I’m typing this post as I wait for web pages to load. The rain is making my internet slow and that is a very frustrating thing indeed! Particularly when I’m trying to get through a pile of blog posts that have been sitting in my BlogLovin’ feed for…ooh…months now. It’s ridiculous. I actually unsubcribed to several blogs a few months ago because I just don’t read them any more. I think I will endeavour to do this again & totally overhaul my BlogLovin’ folders. Better organisation is really needed!

Aside from this, today I woke up at 7 o’clock with no intention of remaining awake. I had a bathroom stop, heated up my wheat bag (for the dreadful cramps I’ve been having the last two weeks – thank you lady issues) and climbed back into bed. Unfortunately I ended up sleeping well-passed a decent time and finally awoke at 12:30. That NEVER happens. While I love my sleep and don’t mind a sleep-in, 9-10am is about as much as I ever do. As a result my day feels totally out of balance! Nevertheless, I’ve done some more packing for my move in eight days and also helped my mum sort and repack some of my parents’ things that are in storage. We have a giant donation box filling up.

There is still so much to be done though. Christmas gifts to be sewn, wrapped, bought; belongings to be shoved into boxes and bags. It’s so exciting, but definitely stressful a bit! I’m also feeling tremendously guilty about leaving my cats, Molly and Lola, with my parents. It’s better for them since they are used to all the space here on the farm, but Molly is very attached to me and I her, so I do feel sad about it. For example, she is at present curled in a ball on the desk next to me and this little office area of mine is hers too. I am going to miss her company so very much.

As I mentioned yesterday, I have two new additions to my family in the form of guinea pigs! It sort of happened on a whim, on October 11th. I had been researching guinea pig care for about a week but wasn’t entirely sure I would get any yet, then I went to a pet store and saw these two girls and the rest is history. Normally I don’t really advocate purchasing animals from pet stores – there are so many in shelters who need homes and I don’t support over-breeding – but I guess hypocrisy doesn’t escape me. These girls needed me! I would for sure give them a wonderful home with more love and cuddles than they could shake a piece of hay at.

Margot

Bella

They are not siblings, but about the same age: around 4 months and one week old, now. Bella is more adventurous in that she will explore new places/objects before Margot does, but she is also far more wriggly to cuddle! Margot is quieter and a bit more relaxed, easy to hold and cuddle. Both are sweet and hilarious, they run around their cage like mad, popcorning (little jumps guinea pigs do when happy) all over the place and get very happy when their fresh food is given out. Their favourite is cucumber and strawberries, but they’re also very partial to purple leaf lettuces and clover.

(Excuse the poop – they make a lot of these, all the time, everywhere.)

From my research I learned that while piggies are typically considered outdoor pets here in New Zealand, they do much better inside. This is especially true for places that get extreme highs and lows in temperature, or humid climates (my city!). It also means they are less likely to be harassed by predator animals and mites, and it means that bonding with piggies is a bit easier because they are around people more often. So, I came home with my girls, a bunch of accessories and food, and found a temporary home for them inside while I built an epic guinea pig condo. Their house has been finished for about 6 weeks and they looove it. I love it, too.

This is their ‘condo’. Made from wire storage cube panels held together with cable ties and coroplast/corflute/corflex (the corrugated plastic used for signs) on the cage floor. This photo only shows the towels, but I also put a layer of fleece over the top. Also, there’s a different ramp now, which they love.

If you’re thinking about adopting a guinea pig, the following websites are really helpful to read first – these sweeties may look small and easy, but guinea care is actually very involved and you have to be dedicated. They are not the sort of pet that just sits in a cage looking cute (no animal should be viewed as such, really). If you want something to look at, get a fish.

• Guinea Lynx – the best site for info on general care to specific medical conditions.
• Jackie’s Guinea Pigs – my favourite website for guinea pig care info (aside from Guinea Lynx for the medical info).
• Cavy Spirit – another good site for general info.
• Guinea Pig Cages – cages like mine, where to get materials, how to make them.
• Guinea Pig Cages Forum – excellent resource for everything guinea pig.

As an aside, my brother got my sister-in-law a puppy for Christmas! Her name is Lexi and she’s an 8-week-old Maltese. I am in love with her. I’ve spent most of my life either living with or close to small dogs (Chihuahua’s mainly) and there really is nothing like a small snuggle buddy of the fuzzy variety. Big dogs are awesome, but they are so…painful…to have sit in your lap.

Not adult as in I am going to blog erotic fanfiction or something. Which would be amusing because I’m not a great fiction writer and I’m pretty sure if I tried my had at erotic fiction it would sound like a 13-year-old wrote it. But adult as in growing up.

One of the biggest milestones in my life is about to happen in 18 days: I am moving out of my parents’ house and Josh and I are moving into our own flat! Well, Josh is moving in early January, anyway. I guess technically I will be living alone for about a week, haha. This whole thing happened suddenly a little over a month ago, when the flat adjoined to my grandmother’s house became available. She wanted another family member, or at least someone she knew, to live there, so once J and I figured out we could afford it we jumped at the chance. Since then it’s felt like a whirlwind of planning, buying essentials that we can’t get as hand-me-downs and me trying very hard not to spend too much on buying non-essential homely items (and somewhat failing). Fortunately we know a lot of people with a lot of excess stuff so we’ve managed to acquire all the big items like a fridge, couch, armchair and microwave, and lots of other bits and pieces too (mainly kitchen stuff).

At first I was swooning over getting to decorate (though not changing paint) but came into strife with this because J and I have tend to have very different styles. I am mid-century modern mixed with contemporary and he basically a medieval Gothic castle. It is actually litterally light and dark (or eggshell blue cotton and red velvet). This realisation sent me into a temporary panic and I kind of had to ‘grieve’ for the idea of creating a home that is 100% ME. It may seem silly, but I’m pretty sure I’m not the only interior decorating, design dork out there who has mourned the loss of their style once they cohabitate. I guess some people are ‘lucky’ in that their partner might not care all that much so they let you do all you want, but my dude is actually quite interested in such things and would rather have his input.

Hmph! Though not really ‘hmph’, at least not anymore, because I have mourned my preconceived ideal flat and am now in the Compromise Zone. I’m okay with that. It may not be my perfect decor style, but it will be Us and this is what this whole thing is about. He and I, us, embarking on a new adventure together. One in which both of us should be able to express our individual tastes, to show off our favourite things, in a manner that, somehow, says This Is Us. Or something like that. At the end of the day it doesn’t really matter if I have a reproduction Eames chair in eggshell blue but rather that we get to wake up next to each other, cook together, end our days with face-to-face chats rather than phone calls and texts. We get to set up our home and live our lives as individuals and a couple, in it. With our guinea pig babies*. Those are the things that really matter.

And just because I can, here are a couple of photos that show the crazy packing process I’m in:

My bedroom. Trying to contain the crazy in one area but failing.

Upstairs in the house, where a lot of my boxes are residing at the moment. Most of this is kitchen stuff…

So, there we have it. Moving. Two days before Christmas. Probably in the evening because I’m moving in the day my cousin moves out. I’m impatient like that (obviously). Who is cray? Why yes, that would be me, thank you very much.

*Yes, I got two guinea pigs about two months ago, before we knew we were moving. I will introduce them in a post soon!

Yesterday J and I drove to Rotorua, where we’re staying for a week on vacation. We’ve been looking forward to this since we started planning back in March and now we’re here! So far it’s been lovely and the resort we’re staying at is situated on a gorgeous lake.

Here are some photos from my phone. I’ll share photos from my dSLR when I get home (along with others).

On the drive here:

Tonight at our villa after dinner:

We have a view of the lake from our place and a little veranda. It’s the best, really. There’s two bedrooms upstairs with a shared full bathroom and downstairs there’s a full kitchen, lounge/dining area and small bathroom with toilet and shower. It’s big for just the to of us, but it’s nice to have space actually! It’s like a trial-run for when he and I move in together early January.

Yesterday we visited the town centre, played tennis, swam in the hotel pool and had a sauna (my first ever – God, it’s so boiling in there). Today we’ve gone kayaking (also a first for me but I enjoyed it), attempted to use the resort’s peddle boats which suck, played Cluedo and Monopoly, and hung about.

Now it’s time for dessert and then I’m off for another swim/spa/sauna!

I should be writing two report drafts, an essay, and studying for two tests. Instead I’m painfully waiting for my slow internet to load blogs and Twitter, specifically Rebecca’s Twitter in case she goes into labour in which case I will pee myself a little with excitement.

Last year I was on pregnancy watch with Danielle and this year it’s Rebecca, who’s having twin girls. Double the excitement! Pregnancy blog posts are like crack for me, I swear. I almost live for the weekly updates and the excitement of impending birth, then the newborn posts, photos, and getting to see these babies grow. Is that weird? Is it weird that I can ‘see’ children I don’t even know personally grow up via the blogs of their incredibly awesome mamas (and papas)?

Maybe, but I think now this is just part of life when technology is involved. In a way, for me, it’s like characters from a book that I get to follow for as long as they share their life via blogging, except they’re real people obviously. I get attached to reading about them in the same way I get attached to book characters. By and large humans are social and we are nosey; we like knowing other people’s business whether we admit it or not. It’s enjoyable to read snippets from the lives of others, sometimes to escape the druggery of our own lives, other times because they are a friend or family member and it’s a way of ‘keeping up’ with them in our ever-changing, fast-paced existence. Sometimes it’s just because these people are the kinds of people you wish you knew in real life.

So, I shall continue to stay glued to Twitter and peek into the lives of these women I so admire, to share a little bit of their lives and families, for as long as they are willing to share it with us.

This past weekend was the loveliest. I had the best time with almost all of the important people in my life.

On Friday I hung out with my youngest niece, Miss Three-Years-Old-Thank-You-Very-Much, who prances around in gumboots on our farm, hunting for worms and slaters to feed the chickens. She delights in the all the animals, particularly my cat Lola who is usually kid-friendly and semi-happy to be caught, picked up and carted around by Persia. Usually!

On Saturday my guy and I went to see Hanna in the morning, an excellent film with more superb acting from Saoirse Ronan. Afterwards we popped into Jb Hifi and Josh came out with the new Samsung Galaxy Tab! Boys and their toys… Actually, a few weeks ago I was all set to get an iPad 2, so I can’t really talk. Fortunately I fought my urges and saved my cash, however I’m now considering getting a new phone because my current one is beginning to annoy me (i.e., my expectations for my cellphone have changed and my current phone no longer meets them, as Josh so kindly framed my ‘need’ for a new phone). The front-runner at the moment is the Samsung Galaxy S II.

That afternoon I made a double batch of Triple Salted Caramel cupcakes for Father’s Day lunch on Sunday. Three hours later I was done, ha! That is baking from scratch for you. I don’t think I’ve ever made packet/boxed baking before, actually. Pancakes, yes, and panacotta once. But cake treats are best done from scratch, I think. They just taste better.

Yesterday was a lovely day, celebrating my dad and the other dads in my life. Most years my parents have a lunch on Mother’s and Father’s days. My mum is excellent at putting on gatherings and her casual, low-key family ones are my favourite. I hope I’m as good a host as she is, one day.

I hope you all had a nice weekend (and Monday!) and are so far enjoying September, whatever season you’re experiencing. Today it felt like spring, with sunshine and clear skies (even though I know spring is the rainy season). I am a teeny bit envious of all the northern hemisphere bloggers I know who are going into autumn though; it’s my favourite season by far.

Ever-inspired by turquoise, here is a bunch of turquoise stuff. I might do more of these colour-themed Pretty Things posts because I like organising items by colour. Yes? No?

This Cuckoo Clock from Catching Fireflies, via Rare Bird Finds.

This Too Much Fun dress in Paradise and this Out to Sea Foam dress from Mod Cloth.

This Gimme Classic Shoulder Bag // These Spycam Heels // This vintage belt (already sold – insert pouty face here) // These Pastel Pigments earrings, all from Mod Cloth.

Marc by Marc Jacobs sunglasses via Endless

This turquoise shag rug and this Espana area rug from Home Decorators.

This Juicy Couture necklace and this Gurhan Skittle ring, both via Endless.

This armchair from Home Decorators. // This hanging chair via Pieces.

This holiday destination in Bora Bora, via The Cool Hunter.

This cake with turquoise and gold decorations via Pinterest.

This hair style via Craft Gawker.

This suitcase via Sew Can Do.

This summer pool photo from Marie Edwards’ Flickr, via Diana Moss’ Pinterest.

These dishes and that map, via Pinterest. // These…plates? Pictures?…pretty thingies in pretty aqua frames, via Centsational Girl.

I am absolutely a nineties child, it is my favourite decade (along with the current one), probably because it was the one my childhood was spent in. I have so many amazing memories from it and this song is one of them.

Stumbled across Ferm Living’s new Autumn/Winter 2011 catalogue earlier today (via Apartment Therapy) and fell in love. Hard. The whole concept is so perfect and the photography nothing short of delicious.

From the catalogue:

We took ourselves, our designs and our house into the wild woods. We climbed the trees, we danced in the rain, we laughed and we felt like a bunch of happy campers. The raw nature was the perfect backdrop for our universe of strong graphic lines and honest materials like wood, wool, organic cotton, leather, cork and paper. All these amazing materials twisted into straight forward and geometric shapes create our new and well crafted collection. Welcome to the woods and to our version of autumn/winter 2011.

Naturally, after looking through the catalogue I continued onto the website for a browse at the new items, along with the older collections. Here are some of my favourite picks:

All images from Ferm Living.

I’m on mid-semester break at the moment, so hopefully I’ll have a little more time to post. The last couple of weeks have been crazy-busy and there has been so little down-time for anything; I was definitely looking forward to a bit of R&R. I’ve had four days of doing nada, except going away for the weekend to visit my dude’s family, eating American junk food (thank the candy Gods for Baby Ruth bars and Twinkies), watching movies, and generally faffing about.

I even got out my crochet last night and painstakingly unravelled a non-used sunglasses case I made last year and wound a lovely yarn ball. However, when I got up this morning Mum informed me that the dog had found aforementioned ball and thought it was the most fun thing ever, chomping on it and getting it tangled around her legs. Now to wash the tangled mess of yarn…

I don’t have anything majorly exciting planned for the rest of my holiday, unless taking my two cats to the vet counts as ‘exciting’. I suppose, considering Molly would rather be anywhere other than the vet’s, it may turn out to be rather eventful. Lola just flirts with everyone (seriously, that cat is super-friendly).

I do have a small nugget of exciting news though: I joined Weight Watchers’ online programme just over a week ago! I’d finally got to the point where I knew it would probably be best if I had an even bigger incentive than just wanting to feel better about myself. That incentive is, of course, having shelled out over a hundred NZ dollars to join for three months. Now I absolutely have to make the most of being a member and losing weight or I will lose money, and that is not cool. In the first week I lost 1.5kg, a nice amount I think. So far I’m really pleased with how easy it is and how straight-forward the online tools are to use. I’m conscious of what I eat, but I don’t have to be pedantic about it. At this point I’m not even exercising, either.

Anyway, hope you made it through what ended up being a text-filled, somewhat disjointed post. Check back later for a post about one of my favourite design houses around at the moment, which is much less texty and more eye-candy filled.