What I Got For Christmas 2018

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! I hope you all had a lovely day, whether it was with loved ones, friends or even (sadly) on your own.

I can’t believe how quick both Christmas Day and Boxing Day went! We just have that little slum between New Years Eve now and as depressing as it sounds, I’m working today and tomorrow… Which was completely my own choice! YES I chose to work. πŸ˜›

However, at the time of writing this, it’s Boxing Day morning and I’m snuggled up in bed and looking through all the gifts I was spoilt to this Christmas and as I always do, I share with you those lovely gifts I received.

Now I understand not a lot of people like posts like these because it’s seen as, “showing off” which I completely understand! I’m not showing off though, I’m just sharing what I received. I love reading and seeing what people get for Christmas, especially when they’re heartfelt and special gifts, where the receiver has clearly been thought about.

If you’re one of those people who think it’s showing off, you can bugger off because this post clearly won’t be for you. πŸ˜› HASHTAG – honesty is the best policy.

Not all my Christmas presents have made it into this post sadly as I’m still yet to receive some from my best friends, but I can always share those in a separate post, can’t I?

Anyhoo, on with the post! There’s a lot of goodies to show off. πŸ˜›

The first gifts I’m going to talk about is what one of my best and oldest friends Sophi bought for me! She gave me my gifts back at the start of November so it’s been hard having to wait until now to open them! She bought me so many awesome bits and pieces and they’re all so fab! I’ve got so many Pusheen items it’s amazing.

These items include a Pusheen pyjama top, three pairs of shoe liner socks, Christmas Pusheen fluffy socks (which will be HEAVENLY to wear around the house!), a stationary pouch (which includes a notebook, blue pen, purple gel pen, two pencils, a sharpener and a rubber), a gorgeous notebook (which in turn I’ve had my eye on for agggges!), a pencil case/make up bag and finally some cute little pin badges! There was also some Japanese sweets inside the pencil case/makeup bag which taste AMAZING!

As well as Pusheen, Sophi also bought me a few Lady and The Tramp items, including a pyjama top and some shoe liner socks. I honestly love all the bits that Sophi bought for me, especially the Pusheen stationary to be honest with you! I’ve always been a sucker for stationary but I love using this sort of stuff at work and seeing as Dane bought me something lovely (stationary wise!) these bits from Sophi are perfect. πŸ˜€

The next gift I received is this gorgeous fox origami necklace and I got this from my gorgeous friend Sophie… Yes, another Sophie! πŸ˜› I wasn’t expecting this so it was such a lovely gift to open when we met up recently. Since she gifted it me I’ve worn is everyday and I adore it so much. It’s definitely one of my favourite gifts I received this year. πŸ™‚

The next gifts I received were the ones from Dane’s parents, which were all so lovely! The first thing I opened was the Empire Cinema voucher, which I found really random but when I read what they wrote inside it was so thoughtful and cute! It’s definitely the sweetest gift I’ve received so far. As you’ll probably see it says it’s for when Detective Pikachu comes out! You’ll see that I’ve blocked out some information, this is just to keep Dane’s parents names private, as well as how much is on the card.

They also gifted me this gorgeous fox hair towel from The Body Shop, as well as a cute patchouli fox candle, which I doubt I’ll ever burn! I think I’m going to keep it by the front door on our shoe cabinet, but I need something to stand it on before I pop it down there. It smells gorgeous to be honest.

Finally they bought me The Body Shop peppermint candy cane sack gift set. I’m so glad I got this as I LOVE the peppermint candy cane scent and I’ve already picked up a few items in the sales. I’ve tried a bit of the body butter on the back of my hand it’s so creamy and smells AMAZING! I can’t wait to try the shower gel out now, as well as the body scrub.

Next up we have the gifts my mom bought for me, one I knew about and two I didn’t. My mom knows me so well when it comes down to buying me gifts and every year not only does she surprise me, but she just reminds me of how much she knows me. πŸ™‚

This was actually a gift for both me and Dane and that’s a massive refill bag of Australian Bodycare’s tea tree skin wash. I LOVE this stuff so much and have done since my mom bought it me as a teenager. I mostly use it on my face these days but I do occasionally use it all over my body, especially in the warmer months. I’ve already refilled my bottle with this, so I’m really chuffed! πŸ˜€

The second thing she bought me is this cleansing brush and it was such a surprise when I opened it! I’d mentioned to her a while ago how I’d stopped using the facial brush she bought me years ago as I found it didn’t work for me anymore… Not as in power, as in what it does to my skin. So when I opened this, oh man I’m so excited to give it a go! πŸ˜€ It’s easily charged and turns on and off easily! Not going to lie though, when I opened it on Christmas Day Dane made a lewd joke… πŸ˜› Either way though this will hopefully work wonders on my skin!

Finally we have what is probably my favourite gift this Christmas. My mom had asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I mentioned this watch to her, which isn’t the cheapest in the world… So when she said she was more than happy to buy it for me, I was over the moon! I love gifts when they’re bought from someone, as they have some meaning behind them. I’ve wanted a new watch for some time now and have eyed up the Olivia Burton ones since I started my job just over a year ago. As many readers will know, I LOVE foxes, so when I finally saw that Olivia Burton were doing a fox design, my heart was kind of set on it. I showed it to my mom and she sent me the money to order it for myself. I mentioned how you could get your name stamped on the band and she told me to make sure I did just that! As you’ll see, I did and THANK GOD they spelt my name right. πŸ˜›

I adore my new watch so much and when I wore it Christmas Day it was so comfortable. I love it. :’)

Finally we move over to Dane and the gifts that he bought for me. He really spoilt me this year and although I feel lucky as anything throughout the year, when it comes to Christmas, birthday and anniversary he always reminds me just how loved I am, as well as just how well he knows me.

These were mostly in the stocking he made up for me, we started to do stockings when we moved into the house and I really do enjoy doing them. πŸ™‚ So some of the items Dane gifted me were matcha/green tea related, which was lovely but so bloody random! πŸ˜› I LOVE green team KitKat’s from Japan and I’ve already eaten one of these whilst writing this post. πŸ˜› He also bought me some matcha knock off Oreo’s, which look yummy, I can’t wait to try those. Finally he bought me a matcha ramune drink… I can’t imagine how this is going to taste! I think I’m going to wait until my birthday to try it. πŸ˜›

I didn’t think Dane would buy me squishes, but he did and he did good! I’m not a squishy person to be fair BUT I do like them as they help me relax whilst when I’m anxious or overthinking. I find they’re great when I’m a passenger on the motorway. He did actually show me these and I can’t remember if he said he’d bought them for meΒ  before or after showing them off to me. I LOVE the fox ninja so much and it’s definitely my favourite of the two, but this being said I love the panda ninja for squishing. Due to the way the paint is on the foxes face, I’d worry it would crack, so the panda is going to be my go to for squishing!

It seems to have become a tradition every Christmas now that Dane buys me Nichijou! I never really pick it up for myself throughout the year, so he does it for me. πŸ™‚ I do really love the Nichijou series, it’s something different and a manga series everyone needs to read! They have an anime version of it too, which I also need to watch through, I’ve only watched the odd episode… I might suggest me and Dane watch it tonight whilst we have dinner. ^_^

I love getting calendars for Christmas and when I opened this one from Dane, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect… So when I saw it was Juniper I was so chuffed! Dane bought me the Juniper calendar for 2018 so it’s nice to have that lovely Instagram famous fox hung up in our living room again! I love writing down stuff me and Dane plan, as well as days off, birthdays and even blog events!

This was something I had a feeling Dane had bought me as he showed it me before Christmas and asked what I thought of it! It’s so adorable and I LOVE Pompom Purin. πŸ™‚ I actually saw this when I was in the Japan Centre in London and I rather liked the look of it to be fair. I’m just not sure whether to have it for work, or for the house to keep my stationary in downstairs in the living room… We’ll see but either way it’s so adorable. πŸ˜›

Bless Dane, he’s such a cutie! When we went to EGX in September he asked if I liked the Spyro pin badges that had been released to coincide with the game as he wanted to buy them me for Christmas. Sadly I didn’t like the look of them… They just weren’t for me in all fairness. So he asked me to have a look around to see if there were any other Spyro items I liked the look of online, alas I found this incense burner and hey presto! He bought it for me. πŸ˜› I haven’t had chance to use this yet as I need to get some incense cones for it, but how it works is you pop a cone into this and as it smokes, the smoke comes out of Spyro’s nose. Funky, eh?! πŸ˜€

This is definitely one of my favourite Christmas presents this year and one I had a feeling Dane had bought me. I spoke recently about this item here and how much I’ve wanted something for the wall behind our bed. Alas I found this awesome wall tapestry online at Redbubble and I just knew I had to have it! Me and Dane plan to buy some easy stick on and remove hooks, as well as some fairy lights and we’ll soon have our room taking some shape after a few years of it looking bare. πŸ™‚

I was rather shocked by the size of this in all honesty, I thought it was going to be bigger like my other Morgana cushion (which you can see here). This was an ichiban kuji prize and as YY Kawaii was selling it, I asked Dane for it for Christmas. Alas here it is! It’s such a cute little pillow and will be nice to use as a head pillow whilst in bed, especially if I’m feeling poorly or under the weather and need to rest my head on something a little more.

These again are some of my favourite gifts that I received from Dane! Again, I had a feeling I was getting something like this for Christmas as I’d hinted to him about it and he’d asked me to put in order which ones I’d like. I’m not only 2 short of having ALL the Eeveelution plushies and I’ve now pre ordered them from YY Kawaii! Some of these were in my stocking and some were in my present bag, so it was a nice surprise when I found out I had another two to open! I cant wait to show all nine of the Eeveelutions off to you in the New Year!

I know I’ve said this for a few gifts now, but this is definitely up there in my top three Christmas presents! I know it’s just a pop vinyl figure and I know it’s just Wall-E BUT it’s Earth Day Wall-E and he’s pretty damn rare now! I mentioned on my post a few days ago how he’s now worth a maximum of Β£50 on places like Amazon and eBay, so the fact Dane managed to get him new for Β£15 on eBay is such a bargain. He’s how the original Wall-E should have looked in all honesty and I just love the look of him so much! He’ll be going into mine and Dane’s manga cabinet and he’ll be staying in the box. πŸ˜›

Finally we have my number one present, which of course is a Nendoroid! I was surprised to only see one in my Christmas bag as Dane and me usually go Nendoroid happy over Christmas, birthday and anniversary. I bought Dane three and he only bought me one. This being said, a lot of Nendoroid’s I want at the moment aren’t THAT easy to get a hold of, or I’ve already ordered them for myself. There’s quite a few of the Yuri On Ice Nendoroid’s I want, mostly the casual versions at the moment BUT I was missing Yuri Plisetsky, so I’m glad that Dane managed to get hold of him for me! I’m going to pose him as a cutie with kitty ears on with the other two guys. πŸ˜›

So that’s all the Christmas gifts I have received so far! I know I have a few bits left to get from two of my best friends, but that’s okay, they’ll be worth the wait. πŸ™‚

I can’t believe the whole hype of Christmas we work ourselves up for is now over. It’s only 4 days now until New Years Eve and then it’ll be 2019. It’s crazy, I don’t honestly know where this month has gone. It’s flown and it’s rather scary to be honest with you.

What did you get for Christmas from family, friends, significant others and more? πŸ™‚ I want to know! I love hearing about what gifts people receive.

Until next time all, I hope you had an amazing Christmas and Boxing Day!

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YY Kawaii Collective Haul

I cannot tell you how many months I’ve been trying to write this blog post now! It must have been 3 months at least. It’s just taken so long as I’ve either had to wait for stuff to come out and be sent to me, or I’ve ended up pre-ordering more things and decided to wait for them to arrive so I could do a huge collective haul. Finally all my stuff has arrived now so I can do this post, yays!

I love YY Kawaii and have done for as long as I can remember. She stocks so much awesome stuff from Japan, including two of my favourite things, Pokemon and Persona 5, as well as many other things.

I’ve mentioned YY Kawaii in the past on my blog (which you can read here) and I won’t be stopping talking about them anytime soon.

I hope you enjoy this little collective haul anyway. I’ll pop loads of links to YY Kawaii’s website as well as social media pages at the end of this post.

Just a heads up, I’ll be talking about the stuff I bought in the order I bought it.

  • How To Keep A Mummy Mii-Kun Plush

This is something I had pre-ordered before from YY Kawaii but sadly when she went to pick up the plushies they had ALL sold out so I was given a refund. So as soon as the chance to pre-order came up again I KNEW I had to get in there quickly! Then July came and so did Mii-Kun. I was so excited to receive this plushie and when I did I fell so in love! It now sits by my bed and has so far appeared on one of my blog posts (which you can read here) as he just looked so cute with my pin flag! He wasn’t cheap considering his size but he was oh so worth it! He’s just the perfect size, especially if you would cosplay with him! I don’t think these are available anymore, but I’ve since seen Mii-Kun’s for sale online.

  • Persona 5 Joker Plushie Keychain

When this Joker plushie first went up for sale and pre order I was going to order, but a part of me was put off due to the size. I wanted a bigger Joker plush really. Then I saw people posting theirs on Instagram and I was a bit bummed, but it’s when YY Kawaii did a live video on her Instagram page showing the Persona 5 plushie keychains off that I really regretted not getting one. So I asked YY Kawaii if she could get anymore and she said she still could, so I put in my pre-order and waited for him to arrive. Joker and Mii-Kun actually arrived together, which was amazing! Joker for a while lived by my bed but now he’s on mine and Dane’s manga shelf in our living room. I wouldn’t want to keep him on a bag or anything as I’d be scared he would fall off! I wish I had bought Ryuji and Anna too now. It’s something I’ll definitely keep my eye on in sales etc in future!

  • Persona 5 Morgana Sega Cafe Exclusive Strap/Keychain

I legit ordered this just after my Joker plushie keychain arrived. It was funny because literally not long before YY Kawaii popped these up for sale I had looked at them on eBay in Japan and seen how expensive they were! I’m so glad I ordered it though, even though I’d done sod all with it! I was going to pop it on my car keys or even my Loungefly Star Wars backpack (which you can read about here) but the back of the design isn’t covered, so for how much I paid I worried the back would be scratched off and ruined. It’s happened with straps and keychains in the past and I’ve been gutted. I didn’t want that to happen again! So for now Morgana has been living on my Joker plushie keychain! I’m tempted to turn it into a necklace, but meh I don’t know. We’ll see!

  • 2018 Pokemon Collection Kuji Prize Eevee Bowl

When I kept seeing the 2018 Pokemon Collection kuji online on both YouTube and Instagram, I KNEW I had to have one of the bowls from the kuji! I asked YY Kawaii if she was able to get hold of any prizes separately and luckily she was able to get some of the bowls. I asked for the Eevee one and I was so excited for it to arrive! It’s not the biggest bowl in the world admittedly but either way it’s so cute! I’ve been using it for little snacks such as crisps, pretzels, M&M’s etc. I do really love it but I’m glad I only got one. πŸ˜›

  • 2018 Pokemon Collection Kuji Prize Vaporeon Strap/Keychain

Again like the bowl, I was so excited for this collection and honestly I wanted everything from it. I most of all wanted the Flareon strap/keychain but sadly YY Kawaii wasn’t able to get a hold of it due to how popular it was. Instead I opted for Vaporeon instead! Granted I didn’t need a new strap/keychain but this cute little Vaporeon was hard to say no to and it now lives on my car keys! I love the little jangling noise it makes against my keys. It’s actually quite relaxing.

  • Persona 5 Sega Prize Morgana Cushion

This is the last item on this list and is one that arrived yesterday, but I missed the parcel and had to go and pick it up this morning before work. I knew as soon as it was put up for pre-order that I had to have it. I’ve become a huge Persona 5 fan this past year and now that Morgana is coming out as plushies and such, I really need all the Morgana merch! This pillow is way bigger than I thought it was going to be and I am pleasantly surprised! I opened the parcel this morning before I headed into work and it is huge! You’ll see from the images just how big it is. Not only is it large in size but it is so squishy and soft, I’ve sat here cuddling it whilst writing this post. I cannot wait to use this as a cushion to rest my head on both upstairs in bed as well as on my cuddle chair in the living room. It’s just perfect and it’s definitely one of my favourite things on this haul alongside Mii-Kun.

So there are all the goodies I picked up from YY Kawaii these past couple of months! I wish I could have more on this list but I am trying to be good with money. πŸ˜› I do have some bits and pieces on a wish list in the back of my mind… πŸ˜› Hopefully they’ll become a reality in the future.

As I said at the start of this post, I’ll pop all of the links for YY Kawaii down below.

YY Kawaii Store

YY Kawaii Facebook

YY Kawaii Twitter

YY Kawaii Instagram

YY Kawaii Merch Instagram

YY Kawaii YouTube

What do you guys think of my haul? Have you shopped with YY Kawaii before? If so let me know, as well as what you’ve bought.

Until next time, take care all and I hope your week is going well.

July Wish List ’18

Oh man as if we are in July and oh what a gorgeous year 2018 is turning out to be already, eh?! Last week we had nothing but sunshine and it was glorious.

I was really naughty in June and bought loads of stuff, but you know what? Fuck it! I don’t feel like I’ve had a proper treat since I left my previous job so it’s been nice to buy stuff for myself that I either need and don’t need, but have wanted for ages.

The majority of stuff on this months wish list I doubt I will buy as I need to save my monies now after an expensive month. I really struggled too with this months wish list as there isn’t much I really want to buy in all fairness… Well apart from the manga mentioned below. πŸ˜›

Anyhoo, ON WITH THE WISH LIST! πŸ˜€

  • FairyGlo Gel Nail Polishes – (link)

This is what I’m going to kick off the blog post with as although I’ve mentioned I won’t be buying much this month, this is something I’ve ordered as I REALLY wanted to give FairyGlo gel polishes a go! Someone I work with uses these and they look amazing, so I wanted to give them a go for myself. I have 4 shades in mind that I want to grab and they’re purple, blue, raspberry pink and lavender shades and they look awesome! Where I’ve found them they’re Β£1.99 each which is pretty decently priced, but I know this is due to them being Chinese and cheap. But meh, I’ll give them a go they won’t cost me much to buy. πŸ˜›

  • Cath Kidston Park Wildlife Fox Cushion – (link)

I really want this cushion and I regret not picking it up when me and Dane went away to Bristol/Somerset for a couple of days at the start of June. Dane was the one who pointed it out to me to be honest! The fox on it is so adorable and instead of grabbing this cushion I picked up a fox trinket dish and the park wildlife tray instead, which the fox is on. I really want more of the park wildlife bits that are all in the sale at the moment! I’m definitely going to keep my eye on the cushion because if it goes down in the sale anymore, I’ll definitely grab it!

  • A Polar Bear in Love Vol. 3 – (link)

I mentioned this recently on my manga wish list (which you can read here) but this is out this month so I’ll be pre ordering this closer to the time, aka the end of the month. πŸ˜› I love A Polar Bear in Love. It’s so bizarre but so cute and somewhat relate able all the same. If you love reading cute and strange manga, definitely give this series a go! I can’t wait to see where it’s going after where Vol. 2 left off!

  • Le Mini Macaron 3X Shine Topcoat – (link)

I recently picked up one of the Le Mini Macaron gel nail kits and I LOVE IT! I really want to give the rest of their products a go though, including this 3X shine topcoat, which has nothing but good reviews! I haven’t used a topcoat whilst using the shade I picked up in the kit and it’s lasted for quite some time now. The only time it started to chip was when I was in the bath and I was kind of picking it off. πŸ˜›

  • Vans x Marvel Spidey Webs LS – (link)

The Vans x Marvel collection is a mixture of awesome and disappointment of how much better they could have done. I really wanted the Deadpool Vans that they released but when I saw them in the flesh I was so disappointed. For a start they had a ninja star on them, which Deadpool doesn’t use! I mean, what? :S Anyway so the only things I actually liked from the collection are the Spider-Man t-shirts, including this long sleeved boyfriend tee. I love long sleeved tops, especially if they have a boyfriend tee feel to them! It’s not the cheapest in the world, but you’re paying for the brand, as well as for Marvel. I’ll definitely be picking this up in the future as I love it so much!

  • Le Mini Macaron Kitticorn Magic Powder – (link)

I’ve always wanted to give the holographic and chrome nail powders a go but I haven’t really been able to. Although I would prefer to give a cheaper one a go, I’m adding this to my wish list because for the money I wouldn’t mind giving this one a go and it comes with a topcoat polish too, which is always good! I don’t know if it’s the same one as the 3X shine topcoat though…

  • Marvel Spidey Ringer Tee – (link)

Like the boyfriend Spider-Man tee I really love this tee that Vans have brought out for the collaboration! This one would definitely be ideal lately with how bloody warm it’s been this past week. I’d rock this tee all the time with a cardigan, hoodie and jeans. At the time of writing this it’s on sale at EMP and I’m SO TEMPTED to order it but meh I need to watch my monies after an expensive month in June… 😦

  • Le Mini Macaron Coffee Shop Les Minis Gel Polish Set – (link)

I’ve spied a couple of the gel polish shades I like the look of, including Latte which is in this coffee coloured set. I LOVE coffee coloured nail polishes and although I won’t this month, when it comes to it I’m going to order myself a couple of different shades from Le Mini Macaron as I really want to give this brand a go! I especially love all these shades as they’ll look great for every season too.

So those are all the items on my wish list for this month! Sorry if it’s really boring, I honestly cannot think of much I want to buy this month really… πŸ˜›

You watch though after this post, I’ll think of shit loads of stuff I want!

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

Until next time, take care all and have a lovely week!

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Fall for this Autumnal Home DΓ©cor

So, before I begin, I should probably introduce myself. I’m Hayley, a professional freelance Copywriter and Content Writer who absolutely loves blogging (and home dΓ©cor, as you’ll soon find out)! Therefore, when I came across Nat’s tweet explaining that she needs guest bloggers to fill in for her whilst she’s on holiday, I jumped at the opportunity. I enjoyed reading her clothing wish lists, so decided to do something similar for homeware, because who doesn’t love a fancy cushion or two? Just me? Anyway, I’ll stop rambling now and get into the post:

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Whilst I’m going to miss the warmer weather and bright evenings, we’re now officially on the second day of Autumn, so it’s time to embrace the new season with open arms. The beautiful orange leaves, the cosy clothes, and copious amounts of hot chocolate definitely make it easier to say goodbye to Summer (plus, it’s almost Hallowe’en).

Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m a bit of a home decoration enthusiast – any opportunity to give my home a fresh, new look is welcomed in my books. I always think that changing seasons are perfect times to add little pieces that reflect the weather, either through using different colours, patterns, or even textures. The best part about this is you certainly don’t have to break the bank to do it!

Before I began writing this post, I got thinking about what I associate with the season because it’s always useful to have a β€˜theme’ which will ensure that all the pieces look good together. I’ve compiled a little list below which helped me to find the items I included, so, should you want to look for more yourself, you’ll have something to refer to:

– Rustic wood
– β€˜Earthy’ tones (think burnt orange, brown, mustard yellow)
– Leaf patterns
– Rough textures

So, let’s take a look at some pieces you’ll fall for this Autumn (get it… fall? Okay, sorry).

Yankee Candle in β€˜Brilliant Autumn’

How much more perfect could the name of this candle be? It’s a must for any Autumn lover who wants to bring a little bit of the woodlands indoors. To me, there’s nothing cosier than having some beautiful smelling candles burning on the coffee table whilst you relax on the weekend! Plus, it’s a gorgeous orange colour that will complement the other items in this list (any other home dΓ©cor enthusiasts will agree that this is very important).

Image taken from fragrancedirect.co.uk

Item: Large Yankee Candle (Brilliant Autumn)
Shop: Fragrance Direct
Price: Β£14.50

Cosy blanket

When updating your home dΓ©cor, you can’t go wrong with a big, fluffy blanket. The neutral β€˜mink’ tone of this one from Wilko means that you can mix β€˜n’ match it with a range of different colour schemes throughout the year (because, let’s be real, the UK is chilly around 80% of the time). I personally love the soft β€˜waffle’ texture on this as it prevents the blanket from being too plain, but it won’t clash with other patterns!

Image taken from wilko.com

Item: Waffle Throw (Mink)
Shop: Wilko
Price: Β£16

Burnt orange cushions (bonus points if they incorporate a tartan pattern)

Dunelm are currently selling these statement tartan cushions in a perfect earthy, burnt orange shade (though they do offer lots of other colours if you’d prefer to mix it up). The tweed texture also gives it a lovely rustic feel that provides your home with instant cosy-factor fit for a pub in the countryside. Cushions are a great way to instantly change the colour scheme in your living room as they’re much larger than some of the other items on this list, but still relatively inexpensive!

Image taken from dunelm.com

Item: Tweed Woven Cushion (Terracotta/Orange)
Shop: Dunelm
Price: Β£14

Wicker hearts (or any shape you want)

Sometimes, just having random little knick-knacks in your house can make it feel more like a home. You can grab this set of three wicker hearts for under Β£10 on Amazon* (bargain!), and have them delivered next day if you’re a Prime member. The adorable gingham ribbon and rustic wood texture also give it a little extra bit of detail that screams β€˜Autumn’.

Image taken from amazon.co.uk

Item: Large Rustic Wicker Heart Decorations
Shop: Amazon
Price: Β£9*

Cute Mugs

Whilst these are more functional items than decorative ones, they still make the list, because what else are you going to drink hot chocolate from whilst you sit in your newly-decorated living room? I’m a sucker for anything with a cute animal design plastered on it, so I just had to include these Fairmont & Main bone china mugs from Amazon. I love how autumnal the design is, from the range of beautiful colours, right down the leaf print. Ahh, let’s get the kettle on!

Image taken from amazon.co.uk

Item: Fairmont & Main Bone China Mug (Orange)
Shop: Amazon
Price: Β£4.99

So, there you go – updating your living room on a budget is easy (and fun)! What will you be adding to your home this Autumn? Let us know!

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Psst, if you enjoyed this post, you can find more of me (and my company, DTM Copywriting) here:
Website (including my blog): http://dtmcopywriting.co.uk/
Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter: @dtmcopywriting
Email: hayley.andrews@dtmcopywriting.co.uk

*Please note that prices on Amazon are subject to change.

I just want to say a MASSIVE thank you to Hayley for writing this post! She was such a joy to talk to via Twitter and email and was so professional and lovely at the same time. It’s made me so excited for when I come back from Fuerteventura to have a mooch around the shops for some lovely autumn editions to add into our home this year!

What items do you like buying as the season changes from summer to autumn? Please make to sure to let me and Hayley know in the comments!

Until next time take care all and I hope you’re doing well!

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High-End Beauty Haul & A Foxy Surprise!

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Recently my family went on holiday and came back before the weekend. The three weeks they were away for has really flown by, and I was glad to see them arrive home safely.

When they got back they were bearing gifts, as well as with a surprise gift for me. I had asked my mom to pick me up some goodies whilst she was there, which I would give her the money for.

We have a home over in Fuerteventura, one of the Canary Islands, and due to it being a tax-free island it can sometimes work out cheaper to buy beauty related goodies over there, rather than here.

I only have four things she picked up for me, but they’re all amazing, and I couldn’t wait to show them off to you today!

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  • Lancome Juicy Shaker Lip Gloss in shade Mint To Be – Β£18.00

I already have one of these in shade Berry In Love (you can read my review here) and whilst I didn’t review it with all-stars and positives, I still rather like it for work if I fancy something light, which I can reapply without the worry I look like coco the clown. This is a rather odd shade considering it’s blue, but I love how it reminds me of my teenage years of wearing sheer blue lipsticks and lip glosses. This is just like the name too, it’s very minty and makes my lips feel tingly and feel fresh, which is nice! I can’t wait to rock this over the summer months on hots days out. For a while this was only an exclusive at Selfridges and Lancome’s official website, but it appears to be available everywhere now, although I think it is a limited edition shade.

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  • Chanel Poudre Universelle Compacte Natural Finish Pressed Powder in shade Peche – Β£33.00

I’m hitting pan on my current face powder, which means it’s time to think about buying something new! I mentioned to my mom that I wanted to get something new, and asked her if she could have a nose whilst on holiday for something fancy for me. She had a look around and found this lovely piece for me! A Chanel powder… Oh my! I wasn’t expecting this! I especially wasn’t expecting it to be a peach shade, I would have thought it would be white. This being said it’s only a subtle colour and doesn’t affect the colour of my own skin in any way. I cannot wait to start using this, it’s such a gorgeous piece to have in my make up collection now, especially with its beautiful velvet pouch that it lives in.

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  • Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in shade Plum Shimmer – Β£18.00

I own two of these already, Rose Shimmer, and Candy Shimmer, both of which I bought from Fuerteventura last time I went in November 2015. This is one of the newer shades in the lip perfector collection and it is right up my street! It’s a raspberry pink shade, and when applied multiple times it gives a nice dark payoff to it. I will rock this loads throughout the summer, as well as every other time of year! I hope to review them all together soon, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

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  • Chanel Rouge Coco Stylo Lipstick in shade Roman – Β£26.00

This is probably my favourite item that I bought from the bunch as not only is it a new and exciting product by Chanel, but it’s also such a lovely shade. I wish I could have really swatched a variety of the shades before picking the one I had, but from looking at swatches and pictures from Tempalia’s post over on her blog, I knew I would love Roman. It’s a hot pink shade, and very me! Makes a change from purple shades, that’s for sure. It’s not like your normal lipsticks either, this one has a buttery and moisturising formula which is really nice! The thing I love the most is the tube, which is long and sleek, which as the name states, looks stylish. I cannot wait to review this beauty!

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Finally I have the special gift that my dad got for me! When we went on holiday together in November I eyed up this cushion and fell in love with it. It has a fox on it, how could I NOT fall in love with it?! I don’t know what I’m going to do with it yet… Probably stick it on my bed and use it as a back rest. πŸ˜› It’s huge though, probably half the size of my body. It’ll definitely be nice to use as something to lean on whilst I work on blog posts. This only cost my dad €27.95, which works out to Β£21.25. Bargain really considering how big it is, I mean look at the picture of it with my hand on top… That is how big it is!

So that’s my little high-end beauty haul! I do not know the prices in euros at this time, but when I find out I will update this post as and when. I hope to review the majority of the goodies mentioned on here soon as well.

Are any of the products I’ve purchased anything you would like to get, or have bought yourselves recently? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

Until next time, take care all and have an awesome bank holiday Monday!

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Christmas Presents!

Merry Christmas one and all! Even if it is a tad too late to say now… Everyone is saying, “Happy New Year!” at the moment, aren’t they?

ANYWAY! Christmas has come and gone once again, and as you can tell from my absence the past couple of days, I’ve had a really good one this year. I spent the morning over at my boyfriend’s house with his family, which was lovely. We hadn’t done this yet, so it really did make a nice change. Then in the evening we came over to my house, which was super chilled out. Perfect Christmas!

I worked Boxing Day, which sucked but it was a laugh with my colleagues and we all talked about our Christmas Day’s, and what we got for Christmas.

Tonight I’ll be sharing what goodies I received for Christmas! As I’ve stated the past couple of years when writing these sorts of posts, I am in no way bragging, or showing off about what I received for Christmas. I love reading posts like this (because I’m a nosey cow!) so I always imagine people would enjoy reading mine too… Especially anyone who loves foxes, and anime/manga related goodies, as that’s what the majority was which I received.

I also want to apologise for crappy pictures. These were taken late at night, I was shattered after a busy day, and I knew if I didn’t get something taken, I would have nothing to write about now as I’ve literally not had any time.

So, here are my presents!

As you can see I received a lot of gifts, and this isn’t even all of it! Nope, there is more…

As I mentioned in my holiday haul post here my dad bought me this gorgeous Michael Kors Riley handbag! It has been my go to bag ever since the holiday, and I can see it being used pretty much forever now… I love using it for work as it’s so light to carry and it fits the right amount of items in.

One of the best presents I received for Christmas was nightwear. I haven’t received any for quite some time, so when my boyfriends parents bought me this fox slipper socks, and my boyfriend bought me these woodland animal pajamas, I was thrilled! The pajamas he bought me are so damn comfortable as well! I wore them from Christmas Day to this morning, and I wish I could be wearing them now. I love long-sleeved pajama tops!

My boyfriends family were really generous and lovely this year with their presents to me. My boyfriends brother and his girlfriend bought me Lush, and although my boyfriend states that they didn’t know which gift set I was after, they bought me the exact one! I’d eyed this set up only a week ago in Lush, due to it coming with Twilight Shower Gel, which is a limited edition product, and only comes out in the Lush Kitchen. I haven’t used it yet, but I can’t wait to.

My boyfriends parents bought me various little bits and pieces, from the fox slippers mentioned earlier, a cute little candle with squirrels on it, and this beautiful fox pillow. I snuggled it all morning after opening it, and it now sits lovely on my bed… I’m leaning against it right now, and it’s so fluffy and comfortable! They also bought me some Pandora, but I’m saving that until last.

My families gifts were lovely, and to the point. Alongside all these my mom also bought me a navy dressing gown, but I never got a picture of it, sorry. One of the nicest presents she bought me was this gorgeous fox mug! I had told her I wanted it from Avon for a while, and she offered to pick it up for me. Alas she told me it had sold out, and had secretly hidden it for Christmas. She also bought me a cute little fox purse. I’m unsure what I’ll use it for at the moment, but I’m sure I’ll soon find a use for it. The hair towels were a complete surprise, and I was keen on getting some new ones, so these pink ones will do just the job! I love using these towels to dry my long hair, they really do the trick. As my mom did last year, she has done it again and bought me a new face powder, only this time on by Laura Geller. So far since getting it a few days ago I’ve been using it and it’s lovely, I cannot complain.

My brother is great when it comes to presents, he always gets good ones, and usually he’ll get perfume. He never knows what perfume I’m after (because I don’t really talk to him about that sort of thing) but he always seems to get me something that I think, “Ooo that’s nice… Meh too much money…” and it makes me smile. This year he has bought me the latest scent by Marc Jacobs, Decadence. I can’t even describe the scent for this. It’s pretty unique, and reminds me of something that Thierry Mugler would come out with. The bottle for this does astonish me too, with its little handbag design. This came in a gift set with a shower gel, which I used on Boxing Day. I intend to wear this on my birthday.

My boyfriend bought me so much stuff! Like SO much stuff! But in return, I also bought him lots of things. The majority of what he seemed to pick up for me, they were fox themed. He’s never bought me this much fox related stuff before, which surprised me. He bought me a fox umbrella, and a fox car air freshener from a company called The Fox Project, a charity which helps foxes that have been hurt, and need urgent treatment. Along these he also bought me two pairs of fox socks from M&S, as well as a fox mug. Said mug now lives at his house, as I’m always pestering him for tea and coffee.

Alongside fox related items he had a habit for buying me lots of books this year (as I did for him too), and Umaru-Chan related goodies. He bought me two of these later items, one being a t-shirt, the other this adorable little notebook! I’ll be using that for work as a blog writing book. As I already mentioned, he bought me books, four in total. Three being books 10, 11, and 12 from the Nana manga, and one being the Pewdiepie book, This Book Loves You. I intend to go through it on my day off Wednesday.

As well as that he also picked up this cute little polar bear, as something I can snuggle when at his house, a Simon’s Cat calendar for next year, and a little Yankee Candle Christmas Eve votive candle.

He also bought me a special Pandora charm, but I’ll be going into more detail about that shortly.

These were two of the best presents I received from my boyfriend. I knew I was getting the Umaru-Chan Nendoroid, but the Baymax Pop! Vinyl was a complete surprise to me! I had told him I wanted it, but I didn’t know if he would buy him for me or not.

I am a massive fan of Big Hero 6, and Baymax really melted my heart. I can’t even remember how many times I cried when we went to watch Big Hero 6… It was a lot though! I’m not a huge Pop! Vinyl fan, I think the majority of the figures they release and sell look crap with how their paint work has been done. HOWEVER some of them do look amazing, and Baymax is one of these. He’s pearlescent in colour, and is bigger than normal Pop! Vinyl’s, which I actually really like.

As for Umaru-Chan she’s a gorgeous little figure, and one I fast fell in love with. I have spoken on my blog before about how much I love the anime that she originates from, and so when I got into the anime, my boyfriend knew he had to order the figure for me. I want to open her so badly, but she’s just too nice to open her. Instead I shall just gaze at her from afar and one day-dream of opening her.

Finally we have the two Pandora charms I was given this year. One from my boyfriend, and one from his parents. His parents gave me the little puppy charm (on the right) that is wearing a cute little red Father Christmas hat. It is such a little cute charm, and I wish I could have got some better pictures of it, but alas I couldn’t at the time. He’s sitting down, with his tongue sticking out. It’s a real cutie to add to my bracelet.

The charm my boyfriend bought for me is the fox (on the left) and it isn’t actually an official Pandora… But I don’t care about that! Pandora are taking too long to release a fox charm (you watch, they will now!) so when my boyfriend saw this one for sale on The Fox Project he snapped it up. It’s a cute little fox lying on a log, and I imagine trying to have a snooze. I love this charm so much because it really does stand out on the whole bracelet.

So that’s all… Wait… That isn’t ALL my presents? Is it?

My mom bought me a Kitchen Aid for Christmas. You know, like the ones they use on The Great British Bake Off? YES ONE OF THOSE! I was gobsmacked when I opened a massive present to not only see this, but a ceramic bowl, as well as a five piece kitchen/culinary set to use with the mixer as well. For weeks my mom has been lying about this massive box in the living room, saying it was something my brother had ordered… But it never budged. Until I came home for Christmas, and it had moved and was covered in wrapping paper. I am so excited to use it, even though I’m not 100% sure when I will yet. When I do, I’m sure I’ll have some sort of blog post about it.

Now, that IS all I received for Christmas. Although I did receive a wash set from my sister-in-law, and nephews, and I am yet to see what friends have bought me.

But yes, that is all my presents from Christmas ’15! What did you get for Christmas? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below, or even link me to your blog post about it if you’re a blogger.

Until next time, take care all and I hope you have a nice rest after Christmas. I would love one, that’s for sure. πŸ˜›

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