As I don't have a Valentine to spoil, I couldn't resist getting an early birthday present for Vashti and Taiyo (they will be turning 3 on 16 and 22 February) in the form of this awesome tank from Suck UK. Suck UK creates unique gifts, accessories and items for the home, and I think their collection for pets is just too cute! They also offer a variety of other 'human inspired' condos and scratchers. 

Happy Friday everyone! Great plans for the weekend? For me it is working on my new 'walk-in closet' again, and - of course - studying (as ever). In both instances I expect to be getting a lot of help from my feline housemates Vashti and Taiyo. 

As a self-confessed Crazy Cat Lady, I obviously love products that feature cats, but sometimes it is hard to find cute things that are quirky and fun, among all the cat-stuff that is stuffy, and sometimes downright psychotic. Luckily, cats are hot at the moment. Thanks to the internet and Taylor Swift (the Queen Bee of all crazy cat ladies), it is totally 'fetch' to expose your inner Crazy Cat Lady. To make it easier to do so I thought I'd share my current favorites. I am very much coveting number 8! Wish I had some occasion to wear it to. Maybe there is an annual Crazy Cat Lady Convention somewhere? 

....stopping what you're doing to enjoy this complete perfection of serene tranquility. 

A beautiful cat fast asleep on a comfortable pillow in the warm spring sunlight. Does it get any better than that? I don't think so....

P.S.: as you may notice Tatiana's Delights has had some small updates, just in time for the Royal Tour. Your feedback on the changes are of course greatly appreciated! 

Until now I haven't written much about the upcoming Royal Tour of Kate and William (and George!) to New Zealand and Australia, because most info was already widely available on other blogs and website, but of course I will closely follow the entire tour (although that means some late nights, since Australia and New Zealand are almost the exact opposite of the Netherlands time wise -_-)! More info on why you should definitely keep a close eye on Tatiana's Delights during the Royal Tour will follow in a separate pre-Royal Tour post in a few hours. One hint: it will include a Royal Tour related give-away! ;-)

Between all the replikate collages and outfit posts, I thought I'd dedicate a small post to someone that always gives me unconditional love: my sweet cat Taiyo (so to the cat-haters: this is your cue to turn away now!). 

I got Taiyo as a kitten in May 2012, two days after I got my other cat Vashti. A few months before that I moved to my first apartment, after having lived four years in a student house where I wasn't allowed to have any pets. I grew up always having cats around, so I felt having no cats around made the house very empty. Getting cats will definitely be one of the best decisions of my life :)

Taiyo is a blue tabby point Ragdoll. I called him Taiyo after the Japanese word for 'Sun', because he was completely white when I got him, but now that he got some colour he looks more like a tiny lion/tiger hybrid to me. He always quietly follows me around the house and then always finds the laziest spot in the room to take a five-hour long nap. Occasionally however, he feels the need to go on this sort of roaring rampage. I have absolutely NO idea why, but apparently he then thinks he is Spidercat, and obviously a Spidercat does whatever a Spidercat needs to do, which is to climb into the door posts and then slowly glide down again. Well, you know Taiyo, you gotta do what you gotta do...

Apart from that he is a real sucker for anything with feathers and fur, and unlike any other normal feline, his favourite food isn't chicken, or salmon, or turkey. No, no, he is sure that what I like most he likes most too, so I always have to make sure all the cake, nougat or cupcake frosting is under lock and key at all times. Based on this, I do believe I qualify as a 'crazy cat' lady ;-) 

Anyway, this post is just my way of saying that we should never take the presence of our 'furry kids' for granted :)  I love you Taiyo! Don't ever stop being weird and wonderful!

This is what you will need:

2 small Lack shelves / 4 Ekby Mans brackets / 1 off-white Ådum rug / 2 long Lack shelves

Apart from that you will also need:

• Scissors or a stanley knife
• A marker
• A ruler
• (Carpet) glue
• Screws for attaching the shelves to the wall
• A screwdriver and/or a drilling machine.

1. Measure the surfaces of the Lack shelves that you want to cover with carpet. 
   
2. Draw the measurements you just wrote down on the back of the Adum rug with a marker.
   
3. Cut the rug with sharp scissors or a stanley knife. 

  4.   Glue the pieces of carpet on the tops of the lack shelves (I used carpet glue for this), and let it dry for 
         at  least 24 hours. 
  5.    Attach the Lack shelves to the wall that you want to create the cat tree on (as explained in the 
         enclosed instructions). 
  6.   For extra solidity, attach the long sides of the Ekby Mans brackets at the bottom of the long Lack 
         shelves (and the short sides to the wall, obviously).
  7.   DONE!

And the most important thing of all: Taiyo and Vashti are both very happy with the new shelves and use them a lot! 

Some of you may already know this, but a couple of months ago, my quiet little apartment was blessed (or cursed, depending on who you ask) with two miracles of kittens. One is a Ragdoll male named Taiyo, and he is now basically my big cuddly toy shadow. The other is a Nebelung female named Vashti, and she is one mischievous little thing! Hiding in the sink and waking me up at 5 am because she's bored. But now she has found something new to pass the time.

What most of you don't know, is that I play the celtic harp. (Yes, I know!) But what I didn't know: so does Vashti too, apparently.... I think she's actually better at it than when I first started.

This is what I love about having cats (pets in general really): every day they invent something new to do, and they make you laugh every single day!