Chuck a plugger for me, mate!

Happy Australia Day everybody! I woke up this morning feeling extremely patriotic, and began the day listening to some Farnham and flicking through photos of last year's Australia day - a fun-filled slip-n-slide bbq beer fest, surrounded by good friends and sunshine. I am surprising myself here, as I feel a stronger sense of 'missing home' on this day than I did on Christmas day. I've always said Christmas day is my favourite day of the year, and it still is... but for some reason not being home for Australia Day is stinging more than it should. Perhaps it's because tomorrow I hit the 2 month mark. Doesn't sound like long I know, but so much has happened in that short amount of time that it feels like a year sometimes, and that isn't always a bad thing...

I did a bit of googling and discovered this place, but I haven't decided if I'm going to be up for the 2-train trip after work tonight. It's not quite the same without my pals around me... (what a nigel... I'm really not meaning to sound like a big ol' sad sack here... I'm mostly happy here in Tokyo honest!) In my defense, 'burn for you' (see Farnham link above) is still playing in the background....!

In memory of a great day last year, here are a few snaps:  my good friend Krystle and her babe Brad enjoying the spoils of a you-beaut fun-in-the-sun sesh, and a shot of moi after going nuts with temp tats!

Australia... I burn for you! Sing it Farnham! xx

Neighbourhood stroll through cutesville...

For 2 months I've turned right everyday when leaving my house. The station is that way, the shops, everything. But today I thought... "what happens if I turn left..? It's not like I'm not an ambi-turner or something..." It's this kind of subversive thinking that gets a cat into such curious situations that may or may not kill him...

But the cat will live to tell another curious tale, as 10 minutes into my aimless wander I found myself in the middle of some of the quaintest little streets featuring some of the cutest little houses I ever did see.

Absolutely delightful. Enjoy! xx

Chocolate beer & a cafe people-cat!

This people-cat is possibly the best thing I've ever seen. Exadgeration...? Only slightly.

All this excitement followed by the discovery of chocolate beer! Disclaimer: If you love beer, or chocolate, then this product is not for you. However if you are all about novelty Japanese items, then buy this IMMEDIATELY. 

xx

Just Another Night... new illustration!

Inspired by neon lights, 11.05pm and 'I'm not the one' by the black keys.


xx

I Heart Tokyo Fashion!

One of the pages I check religiously, apart from hello sandwich, facebook and hotmail, is tokyofashion.com - the girls that put this together are amazing. They're always out capturing the cutest shibuya gyaru or most badass harajuku hip cat around. It's so entertaining and super inspiring for my illustrations. I get so motivated to create a new work after looking through the pages and pages of unique outfits. You can become a fan on their facebook page too, they always post the best shots there as well.

Speaking of such marvellous things, I found the cutest shoes in a store by shimokita station (north exit) the other day. Leopard print flats with candy-pink patent leather detail ~ at just Y2000, they were a must. As my friends and I always say when shopping "I'd be LOSING money if I didn't buy them." (yes, we like to dillude ourselves when getting swipe happy with the cardo).

The shop is called Oriental Traffic, and their business card has the cutest little illustration of ballet shoes on it! It's great because they not only have a huge range of completely adorable shoes, they stock larger sizes too. When I say larger sizes, I'm talking about Australian 7 to 9. If you're a 7 in Australia your feet are considered pretty small. But here, feet are super tiny so a 7 is moving toward large! I'm an 8 which I think is the most common size in Australia because they are always the first to fly off the shelves! If you're above a size 7 in Japan your choice is going to be greatly reduced. If you're above an 8 you can pretty much forget buying shoes here but online shopping will be your saviour!

If anyone else knows of any cute, cheap shoe shops around Tokyo that stock sizes above australian 7 (same as US sizing I think) be sure to post them in the comments!

I'm off to Ueno Zoo today with my darling friend Phoebe who flies home to Hong Kong for good next week. She's been living in Tokyo nearly 5 years but has decided it's time to move on. She has been an amazing friend to me here and I'm going to miss her dearly. But, I also can't wait to visit her in Hong Kong for a shopping trip! So, I told her to choose somewhere fun for today and she chose the zoo, which I'm pretty excited about. High on my list of animals to observe - sloths and snow owls!

mata ne xx

Kichijoji, we finally meet!

I've been planning for far too long to check out Kichijoji, and still I hadn't got there (last week I posted I was on my way there, but some last minute work came up and I didn't make it!) So this afternoon I set off, camera in hand, for some kichi-style funtimes. It is just as awesome as I imagined, and one afternoon is not nearly enough, I plan to get back there as soon as I can!

I was lucky enough to score some bargain lavender heels for a giggling 980 yen! (That's around AU$12) so that really made my afternoon. I love shoes and I love bargains - when the universe allows these things to combine and find me... it's like a super happy party in my mind and heart and I silently rejoice for several hours.

Please enjoy some snaps from my afternoon wandering. The first few are taken in Shimokita not far from my house, the others in Kichi! xx

Bittersweet Morning

Well today I woke to 2 pieces of news, one good and one bad. The good news was in the form of an email from redbubble to let me know I'd sold $170.00 worth of art prints overnight. My biggest online sale to date. Unfortunately, this joy was shortlived, as I also found out that Queensland (where I'm from in Australia) is drowning. There is severe flash flooding all over and it won't stop raining. There is talk of evacuating the houses directly along the river as it is expected to rise overnight. I can't help but feel a little helpless over here on this beautifully sunny (but chilly) Tokyo morning, so I've been keeping up-to-date with it all via facebook, phone calls and aussie news sites.

Here's a shot I found on boston.com while trawling for info (the situation is making international news!), I love this shot because it shows the true aussie spirit, which is something positive that always shines over a disaster like this one. His name's Rodney - what a legend!



One of the posters I sold features a girl standing in the rain... eerily fitting.

My thoughts are with everyone back home, stay dry and stay safe. xx