12...

When I started writing this post it was all, "If I see 2011 around here again I'm going to kick its arse out of the door, slam it hard, barricade it and run away screaming." But then I realised that makes no sense in the context of the blog, because I don't really blog about personal stuff. And let's keep things positive, hmm? Then I thought I can easily get away with glossing over 2011 by making my new year's post purely visual - maybe throw in a rare archive photo of Anna Karina or something... But I also realised that here I have a reliable document that shows me 2011 wasn't all bad, because the good stuff is what I blogged about - even if it was few and far between and I was a little less energetic or diligent than usual. How can I be disparaging about a year in which I inaugurated Bloggers + Cats (February) started writing travel dispatches for Fathom (May), finally visited Lisbon (August) and loved it more than I could ever have dreamed, and spent lots and lots of time with friends old and new - that's what I want to remember: the meals and the drinks, the walks and the good company.

I don't have resolutions, but if anything I'd like to plan for more of the good stuff, so it's not outweighed by just reacting to and fire fighting the horrible stuff.

So here's to you and to more of the good stuff in 2012.

{And er, to less of my Instagram photos taking the place of actual real photos. Promise.}

UH, DECEMBER...

Merry merry...
♡♡♡♡♡

HOLIDAY TREAT...

I am the Christmas Awkward Photobooth™angel and I come bearing holiday treats from Family Affairs! Holiday treats is when different pieces go on sale each day going up to Christmas. It's kind of like an advent calendar, except when you open up door number 22 you get me and the lovely metallic striped Fellini blouse, which is subtly festive, no? It's 30% off today ONLY here  - and it's the first item from the current winter '11 collection to be a holiday treat!

THE LIGHT...

I finally understand why someone would want to live in a loft.

{Johanna Burke's home © Grace Villamil / Freunde von Freunden}

ACCIDENTAL WISH LIST...

MHL Margaret Howell Guernsey pocket sweater, Celine bag, Minimarket hat,

National Trust blanket (I own it, it's tres chic and it's only £27), L'Econome veg knife, Musgo Real Orange Amber Cologne,

Le Creuset square grill, Sermoneta gloves, Farmacia Santa Maria Novella pot pourri (this smells really...specific - kind of like Vicks Vapour Rub?)

Diana Vreeland The Eye Has To Travel book, J. Crew PJs, UO zigzag rug

Links to them all here.

REPORTS OF MY DEMISE ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED...

I've been here there and everywhere - well, apart from here evidently. Does two weeks without a post constitute internet death still, or are things more flexible these days? I have only this paltry handful of Instagrams to offer the internet today. Tomorrow, we'll see. Or the next day.

BLOGGERS + CATS...

I was tempted not to tell you who the owner of these cats was and let you guess. (The feet are a good clue.) 

It's not really accurate to call Maria just a blogger. Art director, stylist, photographer, writer, printer, publisher, online and print creative visionary powerhouse or something might be getting closer, but isn't very succinct. You can probably tell I've been a bit of a fan of MAV's for a really long time, but through seeing her inspiring projects and collaborations, I didn't really realise she had cats until I saw them in the new issue of 3191 Quarterly. So of course I had to ask her, you know, not some really probing questions about her creative process or how the light in Portland, Maine affects her work like a normal person would, but all about Charlie and Scotch. I should have known that despite her claiming to not be a cat person at all, her cats have a pretty sweet life. Thank you MAV!

Charlie and Scotch

What breed are they, how old, how did you come to live with them, why did you call them Charlie and Scotch?
They are both short haired cats. I think they are tabby cats but I really have no idea. I am not a cat person at all! I got Charlie when he was 10 weeks old; he is now 9 years old. I got Scotch about 4 years ago. I was volunteering at a cat shelter and there he was. I had just lost my beloved Raven (the black cat on the orange couch in the photo below) and was not feeling like I would get another cat but there was Scotch. I couldn't resist! I'm not entirely sure why I went with Charlie as a name ... I just remember liking it. Scotch was named by my boyfriend. We both love to drink Scotch so voila!

Raven and Charlie

How would you describe their personalities? Are they friends?
Charlie is a complete pain in the ass. He's demanding, rude and bossy. He's in my face all the time! But he's also beautiful, soft, great company and very smart. I love him so much. Scotch is ... well ... he's sort of dumb! He's sort of skittish and also very, very sweet. Both cats are very friendly and always out. They *never* hide. They are like dogs. And yes! I would say they are friends. They are like brothers ... snuggling most mornings and then fighting a few hours later. I love that they have each other. Charlie is definitely in charge but Scotch shows him the business sometimes too! It's a great combo.

What are their respective favourite foods?
Chicken, chicken, chicken. And they also both love cheese and butter (but they don't get those unless they sneak up on the counter).

Do Charlie and Scotch have preferred lounging locations? Any signature poses?
Their favorite locations change but right now they are loving baskets with wool blankets. For a while they were fighting over one round basket but now I added a second one and they seem to each love having their own. They both love to curl up into a ball. They both love to be warm. Oh and Scotch will lay on any paper in the room. He'll jump up on our table and lay on our papers. He loves papers!

Charlie

What is a day in the lives of Charlie and Scotch like?
Wake up at 6AM, demand food by jumping on MAV. Eat excitedly! Charlie goes for a nap immediately and sleeps till 2PM. Scotch follows me around until about 10AM. He's my shadow. Sometimes he even follows me into the shower! Then once I start the shower he scatters but he waits by the door for me. He likes to sit on my lap while I have coffee. So yeah. They both get up around 2PM and wander around for a bit, sit in the sun, get into trouble. Then they nap until 4PM and then are back to demanding food. They eat dinner around 6PM and then it's back to napping and wandering. They are ready for their evening treat at 10PM and then to bed. They are *very* into their eating routine! Their days are much the same every single day and they love it.

Do you have any amusing/weird/cute Charlie/Scotch moments or stories you'd like to share? Well Charlie likes to sit at the table with me when I eat. It's pretty cool. I pull a chair out for him and he sits right at the table with me when I eat dinner, lunch or breakfast. It's pretty funny.

Scotch

Quickfire round: 

Birds or mice? Birds for Scotch. Mice for Charlie.

Sunlight or radiator? Sunlight for sure!

Tap or bowl? Neither. These cats don't drink water. Odd, right? They get wet food.

Lap or laptop? :) Laptop!

Snuggling or stretching? Snuggling. These guys are pretty good about snuggling.

Cats or humans? Humans! They are like dogs, I'm telling ya!

Scotch

{All photos © MAV}

POESY...

 Clemence Poesy and Jalouse are always so good together - I think so anyway, or maybe it's that I don't really look at Jalouse unless Clemence is on the cover! You can download the whole November 2011 issue here.

1. Mason Poole, 2. CP scrapbook for Jeanne d'Arc

May 2009
Ph: Emeric Glayse

FOG...

More late autumnal pictures - I still feel the need to document, even if it's a bit boring for you. I've dealt with having to take my car in for repairs every weekend for the past month or so by setting up a task/reward scenario. There's a place nearby that does really good bacon sandwiches (I may have fallen slightly off the greens wagon temporarily) so I always get one when I go. Then I have a snugs time with my mechanic's dog, who's obviously the best dog that ever existed. She likes to sit on my foot so I can't leave.

I keep seeing extremely dapper gentlemen about the place and struggling to sneakily capture them on Instagram. You'll just have to trust me that the man at the top of this tube escalator was wearing a pinstriped suit and bowler hat and moving at quiiiite a clip - too fast for me. The man in the red trousers was more leisurely, was smoking a pipe and wore subtly striped socks.

Finally, this November has been wonderfully foggy, which makes everything feel mystical and - to coin a phrase - Brontean. The final picture was taken yesterday morning; then last night as I was driving back towards London from Sussex I swung down the slip road onto the motorway to see fields with hovering low fog, silhouettes of trees and the sky bright neon pink. Like this (the only picture of it I can find on Flickr) but as if someone scrawled all over it with a bright pink highlighter pen.

p.s. I know this is sacrilege being a cat person, but I can't help looking up stuff about Akitas - the Japanese breed of dog my car guy has. I had been told they're very loyal and I found a story about one in Tokyo that used to meet his owner from Shibuya station every day. The man died at work one day and the dog continued to go to the station every evening at the right time for nine years (until its own death) to wait for him. There's a bronze statue of the dog at the station and bronze paw prints at the exact spot he used to wait.

WINTERS PAST...

Some pictures taken between 2004 - 2009 around the hood. 2009 is incidentally when I got an iphone. I do miss having a decent little camera that I can pop in my pocket and take random pics with. Must sort that out. Looking through my iphoto it's clear that post 2009 my picture taking fell off the edge of a cliff. These pictures were all taken on my old Panasonic Lumix FX7 with the Leica lens. I loved that little camera - it was not much bigger than a credit card, and the screen took up most of the back. It took pretty decent pictures but it doesn't really work anymore. Can anyone recommend a replacement?

LONDON...

Here's a little London itinerary I wrote for Fathom - it's essentially where I'd take you if it was your first visit to London; as opposed to where I'd take your granny or your annoying little brother.

Read it here.

NOVEMBER...

{Photos from other Novembers 1,2,3, in Greenwich great park and 4,5, the Kent countryside not far from London}