Merry Christmas!

Do you celebrate Christmas as well? And if so, do you do huge family get-togethers or smaller celebrations, like I did? Either way, whether you have just finished or have yet to begin celebrating, I hope Christmas is amazing for you!

I just wrapped up my relaxed evening of exchanging gifts and eating chocolate, which was lovely! The things I received were wonderful and I was so thrilled to finally reveal the gifts I had bought too. If the light is bright enough for taking pictures I hope to be back quite soon to show you a few of the things I received. So stay tuned!

Plans & Goals: October

Last month I was able to very little, because I was wiped out by a bad cold. Still am, so I'm planning on taking it easy for a while, but I also hope to catch up on some stuff and make up for the slow few weeks I've had. I'd really like to:

• Meet up with some friends again.
• See my first ever professional ballet show.
• Send some lovely things to lovely people.
• Get back into Zentangling.
• Continue meditating.
• Take more pictures for blogposts.
• Listen to some unopened CDs.
• Sew something again.
• And also just snuggle up and relax. Preferably with the little guy above!

So what do you have planned? Anything fun?

Looking Back on August

Even though I had to spend a lot of time taking it easy and resting, I thankfully also got to do a couple of really fun things. Despite -or perhaps because of- those changes in pace, this definitely felt like the fastest month of the year so far.

• I hung out and relaxed with the cat a lot.
• Spent more time at the pharmacy than ever.
• Read a great book and went to a Q&A with the author. More on that soon!
• Cried my eyes out at the TFIOS movie.
• Had a good spot viewing the Gay Pride Canal Parade. Even saw Conchita Wurst from a couple yards!
• Visited a huge library with a lovely friend. We went home with a big pile of books each!
• Bought and received some amazing new yarn.
• Turned a blogger-friend into a real-life-friend during an awesome day with Jerlene.
• And even got lucky and won myself a gorgeous bag!

Was your month eventful? Did it pass by quite quickly too?

Introducing...

A couple months back a wonderful cat came into my life. It took a while to get everything in order and for him to settle in, but I now feel like I can introduce you to the wonderful feline that has made my first own apartment a real home.

Not only does he look stunning and adorable, he is actually the friendliest cat I've ever met. We had an instant connection, but we still bond more each day. Every morning I get a 15-minute greeting full of cuddles and purring!

He does silly things, like fall off footstools regularly and jump into mirrors, and clever things, like playing fetch. He's very vocal and has different meows for different things. Anyway, I'm sure you'll see plenty more of him soon.

Also, if you have a cool idea for a name let me know! I have something in mind, but I might be persuaded by something that has a really good ring to it or that fits him even better… So feel free to leave a suggestion.

Muahaha!

I just wanted to wish you all a happy Halloween! And let me know what your costume was - if you had one -, because I love seeing those!

Speaking of costumes... did you see this video yet? The Tim Gunn-part is genius!

Melting Away...

You might have noticed things are a bit quiet here. No, I'm not busy with other things. No, I haven't gone on some impromptu vacation. I've simply been doing this:

It's too hot to do anything and too hot to think. Especially indoors.
And as tough as it is for the humans in the house, I imagine my cat really drew the short straw with her permanent fur coat.

Anyway, things should be cooling down this week, so I'll be back with more elaborate posts soon.

And if you happen to have any tips to help cool me, my cat or this house down, please share!

Sponsor in March?

If you're interested in sponsoring Blue Eyed Night Owl please shoot me an Email. Or leave a comment with your email address and I will get back to you.

There are 3 sizes available: small ($6), regular($10) and the exlusive large ad($25). You can even save money on 3 month deals. Learn more here. 

Misty Moments

This is one of my favorite cardigans. It's from Nümph and I love their stuff. Due to their great quality materials and great designs it's always gorgeous, but unfortunately also often budget-exceeding. This was a very lucky online on sale find.

I absolutely love wearing it with the necklace Jill made to look exactly like my cat Misty. Go here to have your custom cat necklace made.

Lastly, here's my moonstone ring. I love moonstone, have always loved it, it even preceeds my love for grey clothing, which turned out to work very well with my love for this gemstone.

Do you have any favorite gemstones? My absolute favorite is probably Labradorite, which is bound to make an appearance on the blog sooner or later too.

Mini Misty!

A while back I mentioned I was lucky enough to win a custom cat pendant on Jill's blog Dapper Toad. Well... my mini Misty came in the mail today!

Isn't it amazing?!

The packaging was adorable right from the start, the mailer looked cute, then the little box that held my Misty in a teeny tiny little bag. And then of course, the actual pendant. I love it!

It just is her!

That's always the trickiest but most important part of any sort of "portrait", not does it look like the person/animal, but is it the person/animal. And Jill definitely pulled it off.

You can't really see it on this picture though, as my cat isn't really comfortable in front of the camera and always pulls strange faces. (Weird, right?) But I thought I'd post a reminder of what she looks like, and she just happened to crawl into a cabinet today which, any cat owner knows, is always photoworthy.

Be sure to follow Jill's blog. And definitely check out her shop too! Because let's be honest, can you think of any Christmas present that could top a custom kitty necklace? Of course not!

Thanks Jill!

Guess who turned 8 this weekend?

Cat Party on Papersparrow

You should really head on over to Papersparrow. Because the lovely Andrea has organized an amazing Cat Party full of tutorials, guest posts and a Cat-Tastic Mega Giveaway including a bookmark from yours truly.

This "cat lover" bookmark will be available on my Etsy later this week. And I've also been busy with my new "secret project", a whole bunch of owls and a Halloween design. Will keep you updated!

August Break #17: how do they get so tangled up?

A little (August) Break #5-6

A Little Cat Rant

Right after we went to retrieve our cat from it's vacation address we brought her to the vet. She'd been going to the litterbox too often and we also just wanted a little check up in general. Turns out she has urine christals and has to go on antibiotics for a little while and a lifelong diet.

Now what really pisses me off about this is that it is caused by a high salt percentage in cat food! It is quite a common problem with cats simply because their food isn't right for them at all.

I am really quite disgusted that it's apparently still okay in the food industry to say stuff is healthy while it is actually causing harm. I know there are still a lot of issues with food humans eat too, but at least we have a lot of choice. Cat food is cat food and you think you can feed it to your much loved cat, but I guess not...

Picture This...

I'm currently enrolled in a 3-class photography course. Yesterday I went to the second one, so there's only one left. It covers all the technical stuff (which is good, because that's what I wanted to know), so we haven't really been working creatively yet, but I've been told we'll have a different kind of assignment next week.

After yesterday's class I walked past this owl dress and could not resist! It's so pretty and comfortable and it even has pockets!

Today I wore it with one of my favorite owl rings.

I also went to get a bite and a drink (a deliciously sweet lemon iced tea) while reading a Kafka book I'd just picked up from a discount bookstore a few stores back.

The day before I went to get some pictures printed for the course when I spotted this gorgeous cat. S/he is very shy and you really have to trick him/her to look you in the eye, after which it will soon realize what s/he's doing and look away again. I can't believe I was lucky and quick enough to photograph the cat behind it's window.

I have a few other new things in store and will be back with more pictures soon. Including of some cameras.....

Keeping warm... or trying to

It is cold. And when I say cold, I really mean freezing, snowing, seriously cold. Even indoors we can't seem to keep the house nearly warm enough. However there are a few things that make it somewhat manageable. Here's my little list:

My cat.

Nothing as comforting as a warm and furry little creature. Too bad she spends way more time on the heater than on my lap. Can't blame her though, I can hardly compete with that.

Tea.

I'm a really big tea drinker, don't go a single day without it. But this winter I am breaking all records.

Warm scarf.

This lovely scarf was made by a friend of mine. Ever since it's been snowing it's been around my neck from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed.

The ultimate rescue.

My feet are always cold so you can imagine it's near to impossible to keep them warm this time of year. However I noticed this "foot bag" in a folder and just had to have it. I was a bit afraid it wouldn't work or be practical, but let me tell you... it is the best thing I have ever bought and I am infinitely grateful to have it at my feet right now.

Due to the cold I haven't been active online at all. Somehow the desk is one of the coldest places in the house so I try to avoid it as best I can. But I'll try to keep my blogging up despite this all.

With this lack of internet I found entertainment in other gadgets and things that you can actually use while you're wrapped up in a "foot bag", "Snuggie"and numerous blankets. Such as:

Nintendo DS.

I've always enjoyed it, but never really got into it as much as now. I've been particularly busy solving murders and building hotels. Believe it or not I actually feel like I'm achieving something here;)

Books.

Before I go to sleep I love to read a few pages, or sometimes a bit more because I just can't help myself. The combination of a snow white world and Murakami's books makes me feel like I'm living in a dream world.

Seeing this you may get the impression that I haven't done anything, but with the holidays getting closer and closer I've been really busy with orders too.

Including my largest one so far, 20 bookmarks!

They had to be finished in a really short time because of Christmas. I am still getting Christmas orders as time is running out, especially people outside of Europe should place their orders this weekend, if they want to be absolutely sure it will arrive before the 25th.

So what have you been up to? Did you go into hibernation like me? Any tips to keep warm?

Halloween in Holland

As you all probably know, Halloween is tomorrow. We don't have it here in Holland, but a lovely American friend of mine sent me a box full of Halloween goodies so that I could celebrate too. I thought I'd take a few pictures of some of the items and share them with you.

I just couldn't believe how cute and detailed the actual chocolate was, although I have to admit this one is long devoured...

This little bat is so cute! And the candy underneath is really really good!

Along with the halloween stuff came two adorable owls, that I will probably show you soon.

~

In return for all these Halloween goodies, I sent her a box of Sinterklaas candy, which is a Dutch holiday that comes with lots of traditional candy.

Before I could even pack the box, someone decided it was the perfect spot to go sit and relax. But I got her out of there in the end and was able send the box to my friend.

Are you celebrating Halloween this year? And if you plan on dressing up, what is your costume going to be? I'd love to hear about it.

Don't forget to enter the US and CANADA only GIVEAWAY

Feel Good Food

Happy easter! I hope you are having a great time, whether it's special family dinners or just hanging out at home.

Easter is mostly about food these days and mine was too, but mostly in a non-eastery way.

This morning I started out finally baking those blueberry muffins/cupcakes I told you about. A whole lot went wrong, but I still have a few decent looking cupcakes now. I used a pretty shimmery raspberry glaze.

Did you know that Fluff(the marshmallow spread) rises when you bake it? I filled a few of them half up with batter, put some Fluff on it and then some more batter. When I took it out of the oven the marshmallow stuff was on top. How weird?!

My cat was totally licking her lips too.

Is this the first time I ever show you my cat, or maybe even mention her? I don't know how that happened, I guess owls and cats might not be that good of a combination.

The picture above shows my dinner. My mom made those pre-cut easter potatoes, it was cute. And delicious!