April Wish List ’22

I know I say it every month, but how are we already into April? Especially the first proper week of April too! Before we know it, it’ll be May and I’ll be repeating myself all over again. 😛

I’m not going to lie, I really did struggle with my wish list this month due to just not feeling like there’s a fat lot I want to buy? I’m still trying to be really good with money and with Dane’s birthday next week, I’ve been focusing on spending any monies I have like that, on him. That being said, I did manage to get some items to talk about this month with a mixture of pre-orders, items I hope to buy at the end of the month, as well as a special item I’d really love and will speak about at the end… 😛

Anyhoo, no time like the present, let’s get on with the wish list!

• Totally Emily Designs Stickers – (link) and (link)

The first item I’d like to talk about on my wish list is my friend Emily’s sticker store, Totally Emily Designs. Currently she’s only stocking glossy stickers and sticker sheets, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she has more ideas for the future! This being said, I definitely have some stickers from her I’d love to get to decorate my water bottle, but especially Magikarp at the moment! It’s such a cute design and would work perfectly on my water bottle for sure! 😀 Also to add here, Emily isn’t just a friend but she’s also a blogger like me! Make sure to go and check out her blog Totally Emily.

• Animal Crossing: New Horizons Friend Doll Vol.3 – (link)

First and foremost, I pre-ordered these back at the end of November 2021 and the past four months since then have really flown! You know when you order something you find yourself saying, “Urgh that’s going to take an age to wait for!” and then before you know it, the item is due! 😛 Edit, that being said literally 24 hours before this post was due to go live, I was told these won’t be out until May now… 😦 Anyhoo, I’m super excited for volume 3 of the Animal Crossing friend dolls to arrive, especially as they’re the cutest volume yet! However, I’m not looking forward to finding out how much it’s going to cost to ship the cuties to me! If you weren’t aware, currently Japan has suspended Airmail due to the war between Russia and Ukraine, which is fair. This being said, surface mail is still available, which is the cheapest but also the worst! You’ll be waiting up to three months for your goodies to arrive. Thankfully there is the DHL/FedEx option, so I’ll definitely be going for this and this is where my original however came in. I’m just hopeful it isn’t going to cost me a bomb! This being said, I’m so bloody excited for these to arrive! Goldie and Judy are definitely my favourites.

• My Dress-Up Darling Vol 5 Manga – (link)

As regular readers will know, My Dress-Up Darling has really grown on me (you can read how and why here) and I really adore it as both a manga and anime. I pre-ordered volumes five and six a month ago and according to where I pre-ordered, volume five is due out at the end of the month, which I’m really excited for! I feel like I can’t get enough of this since the anime’s first season concluded at the end of March. I’m waiting for all the dubbed episode to release so I can binge watch them all. xD Sad? Yes? Do I care? Not really.

• Nooks Needles Co Animal Crossing Vesta T-Shirt – (link)

This is something I’m planning to treat myself to as soon as April payday comes around at the end of the month. I own one piece by Nooks Needles Co already, my Cookie sweater and I adore it! I own an Animal Crossing stitched t-shirt by another designer and wear it to work often as it isn’t obvious it’s Animal Crossing. Due to this, I’d love to get another! This time, I’d like to get a navy t-shirt with Vesta the sheep villager on the left hand side. Vesta is one of my favourite villagers, even though I don’t shout about it! She was the first sheep villager I met and personally I love her. I never invited her to my New Horizons island as Dane had her on his, so instead, Eunice (also a sheep villager) came to live on my island instead. This all said, I really wanted to pick up the t-shirt sooner, but I’d rather spend that monies on Dane. I can wait. 🙂

• Nintendo Switch Sports – (link)

Okay, raise your hand if you loved Wii Sports… Most of you probably did, didn’t you? I know I did, especially the bowling game. I was obsessed with it growing up and when I met Dane and found out his family owned a Wii, I was ecstatic! Years have passed since I last played it (not going to lie haha) and finally we’re getting the same game (pretty much…) for the Switch! I’m going to pre-order it soon ready for the end of the month when it launches. My dad always loved the bowling game too, and only over Christmas did he ask if we could put it on to play. Now we can easily with it being on the Switch, which in itself makes me happy.

• Pokemon Center Mareep Poké Plush – 45 In. – (link)

Okay, so this is the item I said I would save for the end to speak about! I would really love the life-size Mareep from the Pokemon Center, and now we have the UK one to buy from, I’ve got even more chance than ever to make this dream come true! However, it is over £400… Which is a lot of money! I’ve decided that I’m going to save up for it over the next couple of months and get it at some point in the near future. In all fariness, I may save up for it, only to change my mind later on, but at least I’ll have some extra savings, I guess?

So, there we have it guys, my wish list for this month! I know it wasn’t anything special and if anything, it was probably incredibly underwhelming, but it is what it is and I enjoyed writing the post.

What do you guys have on your wish lists this month? Anything nice you’ve treated yourself to this month? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

Until next time all, take care and I hope you’re having a lovely weekend!

Tomodachi Store – Review and Haul

Wow, two review and haul posts in a row? I’m spoiling you guys this month, aren’t I? 😛

At the end of 2021 I was inspired to write so many review and haul posts, it’s crazy! If there’s anything I discovered in 2020 through Covid and lockdowns, it’s how much I really fell in love with supporting independent stores and artists and sharing them on here for others to discover and fall in love with too.

If there’s one store I’ve been meaning to talk about for well over a year now, it’s Tomodachi Store. I’ve mentioned them briefly on my blog in the past but since making my first purchase late 2020, I’ve always meant to write about them.

Fast forward another year and another purchase and it’s FINALLY time to talk about Tomodachi and why you should check them out, especially if you’re a Pokemon and/or Animal Crossing fan.

Tomodachi is an enamel pin and mascot designer from Mexico, who loves the colour pink, yummy food and everything cute, which you can tell through their work. Their designs are so cute and adorable, I honestly can’t get enough of them, which is why I now own all of their cereal enamel pin designs. Now, I know you’re saying, “Cereal designs? Why would you want cereal themed enamel pins?” Well, that’s why I’m sharing all of them with you today!

Image taken from Reddit.

The cereal designs in question are Pokemon inspired. Back in 2000 Pokemon had truly taken over, not just over the pond but in the UK too. I fondly remember my hype of it as a kid, especially one day whilst walking through Sainsbury’s. Pokemon cereal had started to be stocked on the shelves of various supermarkets and I remember begging my mom to let me have a box. It never happened and from my mom’s point of view, for a good reason. “You won’t eat them!” and looking back, she was probably right. I’m a fussy eater in general, but cereal is one where one minute I love it and the next I hate it. So yeah, ten year old Nat never go to have Pokemon cereal.

The cereal was basically oat hoops with marshmallow pieces in the shape of Pokemon Pikachu, Poliwhirl, Oddish, and Ditto. They definitely remind me of Lucky Charms but better… Obviously because it’s Pokemon. 😛

Years later Tomodachi would feel inspired by the marshmallow pieces in the Pokemon cereal to recreate them as enamel pins!

At the time of writing this post there are three volumes for Pokemon cereal enamel pins, as well as one volume for Animal Crossing. I own all of them… Because. 😛

I’ll be going through the Animal Crossing volume one collection and then each of the Pokemon volumes too, as well as some of the shiny pins I own too.

Please also bear in mind at the time of writing this post, some of the enamel pins are sold out.

I will also be mentioning the grade of each pin as they vary between A and B. I go a little more into how Tomodachi grades their enamel pins shortly.

The first enamel pins I ordered from Tomodachi were the Animal Crossing volume one cereal collection, as well as Ditto and Gengar, but I’ll talk about them a little later.

Full Set Animal Crossing Cereal Volume 1 – (link) A Grade – $35.00 / B Grade – $30.00.

Individual Animal Crossing Cereal Volume 1 – (link) A Grade $6.00 each.

The Animal Crossing cereal pins are adorable and although not how I discovered Tomodachi originally, but the Animal Crossing collection definitely caught my eye. In volume one there are seven pins in total; Tom Nook, Isabelle, K.K. Slider, Celeste, Marshal, Fossil and Leaf. Originally I was only going to order Isabelle, but decided to just go for the whole set! I ordered the B grade. It’s obvious on some more than others, but this being said as I display these in my home anyway, it doesn’t bother me much. 🙂

One thing I love about all of Tomodachi’s pins is that the backs match the coloured enamel of the design, which you can see with the Animal Crossing pins too. I always love when enamel pin artists do this, it just adds a little more to the designs, and it’s aesthetically pleasing. 😛

My favourite out of the pins is definitely Isabelle and the fossil. I just love them both so much! Whenever I’ve shown this enamel pin set to people they always love Celeste too.

For anyone new to enamel pins, some sellers grade them. In Tomodachi’s store they have a pin grading policy, which I’ll pop a link to here. Always bear pin grading when buying from enamel pin artists, not all will grade the same either. In Tomodachi’s case, I think their grading system is fair and really good.

For my second and more recent order with Tomodachi, I made a HUGE order and went full out Pokemon Cereal mode! Bar one (Ditto) I ordered all the missing pins I needed to complete volume one, as well as volumes two and three. I was so hyped when all my goodies arrived.

Full Set Pokemon Cereal Volume 1 – (link) A Grade – $40.00.

Individual Pokemon Cereal Volume 1 – (link) A Grade – $6.00 each / B Grade – $5.00 each.

As previously mentioned, I already owned Ditto (B grade) and as the full set of volume one was sold out, I opted to just snag all the pins I needed instead. It worked out well either way!

Volume one contains eight pins in total; Pikachu, Poliwhirl, Oddish, Ditto, Pichu, Wobbuffet, Celebi and Cleffa. However, there are also some shiny variants for sale too, including Ditto, Wobbuffet and Celebi, which I’m planning to buy in the future!

The original volume one enamel pins are so adorable and are heavily influenced by the Pokemon cereal from 2000 that I mentioned earlier, as four of the Pokemon from the cereal are in this collection.

The one thing I want to comment on first of all is the packaging that Tomodachi uses for their enamel pins. Not only is the backing card adorable with the oat cereal in the background, but you’ll either receive a backing card that states, “Thanks!” or, “Arigato!” which is Japanese for thank you. It’s such a lovely touch and one I really like. It’s also one that has been commented on by friends over on my Instagram!

The pins I ordered are mostly A grade with Pikachu being B grade. It’s not too obvious (in my opinion) which is awesome. I have to say my favourite design in volume one has to be Pikachu and I think this is mostly down to reminding me of how much I love Pikachu back in the day when Pokemon first came out.

Alongside the eight original pin designs for volume one, as mentioned before, there is also shiny variants too with a blue Ditto, purple Wobbuffet and pink Celebi, which I’m hoping to pick up in the future!

Full Set Pokemon Cereal Volume 2 – (link) A Grade – $40.00.

Individual Pokemon Cereal Volume 2 – (link) A Grade $6.00 each.

In my second order from Tomodachi I not only bought most of the volume one pins I was missing, but also all of the volume two and three pins as well! For volume two I picked up the A grade enamel pins.

Volume two contains eight pins in total; Slowpoke, Gengar, Psyduck, Magikarp, Skitty, Shuppet, Makuhita and Plusle/Minun. However, there are also some shiny variants for sale too, including Margikarp, Psyduck, as well as Rainbow Gengar, with the latter two being ones I’d love to buy in the future.

The first thing I want to say here is how gutted I am that I couldn’t get Minun as you either get Plusle or Minun, so I’ll make sure to get the blue electric mouse next time I place an order!

That aside, this enamel pin set is so adorable and has some of my fondest Pokemon in from the anime, especially Gengar which is one of my favourite enamel pin designs from Tomodachi! I bought a Gengar on my first order with Tomodachi, but with getting one in the volume two set, I decided to sell my first one to my friend Sarah (Raiin Monkey) who loves Pokemon too!

As I bought the whole volume two set, Tomodachi also sent me a shiny Magikarp, which looks amazing! 😀 I’m definitely planning to snag the rest of the shiny Pokemon in this volume, as well as the rainbow Gengar too, which looks so amazing!

Full Set Pokemon Cereal Volume 3 – (link) A Grade – $40.00.

Individual Pokemon Cereal Volume 3 – (link) A Grade – $6.00 each / B Grade – $5.00 each.

As I mentioned about in my second order from Tomodachi I bought both volume two and volume three! I picked up B grade enamel pins for volume three too. I have to be honest, out of all the volumes I actually think volume three is my favourite so far!

Volume three contains eight pins in total; Jigglypuff, Shellder, Wooper, Applin, Mew, Litwick, Mantyke and Duosion. However, there are also some shiny variants for sale too, including Wooper, Shellder and Mew, with the latter two being planned to be purchased in the future, especially Mew!

One of the reasons this is my favourite volume is due to Mew being part of it, which is one of my favourite Pokemon. The Mew design is one I fell in love with back in early 2021 and I knew I needed it. It took a little longer than I hoped to finally add to my collection, but better late than never!

One of the other things I love in volume three is the colour palette, which is mostly pastel themed with pinks, purples, blues, as well as green and red which I also love. It’s not that the other volumes colour palettes don’t work, but this one is just aesthetically pleasing to my mind, as well as fashion styles at the moment. 😛

As mentioned before, I did pick up the B grade for the volume whilst most of the pins look great, there are a couple (Jigglypuff and Applin) where there are a few specks on them, but this being said I don’t mind. I’m always happy to have B grade pins. 😀

Like with volume two, Tomodachi also sent me a free shiny pin with my volume three set, which is a shiny Wooper! It’s so cute with the pink colour, I love it.

Alongside the normal and shiny Pokemon cereal enamel pins, Tomodachi does also sell Pokemon Golden Kanto Pins, as well as Pokemon Cereal Sticker Sheets.

In the near future I’m planning to make a pin hoop dedicated to Tomodachi’s cereal pins. There’s so many of them, they deserve their own hoop now. As there are a variety of colours too, I’m planning to pop the pins on my future pin hoop in rainbow colours… Because why not! 😀 Plus, with a Pokemon volume four on the way (tomorrow from what Tomodachi revealed on this weekend!), I’m going to need to make room for some more amazing Pokemon cereal designs… 😛

From previews I’ve seen of volume four on Tomodachi’s social media we appear to have Caterpie and Haunter… I’m excited already to see who else we may get! I’d love to see Eevee and Dragonite next. 😛

Overall you can really see a lot of love and passion has gone into these enamel pin designs from Tomodachi Store. The cereal enamel pins are so cute and reminiscent to when we were all kids. The colours and designs of each cereal piece is perfect too. I honestly love them!

What do you guys think of Tomodachi Store and their amazing and adorable Pokemon and Animal Crossing cereal enamel pins? Do you own any, or have any on your wish list? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below.

Until next time guys, have a lovely weekend and I’ll see you next week!