Packing!

I love going on holidays, but the packing part really stresses me out.

What if I don't take the right clothes? What if I want to wear something specific and I don't have it with me? What if it gets cold and I only have summer clothes (as happened to me on a trip to New Zealand)?

The reasonable, rational response to all those issues is "well, just go and buy something", but that doesn't wash with me. I like being prepared. I like having all my bases covered. Because I usually don't find something when I go looking for it in a shop as a starting point but I also don't like wasting time looking for something I have to buy... There is a difference between wanting to buy something and schlepping around a mall in Copenhagen looking for tank tops and t-shirts because we can't find somewhere to do our washing...

Anyway, the trip we are about to embark upon has an interesting set of parameters, weather-wise. We are off to the northern part of South Africa (Kruger National Park) where it will be cold at night but mid-thirties during the day, the UK where hopefully it will be warm down south but realistically the north of Scotland will be freezing by Kitty standards, and Hong Kong where it's the end of the hot wet season. So it will, ergo, be hot and wet. We also have some special dinners planned so no doubt I'll need a frock and a snazzy pair of shoes as well.

Hmmm.

So I have to pack for warm, hot, wet, cold, freezing, night and day - all with a 23 kilo limit. Including toiletries. And there has to be weight left over for me to do some shopping while I am in the UK. Unfortunately, unlike Carrie, I don't have a Mr Big to cart around my bags. The rule in our house is "you buy it, you schlep it."

Sounds like a bit of a challenge. Wish me luck.

Kitty

Photo courtesy of Vogue.

Good News!

We had our Pre-DA meeting with council today. They were mostly very positive about our design with only one real objection - the setback of our garage in relation to the front border of the property. We knew they would object to the setback but we were surprised that they didn't have many other issues with our design. The agreed that the tree we want to pull out to make way for our driveway should come out due to structural issues. They didn't seem to have a problem with the size of the house or the flat roof. They congratulated us on the fact we are doing something different with the modern facade of the house.

So now we need to make a decision whether we fight them on the setback advice or redesign the front of the house. We have loads of examples of where they have made exceptions for other houses built in the vicinity of ours in recent times and allowed people to build closer to the street than we are asking so I think we have a reasonable chance of negotiation...

But so far it's all good news. And we are one step closer to building our new house which is very exciting!

Kitty

Serious lemming.

A few years ago we were in the US (after the long European honeymoon). Our first stop was Las Vegas. I hadn't ever been to Las Vegas before and I have to admit I was really surprised about how much I liked it. I don't gamble, I'm not a massive fan of nightclubs but I do love eating out, shopping and going to shows so I had a fabulous time. The thing I like about Vegas is that there is something for everyone. We went back again this year and I loved it as much as I did the first time.

But I digress.

One of my great loves (shopping) is very well represented in Las Vegas, particularly at Fashion Show Mall. They have some of the best stores there including a Nordstroms, a Neiman Marcus and a Saks as well as lots of other High Street stores (Gap, Banana Republic, Zara etc.). It's new and connects easily with the shops at the Venetian and Palazzo and the Wyatt.

It was at Fashion Show that I first saw this bag.
It is so me - gorgeous, leopardy goodness. It was, however, a little expensive for me, especially after the excesses of Europe. I thought about it and decided I couldn't really afford it. I had already purchased an amazing leopard Furla Bag in Florence so couldn't really justify the price.

Fast forward about 2 weeks and I was still thinking about that clutch. By this stage we were in San Francisco after a great road trip through Yosemite and a few blissful days in the Napa Valley. We went for a wander through Union Square and there, in Nordstroms, was the bag. I reeeeeeeally wanted it. I dreamed about it. But the price was just too expensive. I bought a much cheaper Steve Madden leopard clutch at Macys instead. I like it, but I don't love it if you know what I mean.


And yesterday, my Net-a-Porter Fall/Winter catalogue arrived in the mail. There on the "Animal Insticts" page was the bag. Two years later. It's currently on the US Net-a-Porter site for $350 US dollars ($390 Australian) which is really out of my price range at the moment (particularly with the exxy $55 US shipping and the upcoming trip to the UK on the cards), so I think I might have to wait to see if it comes on the UK site at a bit more reasonable price... They have a gold version for 127 pounds which works out to be about $220 plus shipping which is a lot more reasonable... And that's almost affordable for me right now.

It's almost Serendipity. Like it was meant to be. I have emailed the UK site to find out whether they are going to get it in - fingers crossed.

And then I'll have to decide whether I should buy it.

Kitty

The house plans.

Good news from the Kitty camp today: our house plans have finally gone into council for discussion. Not the official DA process, but a modified pre-DA version which you can do through our council. You can submit your plans for discussion and feedback to a planning officer and then have a meeting to talk about why you have designed it the way you have and where you don't comply with planning laws.

The process is designed to try and make the DA process smoother and get you a better result for your plans and have a chance to negotiate before putting the plans through the formal DA process. We have our meeting with council next Tuesday and I have my fingers crossed that they will be kind to us! I'm really excited about the progress we have made these last few weeks and can't wait to start talking to builders about it!

Kitty

Back from the brink...

It's been a hard week in the Kitty camp, for a number of reasons, but the main reason is that I have had a terrible cold.

I'm usually pretty healthy and rarely get sick, but I usually do succumb to a cold or two each year, particularly at the change of seasons and when the Spring starts. This year was no exception - and just as I started to feel a little better, I got a bout of hayfever. Yuk. As much as I love the beginning of Spring (the sunshine, the flowers...) pollen is just not my friend.

So I have been spending some quality time in bed with demazin, lemon and honey drinks and a box of tissues.

Normal posting will resume shortly.

Kitty

Coatage...

Why oh Why when the sun is warm and high in the sky do I find myself turning towards winter coats?

It's unseasonal. It's unreasonable. According to David Jones and Myer I should be equipping myself for the upcoming summer season with nudes and floral prints a la Liberty. But no, I gravitate towards Cashmere and Wool... Greys, dark purple and forest greens... The warming reds and perennial blacks...

Maybe it's the nasty cold I am trying to shake. Or maybe it's because I am spending so much time looking on UK websites in preparation for our holiday. Or maybe it was the ridiculously cold wind I encountered on the trip to the Fish Markets yesterday. But something is making me crave warmth in the form of a coat.

Particularly these coats.
Vivienne Westwood Red Label Black Classic Melton coat, 595 pounds. Very steampunk, Victoriana, maybe even with a little dash of Mary Poppins...

How Edwardian Dandy! Vivienne Westwood Anglomania Black Propoganda Coat, 495 pounds

Vivienne Westwood Anglomania Drape Dot Belted Coat, 790 pounds.

See a theme here? Not only do I have a passion for coats (and expensive ones at that), they all seem to be Vivienne Westwood... How I love our grand dame of fashion. Always chic yet edgy, her clothes are artistic creations that defy a period in time, yet seem to remain cutting edge.

Le sigh. Let's hope Mr Kitty's credit card is feeling generous when we get to London. If you are interested, all the coats pictured here are available from Liberty of London.

Kitty

Oh No.

Mr Kitty's credit card is no longer safe. Gap Inc now ships to Australia.

I want this dress and this top and this dress and this cardigan...

The only problem seems to be that most of the things on the Gap website don't ship internationally. WTF? Are they for real? So annoying...

Kitty