Old English Company*

Eee I’ve been so excited to write this post the past week! It’s Sunday morning (rain isn’t falling, it’s actually SUNNY! If you didn’t get the joke, it’s the first line of the Maroon 5 song of the same name… Sorry, not sorry!) and I have a lovely review to write today.

Recently I was approached by Old English Company and they asked me if I’d like to review some of their products for them. As a small blogger, I rarely get opportunities like this, so when I do I feel so loved, especially when they’re amazing companies like this one!

I was asked to pick some items and they sent them out to me. They arrived last week and I have been LOVING them! I mostly picked office related items that I can use both at home as well as at work.

I have been so excited to write this post today to show you what goodies I got, as well as how amazing they are! You’ll definitely want to head to the website yourselves after you’ve read this post. 😛

Don’t forget that any items with * next to them have been sent/gifted for reviewing purposes. 🙂

First of all I’ll let you know a little bit about Old English Company.

We’re a stationery and homeware brand creating beautiful, hand lettered products. First established in London, our studios are now located in the beautiful town of Stamford. The art is in the simplicity of our designs. Following no particular calligraphy rules, all of our products are uniquely hand lettered to create stylish, uncomplicated designs with messages that resonate with people.♥

♥Quote taken from Old English Company website.

Old English Company have also sold their stock in Olivia Bonas, Waterstones, Urban Outfitters and Paperchase.

Now onto the products I was sent! I will be linking each item I talk about back to the website so if you like the look of it, you’re a simple click away from viewing it on the website.


  • You’re My Fox Enamel Pin* – £7.00 (link)

Recently I have really become a pin badge gal and it’s all since the start of the year. I wear cardigans now on a daily basis so I always pop one of my kawaii pin badges on them now. When I saw this cute little fox pin badge I KNEW I had to get it! It says “you’re my fox” on the foxes back, which I think is so adorable. I’ll definitely be wearing this for work. It’s a really good size if you aren’t into big garish pin badges and the black and gold colours work really well. As you can see the pin badge was sent to me really well packaged as it was covered in bubble wrap and pinned to a backing card.

  • You’re My fox Coaster* – Was £2.95 – Now – £1.03 (link)

This is one of the last items I saw on the website and knew I had to have it! As regular readers will know, I love foxes so knowing about the fox pin design I searched on the website for anymore fox goods. This coaster shares the same design as the enamel pin and it’s adorable. I don’t need anymore coasters at home, so this is going to become my coaster for my desk at work. My only issue with the coaster is on the website it looks more of a duck blue colour, when in actual fact it’s mint green. This isn’t an issue though in all honesty as I love either colour!

  • Enamel Pin Display Flag* £8.95 (link)

I wouldn’t have picked this up, but to be honest my pin badge collection has really grown lately and I need somewhere to keep them all! To be honest I’ll probably be buying another one of these in the future to home even MORE pins! I’ve already decided I want to hang this on my dressing table near my jewellery! It’s huge to be honest with you and depending how many pins you have and also how big they are, you could fit 10-20 different pins on this flag. My only issue with it is the price. For what it is, I find it could be a little cheaper. This is something you could make yourself in all fairness. BUT that being said, it is really good quality. It depends on your own personal preference. 🙂 As you can see, I’ve already popped my pins onto it!

  • Beauty In Simplicity A5 Wiro Notebook* £9.95 (link)

I love a good notebook to be honest with you and I ended up picking up two! This one is the first I chose and it’s so simplistic and gorgeous. It’s a white wire notebook that says, “there is beauty in simplicity” which is so true! It’s got a fabric band around it so you can keep the notebook closed and secure. The inside of the front and back cover have this very 90’s looking pattern on, which is what drew me to the notebook the most to be honest with you. The pages are lined and you can rip them out along a serrated edge so you don’t get the nasty part of the notebook when putting the page out. I hope that made sense! This would be a great notebook for school, college or university. I’m going to have it for blog ideas at home! It’s not a heavy notebook, which is even better. On the back of the notebook it has Old English Company’s logo.

  • Bring Me Coffee A5 Notebook* £5.95 (link)

This notebook is just me all over to be honest with you. I picked it up to have for writing notes down at work. It’s a 100 page notebook that has lines inside. It has the quote, “bring me coffee and I will love you forever” I LOVE coffee. 😛 I love the style of this notebook, I’ve owned ones similar to this in the past but they don’t feel as expensive and luxurious as this one does. I know what you’re thinking, “Nat, it’s just a notebook!” I KNOW BUT I LOVE STATIONARY! 😛 What I love the most about this book is it has a spine, which says “Notes” on it. You could use this as a mini scrapbook, a diary or even a bullet journal which eventually you could keep in a bookshelf. You may even have a mini bookshelf on your desk, which you could then keep there. This notebook is perfect for anyone who likes to write on the go, it’s so thin and lightweight that you could throw it in your bag. This would be a good notebook to use at school, college or university but I don’t think it would be as practical as the wire notebook due to pulling pages out. This also came in a little plastic sleeve to protect it, which I really loved. Overall, I LOVE this notebook and I want more. 😛

  • Black and Pearlescent A5 Planner* £11.95 (link)

This was the first item I chose as it was the first thing I spotted on the websites homepage and I fell in love. It’s one of my favourite things to be honest with you. I’m such a magpie when it comes to holographic and shimmery things and seeing as the “planner” part of the front of the book is pearlescent, the magpie deep down inside of me jumped out. This is a 380 page planner and I’ve owned a planner similar to this in the past, but this one is so much more organised inside. I felt my old one was too messy and due to that I don’t use it. Like the coffee notebook, the spine also has writing on, which is “planner” BUT I was delighted to discover that it’s also pearlescent! That’s so good in my opinion, it just adds something to the planner and makes it stand out in a pile of books. It isn’t a hardback style book, which I like as it makes it easier to turn and use. Inside the book the pages feel so lightweight and gorgeous to turn. You have your bog standard planner style with “today’s tasks”, “date” and “notes”. I don’t have a clue what I’ll use this planner for to be honest… Probably blog related stuff, as well as to use if me and Dane go away on a trip to plan what we’re doing and when. Like the coffee notebook this comes in a plastic sleeve to protect it. Personally I think the planner would work best for people who need to keep tabs on stuff everyday as you could use it for every day of the year. There would be more than enough pages.

Overall, I am so happy with the package I received from Old English Company. I want to thank them so much for giving me the opportunity to work with them to bring you guys this review.

I feel their website and products are amazing for people who want to jazz up their home with some simplistic prints and homeware, or for stationary obsessed girls who want some new pieces for their office desk. I’d even say their products would make amazing gifts too! I’d definitely buy pieces from there for friends, especially the planner come Christmas time for the new year, pin badges and especially prints for people with new homes.

What do you guys think of Old English Company and their products? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below, as well as on my Twitter @maybeecoffee

Until next time, take care all and I hope you’ve all had a fabulous and sunny weekend!

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Geeky Girl Gift Guide – Collaboration Post

Hey guys! It’s me again, Sarah from over at Raiin Monkey, bringing you as promised my next geektastic gift guide! If you saw my post on Wednesday, you’ll know that me and Nat are doing a Christmas collaboration together, each sharing some geeky gift guides for both guys and girls. Last time, Nat shared a gift guide for girls on my blog (you can read her post here), and I gave you my suggestions of Christmas gift ideas for guys here on Nat’s wonderful blog! So, today it’s my turn to write all about gift ideas for the geeky girls in your life!

As with Part 1 of my geeky gift guide, I’ve decided to include items perfect for those of you on a budget, as all my suggestions are £20 or under, and many of them would be great as stocking fillers! I’ve split up my guide into two parts again: present ideas for under £10 and also for under £20. I’ve sourced everything from UK websites too, to help keep the costs down 😊 I hope you all enjoy reading!

Pokémon I Choose You Mug (link) I was strolling through the grindstore website because it’s one of my favourite online stores for alternative merch and I spotted this adorable mug, that was just too cute not to include on my geeky girls gift guide. Just as Nat said in her post, everyone loves a good mug at Christmas! I love that this one includes all of the starter Pokémon so it’s a mug to suite every Pokéfan! Something I also love about giving mugs as gifts is that you can fill it with other little presents, stuff like socks, chocolates & sweets, keyrings, etc.

Despicable Me Fluffy Unicorn Notebook (link) THIS NOTEBOOK IS SO FLUFFY, I’M GONNA DIE!! Hahaha I couldn’t help myself 😀 How awesome are fluffy notebooks though!? I don’t know anyone who doesn’t appreciate a pretty, good quality notebook, and this one would make a fabulous gift for anyone who loves unicorns or just cutesy things in general!

DC Lil Bombshells Vinyl Figures (link) Being slightly obsessed with collecting blind box figures myself, I couldn’t not find another blind box for my geeky girls gift guide too! I love the DC Bombshell figures, they are gorgeous, and these little chibi-style versions of them are awesome! They celebrate all of the badass woman of the DC world, and there’s 12 to collect in these series 2 editions. One of these surprise figures would make a really cool present for any DC fan you know, both girls and guys.

Kawaii Sushi Coaster Set (link) This is a present for my fellow kawaii fans. Even if you’re not a lover of sushi (me neither!), you can’t argue that these coasters are super cute! At only £4.99 for 4, I think they are a bargain not to be missed! I love how colourful and bright they are too, and they are great for popping into a stocking.

Pusheen the Cat Pastel Green Plush (link) It’s no surprise that both me & Nat included Pusheen items on our gift guides for geek girls because Pusheen is amazing! It’s impossible not to love her, and there’s so much wonderful merch available lately. Artbox UK have quite a few official Pusheen plushies, including these three pastel 15cm plushies, available in green, pink and purple. Your geeky girl loved ones will be thrilled to find one of these little cuties in their stockings on Christmas morning 😊

Studio Ghibli Gang Tote Bag (link) I don’t know many geeky girls that aren’t fans of at least one of the amazing movies by Studio Ghibli, and this tote bag is awesome because it includes so many of the popular characters on it! If I used tote bags more, I’d buy it for myself for Christmas because I’m in love with the print! It’s one of those presents too that can be filled with even more Christmas gifts, which is always a bonus. Bags are the perfect gift for students too because they can always use another bag, whether it’s for taking to class with them or to use as a shopping bag or something.

Hatsune Miku Keyring (link) Here’s another animation themed gift, for geeky girls who love all things Japanese! This keyring is an official Vocaloid item and is only £2.49! Even if you’ve never watched Vocaloid, Hatsune Miku is such a cute and iconic character, that I’m sure any fan of kawaii culture or anime would love to receive this for Christmas!

The next part of my Geeky Girls Gift Guide is for those of you who are interested in stocking fillers that are little more pricey but still ideal for those on a budget at £20 and under!

Tofu Cute Amuse Lucky Bag (link) Each time that I’ve been to my local MCM Comic Con at Manchester, I’ve seen people walking around with these adorable Tofu Cute goodie bags, both a blue and a pink variation, and always thought that they were surprise Japanese and Korean snack bags since I know that the store sells them. However, I just discovered that the blue one is full of snacks, but the pink one or the ‘Maneki Neko’ bag is for surprise plushies! I am such a huge fan of the Japanese brand Amuse and their plushies, and so I now have a mighty need for one of these lucky bags in my life! The smallest of the bags is £18.99, but there are three other larger sizes with more products in that you can buy. Head over to the website to see examples of what you can expect inside. I think this would make such a brilliant present, especially since you get the free drawstring bag too! If you think your loved one would prefer the snack version, that’s only £12.99. Even better, but slightly more pricey than £20, there’s a special Christmas version of the Tofu Cute lucky bag, which has a mix of both plushies and snacks!

Harry Potter Crests Gift Set (link) Gift sets, like this Harry Potter official one, are a fabulous option when buying a Christmas present, because they contain more than one gift and usually come inside a pretty presentation box of some kind. This set will make a wonderful gift for any Harry Potter fangirl, no matter if she belongs to Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, since it includes all the Hogwarts House crests! Also, this would make the perfect Secret Santa present for any Harry Potter fan! Fellow Harry Potter fans…I’m curious, what house do you belong to? I’m a Ravenclaw!

Deadpool Arm Party Bracelet Set (link) Jewellery is always a nice gift idea for any occasion in my opinion, and I thought this Deadpool set was unique plus it would make a cool present for many geeky girls. Whether they are a fan of the DC comics or just loved the 2016 Deadpool movie (I know I did!), this would be an awesome addition to their Christmas stocking this year. The set includes five bracelets, all designed in different ways so that they can be worn as a set or individually. I think they are actually really pretty!

Star Paws Parody T-shirt (link) I adore parody tees, this one especially because it has light saber-wielding kittens on it! Is there anything more awesome than that, haha!? Just maybe, because the slogan on the tee says, ‘Meow the force be with you!’. I LOVE IT! I almost forgot to mention that there’s a Christmas sale on over at Truffle Shuffle that ends just before midnight this Sunday, offering 20% off everything (use the code: PRESSIE20). Whilst this offer lasts, why not grab this t-shirt for your geeky friends or family? 😊

Harry Potter House Scarves (link) The online store GeekCore has so much awesome Harry Potter merch so definitely go check them out if you or your loved ones are fans! If so, then this ones another item for you! These gorgeous Harry Potter House scarves would make the perfect gift right now with it being almost winter time! They would also be a great present for anyone you know who likes to cosplay! I’m very tempted to get myself one because they look really snug and I’ve been so cold lately!

Happy Piranha’s Every Fragranced Candle tealights (link) Nat featured a fabulous Darth Vader tealight candle holder on her geeky girl gift guide, so I thought it would be cool to include some tealights that could be purchased along with that! I was searching around for geeky themed candles available in the UK and I came across this set that looks brilliant! The ‘Every Fragranced Candle’ set is Harry Potter themed, based on Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans. How cool is that!? You are supposed to guess the scent of these candles, which I think is great and there’s so many fragrances that sound amazing, like Peppermint Swirl and Blackberry Crumble. They are all handmade too, and would be a perfect Christmas gift for anyone, Harry Potter fan or not!

Pokémon All Over Print T-Shirt (link) We have reached the final item on my gift guide for geeky girls, and this is one of my favourite items of all that I’ve shared with you guys today! Just look how fabulous it is! I really like all of the bright colours and of course, that it’s covered in Pokémon. I mean, how could anyone not adore it!? I love the style of this t-shirt too, it looks very comfy. As the website states ‘it’s a die-hard Pokéfan must-have!’.

So, I hope that you enjoyed all of my present suggestions for your geeky girl friends, girlfriends, family or co-workers this Christmas. I’d love to know if the items I’ve featured have been perfect for your loved ones or even if they’ve just given you some inspiration on what to buy for them 😊 That goes for Nat’s posts too; please leave either of us a comment and let us to your thoughts on the items we’ve chosen. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas Day and that you get some marvelous presents, whether they are geeky or not!

I just wanted to end my post by giving a big thank you to Nat for working with me on this collaboration! It’s been so awesome, and I’ve been wanting to work with her for the longest time, so I’m super happy that we finally have done ♥ Definitely keep a look out for more collabs from us in the future everyone!

I just want to say again, a massive thank you to Sarah for agreeing to collab with me for Christmas not just once, but twice! These posts have definitely been some of my best guest posts and collaboration posts I’ve ever done and the prospect of working with Sarah again in the future is already so exciting!

Don’t forget to go and read Sarah’s Geeky Guy Gift Guide here!

Until next time, take care all and I hope you have a lovely weekend… Hopefully surrounded like snow like I am! 😛

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Kawaii Box Review & GIVEAWAY (Giveaway now closed)*

As a regular reader of my blog, people will know how much I love anything Japanese related. I’m a massive fan of Japan, especially kawaii things. Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past two or three years, you’ll have heard of subscription boxes and how over the years they’ve just become more popular. You can get subscription boxes for anything these days, from beauty, fashion, game related things, and of course Japanese related items.

I’ll be talking about the latter today with the Kawaii Box*, a monthly subscription box that comes piled high with goodies from Japan and Korea. Each month you’ll receive 10-12 handpicked items, some being stationery, some being food. There’s a bit of everything in every box!

The awesome people over at Kawaii Box were lovely enough to send me a box to open up and review to you guys and I cannot explain how excited I have been for this to arrive so I could share what goodies I received inside of it. Also, as you can probably tell by the title, I was also given the chance to give one of these away to a lucky winner. Make sure to stay with me and read to the end of the post to find out how you can win!

This box arrived two weeks after they confirmed it was on its way to me and I’m really pleased about that. I’ve had it for about a week now, which has given me plenty of time to try out every item that I received, and in turn means I can give you guys a proper review of everything.

This months box came with 11 items, which is really good, and everything is different from the other too, so you don’t get anything the same as one another, which I liked.

This is what you get inside of the box;

  • Kracie DIY Chain Candy Set
  • Squishy Doughnut Mirror
  • Dessert Eraser
  • Kawaii Toast Coaster
  • Pastel Pearl Bracelet
  • Korean Glitter Glue Set
  • Rilakkuma Sticky Notes
  • Mushroom Mini Plush
  • Cute Korean Pencil Set
  • Flake Seal Stickers
  • Alpaca Keychain

I’ll be talking about each item with a little bit of detail just to give my readers a basic idea of what you get and such. Not every box comes with exactly the same items, so you get a unique box!

There are quite a few stationery bits in this box and they’re really nice too. You get a pack of pencils, a dessert rubber/eraser, a glitter glue set, some sticky notes, and flake seal stickers. These will be perfect for making notes for blog related work, as well as life in general. I’ll be taking these on holiday with me when I send postcards back to the UK, as well as when I do some blog work whilst out there. The stickers are really cute and whilst I was bored I stuck a couple on my boyfriends face for giggles.

The Rilakkuma sticky notes are amazing and one of my favourite things in this box. I’ll be using them to jot little blog post notes on, as well as using for bookmarks as well. There are so many that they’ll last me for months!

I never say no to Japanese candy, and I couldn’t wait to share this candy with my boyfriend. It’s chain candy which you link together and then well… Eat! It takes of ramune, Japanese lemonade and grape soda, two very popular flavours in Japan, and also two of my favourites. These tasted amazing and I was sad when they all ran out. 😦

There are also some random little bits and pieces in here which were really kawaii! A squishy little doughnut mirror, which is covered in sprinkles and is super soft and squishy! The mirror isn’t the best in the world, but it does the job and it’s one I’m going to be taking on holiday with me for quick touch ups on the go. A cute little bead bracelet which is on the small side, so if you have big wrists it might be a little tight, as I’m a medium and it was just about okay for me. This being said, it’s still cute and a nice little piece for down days. I’ve seen various different mushroom plushie keyrings in peoples boxes, but I got the red one and it’s so adorable, reminds me of Mario. I don’t know what I’ll do with this, I may give it to a friend of mine very soon as a little surprise.

Finally we have two more of my favourite pieces out of the box, a toast shaped coaster and an alpaca keyring. I don’t yet have my own place but when I do I’ll be using this coaster in the living room, or office area as it’s just too cute NOT to use! It’s wooden and sounds really nice when placed down too. I know that sounds weird… But yeah. 😛 The alpaca keyring already has it’s pride and place on my backpack and is something I have had many comments on so far due to how adorable it is. I’ve been asked by many where it’s from!

Overall what do I think of the box? I LOVE IT! It’s a perfect monthly treat for anyone who loves all things kawaii and Japanese, and can’t access Japanese stores near them or online. It also makes for a nice surprise every month too and it’s all different.

So I’ll give you the prices of the box!

One Month Plan = $18.50 a month – free shipping worldwide – recurring one month plan – cancel anytime.

Three Month Plan = $18.50 a month – free shipping worldwide – ends after three months – perfect gift idea.

Six Month Plan = $17.90 a month – free shipping worldwide – ends after six months – save $6!

Twelve Month Plan = $17.30 a month – free shipping worldwide – ends after twelve months – get one box free!!!

In my eyes those are some pretty decent deals, especially the twelve month box.

So what are you waiting for guys? Get out there and get subscribing! If you would like to get one of these boxes yourself, click this link to go ahead and make your purchase!

HOWEVER how would you like to win one of these yourself? All you have to do is click the link below and then go and fill out the rafflecopter widget. Sadly due to WordPress being a smelly ogre, it won’t allow the widget to show on my blog, which sucks! The giveaway is open internationally and all you need to do is follow what it says to on the giveaway to be in with the chance of winning your own Kawaii Box.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What do you think of the Kawaii Box? Will you be making your order soon? Or trying for the competition? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

Until next time though, take care all and good luck in the giveaway!

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