6 weeks ago, I moved to London. It seems like no time at all and like forever all at once.

To put it all in perspective (for my own sanity really), here’s the last 42 days in numbers…

• 400 miles driven to London, with 30 boxes, 2 sideboards, 2 Parker Knoll chairs, 3 suitcases of vintage china.
• 2 cats transported; number of times they yowled/objected, only 2.
• 1 flat, left behind, all empty, ready for someone else. 1 flat found, so very different, but falling in love with it anyway.
• 13,226 miles travelled back to Edinburgh, to Aviemore, to Dublin and, eh, San Francisco. (Yeah, spot the odd one out there.)
• 55 Underground journeys, 84 Overground journeys, 36 normal trains, 1 boat ride down the Thames and 1 bus journey.
• 2 weddings attended, 
• 3 books read on my morning commute, only 1 one of which made me tearful in front of a carriage of people. (Note to self, sad books are not for reading in public.)
• 28 days without a bed, 42 days without a wardrobe, 41 days without a mirror in the flat, 41 days where I’ve had potentially crazy hair or wonky eyeliner. 
• 28 days without wifi, spotify, netflix. 42 days without blogging, the longest break I’ve had in 4 years. 
• 1 day wearing a fake fur coat; 3 days wearing sunglasses and sunscreen; 38 days wearing summer clothes with black tights and winter boots.
• 1283 photos snapped, 96 of street art, 9 of random neighbourhood cats, 6 of our local fox.
• 36 hours spent catching up with old friends, 149 hours meeting fantastic new people.
• Number of times it’s felt odd living in London: 0. 

And for those who prefer pictures to numbers (that’ll be me then), here’s some random snaps of the last 6 weeks.

Adventure Guide…

My neon legs at the Meridian Line…

 San Francisco… and my shockingly long hair

The shadow of The Shard on a sunny morning…

I read a story about the widow of the actor who was the voice of the ‘Mind The Gap’ announcement… one of those beautiful, bittersweet ‘Up’ style stories that makes you smile and sad at the same time.

 San Fran street art… and the Google bike (which I fell in love with)

InstaMax photos of a epically beautiful wedding

The London Eye snapped from the middle of the Thames (I was on a boat!)

Blossom and blue skies in San Fran

Mountains and blue skies in the Highlands

Falling in love with a lamb at the Southbank, London

Two cats leaving Edinburgh…

Snapping street art in San Fran…

Waiting in the Tube…

Bittersweet street art…

Positive advertising…

The sun setting on a glorious London day…

Our first new home card…

P.S. If you’ve been so lovely as to send me a message about meeting for tea/vintage shopping/general hello-ness, I’ll be replying soon!

P.P.S. Extra points if you recognised the title of this blog post was inspired by Bright Eyes’ Another Travelin’ Song. It’s been stuck in my head now for 3 days straight!

P.P.P.S. Photos of me in San Fran by Miss_Glassy.

Some Sundays, you have pancakes for breakfast. Maybe go car booting. Maybe go on a day trip. You know the usual…

Then some Sundays, you find yourself being snapped by the lovely Lauren McGlynn for a lookbook and a magazine.

And what a wonderful Sunday it was too.

If you’ve not come across Lauren before, she’s an American wedding photographer in Scotland, soon to be based in Edinburgh. She’s also all kinds of wonderful. Super talented. And damn good fun to boot.

Now, anyone who’s known me/this blog for a while will know that I’ve said I’m not a huge fan of getting my picture taken. Heck, I think I’d even told Lauren that on several occasions. (So I think she was somewhat surprised when I first mentioned the shoot!)

But I’ve learned to let go a bit lately. I just decided to stop being so hard on myself. It’s strange but that’s all it took. Who knew?!

Anyhoo… so Lauren came round to shoot a lookbook for Hannah Zakari. (Possibly one of the sweetest shops in the entire world). I had a stegosaurus print from Hannah Zakari – by the super Robbie Porter – so I’d spray-painted some toy dinosaurs gold to go with it…

… and then Rachael from Hannah Zakari also gave me this ace brainbow camera necklace to model.

(You can actually look through it which is pretty cute!!)

And at the same time, it so happened that I was writing an article about car boot sales for the ever so pretty 91 Magazine – so I needed a pic or two for that as well. You can read my car booting tales/tips in Issue 4, page 70 onwards – inbetween Anna Weinreich‘s beautiful home and The Seventy Tree‘s Kerry’s super illustrations.

So Lauren took shots for both… including in my never seen before on the blog (I think?) spare room. Yes that room that you normally pile all your random stuff in and just close the door when guests come round… yip, that room. That’s my recovered 60s daybed I’m sitting on… one of my prized (furniture) possessions!

We even took off a cupboard door in the kitchen… just so you can see what’s inside my kitchen cupboards.

Surprise, surprise, it’s more vintage china!

And Lauren was polite enough to tolerate me doing lots of silly things like juggling the dinosaurs… and pretending to do the congo with them. (The things you do when you’re nervous!)

 

Um yeah… there’s a reason Lauren’s the photographer and not me!

So I’m guessing by now most of you know I have a thing for Japan?

Well before we went earlier this year, the lovely Mollie Makes commissioned me to a do piece on crafty, cool and fun places in Tokyo and Kyoto.

As you can imagine I was over the moon… until I realised I was about to do only my second ever photography/write-up piece in one of the most amazing places on Earth. How on earth could I do it justice? (Yes, cue massive stress on my part!)

But I have to say I’m really proud of how the feature has turned out… thank you Mollie Makes for giving me the chance to do this!

As well as my ramblings, you can also read about Ebony from Hello Sandwich who’s photo collage workshop I went to… she’s uber nice, one of those people who instantly makes you feel comfortable, and super crafty in a way I can only admire!

Anyway, the magazine was out yesterday so if you pick it up, let me know what you think! (In a ‘I hope you all really like it’ kind of way!)

Now, if you follow me on Twitter, you might (most likely not really!) remember me saying I took a ridiculous amount of photos in Japan… thousands in fact! Yes, it’s probably my most documented trip EVER. So I wanted to share with you a few things that I didn’t get round to blogging and didn’t end up in the feature… outtakes if you will!

And when I say outtakes, what I really mean is… pictures from the Cat Cafe we went to!

In Shimokitazana (probably my favourite area in Tokyo we went to) as soon as we left the train station, we spotted this sign… cat cafe!

Now I can’t remember if we knew about cat cafes on our first trip but it was on our ‘to do/only in Japan’ list so we decided that now was the time.

So we went up the stairs, opened the door and well, there was a man with a desk who politely told us that you pay by the hour and you pay when you leave (in case you love the cats so much you want to stay longer). Kind of like karaoke but with cats instead! He took our drinks order and then directed us to the cat room…

Now… anyone who has cats knows they quite clearly have a mind of their own, and the cats at the cat cafe were no different. First up, was this guy – ignoring all the comfy bedding put out for him and sleeping in a plastic bowl.

Then there was this noisy powder puff of a cat… yes also ignoring the beds/bedding and napping in a box.

One of the Japanese customers was intent on getting this cat to like him… putting a cosy blanket on his knee, rattling cat toys, making kissy sounds… the cat was having none of it! I wanted to explain to the poor Japanese man that this is the real cat experience… they do what they please!

My husband made friends with this stripey purr machine and was quite chuffed that he’d won over at least one of the cats!

And me… well, I happened upon a cat who looks like an even more freaked out version of the Fox Owl Cat!

Oh gosh, look at that expression! I felt rather bad for giggling every time it looked at me!

And here they are for comparison… though now I put the pictures together, I think the Fox Owl Cat might be the weirder of the two! (In a nice way!)

I guess the strange but maybe not too surprising thing about the cat cafe was that it just made us miss our own fluff balls. The Japan cats were cute but not a patch on the Velveteen Cat and the FOC!

Anyway, that’s it… that’s me done with Japan posts!

(Well, until my next trip of course!)

Last night, I sat down to put together a post on my Japan trip…
and realised I have approximately 3000 photos.

Um…

So I started trying to sort them out
and hours later, still no post
but a whole lot of reminiscing.
(Is it too early to reminisce yet?)

So in place of that post, I thought I’d treat
you all to a ‘gratuituous cat post’.
(Don’t say I’m not good to you!)

*******

So… cats. I have two.
Though sometimes two feels like three.

We got them a few years apart.
It was not exactly love at first sight.
But they seem to have reached some sort
of spacial agreement on how they hang out…

They’re both shelter cats. Which means along
with having their very own distinct personalities,
they also have their own distinct issues!

Our grey cat came first.
She’s half-pedigree, half-feral.
(The pedigree part is Russian Blue.
The feral is Berwick-upon-Tweed tabby.)

She was 6 weeks old when we got her and
so tiny you could pick her up with one hand.
(That blue bed lasted all of a day before
she puked and pooped on it. Lovely.)

She likes: fake chocolate ice cream sweets,
scratching our neighbours’ doormats,
her faithful friend (and toy) Mr Mouse,
snuggling, cuddling and Quorn ham.

She loathes: other people, being picked
up unexpectedly, the hairdryer,
and when the fox-owl-cat steals
her stuff (see depression expression).

******

The fow-owl-cat we got a few years later…

She was found in a barn as a kitten,
duly rounded up and put in a box…
(We always imagine this to be like the start
of ET when he’s being chased through the woods.)

As a result, she has a pathological fear of boxes,
loud noises, strangers, people she’s met but
has forgotten she’s met and me wearing hats.
(Honestly, the fear in her eyes when she sees
something on my head is unreal!)

She likes: her food, watching TV
(polar bears are her favourite),
being brushed, the grey cat’s stuff,
snoozing, and hunting spiders.

(The fox-owl-cat watching TV!)

She loathes: boxes (a lot),
the doorbell, loud sneezes,
sudden movements,
and being cold (she likes to sit
on the radiators when it’s cold).

For more cat-ness, feel free to follow me
on instagram (I’m convo_pieces).
Yes, I do post other pics there
but a whole lot of them are cat-related
just like the one above!

And if you’re ever debating getting a shelter cat,
I’d highly recommend it… yes, our cats are
a little (ok, a lot) weird but that’s
what makes them great.

Plus you get amazing cat cuddles
if you ever go away to Japan
for a couple of weeks!

November 2008.
I’m standing in Tokyo
as a huge parade comes up
a street in Asakusa.

I can barely breathe with excitement.
(I am in Japan! I am in Japan!)

I stand at the back of a crowd and try to peer
over people’s heads to see the parade…

Someone glances round, smiles at me,
says something I don’t understand,
then gestures for me to move forward,
then another person does the same,
and another, and another…

Until I’m right at the front,
with people smiling at me,
nodding, being so lovely
that it almost distracts me
from taking pictures.

******

It’s now 2012. And I can barely breathe with
excitement… because we’re going back to
the land that invented washi tape!
And I can’t wait! Here’s why:

If you’ve ever seen Lost in Translation,
you’ll have an idea just how magical,
mysterious, zany, crazy and cute Tokyo is.
Except in real life, it’s even better.
It’s overwhelming but in a brilliant way.

There’s just so much colour everywhere in Japan…
from old shrine gates in Kyoto to paper
cranes in Hiroshima to this little girl in Tokyo.

Even the signs are cute…
yes, those are helpful raccoons
telling you not to get your hand stuck!

And the randomness… a calendar based on brushing your teeth?
Well, of course! Diet tights? Yup, you can get those too.
And an arcade game based on zombies… and eh typing?

As well as Tokyo, we spent time into Kyoto…
with its cute trains, Golden Pavilion, and the Geishas.
Wherever we went in Kyoto, I seemed to attract lots
of school children who wanted to take my picture…
We suspected this was because of my 2008
inclination to dress like a children’s TV presenter!
I have never been so excited to go back somewhere…
Honestly I’ve been causing myself near heart failure
while trying to plan this next trip.

My number 1 tip for Japan is to wear slip on shoes,
not Converses. I swear I spent 1/3 of our last trip,
lacing and unlacing my trainers.

Oh and this time, if I can, I’m drawing a fox wishing plaque
at Fushimi Inari (possibly the most magical place ever)
and buying a giga pudding. (It has the craziest video ever
and was everywhere we went in 2008!)

*******

Maybe once I’m back from the trip
I might do a proper guide?
If anyone has any recommendations
of places to go, I’d love them!
Or if you share my love of Japan,
do let me know! *Super excited!*

*******

{P.S.} Ok, not so much of a P.S.
as an extra bit of this blog post…

I have so many weird and wonderful
stories from my last trip but I wanted
to share this one… it’s pretty much
my most embarrassing story EVER!

Here goes:

If you’ve heard of a traditional Japanese onsen,
you might have an idea where I’m going with this…

It’s a Japanese bath, that you bathe in naked.
With strangers. Naked. So far, so unBritish.

As the onsens are segregated,
I’m going in on my own. Naked.
(Did I mention the naked thing already?)

I’m determined to be cool about it.
In fact, I’m doing quite well at being cool
until a 90 year old little woman decides that
she will instruct me on the ways of the onsen.

Cue much pointing from her, lots of directions in Japanese…
which seem to mean that I’m using the wrong kind of soap
and not scrubbing vigorously enough apparently!

It’s hot, I’m scarlet and naked.
Did I mention she was naked too?
I have never felt so British. Ever.

So this time, I think we’ll do a modern onsen!
Or I’ll learn the phrase, “Thank you for your help
but I can manage on my own!”

P.P.S. If anyone has any embarrassing travel stories,
do feel free to share… so I’m not alone here!

When Mollie Makes asked if I’d like to do
a feature for them, I was like ‘hells’ and ‘yeah’…

Well, I actually said something way more polite
but that’s what I thinking in my head.

So it was set – I was doing a tour of my Edinburgh,
my favourite places and must go-tos.

Now some of you may already know that
I work as writer (a copywriter and freelance writer)
but this one was a biggie… as I love Mollie Makes
AND I’d be taking the pictures for it too.

Eeeek. (But in a good way.)

So me and my trusty SLR hit the streets,
invaded some shops and tried very hard
not to just buy things while I was at it!

(This is not actually me in Edinburgh.
This is me in New York, snapping in the Met
but it’s the only Zoë as photographer shot I have.
So imagine this but colder and with less hat!)

Check it out if you can, let me know
what you think… or if you ever need
any Edinburgh tips, well, I’m your gal!

*off to do a happy little dance now*

Here’s their wonderful suggestions:
Christmas with the Beach Boys (a favourite of Seeds & Stitches)
This Noel playlist by isabelleoc
An alternative Xmas mix by Last Year’s Girl
For Folk’s Sake, It’s Christmas 2011
A Charlie Brown Christmas,
Muppets Christmas Carol soundtrack,
This cool playlist by naurnie,
Sufjan Stevens, Low
and R2D2 We Wish You A Merry Christmas!!

And for the Christmas holidays…
Here’s what I have planned:
That’s yummy food, presents,
taking pics with my car boot Polaroid,
roasting chestnuts on our fire
(never done this before ever!),
watching Christmas movies
and getting my skates on…

Oh yes and some sitting on the couch
doing absolutely nothing too!

(Weird fact: the penguin with the bauble?
That’s how he came out of the Christmas box,
holding that bauble… it seemed mean to take it off him!)

So I’ll see you all in 2012.
Thanks so much for dropping by this year,
leaving comments, emailing me,
even saying hi sometimes.
You guys rock, you really do.

I hope you all have some lovely, relaxing, fun plans?
But whatever you do, remember the following:
You do indeed!

Merry Christmas.
Hope you all have an amazing time.
And get super, super spoiled!
xxxxx

Image 3: Lillian & Leonard (at our wedding)
Image 5: merriweathercouncil

From this, we learned that to pass as hipsters
the other half would need to grow a beard,
and I would need to get a fringe.

There seemed to be other attributes
but these are the ones that stuck out.
Mainly as he’s never going to grow a beard
and I don’t suit fringes.

Once home, I happened upon this print
by Brit illustrator Jenni Sparks…
“Things Hipsters Like”.

Turns out I’m halfway to being a hipster.
I love my Diana, my old gameboy, coloured bikes,
tea in china cups, brogues (but on the other half, not me)
typewriters, old record players (and music) and kitsch tees.

Oh yes, and I drink soya milk.
(Normal milk and I are not friends.)

The rest isn’t me. So I’m about 50% hipster.
50% unhipster. (Or whatever a non hipster is!)

How about you?
What percentage do you work out to be?

*****

P.S. I just did the maths.
I’m actually about 64.28% hipster.
Not sure if that’s better or worse!