TO TWO TODAY!

Today marks mine and Micks two year anniversary!

I can't believe how fast the time has gone and how much we have done with it.

These past two years has seen me move to Victoria, the two of us move into Melbourne city, our very first house together, our second house together, three beautiful fur babies, our own private tattoo studio and traveling to more than a few countries together. 

I count myself lucky every single day to have such a strong and compassionate man by my side. Mick has been my rock when I have felt adrift in this world and I honestly don't know where I would be with out him. He is my absolute bliss and I love him more every day and I am so proud of him and us for the life we have forged together.

I love you unconditionally this anniversary, next anniversary and the many more to come.

May everyone be as lucky in love as I count myself.

Kitty xx

TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT

As my absence may have indicated it has been quite a busy time around the Dearest house. I don't even know where to start to catch you up on all that has past since I last typed an entry. So…I'm just going to give you the cliffs notes version of my past 4 months.

Mick, Peanut Butter and I are all moved into our new humble abode. It's a very quirky old converted shop. We have concrete floors, pressed tin ceilings, two stories, a spiral staircase, a fish pond and a bigger backyard for our little furry munchkins. Yes munchkins plural. We now have a second furry edition to our family, the squishiest of squish face dogs, Mr Humphrey the British Bulldog came home with us from out latest over seas trip. 

From the first day I met the little fellow, the day we brought
him home & hanging on the couch with big sis Peanut.

We recently journeyed to the ever green north island of New Zealand. Where we attended a tattoo convention before indulging in a road trip holiday around the island. We saw snow capped mountains, geothermal hot springs, geysers, caves and what felt like a million cow and sheep inhabited rolling green hillsides. New Zealand has definitely been one of my favourite holidays so far, everything is so picturesque and there are countless outdoor activities to partake in everywhere you go.

Mount Taranaki, Hells Gate geothermal pools,
road trip view & Huka Falls from the jet boat.

It feels as if the time in between entries has sped past me and I'm already looking down the barrel of the holiday season and it would seem that the Dearest house is already filling up with Christmas cheer. The decorations are up, the candy canes are out and the live Christmas tree is filling the house with the loveliest scent of pine. 

I hope all of you are getting into the holiday spirit however you chose to celebrate.

Kitty xx 

HOME SWEET CARDBOARD JUNGLE.

Goodness gracious me! What a crazy past week its been.

Mick and I have been hard out on the house hunt for the past few months with very little popping up in our price range that suits our needs. Having only found 2 houses, that clearly didn't work out, we weren't feeling too "glass half full" about the matter. So even with our friend Randy from Germany staying with us after Sydney, we had to keep looking, and against all odds we found a super nifty converted shop online that ticked almost all our boxes. Begrudgingly & without getting our hopes up we got up much too early for tattooists and battled the traffic across town to inspect our potential dream home. To our surprise and delight the house was even more lovely than its photos online, which is so rarely the case. We promptly handed our application forms and dwindling hopes to the real-estate agent and left for work to begin the waiting game. Two days later we got the phone call we had been waiting for and surprise upon surprise, we had been approved and the little converted shop was ours for the taking!

Photos from instagram...

Because I don't know the location of my camera.

This past 4 days we have packed our little victorian cottage, loaded our lives into a removal van, driven across town more than enough times, unloaded our lives into a new house, cleaned our old home to the brink of sterile and watched potential tenants walk through the house where we started our journey as a little family. 

So much has happened in our little house on Roseberry street. Two beautiful fur family members have come into our lives and one has left, we've bickered and we've snuggled, we've become a tight little team under that rickety roof and I may have shed a tiny little tear as we drove away for the last time. But we've outgrown our little 2x1 and we're moving up in the suburban world. 

Bye bye little house! Thanks for everything!

I can't wait to see what adventures our new home will hold. After we clear the cardboard jungle that is.

Kitty xx

LAST STOP

TRAVEL CATCH UPS

On the day that my birth is celebrated we journeyed very wearily from Vegas to our San Francisco, our final destination. We spent our last days perusing the streets in our hire car, enjoying delicious treats along the way and getting in some last minute shopping. We saw the Golden Gate bridge, well most of it, thanks fog, we went to Pier 39, taxidermy shops, vintage shops, golden gate park and the oldest Japanese tea garden in America.

pumpkins for days

of all sizes 

golden gate bridge. disappearing into the skye

so so many pigeons

japanese tea garden #1

#2

#3

#4. thank you self timer

seriously hilly roads. every car ride is like a roller coaster

sea lions at pier 39

I think I could feel at home in San Francisco.
Kitty xx

WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS...

TRAVEL CATCH UPS

stays in vegas

Kitty xx

WHEN IT SIZZLES

TRAVEL CATCH UPS

Another  fleeting trip around Europe took us to Paris. I love Paris. The weather was bitterly cold, it rained and it poured and I loved every minute. The buildings were amazing, there was so much art and culture and everything has a story.
Our trip wasn't nearly long enough and I can't wait to go back. You would need a whole week to see half of the Louvre alone. I could get completely carried away in Paris, daydreaming my time away eating amazing pastries and soaking up that something special about Paris that I can't quite put my finger on.

the colours of the leaves were so pretty

another tour bus. i love them. i don't care if they're lame

some lovely building

catacombs

catacombs

catacombs

le eiffel tower

notre dame

louvre

pont des arts

just like school kids

Until we meet again Paris.
Kitty xx

JUST A HOP SKIP AND A JUMP

TRAVEL CATCH UPS

Its so amazing that in Europe you can travel for 20 minutes and be a different country. Mick and I enjoyed this whilst in Copenhagen and decided to take a day trip to Sweden, a short and sweet ferry trip across the river and we were there.

sweden here we come

yep. thank you. thats really helpful

i adore florists

i also adore window boxes

and pumpkins!

slightly rusty bicycle

the skies were clear, but it was freeeeeezing 

and the bicycles continue

We spent the whole day meandering through the cobbled streets, taking in the sights and trying to find a menu that we could decipher.
Kitty xx

LAND OF THE BICYCLE

TRAVEL CATCH UPS

Onwards to Copenhagen! Straight off the train from the airport we were greeted by an ocean of bicycles, in every direction and the challenge of being in a non-English speaking country. Luckily for us almost everyone we met spoke the most impeccable English, and those that didn't were extremely kind to us.
Not knowing very much about the area Mick and I jumped on a bus tour, kitsch i know, but it was lovely. We learnt so much about the history of Copenhagen, and saw some awesome places on the way, none of which I can pronounce or spell.

the little mermaid statue

nyhavn

this times a squillion. everywhere.

heck yeah autumn leaves

Perhaps the only down side to Copenhagen other than the expensiveness was that the Tivoli Gardens were closed! We managed to be in Copenhagen for one of the brief parts on the year that its closed and the place looked amazing! The elaborate halloween decorations we could see from the outside taunted us and I desperately wanted to go, but luckily we did oodles of other fun things.

hans christian anderson museum

carlsberg brewery and museum

cheers

Copenhagen was so picturesque albeit very pricey and I think it would be especially pretty in the warmer months to let yourself wander aimlessly on a bicycle built for two. Perhaps next time, if we spend more that 3 short days.
Kitty xx

YO HO HO AND A BOTTLE OF RUM

TRAVEL CATCH UPS

The London Tattoo Convention was by far the biggest, most jam packed, hectic tattoo convention I have ever been to. There was a ridiculous amount of amazing artists at this show, not to mention Shige who was in the booth directly across from us, it was almost 10 people deep around him the whole 3 days. The show was so packed I barely even did a complete lap of the booths, the crowds where so tight in some corridors you had to elbow your way through like you were at van halen concert just to get to bathroom. 

the line to get in.
it was the same again on the other side of the building.

we even saw a bus crash

the lads working away 

cupcakes and cookies and gingerbread oh my

I did get my hands on a killer new tattoo machine from Lucky Tattoo Supply that I have now tried, tested and fallen in love with. Jimmy Whitlock, your machines are wonderful, not to mention very, very pretty.

At night time the lower level of the convention was filled with bars, music and less than coherent tattooists and friends. Being an old dock and having very poor lighting, the lower level was reminiscent of a seedy old world basement, with people laughing down corridors and disappearing into the dark.  The was a Sailor Jerry Rum Bar and I'd say that we all made the best of it.

yeah. cats.

alex binnies woodblock prints.
amazing.

polaroids care of miles aka poopy

mick and poopy.
slightly inebriated .

I think the London Tattoo Convention has been my favourite convention so far and Id definitely love to work it one day. Mick even bought me an original Corry Norris painting and managed to hide it from me until my birthday in Vegas.

Kitty xx