February Favourites ’22

I know February is a short month anyway, but 2022 is flying past and I don’t know how I feel about that. I’m glad, because I want spring to come for light nights and slightly warmer days/better weather, but at the same time, I don’t want time to go too quickly as before we know it, we’ll be back at Christmas all over again!

I was recently speaking to someone about the idea of going to Japan again in 2023 and was met with, “Wait, you only went last year?” I went to Japan two years ago… Proof that as you get older, the years fly by quicker!

Alongside that, since turning 32 in January, February has been a month of me going, “Jeez I’m really getting old now, aren’t I?” and that’s kind of made me feel weird. It’s crazy how quick time flies after you turn a certain age (want to say 21). I do sometimes wish I’d spent more time enjoying my twenties, but that being said I don’t have any regrets.

ANYWAY today’s post isn’t about that stuff and is of course my monthly favourites! February was a strange one as whilst I definitely have things to share with you all, I don’t feel like I have a lot of general stuff to share?

As always, I hope you enjoy reading about things I loved throughout February.

Favourite Beauty Product – SBC Cotton Sensitive Body Wash.

I’ve been so excited to share this body wash with you all today as since receiving it around the start of February, it’s really improved my skin, which in turn makes me happy! My mom is the person who got me into SBC and their skin care, especially their body washes which seem to live in our bathroom for at least half of the year! This SBC body wash smells just like fresh washing and leaves my skin feeling baby soft, which is something I don’t achieve often! I’m shite for looking after my skin with body lotions and potions, not going to lie! A couple of pumps of this on my new silicone shower sponge and I’m guaranteed to be left a cotton scented lather and soft skin after I get out of the shower. This body wash is dermatologically tested which is great for me and my eczema, which recently flared up on my legs. This body wash did really help with it though, with no discomfort or stinging during use. I highly recommend this if you want something fancy in your shower, but have sensitive skin like me.

Favourite TV Show – The Legend of Vox Machina.

The Legend of Vox Machina is a new animated series on Amazon Prime that Dane has been looking forward to since March 2019 when the Kickstarter launched, which he backed. So, when the show finally launched in February, he was all over it for us to watch, which of course I was down for. Vox Machina is based off of the first Critical Role campaign/series, which if you didn’t know is a Dungeons & Dragons campaign written by Matt Mercer and played by a group of voice actors (Marisha Ray, Sam Reigel, Travis Willingham, Liam O’Brien, Laura Baily, Taliesin Jaffe and Ashley Johnson). It’s really popular and has recently gone into it’s third campaign/series! Dane is all caught up on the campaigns and loves Critical Role, I’m not an avid watcher of their campaigns but if Dane has it on, I will watch it on and off. Although the show is based off of D&D (and the Critical Role campaign) Vox Machina can be enjoyed by anyone, even if you’ve never watched the campaign it’s based off like me, or even if you aren’t a fan of D&D! It’s got some amazing adult comedy, bit of singing, lots of fighting and action and all around amazing show!

Favourite Music – Spiritbox – Eternal Blue.

Spiritbox are a band that Dane introduced me to a while ago now and for some reason I thought I’d mentioned them on my blog previously, which doesn’t seem to be the case! The song that caused me to really get into this band is the one I’ve added above called, “Secret Garden”, which is such a nice, mellow rock song to enjoy. I’ve especially been listening to their first album Eternal Blue when I’ve gone into the office to work, as well as when driving to and from places. Eternal Blue came out towards the end of 2021, so it’s a fairly new album, which I didn’t realise until I was writing this post. The band themselves are described as metal (progressive, alternative, etc) so if you like this genre of rock, make sure to check them out!

Image taken from Nintendo Life/Nintendo.

Favourite Game – Pokemon: Legends Arceus.

How could I not mention Legends Arceus this month? It came out at the end of January and every other weekend me and Dane have stayed in the house the whole time playing it. During the weekends where we’ve played it, we’ve snuggled up on the sofa under blankets and with hot drinks as we play this together! I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t 100% sure about the game when I first started playing it and felt a bit nervous of all sorts of aspects, mainly because it wasn’t the same as I was used to, due to the RPG gameplay. However, the more I’ve played it, the more I’ve started to relax and enjoy it, especially with Dane. I’m yet to finish the games story and in all honesty it’s not one I’ve been hooked on/about. In typical Japanese RPG fashion, the talking goes on and on and whilst I’m happy with it in Persona 5/Persona 5 Royal, it’s something I don’t like for Pokemon. Due to this, I’ve mostly skimmed the story, which in itself is a shame. This being said I really do enjoy and love the game, bugs aside too! I’ve recommend it to so many people, it’s definitely one to play as a Pokemon fan, especially if you love RPG.

Just a few of my favourite things…

Pokemon Center Vulpix Plush.

I was so happy to get my hands on this Pokemon plushie at the end of January. It’s been on my plushie grail list for as long as I can remember and after January payday, I decided to finally order one! This cost me less than £20 with shipping from Japan and I’m so glad I finally decided to get it! It’s from the Chiku Chiku Sewing collection from 2015 and I didn’t realise when buying it that it was new with tags, which is even better. I had some people online query if it was a fake plush, which was a tad annoying, but alas it’s very much real.

Ghost Foxes Bishop Longline Dress

Image taken from Black Milk Clothing. Unfortunately I don’t have any decent pictures of me wearing this yet… 😦

Black Milk Clothing Ghost Foxes Bishop Longline Dress.

This is a dress I decided to get to replace the Ghost Foxes Mini Strappy Dress, (which I have since sold) I bought back in July 2021. Although I’d removed the tags and washed it, I’ve never actually worn it and seeing the bishop dress style come out, I knew I had to get it. I LOVE the bishop style and already own three dresses in this cut, this one making it four. I’m planning to wear this dress for both work as well as in general. With it being white, it may be more the latter and especially for days out where I’m not eating or drinking anything that could stain and ruin this dress considering it’s white. I also picked up the longline so that it’s longer on me. The normal bishop cuts are okay on me, but if I can have a dress longer, I’ll always go for it! The length of this is amazing, it felt a little bit too long at first to me as I’m not quite used to it, but it’ll be perfect for work especially! The print is beautiful too with the ghost foxes on it. Foxes are my favourite animal, so I’m always a sucker for pieces with them on.

Cute outfits/clothes.

This is something I’m going to talk about in more detail in a couple of weeks on a post but I swear, getting myself some new staple pieces has been a big thing for me in 2022 so far. I don’t know what it is but I decided this year that I would love to do more with my style and change it up a bit. I’ve spent a lot of the past two years wearing the same baggy joggers, t-shirts and hoodies due to Covid and I want to change that. I want to dress up for the sake of it and feel cute whilst doing so, plus I think it would really do my mental health some good. I feel like a lot of pastel and cute prints have come into my wardrobe and I’m so excited to wear them all for work, as well as in general. If you want to see some of the stuff I picked up during February, make sure to keep eyes peeled for that post in a few weeks! For the time being, I’ve popped some of the items I’ll be talking about soon above, including Tallulah’s Threads, Disturbia and The Sad Ghost Club.

New enamel pins.

I ordered a couple of new enamel pins recently which was nice! I don’t know why but I feel like enamel pin purchasing has definitely slowed down a little, which is always good as quite frankly, I’m running out of space!

The sausage dog pin from MossFrogPress has been on my favourites list on Etsy for as long as I can remember. I made some monies from selling some pins at the end of 2021 so I decided to use the money I made to pick up this pin. As it was coming from America, the shipping was more expensive than the item itself, so this wasn’t a cheap pin in that aspect. Definitely worth it now! It’s such a cute pin I get to look at everyday when I get ready.

I finally decided to back FoxLeap’s enamel pin club on Patreon at the end of January so I could snag the Patreon exclusive Lady puppy pin that Sophie had made. Not only did I get my Lady pin (as this was a freebie), I also got a The Cat Returns pin too (which I chose), some prints and even a freebie Alolan Ninetales pin and mini pin! Sophie is one of the kindest and most generous people I know and definitely an enamel pin artist you should check out. Her Patreon is all about you picking what you would like that month, from a list of choices. No one else (as far as I’m aware…) offers this type of pin club.

Finally this is an enamel pin from Depop that I snagged second hand. This enamel pin is by Sugarbones, a Canadian artist I adore! I love her Studio Ghibli and Animal Crossing designs, but she decided in 2021 that she would move away from fan themed pieces, so whenever I see one I missed out on previously, I’m going to try and snag! Haku is my favourite Studio Ghibli character, so any gorgeous pins I see with him on, I have to buy! 😀

Kawaii AF Kickstarter campaigns!

Finally I’m here to share some adorable Kickstarter campaigns I’ve joined or at least had my eye on joining. They’re all so cute! I told myself in 2022 I wouldn’t back as many Kickstarter campaigns to try and save money, but some are just too adorable not to.

Project image for Toast the Raccoon Cute Plushie Toys + Keychains

Image taken from Kickstarter.

Toast the Raccoon Cute Plushie Toys + Keychains – link (ends April 8th 2022).

This campaign is adorable and straight away as soon as it launched I backed it! It’s by Yencat and is based off of her popular and original character Toast, who as you can see is a raccoon. I LOVE raccoons, they’re my spirit animal due to their love of food and being chubby, I can relate to both of those. 😛 Yencat decided to create a plushie Toast, as well as an enamel pin and plushie keychain. I’ve backed for all of them and already counting down the days until it arrives! The Kickstarter ends in April, so if you like the look of this campaign, you have plenty of time to check it out and back it yourself.

Project image for Delicows ~ enamel pins & more

Image taken from Kickstarter.

Delicows ~ enamel pins & more – link (ends March 19th 2022).

I’m pretty sure I mentioned this briefly on my post about Quirkory and their Patreon pin club (you can read all about it here) but if I didn’t, I’m mentioning it again as earlier this week Quirkory released a new Kickstarter campaign, all about cows! Delicows is a mixture between delicious (food and drinks) and cows. Hence, Delicow! There are loads of different types of designs to choose from and I’ve backed for five of the designs in question, Cowpuccino (ideally one with Shugarlump), Moocha Latte, Cowreo, Peppermint Moocha Latte and maybe Darcowness. It feels like there’s a design for everyone in this collection and considering there are 24 plus designs to unlock there’s plenty of choice for everyone!

Images taken from Kickstarter.

Cute Animal Knitted Sweaters and Enamel Pins – link (ends March 3rd 2022).

This is a Kickstarter campaign by Dogzsquadarts I really like the look of at the moment and one I’m tempted to back before it ends in a couple of days! I am trying to be better with my money in 2022 and so far, it’s been going really well! I’ve already bought a shit ton of clothes and I don’t know if I want to buy anymore due to this fact. This being said, two of the pieces from this campaign are adorable and I do feel like I’d love at least one of them in my wardrobe! There’s the Shiba Inu sweater, as well as the Golden Retriever cardigan that I would love to get, but… I don’t know if I can justify it? I’m going to see how I feel about it, they’d both be adorable to get but unfortunately they aren’t pieces I could wear to work, otherwise that would probably spur me on more.

So there we have it guys, my favourites from February! What did you guys love throughout February? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

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

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FoxLeap – More Lady and Tramp Enamel Pins!

It feels like it has been far too long since I wrote a blog post about enamel pins (Quirkory in February) and we are well overdue for another now!

I pre-ordered these two enamel pins from FoxLeap whilst I was in Japan and due to Coronavirus, they arrive a little later than planned. This didn’t bother me and in all fairness it was to be expected.

I still love my Lady and the Tramp pin I backed through Kickstarter (you can read about it here) last year from FoxLeap, so when I saw that she had brought out two more designs to do with the movie, I knew I had to buy.

Sophie, the person behind Foxleap designed a Scamp and Angel pin, as well as the three female pups, Annette, Collette, and Danielle pin. I knew I needed both, no matter what.

They arrived at the start of May and I haven’t been able to stop looking at them since. I know how much I love writing about my enamel pin purchases, as well as sharing amazing artists with you guys too. PLUS I know how many of you loved the first time I spoke about Foxleap on my blog, so I knew I had to share these enamel pins with you all.

Sophie also sent me some goodies for free as an apology for how long I waited for my pins to arrive, as well as some pins as a pick me up during everything that is going on with coronavirus, which was so lovely of her! I’m actually going to gift some of these pins to friends. 🙂 FYI when I say sent goods for free they were not sent for review purposes.

Right, let me share the pins with you all!

These both came in two separate packages, but I wanted to show them off all together.

The first package I received was a thank you package and a “coronavirus” package if you will. The one that Sophie sent me (which she sent to everyone who had/made an order) contained some duplicates of the Lady and the Tramp II pins I ordered, as well as a print, some stickers and a Simba and Nala pin.

Then I received another package from Sophie which was my actual order. Due to how long I was waited for my pins to arrive, Sophie was kind enough to offer me a free pin, as well as some free stickers. I opted for some of the fox stickers, as well as one of her Pokemon pins that I’d actually been toying with ordering around Christmas.

The two prints I was sent in both packages are gorgeous, but I seriously cannot get over the Scamp and Angel one that was included. I adore it so much and have placed it up in our bedroom so I can look at it. It reminds me of when I was in my final year of primary school and how hard it was. My mom bought me Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp’s Adventure on video and even got me a cute plush of Scamp (which is still at my mom’s somewhere!) and it cheered me up so much. I watched the film loads and adored it. So, this print reminds me of that period in my life. Plus, the detailing on it is adorable!

I was also sent the Okami print! I have always wanted to play this game and now it’s out on the Switch too, I may finally take the plunge and buy it. This print is also available on a t-shirt, which I’ll link here.

As always, Sophie pops a lovely message on the back of the prints with “Thank you” as well as “stay safe”. This is such a lovely touch and it always makes me smile.

I was also sent some stickers (as I mentioned previously), which I adore! The sticker sheets from Foxleap are adorable and they make me happy to look at.

I was kindly sent the fox and one of the two dog sticker sheets. I’ve already stuck some of these on my new iPad case and they really do add something adorable to it… Not that it doesn’t already have it. 😛

Finally, let’s talk about the enamel pins!

Scamp and Angel (link)

This pin is adorable and considering how the Lady and the Tramp pin looks, this has really worked well alongside the original! The original design also had a heart, so it’s nice to see that there is a heart between Scamp and Angel too. This scene is meant to be from when they’ve both been for food and are walking through the park. The design is just perfect and I especially love the light blue colour for Angel’s eyes.

The enamel pin is gold plated, and although I’m not the biggest fan of gold, it isn’t obvious with this pin and if anything, it works really well with both of the pups colour schemes.

Lady Pups (link)

The lady pups pin is very much different from both Lady and Tramp and Scamp and Angel, but I put this down to the fact there are three pups to incorporate AND we don’t know a whole lot about them from the film. However, I feel like we do also get the personalities of the three puppies and it works so well due to that. I really love the design, it’s so cute.

The enamel pin is rose gold plated, which I feel compliments the puppies colours so much.

Nickit (link)

I love Pokemon and whilst I’m not the biggest fan of the new Pokemon series Sword and Shield games, I did really fall in love with this new fox type Pokemon. I kept Nickit for as long as I could before evolving and it really is one of my favourite things about the new games. I’m so glad to finally have this pin, the Nickit looks a little grumpy, even though I know it doesn’t mean to. It’s perfect!

Simba and Nala

Finally we have a Lion King pin and it’s Simba and Nala. This was part of the Kickstarter design I backed last year for my Lady and the Tramp design. It’s so cute, with Simba and Nala looking at each other in a loving way and with their tails making a heart shape together. I don’t know if I’ll keep this design or if I’ll gift it to one of my friends… I’ll see how I feel as I am growing rather fond of the design myself.

Since my review back in late 2019, I have purchased from FoxLeap a few more times and each and every time she has been lovely and delivered, especially recently considering the circumstances. Sophie is an amazing designer and seller and it’s why I wanted to show off the latest enamel pins I picked up from her.

I’m going to pop any social media and store links down below for FoxLeap. Although I’ve linked it throughout the post, it’s always good to have stuff together too.

Store

Etsy Store

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

What do you guys think of FoxLeap? They sell some really cute enamel pins, as well as t-shirts, stickers, notebooks and keyrings. They don’t just design Disney either! They also design Pokemon too, so make sure to go and check out their store!

As I said on my previous post, I’ll definitely purchase from Fox Leap again, as well as for friends, which I did around Christmas. Sophie’s designs are amazing! BUT I am still after a Meeko and Flit design from Pocahontas as well as Dumbo. 😛

What pin(s) would you pick up from Fox Leap if you could? 🙂 Make sure to let me know in the comments down below!

Until next time all, take care and stay safe!

OH and have an amazing bank holiday. 🙂

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FoxLeap – Lady and Tramp Enamel Pin

Enamel pin collecting really became a thing for me in 2018 and although my collecting has calmed down LOADS this year, I still order pins that are unique or designs I don’t already own. This enamel pin from FoxLeap is one of those!

I’m not the biggest Disney fan in the world and I much prefer Studio Ghibli and other anime style films. However, I can’t deny that I do love to watch Disney films when the mood takes me and I own a handful of my favourites on DVD. These include, Dumbo, Oliver & Company, 101 Dalmatians, Pocahontas and of course Lady and the Tramp, which is my favourite Disney film.

Since 2018 when my enamel pin collecting began, I was always keeping my eyes peeled for a gorgeous design of Lady and the Tramp together, or even separately. Of course, Disney have their own enamel pins of them but I’m more for supporting independent artists with unique designs. Let’s face it, Disney just use images from promotional items and various stock photos.

From memory, I think I had been following FoxLeap on Instagram as I can’t remember how I stumbled across the Animals of Animation: Enamel Pin Set Kickstarter she set up to sell a bunch of gorgeous Disney style enamel pins.

I waited for Lady and the Tramp to be fully funded before I backed the campaign but I then had a while to wait for the enamel pin I ordered to be produced, as well as a free Lady pin and some stickers to make their way to FoxLeap before I could receive my goodies!

Finally nearly a couple of months ago I received my goodies, which I knew I had to share with you on my blog post today. Every time I look at my Lady and the Tramp and Lady pins they make me so happy!

In my package I received my Lady and the Tramp enamel pin, a limited edition Lady pin that was only available for people who backed the Kickstarter, two sticker sheets and even a cute thank you card from Sophie, the owner of FoxLeap.

Through backing on the Kickstarter we all had 15 designs to choose from:

Image taken from Kickstarter

Image taken from Kickstarter

I love that there were a couple of non Disney related films in there – such as All Dogs Go To Heaven, which in turn is a film my mom introduced me to during the Christmas holidays as a kid. I fell in love with it and she made sure I had it on video to watch. I do love the Charlie pin style!

As I’ve mentioned, I backed the Kickstarter for the Lady and the Tramp pin, so when it arrived I was so damn excited! I love when I back Kickstarter enamel pin campaigns and seeing the owners of the campaigns sharing the pins on their social media platforms, especially Instagram.

This pin made me so happy when I saw it in the package and the first thing I thought of was how adorable the dog couple looked. They’re sitting next to one another, giving each other a loving look – which is confirmed by the cute little red heart above their heads.

The special Lady pin that was designed purely for people who backed the Kickstarter and it’s such a cute little pin, it’s perfect to me! It’s just of Lady’s head with a little speech bubble coming from her mouth, that contains a heart.

Both pins are rose gold plated, which I love! I’m not a fan of gold in general, so when pins are plated on that I’m not 100% keen. The rose gold compliments them both really well! Alongside this the enamel pins themselves are so soft to the touch, which feels really nice. Not all pins I own feel nice when I hold them in my hand. Even Dane said how nice these feel when  being held. They also both come with two pins on the back with black rubber clasps. I like that Fox Leap decided to do this with the Lady pin, because even though it’s tired, you know you have more “security” I suppose when pinning this to clothing, bags, etc.

The one thing I really admire with these pins is that all 15 designs that came out of the Kickstarter (and the limited edition Lady pin) had their own special backing card designed. This was such a lovely touch and to this day I haven’t seen any other enamel pin artists/sellers do this.

For the Lady and the Tramp pin the backing card is at night, with a full moon at the top and “Bella Notte” above their heads and for the Lady pin it has a thank you message from Sophie, which I thought was a lovely touch!

As I mentioned, alongside these pins I also received some stickers! I’m pretty sure as a backer of the Kickstarter I was only supposed to receive one, but I actually received two! I got a sticker set I really wanted, alongside the one that everyone received.

The sticker sheet that everyone received contains some of the Disney dogs, including Angel and Scamp (Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp’s Adventure) Lady and Tramp (Lady and the Tramp) and Georgette and Dodger (Oliver & Company).

The additional sticker sheet I received is one that has loads of cute foxes on! As I’ve said many a time, foxes are my favourite animal (alongside dogs) so I was so pleased to receive this set! There is one Disney dog on this sticker sheet though… But I can understand why. 😛

The Disney foxes sticker set includes Vixie, Todd and Copper (Fox and the Hound), Nick (Zootopia) and Robin Hood and Marian (Robin Hood). Honestly, Robin Hood is by far my favourite! He’s so damn cute and I would love if Fox Leap brought out a charm like this!

Finally we have the cute little thank you postcard that was also in my package. It has Todd and Conner from Fox and the Hound running through a field and it’s just adorable! I plan to hang it up on my notice board in the office. 🙂 It has a little thank you message on the back too, which is always lovely to receive.

So those are the goodies I backed from the Kickstarter, as well as any extra bits I received in my parcel!

I loved this Kickstarter so much and so excited for it to arrive.

I’m going to pop any social media and store links down below for Fox Leap. Although I’ve linked it throughout the post, it’s always good to have stuff together too.

Store

Etsy Store

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

What do you guys think of Fox Leap? They sell some really cute enamel pins, as well as t-shirts, stickers, notebooks and keyrings. They don’t just design Disney either! They also design Pokemon and have recently held another Kickstarter campaign for some Pokemon “pups” designs!

I’ll definitely purchase from Fox Leap again, as their designs are adorable! I’d love to see a Meeko and Flit design from Pocahontas as well as Dumbo.

What pin(s) would you pick up from Fox Leap if you could? 😀 Make sure to let me know in the comments down below!

Until next time, take care all and I hope you had a lovely weekend!

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