LAST NIGHT...

THE QUOTABLE L. CERAND...

Go here and read this, written by her. Below, some highlights: 

'Glamour is constructed, elegance is acquired, and charm is innate.'

'I no longer cultivate friendships that would be based on anything other than my simple, straightforward and honest desire to get to know the other person better.'

'Simplicity, in all things, is worth the pursuit.' 

'It’s no honor being the best-dressed person, either; it’s a sign to find a more beautiful room.' 

'....I’d rather have one decent dress that I washed every night in the sink than wear polyester.'

'Elegance is forgiveness, in the most comprehensive sense of the term, and the understanding that everyone would like to minimize the anguish that is a natural part of life, even if they don’t necessarily know how or where to begin. There is today, and now.'

Thank god she's coming to London soon. 

BLOGGERS + CATS...

I had wanted to ask Laura to do Bloggers + Cats for ages - I knew she liked cats, but it wasn't until I saw her interview on Tales of Endearment and saw Laser's photo, that I could confirm she actually had cats she lived with. (As well as an amazing collection of vintage clothing, great style, beauty and being super smart to boot.) I'm fine with asking complete strangers to be interviewed about their cats, but it helps with the whole not coming across as crazy thing if I'm 100% certain they do in fact, have cats. And I like to know the cats' names - it's more civil.

It was Jaja of July Stars (my very first Bloggers + Cats interviewee with Quincy!) who first told me about Laura's blog Sighs & Whispers, which is an amazing repository of classic magazine editorials and images from the '60s, '70s and '80s that I can get lost in for hours. Thank you Laura, for taking part in this - and sweet Misha and Laser (excellent names). Misha looks so much like Lola in some photos, that at one point I thought I'd mixed my photo folders up. Total doppelgangers. And the attacking sounds strangely familiar... Enjoy!

The basics: What breed are they, how old, how did you come to live with them, why did you call them Misha and Laser? 
Both of them are tabby strays. Laser is around 9 years old and Misha is seven. I adopted Misha as a kitten from an animal shelter in Williamsburg- she was named Misha as, at the time, I was doing Russian studies at university and wanted a cute Russian name for her. Laser belonged to a friend of mine who stayed with me for a bit and honestly wasn't together enough to take care of a cat. We've been a happy family for six years.

How would you describe their personalities? Are they friends?
They are friends but they definitely weren't at first! Misha has a reputation as a massive bitch but she has really mellowed as she's gotten older- she used to attack everyone who came in the house but now she is actually quite loving to everyone. Laser is a real gentleman- elegant and friendly, he is basically a dog in cat form. He follows me everywhere and sits on my lap at all times.

What are their respective favourite foods? 
They only eat Wellness Indoor cat food so they like that! I occasionally give them wet food (Laser has difficulty digesting it) and they are always excited for that, whatever flavour.

Do Misha and Laser have preferred lounging locations? Any signature poses? 
They spend 95% of the time on my bed, except Misha does enjoy finding random places to lounge- such as in the display of my 1950s bar. Laser's signature position is with his paws crossed- a very gentlemanly pose. Misha's is probably anything that emphasizes her Buddha-like belly!

What is a day in the lives of Misha and Laser like?
Since I travel so much I have an automatic cat food feeder that goes off at 6am - as soon as they hear it start to rumble they jump off my bed and pig out. Most of the rest of the day is spent laying on my bed, trying to sneak into my walk-in closet (where they are not allowed), playing with a furry mouse that hangs off my bathroom door and causing destruction to my recycling. Misha also enjoys standing on my laptop keyboard and opening up lots of random programs.

Do you have any amusing/weird/cute Misha/Laser moments or stories you'd like to share?
Nothing in particular stands out- everyday with them is a delight and I couldn't ask for better cats!

Quickfire round: 

Birds or mice? Birds, definitely!
Sunlight or radiator? Sunlight.
Tap or bowl? Bowl, but always fresh.
Lap or laptop? Both!
Snuggling or stretching? Snuggling.
Cats or humans? Humans - my ex boyfriend has a cat and when we all lived together it was always my two cats vs his.

PEOPLE USED TO BLOG LIKE THIS...

Oh, I have not been here, but I can't really say where I've been. Not because I'm being coy or have been on some kind of exciting secret mission, but because I don't know where the time went and now time has passed so anything I was going to tell you seems so long ago. I can't seem to keep up with myself at the moment, or focus on any of the billion different ideas and projects I have racing around in my head and all the things I have to do.

I will try and remember the past week at least:

A make up artist at Selfridges got me in a chair, then half way through applying blusher to my cheeks told me she was doing a Kate Middleton make up look on me and I couldn't escape.

I had a training session for something voluntary I'm going to do, which is simultaneously very exciting and terrifying.

I visited Laetitia and her cardboard doppelganger in the window of Forever 21 in Oxford Street - they were both in fine form, though one was more animated than the other.

I went to Lauren's new place in Primrose Hill and instructed her in the ways of white sage smudging, which were taught to me by the very wise Elizabeth.

I didn't manage to make it to any LFW stuff I was invited to - sorry everyone - and sorry to people who've invited me to things because if you emailed me in the past week, I probably didn't even reply.

I got obsessed with my new fabric shaver. The Miu Miu coat I was going to give to charity because it was bobbly all over = like new again. My fave Sessùn jumper that I only wore round the house for the same reason = de-fuzzed, like new. I can't believe those crappy looking things work!

I kept putting off renewing my passport because I have such anxiety about surrendering the old one. I imagine someone is going to want to whisk me off somewhere amazing during the time I don't have one. Yep, I am a certified wanderluster. That and there are so many arbitrary rules about it that I've had to fill out the form twice already, because I used the wrong type of black pen. Hate rules.

I lined up next week's Bloggers + Cats interview.

I didn't take any photos with my camera, but lots with my iphone, mostly of food. When it gets quiet here, I'm still always posting stuff on Instagram (@lolaisbeauty) and Twitter.

I got obsessed with having Jamaican chicken soup as much as possible as a cold remedy. The lady in the takeaway refers to me as little girl chile, which makes me happy.

I painted my nails the most high maintenance shade of matte navy, which lasts for about two hours before needing to be repaired. Maybe that's why I can't remember anything else much - it's the fumes.

I failed in buying any even slightly decent non-overpriced/tacky flowers around Valentine's day, so I waited until Friday before buying some lovely veronica stems.

I lost my cashmere hat, immediately bought another one because it was -6 degrees c, then found the old one and by the time the new cashmere one arrived from COS it wasn't cold anymore.

I went to my local farmers' market and saw a very English man wearing an Aztec poncho, a lot of couples wearing sunglasses, a stall that only sold different varieties of potato (I like that one,) my friend bought one oyster and ate it 'to go', I bought a white beetroot and some kale and we saw a ferret on a lead being taken for a walk.

I wrote list upon list and added items to rollover lists that I'd been unable to tick off and felt very bad about it.

FANCY PANTS...

Yes. Gimme.

{Alexa Chung/Stella McCartney Prince of Wales check/jacquard, Jenna Lyons/Celine? colour blocked silk (Stylespotting), Kirsten Dunst/Rodarte brocade (Coolspotters)}

POP...

That is how you make a music video.  I've been watching it at least eight times a day.

It might look in the above left picture as if I injured myself - in fact if you follow me on Twitter, you'll already know I got very excited about some pink hair dye I bought in Brixton. The idea was a pop of bright colour I suppose, but it came out a bit too raspberry, now turning slightly gothy purple. I'm not sure I'm up for the commitment of bleaching the ends white first so I'll keep you updated. I know how everyone appreciates up to the minute info about my hair. So far this year, this nail combo has been my beloved. It's Topshop Carry on Camping (green) (no longer available) with a pop of whatever random neon pink/orange I have lying around - PLUS - and this is the important bit - a coat of Chanel Velvet Mat top coat.

Yayoi Kusama at Tate Modern - I'm going tomorrow!

SATURDAY NIGHT, SUNDAY MORNING...

Saturday night, snow falls in London. Instagram explodes with snowpics

Sunday morning: I travel by public transport, which 1 inch of snow has yet to cause havoc to.  London friends text me curious to know how it is "outside", and commend me for my extreme bravery and intrepidness at venturing out. 

There's no way I'm staying home, because I'm meeting Elizabeth (who is not going to be fazed by a dusting of snow) for yummy breakfast in Marylebone at Natural Kitchen.

We then go for a walk (translation: I gingerly hobble while Elizabeth props me up) in Regent's Park and we meet this little chap. With wet, frozen feet we bid farewell and I go off to meet Lauren at La Fromagerie for hot chocolate (me) and gratin (her). (I don't know why I have no pictorial evidence of this and wish I had.

After inexcusably directing L to Primark (sorry) I try to go home. The tube/train drivers have now realised they can have a snow day and all trains to where I live have been cancelled for the rest of the day, even though the snow is now melting. After a long, icy and inconvenient detour I am walking up my road and see this cat in a window. Looks warm.

Once home, it takes some emergency measures to defrost my feet and boots - which are soaked, but which were totally fine in the snow in the Stockholm archipelago.

BLOGGERS + CATS...

Yes, it's back. The Bloggers + Cats schedule is a bit more fluid now, i.e. it's whenever the mood takes me and I happen upon someone I must feature. If it's here, it will always pop up on a Thursday.
Fear not, I'm still always scouring the internet for a hint of a tail or mention of a name that might lead me to a new interview. Instagram is proving to be a fertile hunting ground for B + C victims and Ismay Ozga's kitties Gus and Ruby's antics are probably my faves at the moment. I'm sure you all know Ismay's illustration work, jewellery and blog, but you didn't know much about Gus and Ruby did you? That is about to change...thank you so much Ismay!

The basics: What breed are they, how old, how did you come to live with them, why did you call them Gus and Ruby ?
We weren't allowed to have pets in our old flat, and I was absolutely desperate to get a cat, so as soon as my boyfriend and I moved into our house we started looking for kitties- we found Ruby on Gumtree. She was a tiny little mischievous furball, the people who sold her to us told us she was 8 weeks old but it turns out she was more like 6, so she didn't have a lot of time with her mum or siblings. After a couple of months we thought it might be a good idea to get another kitten to help teach her how to behave, so we had a look and found this perfect little white prince! The plan worked- Gus calmed her down a bit. We don't know what breed Ruby is- when we got her we were told she was a British Short hair cross, but she really doesn't look like one, so she's just a little mystery kitty. Gus's mum was a Norwegian Forest cat crossed with a Persian which I guess is why he's such a giant! When we were trying to come up with a name for our tiny little girl we went through about a million suggestions before my friend came up with Ruby. It just seemed to suit her. Gus was named after my mum had suggested Angus to us (she's Scottish!). Ruby is 11 months old and Gus is 10 months.

How would you describe their personalities? Are they friends? 
They have such different personalities, but they are definitely best buddies! We were lucky that they were so accepting of each other- there was a bit of hissing for the first day or so (not from Ruby- she doesn't know how to hiss, or meow- she can only make little squeaky noises!) but after that we found them curled up together, and they've been firm friends ever since. Ruby is quiet and a little wary, she prefers to sit back and watch rather than getting involved, but she'll creep up and pounce on you if she's in the mood. Gus is loud and full of beans, he's very friendly and follows me everywhere like a little lamb.

What are their respective favourite foods?
They both love tuna, and they get it occasionally as a special treat. They like chicken too, and they love the milk in the bottom of my cereal bowl. Oh and Gus goes mad for Dreamies! [Ed note: the devil's food]

Do Gus and Ruby have preferred lounging locations? Any signature poses? 
Gus can often be found on his back with his paws in the air, belly up. He stretches out and lounges around without a care in the world. Ruby has a shelf with blankets on that she uses as a little house, and she also loves to do the 'long cat' on my boyfriend's legs when he has them up on the table.

What is a day in the lives of Gus and Ruby like?
Gus starts yelling as soon as he hears that we're awake, I mean he pretty much howls. So we have to go and give them a cuddle and some food, then they'll have a nap for a bit. Ruby will spend some time looking out the window and wagging her tail like a dog. They both usually join me in my study in the afternoon- Ruby finds the smallest darkest corner under the bed or behind some pillows and hides for a bit, while Gus will come and lie on my desk, usually right in my way. Then after another nap they'll have a burst of energy where they'll run around like wild things. In the evening they will cuddle up with us- Gus with me, Ruby with my boyfriend, and they'll have another sleep. Then they get a bit more food, we go up to bed and hear them running around like crazy again! Occasionally we come downstairs to find they've broken a plate/cup/vase.

Do you have any amusing/weird/cute Gus/Ruby moments or stories you'd like to share? 
Every day is amusing with Gus- he is the funniest cat I've ever met. He's a real chatterbox, if he falls asleep when I'm in the room, and then I leave the room and he wakes up and I'm gone he'll start meowing like 'hey where is everyone' and he'll just walk around meowing until he finds me. He does the same thing if he's playing with a toy and he loses it, he plays with a ping pong ball a lot and when it goes under the sofa he just yells at you until you get it out. Ruby has a habit of climbing things- she gets obsessed with high points in the room, so you'll just walk in and she'll be on top of the bookcase/wardrobe/kitchen cupboards (she can't get down). One time she was obsessing over a corner in our bedroom, so she climbed onto the chest of drawers and just flung herself up the wall at the ceiling- she landed with a big crash. I couldn't help but laugh.

Quickfire round:

Birds or mice? Neither, just because they don't go out yet. Spiders!

Sunlight or radiator? Radiator- there's not a lot of sun here at the moment

Tap or bowl? Tap! Gus is obsessed with the tap in the bath- he'll jump in the bath and stare at the tap until you turn it on, just a little bit, so he can play with the drips

Lap or laptop? Laptop, always

Snuggling or stretching? Definitely snuggling

Cats or humans? Both- Gus will be anyone's friend- cat or human, and Ruby loves Gus and my boyfriend- she's a daddy's girl!

{All photos © Ismay Ozga}