows (the original TV Series) was filmed, and stumbling across the location shoot of the film Moonrise Kingdom.

The hairy legs socks were an enormous hit with you guys! I might find some more (I will find some more) funny socks in Japan.

Yum, Strawberry and Rhubarb Crumble recipe!

Jes from the Militant Baker challenged me to write my Womanifesto. Challenge accepted.

C and I took a mini-road trip along The Great Ocean Road, oh, and we got engaged :) (No, not at the sunset, it wasn't very romantic with up to 10,000 tourists standing by)

I made a little DIY based on my mum's pin cushion that she made in the early 80's.

An outfit post, picnic and some funny memories. Or traumatising, depending on your perspective.

The Lovely Letters Project. Guys. This was HUGE.

A Halloween party inside the Australian Museum, amongst the dinosaurs, with the dear Penny from Uptights :D

The product photography shoot was really popular, and part of the Photo 101 series.

Wordless Weekend has been ever popular, and reminds me to concentrate on photography some more.

My Stylish Surprise from Modcloth was really popular too!

I'll be doing an update soon on how my goals for 2013 are going. Here's the original post to get you up to speed.

I was so pleased to be able to donate my advertising funds in December to The Cat Protection Society, thanks to a lovely group of generous sponsors, we helped some kitties!

Everyone loved Nico Organised Neatly SO much, I'm considering making it a regular thing, as she is always organised neatly. It's just up to me to organise other things neatly so she can sit amongst them!

More Photo 101, this time, Getting To Know Your Camera. There are more posts coming in this series, when it stops raining and I can get the right lighting conditions for you :)

So, this was my most commented-on outfit post ever. Not sure if it was the cat dress, the astro-turf, or my cute clogs? Or maybe just an alignment of some blog-commenting planets? Let me know, I love when you guys talk to me so much!

In my real life, I've loved (C and I got engaged!), lost (some family members and my dear Hobbes and Chibi cats passed away), laughed and danced (mostly in the kitchen). There's so much more, but my goodness, it's lost on me right now.

I just want to thank you all so much for your lovely support, kind words and encouragement, it means so much to me that you read my pages each day. I'm so thankful for the friendships that have grown from this blog, ahhh, I'm getting all mushy ;)

Thank you
Kitty
xo