Guest Post with Shell of Kitty and Buck!

If you haven't heard of my lovely friend Shell already, she has kindly agreed to guest post on Lovely Llorys! I think it's a great way to start off the new year: ) If you aren't already following Kitty and Buck, now's the time to start reading. Shell is a super talented graphic designer and photographer and she has inspiring and engaging posts. I love the wordless weekend posts, they always allow me to just stop what I'm doing, relax, look at some gorgeous photos, and reflect on what's important. Oh, plus she's Australian! Such an intriguing and wonderful person! For her guest post, I asked Shell a few questions. So here's our Q&A:

Tell us a little about yourself, like where you live, hobbies, and where we can find you when you aren't blogging!
My name is Shell, affectionately known as Kitty :) I currently live in Sydney, Australia and have also called London home. I'm a graphic designer by day, creating motion graphics for television. Far more importantly though, my passions are playing music, photography, dancing (mainly ballet), travel, nature and my cats. My favourite things to do when I'm not stuck behind a computer include pilfering thrift stores, taking day trips out of this big city and of course, hanging out with my best friend who also happens to be my fiance!

Why did you start blogging and what keeps you going? What's been the coolest/strangest/best thing to come of your blog?
I started blogging very soon after discovering the whole blogging world. I started reading blogs such as The Dainty Squid, Love Elycia and A Beautiful Mess and thought it would be a great way to push myself to do more creative work outside of my job. The coolest 'side effect' of blogging, which I was not expecting at all, has been to meet so many new people, who I can call friends! The hardest part will be next time I travel, it might turn into a blogging buddy tour, ha!

So you live in Australia! What do you love or not-like-so-much about it?
Australia. Let's make a list, I love lists:
What I hate: (these are vast generalisations, there are of course many exceptions)
Cultural cringe - no, we do not 'throw a shrimp on the barbie', they're actually called prawns. We don't have pet kangaroos, we are not in the middle of the desert. We aren't like some eccentric country cousins. The media (and our own perceptions and insecurities) have done us wrong and we cringe!
Tall Poppy Syndrome - Australian's don't like different. Anyone who stands out from the crowd, or is smarter than average, or achieves a level of success above average is cut down. By any means necessary Don't reach your head above the average line, you will be taken down like a tall poppy. I hope this is changing. It's a horrible thing that I notice here more than anywhere I have been.
Cost of Living - Sydney rivals Tokyo (I think we came second after Tokyo?) as one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in. Living in Sydney compares to choosing Manhattan as your home. Ridiculously expensive clothes, food, rent/house prices and transport.

The koala bear is a generalization I like!! So cute!

What I love: (more generalisations)
Our beaches - I do not visit the beach often, I'm pretty sensitive to the heat and sun, and I don't fancy a sunburn. But our beaches are beautiful, it is true. I appreciate them even though I don't use them a lot.
Our socialised medicine and education systems - It does not matter how much money my parents earned, I had a right as a student to a loan system for tuition fees for university. Anyone can attend tertiary collage with no upfront costs as long as they have the marks required to enter the course. I paid my tuition back to the government after I graduated and earned a certain amount of money. I have access to free medical care when I am sick, so I never have to be afraid to visit a doctor or get a prescription (medicine is subsidised too).

I've seen on your blog that you've been to the U.S., what are some major differences (or similarities) between us?
Something that's different in the U.S. is that there are a lot more people, so it seems that less common tastes and activities still find a community and thrive a little better. I noticed even in small towns, people were into their own thing and didn't care so much about what people thought about that. I think in Australia people are generally more self conscious and stick to a 'bigger' group.

Photo Shell took at an old Massachusetts cemetery. She's probably been to more of the U.S. than me!

Another difference is, that in the U.S. each state has it's own identity. It's woven into the landscape, you can sense when you cross those state lines. Because the population is spread fairly evenly across the country, you can drive for a couple of hours and be in a completely different place. In Australia you can drive for 12 hours and it's like you've made no progress at all. There's a same-ness to towns and even cities, that makes it hard to distinguish. Of course, each city has it's own persona but none are dramatically different from another. Geographically we are around the same size, but imagine if 80% of your population lived on the east coast between Orlando and New York. That is how unevenly we are populated across the country!

Thanks to Shell for answering our questions! We can't wait to see what Kitty and Buck will bring in 2013 and especially where your travels take you!

(All photos borrowed from Shell's blog!)

Au Revoir, 2012

Oh, twenty twelve. You had many ups and downs. It was the year of Pinterest and of less of an addiction to Facebook. I went on a couple great trips - Florida and Croatia/Venice. I lost touch with some friends but made a lot of great new ones. I turned 24. I finally broke down and bought myself an iPhone. I have been making a lot of progress toward a real job, and hopefully I can secure it this year. I really made an effort to start blogging in the spring. I have lots of goals for Lovely Llorys in 2013, but I'm proud of what I've accomplished in the better part of 2012 with it. I hope you all have enjoyed reading and will let me know what you'd like to see in the coming year.

I haven't really made my resolutions list yet, but I know I want to make this year better than the last. Who doesn't? But really, with the impending apocalypse, I didn't have much time to even consider the possibility of 2013: P Here we are though, so we have to make the best of it! Andrew and I opened our jar of memories this morning and I definitely think we will continue that tradition. I loved every minute of dragging my film camera on the Croatia trip to capture some beautiful memories. I want to take more photos. I need to read more books - maybe one a month? I want to be a better friend and a better person. It can be really tough!

If I make my goals slightly less likely to be attained but all the more fun and rewarding, I would love to: learn French (I forgot most everything I learned in high school), update Lovely Llorys everyday (I'm one for one!), work out at least once a week (I know...), finally get a real job (or die trying?), and eat out less often, like way less. How do you keep your goals in mind? And what are your goals/resolutions? I'd love some inspiration!

So this is the New Year. And I don't feel any much different.

Happy New Year, everyone!

What I Wore // Geek Chic

This post is brought to you by Firmoo! Firmoo is "the world's most popular online glasses store." New customers receive their first pair free - you just have to pay for shipping! Anyway, Firmoo contacted me to see if I'd be interested in doing a review, and even though I don't wear glasses, I excitedly accepted! (Also, I'm sorry if you really do wear glasses and you don't like it when people who don't need them wear them)!! 

So here are my non-prescription glasses! They are so fun. Andrew and I walked to the park to show them off against our bright winter wonderland. I hope I don't look too silly, I never wear glasses, but I've always kind of wanted a pair!

They match my necklace!

I got this coat for Christmas: ) Thanks, Mom!

It's cold outside!

What I Wore:

Hat - Forever 21

Glasses - Firmoo

Necklace - h&m

Coat - Dana Buchman (Kohl's)

Sweatshirt - Urban Outfitters

Pants - Iz Byer (Kohl's) Best Pants EVER, btw.

Boots - Urban Outfitters

So I really like my Firmoo glasses! I would definitely recommend trying them out - especially since the first pair is free. I know I'd like to have more than one pair of glasses if I had to wear them everyday. Let me know if you decide to order and which ones you're getting! Mine came just a few days after ordering - also included was a hard case. Check out Firmoo's FAQs if you want to know more. And Happy New Year everyone!

December Photo-A-Day Week 3

I posted my first two weeks on Sunday and then lost track of what day it was with the Christmas weekend! It's been such a great few days, and I'm not looking forward to leaving home and going back to work. Maybe I'd be a little more excited if I had some New Year's Eve plans! What are you all doing?

December 16th "Outside Christmas Lights"

I was like two days late on this, so it's not a very impressive photo!

December 17th "Presents"

Wrapped 'em myself!

December 18th "Stockings"

Mine is on the right: )

December 19th "Candy Cane"

Candy cane cookies! They look better than they tasted unfortunately.

December 20th "Tree Topper"

Andrew's gift to my mom

December 21st "Peace"

From the church bulletin

December 22nd "Tradition"

A Tom and Jerry at the Brass Rail in Port Huron. An old tradition that is new to me! Yum!

Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful relaxing day and got everything on your list. I know I got a lot of great stuff, I am so blessed! I'd love to hear what your favorite part was in the comments - a movie? a specific present? someone you haven't seen in a while? Anyway, Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night! 

Merry Christmas Eve!

These are all my cousins and my grandpa! We had our family Christmas yesterday. So good to see everyone, as always: ) Although Andrea was sick and I really wanted to see her! Boo!

Anyway, I am just about to go out with my mom to get our last stocking stuffers and do a couple returns to avoid the lines after tomorrow. We are so smart. I hope no one has to work too late tonight, and that you all get some quality family time. If you watch a little Home Alone, think of me. Gosh, I love that movie. I better make some time today to see it! Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals. ♥

The Versatile Blogger Award

Another week, another award! I like that! But seriously, it's so great evolving as a blogger. I've been able to collaborate with other bloggers, meet new people, do fun giveaways with great Etsy artists, and it has just opened my eyes to a whole new world that I never realized the intensity of! I love it! So today I want to thank Avé over at Avé Renée for nominating me for the Versatile Blogger Award!

Here are the "rules"

1. Nominate up to 15 fellow bloggers who are relatively new to blogging.
2. Let the nominated bloggers know that they have been nominated for this award.
3. Share 7 random facts about yourself.
4. Thank the blogger who has nominated you.
5. Add the Versatile Blogger Award picture to your post.


Seven Random Facts About Myself
1. You can normally find me drinking water, coffee, beer, or wine. I rarely sip on anything else!
2. I only buy music if it's in the form of a beautiful vinyl record nowadays: )
3. I am dying to go on a little trip soon - Chicago? San Francisco? Portland, Maine?!
4. My half birthday is on the Ides of March - beware!
5. I love my cats - Ellie, Dewey, and Stevie. If it was acceptable, I would definitely be a cat lady.
6. When I was little I was afraid to sit on Santa's lap.
7. I love to volunteer! I help out with a lot of nonprofits and arts groups. I feel like I should be directly helping people (or animals!), but I love to give how I am able!


And here are my Nominees! I only have a few since I just chose several for the Liebster Award, but I found all of these bloggers on the Better Blogger Network and can't wait to explore their blogs further!
The Little Brown Book
Nicolle Shelton
Taylor Calvillo
Gowk
Sunny Days are Love
Violet Daffodils
My Lifebox

This was a fun post! Thanks again to Avé for the nomination! : )

P.S. December 21st is almost over! Congratulations on surviving the apocalypse!

End of the Year List // Favorite Songs

It was hard enough to choose ten of the best songs this year, so I don't really want to have to order these awesome songs from 2012 any further. So here they are, in the order I thought of them. I didn't keep up very well on music this year, so thank goodness for Andrew doing all the work for me. But alas, there was some great music out there! Also, disclaimer: some of these were released as singles last year, but the album came out this year so it counts, I say!!!

Regina Spektor "Don't Leave Me (Ne Me Quitte Pas)"

I took Andrew to see Regina for our 2 year anniversary! Her voice is just so flawless and beautiful. I think the album grew on both of us throughout the year, but this song was just so catchy! I love it.

Lord Huron "Man Who Lives Forever"

Andrew always has this playing on the rotation in his car. It's hard to choose just one of Lord Huron's songs, but this one is super pretty.

Alex Winston "Velvet Elvis"

We discovered Alex Winston early this year, and haven't been able to stop listening. She has such a unique voice and "Velvet Elvis" and "Sister Wife" are raunchy and fun, super catchy tunes. She has been snubbed on all the lists we've seen so far, so show her some love!

Beach House "Myth"

So beautiful and dream-like. I love to listen to this and just close my eyes and imagine.

Magnetic Fields "Andrew In Drag"

I am proud to say that I discovered this song before Andrew (which doesn't usually happen). So fun, and I get to imagine Andrew dressed in drag when I hear it!

Fanfarlo "Deconstruction"

Fanfarlo was another band we go to see this year. I like this song the most from their release this year. Not much to say besides: listen if you haven't and their set was perfectly creative.

Islands "Hallways"

I love this! I feel like I should be drinking beer in an old saloon with Islands playing this rolling piano song. And then there would be a dual!

CHVRCHES "The Mother We Share"

I'll be darned if Andrew moved this to my list overnight because made me realize how it's cute how she says "proud" in the chorus because she's Scottish. IT IS SO CVTE. (Also, is this the actual music video?)

Fiona Apple "Every Single Night"

I had never really listened to Fiona Apple, like at all, before we found out we'd be volunteering for her concert this summer at Frederik Meijer Gardens. So I started listening and instantly became a fan. You can just almost feel the same emotions she is singing about because she is taking them from a deeper place. Amazing performance, by the way.

Purity Ring "Fineshrine"

I feel like this song might be way too hipster, but other than that, I love it! I will say that I watched a live performance of Purity Ring, and certainly wasn't in love, but the recorded stuff is great!

Bonus Track: The Lumineers "Ho Hey"

I don't know where this song came from, but it's all over the radio! I first discovered it by Shazaming. Is that a word? Anyway, good for these guys, who have been nominated for two Grammy's. Indie music has definitely been slowly taking over!

I would LOVE to hear your favorites! Please indulge me: )