Found #61

I was reading the news today and it mentioned that some kind of weather system is floating about that will make our winter wet miserable. Usually we have 2 seasons in Australia, generally hot / wet and cold / dry. The cold and wet combo I can do without, thank you very much. It puts me into an ironic mood where I feel like wearing my sunshine shoes to counteract the misery. These "Hello Sunshine" kicks from ModCloth could add to my sunny shoe collection for the coming dreary months.

via: ModCloth

I spotted the illustrations of Marcos Chin some time ago, and I quite enjoy his style, it reminds me a little bit of the Japanese artist Suehiro Maruo, but maybe less intense! The colours and perspective in this illustration are great and I like the shadow too :)

via: Behance

Danish home decor brand Miss Étoile has the most dainty range of cute dishes with little faces, polka dots and much more. Ooh-la-la!

via: Miss Étoile

This nautical style bag on Etsy is just perfect. I love the combination of colours and the simple shapes, and maybe I also like the breezy photo it comes packaged in :)

via: CORIUMI 

I know this seems counter-productive, strapping a notebook to your iPhone, but hear me out. Sometimes the tactile nature of paper and pen is just necessary to get an idea out. And sometimes, just sometimes, your phone battery won't last and you might get stuck in Japan at a strange subway station with no idea how to get home. The written word, in these situations, can serve as your life preserver. Sometimes a drawing of a map is better than a photo of one. Just sayin'

via: dodocase

via: Betty Means Business

Do you follow Betty Means Business? I find Betty aka Kate's posts useful, informative and to the point. After my little chat about not recording every moment this week, I came across this post, 3 Ways To Be Original, which nicely follows on from that idea, so I thought it may be a good idea to share.

You still have 2 more days (until the 26th May) to get 25% off ad space, you can read more details in my call for sponsors post. The XL ads are sold out for June, but you can lock in the discount price by reserving for July if you want to grab a great deal.

I'm not sure how it is the weekend already, I can't even think straight about everything I have to catch up on. Do you ever have a break and find it impossible to get back into a routine? I've found myself struggling to keep up with emails lately, so I apologise if I owe you one. There are a few exciting things happening and I'm just trying to stay on top of it all. The Vivid Festival started in Sydney tonight, so I'm hoping on Sunday that I will have a chance to capture some images like we did last year. (Vivid Festival Post #1, #2 and #3) Aside from that, it's just a little design work, garden work, house work, wedding work (my sister's!), sleeping work and gym work I think. I might do some eating work too. Jeez, everything is work-work-work right now. I just want to do nothing sometime! I'll let you know when that actually happens... I hope you've got some relaxing planned?

Kitty
xo

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Spring in Japan - Yakushima Part 1

One of the highlights of our recent trip to Japan was visiting Yakushima. Being an island located between the southern tip of Japan and Okinawa, it's a little tricky to get to, but so worth the journey. If you're a Studio Ghibli fan, and know the film Princess Mononoke, the art director for the film based the sketches for the landscape on this island, and spent much time here preparing the look for the film. It is a beautiful place, covered in mountains and Cedar forests, with some trees estimated at being 7,000 years old. The island is listed as a Unesco World Heritage site.

We stayed at Shikinoyado-Onaida with Kentaro and his fabulous family, if you ever make it to Yakushima, they are the sweetest, most hospitable family (and great cooks too!) and I highly recommend staying there. On our first night, we brought a small treat as a gift for the kids and they were so thrilled, C was treated to some magic tricks and and game, and I had my portrait made! So CUTE! Kawaii :) By the way, this charismatic Zombie Child is a load of fun, but also polite and courteous to guests, we had the best time with the kids so they felt like we were family, especially after he produced ¥100 from an unusual place in one of his magic tricks ;)

Yakushima has a reputation for raining 35 days in a month. Somehow we completely lucked out and the 2 nights we spent there, we were treated to warm weather and clear skies. I think someone exaggerated... We had one full day to hike on the mountain, so we chose the 5 hour round trip that included the 'Mononoke Forest' which is a Primordial forest, and the inspiration for the film designs. But I'll share that with you in the next post, for now, enjoy these pictures of the island and our beautiful accommodation  Looking back over the pictures, I am so incredibly eager to go back. What a peaceful, beautiful place, so in sync with nature, and such great food!

I had to include the crocs picture for the sake of honesty, after I mentioned it in this post.

Kitty
xo

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What I Wore - My Heart on My... Knees - UPDATED

Do you ever have those moments when you wish your camera could capture what your eyes see? It happens to me a lot. We had the most incredible psychedelic sunset when we were shooting these pictures, and no zoom lens, no tripod, no nuthin'. The sun was a blazing orange ball in a fluorescent purple haze, it was incredible. Some people approached us, as the sun rapidly descended below the trees: "Did you get the picture?" they asked breathlessly while grasping an iPhone - their only available camera. Not really, I replied, but we can keep it in here, pointing to my head. They probably thought I was strange, but sometimes we just have to remember beautiful things instead of recording them. The sunset was amazing, take my word for it.

On an unrelated (related to my outfit, not the sunset!) note, how adorable are these tights I received from Jessica-T? I loved them from the moment I spotted them in the Lost Nebula look book. You can see me wearing the Heart Beam tights in this outfit post, and the star gazing tights will make an appearance here very soon! I should also mention my anchor top too. I wasn't sure about it when I saw it in a thrift store in Japan, not because it isn't adorable, but just because it's a bit of a weird shape. Tuck it in though, and voila! A soft, comfy, cute vintage shirt, ready to sail the high seas.

Chambray Skirt // American Apparel

Anchor Shirt // Thrifted - Tokyo, Japan

Printed Tights Big Heart // c/o Jessica-T

Jana's Bow Flats // c/o Jessica-T

Cardigan // (old) Dangerfield

Brooch // Thrifted - Katoomba, Australia

Fox Ring // Sea of Bees via Emerging Thoughts

Telescope Necklace // Gift from C (Similar here and here)

Swallow belt // (old) ModCloth

Bow Handbag // Irregular Choice (Gift)

I thought I should mention a special deal that Jessica-T have going right now, for just $29.95 you can score one pair of shoes (your choice of style and size) and one pair of tights (your choice of design) plus free postage within Australia. The regular price of this sweet combo is normally $74.85 - this special is a huge 60% off! You can see I had to share :) Here's another picture of a different shoe style (Jacqui's Cut Out Flats) with the Star Gazing Tights. If you'd like to take advantage of the offer, and you aren't in Australia, you can still get the great price, plus shipping. Head over to Jessica-T for the offer.

Kitty
xo

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Sponsor Call and Ad S A L E ! ! !

Are you looking to advertise your blog or shop in June? It's time to get organised! This month, I'm offering a special early-bird special to anyone who purchases an ad space before the 26th May. Just use the code 'sparrow' to score 25% off any ad space, for up to 3 months. I'm using Passionfruit Ads, so it's really easy to purchase right from my advertise page. I'll send you an email when you buy an ad, but if you have any questions before you purchase, please feel free to email me for a chat. I also offer design services if you need an really awesome ad button designed.

I've recently updated my stats, and you can find traffic information on my sponsor page. Kitty & Buck continues to grow, and I'm excited that we have almost 2000 lovely people subscribed through google services and Bloglovin'. In June, there's going to be a tonne of stuff going on over here! There's still more from Japan to share, and I'm hoping to have some new DIY and recipe posts up too. There's already an awesome giveaway lined up and there are some plans for a collaborative post in the works. Over the next month or two, I'll be working very hard behind the scenes to get a bit more organised with my posts, introduce some new features and streamline the design. I can't wait to share it all with you!

If you're ready to purchase an ad, simply head over to the sponsor page now, and don't forget to use the code 'sparrow' for a 25% discount. Thanks for your support through May, I really do appreciate it.

Kitty
xo

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Wordless Weekend #23 - Senbazuru

If you fold one thousand paper cranes, you will be granted a wish, according to an ancient Japanese legend. Eternal good luck, a long life, healing from illness, remembrance and peace also play a part in the legend of the Senbazuru. These are from a shrine in Takayama, in the Japanese Alps. The night before, we were awoken by the rumbling earth, shaking paper window shades and rattling teacups. The morning was crisp and perfectly still, the previous night's complaints forgotten as we wandered through the sacred grounds of the temple.

Kitty
xo
(Photos by Kitty and C.)

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