Goodbye 2020!

Image taken from Pinterest

I can’t quite believe a whole year has flew past us as we prepare to go into 2021… Sorry but 2020 was a big year for me for so many reasons but of course it wasn’t a great year either…

2020 was the year I entered the 30-35 tick box and I don’t feel ready to turn 31 next week. :S It was also the year me and Dane travelled to Japan for the first time. It was amazing and I’m so glad we were able to go before COVID started to manifest. I remember my dad messaging me our second week into the trip and saying, “There’s a virus called coronavirus going around Japan. Be careful!” and us shrugging it off. Oh how times have changed, eh?

Going back to that trip, it was amazing and I have clutched onto the memories we made and photos we took to get me through 2020 when I felt rubbish. I’m really hoping 2021 will be better COVID wise as I would love to return back to Japan in 2022, maybe even 2023 if that’s the case.

Image taken from GIPHY

Me and Dane have already said we’d like to go around March/April time to see the cherry blossoms, travel around more (Kyoto, Nara, Osaka and Hiroshima) and especially go for Dane’s birthday this time around. We’ve also discussed going for Christmas/New Year at some point too as that would be lovely. We could eat KFC, stay at a private onsen for a few days and again, travel around and have the perfect kawaii/otaku Christmas… But we don’t know when this will be. It’s just an idea.

I wanted to briefly do a bit of a chat about how 2020 was for me overall (including my favourites), mention how December has been and of course talk about 2021 and what I’m looking forward to so far.

I need to get this off of my chest out of the way because it’s still semi ongoing and it’s pissed me off something awful.

I mentioned back in September 2019 on a post (8 Games I’m Excited To Play) about being excited for a game I’d backed on Kickstarter called Calico. The game released 15th December 2020 and was announced on the Nintendo Indie World Showcase. As someone who had backed the game I was pretty meh to discover that people who HADN’T backed the Kickstarter had access to the game before we did and may I add, for less monies… Just felt like a bit of a punch to the stomach. I’m on the Discord channel and started hearing nothing but bug complaints/feedback from people who had been playing the game. Turns out not much testing had been done… Not good! I waited a week for my game code on the Switch, but no sign and I was given excuses of, “we’re new to this, wasn’t aware how long it would take.” etc. Then North American codes were being sent to people in the EU, which of course wouldn’t work. It was just a bit of a shit show to be blunt. I asked for my money back on Sunday, which has been processed and I’m waiting for. I can’t be arsed to play Calico now. It sounds like a rushed out mess and I just don’t want to support a game like that. I’ve heard nothing but complaints from friends about it who have played. I’m happy to have supported the game and help it come to life, but I’m not happy to wait and constantly feel mugged off. The developers have now advised for UK backers to ask for refunds so they can go and buy it themselves on the eShop.

It’s just so poor and clearly rushed out. I was really excited for this game and especially when they announced it as coming out a few weeks back. Dane was away with work and with the game coming out I thought, “Awesome, something to keep me going until he’s back home!” which of course wasn’t the case.

If you’re thinking about getting Calico, get it on Steam if you can. The console versions are full of bugs (I think some may have been fixed?) and from what has been said it can take a while to get them fixed. Or just wait a while for it to go down in price, as I’m sure any bugs will have been amended by then too. I’m not saying don’t support the game, but be wary of the bugs…

I’m sorry if that above has come off as bitchy but I was so frustrated for those two weeks that I just had to be honest with you guys on my experience. I’ve got two other games backed via Kickstarter and from the start I’ve definitely had a better experience with them, so I have very high hopes for how the games will be when they release. 🙂

Now that little rant is out of the way, I thought I would mention some stuff I have loved this year!

Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Okay, who DIDN’T love this game in 2020? For some it was a sort of lifeline during the start of COVID, I know it was for me. I don’t play it daily now, but when I do pick it up it just relaxes me straight away and it’s also a game I love playing with my friends online. The Toy Day event on Christmas Eve was so lovely and started to get me in the Christmas spirit. I know a lot of people who ended up buying a Switch/Switch Lite due to the need to play Animal Crossing on it, I even helped two of my friends get a Switch/Switch Lite of their own so they could play!

The Mandalorian – I’ve honestly loved this series in 2020 and it’s actually one me and Dane binge watched over the Christmas period. I couldn’t get into it last year, especially with our Japan trip coming up so we just… Didn’t get into it. Season 2 is AMAZING though and I was all there for it. I highly recommend watching The Mandalorian even if you aren’t a huge Star Wars fan, as it’s just good all around show that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Plus some of my favourite Star Wars characters make appearances in season 2, which made me so happy!

PVRIS Use Me (Deluxe) – Use Me released this year and I had been excited for this album since it was announced. I discovered PVRIS when I started my job in April 2019 and I have since fallen in love. This album is one I’ve found myself listening to time and time again, whether I’m out and about driving/walking or working in the house. I’ve found myself dancing in the kitchen whilst making a cup of coffee, that’s just how much I love it. My top three tracks from the album are – “Gimme a Minute”, “Stay Gold” and “Loveless”. They’re all such amazing songs, with “Stay Gold” being my favourite on the album… And the one I danced to in the kitchen whilst grabbing coffee. 😛

Lyonsleaf Calendula and Marshmallow Balm – This balm has to be mentioned here because it really has helped with my hand in 2020. My eczema/dermatitis is still ongoing and hasn’t improved at all and I’m still waiting to see a specialist. Since about August I’ve been using this balm and it really does help with the dryness and cracking and since using it religiously, my hands haven’t cracked and bled for as long as I can remember. I’ll be continuing to use this for as long as I can as it really does help. 🙂

Aveeno – I’m just going to add Aveeno as a whole, as this is another product that has really changed my life since purchasing it, in so many ways! I use the intense body lotions on my hands, which has really helped recently and I even bought the shower cream to see if that would help too. It smells delicious and makes my body feel lovely and soft. I highly recommend Aveeno in general, let alone if you have really dry skin like myself.

There are a few things in 2021 that I’m excited to have come up!

31st Birthday – This is actually a week from today and yeah it’s scary how quickly it’s come around! I think for the day I’m going to bake some red velvet cupcakes, play with my new resin molds and get a takeaway. At the time of writing this post, Birmingham has actually gone into tier 4 and I’m gutted. Good job I’d planned to do something at home, eh?

Eight Year Anniversary – I can’t believe me and Dane have been together eight years in 2021… It’s really flew by and I hope we can do something for it in 2021. For our seven year anniversary we went for a drive around the countryside and grabbed a Japanese takeaway on our way home. Who knows what we’ll do this year, but I’m sure it’ll be good. 🙂

My Chemical Romance in June – That’s if COVID doesn’t come along and cause it to be postponed/rescheduled like it was this year.

Potential planning for Japan trip #2 – This would be amazing to do! I really hope it can be done towards the end of 2021…

Maybe a puppy(?) – We were really close to getting a dog in 2020 but due to the issues we faced with adopting we gave up and said we would wait and either try to adopt again (although doubtful…) or get a puppy in 2021. If we go for the latter, I already have a breeder in mind that we want to go with… We shall see what happens. Getting a pet is a big thing and we need to make sure we’re ready and able to do it.

Speaking of 2021, I also  wanted to mention what posts I am hoping to bring to you guys in 2021, these are just some ideas of what I have swirling around my head. This isn’t definite, as it never is but it’s ideas I would like to get down on my blog eventually. At the moment it’s mostly independent stores I’ve discovered/known about for years and bought from! There are a lot of USA based independent stores mentioned here as due to the changes in the UK with VAT, a lot of them have stated they aren’t able to sell to the UK anymore, so I went all out!

Quirkory – I’ll be writing a review of the Mostari Mystery Pack, as well as the Animal Crossing Gimme my Joycon 2 enamel pins I’ve pre-ordered. They won’t arrive until January/February.

Lunaticgumis – I’m planning to talk about the Puppycat Amigurumi, stickers and enamel pin I picked up a month or so ago. I wanted to talk about the goodies I picked up before Christmas but I just didn’t have time, sadly.

Pikarar – I only discovered Pikarar in October/November time and I’m already in love with their designs and items! I’ve so far made two orders, one being a pre-order for after Christmas. When my pre-order arrives, I’ll be showing you all what I bought! It’s mostly clothes. 😛

SleepingWolvesArt – Review where I’ll be talking about some notebooks (which have arrived) and enamel pins (literally just ordered) I’ve bought.

Sugar Bunny Shop – It’s still on it’s way to me but I ordered the Doki Fox sweater I’ve wanted for MONTHS.

So there is a sneak peak of what I will be sharing in the future on my blog! Of course I will talk about other things in between, but until the weeks/months come I won’t know 100% what may come up to discuss. As always I’ll have my monthly favourites and wish list too.

I can’t quite believe 2021 is just around the corner and we’re entering it with practically in lockdown, which sucks. Whatever though, it isn’t going to affect me much in regards to work, or my social life. I’ll just miss not being able to be closer to some form of “normality”.

I’m not feeling glum about 2021 and if anything I’m hoping to grow some of my hobbies, as well as see some of my friends again who I haven’t seen for ages.

What are you excited for in 2021? Is there any specific content you would like to see more of on my blog in the New Year? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

Until next time all, Happy New Year for tomorrow/Friday and I hope you’re all safe. 🙂

5th Anniversary

Yesterday was mine and Dane’s 5th anniversary and honestly, I don’t know where those 5 years have gone.

I know I’ve given you all the sop before but I just wanted to write about us here, because it’s nice and stuffs. 😛

We both met through POF (Plenty of Fish), which for those of you who live under a rock and don’t know, it’s a dating site. I remember an old friend telling me how she’d met guys through the website and had gotten loads of dates (even though she never went on any…) with guys.

A couple of months later in jest I was talking to my friend Jacqui about the website, and suggested we both give it a go. We set our profiles up and before we knew it we were ready to meet some guys! Urgh they were either grim, clingey and professing their love or just after a quick shag.

Then Dane messaged me, he was sweet and we had quite a lot in common. I remember my first comments were, “He’s ginger!” and “He’s from Coventry… Is that far from here?”

We spoke for a week via the website and then moved to texting as it was easier. Before long we were arranging out first date and met in Birmingham for drinks. From then on it was just date, date, date! We went to Milton Keynes a couple of days later for a second date and then after that a week later we met up for a shopping trip in Birmingham.

It must have been almost a month before and Dane decided to become a couple during a gig. It was lovely to be honest and was nice to wait a little before jumping it. I think we both knew though that we liked each other and wanted to make it work.

6 months later on my birthday we said those 3 little words and since then we’ve just been so in love and all that soppy shit!

For our first year together we went to Bristol for a long weekend. I loved it so much and it’s a city I have always wanted to visit again, but sadly just never have… Not for any real reasons why either to be honest with you.

That is until our fifth anniversary where we decided to head to Chedder Gorge for a couple of days before the weekend, which also involved a trip to Bristol, as well as a trip to Weston Super Mare.

Before I go into what we got up to, we gave each other our anniversary presents early as sadly we both knew what we’d bought one another. As we always do at Christmas, birthday’s and especially anniversary, we always gift each other a Nendoroid (or two!).

Kakashi Hatake on the left, Nana Ebina on the right.

Dane has recently started to collect the Naruto Nendoroids so it’s lovely that I could help towards that by buying him Kakashi Hatake.

Himouto! Umaru-chan is one of my favourite anime series! Dane bought me Umaru for Christmas in 2015. It’s lovely how nearly 3 years later I can now have her teamed up with Nana Ebina! 😀

I love the Nana Ebina Nendoroid so much! I especially love the little cat body pillow she comes with, which is unbelievably soft!

This year I bought Dane Kakashi Hatake from Naruto and Dane bought me Nana Ebina from Himouto! Umaru-chan.

Sadly I didn’t manage to get a picture of Kakashi Hatake in his box, Dane got him out as soon as he received him and was playing around with his positions, etc. So I decided to show pictures of them in our Nendoroid cabinet instead! I hope you like them! We always try and make our Nendoroids look as happy and “realistic” as possible, all whilst looking cute!

The week before me and Dane broke up from work for our week off together, he booked us a 2 night stay in Webbington at a hotel and spa. It wasn’t a surprise but due to how busy I was at work the day he was booking it I didn’t realise until I got home that he had booked it!

We had originally planned to go to the Lake District and Scotland for a long weekend, but ended up cancelling that due to money. So after I suggested going to Bristol for a long weekend Dane found somewhere a drive away from Bristol and everywhere else we wanted to go.

I was a mixture of excited and nervous. Since leaving my old job I am always conscious and worried about money now so the thought of going away did worry me… Only because of money though!

The hotel didn’t cost us a lot due to Dane’s nights he’d saved up with Hotels.com, so in total we only paid £55 altogether for the 2 nights!

I hadn’t worn my Lumpy Space Princess Black Milk Clothing dress for the longest time, so I decided to team it up with my rainbow cardigan (which you can read about here) as well as my new Eevee doughnut pin badge from Ohayou! Clothing’s Patreon (which I’ve linked here). I felt so kawaii and cute! 😀 Sadly/thankfully I got zero comments on my outfit, which made me a tad sad considering.

Before going to the hotel though, we decided to stop off in Bristol first for a look around the shops and for some lunch. To think we went into Bristol to buy stuff we couldn’t get at home, but alas we ventured into Primark and as sad as it sounds I loved the Bristol Primark! It’s the biggest one I’ve been into to date and as it’s space out over 4 floors, there’s so much room to look around everything and not feel claustrophobic. Dane bought himself some gym/running gear, I grabbed a swimming costumes for the pool at the spa, as well as a pair of mustard yellow joggers (which make me look like the main character from Kill Bill!) and a Lady and The Tramp nightshirt, which I am BEYOND excited to wear!

Before that however we popped to Three Brothers Burgers for lunch. We discovered it the first time we went to Bristol for our first anniversary and we fell in love with the place. I’d talk loads about it here but I want to write A WHOLE REVIEW on the place on a separate blog post! For now I’ll link their website here so you can take a peek for yourselves.

I am so happy that we went to Bristol for the afternoon for various reasons, the main one being how much it reminded us of our first year together and how we celebrated it there. Bristol will always have a huge place in my heart due to that. Not only that, but it made me and Dane realise how Bristol isn’t THAT far away from Birmingham and we’ve already decided that we will go there more for days out. We’re already planning to go there for the second instalment of Gromit Unleashed with some friends!

After we’d had enough we headed to our hotel, which was gorgeous but kind of in the middle of nowhere. We had expected a village within walking distance so we could walk to a local pub for drinks, but sadly this wasn’t the case. The hotel did have a bar, but it just wasn’t what we were expecting. The spa in there was also lovely, but with how tired we were after each day we didn’t want to use it, which again is such a shame as that was the sole purpose for booking this one in the first place. But if you wanted to go in the pool and then to the steam room and sauna, you needed to walk through the gym to get from one to the other and you’d have to dry off beforehand. It didn’t make sense. Plus when we were having a guided tour I felt awkward standing in front of the sauna and steam room with half naked men sat staring at me.

So yeah, big no no! We also contemplated booking massages each, but these cost between £25-£50 and whilst I probably spent that money shopping today, I didn’t feel like wasting it on a massage. I also didn’t know whether you had to call the lady to book to do it, or go to the hotel desk and they’d sort it. I’ll just look at my local college for some cheap beauty treatments soon.

Thursday evening we were shattered and fell to sleep relatively early, ready for an early start the next day!

We got up bright and early, got washed and dressed and headed out for breakfast before going to Cheddar Gorge to explore the caves, as well as the village. I dressed in my gorgeous Midnight Owl dress by Black Milk Clothing. I love this dress so much and since buying it I’ve already worn it loads.

It didn’t take long for us to drive to Cheddar and walk through Cheddar Gorge! I’d never really heard about it before and it was all Dane’s idea to go! I was somewhat anxious walking through the caves, but I put this down to my anxiety and claustrophobia. I was okay though and I actually really enjoyed being able to see inside the caves and how they’ve formed over thousands of years!

Afterwards we popped around the museum over the road and walked up hundreds of steps, only to be left feeling shattered and achey! We deserved an afternoon cream tea. 😛 Well, Dane did! I shared half of the plain scone he had with my cup of coffee. The picture isn’t showing it, but it was such a gorgeous and sunny afternoon! Soon after we had a mooch around the shops, which also included buying a slush puppy, we walked back to the car and headed to our next destination, Wookey Hole!

It didn’t take long to head over to Wookey Hole and I’d never been before, or even heard of it! It was nice to see Dane talk to fondly of it from when he visited it with his family as a child. It was incredibly sweet and I can understand why from my own experience.

Wookey Hole was different than I thought it was going to be. It wasn’t as open as Cheddar Gorge was and due to that my anxiety was quite bad at some parts of the the tour. We went around a dozen, if not more caves and to get through from some to others you had to duck right down to get under, this in itself scared me a little bit, but when you got across the other side and saw the whole cave, it was amazing! There was one area where you had to walk across metal bridges (safe by the way!) to get through one cave to the next. This is where I was incredibly anxious and urgh, when you’re surrounded by people and you feel like that it can really suck! If you’re claustrophobic then Wookey Hole might not be for you, but looking back it wasn’t as bad as it seemed.

Sadly we never took any pictures but near the gift shop there were LOADS of old games and arcade machines, which even included some rude photo viewers. Me and Dane had a go at the one for shits and giggles and it was pretty funny! It was only a woman taking off her clothes, as in she’s just got in from a busy day out and she wants that bra off! 😛 You know that feeling ladies. Anyway, it was such a laugh either way and we really enjoyed looking around all the old arcade machines. We also had a go at doing the mirror maze together, as well as looking at our funny reflections in the fun house mirrors. I haven’t seen them for the longest time, probably not for a good 18 years now!

After Wookey Hole we did contemplate going home to freshen up and then head to Weston-super-mare but we just ended up heading straight there, which was a good thing because we hit SO MUCH TRAFFIC and we were pretty hungry too. We’d planned to head to the beach for some fish and chips, get an ice cream and maybe play on some arcades. The only things that happened were the first two.

We walked around for ages as I couldn’t believe that the beach was pretty much all Weston had to offer and that looked rubbish as it wasn’t the best weather. We eventually grabbed something to eat, which was lovely but I was constantly on edge that a seagull may steal my dinner! We didn’t have an issue thankfully, but a family near us certainly did! We don’t quite know what happened but at one point the family had left a full pack of chips on the wall and the seagulls were literally all attacking at it for what was inside! All you could hear was the father shouting, “GRAB IT! QUICKLY! COME ON HURRY UP!” Me and Dane sat there giggling our heads off!

We sat for a while on the beach after we’d eaten out food and just chilled. We sadly didn’t take any pictures whilst in Weston and I’m glad as it was crap there. It looked so miserable and yeah. I was gutted in all honesty about going there as it wasn’t what I remembered it to be when I was a kid. It reminded me of a shitty holiday area for British tourists. It did however inspire me to write a teen novel again, which I’ll get around to at some point.

Eventually we moved on from the beach and went in search of ice cream! For a £1 I had the best ice cream ever in Weston and it took me aggggges to finish it! Just the thought of it is making me want another one. 😛

After we’d eaten our ice creams it was time to head back to the hotel. We’d seen enough of Weston to last us a life time. The only thing that I’d go back for is if there was a special event on there… Probably one involving loads of food. 😛

That evening we just chilled out together watching YouTube videos. We had planned to go for a swim together but we were both far too tired for that. Plus we wanted to be up nice and early to check out and go for breakfast.

Dane had researched where we could go for breakfast in Cribbs Causeway and he discovered they had a Frankie & Benny’s. The plan was made and we went to sleep.

The next morning we did indeed get up bright and early and got ready to leave. It was quite sad leaving as whilst I wasn’t a massive fan of the spa facilities anyway, I was gutted that we hadn’t taken advantage of them. The hotel was lovely but the walls were also pretty thin. On the Friday night we could hear every word of the people’s television next to us. We could also hear people walking outside of our room and most of the floorboards creaked around the hotel. This being said, our room was gorgeous and we actually had the best one in the hotel, aka the supreme suite! I felt special knowing that to be honest with you. We also had the best shower in the world, a waterfall shower or whatever they’re called! I was anxious to use it at first as I didn’t want to get my hair wet, but now I want to get one myself! Me and Dane have added it to our, “perfect bathroom” wish list! 😛

I decided to wear a Lady and The Tramp sweater I’d recently bought from Depop, (which you will see on a future post VERY soon!) with my new yellow joggers from Primark. I was super comfortable but my only flaw with the joggers are that there’s no pockets in them. Very sad times. Not going to lie, I actually love the second picture of me as a potential new profile picture for on here! Let me know what you think. 😉

We headed to Cribbs Causeway but we’ve only been once and the place is HUGE! It reminds me of a shopping mall by me but I feel like this place is just way bigger. Due to getting “lost” amongst all the shops we didn’t go to Frankie & Bennys, because we couldn’t find it! It would have meant driving all the way there, to drive all the way back and it just wasn’t worth it, sadly.

Instead we went to Patisserie Valerie for breakfast and it was so lovely! Dane had pancakes with fruit and I have scrambled egg, salmon and toast. It was amazing and kept us both full up until past dinner time.

We ventured around the shops for a while and I knew the one place I wanted to head into was the Gromit Unleashed shop. I knew I wanted to pick something up from here as we never did 4 years previous when we’d ventured there. Now me and Dane own our own home we’ve become that type of couple where tea towels become pretty good souvenirs! I was also going to pick up a pen and a notebook, but I have plenty of those already. This pink tea towel doesn’t really match our red, white and black kitchen but who gives a fuck! You have a live a little. 😛 This was pretty decent in price so I’m glad I picked it up. It’s now washed and as soon as it’s dry, it’ll be in my kitchen and ready to use!

The next shop we ventured into was Cath Kidston. Over the past year I’ve really fallen in love with the store and their cute and vintage inspired designs. What caused me to fall in love with them was their Disney 101 Dalmatians collection which I bought a notebook from… I regret not buying more!

Since then I haven’t bought anything else from there, until today! I only went in for a nose in case they had any 101 Dalmatians goodies left, or even any cute guinea pigs items from the Pets Party collection. I discovered something even better, fox designs from their recent Park Wildlife collection!

It was Dane who noticed all the cute fox stuff I picked up from the store! It started with a pillow he spotted, which sadly I didn’t buy and slightly regret it… I’m going to keep my eye on it on the website!

I’ve been in need of a trinket dish for the past 6 months now and although I’ve ummed and ahhed at many, I’ve never picked one up because it didn’t say me! I nearly bought one yesterday when I was in Wookey Hole because it was an awesome Pingu one.

If I had of picked it up, I wouldn’t have this awesome little fox one, which is definitely more me! It fits all my jewellery perfectly and also looks adorable whilst doing so.

Finally and Dane noticed it when I was waiting by the till, but it’s this gorgeous tray with all the wildlife animals on it, especially that cute little fox. This is for our living room table to keep things organised on it. At the moment we have our sippy cup on it, television and soundbar remotes and our Xbox One and PS4 controllers. I also suggested how we can also use it for mornings when someone makes morning coffee. It’s very sturdy and I am so glad I bought this!

After we’d had enough of looking around the shops we decided it was finally time to head home.

Although I had a lovely couple of relaxing and adventurous days with Dane, I was so glad to be back home and just relax and chill.

We spent the evening doing our own thing, me doing some blog work and Dane playing some games. We cuddled and relaxed together this evening whilst E3 2018 kicked off with EA and we had some dinner.

We both had such a lovely time together celebrating out fifth anniversary and if anything it’s taught us a few things…

• We still want a puppy/dog to take with us for adventures.
• We love Bristol STILL and can’t wait to go there again for both days out AND Gromit Unleashed 2.
• Three Brothers Burgers are still the best.
• Weston is a shit hole, but the food is spot on.
• Next time we book a spa hotel, we MEAN WE WANT A SPA HOTEL.
• And finally, we really want a waterfall shower.

I apologise that there aren’t any pictures of me and Dane in this post, I want to keep those private for us two. We don’t really take pictures together much another so the couple of gems that we took I want for just me and Dane.

I hope everyone has had a great week though and especially a great start to the weekend! I’m back at work on Monday and whilst I’ll miss lazy mornings in bed and days spent sat in my bed playing games and writing blog posts, I will be glad to be back at work!

Until next time, take care all and I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekends.

My Pandora Collection Part 3 – My First Bracelet

This is the third and final post from my Pandora series and I’m so glad that I finally got around to doing it, because I have wanted to for as long as I can remember. This post will be talking about my first Pandora bracelet and by far my favourite piece in my collection for many, many reasons!

This bracelet doesn’t just symbolise me as a person, but it also reminds me of my boyfriend, and my family whenever I look at it because it is just full of them. I only have room for another six or seven charms now, and as soon as this is filled, I’ll need to get another bangle bracelet so I can start filling that one up too.

However, until then I will be talking about the charms I have so far. I first spoke about my bracelet last February and since then I’ve added eight charms, so I have a lot to talk about! I will briefly go over the ones I have covered in the past, but most of the detail will go into my newer ones. If you would like to read about the other charms in more detail, here’s the link to the February post.

Like I did a couple of days ago with my second bracelet, I’ll be going right to left again. This is the order that I received the charms.

• Owl, Cat and Letter N

These three charms were on the bracelet when I received it and only recently did I realise that the owl and cat charm could associate with the poem The Owl and the Pussy-Cat which really does make me smile, even if deep down that isn’t the meaning behind them. Of course my name is Nat, so it starts with an N. These were ideal first charms for this bracelet.

• Mrs Hedgehog and Bunny

These were the first charms I received from my dad for Christmas 2013. Sadly they were surprises as I chose them myself, but they do have a lot of meaning behind them. As a child I always associated Mrs Tiggy Winkle with my gran, and as she passed away in 2013, this charm was a must. It reminds me of both her and my dad whenever I look at it, and that makes me happy. As for the bunny charm, it doesn’t really have much meaning behind it. I just really liked the look of it. I think it’s a special edition from Easter that has seemed to stick around.

• Waving Cat and Elephant

These are both charms I received for my 24th birthday, the cat from my boyfriend, and the elephant from my dad. My boyfriend has always known how much I want a lucky cat so he bought this for me, which meant a lot. It’s also the charm that started up a colour scheme for my bracelet which I loved. The elephant is from my dad, it was my choice again and I fell in love with it when I saw it. This is apparently discontinued now, but the website doesn’t state this. Either way it’s a fat cuddly looking elephant and it makes me happy.

So now I can finally tell you all about my newer charms!

• Mouse In The Cup

This was a present from my boyfriend for our first anniversary together and it meant a lot. I knew I would going to be getting it, as hard as he tried to make it a surprise. I’ve always wanted this charm and it would only be right for my boyfriend to buy it for me. It is one of my favourite charms for many reasons, but most of all because it was such a special time for us both. We went to Bristol for our anniversary and we loved it. We had an amazing time and since then and a year later I crave to go back. The detail on this charm is gorgeous from the pattern on the cup, the writing “be mine” on a heart by the mouse, to the little nose of the mouse.

• Angel and Telephone Box

These were the second set of charms my dad bought for me for Christmas in 2014 and this time, I didn’t pick. They have a lot of meaning behind them that nearly made me cry when he told me on Christmas Day. “The angel symbolises what you are to mean and the telephone shows you can call me whenever you need.” As on the bottom of the telephone box it says, “call me” which means a lot. It also has a red Union Jack on the top which is a really nice touch and once again adds some more colour to my bracelet, which at the time was looking to be red. One of my favourite colours to wear! It is just really thoughtful and lovely. My family aren’t the type to show their feelings and emotions often, but when it comes to Christmas and birthday’s they really do shine.

• Snowboarder and Camera

These are both birthday presents, one from my boyfriend and one from his parents. The snowboarder is from my boyfriend as he’s a snowboarder and thanks to him I have wanted to get into it for ages, and even went for my first class at the start of the year. It’s a dangle charm and the first one to become an addition to my bracelet. The snowboard has red on the top, which isn’t showing very well in these images, sorry. The camera is from his parents, something I have wanted ever since I first got a Pandora bracelet. My mom has the camera charm and now I have it to match! My boyfriends parents know how much I love my photography so they bought me this, and it’s such gorgeous detail. On the back it has all the buttons a digital SLR would have, and even a screen. I love it!

• Teal Faceted Murano and Seahorse

These are both charms I picked up whilst I was on holiday. The bead I bought for myself as a treat, the seahorse from my dad for my 25th birthday. I have wanted these charms ever since they were released last summer whilst I was in Bristol, and I nearly bought myself a necklace and the seahorse charm. I’m glad I never! These have added some more colour to my bracelet, and also remind me of Fuerteventura, my second home. The bead reminds me of the sea, and pools, which I love swimming in. I’m sure in a second life I was a mermaid (everyone claims this)! As for the seahorse, it’s such beautiful quality and for how small it is, has such gorgeous detailing.

• Bear Hug

This is the charm that my boyfriend bought for our second anniversary at the start of the month. He bought it whilst we were on holiday, as due to it being a no tax island, you do save quite a significant amount of money. It’s a gorgeous teddy bear couple, holding a gold heart. So cute and symbolises how our love has blossomed since we first got together. I love it so much and I am rather sad that this couldn’t work on the necklace chain he bought me, but I would prefer it on my bracelet. This bracelet means so much to me, and isn’t just about me but all about the special people in my life. Including him. I just love it so much and have been showing it off as much as possible since getting it.

So that’s my first Pandora bracelet and by far my favourite piece of jewellery to date! I can’t wait to have it filled one day. I just wonder what will appear on it next!

What do you think of this bracelet? Which charm is your favourite? Also, do you own any of these charms? I would love to hear what the charms on your bracelets mean!

I hope you have all enjoyed this mini series, I know I’ve loved it.

Until next time, take care all.

My Pandora Collection Part 2 – My Second Bracelet

So as I promised a few days ago, I would be doing my three part series about my Pandora jewellery and here is post two! I’ll be talking about the second Pandora bracelet I received from my parents as a random gift. Well, I say random but it has some meaning behind it. They bought it for me as a gift to me starting back on sorting my career out when I started my MA in September. It was a very generous gift and I was surprised when I was given it.

Since I got it in September, I have added two more charms to it, again gifts from my mom, which is lovely of her.

This is the bracelet I’ll wear if I don’t want to wear anything too “in your face” or heavy, as my first bracelet is pretty heavy due to all the charms on it.

I’ll be talking in some detail about which charms are on the bracelet, and the meaning behind them, as they all have meaning. This is something I love about Pandora the most. You can look at someone’s bracelet and get an understanding about the person due to what charms they have on there. I’ll be going right to left.

• Study Book

Due to starting university when I was given this bracelet, of course there would be a studying charm on here and what better than this cute little study book charm? It has an owl on top of the first book, who is wearing a little graduation cap. On the bottom of the last book it says “study”. The detail of the books is gorgeous.

• Openwork Butterfly

This is somewhat random, but nonetheless it’s a gorgeous charm and the butterflies just look pretty. I think my dad stated that he chose this charm as it’s girly and reminded me of him. Very sweet.

• Fairy Pixie

Another somewhat random charm, but one my parents really liked due to the little fairy holding a gold heart. Something different and it really does compliment the design of the charm, and the silver. It looks like Tinkerbell, which most girls associate with and think is cute. I’m not one of those girls. 😛 Either way, I love this charm, it’s my favourite one on this bracelet.

• Theatre Mask

Due to taking drama in my undergraduate degree, my parents knew they had to get this for me. Also due to my love of acting and writing plays they loved it for that too. It doesn’t just have the happy mask, but the sad mask too, and on the top it says, “To be or not To be” which really does make this a special charm for me.

• Crown

This and the next charm are both part of a set that my mom bought on the plane back from holiday at the start of the year. They don’t exactly have much meaning to them, but the thought was lovely of course. She joked stating, “you’re like my little princess so I guess that can work!” which made me laugh. Bless her!

• Pandora Bag

This is the charm that came with the Crown and out of the two I like this one more. Only because I love shopping and I love Pandora! My mom said it was this charm that drew her into picking up the set of charms as whilst we were on holiday together we shopped, a lot! So she said it reminded her of the holiday. It is such gorgeous detail for such a simple charm too, which I love.

So that is my second Pandora bracelet! What do you think of it? Which charm do you like the most? Let me know in the comments down below.

Until next time all, take care.

My Pandora Collection Part 1 – My Necklace

Over the past couple of years I appear to have grown a small collection of Pandora jewellery and recently for my anniversary I appear to have added another to my collection.

I won’t be talking in detail about each piece here, however I will be talking about my necklace today as it was the newest piece to join my collection. Overall there will be three parts for this, part one being my necklace, part two being my university bracelet and part three being my first bracelet.

I would talk about everything in this post but that would mean it would be WAY too long. This is a set of posts I’ve been meaning to do for ages, but I’ve always just left it as I wanted to get some more charms on my main bracelet as I only spoke about it last year. But since then I’ve added eight more, which is a lot!

I am incredibly lucky to have as many charms and such as I do and I love them all equally for many reasons.

The one item I will talk about today is the gorgeous necklace that my boyfriend bought me for our two year anniversary.

He bought the charm whilst we were on holiday, as due to the island being tax free, he could pick it up pretty cheap! He bought me the chain in this country though. It was so hard to try and find the perfect chain and although this isn’t perfect (for a couple of reasons that I will go into) it is gorgeous nonetheless!

The charm for my necklace has had to be changed from the a cute little teddy couple my boyfriend originally put on it because it is just too heavy for the chain, and due to this the teddies kept turning upside down. Rendering it pointless. However, it now has a place on my main bracelet which I’m pleased about. In its place is now a cute little bow charm my dad bought me back from a holiday on the island last year. It works perfectly on the chain and is really petite and girly, which I like.

I’ve wanted a necklace for ages and have eyed up loads in the past, but this one is perfect for me now, and since our anniversary a week ago I’ve worn it loads and it’s something I fall in love with each time I wear it.

Do you own, or wish to own one of Pandora’s necklaces? Let me know in the comments!

I’m so excited for this mini series, and I hope you guys are too.

Until next time, take care all.