Kitten Update – Week 8

Time flies when you’re having fun with four fluffy bundles of cuteness. Sadly it’s week eight already, and nearly time for my little furry friends to be rehomed! Penny will be leaving on Sunday, so I’ll be taking as many pictures as I can before then! Hopefully Ellie, who’s Penny’s new mama/house-mate/servant, will be kind enough to update us with pictures in the future!

What’s new? Maggie has a new favourite TV show – The IT Crowd. When the intro comes on, her eyes are glued to the screen. I’ve never seen anything quite like it! Unfortunately when it first happened I didn’t have any filming equipment on me – typical!

The kittens are all very agile, very fast and seem very grown up compared to just a couple of weeks ago (although they’re still rather tiny as you can see!). They’re still play fighting (naturally), and adventurous, exploring everything they can, from jumping on my laptop keyboard to sneaking into the garden. As I type, they’re playing a very energetic game of tag.

I have no idea why the boys look so startled in photos – in these eight weeks this is still the only facial expression I’ve managed to document…

Penny started licking Jude. He doesn’t look best pleased… But it was so cute! Then they all fell asleep together.

These past eight weeks have been incredibly hectic, but I’ve had such a great time helping to look after Pepper, Penny, Jude and Maggie. I hope you’ve enjoyed the journey – and in case is the last post, I’d like to thank you for reading and for all your kind words on here and via social media!

If you’re considering getting a kitten/cat at some point in the future, I’d seriously recommend it. Evie, even if she is a Queen Bitch on occasion, has definitely made my life that little bit better and brighter. Crazy cat lady alert, eh?

Until next time,

Nikki

Kitten Update: Week 7

This is potentially my penultimate blog post on the kittens – how sad is that? I’ll miss shooting and writing these, but I’ll make sure next week’s one is the best one yet.

We’re now getting to the stage now where I don’t have a lot of ‘new’ things to tell you, as the kittens have hit most of their main developmental stage. There’s not much to report other than they’re a little bigger, litter trained and even more agile than before. All four kittens can shoot off in opposite directions (and boy, they’re fast now!), as well as different heights. Yup, they can climb! Thankfully they’ve resisted shredding the curtains, but I’ve spotted them on the sofa, the table, chairs, on window sills… Keeping an eye on all four simultaneously is now impossible!

We’ve also had to tape the cat flap, thanks to a naughty little kitten – not naming any names – who managed to get through to the other side. He then realised it was cold, wet and windy outside and regretted his decision bitterly and ran straight back in.

So, this afternoon I decided to create a new game: we played with ribbon. The kittens loved the ribbon, and spent all afternoon batting it around, chasing it and fighting over it. They’re very into playfighting, but when they think you’re not looking, they cuddle up and fall asleep. Siblings, eh?

Enjoy this week’s pictures!

What shall the theme for week 8 be? I’m a little tempted by dress up… no?

With love,

Nikki and the kitty cats.

Kitten Update – Week 6

“What have the kittens been up to this week?” I hear you ask.

Well, they’ve been very busy felines! They’ve had more visitors, been weaned onto kitten food, they’re slowly but surely becoming house trained and they’re demonstrating their acrobatic skill by scaling the living room chairs and zipping around the carpet faster than The Flash. In short, they’re full blown toddler kittens!

I have an apology: it took me a while to realise it was Kitten Update Day this evening – the bank holiday has left me totally confused about where in the week I am – so these photos were taken in a hurry (Penny and Pepper do look a tad grumpy because I woke them up for the pictures – sorry guys!).

What I wanted to get across was how playful and social they are becoming. They really love playtime (every hour is happy hour), which is uber fun to watch – I promise I’ll take some videos soon. They’ve been play fighting, playing a cat version of Tag, batting around and cuddling with their toy mice, birds and jingly bells. They climb onto laps for cuddles and definitely seek human attention – it’s a very good age. Except for the odd *ahem* accident.

Upsettingly, there will only be a couple more kitten update posts left – after eight weeks they’ll be ready to live with their new families! I’m very glad to report that one of my best friends, Ellie, will be adopting Penny, my Mum will be adopting one of the boys (so I can still see him at the weekend) and my sister will be keeping her favourite, Maggie. I’m still finalising arrangements for the fourth kitten, but I’m glad to tell you they’ll all be going to amazingly loving homes – I’ll be able to keep tabs on all of them too!

Have a brilliant rest of the week,

Love Jude, Pepper, Maggie and Penny.

Kitten Update – Week 5

Time is most definitely flying, as it’s now week 5 of the Kitten Updates! Can you believe it?

This week our friend Ellie came to visit, bearing fantastic news – she’ll be adopting one of the kittens! I won’t reveal which one it is yet, but I will say, I’m so happy to know this little darling will be going to a great home.

We’ve had a brilliant day pigging out on Dominos (I’m still full!), playing with the kittens (naturally) and taking a scenic tour of Sandbanks; one of my favourite places in the world. Of course, there are pictures – I hope you enjoy them, as we had great fun shooting them.

When they set their mind to it, these guys are a handful! Just the other day I found two playing the ukulele (I’m serious), one eating adult cat food (I haven’t even weaned them yet), and another scaling their cat basket. That’s when they aren’t play fighting in my shoes, high-fiving (I saw it with my own eyes, they totally high-fived) and somehow being everywhere at once! I’m enjoying every minute, I just wish I could spend more time with them!

It’s brilliant to have these little guys to play with – they’re certainly highly social, fun-loving and curious creatures. I have so much love for each one of them. Ah, soppy!

Until next time,

X

Kitten Update – Week 4

Time is flying far too quickly for my liking. How are they almost a month old already!?

There have been plenty of developments to fill you guys in on: walking has now progressed to running and hopping (they still fall over), they’ve started playing with their toys, exploring the lounge and seeking more affection. I was feeling pretty smug when Pepper crawled into my lap – slightly less so when I realised it was to chew my hair/clothes/tights, but hey, you have to take what you can get. They’ve also been learning to drink, although they get about as much on them as they do in them (you’ll see in the pictures).

But I won’t bore you all with chit-chat, I know what you came here for was pictures!

For our next kitten update (week 5, sob!) I’ll be sharing more of their fun adventures, and I’ll be accompanied by my lovely friend Ellie.

Until next time,
x

Kitten Update: Week Three

You’ve guessed it, the kittens are now three weeks old! This is such an exciting time in the McMullen household: the little kittens can wobble around the room, they can sit, they can hear, talk, see, scratch (themselves, not me), cuddle, play fight, drink and much more! Everything they do is a little bit shaky and unbalanced, but they’ll soon get the hang of this moving business!

Since opening their eyes last week, the colour has turned from milky to clear – which means they can finally see properly! It’s nice to watch them having a good ole exploration of their surroundings – and taking a good look at us humans too!

The markings also seem to be developing- if you look very closely there’s an almost tabby pattern in their black fur – it’s super faint but definitely there- a black tabby? That’s a new one. There’s also more ways to tell apart Pepper and Jude- Jude has a smaller face and Pepper has a grey foot (in addition to Pepper’s white chest patch and Jude’s white patch on his belly).I’m not sure I’ve shown you a picture of each kitten, so here they are:

This is Maggie…

This is Pepper, he’s so beautiful.

This is Penny – she’s so excited to be blogging.

This is Jude – that face!

This week will be teaching them to play (not that they need much help!), so I’ll be heading out and buying a few toys for them soon. Four weeks will be a pretty big age, weening, first food, litter trays (great…) and even more exploration! I’ll have  to find them a safe area to wander in because mama Evie can’t contain them forever, they’re getting big!

Stay tuned for an exciting Week 4 Update – I’m sure I’ll have lots of lovely action shots of kitten fun and games!

Until next time,

x

Kitten Update: Week 2

Yesterday the kittens turned two weeks old and you know what that means – another kitten update!

They’ve been going through some important developments this week – they can now see and hear! All four kitty cats have opened their eyes – you’ll see them showing off their gorgeous baby blues in the pictures – and they’re starting to move their ears towards sound.

Speaking of moving, the kittens are definitely a lot more mobile! They’ve been crawling around their little space, and the two girls are starting to walk. Watching them trying to prop themselves up and wobbling around like little Bambi’s is up there with the cutest sights ever. A couple of them have already been tempted to escape over the sides – alas they’re too small for now! I can tell these guys will be a handful when they get a little bit older.

To recap on which kitten is which – the kitty with the white face is Maggie, Penny has a white face and chin, whilst Jude and Pepper are the seemingly all-black ones (and can be distinguished by the white spot on Jude’s belly versus the white patch on Pepper’s chest). In most photos it’s tricky to tell those two apart – I’m still getting the hang of it!

They’re all utterly gorgeous, super sweet, and starting to get sociable; from play fighting and cuddling each other to flocking to my hand for some attention.

I’m going to leave it here before I look too much like a crazy cat lady, although maybe that ship has sailed! I can’t wait to see how they’ll grow up this week, I’ll be sharing the latest update around Wednesday.

See you this weekend for some Spring outfit updates!

x

Hey Jude… and Maggie Mae, and Pepper, and Penny.

Judging by the excitement on Twitter, Facebook and Instragram, this post will definitely please all of you cat lovers out there!

If you’ve missed the news, my cat Evie had kittens last Wednesday and they’re the most adorable little darlings in the world. I’m utterly smitten.

Week One

Today marks their first week and they’ve already grown and developed so much! I think I’ve sussed the genders too. Although I’m not 100% certain, I’m fairly confident that two are boys and the other two are girls; the boys are all black and the girls are black and white. That worked out neatly, huh?

This cutie is Maggie Mae – she always seems to be the one in front of the camera – and lying on top of the others! – she’s clearly born to be a blogging kitty cat. She’s probably the bravest of the kittens, and is always sticking her head out of her basket to explore – despite the fact the cats haven’t even opened their eyes yet !

This is Penny, she’s got white patches on her chest and arms – she’s a little tuxedo kitty! She, like Maggie, enjoys being cuddled and pushing her brothers around. Girl power!

So far, it’s almost impossible to tell Jude and Pepper apart as they’re both black. The only difference? Jude has a little patch of white on his belly. It seems a bit rude to keep flipping the kittens over to identify them, so I’ve mostly been addressing them via guess work! Perhaps it will be easier to tell when they grow up! That said, I think this is Pepper. He was born with his umbilical cord wrapped around his ankle, which worried me – but luckily his foot is absolutely fine now! It’s left a near-microscopic hairless patch on his left leg (you can just about see it two pictures down) so that’s basically the only means of identifying them in these pictures!

Therefore, I think this little guy is Jude! Jude’s a little singer and makes the most noise – kittens squeak and chirp like little birds – way cuter than baby cries! Pepper and Jude are both Mumma’s boys and certainly not as adventurous, or big, as their sisters. I think Jude might also be the eldest, although it’s hard to tell for sure!

A rare moment when they’re not in a pile-up/sandwich!

Evie’s certainly a proud Mumma! I’ve been very lucky as plenty of cats don’t like people touching their kittens for the first couple of weeks, but Evie’s been totally happy with me picking up and photographing the kitty cats! To be honest, I think she likes the reprieve – four kittens are certainly a pawful (sorry, had to go there).

I’ll try and post a photo update every week – they’ll be opening their eyes and walking very soon – I’m so excited!

Oh, and if you hadn’t guessed – they’re all named after Beatles’ songs!

Until next time,

x

Here Comes The Sun(glasses)

Hooray, the sun is out to play! I’ve been celebrating by debuting my brand spanking new collection of sunglasses. Prepare to see this beauties on the blog for the next 5 months. Optimistic? Me? Never.

Flower Power

These gorgeous specs come courtesy of Jaymie O’Callaghan, the lovely lady who created my blog header almost a year ago. How time flies! As you can tell, I adore her work. Jaymie has a whole host of flowery embellished peepers on her website, which made picking a pair a seriously difficult decision. I’m a sucker for pearls, so these vintage frames ticked all the boxes. I’m already perusing Jaymie’s site for my next purchase – her Audrey Hepburn necklaces are a total dream. Perhaps she’ll be making Anna Karina ones next!

Tortoiseshell Wayfarers

I found this pair lurking in a corner of Camden market. At just £5 they were a no brainer. I had a similar pair last year, but they mysteriously disappeared! These retro frames go with just about everything, so I’ve been keeping them in my handbag at all times. These tinted lenses give my life a Wes Anderson-esque filter. Bonus points.

Classic

These black frames have been done to death in recent years haven’t they? Ever since Ray Ban’s Wayfarers became super popular it seems every single store has created their own imitation. Their hyper popularity turned me off them, big time, until I tried these glasses on at last month’s Vintage Fair and my Ma remarked “they’re very Marilyn Monroe”, and suddenly I loved them! We’d recently watched My Week With Marilyn and I’d seriously dug these black sunglasses she wears. Admittedly I couldn’t look less like Marilyn, perhaps I need some red lippie to team these babies with?

Lilac and Lovely

I also found these at the Vintage Fair last month. They’re certainly a far cry from my usual style, but branching out is always good! Admittedly, lilac and tortoiseshell are a strange combination, but everyone needs a pair of pastel glasses this summer and these shall be mine! I wasn’t sure whether round sunglasses could suit me, but at just £5 I thought I’d risk these quirky beauties. What do you think?

Extra exciting news…

Four is clearly a bit of a magic number for me, and I’ll tell you why. I’m really excited to share with you guys that my cat, Evie, has had kittens! We now have four beautiful kitty cats; Maggie Mae, Pepper, Jude and Penny. I will, of course, be dedicating a couple of posts to them in the next couple of weeks and taking a plethora of snaps and videos. In the mean time, here’s a picture to keep you going! Can you guess the theme behind the names? Prizes and hugs if you can!

 

Need more kitten fixes? Keep updated via my Twitter and Instagram feeds.

22.

Hello everyone! Having a good week?

I’m in my first few days of being a big grown up 22 year old – although I feel exactly the same and I’m pretty confident I will continue being mistaken for a 17 year old!

 This year I had one of the very best birthdays of my life – a brilliant weekend of friends, family and fun. I also had some pretty perfect presents, my friends picked better than I could have picked myself!

I’m a bit of a journal and list-making fanatic – maybe that’s why I’m a blogger? But this journal kicks every other journal’s arse. Every page gives you a new hilarious instruction to complete. I hate to think what kind of state this book will be in after a couple of months but I’ll have a lot of fun destroying it! =]

I don’t know if Chocoholics Anonymous is a real thing, but if it is I should probably join. I’m pretty well known for my chocolate gorging abilities (I daren’t tell you how much chocolate I consume in a day) so of course, I was bought quite a bit of chocolate and even a chocolate book! I love this vintage chocolate sign, I just need to work out where I shall hang it.

I LOVE Lindor chocolate. Good heavens, it’s beautiful. It’s something I normally only get at Christmas so this was a rare treat . Unfortunately that was my last one (see, I told you I eat a lot of chocolate). I’m already expecting withdrawal symptoms. I took one look at this owl crafting kit and shouted “YES!”. I love making things and these will come out so much better than anything I could ever design and craft! Hopefully it will give me some inspiration for my own DIY ventures. I’m looking forward to showing you my finished owls! I’ve opened the kit whilst writing this and I’m itching to grab a needle and start stitching. Damn my short attention span!  I don’t need to remind you about my love of music. Especially the Beatles! As an added bonus, visually, this is my favourite Beatles era. I’m so about the mod haircuts and  sharp suits. Not beards. Definitely not beards. Isn’t this a cool display? I can’t wait to add it to my wall. It will fit in perfectly. 

I was thrilled to receive these crafting bits and bobs, which included really basic stuff I didn’t own or had run out of like double sided tape and proper glue. I also received a blank scrapbook which contained just one thing: a list of “Summer Activities” my friend and I had planned. What better way to inspire me to take a load of photos this summer? I can’t wait to combine my lovely crafting pieces and what will hopefully be a stash of summery snaps.

A big thank you to all of my friends and family for such a fabulous time! I hope 22 is my best year yet! I’m sure it will be a year of changes; for me and She Wore Ribbon- I’m hoping to write more OOTD posts and to buy my domain name (if anyone knows a good place to buy, let me know!). If I’m taking more outfit photos maybe I should cut down on the chocolate too. Today I visited Topshop to try on a pair of jeans, foolishly hazarding at which size to try. Has anyone ever watched that Mighty Boosh episode “The Chokes”?Remember when Vince had to wear those tiny tiny skinny jeans? That was me. These were ill-fitting in every way – they were high waisted yet they only came up to my hips. Since when are my legs that long? Don’t think I’m bragging that I’m long legged – they wouldn’t have zipped up anyway. I felt a little demeaned until I came to the beautifully obvious realisation that the jeans weren’t right for me and I vowed never again to lament that I wasn’t right the jeans. That’s not how clothes work! I think girls are often guilty of blaming themselves instead of the clothes when things don’t quite fit. In the spirit of self-esteem, I will head back to Topshop and find the right size and style that suits me next time.

Have a fantastic week! I’m sure I will be posting tomorrow because… I’m seeing Paloma Faith! I am ridiculously excited! What will I wear?? I must raid my clothes rail for something quirky, vintage and comfortable!

Love to you all!