Christmas 2019 Wish List

Last Christmas I decided to do a wish list post about what I wanted as a teenager for Christmas in comparison to what I wanted now. I would love to do something like this now, but I honestly don’t think I can top what I did last year. That post was perfect and I loved it so much!

This year when I’ve been asked what I’d like for Christmas, it’s been kinda hard to decide… With our trip coming up soon I’m trying to save a lot of money for that and when it comes down to having anything for myself, I honestly can’t think of anything I want… So this year has been tough.

Not just for myself, but I’ve struggled to buy Dane’s Christmas presents this year! I wanted to make sure he had loads of exciting things to open, that he wouldn’t even think of buying himself, so I hope he loves what he’s been gifted with! πŸ˜€

Anyhoo, my list is very geeky and Japan heavy! πŸ˜›

  • Nintendo Switch Taiko no Tatsujin.

This is a game I have wanted for quite a while now and I’m pretty sure it’s one I have mentioned on my blog from time to time on wish list posts. I am putting it on here for Christmas as I STILL want it! This is a game I have tried the demo of and loved, it was fun and I could see myself playing it both on my Switch Lite as well as on Dane’s Switch console with the drum attachment. I’m not crazily after it, but it would be nice to have. Sadly, it isn’t cheap and whenever I found it cheap I just couldn’t justify it. 😦

  • Nintendo Switch Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires’ Conspiracy.

This is a game I discovered not long after I bought my Switch Lite back at the start of November and it’s one I am intrigued by. I do enjoy puzzles games and the Layton games are always a series that has intrigued me, but one I just never invested in… I have a feeling this is a gift I will be receiving for Christmas, which will be really nice! I always love getting games for Christmas as it’s sort of a tradition. My parents or brother(s) would always buy me a game for my console of choice at the time, so I always loved spending Christmas and Boxing Day playing them.

  • Juniper: The Happiest Fox 2020 Wall Calendar.

Dane always buys me a calendar for the year ahead, no ifs or buts. It’s definitely a tradition we have now and it’s one I love! For a while he always bought me a Simon’s Cat calendar, then for a time it was Pusheen and now we have settled onto Juniper! I love foxes and Juniper is a fox I especially love, alongside her brother Fig, who is in this calendar! I can’t wait to write loads of stuff on it already of everything we have coming up during 2020.

  • PlayStation 4 Persona 3 and 5 Endless Night Collection.

This isn’t a gift I’m SUPER psyched about having, but due to my love of the Persona series, it is a game I would enjoy having to play at home! It includes both the Persona 3 and Persona 5 dance games on the PS4, as well as a download code for the Persona 4 dance game for PS4 too! I actually already own this on the PS Vita, but having it on the PS4 would be so much better.

  • Nichijou Manga Volume 9 and 10.

This is a manga series that now seems to have finished on volume 10. I only need 9 and 10 to finish my series for Nichijou, which is a manga (and anime series) that I love! This is a manga series that Dane has bought me since we got together and I do love receiving these from him each Christmas. I doubt very much I will get them this year, but even so in 2020 I will definitely pick these up for myself.

  • Nendoroid Figures:
  • Star Wars Han Solo
  • Star Wars Luke Skywalker
  • Star Wars Rey
  • Star Wars BB-8
  • Star Wars Princess Leia

I always ask for a Nendoroid figure (or two) during Christmas and my birthday, but this year I REALLY struggled! I’ve either pre-ordered or own the Persona 5 series and some I want are hard to find now. I do hope I get one, maybe even two of the Star Wars Nendoroid figures. Apparently I do have a Nendoroid figure for Christmas… But I can’t for the life of me think which one it could be!

I think that’s about it for my Christmas wish list this year! I feel like I’ve been rather boring, but to be honest I have been a bit stumped on what I would like for Christmas with my trip to Japan looming.

I’ve also struggled to buy for people this year for so many reasons! It’s really sucked to be honest. xD

What do you have on your Christmas lists this year? Jesty ideas are welcome too (aka new car, a pet etc).

Until next time, Merry Christmas all and I hope you have a lovely day whatever you do. πŸ™‚

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How To Make Your Dinner Table Geeky This Christmas

It’s only a couple more days until Christmas now and I still don’t know if I’m even in the Christmas spirit yet… You know? I don’t know what it’s been this year, I think I’ve just been far too busy with work and in general to get festive. That or I’m just getting to be an old Grinch… πŸ˜›

I’m trying to get into the Christmas spirit though so today I’m bringing a collab post to you all! Me and Sarah over at Raiin Monkey decided to do another collab post for Christmas again! We did last year and I loved it so much, so much so I knew we had to work together again to bring you our posts today.

Sarah’s going to write about how to make your home geeky this Christmas and I’m going to write how to make your dinner table geeky for Christmas Day!

I’m having Christmas dinner at home for the first time this year, so I’m rather excited to cook for me and Dane! This geeky dinner table guide from myself will be handy if like me this is also your first Christmas at home where you’re having dinner. πŸ™‚

I really hope you enjoy this geek related Christmas post! πŸ˜€

  • Original Stormtrooper Espresso Mug Set – (link)

Personally I love coffee, but I has espresso. It just isn’t for me. I do understand some people do really like it though and especially love to have it after a meal. I don’t know anyone who has had an espresso after a Christmas meal to be honest with you, but I know there’s someone out there who does it… There has to be! Maybe you’re one of those people? If so these espresso mugs will be right up your street! Hey! If you don’t use them for espresso, they’ll make great glasses for some strong liquor to go into, such as Bailey’s or maybe some Jack Daniels or Disaronno. I’d certainly go for the latter. πŸ˜‰

  • Geeki Tikis Mugs Marvel Deadpool and Star Wars R2-D2 – (link) and (link)

I LOVE these Geeki Tiki mugs so much and they’d make a great addition to your home all year around, as well as Christmas. If you love making cocktails like I do, these will be perfect throughout Christmas Day! When I lived at home I’d always make me and mom a pina colada each to drink throughout the day. These geeky tiki mugs would be perfect for that, as well as other cocktails and beverages! There’s loads of mugs to choose from but the two I love the most are Deadpool and R2-D2.

  • Star Wars Shadow Trooper Bluetooth Speaker – (link)

As much as I’ve had enough of Christmas music now (after hearing every single possible Christmas song thanks to Magic FM…) I’m pretty much done for a couple of years now. πŸ˜› However, I know a lot of people like to have Christmas music on throughout Christmas Day. Me and Dane have an Amazon Echo now so if we want some music on throughout the day we can just ask Alexa, however now everyone has that luxury. This Shadow Trooper speaker is pretty damn cool and even if you don’t have this for yourself in the house, it would also make an amazing gift for any music lover! You can have this on near the dinner table and listen to as much cheesy Christmas music as you want. πŸ˜›

  • Shaun Of The Dead Winchester Tavern Pint Bottle Opener – (link)

I am a MASSIVE fan of Shaun Of The Dead! It reminds me of when I was a teenager and studying my GCSE’s! When I lived at home we were always losing or misplacing our bottle opener and like most people on Christmas, we all drink a LOT of alcohol! This is just a cool and quirky bottle opener, not even so much geeky to be fair but I really like it.

  • Star Wars Stormtrooper Cheeseboard and Knife Set – (link)

Who doesn’t love some cheese on Christmas? Or anytime of year in fact! πŸ˜› I remember last Christmas Dane’s family having a bit of a cheese selection after dinner, where I remember me eating all of the Applewood, because Applewood chedder is the God of chedder. πŸ˜› This cheeseboard is pretty amazing as it looks gorgeous and inside it has loads of different edible tools for cheese. It’s just perfect for any geeky Christmas table!

  • Marvel Deadpool Salt & Pepper Shakers – (link)

I was so close to buying these a week ago when I popped into Nostalgia Comics in Birmingham town centre! I love Deadpool and having Deadpool themed things in my house is always something good to have. πŸ˜› These aren’t over the top but will stand out on the table for Christmas dinner and the good thing is these can be used all year around too. I know some people who have Christmas themed salt and pepper shakers and it’s just pointless for one day really.

  • Pokemon Pikachu Cake Pan – (link)

Finally we have a Pokemon item on this list! I thought I would have had loads of Pokemon items on here for Christmas but could I find much? Could I bugger! The reason this cake pan is included in here is because I know not everyone likes Christmas pudding, myself included in there. I’m thinking of making some chocolate brownies Christmas Eve ready for Christmas Day. If I had it my way I’d make a chocolate cake using this Pikachu cake pan. πŸ˜› It’s just so adorable and you could do so much with it come Christmas Day.

So there you have it, all my ideas of how you can geek up your table on Christmas Day! I know they’re not the best suggestions in the world, but they’re my suggestions and the best I could find so close to Christmas to be fair. πŸ˜›

Do you think you’ll geek up your table for Christmas Day? I don’t know if me and Dane will. We have a funky table cloth and some napkins, but that’s about it so far.

Again I want to say a MASSIVE thank you to Sarah for collaborating with me again! She’s one of my best friends of the blogging world and I do love her so much. πŸ™‚

Are you ready for Christmas? Let me know in the comments what your plans are for Christmas and how you intend to spend the day!

Until next time all, take care and I hope you’re ready for the weekend, I know I am after a long and busy week of work. πŸ˜›

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Two Unique Firebox Gifts You Should Buy For Her This Christmas*

I can’t believe we are a day away from being into the first week of December! I can’t believe how quick the month is already going and before we know it, it’ll be Christmas Day.

BUT have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? You might have some relatives to buy for, a best friend, someone you work with or maybe even a Secret Santa you need to find a gift for. I’m actually off shopping with one of my best friends this evening as we both have some last minute gifts to pick up.

I recently spoke to Firebox about wanting to work with them on a Christmas post and after some email exchanges I picked two items which I thought you guys may like the look of, for so many reasons.

So I thought today I would talk about the two items I was sent from Firebox, as well as why I think they’re both great Christmas present gifts for teenagers, younger and older women.

If there is one store I always go to for quirky and different gift ideas for anyone I always head to Firebox. Hey, I even buy myself stuff from there from time to time too. πŸ˜›

They have an amazing gifts for her section, as well as some unusual Christmas gifts too! The two items I chose are from the gifts for her section.

As you’re already aware, today’s post is about great gifts you can get for the girl/woman in your life and I’m going to be talking about two items today that are both different, in their own ways!

The first item I’m going to talk about is the Heart Waffle Maker*, which costs Β£24.99.

We love this brilliant machine a waffle lot. It’s a fact: you can’t make waffles without a waffle maker. Well, you could try, but good luck replicating their unique grid pattern and maintaining a uniform shape. With this hot pink delight, you can make up to five waffles in mere minutes from the comfort of your own kitchen. Why settle for the inferior dry ones from the shops when you could be feasting on delicious creations made your way? That’s right, get ready for Instagram worthy matcha, activated-charcoal, or rainbow waffles. Eat your heart out, Creams.Β Description taken from Firebox.com

You may think, “Nat what made you think a heart waffle maker was a good gift idea?” Well… Why not?! I know for a fact I don’t speak for myself when I say how much I love waffles! If there is one thing I love receiving for Christmas it’s items I can make use out of throughout the year and a waffle maker can not only be a great present for a food lover, but especially a food lover at Christmas!

As this heart waffle maker is a gorgeous pastel pink colour, this will make the ideal gift for a teenager who always holds sleepovers and wants to make yummy waffles. This is also a great gift for a couple who love food and women who love to cook. Of course anyone who has a pink theme for their kitchen will adore this pink heart waffle maker. PLUS who doesn’t want a heart shaped waffle, eh? πŸ˜›

I’ve already made loads of waffles for me and Dane with this and whilst it takes some getting used to at first, it is SO EASY to use and super easy to clean too. I plan to show how I make chicken and waffles and maybe even some chocolate waffles, so keep eyes peeled for that. πŸ˜›

I love how on the Firebox website it recommends how you can make all sorts of different waffles, including matcha, charcoal and even rainbow ones! I love the thought of making a rainbow waffle.

For just under Β£25 I think this would make a great gift for a teenager or someone who loves food. It’s just the perfect gift to get for a girl or woman that is hard to buy for, but who loves food.

The second item I chose and the one I was super excited to receive is the Elodie the Unicorn Light Up Umbrella*, which costs Β£29.99. This is also an exclusive product to Firebox!

It’s a big fat cliche but we Brits are no strangers to rain, so you can rest assured we know how to make a damn good umbrella. Sprinkle a little bit of fairy dust into the brolly machine and you get this! Elodie, our favourite unicorn, is back in the form of this perfect parasol that lights up and changes colour when in contact with water! Simply flick the little switch on the handle to illuminate the multicolour LEDs – there’s even a dimmer switch if you want romantic mood lighting for your rainy stroll. As for the liquid reactive bits, the cute little clusters of hearts and stars on take on ombre rainbow hues when in contact with water. And there’s a lot of them to go round with that 34” diameter so prepare your eyes for a full spectrum magical unicorn lightshow.Β Description taken from Firebox.com

I’m a massive fan of Elodie the Unicorn and I knew I had to share this wonderful thing with you guys on my blog! I’m really funny when it comes to umbrellas, as in I always like to have a unique one for whenever I need to use one. I also love this style of umbrella too as I find they’re just adorable and different. I remember when I was at college and this style of umbrella first came out in shops and markets. I fell in love and had a couple of them that I used on and off. They fast blew inside out and broke, long gone. πŸ˜›

This light up umbrella is so different though and as of yet I have never seen anything like it to date. As the description for this umbrella states, we in the UK are definitely not surprised when it rains, so why not have a glam brolly to use whenever we get any?! It chucked it down with rain earlier this week and thankfully I didn’t get soaked, thanks to my car and running from it to my workplace. πŸ˜›

Not only does this umbrella light up though with the simple push of a button by the handle, but it also has a cute unicorn face, and the gold part at the top of the umbrella resembles the unicorn horn! It also has liquid-reactive patterns all on the umbrella itself which change colour when rain water gets into contact with it. Could you honestly ask for anything cuter?!

So with all the crappy rain we get in the UK I think this light up umbrella would make a perfect gift for a girl, teenager or woman of any age group!

This would make a great gift for someone in education, especially secondary school for when it’s getting dark earlier and they have to walk home from school. Not only would the umbrella stop them getting soaked, but it would also have the lights on, which would help when crossing the road, getting around and maybe even if their friends or family are meeting them somewhere.

This umbrella also seems like such an awesome novelty for an adult too, especially if they’re like me and love anything cute and adorable like this and I know for a fact others would feel the same about it too.

Let’s not forget, mermaids and unicorns have blown up these past few years, so any unicorn lover out there would definitely love to receive this umbrella.

The one thing I will say about this umbrella is that the images on Firebox’s website don’t do it justice not just for how big it actually is, but also for how amazing the lights are on it! They’re incredibly bright and colourful, very kawaii!

I was going to talk about more items that I feel you should buy, but I’m actually going to save that for another post where I recommend gifts you should buy for the geeky girls and guys in your lives! πŸ˜›

What do you think of the items that Firebox sent me? Do you think they’re unique gifts that you could see yourself buying for someone? If so who would you buy them for and why? I want to know so make sure to let me know in the comments!

I just want a say a MASSIVE THANK YOU to Firebox for working with me. I have loved this brand for years and it has taken some massive confidence growth this year for me to built up the encouragement to email them, expressing how much I would love to work with them and why.

Until next time, take care all and I hope you’re ready for the weekend!

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5th Anniversary

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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What I Got For My 28th Birthday

It’s that time of year when not only do I talk about what I received for Christmas and what I picked up in the Boxing Day sales, but also what I received for my birthday!

I am now 28 and although I’m not arsed I think it’s been a wake up call this year for me and Dane that we aren’t getting any younger and that we probably need to start thinking about our future… YUCK ADULTING! That’s for another post though!

My birthday this year was an odd one. I wasn’t very well the week before it and I wasn’t particularly 100% after it either. Even on the day when out and about for the day I had sinusitis, which really sucked. For the day though we didn’t do anything exciting, just went around Birmingham for the day, had some food and then came home with Japanese takeaway to eat whilst we watched Your Name. It was lovely and I couldn’t have asked for anything better to be honest with you.

The first thing I did in the morning was open the presents that Dane and his parents bought for me, which was lovely.

Dane’s parents bought me Nichijou Volume 3 and 4 which was really unexpected! I haven’t read the manga for a while and I really do need to keep up with it, especially with how cheap you can pick each volume up on Wordery.

They also bought me the South Park Mysterion figure which had a really lovely story behind it too! We’d been shopping with his parents in town before I started my new job and we’d seen the figure at half the price and I got excited about us getting it. Me and Dane both said no though however due to wanting to watch money for Christmas. We ventured downstairs in the shop to look around at manga and Dane’s parents stayed upstairs to look at Star Wars stuff. A while later and ages after we’d left the shop I noticed Dane’s mom had a bag from the store and I asked what she’d bought, to which she replied, “Oh nothing my bag broke so they gave me this one.” SUCH A GOOD LIE! I believed it and apparently they all worried I wouldn’t. This was lovely to receive though and me and Dane plan to pop it on our fireplace.

Then I opened Dane’s presents and again I received more manga! He bought me Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid Volume 4 and 5 as well as A Polar Bear In Love Volume 1, which I have wanted for AGES! I was so excited at receiving it that I started reading it not long after opening my presents.

I was gutted that he didn’t buy me Your Name Volume 2 as that’s a manga I am loving right now, but bless him he ordered it there and then as he wasn’t sure if his parents has bought it for me. When this arrived in the post recently a calendar he’d bought me for Christmas also arrived so I thought I would include that here. It’s the Juniper Fox calendar and it’s so cute! I can’t wait to hang this up in the house.

I was meant to have a Nendoroid to open up on the day but sadly it didn’t arrive until after my birthday which I didn’t mind to be honest, but it bugged Dane. He bought me the Ash and Pikachu Nendoroid which I am so happy with! I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday present.

Everyone at the office got me a card for my birthday as well as a bottle of Disaronno, which I thought was so lovely of them all! πŸ˜€ I’ve never had anything like that at a work place before so it really made my day when I opened it in the morning of my birthday.

My brother and my mom bought my presents a little late as I don’t think they quite knew what to get for me. My mom ended up giving me some money which really did come in handy as I’m skint at the moment! My car needing to have its MOT AND tax didn’t exactly help matters either, but meh whatever.

I only thought that myΒ  mom was giving me the money for my birthday but alas I was wrong as she also gifted me something that I originally thought was from my brother and whoever it was from, a the time I couldn’t have asked for anything better to be honest. For ages I have wanted the red delicate heart ring from Pandora but never bothered buying it for a few reasons, but the main one being that I’d never get the chance to wear it due to working in retail and hospitality. You aren’t allowed to wear any jewellery so I never bothered. Now I’m in admin work I can wear jewellery, which includes rings. I mentioned to Dane that I’d like this ring and in turn mentioned it in passing to my mom too, who then mentioned it to my brother. I found out my size in Pandora and told my brother what size I wanted and alas, here we are now! I got it for my middle finger and I love it so much. It’s so comfortable to wear and delicate which is what I wanted. I am a bit on the paranoid side that it’s a little too big for my finger but I’m going to see how it wears for a week. The first time I wore it was out on a food shop and I had no issues really, which was good. I can see me getting this ring has set off a new addiction and love for Pandora rings… πŸ˜›

Finally we come to what my brother got for me for my birthday! He also bought me something from Pandora but he bought me a Pandora charm. I didn’t have a clue which one however as he wanted it to be a surprise! So when I opened the box and saw it was a cute little Japanese Doll I fell in love with it straight away. I didn’t know what to expect to be honest with you and for a while I did wonder if he’d bought me a Disney charm as for ages I haven’t even known which Pandora charms I’ve wanted lately. He really hit the nail on the head with this charm however and I really do like it. It’s a dangling one and it’s so dainty and sweet! I don’t think my brother has ever bought me a Pandora charm before so this will always remind me of him when I wear this bracelet. What makes it even nicer in a way is that this charm is now discontinued (apparently anyway…) so it’s nice to think that it isn’t available anymore. A lot of my charms are discontinued ones now. πŸ˜›

So that was EVERYTHING I got for my birthday! I’m so grateful to my family and friends for their gifts and I always appreciate everything they do for me throughout the year. They really do make me feel spoilt.

I hope 2018 is going off to a good start for everyone! Sadly I cannot say the same considering I’ve been poorly since New Years Day with 4 different things… It really sucks. 😦

Anyways until next time, take care all and have an awesome week!

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What I Got For Christmas!

Christmas is nearly over and bloody hell it went by fast! I can’t believe we’ve had the three magical days fly by us and leave a coating of snow behind.

I hope all of my readers and blogger friends had an amazing Christmas and (although it isn’t important) I hope everyone got what they wanted for Christmas! I know I did and more!

So, (as pretty much most bloggers do now!) I thought I would write about what lovely gifts I got from Dane, my family and friends this Christmas.

I want to disclose here that this is by any means me showing off what I got this year and I never feel like when I read fellow bloggers posts, or watch YouTube videos about it that people are meaning to show off. I love reading and seeing what my fellow bloggers received (as I’m a nosey bitch! :P) as it’s nice to see goodies they’ve wished for throughout the year as well as special meaning behind them! If you feel this is me showing off, click off of this post now because, ain’t nobody got time for that!

NOW! On with the post!

When writing this post I haven’t actually received all my gifts and one of my best friends still hasn’t been able to give me hers, but I’ll be seeing her around my birthday so I can definitely mention it then!

The first gift I want to talk about is the gorgeous little Sylveon print that Sarah over at Raiin Monkey sent me in the post! I wasn’t expecting it and it’s so sweet of her! I’m going to pop it up in the office somewhere so I can look at it whilst doing blog work. πŸ™‚

My friend Jacqui was able give me hers from both her and her boyfriend Chris and it was such a thoughtful and beautiful gift! It may not look like much to many, but we’ve had quite a few cocktail evenings together and my cocktail shaker isn’t the best. It gets stuck and then you struggle to get the lid off. So they bought us this Smirnoff kit, with a gorgeous red and silver shaker in (it matches our kitchen!) as well as a glass and measure cup in! I couldn’t be any happier with it to be honest.

My friend Sophi sent me a little box of goodies and I love them all so much! She sent us some little Japanese sweeties (which sadly we ate before I took my pictures! :P), a Pusheen tote bag and some Pusheen socks, as well as a pair of fox socks. I can’t complain at getting socks and I’ll be wearing them to work to keep my feet toasty over the rest of the winter months! OH and she also put in a cute little Pusheen keychain too, which I’ll pop on my tote bag!

Speaking of Pusheen! Dane’s brother and his girlfriend bought me a gorgeous boxed Pusheen mug with socks! I love it so much and am currently drinking some lemon green tea from it. The socks that came with it are so adorable and have paw prints on the feet. As well as that they also gave me a cute Minnie Mouse face mask as well as a Winky Lux flower balm in green. When you apply it to your lips it works with the PH and turns into a gorgeous light pink! I can’t wait to use this and I’ve wanted one of these since they first came out!

My aunt and cousin both bought me and Dane this gorgeous dachshund pillow which I’m going to have for the chair in the office! As well as that they also picked me up a gold fox keyring which was popped into my Christmas card.

Dane’s gran bought me a little something for Christmas and that’s a Bailey’s gift set with a little glass and some Lindt Lindor chocolates, which I LOVE! This will be enjoyed New Years Eve or on my birthday for definite! πŸ˜€

My sister in law andΒ  my nephews bought me a cute little lip butter set, and it’s so strange! They’re lovely and you get three flavours, coconut, cherry and peppermint.. I’ve never used a lip butter like this before but I’ll definitely be keeping these for work and around the house!

Dane’s parents bought me some lovely gifts and one that really did make me chuckle! The first gift I noticed they’d bought me and one they get me every year is a Lush Christmas gift set! This year they bought me The Snowman gift set. This one contains The Snowman bubbleroon, Butterbear bath bomb, Man In The Moon bubble bar and Snow Angel bath melt. I’m super excited to try Man In The Moon!

They picked me up three hot chocolates on sticks! I LOVE these and they actually bought these from one of our friends coffee stalls in Coventry! These are so amazing and work really well! They bought me a normal one, a mocca one and a peppermint one! I can’t wait to try the peppermint flavour and I’ll definitely make it in my new Pusheen mug. πŸ˜›

One of my favourite presents from Dane’s parents has to be the Your Name Blu-ray that they bought me! This isn’t just the ordinary Blu-ray either, but actually a collector’s edition so it comes with both Blu-ray, DVD and also a CD of the films soundtrack! It’s such a beautiful film and was one of my favourites I’d been to see in the cinema last year. I definitely recommend watching it if you get the chance, or if you have Amazon Prime as it’s on there to watch in both subbed and dubbed right now!

Finally the present that made me chuckle is this little pom pom… That is actually a panic alarm! You pull the keychain and it makes a very loud noise! I doubt I’ll pop this onto my handbag but I’ll definitely keep it inside of my bag for emergencies! You never know to be fair. I get why she picked this up for me though to be honest! In my old job I would get to the car park at 5.30am, I would be the only one, it was dark and at one point we had issues with people hiding in the dark on the level of the car park I was on. It did frighten me! So this gift whilst being strange, as very thoughtful all the same.

Now onto the gifts that Dane bought me, I’m going to save the present my mom bought me until last. Usually I would save Dane’s until then, but wait until you see what she bought for me!

Since moving into our house we have a tradition now of making stockings up for each other, which consist of cute little bits and pieces, as well as Japanese sweets! This was no acceptation this year and we both gifted each other Japanese gifts!

He picked me up an assortment of Japanese treats, which includes some Puccho sweets in ramune flavour (Japanese soda), some sour candy sweets which are also ramune flavoured, some Pokemon grape gummy sweeties and some green matcha flavoured Kit Kats which are MY FAVOURITE! Finally he bought me aΒ GudetamaΒ DIY kit where you get to make a pudding version of Gudetama to eat! I cannot wait to do this and I think I’ll be saving it for my birthday. ^_^

Also in my stocking I had a few other bits and pieces such as a new refill for my Filofax and what a cutie he is, he bought me on in pink! I need to use my Filofax more this year!

Also in my stocking and presents overall was a couple of little Pokemon goodies, all of them are so cute! The first thing I opened was this Eevee pouch type bag, which is an official Pokemon Center item! I don’t know quite yet what I’ll use this for, but I can see it being for feminine products once a month and maybe some random handbag bits and pieces. This was a gift he’d asked me if I liked the look of when we were both having a nose online for gifts for one another. I wasn’t all that fussed at the time but all the same when I opened it Christmas Day I still loved it! It’s a little Eevee which you’re meant to rest over a glass, but I can see me sticking it to the PC monitor or even by the side of my bed. Another Pokemon gift he bought me was this blind box (although he knew which one he’d ordered) which contain desk buddies. Dane bought me this Pikachu one which holds your mobile phone for you. He bought me this to have for work but I want to have it for by my bed! It’s so cute and such a thoughtful gift all the same.

One of my favourite gifts from Dane just has to be this onigiri squishy keyring from Tofu Cute! I get anxious during long car journeys, as well as in other certain situations! This not only feels relaxing to squish over and over, but it’s also scented with (what I think anyway) strawberries! On the way to and from Coventry for Christmas Day I was squishing away at this, as well as whilst at Dane’s parents on the day! It’s going to end up living in my handbag for when I feel anxious or angry and need to relieve some tension.

One of the presents I had asked for for Christmas after discovering its existence are these Haku chopsticks. Haku is the dragon from Spirited Away and is my favourite Studio Ghibli character! I didn’t know if these chopsticks would be real or fake, but when I inspected the packet they are in fact real and Studio Ghibli approved!

The first main gift that I opened was this, The Manga Cookbook, which also came with a pack of chopsticks! I love cooking Japanese food, especially if I’m craving Japanese and I can’t and don’t want to go out and eat or buy any. This is a cute little gift and I can’t wait for me and Dane to cook recipes together from it.

The next gifts are these two little Pokemon Center plushies, which are like Beanie Babies! I’ve been collecting these for a few years now, thanks to Dane but they’re now so hard to get hold of! I found someone in the UK selling these 2 for a decent price and I didn’t know if Dane wou;d pick them up or not… Alas he did and they’re so adorable! We have a Flareon and a Raichu here and they’ll go so well with my other Eeveelutions, as well as with my Pikachu!

If you got back and take a look at the Christmas wish list I made on Christmas Eve (which you can read here) you’ll see that I wished for a lot of anime shows/films on Blu-ray and apart from one, all of the ones I asked for I got! Two of those being A Silent Voice and Your Lie In April part 2. Alongside Your Name, A Silent Voice was one of my favourite films from 2017 and I’m so stocked to have it on Blu-ray! The box itself is gorgeous and I cannot wait to binge watch it with Dane one of the evenings this week. This is the collector’s edition Blu-ray too, which also includes a DVD and a special booklet that tells you all about the film, as well as about the manga.

The second Blu-ray Dane bought for me is part 2 of Your Lie In April, which is the final part of the special collector’s edition! He bought me part 1 and the special box at the start of the year for my birthday, so now I’m so happy to finally have the box set completed! This is definitely the first thing I’ll be watching with Dane out of all of the Blu-rays I received as I want to binge watch all of this with him! I haven’t continued to watch anymore of it until I had all of the box set for us to binge watch!

Aside from my main presents this was probably one of my favourites to be honest! It’s The Art Of Persona 5 and I have been lusting after this book since they announced it way back in the summer! I’m so pleased Dane bought it for me to be honest as on Christmas Day after I opened it I had a good flick through the whole thing and I cannot wait to sit down with a cup of coffee and read the whole thing, cover to cover. This year I discovered Persona 5, as well as the Persona franchise! I haven’t fallen in love with a franchise this hard since Pokemon and I am so chuffed that back when it came out at the start of the year that I bought it.

Finally we have the main gifts from Dane and my favourites! These are the 2 Nendoroid’s that Dane bought for me this Christmas and I was so surprised to be honest with you! I mentioned on my Christmas wish list that I had a feeling Dane would have bought me Yuri but when I opened Viktor and THEN Yuri I was so happy! I couldn’t have asked for better Nendoroid’s to have received this Christmas and I feel like such a lucky girl. We have no room right now to put these up anywhere so sadly they’ll be staying in the boxes until we have room. But I love my 2 YURI!!! boys so much and I cannot wait to play with them and display them in the future! So many YURI!!! On Ice Nendoroid’s have been announced lately that we will definitely be getting in the future!

Dane really spoilt me this year and I am so grateful for everything I received! I know I have another present arriving that he ordered me, it’s nothing special but it’s the thought that counts! FYI it’s a Macaroon Treats Yankee Candle!

Now onto my final present and definitely the one that blew me away the most. I was so surprised when I opened it to discover my mom had bought me a Dyson hairdryer! I know these aren’t cheap to be honest and I’ve lusted after one since they were announced, so the fact that my mom bought me one makes me feel so loved and special. I still can’t believe she bought it for me and after trying it, I really do adore it. I wish she could read how thankful and grateful I am.

So those were all the goodies I got for Christmas and I am so, SO thankful to everyone who bought myself, as well as Dane gifts this year!

What did you get for Christmas? Big or small I would love to hear what you got from loved ones. You know where to tell me. πŸ˜‰

Until next time, take care all and I hope you’re all resting after loads of Christmas and Boxing Day dinners!

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What I Got For My 27th Birthday

I can’t believe I hadn’t yet thought about doing this post… Until now! Whilst chilling on the sofa and enjoying a well deserved Sunday lazy day I thought, “Hey! I never wrote a post about what I got for my birthday!” and I surprised myself. I mean I wrote a wish list so why not add a post about what I actually got?

Well better late than never… It has been over a week though since I turned 27… Oh dear. Maybe with age I am forgetting? πŸ˜›

These presents above are a mixture of gifts I received from Dane and his parents.

My favourite gift from his parents was this beautiful fox figure for the garden. I’ve been after something like this for quite some time now but hadn’t yet found anything I wanted and if I did it was shockingly priced (those are treats for in the summer when we do up the garden!) so I was really happy to get this. The detailing is gorgeous and it’s now sat outside by the back door. I hope we get some foxes in our garden when the weather improves… I love them so much!

Dane’s parents bought me some lovely gifts but I was especially happy to see four volumes of Your Lie in April manga inside of one of the gifts (which was actually on my wish list!). Apparently I was meant to receive the Azumanga Daioh manga instead but I already owned this manga so Dane is going to send that book back to Amazon. Oops. πŸ˜› With the manga was an iPad holder from IKEA and a can of red spray paint. I had said how Dane’s moms was really nice but how I would want one in red. So that’s why I had a red can of spray paint. I’m going to definitely be spraying it when we have a nice day!

Then we have the gifts that Dane bought for me! Above as you can see there are four volumes of Your Lie in April BUT there is also the box on the far right which is the Blu-ray for the anime series of Your Lie in April. I’m so happy to have it as the art for the box is beautiful and it’s limited edition which makes me even happier!

As well as getting Your Lie in April manga I also got the first two volumes of Paradise Kiss manga! AHH! I love Nana which is written and illustrated by Ai Yazawa who is also the person behind Paradise Kiss. I’ve watched a little bit of the manga and I really enjoyed it, so I know I’m going to love the manga just as much. Sadly like Nana they’re not easy to find and when you DO find them they aren’t exactly cheap… We shall see what the future holds in terms of picking the rest of the manga up as there are five volumes in total so I only have three more to pick up.

My final present from Dane (that I got on the day anyway…) and my main one is this gorgeous Frozen Elsa Nendoroid! I had shown Dane her ages ago as she was on sale on a website we buy Japanese items from and bless him he went and ordered her. I had a feeling I was going to get a Nendoroid for my birthday but I didn’t think it would be Elsa! I’m not one of these obsessed Frozen fans but as soon as she was announced years ago I KNEW I had to have her. She’s gorgeous and so beautiful to look at and I know I’ll need to get Anna soon to go with her. I swear I need to do a collection post about mine and Dane’s Nendoroid’s soon as we have twenty now and counting. πŸ˜›

For my birthday in the evening we went out for a meal for both mine and my moms birthday as hers is the day after mine! We went to Frankie & Benny’s and had a lovely meal, drinks and had a right laugh! It’s a shame we didn’t get to do much else. The next day however me and Dane went to Peak Wildlife Park which was amazing! However we left pretty late so didn’t get to spend all day at the park like we wanted to. We intend to go back in the spring.

But on with more gifts! My mom didn’t buy me anything and instead gave me some money whilst my dad and brother both bought me some charms for my Thomas Sabo bracelet, which I got for Christmas from my mom (which you can read about here).

They both bought me some lovely charms and ones I had set my eyes on on Christmas Day when I was seeing what charms I could get in the future! My brother bought me both the robin and the lucky cat (which I recently found out is called a maneki-neko!) and they’re both so eye catching and different. The maneki-neko has definitely had loads of compliments and questions as to what it is.

Then on a daughter and dad day at the start of the week my dad bought me the fox charm which I’d hoped he would be able to get me. He also offered to buy me another charm too but sadly I didn’t see anything I was after in particular so we left it for another time.

I’m really loving how my Thomas Sabo bracelet is turning out! I’ll be writing up a wish list post for future charms in the next week or two.

This was one of my belated birthday presents from Dane, which he was intending on keeping a secret but wasn’t 100% sure if I wanted it still. I’ve been waiting for this game to come out for almost ten years and finally in late 2016 it came out! However whilst I was going to pre-order it and have it straight away Dane put me off due to some reviews he had heard about which were bashing the game and putting it down. This being said there were more positive reviews than negative and he bought it for me when it went down in price. Sadly due to so many people buying it we had to wait a couple of weeks for it to come out. It has been totally worth it though! We’ve been playing it together since we got it last week and I love it.

This is one of the final presents I got… I say got but I wasn’t gifted it. My aunt gave me some money for my birthday so I decided to treat myself to a new water bottle with the money. This is from The Disney Store and as you can see it’s a Baymax water bottle. It’s so amazing and I love it so much! I mostly use it for work as I like to keep hydrated during my shifts. It’s screw cap and fits a good amount of water in. I try to drink at least two of these a shift (I work 8 hours a day btw…) which I think is a pretty good goal! You can also pop lemons into this too but as of late I haven’t bothered with drinking lemon water. It’s something I’ll start doing again very soon.

So those were my presents I got (or bought with money…) for my birthday this year! I loved all my presents and I can’t say that I have a favourite… Although I do love how my Thomas Sabo bracelet is turning out! I loved everything though to be honest. I loved getting more manga to read, a fox figure for my garden, money and geeky things!

I just want to thank not just my family and friends for helping me have a lovely birthday this year, but mostly Dane for always being there for me. I’m so excited to start 2017 in our home and I’m even more excited for all the adventures we’re going to have this year.

How are all my readers doing? I miss your faces! Leave me some love down below or over at my Twitter (@maybeecoffee)/

Until next time take care all and I hope you’ve had an awesome weekend!

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27th Birthday Wish List

Yes in 3 days time it will be my birthday and I will be turning 27… Oh age really is creeping up on me! I’m not going to moan though, I hate when people do shit like that. What I especially hate younger people asking how old I’ll be to turn around and say after my reply, “OH MY GOD YOU ARE SOOOOO OLD!!!” Urgh just shut the fuck up. Sorry to sound very negative but I hate younger people being so ignorant as to say things like this. πŸ˜›

With a birthday comes gifts and presents (if you’re as lucky as myself and many others. Some people sadly don’t get gifts and presents on their birthday…) from various different people and whilst I’m not the type to say, “I WANT THIS FOR MY BIRTHDAY!” I will direct people in the right direction if they aren’t sure what to get me, especially Dane although this yearΒ  he seems to know what to get me as he’s ordered majority of my presents.

So here is my wish list for my birthday this year! It’s got some geeky stuff on as well as some beauty related goodies and jewellery.

  • Pokemon Center Vulpix Pikachu Crossover Plushie in Normal Form – Β£25.50 (link)

I know I always post about Pokemon Center plushies that I want and lust after but this is one that I REALLY want! It’s an adorable Pikachu dressed up as Vulpix, who is one of my favourite Pokemon. This also comes in the new Aloha form but I prefer the original. I don’t think I’ll be getting this for my birthday as it doesn’t come out until the start of February but as soon as I get paid next week I’ll be ordering one myself. ^_^

  • Your Lie In April manga volume 2 – Β£8.99 (link)

This is a new manga and anime I have gotten into lately and I really do love it! I read volume 1 as soon as I was given it by Dane as an early Christmas present and I can’t wait to read more of the manga to be honest. The anime is really good and although the manga and anime are meant to be aimed towards men I find that women can watch it too. The anime is currently on Netflix but it is in Japanese with English subtitles. I’ll pop a trailer up so you can watch it!

  • Kat Von D Beauty Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in shade Mother – Β£16.00 (link)

I love Kat Von D’s liquid lipsticks and I was so glad to get my first one (Bauhau5) in November from the Oxford Street store when I went to visit my friend Sophi. Since then I have craved to buy more but I’ve been good so far. Even if I don’t obviously get an actual liquid lipstick for my birthday some vouchers for Debenhams would be great so I can pick up a couple of shades. Mother is a gorgeous rose pink shade which I would love to pick up for when spring and summer are here.

  • South Park : The Fractured But Whole Mysterion figurine – Β£39.99 (link)

Dayyyyum this is something I really want but I know I won’t be getting… Sad times. Me and Dane love South Park and as soon as I saw this on Forbidden Planet’s website I wanted it. We’ve also seen it in the Forbidden Planet store in Birmingham and it looks amazing! He’s 6 inches so he’s huge as well. We nearly ended up buying it New Years Eve when we went out shopping but left it due to being on a spending ban… 😦 I’m sure we’ll buy it as a treat in the future. We already know where we would put him in the house, on the fireplace! πŸ˜€

  • Thomas Sabo Fox charm pendant – Β£25.95 (link)

As I mentioned on my Christmas natter post recently my parents gave me a Thomas Sabo charm bracelet for Christmas, which I love! I know my brother is buying me some more charms for it for my belated Christmas and my birthday present combined and this is one of the charms I showed him. As regular readers of my blog will know I love foxes so this is right up my street! I love how simplistic but gorgeous it is.

  • Lime Crime Diamond Crushers Liquid Lipstick in shade Trip – Β£13.95 (link)

I’m not a huge fan of Lime Crime due to the controversy surrounding them but the past year they seem to have somewhat bettered themselves. That and my friend Claire has told me nothing but good things about the liquid lipsticks… I trust her with make up gossip that’s for sure! I have loved the look of the Diamond Crushers since they were announced a while ago. Trip is my favourite out of the bunch, which is a beautiful blue lipstick topper, which you can also wear alone. I’d team it up with various different liquid lipsticks. It’s currently sold out on Love-Makeup but I’m going to keep my eye out for it in the future!

  • Pokemon Eevee Evolution water bottleΒ  – Β£9.90 (link)

I thought I was going to get this for Christmas as Dane had shown it to me before ordering my presents, but alas he never. I don’t think I’ll be getting it for my birthday either. He insists that I don’t need anymore water bottles but I beg to differ! I love having water bottles for work, as well as for on the go and although I love my owl water bottle that I use for work, I’d love a Pokemon related one for work too to show off my inner geek! This one is pretty simple but I love that it’s purple. If I have some birthday money I might treat myself to it.

  • Jeffree Star Cosmetics Velour Liquid Lipstick in shade No Tea, No Shade – $18.00/Β£16.00 (link)

I decided that I’m going to calm down on my Jeffree Star liquid lipstick buying as I want to try out loads of other brands instead of just sticking to the same one. HOWEVER he announced this shade just before Christmas and I fell in love, hard!!! I can’t wait for it to come out on Beauty Bay this month because as soon as it launches I’ll be buying it. It’s a beautiful purple metallic shade and it’ll be perfect for autumn and winter seasons.

  • Thomas Sabo Bird charm pendant – Β£35.00 (link)

I know I’ll be getting this for my birthday as my brother told me he would get it for me. It’s a Christmas themed charm but I’d love it all year around. It’s call the bird charm but as you can see it’s a robin, which I love. They’re just such gorgeous birds and they always remind me of the winter season. It’s not a cheap charm however as it originally costs Β£70.00! OUCH! If however he doesn’t manage to get me this charm I’ll pick it up on my birthday as a treat to myself.

So that was my wish list for my 27th birthday! God I really am getting old and whilst at 27 you probably expect to see more adult present ideas on a post like this, you won’t find that with me. I am a big kid and even though I’ll soon be 30 I know I’ll stay that way for a very long time.

What kind of gifts do you like to receive for your birthday? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below!

Until next time take care all and I hope you had a lovely New Year.

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Post Christmas Natter (Plus What I received…)

It’s almost a week since Christmas Day was here and I can’t quite believe how quickly it’s flown by! I had a lovely Christmas even though I was working both Christmas Eve and Boxing Day (WAH FML!) but it’s come and gone now. Plus I have New Years Eve and Day off, woohoo!

So I decided to do a little catch up post about my Christmas and share what lovely gifts I received from Dane, my parents and everyone else. πŸ™‚

Christmas Eve I didn’t finish work until late (6pm to be exact) and due to being tired and lazy we decided to get a takeaway and spend the evening watching movies. One movie we watching in particular was Sausage Party, which came out this year. Not exactly a Christmas movie, but one we both enjoyed watching, although at the end it got very weird and we sat in shock with hands over mouths, awkwardly laughing.

We got an early night as we were both shattered! This being said I had an awful nights sleep. I kept waking up throughout the night as the wind was waking me up. So we both woke up early Christmas Day and popped on a Christmas movie whilst we opened our presents. I spoilt Dane rotten this year and he loved all of his gifts. He spoilt me just as much too and every gift he gave me I loved. We both asked each other what our favourite gifts were out of the bunch. Dane’s was Vol. 1-9 of One Punch Man and mine was a tough one. I’ll show off what gifts he gave me before I tell you which were my favourites… I can’t pick one!

We decided to do stockings this year, as a new tradition and we filled them both full of yummy treats, well Dane filled mine full of Japanese sweets, mostly Kit Kats! My friend Sophi (heyyy!) picked up some of these stockings for us which was lovely of her! She of course got an N for me and a D for Dane.

As you can see Dane bought me LOADS of Kit Kats, Japanese ones to be exact! As well as a few other Japanese treats, which are mostly matcha flavoured… My favourite. πŸ˜› He bought me a little geisha pouch full of different flavoured Kit Kats, which I loved as it looked adorable! It came with a piece of paper inside telling you about all the flavours which I was pleased about, as you never know what you could be trying. For example there is a wasabi flavoured Kit Kat in there!

Onto the main gifts from Dane and I was well and truly spoilt this year… But so was he. πŸ˜› All of my gifts from him were thoughtful and I can’t really say I prefer one to the other, but I will of course say my favourite 3 or something. πŸ˜›

One of my favourite gifts from what Dane bought me were these two sleeping Pokemon plushies from the Pokemon Centre in Japan. As you can see he gave me a Pikachu and Jolteon which I love, especially Jolteon’s cute little bum and feet. πŸ˜› I knew I was going to get one of these but I didn’t have a clue which and these were both a lovely surprise to get. They’re now in my Pokemon cabinet in the living room.

Another one of my favourite presents from Dane was these South Park figures from the new game coming out in 2017, The Fracture But Whole. I already have a couple of the figures from the first game (Princess Kenny and Cartman as a wizard) and I love them so much, but not as much as these. I have Butters, Kenny and Cartman all as their super villain and hero alter egos. They’re now in my cupboard and look amazing. It’s a shame they didn’t bring anymore of the characters out, but I guess these three are the main ones.

I keep saying this is my favourite present from Dane even though I knew I was having it, but it’s my new jacket… A Pokemon jacket! This is by a brand I have grown to love since August when I bought my first pieces by her, the brand being Ohayou! Clothing. She’s a designer in Bristol and most of her designs are Pokemon related and anything Japanese and kawaii. As you can see from the pictures it’s a varsity style jacket with an adorable picture of Eevee on the back! I love it and since Christmas Day I’ve pretty much lived in it! I can’t wait to write a post about Ohayou! Clothing in the new year!

Everyone who knows me knows that I LOVE foxes and I think every Christmas we have shared since being together, Dane has always bought me a fox related present. This year he of course had to keep up the tradition and bought me this beautiful tote bag with a fox and wolf on it. I’ve viewed this seller on Etsy before and if you love foxes then you will love her work! He also bought one of her illustrated books about foxes, which I really enjoyed reading in bed on Christmas Day morning.

Yay for manga! I’m in need of some new books to read after finally finishing Nana (and my heart broke!) and of course Dane knew I wanted some new material to read including Nichijou. As of yet I haven’t started to read it but I intend to start very soon. It’s like Azumanga Daioh so it is based around a school and the lives of the students there. I can’t wait to read it!

MORE KIT KATS! I told you he bought me loads! These are sake flavoured and we tried one on Christmas Day. I LOVE them! They’re very strong smelling and tasting of sake, which I thought I would hate but really enjoyed. I would definitely buy these again… But I have a feeling they aren’t cheap.

Finally we have a few little stocking fillers Dane gifted me, one not being in this picture as I forgot to take it! That item is the Bee & Puppycat cooking book. I thought it would be all jokey cooking recipes but they’re actually legit and ones that both the workers of the comic have submitted, as well as fans of the comic book too. Both me and Dane had a flick through it on Christmas Day and have already decided on some recipes that we want to bake and cook very soon.

Speaking of food he also got me a Pikachu sushi mold which I am SO EXCITED to use! I love making Japanese food and the next thing I want to learn how to make is sushi. I’ve already discussed with Dane that we make onigiri (rice ball with fish, chicken, veg inside… Basically like a sandwich to us but with rice instead of bread) with the mold. I can’t wait!

I knew I was getting these for Christmas (even though when it came to opening them I FORGOT ALL ABOUT THEM!) but Dane bought me some Victoria’s Secret body sprays. One is a minty scent and the other more vanilla and sugary. I love things like this and the VS body sprays are the best I’ve ever tried.

The final thing Dane bought me was a new calendar which as you can see is Pusheen.

This was meant to be one of my Christmas presents but Dane gave it to me about a week before Christmas and I love it so much! It’s a little glass bottle with a little soot sprite inside from the film Spirited Away. That’s one of my favourite films so I love anything to do with it. He’s now in my cabinet in the living room.

We spent Christmas at my parents house and then Boxing Day at Dane’s parents. We both had a lovely time at both houses and I wouldn’t change anything! Sadly my mom was working but me and Dane played games and watched movies with my dad and my brother, which was really fun! We practically did the same with Dane’s family too and we had a right laugh. We played Joking Hazard with my family and The Game of Life with Dane’s. We had lots of laughs and giggles!

I’m not showing off all my presents inΒ  this post, mostly just Dane’s to be honest but I thought I would show off my favourite gifts from my family and Dane’s.

This was one of my favourite presents this year and it’s from my parents. It’s a Thomas Sabo charm bracelet with a martini glass charm. She kind of hinting to me getting something like this but I wasn’t 100% sure what it would be. I love it though, so much more than my Pandora bracelet and I’ve already eyed up what other additions I can add to it. I’ve found so far that it’s just so much lighter than Pandora to wear and therefore easier to wear.

My mom bought me and Dane a couple of other things too, some of which are on the way apparently in the post. But one of my other favourite items from her is this giraffe dressing gown (which I have on at the moment!). The hood on it is huge and had a giraffe face on which I think is cute. It’s also a great length too which is ideal as one of my old ones would drag on the ground as I walk up the stairs and trip me up. I’ve pretty much lived in this since Christmas Day!

Like the presents my parents bought me I won’t talk about everything, but more so my favourites. Dane’s parents bought me these lovely pajamas which I knew I was going to get due to asking for them, but they were still a lovely surprise and as soon as we got home Boxing Day I put them on. They’re burgundy with woodland animal print on. Right up my street! They also bought me a Lush gift set (Snow Fairy one!) and some stuff for the house.

Finally we have one of the gifts that Dane’s brother and girlfriend bought for us. They bought us a huge box full of Japanese candy but sadly I never managed to get a picture of it. However I did manage to get a picture of the candle they bought us. It’s a WoodWick candle, a brand we both love just as much as Yankee Candle. This one is in the scent Black Cherry and it’s HUGE! When you burn these it makes a crackling sound like a fire and when we lit this for the first time it was nice to see the flame move over from the right to the left side of the wick. It’s a lovely present, especially for the house.

So those were my presents from Christmas this year. As well as these presents I did of course get more from work friends, my friends, family and more. I just wanted to show some that I had managed to snap pictures of.

I had a lovely Christmas this year even though it did come and go in the blink of an eye! I don’t have a clue when to take my Christmas tree down. Probably tomorrow after work as it’ll soon be 2017 and our tree wont need to be up anymore, sadly. I’ll miss our cute little tree. 😦

What lovely presents did you get for Christmas and did you have a lovely time over the Christmas period? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below.

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

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Lush Halloween 2016

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As most Lushies will know the Halloween and Christmas collection for 2016 leaked recently on Instagram and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited for all the goodies heading our way!

There are quite a few products that I am sad to see not return, but all the same I am excited for some new goodies that we will be getting. The most disappointing is that Lush aren’t bringing back Yog Nog bath bomb! Well as far as I can see anyway… It was such an amazing bath bomb and I know they’re bringing an alternative instead but it just won’t be the same.

This is part one of this post, part two being about Christmas. I’m only going to talk about what I’m excited for.

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The bath bombs looks so exciting this year, as for a while I have found the Halloween collection to be really boring so I am really pleased they’ve mixed it up a bit this year.

Monsters’ Ball bath bomb is said to lime scented, amazing! It’s a shame Lush don’t have anything like this around for spring and summer. This will be nice to use in the morning on my days off work. Miaowzer bath bomb is right up my street with its creamy candy scent. It’ll either be Snow Fairy or Creamy Candy/Rock Star scented. Either way I am so damn excited. I don’t even want to get started

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Not going to lie… The soaps from Lush never excite me anyway and these really don’t.

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I am so disappointed about Boo luxury bath melt as it looks so damn cute! Hey I might like the smell of it when I give it a sniff in store, but from looking at it I doubt that’ll be the case. I’m never a fan of the massage bars but the Goth Fairy shimmer bar sounds amazing! I would probably use this on evenings with Dane as a massage bar on our backs. I bet it’ll smell just like The Comforter.

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I might finally pick up a Lord Of Misrule shower cream this year!

So what are my thoughts on the Halloween collection so far? It looks exciting and promising and definitely a damn sight better than last years collection. I’m most excited about the Monsters’ Ball and Miaowzer bath bombs as they just sound so delicious!

What are you excited for in the Halloween collection so far? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below.

Until next time all, take care and see you Sunday for my thoughts on the Christmas collection!

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