Things That Make You Go Oooooo (October 2016)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! It's my favourite creepy cute holiday of the year so to celebrate I will be watching some creepy movies although I'm not sure which ones yet so be sure to recommend me some in the comments. It's hard to believe 2017 is almost here as it's forever summer in Thailand my brain keeps on thinking it's only July which isn't a bad thing as I quite enjoy the warmer weather after all the cold winters I've had although I'll admit I do miss seeing the seasons change...

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♥ A Geeks Guide to Fighting Procrastination

♥ On Making A "Fuck That!" List

♥ All The Glorious Perks of Having a Lifelong BFF

♥ 5 Witchy Travel Destinations

♥ How To Be Perfectly Unhappy

♥ Stop-Motion Animation Turns Woman Into A Human Canvas

♥ Tips For Taking Photos In Cold Weather

♥ The Blog is Dead, Long Live the Blog

♥ 10 Childish Things To Embrace

♥ 29 Tips to Make Your Blog Posts Better

♥ Single woman spends 14 years with mannequin family to make a point

♥ The 50 Dos and Don'ts of Running Your Own Business

♥ You’re Not Bad; You’re Crying Out for Help

♥ 40 Self Care Techniques To Rejuvenate And Restore Yourself

♥ 5 Ways Coffee & Pie Can Help You Through Your Break Up

♥ Creepy and Cool Things To Do in Rome

♥ This Guy Photoshops His Dog Into A Giant In All His Pics And It’s Hilarious

♥ DIY Funko Shelves From Collector Corps Boxes

♥ Wonder Woman Nails

Love & Pumpkins

Cate

xoxo

Catmosphere Cat Café - Chiang Mai - Thailand

Cat Cafés have well and truly taken over Thailand! I visited my first Cat Café on my birthday a few years ago now in Bangkok but when I heard there was a space themed Cat Café here in Chiang Mai I knew I had to go check it out I mean what a perfect combination!

All the cats in Catmosphere have spaced themed names and upon entering the café I was greeted by a gorgeous Persian called Yoda in fact I go so swarmed by kitties when I first sat down I barely had a chance to check out the menu. There's a 100 baht entrance fee to the café unless you order food or a drink so I ordered a cappuccino and brownie which cost slightly more than your average café but in my opinion is worth it as they tasted pretty good and also you get to play with cute kitties for as long as you want, they also give you free water to which one of the cats decided to drink but they gave me another glass which kitty tried to steal from me again but I managed to drink myself until my back was turned and he stole again...

There is all sorts or cool Star Wars cat themed artwork on the walls which I really wanted for my house and I loved the music they played there so many 80's classics from Michael Jackson to Europe  I found it hard not to sing along, I could have easily spent all day just chilling there.

All the kitties seemed to have a fascination with my Captain America backpack and a few came over and just sat on it, a girl sitting next to me was also working on her laptop and one of the cats climbed into her laptop bag and fell asleep it was the cutest thing!

The kitties are super friendly here and they're not afraid to come up and play with you or sit in your lap, I went in the morning which is supposed to be one of the times where they're most active so a great time to visit. There's also a few toys there which you can use to tempt the kitties to play with you which is great fun.

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to this cat café and I can see I'm going to be a regular here, they even have really cute space themed t-shirts with the kitties on so I may have to get myself one of those next time, in fact I didn't realise it at the time but I was even wearing a space cat themed outfit that day (my galaxy skirt and a Hello Kitty top) so how could I not love this place?

What nerdy name would you give your cat?

Love & Cats

Cate

xoxo

5 Asian Dramas I'm Watching & Loving

It's not just anime I've been watching a lot of lately it's Asian dramas, they're kinda a guilty pleasure of mine and I tend to watch a lot of Thai dramas so I can practice my language skills even though every drama seems to follow the same story but I do kinda like them as they don't take things to seriously and they cast the best looking people haha! I don't just watch Thai dramas though I watch a lot of Japanese and Korean ones to so here are a few of my faves that I've recently watched

Imaginary Cat (상상고양이)

This is a Korean drama based on a popular webtoon about a struggling comic artist that one rainy day finds a stray cat and falls in love. The drama is told from both the protagonists and the cat's point of view which is super cute and I really enjoyed, it's very funny but as the story begins to unfold you get hit right in the feels so be warned you might need tissues.

Why Can't Seiya Todoin, 16-Year-Old, Get a Girlfriend?

( なぜ東堂院聖也16歳は彼女が出来ないのか?)

So the title pretty much says it all, this drama is all about Seiya Todoin who's handsome, smart and rich but pretty much clueless about girls and his mission to get a girlfriend. So I watched this a long time ago with Violet when we were in Japan because Yutaka Kobayashi who plays Kaito in Kamen Rider Gaim was in it and it completely shattered my illusions of this guy being super cool because he is such a dork in this (and in real life) but I loved how stupid and hilarious this drama was and I still want a second season dammit!

Ugly Duckling: Don't (รักนะเป็ดโง่ ตอน)

This is a Thai drama about a girl who gets bullied at school by her first crush then becomes a complete social recluse and deals with it by wearing a box over her head. So I kinda related to this drama in the fact that I'm totally socially awkward and have at times just wanted to hide away in a box but I learned to deal and so does Maewnam. This drama is equal parts funny and cute and the cast is hot! I loved the development of the characters in this drama to from Maewnam living in box to becoming a strong woman and standing up to the bullies not just for her sake but for her friends and family. If you're new to Thai dramas then this is part of a collection of series titled Ugly Ducking which are just 7 episodes long and although I haven't actually seen the other series yet they're definitely on my watch list.

Mr. Nietzsche in the Convenience Store

(ニーチェ先生～コンビニに、さとり世代の新人が舞い降りた～)

This Japanese drama is basically about a bunch of oddballs that work the late shift at a convenience store. So this drama may not sound like much but it is hilarious, I found myself laughing out loud many times watching this, if you can't already tell I love a drama that doesn't take itself too seriously and this was such a fun watch so I totally recommend it if you need a giggle.

Criminologist Himura and Mystery Writer Arisugawa 

(臨床犯罪学者 火村英生の推理)

If you love murder mystery shows you will love this one and if you're a Sherlock fan you will love it even more because this show is basically Japanese Sherlock I mean they even have the same hairstyle! I also love the fact that the show is set in Kyoto (one of my fave places)so you get to see a lot of traditional Japan. The series is based on the novels of Alice Arisugawa and after watching the series I'm definitely going to check out the books!

What Asian dramas have you watched?

Love & Chai

Cate

xoxo

Inspirational Quotes #79

"Be a voice not an echo."
– Albert Enstein

Becoming a Monk in Thailand

One of the common traditions in Thailand is for the males of the family to join the monastery for a period of time in order to bring good luck to their family. Back in May my family held a big celebration for my cousin who decided to become a monk and the planning and preparations for this started almost a year in advance.

Our whole family from Bangkok (and Sukhothai) made the journey early morning to Singburi with our car packed full of food and other offerings for the monks. When we reached his house it was already packed full of people drinking, eating and dancing to traditional Thai music then our first family duty was to begin the cleansing where you shave off all his hair and eyebrows, wash him in water and turmeric then he dons a white robe and begins his blessings.

We woke up early the next day in order to start the procession from his house to the temple which in reality was only a few kilometres away but the walk took us a few hours! Loud music is played and the whole family dances and celebrates in the street, it was so much fun and we all wore matching T-shirts with our family name on, I actually had a little part in designing them to as I chose the colours and the fonts we used, although I'm still clueless about a lot of Thai traditions I love that my family allows me to be a part of them and teach me new things.

At the temple each of the family were given a package of offerings to give to the monks, these packages can contain food, money, toiletries, robes, basically anything the monks will need for their stay there as monks enter the monastery with nothing and rely on donations for their stay there.  We made the procession around the temple three times, which is said to be auspicious, before my cousin enters the temple to take his vows and change from his white robes into the tradition orange monk robes.

The ceremony ended with the family offering food to the monks, praying and receiving blessings, then my cousin was left alone to spend his time at the temple with the elder monks. I had so much fun celebrating with my family although it was ridiculous hot and I really enjoy seeing and being a part of these Thai traditions although I may not fully understand what's going on at times and I'm very much looking forward to the next big celebration we have together.

If you want to learn more about becoming a monk be sure to check out this link

Love & Blessings

Cate

xoxo