Can you believe it’s Christmas Eve already? We all say it don’t we? “This time next year we’ll be doing it all over again!” and here we are. 😛
Christmas this year is a strange one for all of us. Last year I wasn’t really in the right frame of mind for Christmas, but that was due to the mixture of excitement and nerves about going to Japan in January. My head was just in a space of preparing for the trip. This year at the time of writing this post (a few days prior to Christmas Eve) I’m not feeling festive… Not even with everyone’s (and my own) Christmas presents wrapped up in front of me, ready to be delivered to their homes. It’s obviously due to COVID but I’m hoping come Christmas Day both me and Dane will be feeling festive and merry as we cook our dinner together, drink as much as we feel in the mood for and just enjoy the day together… Which will be a first.
Christmas to me is about showing your loved ones how much they mean to you, and I don’t just mean with gifts. Christmas is a time of celebration and being together as a family, no matter how big or small. This year is different as some people may be on their own at home or with their small family and cannot be with bigger families this year. I’m sad not to see my parents this year, especially my mom after what a rubbish few months we have had. However, we have a plan and we know it’ll work. We’re just going to Facetime each other when we’re due to open each others gifts and have a drink, etc etc. It’ll be good. I’ve already spoken to my mom this evening (I’m not writing this on Christmas Eve!) and we’re happy enough with what we plan to do.
I have to say, my mom has sent two MASSIVE boxes… I wonder what she’s bought me… 😛
I want to add my yearly reminder here about taking care of yourself over Christmas. It’s really hard for people this year with COVID, but I’ve been there at Christmas where my mind is in a dark place and I’ve needed someone to talk to. You are not alone. I’m going to pop some contacts below for the UK of who you can reach out to this time of year. Please use them if you need to, they’re there to help. Plus, my DM’s are always open on Twitter (maybeecoffee) and Instagram (theremightbecoffeeblog) if you need someone to talk to.
Anyhoo – onto the wish list for this year! I want to add here, whether I received the items mentioned or not, I am always grateful for whatever I do receive. 🙂
Since our second Christmas together me and Dane have always bought each other Nendoroid’s for Christmas, which has ranged from just one, to four as the years have gone by. This year isn’t any exception BUT we know what character we’ve bought one another. However, I don’t know if Dane has bought me a surprise one… Which could be Danbo! This is a Nendoroid I was going to buy this when we were in Japan in January but I ended up leaving it. It’s from a manga that I haven’t read but have always meant to. Danbo is a cute cardboard box, but his eyes light up! Very cute and one I would love in my collection. 🙂
Firebox/Smoko Tayto the Couch Potato Rechargeable Night Light (link)
Last Christmas and birthday Dane bought me some of the night lights from Smoko/Firebox, a dumpling and a bubble tea. They’re amazing pieces for our bedroom and are really bright. I often pop them on in the evenings when I want to relax and chill out. Plus they’re hella cute! So, when I saw that Firebox had the couch potato variant in stock, I knew I had to ask for it for Christmas this year! This is rechargeable too, whilst the ones he bought me last year need batteries, which is even better! 😀 I’m hoping he’s bought it me so I can add to my growing collection of kawaii night lights. 😛
I usually ask for Pandora around Christmas and if I don’t ask, I usually get anyway… Usually from my parents. 🙂 I was asked if I wanted any jewellery this year and this is one of the first things that came to mind as it reminded of our mine and Dane’s trip to Japan this year in January. It’s hard to be gifted jewellery this year because, let’s face it… I’ve become a hermit in 2020 due to COVID and jewellery just isn’t something I’ve really worn for most of this year. 😦 This charm is really cute though!
As I’ve mentioned briefly on my blog this year, both me and Dane got into working and making resin pieces this year. Something Dane asked me if I wanted as gifts were resin molds, as at the moment I don’t really have many and would love more to experiment and play with! I’ve been after the Pikachu resin mold for a while and it’s one that I definitely added to my Christmas list! I have so many ideas of keyrings I could make and that does include the standard yellow Pikachu we all know and love. 😛
Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid The Complete Series Blu-ray (link)
Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid is one of my favourite manga and anime series and it’s thanks to Dane that I actually discovered it when I did. I was having a nose around Amazon and noticed that you can buy the series on Blu-Ray now! :O I know season 2 of the show has been delayed due to what happened to Kyoto Animation in 2019. I would love to receive this for Christmas to binge watch over the festive period, as well as for my birthday less than a week after New Year. I do love receiving anime Blu-Ray for Christmas. 😛
PunfunStudio Eeveelution Heart Shaker Resin Mold Set (link)
The final item I want to mention on my wish list for Christmas time and it’s another resin mold, however this is a set and it’s actually something that arrived today and Dane has given to me early. I sent him the link for this resin mold set that contains all nine of the Eeveelutions (Eevee, Vaporeon, Jolteon, Flareon, Espeon, Umbreon, Leafeon, Glaceon and Sylveon) holding a heart. These are shaker resin molds though! So when you work on them you can pop some glitter, beads etc inside and then pop oil in, cover with a plastic film to seal everything in place and hey presto! You have a shaker keyring/charm. However, I think I’ll be making dry shaker charms to start off with, just to get used to how they work and such. 🙂
So, that is everything that I added to my Christmas wish list this year! That list would have just been something I gave to Dane to give him ideas for Christmas. I don’t tend to do this for my family, his parents etc. They tend to get me surprises, or ideas Dane has given them.
Whilst I may always show you guys my wish lists for Christmas every year, I always get excited to give my gifts to Dane, my parents and loved ones/friends. I’m excited to see their faces when the get their gifts and tomorrow will be no exception, especially with Dane… Who has been bloody spoilt this year. 😛
What do you guys have on your wish lists this year for Christmas? Realistic and non realistic. Unicorns can be included. 😉
I just want to finish off this blog post by saying – MERRY CHRISTMAS! I hope you all have a lovely day, even with the circumstances and get to see your loved ones online if not in person. 🙂
Can you believe there is only 18 days until Christmas? Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? I’m awful this year and I’m not done. I usually have all my gifts bought by now, but alas I still have my parents to buy for.
This year I wanted to do a gift guide, but not my usual one aimed at the geeks, otaku and kawaii fans, beauty, fashion etc etc. I wanted to instead focus on small companies/independent artists/businesses who need our support more than ever due to COVID and it’s affects from lockdowns here in the UK.
First of all, I’m only speaking about the UK as with a Twitter poll a couple of weeks ago, it’s what you as the readers voted for. However at the end of the post I will mention who you can shop small with all over the world too.
I’m going to add all sorts of categories here, not just geek, kawaii, otaku related. I’ll be talking about beauty, home, geek, Japan related, food and more! I want to try and talk about as much as I can, so when you need ideas for Christmas gifts you have lots of choice. I will also mention the last date to order for Christmas too if you’re in the UK. Please bear in mind with the COVID situation and Christmas on the horizon, Royal Main is struggling a little, so if you want to order, order as soon as possible!
Let’s get started! I really hope you guys enjoy this post. 🙂
Jennifairy Illustration – Creating cuties to make you smile. Enamel pins, stickers and keychains, all inspired by cute animals, video game characters and more.
Last date to order for Christmas – 14th December. However, if order after this date it could still get there but that can’t be promised. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.
Jennifairy Illustration is an independent artist/store I have spoken about on my blog since 2017 and I knew they were one of the first places I wanted to speak about today! Jennifairy has a range of products – enamel pins, stickers and keychains. Her style is incredibly cute and kawaii and the designs make me smile whenever I see them, both on her store and in my home. If you know someone who loves cute animals and certain characters from popular video games, then they will love to open a cute design from Jennifairy. Christmas wise you can pick up some gingerbread friends or even a Christmas Pikachu, with a Santa’s hat and a cup of coffee. There are loads of different designs to choose from, there is something for everyone.
Littlest Spook Shop – We put the Oo in spooky! Cute spooky ghost prints, mugs and other items to choose from!
Last date to order for Christmas – Currently Littlest Spook Shop is looking to close 9th December.
Halloween isn’t just once a year with Littlest Spook Shop. I discovered them around Halloween this year and I love their spooky ghost designs. They’re so damn cute and spoopy and I’m down for that. I regret not ordering some of their Christmas cards this year to be honest, but there’s always next year. If you know someone who celebrates Halloween all year around then a print (or two!) from Littlest Spook Shop may just be for them! Not only do they sell prints but they also sell mugs, tote bags, enamel pins and patches so that spooky friend or family member can show off their love of ghosts and all things spooky all year around! The Always Cosy Club spooky print shouts out to me so much. During the colder months I’m like that little ghosty.
FoxLeap – Kawaii designs inspired by Disney and Japanese characters from films and video games.
Last date to order for Christmas – Not known at time of writing post.
FoxLeap is an independent artist/store I love buying enamel pins from. They’re adorable and there is always something in the store I want to pick up, including the Jiji enamel pin which I may need to order myself as a treat for writing this post. 😛 There is something for everyone when it comes down to FoxLeap including designs inspired by Disney (especially The Lion King series!), Pokemon, Studio Ghibli, Wolf’s Rain, Okami and more. Anyone who loves enamel pins will really love to receive a FoxLeap design and honestly they probably already know of FoxLeap’s existence. Not only do they make and sell enamel pins but they also sell prints, t-shirts, stickers, enamel pin flags, tote bags and more so there is plenty to choose from!
NaomiLordArt – A freelance artist who creates adorable prints inspired by animals, magical creatures, witches, Goddesses, Critical Role and more!
Last date to order for Christmas – Orders will be shipped until the shop closes for Christmas on 20th December. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.
Guys you know me I love kawaii animals, especially foxes and that is something NaomiLordArt does so bloody well! I mean, look at them cute seasonal fox designs! I feel anyone of any age will love a little stocking filler that involves one of the many designs that NaomiLordArt has on offer. Plus if you and your friends are fans of Critical Role, she’s drawn all of the gang and put it onto a print, which you can find here. I feel NaomiLordArt would be perfect as items to gift children, teenagers and anyone who loves prints and stickers. I’ve gifted my best friend goodies from there before that were surrounding Star Wars and Harry Potter. There are also RPG class animal stickers and prints too, so if you play in a D&D group and are taking part in a D&D themed Secret Santa, these would make perfect gifts alongside some dice.
Something Japanese – UK based online shop that sells the best things from Japan! Chocolate, Candy, Collectables, Otaku Goodies and much much more.
Last date to order for Christmas – December 21st. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.
Something Japanese is a store I have bought from for about five years now and they are really good! I especially love to pick up the Japanese snack boxes from them as they’re always an amazing price for how many Japanese sweets and treats you get. I ordered the Halloween one and it was amazing and I’ve ordered the Christmas Japanese Candy Box too. This might make for an amazing gift to someone who loves Japanese sweets and treats and who may also miss Japan or want to visit Japan. COVID has prevented travelling to Japan for a lot of people and I know a lot of my friends who missed out on their trips this year. This would make for a nice treat to open Christmas Day. Something Japanese does sell other items too and separate sweet treats so make sure to check that out too.
Tofu Cute – A UK kawaii shop that sells all sorts of cute and unique Japanese snacks, plushies, accessories, stationery and other goodies.
Last date to order for Christmas – Not known at time of writing post.
Tofu Cute is a store me and my boyfriend often order our Japanese sweets from as they’re great prices and they always seem to have the goods that Japan get at the same time. Not only do they stock sweets but also drinks as well! We’ve bought many bottles of ramune and Pokemon fizzy drinks from Tofu Cute and they’ve all been enjoyed! Think my favourite thing I’ve ever bought from Tofu Cute are the Melty Kiss chocolates. They’re to die for and would make an amazing gift for someone’s stocking this Christmas. 🙂
Cushty Co – Handmade home fragrance. Scented soy wax melts beautifully crafted with sprinkles of glitter and careful colouring. Vegan friendly.
Last date to order for Christmas – Monday 14th December – Store will close at 5pm. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.
Cushty Co are my go to for wax melts and I’ve ended up buying so many this year! Their autumn/Halloween collection being my favourite to date. If you know someone who loves burning candles and wax tarts like me, Cushty Co are a great place to check out. They do LOADS of different scent varieties and three different sizes of wax so the choices are huge. They currently have their Christmas/winter scents in stock and I have all of them! They’re absolutely amazing and if you know someone who loves Christmas and wishes it could be everyday, then some of the Christmas/winter scents will be right up their street. Not only do Cushty Co sell wax tarts, but they also sell room sprays too, which I’m yet to try. If you know someone who loves Lush then they’ll love Unicorn Dreams which smells exactly like Snow Fairy and Nightfall which smells exactly like Twlight.
Last date to order for Christmas – 17th December if ordering a pink, black or ombré bubble basket. 14th December if ordering a custom colour. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.
I recently decided to buy myself a bubble basket from Books Baths and Beauty as I’ve wanted one for over a year now and as my bathroom was redone in the summer, I’ve finally been indulging in bath products and having bath cocktails more. It arrived over the weekend I’ve used it a few times since. It’s really good and if you’re like me and use bubble bars, shower gels and more to create bubbles, then this is for you! They’re made with a 3D printer and are sturdy and amazing! 😀 If you know someone who loves taking baths and using the same products as I do, this will be perfect for helping them create lots of bubbles! Teenagers will love this, as well as mermaids.
The Bath Bae – Handmade bath treats to make you glow inside and out. Vegan and cruelty free!
Last date to order for Christmas – Monday 21 December at 3pm Royal Mail Tracked 48 or Tuesday 22 December at 3pm Royal Mail Tracked 24. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.
I recently made my first order with The Bath Bae and honestly – I have zero regrets. They focus on bath bomb products in various different varieties and scents so there is plenty to choose from! So far I’ve only tried the bath cubes and they are amazing, perfect for anyone of any age. You can pick up bath sparkle, sparkle rocks, bath cubes and bath soak. These would make great stocking fillers for teenagers and anyone who loves a good soak in the bath. My favourite scent from them so far is Oh So Slushie, which reminds me of Tango Ice Blast slushies from the cinema.
Happy Melon – Handmade beauty products made in small batches and packed with cuteness, colour and yummy fragrance. Cruelty free!
Last date to order for Christmas – Restock this Sunday (13/12/2020) and as items sell out quickly, there isn’t really a last date to order for Christmas.
Happy Melon is a brand I discovered this year and bought from during their last restock. If you know someone who loves their beauty and bath products and for them to be as colourful as possible, Happy Melon is a good indie brand for this! They have a wide variety of products including bubble bath, lip sugar, perfume oil, bath soak (snuggle soak), sugar scrub and more! One of the bubble baths I own is a Lush Snow Fairy dupe (Sabrina bubble bath) and it’s one of my favourite products to use after a long day. Plus a little goes a long way and this stuff lasts AGES! One of the products I am excited to try soon is the Pop Kei Snuggle Soak, which smells just like Tango Ice Blast slushies! It would work so well with the slushie bath cubes from The Bath Bae. Again this is a great brand for teenagers due to how colourful everything is and maybe even children too due to how colourful and sparkly the bubble baths are.
Hex Bomb – Divine handmade gothic beauty products for dark sweets hearts. Creator of the first black bath bomb! Cruelty free and vegan!
Last date to order for Christmas – 21st December. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.
Hex Bomb is a brand I have always wanted to try since the Black As Your Soul bath bomb came out. I’m yet to try it still and plan to buy it in the near future! I’ve mentioned some colourful and kawaii beauty indie brands so far, so I wanted to through a gothic, dark brand in there for good measure. I love me a dark bath, it reflects who I am inside and this brand would be perfect for any goth friend or relative out there! Not only do they make bath bombs but Hex Bomb also sell shower gel, soap, scrub, lip balm, perfume oil AND even wax melts for your home. If you aren’t sure what to buy that gothic beauty in your life (because Hex Bomb have a lot of variety!) you could always pick up one of their gift boxes which contains a variety of products. If you want to see a review (or two) of Hex Bomb make sure to go and check out my great blogger friend Raiin Monkey’s blog posts here.
Image taken from GIPHY
Honourable Mentions
Geek/Kawaii –Quirkory – Due to being based in Italy, they didn’t qualify for this shop small post. However, I couldn’t not mention them! They sell enamel pins, stickers and prints inspired by Japanese video games and cute animals.
Geek/Kawaii –Claire Likes To Doodle – The reason I didn’t mention my friend Claire and her store is because she got a post allllll to herself recently! Which I am going to link here. 🙂
Geek/Kawaii – 1 In 100/One In Hundred – A local Brummy like myself, Alex over at 1 In 100 has some amazing designs on her store and you can buy items from clothing, badges, keyrings, stickers, prints, stationary and more. I keep meaning to pick up some of her Japan inspired prints. Check them out here and here.
Geek/Kawaii – Chibi Shibby – May have bought a Christmas present from one of my favourite artists… 😉 Shibby recently reopened her store and has filled it was gorgeous kawaii goodies! There’s also some Christmas related goods in there too.
Geek/Kawaii –Lunaticgumis – Due to being based in Gran Canaria, they didn’t quality for this shop small post. However, I am planning to write about them on my blog very very soon! 😀 They sell stickers as well as amigurumis (Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small, stuffed yarn creatures). They stock Bee and Puppycat designs WHICH I LOVE!
Geek/Kawaii – Taiyakiblue – This store is joint owned by tattooists senseoftheterrific and tubbybeartattoo. They stock clothing, prints and even some keyrings and pins made out of resin. They’re both inspired by geeky/kawaii themes such as D&D, Studio Ghibli, Dragonball Z, Moomins, Adventure Time and more. I’ve purchased a Christmas present from them and plan to buy prints in the future! I love their style so much.
Bath – Bath Bake Love – No restock until after Christmas where there will be lots of enchanted teasers for the New Year Wonderland and plenty of goodies in January!
AND THERE WE HAVE IT! My HUGE shop small Christmas shopping guide for the UK!
What do you guys think? I wanted to try and cover as much as I could and I like to think I’ve done that quite well. In the future I may pop up with some of these after Christmas, just as good shopping guides throughout the year for birthday’s and more!
Honestly guys, I hope you enjoyed this post today as much as I enjoyed writing it. I’m off work for the week and the first thing I knew I wanted to do was to write this post.
Are there any small shops in the UK that you feel I should know about? Make sure to let me know and I’ll take a look for next time!
Until next time, take care all and I hope you had a lovely weekend. 🙂
I can’t quite believe it’s August already and to be honest with you, I’m pretty damn glad. July was good because it meant my bathroom was completed, however it was incredibly stressful and I wasn’t very well for the majority of it.
I’m glad for August to bring a fresh month, something new and also a month for me to save the money I spent on the labour for the bathroom too.
Although I am trying to save my money this month, it doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to still have and share my wish list with you this month! That and I bought three pieces from the Black Milk Clothing x Pokemon collection last week… Oops! 😛
I’m really loving the variety on it and I hope you do too. 🙂
If there is one thing I love seeing, it’s when Insert Coin reveals they have a new collection out and it’s clearly Persona 5 related. They recently announced more items that were joining their ever growing collection and I for one love everything! I especially love that not everything is a high cost too. The new pullover hoodie they’ve brought out is so gorgeous! I don’t have a red hoodie, so this red is right up my street and I love that Morgana is on the front of it too. I wont be purchasing this for a while… But the time will come when I do decide to pick it up!
Goodsmile Company Nendoroid A Clockwork Orange Alex DeLarge (link)
I feel like I haven’t had a Nendoroid pre-order arrive for quite a while, so I’m definitely overdue now. For those who may not know, I’m a big fan of A Clockwork Orange and have been since I was about… 15/16 years old. When I lived at home I used to have a canvas up of Alex DeLarge, I dressed up as him once for Halloween and I own some t-shirts with Alex DeLarge on. SO, when this Nendoroid was announced when I was in Japan in January, I asked YY Kawaii if she could get him for me, which she could and did! I’m so excited for Alex DeLarge to arrive this month! He looks perfect. If you haven’t watched A Clockwork Orange before then definitely give it a go, but it is a dark film, with some strange themes. There was a lot of controversy surrounding it due to a lot of the themes that went on in the film and I think it was banned from the UK for a time. I still recommend it though. 🙂
Pokemon Four Seasons Collection Re-ment – Vulpix (link)
I was recently gifted an amazing parcel by YY Kawaii which contained some items she was giving away over on Instagram (the giveaway is now closed!) and within that there was some re-ment figures, including one from the four seasons collection. I was really hoping for the Vulpix re-ment but instead I got a Wartortle and Sandygast one which is really summery and cute. As Autumn is one of my favourite months, this Vulpix autumn re-ment is shouting out to me! I’ll buy it eventually, but for now I can wait. 🙂
Kickstarter Adorablush Pokemon Fruit Salad Enamel Pins KICKSTARTER NOW ENDED (link)
This Kickstarter is adorable and it’s one both me and Sarah (from Raiin Monkey) have backed together to save on postage… Smart, eh? 😛 We both loved the look of this Kickstarter campaign for fruit Pokemon enamel pins. There are eight designs to choose from, I’ve gone for the watermelon Shaymin and strawberry Eevee and Sarah has gone for the strawberry Eevee too! Alongside the enamel pins you also get prints that match, which will be awesome! I’m so excited for us to receive our pins. I’ll be sending Sarah’s off to her when it arrives, with some other goodies too… 😛
If you guys didn’t know by now, I am a MASSIVE Bee & Puppycat fan! I’ve been after some more merchandise from the TV show/comic book for a while, but it’s lacking AND not easy to get hold of in the UK. This sticker is from Spain and delivers to the UK, which is always good. It’s really cute and would love to add it to my “sticker collection”. During lock down I’ve gathered quite a lot of stickers but I don’t quite know what to do with them.
About 10 years ago I discovered a brand called Lily Flame and their gorgeous scented candle called Fairy Dust. I’ve owned a few since then and they’re amazing. However, I can’t justify buying any new candles right now and sadly Lily Flame aren’t exactly cheap. Cushty Co do a dupe of this scent, which I’d love to give a go myself in future! I’m still trying to get through my candles and wax melts at the moment, but sadly they’ve been hurting my throat so I’m trying not to use them too frequently at the moment.
This Lady plush is very much sold out/out of stock at he moment and I’m semi gutted. My favourite Disney film is Lady and the Tramp for so many reasons so when I saw that the Disney Store were selling this lady in a box, just like in the film I knew I had to have it. Of course, I’ve missed that window due to setting myself on a spending ban, but at the same time I was being indecisive. I’m really hoping the Disney Store bring it back as I would love to purchase this cute Lady plus.
Finally we have an item I pre-ordered through YY Kawaii a month or so ago. I saw her mention that Costa Coffee in China were making unicorn mugs and merchandise, which looked and are adorable! There were two takeaway mugs and two mugs. I went for the glass unicorn mug to drink my teas and coffees from. I don’t exactly need anymore mugs in my life, but this was kind of too cute to pass up and as I used to work at Costa Coffee many moons ago, I thought it would be nice to add one of the unicorn designs from China to my kitchen!
So there we have it, my wish list for August! Some of the items are pre-orders or have arrived already, such as my Nendoroid Alex DeLarge, which arrived last week. This being said, as I mentioned at the start of the post I’m going on a spending ban for August. I will only buy items that are essential or occasionally buy items that are limited edition or limited time, but that probably won’t happen much.
What items do you have on your wish lists this month? Make sure to let me know in the comments below, as well as to what items you like from my list!
Just over four months ago the UK was told to lock down and stay inside. It was scary but at the same time I was relieved that the UK FINALLY did something about it and was happy to stay inside for a while and hermit away. I wanted to share with you all how lock down has been for me, as well as how things have been throughout July so far. Not going to lie, it’s been good but very tiring! You may want to grab yourself a hot drink as this post mayyyyy be a long one.
To get this out there swiftly, I’ve been working from home since the lock down happened in March and I don’t have a date set yet for when I’ll be heading back to the office. Working from home has been amazing to be perfectly honest with you, but I do miss seeing my colleagues five days a week and having a laugh with them all.
Working from home has made me think more about adding an addition to our family… One with a wet nose and grey fur… No babies here I’m afraid! As well as that, working from home has also made me think lots about how much I loved our trip to Japan in January and just how much I’m craving to go again. I already want to look at going again late 2021 OR early 2022 for Dane’s birthday this time around. Try and visit when the cherry blossoms are out and travel to Hiroshima, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara and of course Tokyo! That will be a big trip, may even go for three weeks if we can justify it!
Although I have bought loads of shit over the past four months, one of the best things me and Dane bought was a new bathroom! Back in May around one of the bank holidays we discovered a leak in our kitchen ceiling, which had come from the bath. We called our insurance and called someone in for a quote. Two months later the work has been fixed and our bathroom COMPLETELY redone. We are both over the moon with it! Sadly I won’t be sharing it on my blog, which I had contemplated before. I want some privacy for us two from my little space on the world of the internet. I know my readers will understand. 🙂
As we all know, Animal Crossing: New Horizons came out in March JUST BEFORE lock down happened in the UK and I know so many people who have loved and enjoyed it, and who still are. I also have a couple of friends I helped source Switch and Switch Lite consoles so they could get their hands on Animal Crossing to play. It’s amazing having more of my close friends playing the game than ever before and that makes me so happy! I’ve calmed down a little of late with Animal Crossing, although I have picked it up of late to redo parts of my island.
I’ve done some baking during lock down and more so of late I’ve REALLY stepped out of my comfort zone to make something I hadn’t before, Millionaires Shortbread. I added a twist by adding salt to the caramel, to of course make salted caramel. 🙂 It was amazing and it was so simple to make. I was just worried about the caramel more than anything as I’ve never made it before. It took 30 minutes, which felt like too long, but it was worth it. Instead of milk chocolate, I put dark chocolate on top instead. They were amazing and really went down a treat with Dane, as well as my family.
As I mentioned previously how I’ve bought loads of shit, mostly shit I don’t need but has cheered me up during lock down and passed the time. I happened to save money too, even though I’m not 100% sure how I’ve done it! There are many brands I have wanted to order from for years and I finally have during the lock down, including Happy Place Cosmetics, Bath Bake Love, Cushty Co, Kittynaut and Jenni Illustrations who is pictured above.
I have been showing off the bath and home products on my Instagram pages stories (theremightbecoffeeblog) so if you’re intrigued by this, make sure to go and check out those stories highlighted on my profile.
I’ll be talking about the goodies I bought from Jenni Illustrations very soon, as well as when the enamel pins I’ve bought from Kittynaut have arrived. I for one am excited to share those with you. 🙂
Another item that I am planning to talk about in the future is my Yapfrog Isabelle ita bag! I’ve recently filled it full of enamel pins and although I may change them around in the future, I’m really happy with how I have it at the moment! I bought a piece of green gingham cloth to fabric to keep inside the bag so it looked a little more like Isabelle. So far I have enamel pins in there by Yapfrog, Quirkory (which you can read about here), Appleminte and Illustrator Jake. By the way guys I have a 10% discount code you can use on Illustrator Jake’s website which is – THEREMIGHTBECOFFEE10. 🙂
I honestly can’t wait to share this bag with you, but I want to make sure to spend plenty of time on it, as I’ve been excited to share it for God knows how long now! 😀
I’ve missed many things during lock down, including seeing my friends, going for coffee dates, sushi, spontaneous geeky shopping trips to town with Dane and my friends and getting my nails done! The nail salons opened up again recently and I finally went and got a much needed manicure. The last one I got was just before Animal Crossing and I got blue and green similar to the joy cons that came out for the limited edition Switch.
It was amazing to go and get my nails done against though and I went for this gorgeous creamy purple colour and a holographic blue/purple on the ring finger and thumb. I love them so much and have felt myself again in regards to feeling pretty. I’m getting them redone next week and I’m already torn at what I’m going to have. I get them done every three weeks, but I am a bit tempted to go every fortnight… We shall see! Any suggestions of what colour(s) to get, pleased let me know!
One of the last things I’m going to natter on about on here is how I have started reading manga again! 😀 Been too bloody long, I swear to God! I’ve been reading all the volumes in the Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid series, including the two spin offs too about Kanna and Elma. I plan to read and catch up on all my manga series I have to buy more in the future. I need to continue on with it, but lately playing games or watching crap on my iPad have taken place.
So, that is everything I can think of lately and that I wanted to share with you all.
Throughout July my blog feels like it’s been quiet, but that may have just been because I had a break last week as I had a lot going on. The bathroom took a while to get started and finished, but now it’s done we are so happy! That was stressful though, which you can only imagine why.
Alongside that I’ve been busy at work, as well as personal matters. For some reason this week I have been so tired throughout the day and especially in the evening after work. I don’t know why, but I hope some lie ins this weekend help sort it all out.
I’m excited for August now to be honest with you. I want to be able to go out and do more. Me and Dane treated ourselves to a McDonald’s last weekend as we really needed food and that was the easiest thing to get at the time. I’ve missed their fries and milkshakes so much! We also popped to Homesense and The Range to get some house stuff we needed and for a while I felt a little bit normal, even with a face mask on.
Eventually the world will be back to some normality and we’ll all relax a little again.
For now however, make sure to let me know in the comments how you have been during lock down, what have you been up to and most of all what you have missed and can’t wait to do again!
Apologies for what may feel like a rambling post, but I wanted to get a lot off of my chest onto this post today. 🙂
Until next time all, take care, keep safe and can’t wait to speak to you all soon!
If there is one thing I have been doing during lock down, it’s shopping… Shop, shop, shop! I honestly don’t know how I have been able to save money up! In all fairness, I don’t like to think I’ve spent a stupid amount of money, but I have been buying things I want and to be honest I have zero regrets.
As I’m not going out due to lock down and only spending a few nights a week talking to friends online, I’ve been on my laptop most of the time. During these times I’m either doing blog work, watching things on YouTube, browsing social media or buying things.
Not only have I browsed wish lists I have saved on my browser, but also wish lists I have on Etsy, eBay, EMP and finally Redbubble, the store I will be talking about today!
I wanted to share with you the goodies I recently bought from Redbubble as I’m so damn happy with everything I bought for various reasons, as well as sharing with you all the amazing customer service I experienced too.
I hope you enjoy this weeks blog post, it’s been a while since I shared a haul with you all (I’m a poet)! 😀
I made three orders with Redbubble, which sounds like a lot but this isn’t the case… I didn’t go shopping mad, I promise! Something happened to the original order I made and I complained to customer service about it.
I ordered the first sweatshirt I am going to talk about, alongside with some stickers. I ordered a men’s size L for the sweatshirt as I planned to wear it really baggy. I own a sweatshirt by One In Hundred that’s a men’s size L and it fits really comfortably. I wanted that feeling again.
The sweatshirt arrived and it looked amazing! The design was just as cute in reality as it was on the images on the website, however the size didn’t look right. I checked the tag which read M. In my head I began to worry it might not fit me, which wasn’t the case at all. If anything the M was a nice size, with the amount of baggy I had expected from the L. Even though I was happy with the M, I wasn’t happy with the fact I was sent the incorrect size.
What if this had been a gift for someone? What if it didn’t fit me? There are more what ifs here too, but those were the two that went through my mind.
I reached out to Redbubble through Twitter and an emailing service on their website to make a complaint/raise my concerns. I have to say, it is not easy to get in touch with Redbubble via email. You have to search for a certain topic and in the end I went for the “Have a query before you order?” option so I could free type an email instead of picking from options.
I always usually go to Twitter first as it’s easy to access and companies often reply quicker via social media. I didn’t expect to hear back from someone via Twitter and email. They offered me not one but two full store vouchers (which I chose as I was offered a full refund too) as an apology for what happened with the sizing. I was pleasantly surprised at this, as I didn’t expect anything considering the size I was sent fit me. Redbubble dealt with my complaint quickly and were really lovely about it.
I’ve been shopping with Redbubble for almost 10 years now and never had a problem until now, so I wasn’t really mad about it. Their customer service is amazing and I honestly cannot recommend Redbubble enough. I love them for the fact you are supporting artists who want to get their designs out there on/as clothing, stickers, phone cases, wall art, home & living pieces, accessories, stationary, gifts and more. It’s one of my favourite places to shop for certain pieces of my favourite things and I cannot recommend them enough.
With the refunds I received I bought myself two more sweatshirts, as well as sticker for me and some stickers for Dane (belated birthday present). I’m not showing the stickers I bought Dane though.
Now, onto the goodies I bought! I’ll show the sweatshirts first and then the stickers.
The first thing I want to say about the sweatshirts is the ones I bought are men’s/unisex sizing and are really comfortable to wear. They’re a little oversized for me and inside they’re all really soft, which is something I always check for when I buy sweatshirts. If they aren’t soft inside, it will take something special for me to buy. I’m thankful these are soft and fluffy inside. They’re perfect for all year around when the weather isn’t very warm and during the wet weather in the UK at the moment they have been perfect!
AC:NL- Goldie and Cherry Pullover Sweatshirt – Designed by EpikBecky (link)
This is the first sweatshirt I bought and the one I had “issues” with. The Animal Crossing design on this is gorgeous and I have no regrets ordering it. My favourite type of villages are dogs and I currently have a grand total of four on my island, including Cookie, Bones, Lucky and Goldie. My boyfriend Dane has Cherry on his island. I love that two of our dog villagers are in this design and it makes me feel like they both went to one of our islands to visit one another and have fun together! I love Animal Crossing so much and I need more merchandise from the game in my life. I especially love the oatmeal colour of the sweatshirt as I find the neutral colour works well with the bright colours of both Goldie and Cherry. EpikBecky who designed this has so many more lovely Animal Crossing designs on her Redbubble store, including Molly the duck, Isabelle, K.K. Slider, Tom Nook, Flurry the hamster, Mable and Sable and Rosie the cat. They also have an Ice Bear design from We Bear Bears that I love.
Bee and Puppycat Pullover Sweatshirt – Designed by Kaitlynn Peavler (link)
This is actually one of the last designs I found, but one both Dane and my friends really loved when I showed them. I decided to pick it up with the first refund I received from Redbubble and I have no regrets. I went for the cobalt blue sweatshirt with this gorgeous Bee and Puppycat print. The design is inspired by one of the first scenes of episode one (not the pilot) where Bee reaches for Puppycat. It’s a gorgeous design and it’s the first out of the three sweatshirts I bought I wore. I wore it for mine and Dane’s anniversary with some black mom jeans. The cobalt blue compliments the colour scheme of the design. I love this so much and I already know I’ll be asked who the characters are when lock down is over.
Questions worth asking Pullover Sweatshirt – Designed by Destiny Gaubert (link)
This is one of the first Bee and Puppycat designs I found and I fell in love with the design straight away. Without revealing too many spoilers, this is from the end of season 1 of the show where Puppycat is asking Bee questions to get to know her better. The questions including, “What’s your favourite colour?”, “What’s your favourite food?” and “What’s your favourite animal?”. It’s a really lovely end to the show considering what happens in the last episode. The design again shows the start of the first episode (not the pilot) where Bee is reaching out for Puppycat. I love how it combines the start and end of season 1. I got this on a dark blue/navy sweatshirt and again, it works really well with the colours of the design. I can’t wait to wear this one, as I know it will get a lot of questions. This was the sweatshirt I picked up with the second refund I was given by Redbubble.
Dom Animal Crossing Shy Sticker – Designed by rottnmaggtz (link)
I have fallen in love with Dom in Animal Crossing. He’s a new sheep to join the game and he’s absolutely adorable. One of my friends has him on her island and I’m semi jealous… But at least I get to see him when I visit! So I decided to have a look for a Dom sticker whilst browsing through Redbubble when I made my original order. This was my favourite out of all the ones I found so I decided to order it. It’s a decent sized sticker to be honest and has a matte finish to it. I love the design as Dom is always seem as the bashful, adorable sheep with the rainbow tie dye t-shirt (it’s a scarf on the sticker). It’s just so precious and perfect.
Morgana Chilling Sticker – Designed by tetrablock (link)
This was another sticker I ordered with the first order I made with Redbubble. Do I really need to explain why I bought a Persona 5 sticker? 😛 As a regular reader you will know how much of a fan I am of the game, as well as my love for Joker, Skull/Ryuji and Morgana, who are my favourites. I bought this sticker to pop onto my iPad case but I actually don’t have room for it, which is a shame. It’s tempted me to stick it on my laptop to jazz it up a bit, but I won’t be doing that as I like my laptop to look “professional”, if that makes sense? This stickers design is so cute though!
ACNL K.K. Slider Sticker – Designed by ncdoggGraphics (link)
I have had my eye on this sticker for almost a year now, (mentioned here and here) so I’m glad to finally have it! I ordered it when I made my first refunded order, alongside with some stickers I ordered for Dane as a belated birthday gift. This sticker is so adorable of K.K. Slider, especially with him saying, “Yo.”! This was another sticker I thought about sticking onto my laptop, but again, I want to keep it plain and “boring.” I would like this design on a t-shirt eventually, maybe even a notebook.
So, that is everything I bought from Redbubble recently! I bought so much stuff from there and don’t intend to buy anything else for a while now… Maybe later on in the year for clothing. It’s definitely an amazing place to go to buy things from games, anime, TV series, films and more that you love and are interested in, but that doesn’t have much merchandise around. A great example there is Bee and Puppycat.
Not only did I want to share you all the amazing pieces I picked up, but also what an amazing store Redbubble are, as well as how great their customer service is too. 🙂
Have you ever shopped with Redbubble before? If so how was your experience? What do you think of the sweatshirts and stickers I picked up? Finally, were you aware of Bee and Puppycat before this post?
Make sure to let me know answers to my questions and more in the comments!
Can you believe in almost a week that Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been out for two months? Nope… Neither can I! The time has really flown by and honestly, I am living my best island life!
I don’t care if I talk about Animal Crossing too much on my blog, I love it so damn much and I’ll shout about if I want to! I love reading bloggers Animal Crossing posts too, I honestly cant get enough of it.
During the lock down I’ve not been too great on and off mentally. I’m feeling low, tired and lethargic and the only thing that is keeping me going at the moment (aside from Dane and my friends) is Animal Crossing. It came out at the perfect time considering lock down happened 3 days after the game released.
So, I will continue to talk about Animal Crossing as much as I want to, because this game is literally a huge part of my life right now.
Recently Estelle over at Estellosaurus created an Animal Crossing tag and I KNEW I had to take part! So, let’s get started!
Welcome to the Estellosaurus Animal Crossing Island Getaway Tag!
The rules are:
Copy and paste the rules and sentence above. Answer the questions. Duh.
Thank the person who tagged you, don’t forget to link to their original post/answers
Tag 2 new people to take part.
Share your Switch Friend Code at the end if you want too!
Animal Crossing Island Getaway Tag
1. What is your island called? Why did you pick that name?
My island is called Kitsakura and the name is a mixture of kitsune and sakura. I tried loads of names I wanted to have for my island, but they were all too long, so I merged some of my ideas together. I really love the name, it feels unique.
2. Share a picture of yourself on your island.
3. What hemisphere did you choose? Is it the hemisphere you are actually in?
I chose the Northern Hemisphere, as this is what I am in. I know some who changed it, but honestly I don’t see the point. I want the game to adapt to what is happening realistically where I live.
4. Who is your current favourite resident? Who would be your ultimate dream resident?
This is such a hard question because I love all my residents for different reasons! I would have to say Cookie though. This is the first time I have had her on my island and she’s always a villager I have wanted in the previous games. The fact I can finally have her (thanks to amiibo) is amazing and I honestly love how sassy and kawaii she is. I love her so much, I requested for her to be drawn in a commission with me, purely because I love her vibe so much!
A close second to Cookie is Bones. I had him in one of my previous games and adored his silly, childish behaviour. He’s still as adorable as ever and he honestly brings a smile to my face whenever I see and talk to him on my island.
5. What can you not do on your island that you wish you could?
I’m really missing The Roost at the moment… In New Leaf it was one of my favourite places to go, as well as one of my favourite things to do once a day. You would have to make some villagers coffees for them and make sure to get them right. If you did good, Brewster would give you a special item. I worked as a barista at the time, so that’s why I loved it so much. Honestly though, The Roost needs to return!
6. Favourite season in game and why?
This is a hard one, especially with New Horizons, as so far we have only really seen spring. Overall… I think I have always loved spring for the cherry blossoms and winter for the snow. I especially love making snowmen and when Christmas is around, all the pine trees have pretty fairy lights on them.
7. If you played New Leaf, what do you miss from that game that you wish had been taken across to New Horizons?
The first thing that comes to mind is your villagers coming to your house to visit. You could either invite them or they would ask to come over. I really wish you could do this! I want Cookie, Bones and Goldie to come to my house and see all my cute stuff… As well as all my turnips. 😛
8. Favourite K.K. Slider song?
It’s always been K.K. Bossa since the Animal Crossing anime movie, however I’ve always fallen in love with Bubblegum K.K. after hearing it loads in Cookie’s house! It’s definitely K.K. Bossa though, it’s even my phones ringtone. The scene from the film is really cute and I recommend you to go and find it to watch if you can. YouTube has a fake English dub here… It’s not official dub but they did an amazing job (I’ve watched the Japanese one too).
9. Favourite non resident character?
Definitely Isabelle! She only came around in New Leaf, but honestly she is such a cutie and I honestly look forward to seeing her every morning when I turn my game on, even when she doesn’t have news. I love hearing about how she spent her evening and what crappy TV she’s been watching. Alongside Isabelle I love Tommy, he’s so cute and adorable with his higher pitched voice out of the two Nook brothers.
Finally, I love and miss Resetti. As much as I hated when he would have a go at me in the game if I didn’t save, I always looked forward to seeing him too as it was such a rare occurrence. I hope he comes back in the future… I really do. I know people have said they can hear him when you go to use the terraforming tool… But it isn’t the same. 😦
So, that was The Estelleosaurus Animal Crossing Island Getaway Tag! I love Animal Crossing so much, as well as Estelle, so I knew I had to take part in this tag.
Now for tagging who I want to join in… EVERYONE! If you read this post and would like to join in, please do!
Are you playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons? Are you still loving it and playing it everyday? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below all your thoughts and feelings on the game.
With all this isolation that we are currently experiencing in the UK, I am remembering daily our amazing Japan trip from January. With this, I am always thinking too about the places we ventured to and how much I love and miss them. The Pompompurin Cafe in Harajuku is one of them.
This was one of my favourite places that me and Dane ventured to, especially for food. I knew for months that I wanted to visit the Pompompurin Cafe as I have been a huge fan of the cute pudding dog since I was 11, so almost 20 years now… WOW!
The cafe is located in Cute Cube Harakuju, which is on the famous Takeshita Street. It was pretty easily to find with signs telling you where to go. You walk up some stairs to get to the cafe and you’re greeted with yellow and brown colours, an adorable entrance to the cafe itself and of course, images and figures of Pompompurin and his little animal friends.
I have to be honest and say the day we spent in Harajuku was… Strange, which is nothing to do with Harajuku. We arrived in Harajuku and I was so damn excited! However, not long after we arrived I suddenly felt light headed and nautious. Shortly after we bought a crepe I was sick and it sucked. This went on around Takeshita street for about an hour. After plenty of walking, sipping on water and visited some cute animals around Harajuku, I was ready to go and get food from the Pompompurin Cafe.
Unlike some themed cafes in Japan, you didn’t need to book a place to get a seat in the Pompompurin Cafe. You just walked in. I would image that if the cafe was busy you may put your name down on a sheet and wait, but we didn’t have a problem as the cafe was quiet. Like any eating/drinking establishment, you go in, tell the staff how many people will be seated and you’re taken to a seat in the establishment. Simple!
Inside the cafe is everything I imaged and more! I had of course read/seen reviews online about the cafe, but being there in the flesh is just so much better to be honest with you. It’s cream yellow and brown, just like Pompompurin himself, with adorable Pompompurin sofas, artwork on the walls, statues and even cute as fuck music playing. The music that was played (all of 2 tracks on a loop may I add!) was so cute and I managed to find one of them on YouTube, which I have linked above. 😀 The music made me so happy and I think Dane rather enjoyed it too. It was really catchy and we for the remainder of the trip in Japan, we caught ourselves humming the tunes. Even 3 months later, I still find myself humming the songs. 😛
The cafe itself was quiet when we got in there and for the duration of our time. There were two women sitting eating when we arrived and when we left there was a couple sat near to us, so it was very quiet… I expected it to be super busy, but as we went to Harajuku on a Monday (which is said to be the quietest day of the week), this may be why. We didn’t mind either way, it meant we got a decent table, a chance to have a good look around the cafe during our time there and take photos.
One thing I regret is not asking the staff is we could sit on one of the adorable Pompompurin sofas that was in the cafe. The couple who came in not long before we left did this. It would have made for a kawaii photo opportunity!
At the time that we visited the cafe there was actually a collaboration event going on. Hello Mandy (a Sanrio character based off of Mandy Sekiguchi) was collaborating, so we got some special place mats, as well as coasters. There were also some special menu items too, but we weren’t too interested in those choices.
The menu choices were really varied and perfect, however, when you look on the website it states which drinks/dishes are exclusive to any of the three cafes – Harajuku, Umeda or Yokohama.
I had previously taken a look on the website before we flew to Japan so I had a vague idea of what I wanted, however when we sat down and were given the menus I was a bit stuck… I ummed for ages about what to choose and thankfully in the end Dane helped me pick what I went for in the end.
We both went for desserts, as the savoury mains just weren’t for us. Whilst I was in Japan I ate a lot of sweet foods, which isn’t like me at all! I have zero regrets of what I chose to eat and I would happily choose it again.
Alongside our desserts we also ordered some drinks. For about a year the Pompompurin Cafe has brought a separate menu in for bubble tea and as we both love drinking bubble tea, we couldn’t really resist not ordering it to drink.
I went for the matcha milk and Dane went for the strawberry milk. These tasted so damn yummy and on top they have cream, which had hundreds and thousands on (sprinkles to anyone outside the UK) as well a kawaii Pompompurin biscuit! The boba was lovely and soft, I enjoyed it so much.
Also a fun Japan fact, whilst bubble tea has been around for years and has been a hit in the UK for almost 10 years now, it’s something that Japan have only recently started to serve there. There were bubble tea stores everywhere, as well as restaurants and cafes serving it in stores too.
As I mentioned before, we ordered desserts for our food as we both had sweet teeth. Dane went for the Pancake Tower and I went for the Glittery Dream Parfait.
With the Pancake Tower Dane chose he could pay an extra 300 yen to get his own little Pompompurin mug, which he decided to do. We got to see what our mug would look like, as one came with his dessert. The Pancake Tower is a stack of pancakes with fruit on the side, some squirty cream and syrup on the Pompompurin mug. Dane said when it comes down to what the dessert was like he said it was really nice, but it was a tad overwhelming due to all of the pancakes having different fillings and flavours. There was also a “tanginess” that he remembers tasting, but he still doesn’t know where it came from. This was something he didn’t like. As I said however, he did really enjoy it but did comment saying he wouldn’t have it again if we ever ventured back to the cafe.
I still cannot believe I chose the Glittery Dream Parfait. Even back home this isn’t something I would gravitate towards… Parfaits aren’t really my thing and if they are, I would usually share it with Dane or a friend. Spoiler – I didn’t finish it! 😛 The parfait was crazy and I don’t think there wasn’t anything NOT sweet in there. I love the mason jar it came in and just wish this was something you could have had the option to buy. I would have totally used it to drink out of now. Inside the parfait there were different layers, I’ll start from the bottom and go up! At the bottom was a strawberry mousse, next a middle layer mixture of cornflakes, strawberries and blueberries, on top of that there was blue yogurt (from memory I think it was vanilla) which tasted amazing and on top of all that there was some amazing fresh cream, sweeties (marshallow, shorbread biscuits, jelly beans and strawberry Pocky. The final touch was the cream and rainbow coloured sugar which was around the rim of the glass. This was such a gorgeous dessert and I’m glad I chose it for that reason alone. This dessert is actually exclusive to the Harajuku cafe, which is why Dane was so encouraging of me to go for it. This parfait was really yummy and I enjoyed it, however, I did get really full halfway through the middle layer of cornflakes and fruit and had to pass onto Dane to try and finish… Which he didn’t as he was so full from his own dessert.
We really did take our time whilst at the cafe, not that we ever felt like we needed to rush anyway. At some cafes you only get a certain amount of time, however, that wasn’t the case here which I loved. We made sure to take everything in, relax after a busy day around Harajuku and spend the time we had planning our last week in Japan.
I have to be honest here and say, not just me but Dane too, we both took photos of the bathroom. It was gorgeous. It looked more like a bathroom in someone’s home, rather than in a themed cafe. Even the soap dispenser was Pompompurin, which I now want for my own bathroom haha. Also, I know the focus is bad on the second image, but I couldn’t not include it.
When we were done we made sure to take advantage of how quiet it was and took some photos around the cafe, as well as with the cute statue and HUGE plushie of Pompompurin.
I took so many photos with the plushie and the statue, considering it was quiet and I had the chance to!
Of course, we also took advantage of the gift shop and bought some goodies. I was a little disappointed how “little” the gift shop seemed to be. I didn’t expect it to be huge, don’t get me wrong, but the previous three themed cafes we visited seemed to have a lot more.
Even so, we picked up some cute goodies and even managed to grab some exclusive things too, which I’ll show towards the end of this post.
I paid for our food and goodies, as this was my treat and we ventured home.
So, onto the goodies I picked up for us from the gift shop!
Pompompurin Cafe Plush Keychain – I knew I had to have this little plush keychain… Purely because I wanted an exclusive plush for the cafe, but also because I had already bought two like this from the Pokemon Cafe (which you can read all about here). Pompompurin now sits with my Pikachu and Eevee plush keychains from the Pokemon Cafe, because, why not?
Pompompurin Coin Purse – I saw this cute little purse and knew I had to have it. I know for a fact if I hadn’t picked it up, I would have regretted it. I have this in my backpack and use it for wires/headphones but I do want to change that and use it for other things. I don’t think I want to use it as a coin purse, as I won’t want it to get dirty. We’ll see!
Pompompurin Keychains (Pancakes and Heart) – I picked these up so me and Dane had matching keychains. We don’t use them for that purpose as they’re too nice, but we know when we look at them in our cabinet that they resemble our day together in Harajuku and eating at the Pompompurin Cafe. Dane picked up the one of Pompompurin holding the pancake stack ad I picked the one of him holding a heart. Very cute and also very us.
Pompompurin Cafe Mug – This of course is the mug we paid the extra 300 yen for with Dane’s pancake dessert. We don’t use it, but we keep it in our cabinet with our Pokemon Cafe goods so it’s safe. I don’t think I will ever have the heart to use it, but it makes me so happy to see in the cabinet. I honestly love Pompompurin and have done so for long.
Overall, I fell in love with the Pompompurin Cafe. It was by far one of my favourite things about Harajuku, as to be perfectly honest I was disappointed by what Takeshita Street had to offer. It’s known for it’s quirky fashion, but to me it just looked like stuff you could pick up from eBay or Wish… Hence my disappointment. This is just Takeshita Street though… When you venture away from here and to the rest of Harajuku, you discover some amazing places!
As and when me and Dane venture to Japan again, I already know we will revisit the Pompompurin Cafe, whether it be the Harajuku one, or the other two in Umeda or Yokohama.
What did you guys think of the Pompompurin Cafe in Harajuku? Would you venture there yourself for some yummy food and drinks, as well as kawaii custard puppy goodness? Make sure to let me know in the comments!
Until next time, stay safe, take care and HAPPY EASTER! 🙂
At the time of me writing this post, Animal Crossing: New Horizons still has another 4 days to go until it’s out and I honestly cannot wait anymore… BRING IT ON! I NO LONGER WANT A LIFE!
BUT when this post is live on my blog, Animal Crossing: New Horizons will have been out over 24 hours and all the Animal Crossing fans who are swamping Twitter will go quiet…er. 😛
P.S. I’ve written this post early because I want my Friday and all weekend to myself to play this game! When I said I no longer want a life, I meant it. 😛
I thought considering Animal Crossing: New Horizons came out yesterday, it would be appropriate for me to talk about some items and independent artists who have created some amazing pieces that are Animal Crossing inspired!
A lot of the items below may be from Etsy as personally if I don’t discover a new artist through a con or Instagram, it’ll be from there! 😀
So, I hope you enjoy this blog post today – whether you are playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons or self isolating at home due to the COVID-19. Don’t forget to stay safe guys. 🙂
This is actually an enamel pin I made sure to pre-order when it came out last week on Illustrator Jake’s website. The Froggy Chair from Animal Crossing has become a HUGE meme and I honestly couldn’t tell you why haha! I thought the design was cute though so just had to order. This will go inside an Animal Crossing itabag I’ve ordered. 😀
I honestly love this print that I found on Etsy a while ago and would love to buy it to hang in the house somewhere. However, I wouldn’t have a clue where to put it in my house in all honesty. I just love all the details on the print from the glasses Tom Nook wears, to Resetti looking adorable and like a fan girl.
Who doesn’t love scented candles? So, when you cross scented candles and Animal Crossing what do you get? Home perfection! 😛 I love the scented candles that NerdieNiftiesEU has on their store and I especially love the sound of this Isabelle berry muffin one. This would be ideal to burn on a summer evening whilst you relax and play Animal Crossing: New Horizons or whilst you have a relaxing bath.
I recently discovered Shop Azula through Instagram who has created some gorgeous Animal Crossing inspired enamel pins, but as I’ve already mentioned some enamel pins on this post I wanted to showcase something else, aka this pouch. You can never go wrong with having a nice pouch, whether it be for stationary, beauty, gaming related items and more. You can always keep this pouch in your handbag/backpack or keep around the house. The print on it is gorgeous with various characters such as Isabelle, Tom Nook, Celeste, Blathers, Katrina, Reece, Cyrus, K.K. Slider and more!
paolinamissio Lily and Marshall Onsen Holographic Sticker (link)
This sticker is so adorable and not only does it shout Animal Crossing to me, but it also personally reminds me of my holiday to Japan, due to the villagers bathing in the onsen. You can see Lily and Marshall bathing together in the tub with a wooden tub full of apples in between them. I especially love how the sticker is also holographic, which is cute! I’d love to set up an Animal Crossing style notebook, it would be full of Animal Crossing: New Horizons stuff!
I honestly love Samantha Whitten’s work and have wanted to buy some of her pieces for the longest time! She also owns Sugar Bunny Shop and has the adorable fox Doki, which is the pieces I have wanted to buy for agggges! But, the Animal Crossing prints she has designed and released are gorgeous and I would honestly love one to hang up in either our living room, or in our bedroom. I may have to invest in buying some new prints soon! 🙂
Who doesn’t love a cute keychain, right? The one thing I like the most about this keychain is that it’s unisex and with the new Animal Crossing game coming out now, this would make an awesome gift for someone who just just bought the game, or will in the future! This is the kind of thing I would buy someone who is a huge Animal Crossing fan as a birthday or Christmas present. 🙂
Finally we have this adorable Isabelle sticker where she is chilling in a pool float. She looks so damn happy! Again, this is a sticker I would put in/on an Animal Crossing notebook/journal. You can also get a floating Tom Nook and Daisy-Mae, who I know everyone has gone crazy for lately! These stickers just remind me of summer!
So, there we have it! Some independent Animal Crossing merchandise ideas for all you Animal Crossing fans out there!
UPDATE – Also make sure to use my discount code below on Illustrator Jake’s store to snag yourself a nice 10% discount! 😀
THEREMIGHTBECOFFEE10
With everything that is going on at the moment in the world with Coronavirus, it was really important for me to share independent artists more than anything. I know a lot of independent artists are struggling right now so I want to definitely showcase some of my favourites here. 🙂
Are you guys playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons this weekend? If so, how are you finding it so far? Also, do you like any of the goodies I’ve spoken of in my post? Again, make sure to let me know in the comments.
Anyway guys, I’m getting back to Animal Crossing, I have an island to run! 😛
Until next time, take care all and I hope you’re having a lovely weekend so far!
Pokemon Day was just over two weeks ago now (27th February) and as I’ve been back from Japan for a month now… Sad times…
As my first post about my trip to Japan was about the Pokemon Center’s in Tokyo and what I bought, I thought my second post should continue talking about Pokemon! Of course, I can’t not talk about the Pokemon Cafe in Tokyo and my experience there, as well as a haul of what both me and Dane bought from there.
Just a warning this post is going to be a long one… Purely because I want to try and go through as much as I can, including how to book as this is something we had a mini struggle with, as well as anything else that comes to mind in regards to the Pokemon Cafe.
Let’s not chatter anymore, let’s get on with the post!
I knew that if I was going to Japan, I was going to the Pokemon Cafe! There are currently only two in Japan, the newest one in Osaka and the one in Tokyo, which we went to. The Pokemon Cafe’s have only been open a couple of years so it’s still quite a new thing and VERY popular!
First of all, if you want to go to the Pokemon Cafe be ready for a few things:
It can be expensive… But this can depend. If you want to try as much as you can on the menu AND buy merchandise as well, this can add up. For both of us it came to 14,600.00 yen (just over £100) but that was for food, drinks AND merchandise and we bought a lot to be honest (as you’ll see in this post).
You NEED to book in advance. If you don’t, you probably won’t get in. I’ll be talking about this in this post. Booking isn’t hard but it’s something you’ll have to think about first out of everything.
If you aren’t keen on mascots “bothering” you then I don’t know if the Pokemon Cafe will be for you. There’s a performance for quite some time with Chef Pikachu and if you have anxiety, or just don’t like this sort of thing… Then Pokemon Cafe might be one to miss… Or at least just go for a quick drink to experience it. 🙂
I didn’t have any issues and if anything, the Pokemon Cafe was one of my favourite things that me and Dane did during our trip to Japan! It was everything I had hoped it would be and more. I kind of wish we went again but at the same time, the one visit made it much more memorable.
The second thing I want to talk about is how you need to go about booking your place at the Pokemon Cafe.
Booking isn’t hard, but it can be tricky. First of all get onto the right website! You don’t need to go through any third parties in order to book the Pokemon Cafe, you can do this directly through them.
Okay… I decided whilst writing this post that I wasn’t going to type and explain to you all how to book the Pokemon Cafe… Instead I am going to link you all to the video that me and Dane watched when we were booking our reservation.
This video from AforAlyce may be from almost 2 years ago BUT IT IS STILL RELEVANT! We used this when booking ours and it was the best guide out there in all honesty.
Some issues we faced however (which wasn’t AforAlyce’s fault) are below:
Although Google Translate is handy, it seemed to confuse the website… Especially on the calendar, so make sure to be wary because of this. It also caused some issues in regards to trying to click certain things.
The maximum of people you can now book is 8! 😀
At one point you will need to fill in your contact details, you put your name in English AND Hiragana. You can Google your name in Hiragana but we found this a little tricky… Just try your best though!
Finally the reservations at the Pokemon Cafe GO QUICK as they are released a month in advance. So, make sure to book your reservation(s) when 9am hits in Japan (UK time 12am) or at least as soon as you can! We booked ours as soon as we could in the morning… Think it was about 6am!
MAKE SURE TO ORDER THE EXCLUSIVE GOODIES IF YOU WANT THEM! YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO BUY THESE IN THE CAFE!!!!!
Thanks to the help of a friend (Hi Connor!) he suggested the best seat for us, which is the shared counter table and we were sat right in front of Pikachu, YAY! I was so thankful for Connor’s help with this, honestly this was the best seat in the Pokemon Cafe. 🙂 Just a little plug for Connor, but he runs his own blog all about Japan! 😀 Make sure to go and check it out here!
You sit and wait to be taken to your table at the entrance of the Pokemon Cafe and once your time slot comes up, you are shown to the table/seats you booked! You walk through what feels like a heaven of a cafe… Well, at least if you’re a Pokemon fan! There are displays everywhere, including the plates, cups, bowls and cutlery you use and can buy from the cafe, plushies (some you can buy) and a MASSIVE Snorlax!
There are other displays too, which I knew of before going to the Pokemon Cafe myself, but I didn’t actually go and take a look at them until I was leaving the cafe. This was just due to how quiet the cafe was at this stage… PLUS I wanted to be sat down and start enjoying the cafe!
You’re sat down and you get an iPad to order your menu items from, including drinks. There was so much to choose from! You also have a themed place mat out in front of you, which you flip over to reveal which Pokemon you got!
If you ordered any merchandise whilst booking your place at the Pokemon Center this/these item will be in a brown Pokemon Cafe bag where you’re sitting. I loved this and inside you will find your goodies and even some brown bags for if these are gifts for people back home! I loved this so much and most of all, in the UK you would probably fret and worry if anything was missing due to theft… Not in Japan! I’ll show you what we picked up at the end of the post… 😛
So, when you are ready to order your drinks and food just tap on the iPad, select your desired language and you’re ready to go!
I’ll be honest, it was hard to choose what I wanted for a few reasons – First being price and second being that I didn’t want to not choose something and regret it later. I’m glad I splurged out and got everything that I wanted!
Drinks I went a bit crazy, but it was mostly because I really wanted to try them and I wanted the glass/mug they came in too. I went for the Pokemon Latte iced with glass and the Gengar’s Okay Hikari Smoothie with glass.
Dane just went for the Pokemon Latte Hot with mug. He wasn’t as greedy as me in regards to drinks. 😛
The drinks were one of my favourite things from the Pokemon Cafe menu, with my favourite being the Gengar grape smoothie and of course I needed to take the glass home with me. This drink was a really thick slushie (not smoothie) in the classic grape flavour that Japan loves! If you love Grape Fanta, you will adore this and if anything, it’s better! Dane regretted not getting himself one. For a small glass this lasted ages too, it was the last thing we finished before resting our bellies and paying.
The lattes (both hot and cold) were really good! You get to choose from Pokemon No.001 to No.251. I went for Eevee on my iced latte and Dane went for Growlithe on his hot latte. The mug you get your hot latte in is much different from what you get to take home with you if you decided to buy the mug. The mug you get in the Pokemon Cafe is in the shape of a Pokeball, which was really cool! I’ll be showing you guys at the end of the post the mug we got. The glass I got with my cold latte is the same as the one I got to take home. This is honestly one of my favourite things I purchased during our trip to Japan! I love using it for my favourite cold drinks, it just puts a smile on my face at how cute the glass is.
When you order drinks you also get the chance to win some coasters too, one for each drink you order. So, we got the chance to win three! We won two Grookey coasters and (name). The duplicate Grookey sits in my plushie shelf, whereas the other two we won will be stuck in our Japan trip 2020 scrapbook. FYI – You will always win a coaster. 😉
When it came down to the food choices, we had LOADS of choice, as well as some limited edition dishes. I was only going to go for one dish, but decided to go for two after discussing it with Dane. I don’t regret this at all… Even when I was so stuffed I couldn’t move!
Food wise I went for the Kabigon’s Manpuku nap lunch plate for my main and the Messon’s berry berry fruit sandwich for my dessert.
Dane went for the Eevee well plate with Eevee plate as his main and the Jigglypuff’s Musical Cheesecake for dessert.
I’m honestly so pleased with the main I ordered, which was the Snorlax nap lunch plate. Inside the Snorlax bowl (in his belly) you get rice with veg and prawns, I didn’t eat the prawns but the rice was AMAZING! It was flavoured really nicely and I enjoyed every bite. On the side you had a salad, some star shaped hash browns, pieces of pork (which were so soft and succulent!) and finally a sauce to dip your meat, hash browns, pour over your salad etc. The whole of the Snorlax nap lunch plate was perfect and honestly I couldn’t have been happier with my choice! I really struggled with what I wanted to pick for my main but I’m glad I chose this in the end.
Dane went for the Eevee plate and got to take a plate home, which we’ve now popped up on our fireplace! The plate was adorable in the sense of it was definitely kawaii and a little bit too good to eat… The first thing I noticed was the rice in the shape of Eevee’s head with edible rice paper for the ears and details of the face. I don’t think Dane minded eating Eevee’s face though… 😛 You also get a salad, some spaghetti/noodles, hash browns, chicken, some sauce and something else that he can’t quite remember.
Whilst we were eating out food Chef Pikachu came around to greet us, which was adorable! This little show must have lasted about an hour max, but that’s with Chef Pikachu moving around the whole of the Pokemon Cafe. Basically, you get a little show from Chef Pikachu where he thanks you for coming to the cafe and you thank him for the food! The show was adorable and I filmed loads of it on my phone, which I’m sadly not going to share on my blog (this is more for personal).
Eventually when Pikachu had thanked us he moved to the next area of the Pokemon Cafe, which meant we could continue to eat our food. I’m not going to lie, it would have been hard (and kind of rude!) to carry on eating our food during the show. The show was at a perfect time though and we definitely had the best place in the cafe for it!
After we finished our mains we waited for our desserts to arrive, which didn’t take long to be honest with you! We were sat near the kitchen so we got our food and drinks pretty quick, which was great.
Originally the only dish I was going to order from the Pokemon Cafe was the Sobble dessert and whilst I loved the dessert I ordered, I’m still glad I ordered more! This is a limited edition dish which is actually finishing after this weekend, however, originally it was meant to end towards the end of January when we were due to come back home. They extended it, which is cool! This was such a lovely, light dessert and I enjoyed it so much! It’s a sponge sandwich type thing that is meant to be the shape of Sobble’s head, with cream and blueberries in the middle. Alongside this you had some more blueberries, a pot of blueberry cream and a little bottle of lemon juice. When your poured the lemon juice into the blueberry cream it turned it from a blue colour to purple! Very cool and I loved it so much, it definitely worked perfectly alongside the type of Pokemon Sobble is.
I have to say I love blueberries but due to how full I was from the main I just couldn’t handle it all, so Dane had to help me finish. I really struggled and that is not a bad thing! For how much you pay to sit and eat these amazing dishes in the Pokemon Cafe, you really do get your moneys worth.
Dane’s dessert looked so cute and seemed perfect to have after a big meal, as it also looked light. The Jigglypuff shape of the cheesecake was kawaii and he couldn’t have chosen anything better! This is sadly now discontinued, so I’m glad Dane picked it up before it was gone forever! It’s a berry cheesecake so had a pink tint for Jigglypuff, some biscuits in the shape of musical notes and some cream and berries. As I said, perfect and light after a big meal!
After we had finished eating and had relaxed our full bellies a little, it was time to head to the till and pay. However, before doing that we made sure to take advantage of the photo opportunities around the Pokemon Cafe and have a nose at the merchandise on offer.
There’s a bench you can sit on in the Pokemon Cafe with huge plushies of both Chef and Waitress Pikachu. This is a great place for all the photo opportunities, which we made sure to take advantage of!
We also took some photos around the Pokemon Cafe at all the displays we viewed briefly as we walked through to our table and there were some pretty cool ones in there such as LEGO version of the Snorlax and Mew that is outside of the Pokemon Cafe AND Pokemon Center Tokyo DX (which you can read about here) and various prints from artists, which are also signed. It’s very cool!
Finally we decided to have a nosey at the merchandises we contemplated picking up. The only I ended up picking up for myself was the Pokemon Cafe red takeaway mug. I’ve wanted it for years, so I knew I wanted to pick it up from the cafe.
When we went to pay we were given the goods we had bought when we ordered our drinks and dishes from the menu, these includes the two glasses (Gengar and iced latte), a Pikachu mug (hot latte) and the Eevee plate from Dane’s main.
I had to add here I was a tad gutted about the mug I received… As Eevee is one of my favourite Pokemon, that’s the one I wanted. However, the staff wouldn’t give me one and said it wasn’t available, so I can only assume it was sold out, which is a shame! There will always be chances to get hold of it from sellers though. 🙂
The service was incredible at the Pokemon Cafe! The staff were all so bubbly and friendly to talk to and the majority of them spoke English too, even when you were trying to/were speaking Japanese, which was really nice.
Finally I want to show you guys all the goodies we came away with from the Pokemon Cafe, because I know you all love that sort of thing! 😛
First of all I’ll show the goodies we got when we made our reservations. Again, these are exclusive and can only be purchased when reserving your place at the Pokemon Cafe!
Pokémon Cafe Mascot Chef Pikachu – This little plush keychain plus is adorable and it really is a special item for me and Dane. Of course it is Chef Pikachu, the same one (well obvs not EXACTLY the same) that comes around in the cafe and greets you all. This is a mascot plush, so one you would typically keep on your bag and such, but instead we have popped this little guy in our plushie cabinet/case in our bedroom.
Pokémon Mascot Cafe Eevee – Honestly I love this Eevee so much! As many of you MUST know by now, I love Eevee, so when I first saw this little waitress/waiter Eevee I knew we had to order one! I wish this plush was in a bigger size in all honesty. It has the little red cap that the staff wear in the Pokemon Cafe. Like Chef Pikachu, this one is also in our plushie cabinet/case.
Pokémon Cafe Clear File 3 Piece Set (Reservation Bonus 2) – We knew we wanted to get some files for our trip in Japan, as a lot of places we ventured to (aka cafes) have the place mats that you fold/roll up and take home, so we wanted some files that we could do that with. We never actually used these, or any of the other files that we bought for this purpose. Even so these files will be handy for D&D BUT, I have started to wonder if you could frame these and hang them up like prints! These would especially look great around the house and in the kitchen. I have to add, the first file is by far my favourite! The mascots from the Pokemon Cafe are adorable. 🙂
Now onto the items we bought when ordering our food, as well as after when we were paying for our meal/goods. I also want to mention how aside from the Eevee plate, everything we bought below was packaged in sturdy Pokemon Cafe boxes, so we didn’t have to worry too much about bringing everything back… Although I did wrap the glasses and mug up in newspaper just to be sure. 🙂
Gengar Glass – I knew I needed this glass, it just looks really cool! BUT I didn’t quite know what to expect when I saw it out of the box and without the grape smoothie in! It’s a tinted purple glass, with the Gengar face we all know and lo… Are frightened of. 😛 It also has the Pokemon Center logo at the bottom of the glass too. I haven’t used this glass since we got home and if anything we have decided to keep it safe in our cabinet, alongside some of the other goodies we picked up in Japan, including the Pikachu mug we picked up in the Pokemon Cafe too.
Pokemon Cafe Glass – This is one of the few kitchen related items I grabbed from the Pokemon Cafe that I ACTUALLY use. 😛 I love my Pokemon Cafe glass and although I do get so anxious when I use it, I love it so much and it really does make me smile to use. It’s such a gorgeous design and I can’t really describe what the glass is like over than it shouts the Pokemon Cafe at you! On one side you have the Pokemon Cafe logo and a few various images of Chef Pikachu and Waitress Pikachu doing things in the cafe. 🙂 It’s perfect and just reminds me of the cafe whenever I look at it and use it.
Pikachu Mug – This was one of the things that Dane got and you could either choose between the Eevee or Pikachu mug. As I mentioned earlier, we wanted the Eevee mug but wasn’t available for us, so the Pikachu one came home with us and you know what? I actually really love the Pikachu mug! It’s so cute and well made to be honest with you. The handle is Pikachu’s tail, whilst the mug itself has a cute image of the happy Pikachu we have all grown up with over the years. It also has the Pokemon Center logo on the other side of the mug. It’s a lovely bright yellow colour which will really stand out in the cupboard where you keep your mugs!
Eevee Plate – This is the plate Dane got with his meal, of course he got a brand new plate, not the one he ate off of. 😛 This is a sturdy plastic plate in the shape of Eevee’s head and of course has an image of Eevee’s face on the plate too! It’s incredibly cute and I really love it! We weren’t 100% sure what we were going to do with it when we got home and we toyed with many ideas, eventually we decided to display it on our fireplace with one of my Eeveelutions prints and some figures. I love it so much and it really does brighten up our fireplace a litte.
Pokémon Cafe Red Logo Mug – Ever since the Pokemon Cafe opened in 2018 I have been eyeing up this red travel mug… I’ve nearly bought it from sellers on a couple of occasions but left it because I kept saying to myself, “Nat, you’ll be going yourself soon enough to get one yourself.” Two years later and I went and got! I’m so glad I picked this up as the quality is amazing! The lid feels really secure when you pop it on the top and not only can you drink hot drinks from this, but there’s space for a straw in the top too for cold drinks! I use this all the time for work if I fancy a coffee on my way, as well as if I want to grab a coffee as I’m heading to my desk for the day. I always get lovely compliments on it too. The pattern on the mug is similar to the one on the Pokemon Cafe glass I bought, with the Pokemon Cafe logo and some words.
So, would I recommend going to the Pokemon Cafe? Excuse my language but FUCK YES! If you are going to Japan and happen to be in Tokyo or Osaka (or both places for that matter!) then I would highly recommend to book yourself a reservation to the Pokemon Cafe before you go! Of course if you aren’t a fan of Pokemon, this may not be for you but honestly if you are, or at least were as a kid this will definitely bring back some nostalgia for you.
It was up there as one of my favourite places to go, as well as eat at whilst we were in Japan and I already know as and when I venture to Japan again, I’ll definitely book a reservation for the Pokemon Cafe for a second time. It was worth every penny and I was so happy during my time there.
What do you guys think of the Pokemon Cafe? Would you love to go? Go over to the website and tell me what you would order from the menu! Have you been to the Pokemon Cafe before? Let me know in the comments with which one you visited and what you had to eat.
Until next time, take care all and I hope you’re having a lovely weekend so far! 🙂
It’s officially March and I already know I’m going to be skint this month… 😛
I’m also aware that I’ve broken my “every Saturday will be when posts go up” rule that I set after I got back from Japan. Like I said on my previous post for my February favourites post, I have always had certain days set for my monthly posts and I’m going to stick with these. So this week I will have two posts up! This one today and then one on Saturday.
This months wish list is full of game and anime related stuff, which isn’t a bad thing! 😛 I’ve already mentioned in various posts about all the games that are coming out this month that I am excited for, so of course I need to mention them here!
I hope you enjoy this months wish list post, and it isn’t too Japanese gaming and anime related… 😛
Nintendo Switch Animal Crossing: New Horizons (link)
Of course I had to mention my favourite thing about March! Animal Crossing is finally coming to the Switch this month and I know I’m not the only one who is really excited for it. I’ve had it pre-ordered for months now and I am counting down the days now until it comes out. I’ve actually booked the day off work so that I can head out first thing in the morning, pick it up from Smyths (where I’ve pre-ordered from) and spend the whole day playing it as much as I can! Dane is also getting the game, so we can play it together the weekend it comes out, which I am beyond excited for. I’ll be talking loads about his game this month… Just warning you now. 😛
Nendoroid Mai Sakurajima (Requested through YY Kawaii)
As many of my readers know, both me and Dane collect Nendoroid figures and we made sure to pick up some that we really wanted when we went to Japan in January. HOWEVER I regretted not buying one in particular that I kept seeing, which is Mai Sakurajima from Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai, an anime that me and Dane watched together last year. We both fell in love with it and it’s one of those anime series now that I really love. We saw LOADS of merchandise in Japan for this anime and aside from Dane buying me one charm of Mai Sakurajima in her bunny girl outfit, I didn’t get anything else. I saw the Nendoroid figure loads and at decent prices too… But I just never bought it, as I planned to when I got back to the UK. HOWEVER, she’s either sold out or the release date has been pushed back months. She hasn’t been re-released… Just pushed back, which I find odd. So, I reached out to my favourite person for getting my Japanese goods, YY Kawaii to see if she could get Mai for me and she could AND FOR A GOOD PRICE! I’m so excited to receive her now and put her on display either in my Nendoroid cabinet or maybe on a shelf I’m getting next to my bed for some of my favourite things! I’ll see how I feel, but yes! I am excited for get her now.
Nintendo Switch Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX (link)
Back in 2008 my dad bought me a red Nintendo DSi (which I still own!) for Christmas and I LOVED IT! I remember not long after that whilst searching through Gamestation (who else remembers Gamestation?!) they had Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team and I decided to pick it up. If there is one Nintendo handheld console that really disappointed me, it’s the Game Boy Advance. I hated pretty much all the games that came out on it, as well as the prices, so I hardly played it and instead stuck with my Game Boy Color. The DSi was great because you could play both DS and Game Boy Advance games in it, so I binge played Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team on it all the time! When I finished the game and found out that Nintendo had also made a version for the DS I decided to find it to buy! I found Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team from Play.com (who remembers play.com?! FUCK I FEEL OLD NOW) and again, I played the shit out of it! Since then I have been in love with the Mystery Dungeon series so I have been excited for the Switch remake of the original two to come out. I’ve played the demo as much as I can and have this game pre-ordered with Smyths to pick up after work on Friday. I am beyond excited and already know I’m going to play this game loads this weekend. Sorry for the massive ramble talking about this, but I just had to share. 😛
John Lewis & Partners Premium Faux Fur Throw in Soft Pink (link)
A couple of weeks ago me and Dane popped into town as I had to exchange some Vans I bought before Christmas. I wore them to Japan as they were perfect for walking around in BUT they ripped at the side! The store was amazing and exchanged them for me straightaway. They are by far my favourite shoes now… ANYWAY as we were in town we decided to have a nose around whilst we waited for the trains to quiet down from the rush hour. We went into John Lewis, as we love a good nose at household stuff and I saw this gorgeous pink throw, which is one of the softest things I’ve ever touched. I really wanted to buy it, but they didn’t have any in stock. When we found out how much it cost… We were put off a tad. I still want it though to stick on the end of my bed BUT the price… I’m going to say this for a rainy day when I fancy a BIG house related treat. FYI if you haven’t gone to have a nose at the price yet… It’s £95.00… Ouch.
Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai Blu-ray Collectors Edition (link)
It was only from looking for the Mai Sakurajima Nendoroid that I decided to take a look into the anime she comes from, to see if there’s any DVD’s or Blu-ray’s out for it… WHICH THERE IS THIS MONTH! Me and Dane love this anime, so as soon as I found this on Amazon I shouted to Dane, “Hey Dane? Bunny girl senpai is out next month… Shall we buy it?” His simple answer was yes. 😛 So this will be pre-ordered by one of us soon!
As a Persona 5 fan, I am beyond excited for Persona 5 Royal! It’s basically the same game but with loads more story and game play added… So an expensive DLC if you will, but I don’t mind as I love Persona 5 so much! There’s loads of stuff that has been added that I’m so glad to have heard and seen already. I won’t mention here, as whilst I didn’t mind spoilers, I know others may who have never played the original game, or who have and have wanted to stay away from the spoilers. I’m actually being sent this game from Gamersheek, who are an amazing company that I discovered back in 2017 and since then we have built up great relationship! I worked with them for a time to advertise the Joker Nendoroid, which I loved! Since then, whenever Persona 5 related games have been released, Gamersheek have sent them to me! I will be writing all about Gamersheek at some point this month, so make sure to keep eyes peeled for that! 😀
Nintendo Switch Lite Carrying Case (Animal Crossing: New Horizons Edition) & Screen Protector (link)
Another Animal Crossing related item! Nintendo have announced some amazing Animal Crossing related merchandise that will be coming out at the same time as Animal Crossing: New Horizons and this is one of the many items I would love to get! I don’t need a carrying case for my Switch Lite as I already have one, but this one is so cute! As I’ll be popping out the day this comes out, I might see if I can grab it whilst I’m out, instead of pre-ordering it. 🙂
Honestly whilst writing this post I have just gone and ordered the Cookie one of this… OOPS! 😛 I wanted to buy something to cheer me up, as I’m currently in bed with the flu and it sucks. I love cross stitching and doing kits and as I now have my plushie case (it’s a book case but I shoved all my Pokemon plushies in there!) I would love to decorate it a bit more with Animal Crossing related stuff! I’d like to do the cross stitch kits of my favourite Animal Crossing characters and hang them/place them inside the case somehow! I’m excited for the Cookie one to arrive now!
Anyhoo guys, that was my wish list for March 2020! It was very Japanese weeb heavy and I have zero fucks. 😛
What do you guys have on your wish lists this month? Are you excited for Animal Crossing too? Make sure to let me know in the comments!
Until next time, take care all and I hope you’re having a great week so far. 🙂
There Might Be Coffee 