Saturday Night Tapas and Dark and Stormies

By Raus

If there is one thing that Emsu and I enjoy more than anything, it is eating out. Though the food is of course important, the experience relies on so much more. Both mine and Emsu's favorite restaurant experience was during a trip to Brighton in England (my home away from home). After wandering the streets for a good hour looking for somewhere to eat (I'm fussy), we came across Solera, a tapas restaurant run by a family originally from Spain.

With the company of my best friend and former flat mate, the three of us proceeded to have perhaps the most amazing culinary experience of our lives (it sounds over the top, but trust me it was awesome). 

While the staff was friendly, the food awesome, and the red wine flowing, it's the nature of tapas I love so much. The opportunity to try little dishes of food, eaten slowly through laughs and conversation, makes a tapas place my go to for a great night out. Even bad tapas places (we have been to a few) are normally still good experiences. 

So well done Spain, you invented the perfect eating experience!

So on to our Saturday night. With a fridge full of little bits of leftovers, I set about preparing a few dishes, while Emsu made us some Dark and Stormies. 

It doesn't really matter what you're making, or whether it has a spanish flare, but four or five dishes, some drinks, the woman you love, and good conversation (we were wrapped up in a conspiracy theory debate and bad journalism), can make for a beautiful date night. 

Belafonte +

Cat Tumblr's You Should Be Following

Cat Vs Human

The drawings and comic observations of a girl named Yasmine, Cat Vs Human is a delightful tumblr that delivers that daily dose of comic musings, where all us Cat owners can grin and mumble stuff like 'Oh that's so true' 'Arn't cat's the best'.

There is now a book full of little cartoons detailing the deadly battles of cats vs humans. Check out her website here and follow her on Tumblr here.

Mostly Cats. Mostly

There are thousands of Tumblr's focused cats, I like Mostly Cats. Mostly, though because it posts a little bit of everything. Pictures, memes, gifs, some things that are removed from cats.

Follow them here

Fuck Yeah Felines

Another collection of cat photos, sometimes through submission, other times through reposting. I like this Tumblr because it posts a nice mixture of the cute and cuddly and the daft and adorable.

Follow them here

Sweet Fur

Sweet Fur is a Tumblr belonging to the owner of what must be the largest collection of cuties alive. This Tumblr is rarely updated but for one of their videos alone its worth the follow.

Explore their Tumblr here

Squish Face Kittens

As a owner of exotic shorthairs, I'm a fool for the squished faces, and Squish Face Kittens tumblr is a great place to find the cutest squished faced kittens around.

Follow them here

Lavender +

So it was a lazy sunday afternoon. Mom was in Chicago, I had just finished cleaning, and the cats were circling the apartment, looking for mischief  Lavender is such a beauty, sure she gets in the way, sure she poos in the bath tub, sure she sits on your face in bed, but hell, she's such a cuite. 

Our Apartment; The Dining Room

The dining room was the first room decorated. We decided on a dark slate color and a light grey for the walls, and switched the lighter color from the bottom half to the top. I wanted a room that mixed minimalism with thrift store finds. Again, thanks to Ikea, Salvation Army and a host of other second hand stores in Ann Arbor, we were able to do this all for a couple of hundred bucks. 

We brought the table top and the legs from Ikea. Buying them separate is a much cheaper option that buying a complete table. The chairs were purchased from a couple of different thrift stores in Ann Arbor, as was the mirror. 

The art work was our attempt at the crayon paintings you find on Pinterest. Rather than just lining them up and allowing them to trickle down the canvas, we used a hairdryer and just made pretty patterns with the crayons. 

The cabinet is the White PS Locker from Ikea. We got the lamp from another thrift store while the little bunch of flowers are dried from our wedding day. 

The room has become a really nice space to relax in, whether it be for dinner or when Mary Soo needs to spread her books out during a study session. 

Exotic Fashion: Fashion and Exotic Shorthairs

Outfit

Denim jacket and dress - Korean street market, circa 2011

Bracelet - Modcloth

Heels - Jeffrey Campbell

Spent the day working from home, and took a timeout for a brief photoshoot with little Lavender. My wardrobe is primarily constructed of Korean fashion labels, since Raus and I lived in Seoul for 4 years. Korean clothes are cute and often incredibly cheap, so I have a closetful of similar items. 

I've tried to figure out a way to get my fix for Korean clothes while living in the states again, but have had trouble finding a site that delivers the quality + cheapness of many of my favorite streets stalls. You can find similar items at Coco Fashion though. I think I bought about 12 items from there at once, and out of all the pieces, maybe 2 were of a lower quality than I expected. Still wearable though ;)

Lavender and Belafonte

We have had Lavender and Belafonte now for about 4 months. While Lavender may be the most needy and attention demanding cat I have ever met, Belafonte is pretty chilled, quite happy to hang out as long as he is in the same room as you. Lavender though needs to be in your face, on your lap, climbing your shoulders, or sitting directly in front of the TV screen, thus making sure you can see her. 

Cat Photos. This is a cat blog after all.

So since getting the cat's they have pretty much become our life. Emsu has started a Instagram while I took to tumbler (a effort to avoid becoming that person on facebook that gushes about their cats constantly).

I'll still looking for a project to do with them, such as Belafonte eats...Cake, sausage etc,  but for the time being here are some of my favorite pictures of the two previously seen on Tumblr.