August Favourites ’22

How quickly did August go? Too bloody quickly if you ask me! I can’t believe it’s almost September already, as well as August bank holiday. I’ve started my long weekend doing sweet FA, aside from writing this blog post. 😛

This month was an up and down month, with some positives and negatives, so I am semi looking forward to September for many reasons. For a start, it’s my favourite time of year with autumn starting, but we also have some stuff booked too, which we’re excited for! I’m also hopeful that the month will cool down so I can meet up with some online friends for coffee, shopping and maybe yummy Asian food too!

With that, let’s get into my favourites from August!

Beauty – Fenty Skin Cherry Treat Lip Conditioning Oil.

I can’t tell you guys how long it took me to get this bloody lip oil! I’d heard about it through Instagram and then when watching reviews I was hooked on snagging it myself! I mentioned on my August wish list post how I’d ordered it after it came into stock. Not only was I checking the listing on the Boots website daily for it to come back into stock, but also which stores nearby had it in stock too! On a day out with my dad to Stratford-upon-Avon we popped into a Boots store that stated it was in stock, only for there to be none left, BOO! Finally the lip oil did come back into stock so I ordered one. Since it arrived, I’ve been using is almost daily. It smells like sour cherry sweets, is easy to apply and the conditioning feel lasts for hours! I find it use it at work mostly, as well as when I’m out and about. I’ve definitely become a lip oil fan and plan to try more in the future! ALSO please excuse the dust on the shelf in the photo, it’s cleaning day tomorrow. 😛

Gif taken from Giphy

TV Show – Adventure Time.

Recently I’ve decided I wanted to binge watch Adventure Time again, well, at least the first two seasons as this is how far I got originally. To get the Blu-ray it would have cost me a lot more than I was willing to pay at the time, so instead we decided to get a NOW TV subscription, so now I have until the end of the year/a year to watch all of Adventure Time! I’m currently on season five at the time of writing this post and I’m discovering more about Finn, Jake and the Land of Ooo, which I’m really enjoying! I find myself binge watching it whenever I want something to relax to and watch, including cross stitch, writing for my blog, whilst I work from home, and cooking. If you love animation like I do, and, are yet to watch Adventure Time, please give it a go! My favourite character is Lumpy Space Princess, hence the gif. 😛

Music – Beyoncé “BREAK MY SOUL”.

I heard the new Beyoncé song a couple of weeks ago thanks to Instagram and I’ve really fallen in love with it since! Sometimes it comes on whilst I drove home from work and I can really relate to it some days. 😛 I just really enjoy it as a song, some of the lyrics, but especially the beat. It’s so good! 😀

Book – Lore Olympus.

Lore Olympus is a web comic series I was into back in 2018 when it first came out, but I stopped reading it after a while due to one reason or another. A couple of weekends ago I found out that Lore Olympus had released omnibus comics of the series! I decided to order it last week in order to read over the weekend and so far I’ve really been loving it! I ordered volumes one and two, with three on pre-order. I’ve read volume one so far, and I’m yet to start reading two. I’m hoping to over the bank holiday weekend as the series is addictive! Lore Olympus is a romance comic of a modernised Greek mythology retelling of the relationship between Persephone and Hades. It definitely has some adult themes, but I honestly love it! I’ve linked the web comic, so if you fancy a read definitely go and check it out! 😀

Game – LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.

I decided to pick up the latest LEGO Star Wars game as I had a £10 voucher for Amazon and had had my eye on this since it came out in April. Since buying this me and Dane have been playing it on and off since and it’s been something lovely to play together during weekends off, as well as in the evenings after work. My only gripe with it is how buggy it plays sometimes, which on the first day of playing really pissed us off! Thankfully since then we haven’t noticed it as much, which in turn has made it a lot more fun to play! If you play the original LEGO Star Wars games, then you should definitely get this one! It’s better than ever now and it’s so much fun too, as you get to spend blue bricks and money on upgrading your characters, which is something new to me for LEGO games.

Just a few of my favourite things…

OkieDoodleStitches Pokemon Eevee cross stitch is COMPLETED!

Last month I told you all about my latest cross stitch project, which was Eevee by OkieDoodleStitches. Well, last weekend I finally finished it and it looks so damn cute, as I’m sure you’ll agree from the above photo! This took me a couple of months to complete, but it was so worth it! I found myself getting lost whilst working on this, as well as binge watching a variety of shows (Adventure Time, Inventing Anna, and The Dog Rescuers to name a few!), which in turn has been really helpful for my mental health. I’m planning to pop this in a frame at some point to put up in the house at some point. I’ve already started my next cross stitch project, but I won’t be showing that on my blog for quite some time, as it’s a Christmas present. 🙂

Yuena Art haul.

I decided to place a cheeky enamel pin order with Yuena Art recently as I noticed one of the pins I really wanted was looking to sell out soon, and I didn’t want to worry I’d regret not getting it. The pin design I was after was mainly Yui the Kitsune, but I did love the look of Shino and Diana too! These are all either b-grade or seconds pins, but you wouldn’t know it as the quality of them all is really good! I’m yet to give them a home, but I definitely need to sort through my enamel pin collection(s) again!

Image taken from My Figure Collection

Image taken from My Figure Collection

Exciting figure pre-orders!

August was definitely a month of ordering figures, Nendoroid but also Hobby Max figures for the first time too! I wanted to show off a few I’m really excited about. I don’t feel like I talk about figures and our collecting of them enough on my blog, but it’s something I’d like to do more! First of all, I decided to pre-order the Hobby Max Nana Osaki and Komatsu figures. Nana is probably my favourite manga/anime series so I couldn’t really pass up not ordering these, even though they weren’t cheap, but worth it 100% as they’ll make me so happy to display in our house. Second of all I ordered Marin from My Dress Up Darling, an anime and manga series I’ve really fallen in love with this year! I’m so excited for this Nendoroid to be released! She’ll be going somewhere special as me and Dane love the series together!

So there we have it guys, my favourites from August! I still can’t believe it’s September soon, and before we know it, it’ll be Christmas. :O

What were your favourite things about August? Anything you can relate to from my favourites? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

Until next time, have an amazing rest of your August bank holiday and as always, take care!

My Dress-Up Darling

Image taken from My Anime List

I don’t know if I’ve ever written a blog post purely dedicated to a manga/anime series before, but no time like the present, eh?

I really wanted to write about My Dress-Up Darling (Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru, which translates to The Bisque Doll That Fell in Love) today as it’s a manga/anime series I’ve really fallen in love with and it’s definitely fast become one of my favourites, which is crazy to think about. I know a lot of people have fallen head over heels for My Dress-Up Darling too and especially Marin the main female protagonist, some falling for her a little harder than others.

I know today’s post is a little different but I wanted to share my thoughts about this series as I know so many people love it and season one is now completed, so I’d like to share what I thought of it in that aspect too.

Don’t worry, there won’t be any spoilers shared here, I’m not about that life. I will however share the basic information about what the anime is all about and more.

I’m just going to get straight into it, I honestly hope you enjoy reading this post as much as I enjoyed writing it.

I think the last time I was into an anime so much I had to pick up the manga to read was A Silent Voice (2017). Me and Dane had been to watch it at The Electric Cinema in Birmingham, as I’d been recommended to watch it by adverts and they were damn right to tell me about it! Forbidden Planet/Worlds Apart is literally a stone throw away from the cinema so we ventured there prior to have a nose at geeky goodness, including manga. Dane walked out with Berserk (which was standard back in the day) and I left with the first three volumes of A Silent Voice. I binge read all the volumes in a week!

The same has happened with My Dress-Up Darling where I’ve binge read volumes one to three (still not started four) of the manga after watching the anime, although I’m holding off reading volumes five to eight online until they actually come out for us in the UK. I don’t know about you guys, but I much prefer holding a manga to read instead of just scrolling pages on my phone or laptop.

The anime is based off of the manga also known as Sono Bisque Doll, which released in Japan with its first volume in January 2018, with there currently being eight volumes of the manga, with volume nine on the way! In the UK there are currently six volumes, with five and six being pre-orders. The manga released to us in the UK in April 2020. With the release of the anime and its quick popularity with anime fans alike, the manga has sold out like hot cakes, with many manga stockists apologising and popping people on wish lists. There has also been a lot of scalpers on selling websites trying to sell volumes one and three (which are the hardest to get right now) for stupid prices!

At the time of writing this post volumes two and four are the main ones you’ll find available to purchase at the moment, with five and six being pre orders for the near future. I’ve found Amazon, Forbidden Planet and Wordery have been some of the best places to find volumes for sale.

I was able to snag volumes one and two from Forbidden Planet, as well as four on Amazon. Last week I was able to finally snag volume three through a lovely seller on Depop! She didn’t scalp or put the price up at all, especially with the volume being brand new.

With that out of the way, I’m going to talk about the anime first, just because that’s what I watched prior to reading the manga. It would be weird to talk about it the other way around when that isn’t how it happened for me. There are twelve episodes in season one with the season beginning on 9th January and concluding on 27th March 2022.

My Dress-Up Darling is about Gojo, a trainee Hinamatsuri (Hina for short) doll creator who has just started his first year of high school. One day during school Gojo is in the craft room at school making some costumes for his Hina dolls when Marin sees him. Marin wants to cosplay, but isn’t very good at making costumes, so once seeing Gojo’s talent, approaches him about whether or not he can help her create her cosplay costume for a character she adores. Whilst Gojo has no experience of this, he helps Marin regardless but one cosplay turns from one to more as the story progresses.

It’s a romantic comedy, slice of life manga/anime and my perfect style of anime/manga! In all honesty I’m a sucker for slice of life, no matter what, even drama you’d find on Channel 4!

Each week I’m a sucker for how Gojo and Marin’s friendship progresses, as well as finding out more about each of the characters and what cosplay Marin will work on next.

I don’t feel like this will be a spoiler at this point, but the opening credits for the anime shows what cosplay outfits Gojo and Marin are working on together, even in the order they do them as well. The covers for the manga volumes have the same images of Marin in her cosplay too. I’m so excited to see more in the future! My favourite so far as definitely been her first.

Dane is the one who introduced me to My Dress-Up Darling. I can’t remember how it came about exactly, as we were sick for the first few weeks of January, which is of course when the anime came out. I remember he was watching it and mentioned, “Everyone is going mad for this anime online and how good the animation is. Especially compared to Berserk!” For anyone that isn’t aware (I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned it before or not…), Dane is a massive Berserk fan and like many, was disappointed with the animation style for Berserk 2016.

What got Dane into My Dress-Up Darling was, “I had seen a gif on Reddit of Marin dancing in her bikini (taken from episode two) and without sounding perverted, I really liked the animation style and character’s design. I was immediately enamoured with Marin and wanted to know more about her… Besides her bikini choices.”

The GIF in question, more frames than Berserk 2016. Image taken from Tenor

I think Dane had watched a couple of episodes before I decided to give it a go, which he was more than happy about. I watched the first episode and craved more! We’ve been happily watching each new episode every Saturday morning ever since. It’s always been something to look forward to throughout the past couple of months, especially coming up to the weekends. Since the start of the year we’ve been having regular anime weekends where we sit and binge watch any that have new episodes or ones we’ve discovered and have started to watch together.

There is a huge elephant in the room when it comes to My Dress-Up Darling and it’s the amount of fan service, or arguably… Perverse shots that are in the show. It’s a topic that has blown up all over the internet, which I can understand. I don’t get some of the scenes in question that they chose to animate, and whilst I never feel uncomfortable, I do question it. I know a lot of people have also stated after seeing the “lewd” animated scenes, they stopped watching it, as they no longer wished to support the anime. I personally think its a shame that this happens as it affects everyone who has worked on the anime in question (not just speaking about My Dress-Up Darling here!). As I said, it doesn’t personally bother me, but I do question some stuff. The animators of the show (who may have also worked on the manga too) were probably given a clear vision to be like the manga, so, they have.

As I always do, when I really fall in love with something I always like to try and get some merchandise of it, official or fan made merch at that. I’ve seen one piece of official merchandise I’d love to pick up (key chain) but I’d also love a t-shirt with Marin on, especially pulling one of her many happy faces that she’s pulling during the opening credits of the anime.

Marin is very much loved in the community right now for both her personality, as well as for how pretty and “perfect” she is. I guess it’s because we can all relate to her one way or another as anime, manga and game lovers who just want to show off how much we love characters we watch, read and play as. I’ve personally only cosplayed twice, my first time as Lucy from Elfen Lied and my second time as Cartman’s The Coon from South Park. Both times were so much fun, especially the latter as so many people were telling me and Dane (he dressed up as Kenny’s Mysterion persona) how amazing we looked.

I’d love to cosplay as so many characters and people but I just don’t think I have it in me. I’d be so self conscious the whole day in case anyone judged, if I did the character wrong and more.

So, watching My Dress-Up Darling is a nice way of seeing how people DO get their cosplays together, how happy it makes them feel, the learning processes behind it all and more. Plus the friendships Gojo and Marin make together and with others is really lovely to see. OH and to add, it’s so cool to see how they drew parts of Tokyo. Me and Dane are especially missing Japan so far this year and are craving going back, especially when watching anime where it’s set in areas we stayed/ventured to.

Now I’ve spoken a little about My Dress-Up Darling’s anime, I want to touch upon the manga a little, which I’ve been speed reading the past week since I got volume three! I won’t talk too much about it, as I’ve already spoken a lot about the anime as it is.

The manga (from what I’ve read so far) is pretty much identical to the anime. I can’t say as I’ve noticed any massive differences so far, which I like. The manga style is gorgeous to boot by the way and is very similar again to the anime. I know some manga styles differ to the style when you watch the anime (Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid being a good example of this…) but thankfully this didn’t do that.

At the time of writing this, season one of My Dress-Up Darling has come to a close and what a close it was to a show so many of us adored! I won’t say too much of what happens in the episode itself due to spoilers, etc, but for anyone who is watching (from January, or if you decide to watch it after reading this post), please make sure to continue watching episode twelve after the credits begin… There’s a bit at the end that really rounds up the season perfectly.

Overall I’ve fallen head over heels for My Dress-Up Darling, which is also bad news because now not only do I want as much merchandise from it as I can get my mitts on, but I’m also sad that the anime’s first season is coming to a close this weekend.

Image taken from Good Smile Company US Twitter

I’m already planning on watching the dub version, just so I can enjoy it all over again, as well as ordering the Marin Nendoroid when it releases too! Me and Dane have been talking about whether a DX version will release too, where Marin will have all her cosplay outfits to dress up in too! Otherwise, an additional set of outfits for this would be great. Good Smile Company would miss a trick not doing that!

If you’d like to watch My Dress-Up Darling yourself, you can find it on both Funimation and Crunchyroll!

So, have you been watching My Dress-Up Darling? If so, what do you think of it? Have you been watching the dub, or the sub? Of course, have you also read the manga? Maybe you hadn’t heard of it until now, has my post inspired you to watch? Make sure to let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

Until next time guys, have an amazing weekend and I’ll see you in April! 🙂

February Wish List ’22

Can you believe it’s already February? I can’t to be honest. I’ve been quite excited though for a new month. January wasn’t exactly great for me (as I mentioned in my January favourites here) for various reasons so a new month and a fresh start has been very much needed. I’ve always been an autumn girl but not going to lie, I’m really excited for spring for lighter nights, new baby animals being born and the excitement of Easter chocolate and roasts… Just a shame that’s a couple of months off yet. 😛

I’m back with another monthly post and of course this is my wish list. If there is one thing I’ve said to myself for 2022, it’s to be better with money, which I really was in January! I didn’t spend much and due to that I came out in February with some decent savings and more. That being said, January payday couldn’t have come quickly enough! Six weeks was long!

I want to state here that this months wish list was a tough one for me as two of the items listed are either ordered or pre-ordered months ago. I felt like I couldn’t come up with any items to add to the list, which is a rarity for me. That being said, all items listed are amazing (to me anyway) and I can’t wait to share them with you!

• Pokémon Raihan Nendoroid – (link)

This is a pre order I’ve had for a while now (since May 2021, holy shit!) and I’m really excited for it to arrive. As regular readers will know, I collect Nendoroid’s and around ordering Raihan I decided that I finally needed to complete my Pokemon Nendoroid collection, once and for all! This being said I’m still missing three (Cynthia, N and Champion Red) which are some of the hardest to buy unless you’ve won the lottery. Raihan isn’t exactly a character I adore but he’s pretty cool nonetheless so I needed him for my collection. He’s due out in February so I’m looking forward to him arriving. I’m sure I’ll talk a little more about him in one of my monthly posts.

• Geeky Clean Extinct Airlines Bubblegum & Candyfloss 3 in 1 Soap – (link)

I don’t know what’s happened but I appear to have run out of shower gel! We have the dregs of a bottle of Lush Snow Fairy, as well as a huge bottle of Australia Body Care tea tree body wash. I really want to try more brands for my shower gels and with Geeky Clean being an independent geeky beauty company I’ve tried and loved before, I’m definitely going to treat myself to a bottle of their 3 in 1 soap. This sounds like it’s going to smell like their Bard scent, which is a dupe of Snow Fairy, so hopefully all year round we should have the sickly sweet scent in our bathroom! Not going to lie though, I feel the £6.00 to be quite steep, but I’ll give it a go and if it’s not good/not worth the money I just won’t buy it again!

• Tallulah’s Threads Love Bug Lilac Dress – (link)

This is actually an item I bought on payday a week ago and I have zero regrets! I’ve been eyeing it up for a while now and with how shit January was and a decent discount code to boot, I decided to treat myself! Tallulah’s Threads is a brand I’ve heard of for years now but was never keen previously as smock dresses never used to be my thing. Also, the dresses aren’t exactly cheap and younger me didn’t have much money to spend, unfortunately. I was never keen on the smock style of dress when I was younger as in my mind, (pretty sure everyone thinks this?) it always makes you look bigger than you are due to them being oversized. Back in the day I would have hated that idea, but now I don’t mind a smock dress hiding my body a bit. Plus, I think they’re fucking cute! I own two smock dresses (Disturbia and Fearless Illustration) and I adore them! They’re comfy, perfect for lounging around or hanging out with friends and with a belt around the middle they can be synched in! I also fell in love with the colour and pattern on this dress. It reminds me of spring and if there’s one thing I really want to do, it’s dress cuter! I’m already planning how I can style up this dress and I’m so excited for it!

• Bravissimo Valentina Bra – (link)

If there’s one thing I am in desperate need of, it’s a new bra. Since Covid I’ve been mostly living in bralettes, which are super comfy and support a little, but the time has come where I need to wear a normal bra at least three days of the week and currently, I only have one… Well two if you take note that I have the same bra twice, because I fell in love and bought a back up… Anyone else own back up bras of their favourites? Anyhoo, when I spotted that Bravissimo were bringing out a Valentine’s Day/heart collection I FELL in love! I’m definitely going to take myself to Bravissimo very soon to try this cutie on and purchase, unless I purchase it online and hope for the best. Either way I need it. I really want the pyjamas that Bravissimo has brought out too, but I don’t need anymore so I’ll be giving those a miss. I keep wanting to order this online, but at the moment I may just hold off until me and Dane take a trip where there’s a Bravissimo store. That being said, I don’t want to wait too long in case I do miss out on it. I’ve done this before with previous bra styles and been gutted afterwards.

• Pokemon Cafe Gacha Set – (link)

This is something I saw on Instagram last weekend and I’ve fallen in love with the gacha set that resembles the Pokemon Cafe items you can eat and drink! As regular readers will know, in January 2020 me and Dane went to Japan for a two week holiday and of course we ventured to the Pokemon Cafe (which you can read about here). Two of the gacha items in this set we actually drank/ate which has just taken me back to when we visited the Pokemon Cafe. I’d love to own all of these to keep with the gacha we obtained whilst we were in Japan. I need to try and source them all, which is proving a little tricky. 😦

• Fluffy Cinnamoroll Backpack – (link)

First of all, I have a feeling this backpack isn’t a real Sanrio item… I’m wary of this. However, it’s so damn cute and I’d love to get it! In 2020-2021 I discovered fluffy backpacks (Loungefly Meeko and Loungefly PomPomPurin) and I adore them so much. They’re so comfortable to wear, look and feel lovely and just fit with the kawaii aesthetic I hope to achieve in the future. I know that Loungefly have a Cinnamoroll backpack as well which I didn’t like the look of when it first came out. Since then it’s really grown on me and before Christmas I could have snagged it for a BARGAIN on Vinted, but left it… I’m not gutted though, as I genuinely love this fluffy one more. I’ve found this backpack on Amazon recently for a decent price and went to order, BUT as I’m trying to be better with money I left it for a rainy day. Maybe if I have a shit day or two towards February payday, I could get it then? 😛

So there we have it guys, my monthly wish list for February!

What items do you guys have on your wish lists this month? Make sure to let me know in the comments below.

Until next time guys, take care and have an amazing weekend! 😀

December/Christmas Wish List ’21

It is officially three weeks until Christmas… How crazy is that?! It only feels like this time last year I was saying something very similar when talking about my Christmas wish list!

Long time readers of my blog will know I usually tend to write my December/Christmas wish list on Christmas Eve, but this time I decided to change it up and do it the same time as my wish lists usually are. It means come Christmas Eve, I can wish you all a Merry Christmas as well as other things. 🙂

I’m rather excited for the type of content that I have planned for the rest of December, as well as Christmas as a whole. Me and Dane are spending it together again this year and I cannot wait! I’m also hoping to host a German Market themed weekend at mine too, with yummy food, hot mulled cider, Christmas movies, games and more. I’m really excited for that!

Alongside that, Christmas shopping is in full swing with most of mine being done now. I just have a couple of friends to buy for, as well as my dad and maybe a few more bits and pieces for Dane too.

However, I don’t want to ramble too much in regards to Christmas presents as I’ll be talking about that sort of topic next week on my blog and independent UK businesses you should buy from!

Until then however, please enjoy seeing what items are on my wish list for December… But mostly Christmas. 😛

Cheeky disclaimer to any friends who are looking for ideas, Dane may have bought me some of these things, so if you see something you’d like to buy, drop him a message first. 😛

• Pingki Buddy Penguin Plush Pals – (link)

First of all this is a pre-order I placed months ago and unfortunately at the moment, none of the penguin pals plushies are available to pre-order. This being said, Pingki is constantly posting updates in regards on their Twitter page. Buddy (Roald… :P) is a plush I just had to add to my collection and as he’s due in December or January, I had to add him to this months wish list! I’m not a massive Roald fan, but when I do look at him he reminds me of my best friend (Hi Gab!), she has him on her island and I always go search for him whenever I visit. The penguin pals plushies look so well made and with more characters coming soon, a part of me feels like getting together a little penguin army myself… 😛

• Converse x Pokémon First Partners Chuck Taylor All Star – (link to collection)

When I was fourteen I was bought my first pair of Converse as a birthday present. I went for the classic Chuck Taylors in red and I wore and loved them for two years, until I couldn’t wear them anymore. If you had told fourteen year old Nat that almost twenty years later Converse would FINALLY bring out Pokemon ones, she’d be counting down every year until the time came out. The collection looks pretty cool to be honest and although I would love to pick them up next week, I don’t think I will… Converse are shoes I loved growing up but realistically they’re not the best shoes for the price tag. Vans and Dr Martens in my opinion are a lot better. This being said, the clothes look cool too so I may snag some of those if I feel up to it. 🙂 I mostly wanted to share these for any Pokemon fans who would love some footwear!

• Smoko Vibrating Boo Pillow – (link)

Long time readers will know by now that I am a MASSIVE Smoko fan! If I can get my home filled with cute Smoko goodies, I bloody well will! For the past couple of Christmases and birthdays now, Dane has bought me Smoko themed items that he’s purchased from Firebox, which has always been appreciated! I own four of the lights (ramen cup, bao dumpling, boba tea and couch potato) as well as a handwarmer in the shape of toast (which I really need to dig out and start using now it’s chilly outside!). Surely I don’t need to add more to my Smoko collection? Yes, yes I do. 😛 I’d found this vibrating boba tea pillow ages ago on the Smoko website BUT when I saw Urban Outfitters UK were stocking it, it was literally the first item to be added to my list of ideas for Dane. I have terrible posture and often hunch over my laptop when sat in bed and rarely sit up. I’d like to think with a pillow like this it could help support my back a little and encourage me to sit back, plus with the vibrating function it should also be really relaxing too? It’s so bloody cute! I’m a sucker for Smoko items. I wish we could get more of them here in the UK to be honest.

• Manga – Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon (Vol 8-10) Maid, Kanna’s Daily Life (Vol 5-8) and Elma’s Office Lady Diary (Vol 3 and 4).

If there’s one thing I’ve hardly done since moving to my current job it’s reading. I was always reading in my previous roles as I’d either go to my car for lunch and read, or get to the office really early and read. Recently I decided to take a couple of my Kobayashi volumes with me to the bath and read as I had a soak. I honestly forgot how much I love reading manga, as well as this series so I’d love the ones I’m missing for Christmas. There’s quite a few from both the main series, as well as the spin off series about Kanna and Elma. I’ve added all the ones I need to my list, if I don’t get them for Christmas I’m going to order them for myself. These manga series seem to fly as soon as they’re stocked.

• Animal Crossing Friend Dolls Volume 1 – (link)

The Animal Crossing friend dolls are absolutely adorable! I never saw the appeal of them at first, but after a while they really grew on me and now I have the third volume pre-ordered and keeping fingers crossed for the first volume… Maybe even the second too. 😛 The first volume is available to buy from Amazon at the moment but I haven’t found the second volume anywhere where all the characters are available together. I’ll pop links as to where you can purchase these in the UK, as well as where I’ve pre-ordered volume three.

• Smoko Astro Tayto Night Light – (link)

As mentioned above, I do love my Smoko goodies! This is one of the night lights I’ve had my eye on for a while, but only recently did it hit the UK/the Firebox website. I have the normal tayto night light but I’d love the astro one too. I mean, look at how cute he is! Not only have Firebox stocked the astro tayto, but they also have some more astro tayto goods including the moon light and USB reading light, BUT they also have an adorable tayto coach potato sofa light too! If I end up getting all of these Smoko lights for Christmas, I’ll have to find a place for them all! 😛

• DIY Crossing Cross Stitch Kit – (link)

Finally we have the DIY Crossing cross stitch kits, that I adore! I stopped buying them a while ago due to Christmas coming up, so I’m hoping I may find one of two of these in my stocking… 😛 As I’m a Patreon of DIY Crossing I always request the dog villagers, as I’m hoping to stitch them all in the future. If there’s one pattern I really want to pick up in the New Year though, it’s Shino. Shino has fast become one of my favourite villagers as she’s so adorable and shouts Japan to me! I requested her cross stitch design last month, which I saw earlier this week. It’s gorgeous and I NEED to stitch it soon!

So, there we have it guys, my December/Christmas wish list! I feel like it’s nothing special, but it’s lots of kawaii and geeky goods I love and hope to receive some of them this year… Mostly from Dane. 😛

What do you all have on your wish lists for December, as well as any gifts you’d like to receive for Christmas? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

After Christmas, would you guys like to see what I received for Christmas? Make sure to let me know in the comments too.

Until next time, take care all and I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend so far. 🙂

July Wish List ‘21

I can’t believe we’re already over a week into July! I also can’t believe Halloween is just around the corner too, as well as Christmas. Not going to lie, I love summer but damn am I excited for autumn in September! I have so many plans this year. 😛

I feel like July on my blog is turning into a strange month for posts. Nothing has really come out in the pattern/order I wanted it to and this is just purely because June felt like a long month for me and a tiring month at that. A lot of stuff was happening and although I had a week off work, I don’t at all feel rested.

My Twitch streams are keeping me busy too and I have so many ideas swirling around for the future of Twitch and more… I want to “announce” it here (if you will…) and say that I’m hoping to do YouTube in the future. I don’t know when, but I have so many ideas going around my head after a friend of mine planted the seed.

That aside, I’m really excited for this months wish list! Some items are pre-ordered and some I’m really hoping to order… More below of course. 😛

I hope you guys are having a lovely weekend and if you’re watching the football (I’m not :P) I hope you get the results you hope for. 🙂

• Pikachu Tonal Chain Wallet by Loungefly – (link)

If there is one thing I kind of lack in, it’s shoulder bags. I only really have one (my fake Samantha Vega Sailor Moon shoulder bag) which is my go to, as well as one of my favourite bags as Dane bought it for me back in 2015 when we went to Hyper Japan. The fact it’s still lasted six years later is great! However, I would like something else to use alongside this and this Pikachu Loungefly bag looks to be the one for me! It’s available from the Pokemon Center USA website, but I’m going to source elsewhere me thinks. It’ll be one to use if I’m just popping round to friends, or going out for food/drinks. Think I might treat myself to it at the end if the month!

• Animal Crossing: New Horizons 2022 Day-to-Day Calendar – (link)

I found out about this through Twitter and pre-ordered is straight away! As many of you know, I LOVE Animal Crossing (I stream it twice a week on Twitch too :P) so when I saw they were bringing out a little day-to-day desk calendar I was tempted. However, when I found out it have villagers birthdays featured on the day in question, I kind of knew I had to get it for my desk! It’s out at the end of the month and you can pre-order one yourself from Amazon now. 😀

• Smoko Pearl Boba Tea Beauty Fridge – (link)

As regular readers will know, I LOVE Smoko and the items they have out, especially the Asian food and potato characters. I’ve been eyeing up the fridge on their website for what feels like years now, so now it’s come to Urban Outfitters in the UK I would really like to pick it up! I very much doubt I will though, but I wanted to show it off to you guys in case you want to get it! 😀

• Pokemon Plamo Collection Mew Plastic Model – (link)

This is something that has been on my wish list for quite some time now and I’d still really love it! I think it would be so much fun to get, make a video of me putting together/stream me putting it together. I’ve not seen anyone in the UK selling this, but I have found it on From Japan, as well as Amazon Japan (linked above) so I think as and when I want to make an order from either in the future, I’m going to pick this up. I want to keep this little cutie on my desk next to my Sylveon capchara (can see and read about it here). I think there’s loads of these you can choose from too including Pikachu, Eevee, Gengar, Mewtwo, etc. If you search for “Pokemon Plamo Collection” on Amazon Japan you’ll see them all. 🙂

• PomPomPurin Bell Charm Netsuke Strap – (link)

This is something I’ve been after for a while and actually found it through a seller on Etsy, but wasn’t 100% sure so left. Now that ARTBOX has it in stock I may order it when payday comes at the end of the month! I’d pop this bell charm on my Loungefly PomPomPurin backpack! I’m planning to show that off on my blog in the future, which will be so cute! 😀 I do really love ARTBOX, but I’ve never actually made an order with them!

• The Sad Ghost Club Sad Ghost Plush – (link)

Finally we have a pre-order item that I ordered last week after it released. The owner of SGC decided to bring out a plush of the Sad Ghost and I couldn’t resist! For those who may never have heard, SGC “We’re a small creative project making comic books, apparel and merchandise to spread positive awareness of mental health.” which I adore. It makes me feel less lonely and understood when their posts relate to how I’m doing that day with my anxiety and depression. So, when I saw that they’d brought out a plush of the little cutie, I had to order! This little guy will sit with my plushies in my plush cabinet! If you’re really interested in getting your own Sad Ghost, please make sure to snap him up now because it’s only a limited edition item with one run!

Anyhoo guys, those are my wish list items for July! I’m on a spending ban this month in all honesty due to buying my new car, but I’m going to start spending less now, because I need to. I think I’ll have a few treats a month and then that’s it! 🙂

What items are on your wish lists? Do you like what’s on mine? Let me know your thoughts in the comments down below!

Until next time guys, I hope you’re having a lovely weekend and take care. 🙂

Birthday/January Wish List ’21

Happy New Year guys! I hope you all have a great New Years, even if it involved you staying it. Not going to lie, some of my best New Year celebrations have been in my own, or someone else’s home.

At the time of writing this we are three days into 2021 and so far so good. I’m back at work tomorrow (4th January) and I feel rested after doing next to sod all the past eleven days and whilst I’d like some more time off, I do feel like being back at work will start to give me stuff to do again during the day.

As well as heading back to work, my birthday is also looming (6th January) and I’m going to be turning 31… I wasn’t arsed about turning 30 last year, but for some reason adding one more year to that has kind of deflated me a little. 😛

2021 is going to be a year where I start to experiment and “live” a little more. I want to do more with my resin making hobby, including starting to create pieces to sell! I’m also toying with starting to do gaming/chat streams over on Twitch… We shall see as this is a big step.

I’ve not set any resolutions for 2021 but I have said I’d like to read more manga, as well as continue with doing my Beatsaber VR workouts. My mom also bought me a bread maker for Christmas so I’ll be making more bread in 2021 too!

I’m not going to do the whole, “things will be better in 2021!” because I’m happy to take it as it comes. If it’s similar to 2020 with the way COVID has been… Then so be it. As long as I can be safe in my home with Dane and talk to my friends and family via Facetime, Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger, then so be it!

As it is my birthday in a few days I wanted the first post of 2021 to be a wish list post, with goodies I’d like to pick up/receive for my birthday… Mostly goodies I’d buy myself, especially considering two of the items are this list are things I’ve either pre-ordered or ordered. 😛

So, I hope you’re ready to see lots of kawaii goodies! 😀

• Her Universe Kiki’s Delivery Service Jiji Hoodies Cardigan (link)

I verrry much doubt I’ll get this for my birthday or with my own money. I’ve spent so much money before Christmas panic buying from American independent artists and with a 6 week wait until payday, I’m kinda poor this month. 😛 However, I really love this hooded cardigan by Her Universe that I had to mention it this month! I live in cardigans, especially when I’m actually working in the office so I’m always on the hunt for new ones that express who I am, whilst being acceptable to wear. I don’t know if this one would be, but it’s gorgeous. I’d wear it with my tartan trousers, as well as skater skirts and leggings. I’ve never ordered from Hot Topic before, has anyone in the UK before? Please share your experience for the future! However, I may do a big Her Universe order in the future… 😉

• The Sad Ghost Club book by Lize Meddings (link)

I’m a MASSIVE fan of The Sad Ghost Club and view it daily on my Instagram account. The Sad Ghost Club is described as “a club for anyone who’s ever felt sad or lost. It’s the club for those who don’t feel like they’re part of any other club.” and for years it really has helped me when my anxiety and depression are bad and I need to feel less alone. I’ve even sent the page to friends to follow to see if it helps them to feel less alone too. It was announced back in October 2020 and I pre-ordered it as soon as I saw it landed on Amazon. I haven’t read much in 2020 and plan to change that in 2021. I want to spend more time away from technology and with my head in a good manga/novel/comic, including this one. 🙂

• Pokemon Center Fit Plushie – Dragonite (link) Save 10% from YY Kawaii’s website with the code “YYCOFFEE10”

If there is one plushie I wish I could have picked up last year (as if it’s been a year guys…) when I was in Japan, it’s the Dragonite fit plushie from the Pokemon Center. It wasn’t available to buy whilst we were there and I was gutted. Dragonite is one of my favourite Pokemon and I always have one in my party in the games. I currently have a level 100 Dragonite on Pokemon Shield. 😛 Anyway, I finally bit the bullet and reached out to YY Kawaii about ordering on with her. It should arrive in January and I can’t wait to add it to my collection! I’m planning to keep it on the top of my plushie shelf alongside the plushies I bought in Japan.

• Pokemon Mew Funko Pop (link)

I just want to get this out there that the link I’ve attached (Double Boxed Toys) has sold out of this figure…BUT I haven’t found it elsewhere for sale in the UK yet… Anyway, I REALLY need this funko pop in my life! Like Dragonite, Mew is one of my favourite Pokemon and whilst I don’t own or really want any of the Pokemon funko pops, I really want this one. I think it’s a pop I would take out of the box and keep on my plushie shelf alongside all my Japanese goodies. Otherwise, I’d keep it in the box eventually for the day I can have my own desk at home to keep it on. 😛

• Animal Crossing Mega Isabelle Plush/Pillow (link)

This is something I keep wanting to pick up… But I keep thinking about money too. As many of my regular readers and friends know, I LOVE Animal Crossing and have done since I first discovered it in 2008 when I played Wild World. With New Horizons releasing, a lot of Animal Crossing merchandise has come out in the UK which is amazing. One of these items includes this amazing Isabelle plush/pillow that I really need in my life! It’s not a bad price currently on the website/store I’ve linked and I do keep umming and ahhing about picking it up. I’m going to wait and see my birthday pass in a couple of days and then toy with whether to order it. It’s available at loads of places so it’s not like it’s going to sell out and then I’ll never get it. 😛

• Stami Studios Whale Texting Enamel Pins (link)

Finally we have some enamel pins to talk about. To be honest with you all, I think 2021 is the year where I need to have a declutter of my enamel pins, as well as stop buying so many! I’m actually toying with selling some soon. Let me know in the comments if this is something you’d be interested in seeing. I have quite a few Pokemon themed ones I’m contemplating selling. ANYHOO I’ve really fallen in love with Stami Studios designs this year and some that she has released of late have given me some nostalgic feels. Whale texts are something I used to send to my friends all the time back ten plus years ago off my HTC phone. I loved it and I’d love to do it again this year for fun. Due to this, this is why I’m so in love with these designs. You can buy all three designs separately or together. If these are still in stock at the end of January when I get paid, I’m buying these for sure!

So there we have it guys, my monthly wish list for January, as well as my *gulp* 31st birthday.

One of my friends asked me before New Year what I was thinking of doing for my birthday and I had no idea. I knew I wanted to do some baking (currently torn between red velvet cupcakes and a Japanese strawberry shortcake) as my mom’s birthday is the day after mine. So I would be baking for both of our birthday’s really. Alongside that I’m planning to cook some Chinese food for dinner, as well as make some resin goods on Tuesday night that I can continue with on my actual birthday. I’m excited to just have the day with Dane to cook/bake together and do our one hobby together too. 🙂

I’m not gutted about having a lockdown birthday because I don’t know what I would have done out and about anyway! If anything it means when everything has calmed down and we start to go back to “normal” I can do something exciting.

Do you guys have much planned during the third lockdown here in the UK? What items do you have on your wish list for January too? I know we’re all skint at this time of year, so have you bought any sales items? Let me know everything in the comments! I love reading and replying to your comments. 🙂

Image taken from Cakes With Faces Twitter page.

One more thing to say before I finish this post, I’m taking part in Japanuary over on Instagram! It was created by Cakes With Faces and all you had to do is share a post daily on your social media platform (Instagram for me) with images and some text in relation to the day. I’m really enjoying this challenge so far and it’s keeping my Japan trip alive almost a year on. 🙂

Anyhoo that’s all from me today! I hope you’re all safe and well and 2021 has treated you nice so far. 🙂

Until next time, take care all and Happy New Year!

June Wish List ’20

I still can’t quite believe it’s June! So much has already happened in June and I’m a mixture of excited for the rest of the month and dreading what it could bring.

Yesterday marked me and Dane owning our home for four years. This has honestly flown by and it only feels like yesterday that we put our offer down on the house and waited those anxious months until we had the keys in our hands! It’s a really lovely feeling and it makes me so happy.

As well as that, on Monday it is our 7 year anniversary. We can’t do much for it, but we may have a lazy morning in bed, play Animal Crossing together and order a takeaway of Japanese food, because why not! 😀 I’m excited to just chill out and cuddle with Dane for the day.

This months wish list was hard to write in a way. I’ve found that due to lock down and not going out at all, I’ve save a lot of money… So, I’ve been really bad and ordered things I’ve wanted for ages. I’ve calmed down a little now as I have made some big home related purchases lately and need to be good with money now.

However, that doesn’t mean I can’t have my wish lists! One of the items on my wish list this month I’ve actually ordered, but I couldn’t think of anything else to add to the list. 😦

Anyhoo, let’s talk about the goodies on my wish list for June!

• Pandora Poodle Puppy Dog Dangle Charm (link)

I do love my Pandora bracelet and when charms are released that shout out to me, I really do fall in love with them and want to buy them. This poodle puppy dangle charm is adorable and shouts me all over. When I was younger I owned two toy poodles, who I loved so much. I haven’t owned a dog for over 10 years now and whilst I would love a dog to come into mine and Dane’s lives, its not ideal right now. This charm is gorgeous and will definitely remind me of the dogs I had and have lost.

• JeanaDraws Animal Crossing Dom Enamel Pin (link)

If there is an Animal Crossing villager I have quickly fallen in love with, it’s Dom. He’s one of the newer villagers who joined through New Horizons and he is adorable! However, he also seems to be like Marmite… You either love or you hate him. I adore him and I need him on my island at some point in the future. I would love a Dom enamel pin to show my love, but at the moment I’ve not found any artists who are making one apart from JeanaDraws. I discovered them through their sakura otter Kickstarter, which I sadly never backed and regret. An Animal Crossing itabag I bought at the start of the year is due to arrive soon… So I would love to pop a Dom enamel pin inside it!

• Razer Kraken Gaming Headphones Quartz Edition (link)

I have been eyeing up buying a set of gaming headphones for quite some time now… But I don’t know why? I play a lot of games, but lately I am just purely playing Animal Crossing, with the occasional hour or so on Persona 5 Royal. However, at the moment with working from home, I would love a decent headset that I can use for both work and home that also looks cool. I know I can get a decent set of gaming headphones for a cheaper price, which is why I haven’t bought these and they’re just on my wish list at the moment. I shall see… I shall see…

• Sukari Moon I Don’t Give a Fluff Enamel Pin (link)

Another enamel pin and this one is bloody adorable! I actually discovered Sukari Moon through this enamel pin, but the limited edition version of it, which is white and shimmery. I would love this pin to wear on cardigans, jackets and hoodies to show how I’m adorable, but I don’t give a damn at the same time. Of course I would also use and wear this on itabags and my Kanken backpack too. They also do a sticker of this too, which I would love to get.

• Snotgirl Volume 3 (link)

This is the item I’ve actually ordered. I love Snotgirl and have already read volume 1 and 2. I’ve waited what feels like forever for volume 3 to come out, as it was due out October 2019, but it’s been delayed for reasons. I finally found it for sale through a third party on Amazon and knew I had to order before it sold out. I usually pick up my comics from Forbidden Planet, but due to lock down that isn’t an option. I also opt for Wordery for my manga and comics too, but they didn’t have this volume in stock. I am beyond excited for volume 3 of Snotgirl! It’s about an influencer with secrets about how she has allergies. Then she meets a girl and shit starts to hit the fan. I definitely recommend reading it, especially if you’re a blogger.

• Toaster Kiwi Animal Crossing Marshal Stickers 2 Piece Set (link)

Finally we have another Animal Crossing item on the list. This one is some cute Marshal stickers. I never got the hype around Marshal until he moved to my New Horizons island. He’s absolutely adorable and he loves coffee! He’s me in an Animal Crossing villager for sure! He randomly came to my campsite too, so it’s not like I added him to my game through amiibo. These stickers by Toaster Kiwi are adorable and really make me happy to see whenever they pop up on my Instagram feed. I’ll order them in the future for sure.

So, there you have it, my wish list for June! I know the items I mentioned weren’t anything special, but it’s all I could think of for this month.

I know May was a month where my blog was a little quieter as I wasn’t feeling great. However, during June I hope to have loads of content coming out every week, which I’m also hoping you guys will love!

Some sneak peaks as to what will be in store are – Redbubble haul, some enamel pin reviews (not sure which yet), Etude House lip tint review and more!

What are you guys excited to see on my blog? Also, what item(s) do you have on/in your wish lists? Make sure to let me know in the comments below.

Until next time, take care all and stay safe!

May Wish List ’20

I can’t believe it’s May already, can you? As we all know here in the UK, we are still in lock down and we are until the end of this month… Did I hear a mass sigh? 😛

Personally, I’m taking everyday as it comes and making sure to keep myself busy, including working, playing games, blog work/ideas and talking to friends. My usual really… I’m also trying not to shop too much, although that’s kind of hard at the moment as that’s another thing I’m doing to keep myself amused and busy.

Window shopping is amazing, isn’t it? I have to say though, when it came down to doing this months wish list, I kind of struggled a little bit… I don’t know if it’s because I’ve bought most of the stuff I’ve wanted, or if it’s because I’m now actually missing going out for clothes and such.

Either way, I FINALLY got something together for today’s post, it’s nothing special but I hope you enjoy it either way!

The Body Shop Banana Bath Blend (link)

This is a product that came out recently from The Body Shop. I LOVED their banana range that has released a few times now, but only as limited edition. Now they have bath blends out permanently and in a banana scent! I definitely want to give these a go, however, the one thing that puts me off right now in the price. £8 to me is definitely on the expensive side and when you can grab a Lush bubble bar for less than this… It’s a bit much. I’m a bit surprised by it to be honest, as The Body Shop can tend to be better priced than Lush at the best of times. Either way, eventually I will pick this up! I really love having baths after work at the moment.

Pandora Disney 101 Dalmatians Patch Charm (link)

I really love that in the UK we now have loads of Disney items coming to Pandora. Originally it was just Disney parks who seemed to have them, as well as America. I only own two Disney charms, Dumbo and Lady and the Tramp, so I’m always happy to own more, including this cute little Patch charm. I do love 101 Dalmatians, so this would make a nice addition to my Pandora bracelet. It’ll be something I treat myself to in the future, I’m sure.

Fearless Illustration Raincloud Cardigan (link)

I’ve been lusting over this cardigan for the past month, so much so that I even created the design in Animal Crossing to wear (which Bones has been wearing and breaking my bloody heart!). I love cardigans like this and it definitely reminds me of my rainbow “boring” Lazy Oaf cardigan. However, it isn’t cheap and the size I’m after isn’t in stock where it’s at a decent price. I can definitely see me picking this up in future, even to wear to work during the winter months.

NaomiLordArt Seasonal Autumn Fox Sticker (link) and Zodiac Capricorn Fox Sticker (link)

I really love Naomi Lord’s work and have always wanted to buy some of her prints and stickers in the past for myself, but instead I always bought them for friends birthday and Christmas presents. I’ve actually now ordered these two stickers for myself as I wanted something from her store and these two designs are by far my favourite. I’m a Capricorn, love autumn and they’re both fox designs… What isn’t there to love?! I’m so excited to receive them to show you guys in the future. Also, if you like the look of Naomi Lord, make sure to go and check out my best blogger friend Sarah’s (Raiin Monkey) post all about some goods she ordered from Naomi Lord.

My Neighbour Totoro LED Night Lamps (link)

First of all, these are not official items by Studio Ghibli and I never like to recommend fake items, but I really do love these to be honest with you. I’m due to have some shelves put up next to my bed and I feel like these would be a lovely addition to those shelves, or even downstairs with our Studio Ghibli items. I showed them to Dane recently and he actually wants them on a shelf in the hallway, so when people come into the house they will be greeted with these, which is such a lovely idea to be honest with you. I would want both of these, as they’re both just as cute as the other. I wouldn’t be able to choose either one. I don’t think I’ll be buying these this month as I feel like I’ve already spent a lot of money through YY Kawaii and more, so I’d like to try and be good for a while until the next payday!

So that is my wish list for May! Apologies that it’s nothing special, the majority of items I have seen, lusted after and wanted to buy are items that are mostly through Redbubble and Etsy and are heavily Animal Crossing inspired or themed. I mean, would you guys like to see another Animal Crossing wish list? Please let me know!

I have so much exciting content coming up for May, but I feel like I don’t have enough time haha! What are you excited to see? 🙂

What do you guys have on your wish lists this month? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below, as well as what posts you would like and are excited to see!

Until next time, take care and stay safe everyone!

 

March Wish List ’20

It’s officially March and I already know I’m going to be skint this month… 😛

I’m also aware that I’ve broken my “every Saturday will be when posts go up” rule that I set after I got back from Japan. Like I said on my previous post for my February favourites post, I have always had certain days set for my monthly posts and I’m going to stick with these. So this week I will have two posts up! This one today and then one on Saturday.

This months wish list is full of game and anime related stuff, which isn’t a bad thing! 😛 I’ve already mentioned in various posts about all the games that are coming out this month that I am excited for, so of course I need to mention them here!

I hope you enjoy this months wish list post, and it isn’t too Japanese gaming and anime related… 😛

• Nintendo Switch Animal Crossing: New Horizons (link)

Of course I had to mention my favourite thing about March! Animal Crossing is finally coming to the Switch this month and I know I’m not the only one who is really excited for it. I’ve had it pre-ordered for months now and I am counting down the days now until it comes out. I’ve actually booked the day off work so that I can head out first thing in the morning, pick it up from Smyths (where I’ve pre-ordered from) and spend the whole day playing it as much as I can! Dane is also getting the game, so we can play it together the weekend it comes out, which I am beyond excited for. I’ll be talking loads about his game this month… Just warning you now. 😛

• Nendoroid Mai Sakurajima (Requested through YY Kawaii)

As many of my readers know, both me and Dane collect Nendoroid figures and we made sure to pick up some that we really wanted when we went to Japan in January. HOWEVER I regretted not buying one in particular that I kept seeing, which is Mai Sakurajima from Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai, an anime that me and Dane watched together last year. We both fell in love with it and it’s one of those anime series now that I really love. We saw LOADS of merchandise in Japan for this anime and aside from Dane buying me one charm of Mai Sakurajima in her bunny girl outfit, I didn’t get anything else. I saw the Nendoroid figure loads and at decent prices too… But I just never bought it, as I planned to when I got back to the UK. HOWEVER, she’s either sold out or the release date has been pushed back months. She hasn’t been re-released… Just pushed back, which I find odd. So, I reached out to my favourite person for getting my Japanese goods, YY Kawaii to see if she could get Mai for me and she could AND FOR A GOOD PRICE! I’m so excited to receive her now and put her on display either in my Nendoroid cabinet or maybe on a shelf I’m getting next to my bed for some of my favourite things! I’ll see how I feel, but yes! I am excited for get her now.

• Nintendo Switch Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX (link)

Back in 2008 my dad bought me a red Nintendo DSi (which I still own!) for Christmas and I LOVED IT! I remember not long after that whilst searching through Gamestation (who else remembers Gamestation?!) they had Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team and I decided to pick it up. If there is one Nintendo handheld console that really disappointed me, it’s the Game Boy Advance. I hated pretty much all the games that came out on it, as well as the prices, so I hardly played it and instead stuck with my Game Boy Color. The DSi was great because you could play both DS and Game Boy Advance games in it, so I binge played Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team on it all the time! When I finished the game and found out that Nintendo had also made a version for the DS I decided to find it to buy! I found Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team from Play.com (who remembers play.com?! FUCK I FEEL OLD NOW) and again, I played the shit out of it! Since then I have been in love with the Mystery Dungeon series so I have been excited for the Switch remake of the original two to come out. I’ve played the demo as much as I can and have this game pre-ordered with Smyths to pick up after work on Friday. I am beyond excited and already know I’m going to play this game loads this weekend. Sorry for the massive ramble talking about this, but I just had to share. 😛

• John Lewis & Partners Premium Faux Fur Throw in Soft Pink (link)

A couple of weeks ago me and Dane popped into town as I had to exchange some Vans I bought before Christmas. I wore them to Japan as they were perfect for walking around in BUT they ripped at the side! The store was amazing and exchanged them for me straightaway. They are by far my favourite shoes now… ANYWAY as we were in town we decided to have a nose around whilst we waited for the trains to quiet down from the rush hour. We went into John Lewis, as we love a good nose at household stuff and I saw this gorgeous pink throw, which is one of the softest things I’ve ever touched. I really wanted to buy it, but they didn’t have any in stock. When we found out how much it cost… We were put off a tad. I still want it though to stick on the end of my bed BUT the price… I’m going to say this for a rainy day when I fancy a BIG house related treat. FYI if you haven’t gone to have a nose at the price yet… It’s £95.00… Ouch.

• Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai Blu-ray Collectors Edition (link)

It was only from looking for the Mai Sakurajima Nendoroid that I decided to take a look into the anime she comes from, to see if there’s any DVD’s or Blu-ray’s out for it… WHICH THERE IS THIS MONTH! Me and Dane love this anime, so as soon as I found this on Amazon I shouted to Dane, “Hey Dane? Bunny girl senpai is out next month… Shall we buy it?” His simple answer was yes. 😛 So this will be pre-ordered by one of us soon!

• Persona 5 Royal Steelbook Edition (link)

As a Persona 5 fan, I am beyond excited for Persona 5 Royal! It’s basically the same game but with loads more story and game play added… So an expensive DLC if you will, but I don’t mind as I love Persona 5 so much! There’s loads of stuff that has been added that I’m so glad to have heard and seen already. I won’t mention here, as whilst I didn’t mind spoilers, I know others may who have never played the original game, or who have and have wanted to stay away from the spoilers. I’m actually being sent this game from Gamersheek, who are an amazing company that I discovered back in 2017 and since then we have built up  great relationship! I worked with them for a time to advertise the Joker Nendoroid, which I loved! Since then, whenever Persona 5 related games have been released, Gamersheek have sent them to me! I will be writing all about Gamersheek at some point this month, so make sure to keep eyes peeled for that! 😀

• Nintendo Switch Lite Carrying Case (Animal Crossing: New Horizons Edition) & Screen Protector (link)

Another Animal Crossing related item! Nintendo have announced some amazing Animal Crossing related merchandise that will be coming out at the same time as Animal Crossing: New Horizons and this is one of the many items I would love to get! I don’t need a carrying case for my Switch Lite as I already have one, but this one is so cute! As I’ll be popping out the day this comes out, I might see if I can grab it whilst I’m out, instead of pre-ordering it. 🙂

• diy Crossing Cross Stitch Kit in Goldie (link)

Honestly whilst writing this post I have just gone and ordered the Cookie one of this… OOPS! 😛 I wanted to buy something to cheer me up, as I’m currently in bed with the flu and it sucks. I love cross stitching and doing kits and as I now have my plushie case (it’s a book case but I shoved all my Pokemon plushies in there!) I would love to decorate it a bit more with Animal Crossing related stuff! I’d like to do the cross stitch kits of my favourite Animal Crossing characters and hang them/place them inside the case somehow! I’m excited for the Cookie one to arrive now!

Anyhoo guys, that was my wish list for March 2020! It was very Japanese weeb heavy and I have zero fucks. 😛

What do you guys have on your wish lists this month? Are you excited for Animal Crossing too? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

Until next time, take care all and I hope you’re having a great week so far. 🙂

February Favourites ’20

I know I mentioned on my life lately post that I would only be uploading/posting on Saturday’s moving forward, but my monthly favourites have always gone up on the 1st of each month. This isn’t a tradition I’m letting go of anytime soon! PLUS I didn’t see the point in having a post up on the 29th February and then one on the 1st March. It just seemed really pointless at the time…

I know February is a short month anyway, but damn did it fly by! Although to be fair, waiting for payday to come around felt like forever… 😛

February was a bit like a roller coaster with lots of ups and downs, but overall it was okay… I ended up having flu towards the end of the month, which sucked. I’ve come out the other side into March though, so it’s all good!

I’m so damn excited for this month. There are three games coming out that I’m excited for AND of all my favourite game franchises too! Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX, Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Persona 5 Royal. So yeah I think March will be a busy one for me. 😛

After coming back from Japan I’ve felt a little down with some post holiday blues, but I’ve tried to get back into the norm again and I’m okay… 😛 Until I go on another holiday! 😛 Speaking of Japan, I know since I’ve come back I’ve only done one post but I’m trying to pace them out nicely. I don’t want to flood you guys with Japanese content and as I would like to write more about Japan on my blog in the future, this isn’t exactly a bad thing!

Anyhoo, enough of me waffling away… On with my favourites from the month!

• Original Source Tropical Coconut & Shea Butter Shower Gel.

Okay I’ll be honest with you guys… I originally had a different product here for my favourite this month but that has been removed, scraped and GONE! Why? Because I learnt how shit the product actually was! The shower gel in question was Treacle Moon Gentle Powder Love Bath & Shower Gel. This shower gel smelt great, wasn’t cheap and ended up leaving my skin sore, dry and flakey… Which sucked! I had lovely soft skin during my trip to Japan, so the fact I came back and my skin had dried out, I put it down to a mixture of the products in Japan being better and the cold weather in the UK. Alas, this wasn’t the case. It turned out that the Treacle Moon shower gel is just… SHIT. I picked up this Original Source shower gel as to be honest, their products are always good. Not even a week into using the product and my skin has already improved, which I am so happy and relieved about. I get bouts of eczema and I started to panic this was one of them. This shower gel is amazing, not just for it’s ability to bring my skin back to life… It smells of creamy coconuts, which in turn always remind me of Fuerteventura and sunshine, but it’s cheap! This bottle cost us a £1, whilst the Treacle Moon cost me £3! I think I’m going to write a complaint as I’m annoyed at what it did to my skin. Sorry for the ramble by the way… 😛

• Sand & Sky Australian Pink Clay Porefining Face Mask.

I picked this face mask up on the plane home from Japan. I’ve wanted to try this face mask for a while now, but just never got round to picking one up. I didn’t realise how expensive it was until I checked out how much it retails for… £40 and up! Shocking price to be honest with you… So when I saw this for sale on the plane for £35, I thought I would treat myself. I’ve used it a couple of times now and I really love this! I find if I’ve broken out and I used this face mask, it really does help my spots to calm down and go away! I use this once a week/fortnight due to using other products, or my skin not needing a face mask. However, due to the price, I don’t know if I will repurchase… 😦

• Etude House Dear Darling Water Gel Tint in shade PK003 Sweet Potato Red.

After picking up the Etude House Dear Darling tint in Japan, I knew I had to get another one. I’ve had the sweet potato red shade on my wish list for quite some time now, so I found one on eBay and ordered! I am so glad I picked up this shade for so many reasons. The shade itself is gorgeous and reminds me of a colour I could call “my lip colour but better” if that makes sense? Also this is the newer packaging and product formula for this tint and this is SO MUCH BETTER! You don’t get loads of product on the applicator, it’s not as watery and it’s just great. I’ll definitely be reviewing these tints very soon!

• The Body Shop Peppermint Reviving Pumice Foot Scrub.

I picked a new one of these foot scrubs up from The Body Shop as I was in DIRE need of one! I’m going to put it down to that bloody Treacle Moon shower gel again, as my feet were so soft and smooth during my trip to Japan… My feet needed some major TLC this month so this foot scrub has been really good to use on my feet a couple of times a week, just to give them a good scrub over! I like to use this in the shower as the last thing I do before I get out and then before I put my socks on I’ll slather my feet in my favourite lotion. My go to at the moment is the Childs Farm Baby Moisturiser with Shea & Cocoa Butter – which you can read about on one of my previous favourites posts here.

• Maui Moisture Smooth and Revive Vanilla Bean Shampoo.

I picked this shampoo up just before I went to Japan and I have no regrets! I was after a shampoo that would lather easily, smell amazing, give my hair all the benefits we seek from a shampoo AND not contain any sulphates. This shampoo ticks all of the boxes and I couldn’t wait to talk about it on my blog this month. This shampoo goes a long way and you only need a little because of how thick it is, which is perfect for me. I hate shampoos where you needs loads in order to get a decent lather behind it. This smells so creamy and to be honest with you, I wish Maui would create a shower gel that smells just like this! I would be in heaven. 😛 This shampoo is for smoothing and reviving your hair… I don’t know if I need these benefits for my hair, but even so I really love this shampoo. It isn’t cheap at £5.99 BUT when you can buy Head & Shoulders for a £1 less… FYI Head & shoulder is one of the WORST shampoos out there that you can buy!

So now my beauty favourites are done, time to talk about the miscellaneous favourites of the month!

Image taken from Tumblr

Favourite TV Show – O Maidens in Your Savage Season.

This is an anime me and Dane binge watched not long after we got back from Japan. Dane is great at finding new anime series to watch together and this is one I fell in love with. It’s about a group of girls in a literature club who are going through puberty. You see the view from both the girls and the guys and how they’re all impacting each others sexual feelings… And awakenings if you will. It just reminded me of being a teenager and it’s a typical coming of age anime, which I LOVE.

Favourite Movie – 1917.

I loved this film so much. I was intrigued by it, but not fussed about watching it in the cinema… However, after someone I work with went to watch it and told me how amazing it was, I soon changed my mind. That and everything I had heard about it, I knew I had to see it for myself. Me and Dane booked it in the week after work and we’re so glad we did. We fell in love with this film for so many reasons. The way it is filmed, the editing, the acting, the story, just everything about it. I ended up crying at the end too… If you haven’t been to watch it yet, I recommend you do so as soon as possible before showings stop.

Image taken from Tenor.com

Favourite Book – Guys…

Guys I’m sorry. February was a bizarre month of being hella busy after Japan (both social and work related), as well as me being poorly with flu/chest infection… It sucked and reading was the last thing I wanted to do. It sucks because I said to myself that once I returned from Japan I would catch up on my manga so far as well as read new manga series. This hasn’t happened and I’m annoyed. 😦

Favourite Album – Billie Eilish – When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?

I decided this year that I wanted to listen to more music. I find I listen to the same stuff all the time and there are a lot of artists out there I would like to discover more of. Billie Eilish is an artist that blew up and I admit, I do like a couple of her singles (“Bad Guy” and “Lovely”) so, why not listen to her album? I didn’t fall head over heels in love with it, but I did enjoy listening to it whilst driving to and from work, as well as whilst I was at work. I especially love the song “Bury a Friend” which I haven’t been able to stop listening to since I first heard it! I definitely recommend giving this album a listen. It reminds me of a new genre of “depressing pop” and I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing…

Image taken from Amino Apps

Favourite Game – Neopets and Pokemon Shield.

Okay… Hear me out. Since before Christmas I have wanted to play on my old Neopets account. Sometimes I just want to play something simple, but I couldn’t get into my account due to email and password issues. I reached out to Neopets for months for help, but I didn’t receive any. After some digging around I finally managed to get into my account and since then I’ve been playing it for a few hours everyday! I forgot how shit, but addictive the games are, how you can grab a free slice of omelette and jelly daily and basically how the website hasn’t changed since I last went on in about 2016/2017… This being said it has really cheered me up to play after work when I’ve been feeling blue. It especially kept me entertained when I was poorly with my flu too, which isn’t a bad thing. Next month I will be super busy with games, so Neopets won’t have as much attention… 😛

Towards the end of the month I was really poorly (still am NGL!) and had to have some days sick at home. Due to the boredom of not being able to do much (apart from binge watch episodes and clips from Would I Lie to You? I decided to pick up Pokemon Shield again and try to finish the game, as well as complete my Pokedex. Well, this has now become an addition for myself AND Dane, who said he wouldn’t pick Pokemon back up until June when Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra are released. We are both working together now to complete our Pokedex’s and we’ve really been enjoying it!

There you have it guys, those are my favourites from February! Again, I honestly cannot believe how quick this month went by. I am so fucking hyped up for March for so many reasons! All the games, being able to go to Birmingham Comic Con, a blog related event I’ll be attending and more! 😀

What were your favourites from February? Do you have any exciting things coming up in March? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

Until next time all, take care and I hope you’ve had a lovely weekend so far. 🙂