October Favourites ’22

Happy Halloween guys! It’s tomorrow, one of my favourite times of year, and unfortunately, I’m not here for it. I bought decorations and never put them up, and I had a pumpkin to carve (thanks to my dad and his pumpkin patch!) but due to have a cold/flu this week, I haven’t even felt up to doing it. I’m gutted. Halloween this year has been a major flop for me for many reasons, which is a shame.

It’s not all doom and gloom in the run up to November though, as me and Dane are now on holiday from work for a week! We’ve been in need of some long time off of work so we’re both looking forward to it.

October really flew by and I can’t believe it’s November in just a few days. I love this time of year due to Halloween and Bonfire Night, but the weather is vile, which is such a shame. I hope during our week off the weather holds off a little, I don’t want to just have a wet week off work. 😦

I’m not going to waffle on anymore, let’s get on with the favourites!

Beauty – Neutrogena Hydro Boost Body Gel Cream.

This is a body cream I’ve been using for quite a while now, couple of months now maybe? Unfortunately I recently discovered that I’m allergic to The Body Shop’s strawberry body yogurt on my legs, so I’ve had to discontinue using that there, and instead I’ve been using the Neutrogena gel cream. I don’t just use this on my legs, sometimes I will use all over as it’s such a quick and easy body gel cream to use! It absorbs quickly, feels light and cooling and smells lovely and fresh too! This is one where a little bit goes a long way too, and I already know I’ll be repurchasing this, especially when it costs less than £5! I also have the spray version too, which I don’t use too often… I need to use it more!

Movie – Various horror including Rec and House of 1000 Corpses.

The past week we’ve spent many evenings watching horror movies through Shudder, a movie subscription service dedicated to horror! We have a seven day free trial and so far we’ve watched quite a few films on there, but the two that stand out to me are Rec and House of 1000 Corpses, the latter being a movie my boyfriend has wanted me to watch since we got together! Rec is always a film I’d heard of due to the remake, but I never actually knew what it was about. Alas I was surprised as I watched it and I thoroughly enjoyed! If you’ve never seen it, you should watch it too, not the remake, the original!

My boyfriend did pre-warn me about House of 1000 Corpses about how “amateur” it is due to it being done by Rob Zombie, who at the time was more known as a musician than director. This was the first film he directed and you can kind of tell, but that’s what is so charming about the film itself! The film is about a group of teenagers who are kidnapped by a family during Halloween. My favourite character (one I’m sure the film is best known for) is Captain Spaulding. He’s fucking hilarious and I can’t get enough of some of the stuff he says, hence the clip above.

TV Show – Chainsaw Man.

I haven’t read the manga, but I was so hyped about the anime for Chainsaw Man releasing a couple of weeks ago! I’ve always heard amazing things about the manga series from my friend Sammie, as well as from members of the Worlds Apart Discord community. We’re on three episodes so far and it’s constantly giving you action and things to get you to the edge of your seat. We follow Denji, a teenage human boy, who is orphaned, and has to hunts devils in order to pay off his families debt. With his pet devil Pochita by his side, he can do what he needs to. However, something bad happens, which changes Denji’s life. I won’t say anymore as I don’t wish to spoil but… I’m loving this series so far and I already can’t wait for the next episode on Tuesday. 😛

Music – PVRIS – “Anywhere But Here” and “Animal”.

Recently PVRIS released two new songs in the form of a short film, where both songs were featured. I really love both of these songs, more so “Anywhere But Here” as I love the lyrics and melody style vibe and sound behind it. I do really like “Animal” as well as it feels the complete opposite to “Anywhere But Here” with harder guitar riffs and more, with the lyrics being a little more edgy too and with a rebel attitude? I remember seeing around the end of October that PVRIS had something new to reveal to fans, so I was excited it would at least be a new song, but the fact we got treated to two?! I can’t remember if I mentioned on my blog previously, but at the start of August I finally bit the bullet and booked to see PVRIS live, and I’m so bloody excited for it! Since I discovered PVRIS in 2019 I’ve been dying to go and see them live. 🙂

Game – PlateUp!

This is a game one of our friends was talking about, which intrigued me. I watched the trailer above and I just knew I had to give it a go! As it’s a game Dane already owned, we opted to play it on the split screen play together with said friend and since then I’ve been itching to play it! This was only yesterday by the way. 😛 So, PlateUp! is about running a restaurant, including cooking in the kitchen, serving the customers, as well as cleaning after them. Pretty much Overcooked, BUT it isn’t as stressful, which is always nice. One thing I especially liked about this game is the fact it’s couch co-op, so you don’t need two copies for you and a someone else to play! It’s up to four players, so maybe even four of you could play at the same time!

Just a few of my favourite things…

A new cross stitch project!

At the start of October I started a new cross stitch project and it’s one I was so anxious about at first, so much so I left it untouched for about a week? Since then I’ve been picking it up every other night and a couple of weeks later it’s looking as it does above. If you can’t tell, this is a Studio Ghibli inspired piece from Spirited Away. It’s Chihiro’s little yellow shoes, surrounded by soot sprites. As we don’t like shoes on in the house, I decided to cross stitch this design for our home to hang up! I’m planning to have it completed before the new Pokemon games come out mid November. The design/pattern is by the same person who I bought my Eevee design/pattern off, which I’ll link here.

New smock dresses.

If there’s one style of dress I’m mad about right now, it’s smock dresses. I can’t get enough of them, honestly! I received a couple recently, one being a pre-order, the other being a bargain find on eBay! I’ll talk about them in the order shown about.

The ghost smock dress is by Lazy Girl Club, which I mentioned recently on my October wish list here. I pre-ordered this dress over a month ago and a few weeks ago, it arrived! I love ghosts, so I knew I couldn’t resist this dress for Halloween, as well as all year around! The only issue I have with it though is it’s far too big for me, which people have commented on. If I don’t wear a harness or belt around the middle, I look like I’m trying to hide a pregnancy, which personally isn’t a look I want. Due to this I’m looking for a harness I can wear with this a lot of the time. I do have a Black Milk Clothing corset style harness that I’m wearing in the above photo, which works so well with it! I’ll probably try and wear this at work one day and see how I get on! If you’d like to get one of your own ghost smock dresses by Lazy Girl Club, or any other of her pieces for that matter, get over to her store ASAP as she’s just reopened it for orders!

The eBay bargain I found is this Lazy Oaf sally dress! I’ve seen this dress pop up on eBay and Vinted on and off, but when someone popped one on eBay for under £40, I couldn’t resist! It was brand new with tags and a complete bargain. I couldn’t wait for it to arrive so I could wear it to work and more. I’ve worn it a few times and it’s definitely too big for me, but it’s fine with a belt around the middle! It’s very cosy and perfect for colder days with a cardigan layered over the top of it. When I wore it to work I got a lot of compliments, which was really nice!

Lumichee goodies.

Finally, my long awaited Lumichee goodies arrived that I ordered! I can’t remember if I mentioned on my blog, but I placed this order through a courier service as the costs I would have paid through Etsy were a joke! I have no regrets and since the hoodie arrived, I’ve pretty much lived in it. 😛 I went for the mousemoth hoodie, as well as a sakura inspired mousemoth plush. I’m already chomping at the bit to place a second order, but I must be good due to Christmas looming! I don’t want to talk too much about these as I plan to write a blog post about these at some point in November. 🙂

So, there we have it, my favourites for October! Did you find October flew by really quickly?

What were your favourites from October? Anything I’ve mentioned that you’re planning to check out? Also, what plans do you have for Halloween tomorrow and Bonfire Night next week? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

Until next time, take care all and have an amazing (and safe) Halloween and Bonfire Night next week!

October Wish List ’22

October is well and truly here and I’m getting hyped for Halloween! I know, it’s a good couple of weeks away (just under three!) yet but I do love Halloween, as regular and older readers will know. I really want to do something for it this year seeing as I’m not at work, but I don’t have a bloody clue what! I’m sure I’ll think of something… Any ideas, pop them in the comments!

I felt really stumped this month with my monthly wish list as I just didn’t have a clue what to add! I really do feel like at times I’ve had to stop myself buying things, some were harder than others but alas, here we are. Half of the items on my wish list this month are pre-orders, hence why they were mentioned… I was really stuck for what to add this month!

With Christmas looming, these wish lists may be easier to write as I need to stop buying goods so Dane and my family can have some ideas of what to get me. Plus with costs on the rise, I need to stop treating myself to things too.

So, on that note, on with the wish list!

• Lazy Girl Club – Ghost Smock Dress – (link)

This isn’t a wished after item, but one I have pre-ordered and should be getting by the end of the month. I love ghosts, especially when they look cute, so I really couldn’t resist picking this up. Plus, it’s a smock style too, which is a style I’ve really fallen in love with the past year. On top of all that though, Lazy Girl Club is an independent and slow fashion brand and if there’s one thing I really do want to support these days, it’s just that. I’m excited to have this for Halloween, as well as mine and Dane’s short trip away as I really do want to style it up, and wear it as much as possible! I’m planning to wear it for both in and out of work. I already wear my Black Milk Clothing ghost dresses to work, so I’m up for wearing another one. 😛 This dress will be great for laying too and I’m already planning to try and get a nice black and white striped t-shirt to wear underneath. I’m planning on writing a blog post about this piece in November, so make sure to keep eyes peeled for that!

• Komi Can’t Communicate Shoko Komi Nendoroid – (link)

This is a pre-order from back in March and I can’t wait for it to finally arrive at the end of the month! Both me and Dane love Komi Can’t Communicate, so when we saw Komi was getting a Nendoroid figure, we knew we had to get her! I love all the different poses and faces she comes with too. This will be one I’m sure me and Dane will assemble together so we both get faces and poses we love. As this was a pre-order item from so long ago.

• Lore Olympus: Volume Three – (link)

At the time of starting this blog post I DID have this book pre-ordered, but due to wanting to be good with my money, I cancelled the pre-order. This is a book I’d love to pick up, as I’m really loving reading the series, but I can always ask for this for Christmas or birthday, as before we know it, they’ll be here! There’s a volume four coming out next year too, so I could always wait and pick them up together in 2023!

• Monki Black Mock Neck Top With Heart Cut Out – (link)

This is an item that came to my attention recently as I saw it being advertised on Instagram! I’ve always wanted one of these tops from Monki where there is the heart cut out, but it’s always sold out, or no longer stocked. I have tried to find it second hand to buy but I’ve had no luck finding one. Maybe Monki was aware how popular this piece is as they’ve brought it back! I want this in a big size as it sounds like it runs on the tight side, and tight fitting clothing is not for me! Ideally I want this for work so I can wear it with trousers and skirts. I’m going to keep my eyes peeled for my size to come in stock! 😀

• Sanrio Cinnamoroll Omori Keychain – (link)

This is a keychain I would love to get eventually to keep on my car keys! I feel like they’re in need of something new to them, and this adorable Cinnamoroll ramen bowl full of yummy Japanese food is one I’d love! I’d worry it would make me hungry looking at it though… 😛

• Kate Allan Rise Above 2023 Desk Calendar – (link)

Finally as the year 2022 is starting to come to an end, it’s time for some new calendars to slowly start making their way onto my wish lists. For the first time in 2022 I’ve bought a desk calendar, which is my Animal Crossing one. I’ve loved peeling off each day and having something new to look at, so I’d love to get another one. When I saw that Kate Allan is releasing one, I knew I had to get it! I haven’t bought this yet, but I’m planning to as soon as possible! Kate Allan’s work is amazing and each item she creates includes an adorable animal, as well as an important message for anyone who needs to see/hear it that day. I’d end up keeping each day to give to people who need them! I’d also look to sticking one or two on my desk at work for when I’m not having good days and need something to look at to perk me up a little.

So, there we have it! My wish list for this month! I’m not going to lie, I am incredibly excited for my Lazy Girl Club dress to arrive and I can’t wait to wear it for Halloween, as well as Bonfire Night!

What do you have on your wish list? Have you ordered some goodies you’re excited for? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

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

June Favourites ’22

I can’t believe we are already on day three of July! June really did fly by due to how much fun me and Dane were clearly having with our week off, Manchester, seeing friends and other stuff. But, at the same time it sort of dragged towards the end of June. I remember mid June having a phone call with my dad and saying, “It’s July next week!” and it was due to me thinking about payday… Oh dear! July wasn’t due for another two weeks at that point.

Speaking of payday, I was SKINT after Manchester in June and I’m already “skint” this month too. I made some big purchases I probably shouldn’t have, as well as recouping all the monies I’ve put on bills and such as well. Due to that, after my payday treats this month, I’m going to be really good with money from now on, especially as me and Dane are hoping to make a big purchase for our home in the near future…

That aside I’m not sure how I’m feeling about July yet. At the time of writing this post I’m miserable as fuck in general. A lot of crap news has come up in the news, as well as personal so right now I’m just going with it. I don’t really have a lot planned for July, aside from meeting up with friends I’ve not seen for years due to Covid, as well as lots of D&D game nights! I’m hopeful my mood will lift as the month goes on however, I don’t want a sad one. :’)

Anyhoo, enough of my woes, on with the favourites!

Beauty – The Body Shop Banana Body Yogurt.

Back in 2018 The Body Shop brought out their banana range and I fell in love with it! They brought out a shower gel, body butter and body yogurt and I bought all three of them of course. I managed to get through a lot of them, but I still have some of the products left brand new, including the body butter and body yogurt. As regular readers will know, I started to use body lotion as my skin was honestly screaming out for it and I feel so much better for it since. It’s come to the time where I need to start using the body yogurt as my stash is growing quite low. I’m sad to because I know I won’t be able to pick it up again anytime soon, but at the same time, it means I can get some new goodies in. Hey, maybe I’ll find another banana body lotion soon? The Body Shop body yogurts are amazing, especially during the warmer months as they’re thin, cooling and still very moisturising. Plus, a little bit of this stuff goes a long way! As strawberry is my favourite scent from The Body Shop, I’m planning to pick up the strawberry one in the near future!

Movie – Everything Everywhere All at Once.

First things first, this film is amazing and it isn’t what I was expecting at all. The trailer didn’t really do the film justice for me, but at the same time that wasn’t a bad thing either. I knew this was a film Dane wanted to watch and I was happy to give it a go, because why not. The film is about Evelyn, owner of a laundromat with her husband. Her father lives with them and their daughter appears to have moved out. Evelyn has a lot going on, along with accepting her daughters sexuality and girlfriend, her father needing her care, as well as her business being in trouble money wise. Everything Everywhere All at Once is broken up into chapters, like a play, and whilst the film is a little bat shit crazy, it’s done really, really well! I highly recommend checking this out, no matter what genre of movies you prefer, it’s amazing and I get the hype of it being titled film of the year.

Image taken from Giphy

TV Show – The Boys Season Three.

As regular readers of my blog will know, I love The Boys. It’s a hilarious show with a unique concept, with the show being created off of a comic book series. We’re not on series three of The Boys and it’s getting darker and more intense with each episode. I don’t want to say too much as I may end up spoiling it for some but lets just say there some hilarious adult humour, some fucked up deaths and stuff I didn’t expect Butcher to do. It’s also now been given the green light for a fourth season, which in turn makes me really happy! The original comic book series is by Garth Ennis who also wrote the comic book series Preacher, another TV Show both me and Dane loved. Both are on Amazon Prime Video, so make sure to go and check them out if you haven’t already!

Music – PVRIS – Use Me.

This is an album I’ve found myself listening to a lot towards the end of June and I honestly can’t stop. I’ve been listening to it when working from home, driving to work, and even in the office when I need to get my earphones in and head down to concentrate. I love all of the songs PVRIS work on and release and whilst Use Me isn’t my favourite album (All We Know of Heaven, All We Need of Hell is my favourite) but it’s a close second to be honest with you. I keep meaning to book tickets to see PVRIS in January 2023, but I feel like each payday, the right time isn’t appearing. 😦

Game – Sniper Elite 5.

This is a game me and Dane randomly started playing together after he started to play it on his own. It’s on Xbox Games Pass, so was “free” for us both to pick up and play together. Sniper Elite 5 is set during World War II and your goal is to try and defeat the Nazi’s taking over parts of Europe. It was such a fun game to play with Dane and the more levels we got through, the better we got! We’ve completed the game now, but we’re planning on buying the DLC very soon so we can play some more of the game together. It didn’t take us long to complete the game, I’d like to say a week but that being said, it was a lot of fun! I’ve been asking Dane if he can find something similar for us to play next.

Just a few of my favourite things…

Image from greetings.nerds

For my other favourites this month, I wanted to talk about some small businesses I feel deserve to get some new shoppers, or at least some new followers on their social media pages. I read the above post on Instagram by greetings.nerds earlier this week and wanted to take a moment to share some people who I feel deserve to be mentioned. With the changes to the world from Covid and now the current conflict happening in Eastern Europe, the changes are affecting some people drastically, where others just slightly. Small businesses all over are being affected sales wise, and with social media platforms making it harder than ever to reach new customers, they could do with as much support and help as possible. Which is what I have strived to do since 2019 on my blog, and Instagram page. Even if you can’t afford to make a purchase from any of the mentioned small businesses today, please drop them a follow on their social media accounts. They’re all down to Earth, amazing and friendly people. They’re also my friends and I wouldn’t be friends with them if they weren’t any of the points mentioned. 🙂

Happy Place Cosmetics

Store, Instagram, TikTok.

Cruelty free and SLS free handmade cosmetics, based in Scotland. I’ve been a massive fan of Happy Place Cosmetics since before 2020, but it was only during Covid and lockdowns that I finally bit the bullet and placed my first order! Since then I won’t got anywhere else for my body scrubs AND I’ve become such good friends with the owner too. HPC don’t constantly have stock in, but instead release themed beauty and wax melts boxes for us to buy, with themes including 90’s, horror, pop culture and more! Alongside that HPC will of course release certain stock every now and then. I like the way they release their goods, because it means I can really treat myself to goods! I recently had some new wax melts arrived, with some smelling of Lush Tramp shower gel, an old favourite of mine and the owners! I burnt one yesterday and it smells AMAZING and to boot the scent lasted ages in our office, even after my tea light had gone out. She also included some Calpol scented wax tarts too, which I’m so excited to burn.

Claire Likes To Doodle

Website, Shop, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook.

Claire is one of my oldest friends and for years I encouraged her to turn her art from a hobbie to a job, which she did a couple of years ago! I’m so proud of where she has come, her work is unique and beautiful and every time she posts something new on Instagram, it really does make me smile. Recently alongside selling art, she’s started to play with clay to create pieces of her original character Bernard. In the near future I am hoping to commission her for a piece myself… 😛 Please make sure to go and check her out and maybe even give her some support over on Ko-fi and maybe buy some goodies from her too!

Quirkory

Shop, Pin Club, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

Quirkory are by far my favourite enamel pin creators. Their work always makes me happy to see and really does brighten my day. I discovered them in 2019 and since then I’ve been supporting their work, as well as befriending them over the years. Currently I’m loving what Quirkory are doing with their Patreon/pin club and Discord communities, their new designs and ideas for the future are kawaii AF and I cannot wait to see more in the future! Plus don’t forget I have a discount code for Quirkory where you can save 10% on purchases with code TMBQUIRKORY.

Worlds Apart, Birmingham

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

Worlds Apart is the oldest comic book shop in England and for that fact alone I’m proud to call them my local and favourite comic book shop! I can’t speak for Worlds Apart or other comic book shops but with places like Amazon selling comics and manga online, as well as bigger businesses such as Waterstones too, smaller comic book shops can struggle at times to get custom, especially during Covid! One thing that Worlds Apart did during Covid was open up orders through their Discord, as well as through Instagram, which I used often during lockdowns to get hold of merchandise and manga. I’m a part of the Worlds Apart Discord, which is full of amazing people! I highly recommend if you’re from Birmingham to support Worlds Apart if you can, even if it’s just promoting them online.

So, there we have it guys, my favourites from June! June did really fly by and I’m just wary the rest of the year is going to follow suit, which I don’t want. I mean, I’d love for cooler months to come by so I can start layering my clothes and feeling cosy!

What did you guys love throughout June, and what are you looking forward to in July? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

Until next time, take care all and I hope you have a lovely weekend and great start to July.

March Favourites ’22

I don’t want to be a broken record, but honestly 2022 is flying by! I can’t believe it’s April, but I’m definitely excited for this month! Not only is it Dane’s birthday, but it’d also Easter, which is one of my favourite events of the year. Alongside those two factors, me and Dane have some holiday today… Aka a long weekend for his birthday and Easter, so I’m really looking forward to that.

Currently the only thing I don’t like about April is how skint I’m going to be from spoiling Dane for his birthday, but it could be worse. 😛

March was okay for me, I had some rocky moments but nothing to write home about. I did good with money again, which is always good, but with Dane’s birthday coming I might be a little skint this month. 😛

Not going to lie, March felt like my blog was boring and didn’t have much content. I just had brain fog and couldn’t think of anything decent to write, unfortunately. However, April is going to be full of amazing content and I’m so excited for it! I won’t mention anything, let it be a surprise! 😉

Anyhoo, enough of me waffling, down to the favourites!

Favourite Beauty Product – Sol De Janeiro Coco Cabana Gift Set.

If there is something I have really been loving this month it’s been the two Sol De Janeiro gift sets I picked up! I bought both Bum Bum and Coco Cabana, with the latter being the one I started to use first. Both gift sets contain the body cream, body cream-cleanser and hair and body fragrance mist, as well as a reusable pouch. I snagged these gift sets with my mom from Look Fantastic, as they had an amazing deal at the time to snag these gift sets really cheap, so we bought one each! However, I ended up with two Coco Cabana gift sets as my mom wasn’t keen on the scent, which definitely isn’t the case for me. The Coco Cabana scent reminds me of my teenage years where I constantly used The Body Shop’s coconut body milk, as well as coconut scented beauty products in Fuerteventura too. The body cream-cleanser is really thick and moisturising, but one gripe I have is that I don’t feel like a little goes a long way. I put this down to the moisturising factors behind it. The body cream is for dry skin, but that being said it isn’t heavy and thick, but sort of like a thicker gel texture. It definitely leaves my skin feeling soft and moisturised after use, even my hands!. Finally the fragrance spray, this is GORGEOUS and I have to remind myself not to go mad on it when using, as my little gift set bottles are only 30ml! I’m already planning on buying all of the products in their full sizes when I’ve used the gift set sizes up! My skin has really thanked me for taking care of it a little more the past month. My arms were starting to become really tight feeling due to how dry and tight they were, and the backs of my knees were suffering with eczema/dermatitis too. Thankfully I’ve fast turned that around and I’m so much happier for it. 🙂

Would you guys like to see a review of both the gift sets/ranges? Let me know in the comments! I’m toying with it, as they are really lovely products that deserve shouting out about!

Favourite Film – Turning Red.

I HAVE BEEN SO EXCITED FOR THIS FILM! Literally the Friday evening it came out (11th March) I cooked me and Dane one of our favourite meals (macaroni cheese) and we sat down to watch the film. I’d tried to guess from the trailers and clips what was going to happen somewhat in the movie and I never guessed it to be fair. For those who are yet to watch it, Turning Red is about Mei Lee, a thirteen year old who loves boy bands (4-Town), doing her bit for the planet, and especially her best friends! Unfortunately for Mei, she’s also trying to be a good daughter, which conflicts with her loves at the best of times. One morning Mei finds herself waking up and she’s turned into a red panda! I said it on last weeks blog post about My Dress-Up Darling (which you can read here) but I LOVE slice of life and coming of age shows, films, etc. They tend to bring me so many nostalgic memories and feels which overall just make me feel so happy. This is exactly what Turning Red did for me. It’s based in 2002, when I was twelve years old and just about to become a teenager! I listened to all sorts of music, but definitely loved Daft Punk and Avril Lavigne. It was also an age I’d really started to discover the things I would love now, including Hello Kitty , Cinnamoroll, Pompompurin, Mashimaro and more! The one thing I especially love about Turning Red is how it’s the first Pixar film to be led by women, this is big and I cannot wait to see more female led films in the future. I’m just so sad for everyone who worked on this film, who never got the chance to see their film make it to the cinema, especially with how much love and praise it has received.

Favourite TV Show – Euphoria.

I have been wanting to watch this TV show since it came out in 2019, but due to where it was being shown and the fact I don’t have it, I’ve just never been able to… Until now. With season two recently coming to a close, I was desperate to watch and thankfully for me, I knew someone who was able to let me watch it! I’ve so far watched season one and I’m almost at the end of season two. I’ve really fallen in love with it, as I’m a sucker for slice of life (as I’ve seemingly spoken about a lot lately on my blog!), as well as teen drama. I fell in love with it from a very young age (want to say when I was ten?) so it’s something I’ve always enjoyed ever since, even writing my own teen novel(s) and scripts from time to time. Euphoria is about Rue and some of her classmates/friends at her high school. Rue is the narrator of the show and therefore the main character, and tells us as the viewer about herself and the people around her. The topics in the show range from love, drugs, alcohol, sex and general “issues” teenagers tend to deal with at one point or another. Someone once said to me, “If you like Skins, you’ll love this!”. Now, I fucking hate Skins. The show has always felt very trashy to me, so I’ve never enjoyed it. I watched the first episode in college and was immediately put off, however, Euphoria ticks all the boxes for me! If you’re able to watch it and are okay with all the topics mentioned, definitely give it a go as and when you can.

Favourite Song – Architects – Dead Butterflies.

This is a song that started playing in Dane’s car the one day we were on a trip somewhere and I made sure to add to my playlist, as I enjoyed it so much! Since then I haven’t stopped listening to it, nor the album (“For Those That Wish to Exist”) that it’s off of. Architects isn’t really a band I’ve listened to before, although I do know of them. I really do like this song though and just had to share!

Gif taken from Tenor.

Favourite Book – Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid Elma’s Office Lady Diary.

I recently picked up volume four of Elma’s Office Lady Diary (as I was missing it), so over lunches and the odd weekend I’ve been catching up on manga. I really miss reading it and have really decided lately to get back on it and catch up on series I need to finish reading, as well as series Dane owns that I want to read as well! Elma’s Office Lady Diary is a spin off of Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, which is one of my favourite anime series, and quite possibly the longest manga series I own! Elma in turn is my favourite dragon character as I feel like I can really relate to her. She’s sweet, always wanting to do the right thing, but most of all wanting to eat all the yummy food! Plus, as an office lady myself, this manga spin off for Elma just makes me smile from ear to ear. I’m glad I finally started to read this series! I’m so excited for volume five to come out in the next month or so!

Image taken from Eurogamer.

Favourite Game – Pokemon Shining Pearl.

This is a game I’ve been coming back and forth to since its release towards the end of 2021 and it’s one I absolutely love! I think it’s because it’s really simple, yet nostalgic at the same time. Since I completed the story, I’ve been going back on every now and then to try and 100% complete the Pokedex! I’ve been exploring the underground mostly to try and accomplish this by catching lots of new Pokemon, as well as lots of breeding and egg hatching, and even digging the walls in the underground for plenty of rare items! It’s just been really relaxing and nice! I’m yet to complete the story for Pokemon: Legends Arceus, but I’m still not 100% in love with that game… I’ll finish it one day. Me and Dane were only on about it last weekend how we need to pick it back up, but he’s been obsessed with Elden Ring and now we’re both obsessed with Tiny Tina’s Wonderland… Spoiler for next months favourites. 😉

Just a few of my favourite things…

Pokemon Nendoroid figures.

As many of you know, me and Dane collect Nendoroid figures from Good Smile Company and have done since late 2014. I decided during Covid to start collecting series that I needed, with Star Wars being successfully completed. I then moved onto Pokemon, which has been bloody hard and heart breaking to boot. A lot of the figures are harder to find due to them coming out a long time ago and due to this, the prices are really high. I managed to snag quite a few in 2021 for good prices, which I was really happy about, but finding Cynthia, N and Champion Red has proven to be a challenge due to fakes and prices. I did however recently snag Cynthia and N from a UK seller on eBay for a great price! Now all I need is Champion Red… Which unfortunately won’t be as simple, especially as there’s currently one on eBay for over £300! I’m keeping my eyes peeled, but yeah. 😛

Dr. Martens x Lazy Oaf Buckle Boot.

I’d be fibbing if I said I’d been after these Docs for a long time, but I feel like on and off over the past year I’ve definitely liked the look of them! Someone I follow on Instagram has a pair of the Lazy Oaf Heart Buckle Docs and due to her, I decided that I’d really like a pair to wear with my Black Milk Clothing dresses and more! After scouring the internet for a few months, I finally found a pair for sale for £150, which I didn’t think was too bad for an almost new (tried on and maybe worn once from memory) pair of Docs, especially as these are also limited edition. They came out originally in 2019, but I missed out on snagging a pair at the time as I was saving up for my Japan trip. Now I finally have them though and I adore them… But I’m yet to actually wear them out and about. I haven’t yet as I just haven’t had the chance to, even though I’ve owned them a month. I’m anxious of my feet getting destroyed, but at the same time I do want to wear them! I think I’ll go for a walk in them around the local area with my ankle protectors on (Amazon link) to break them in more! I was toying about reviewing these on my blog, as well as some handy Docs tips that I know of, would you guys like to see that in the future?

Turning Red, Mei Lee Red Panda plushie.

I briefly wanted to show off this massive fluffy cutie that arrived at the start of March, my huge Disney Store Mei Lee red panda form plushie! I couldn’t resist ordering this as I’m a massive sucker for red pandas and plus I’ve been super excited for Turning Red to come out, as I mentioned earlier. This plushie has been living on my office chair and has proven to be an amazing cuddle buddy whilst I’m working (both work and personal stuff), as well as whilst I play games. This plushie wasn’t cheap at £40, but totally worth it!

My Dress-Up Darling… Annnnnd future content to look forward to!

Finally I want to give you all a reminder how much I’ve really fallen in love with My Dress-Up Darling! The first season of the anime finished at the end of March and since then I’ve been taking my time to read the manga, so I can make Marin and Gojo last as long as I can! If you really loved this manga/anime, or would like to discover a new series to read/watch, make sure to go and check out last weeks blog post all about My Dress-Up Darling. Since writing it I have since been inspired to write more posts about manga/anime series I love, including Nana, Elfen Lied and Bee & PuppyCat.

So there we have it, my favourites from March! March really did fly by and I don’t feel like I did a fat lot to be honest with you… I think my favourite thing we did in March was visit my best friend and her boyfriend in Nottingham! Nottingham is a city I’ve wanted to visit for a while and with my bestie living near the city centre, it was so much fun to finally visit it with her!

In March I really did reflect on what content I would like to bring to my blog in the future and I’ve come away with so many ideas, that I cannot wait to write and share with you all in the coming months!

What were you favourite things in March? Also, is there any specific you would like to see, or at least see more of on my blog? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

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

My Dress-Up Darling

Image taken from My Anime List

I don’t know if I’ve ever written a blog post purely dedicated to a manga/anime series before, but no time like the present, eh?

I really wanted to write about My Dress-Up Darling (Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru, which translates to The Bisque Doll That Fell in Love) today as it’s a manga/anime series I’ve really fallen in love with and it’s definitely fast become one of my favourites, which is crazy to think about. I know a lot of people have fallen head over heels for My Dress-Up Darling too and especially Marin the main female protagonist, some falling for her a little harder than others.

I know today’s post is a little different but I wanted to share my thoughts about this series as I know so many people love it and season one is now completed, so I’d like to share what I thought of it in that aspect too.

Don’t worry, there won’t be any spoilers shared here, I’m not about that life. I will however share the basic information about what the anime is all about and more.

I’m just going to get straight into it, I honestly hope you enjoy reading this post as much as I enjoyed writing it.

I think the last time I was into an anime so much I had to pick up the manga to read was A Silent Voice (2017). Me and Dane had been to watch it at The Electric Cinema in Birmingham, as I’d been recommended to watch it by adverts and they were damn right to tell me about it! Forbidden Planet/Worlds Apart is literally a stone throw away from the cinema so we ventured there prior to have a nose at geeky goodness, including manga. Dane walked out with Berserk (which was standard back in the day) and I left with the first three volumes of A Silent Voice. I binge read all the volumes in a week!

The same has happened with My Dress-Up Darling where I’ve binge read volumes one to three (still not started four) of the manga after watching the anime, although I’m holding off reading volumes five to eight online until they actually come out for us in the UK. I don’t know about you guys, but I much prefer holding a manga to read instead of just scrolling pages on my phone or laptop.

The anime is based off of the manga also known as Sono Bisque Doll, which released in Japan with its first volume in January 2018, with there currently being eight volumes of the manga, with volume nine on the way! In the UK there are currently six volumes, with five and six being pre-orders. The manga released to us in the UK in April 2020. With the release of the anime and its quick popularity with anime fans alike, the manga has sold out like hot cakes, with many manga stockists apologising and popping people on wish lists. There has also been a lot of scalpers on selling websites trying to sell volumes one and three (which are the hardest to get right now) for stupid prices!

At the time of writing this post volumes two and four are the main ones you’ll find available to purchase at the moment, with five and six being pre orders for the near future. I’ve found Amazon, Forbidden Planet and Wordery have been some of the best places to find volumes for sale.

I was able to snag volumes one and two from Forbidden Planet, as well as four on Amazon. Last week I was able to finally snag volume three through a lovely seller on Depop! She didn’t scalp or put the price up at all, especially with the volume being brand new.

With that out of the way, I’m going to talk about the anime first, just because that’s what I watched prior to reading the manga. It would be weird to talk about it the other way around when that isn’t how it happened for me. There are twelve episodes in season one with the season beginning on 9th January and concluding on 27th March 2022.

My Dress-Up Darling is about Gojo, a trainee Hinamatsuri (Hina for short) doll creator who has just started his first year of high school. One day during school Gojo is in the craft room at school making some costumes for his Hina dolls when Marin sees him. Marin wants to cosplay, but isn’t very good at making costumes, so once seeing Gojo’s talent, approaches him about whether or not he can help her create her cosplay costume for a character she adores. Whilst Gojo has no experience of this, he helps Marin regardless but one cosplay turns from one to more as the story progresses.

It’s a romantic comedy, slice of life manga/anime and my perfect style of anime/manga! In all honesty I’m a sucker for slice of life, no matter what, even drama you’d find on Channel 4!

Each week I’m a sucker for how Gojo and Marin’s friendship progresses, as well as finding out more about each of the characters and what cosplay Marin will work on next.

I don’t feel like this will be a spoiler at this point, but the opening credits for the anime shows what cosplay outfits Gojo and Marin are working on together, even in the order they do them as well. The covers for the manga volumes have the same images of Marin in her cosplay too. I’m so excited to see more in the future! My favourite so far as definitely been her first.

Dane is the one who introduced me to My Dress-Up Darling. I can’t remember how it came about exactly, as we were sick for the first few weeks of January, which is of course when the anime came out. I remember he was watching it and mentioned, “Everyone is going mad for this anime online and how good the animation is. Especially compared to Berserk!” For anyone that isn’t aware (I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned it before or not…), Dane is a massive Berserk fan and like many, was disappointed with the animation style for Berserk 2016.

What got Dane into My Dress-Up Darling was, “I had seen a gif on Reddit of Marin dancing in her bikini (taken from episode two) and without sounding perverted, I really liked the animation style and character’s design. I was immediately enamoured with Marin and wanted to know more about her… Besides her bikini choices.”

The GIF in question, more frames than Berserk 2016. Image taken from Tenor

I think Dane had watched a couple of episodes before I decided to give it a go, which he was more than happy about. I watched the first episode and craved more! We’ve been happily watching each new episode every Saturday morning ever since. It’s always been something to look forward to throughout the past couple of months, especially coming up to the weekends. Since the start of the year we’ve been having regular anime weekends where we sit and binge watch any that have new episodes or ones we’ve discovered and have started to watch together.

There is a huge elephant in the room when it comes to My Dress-Up Darling and it’s the amount of fan service, or arguably… Perverse shots that are in the show. It’s a topic that has blown up all over the internet, which I can understand. I don’t get some of the scenes in question that they chose to animate, and whilst I never feel uncomfortable, I do question it. I know a lot of people have also stated after seeing the “lewd” animated scenes, they stopped watching it, as they no longer wished to support the anime. I personally think its a shame that this happens as it affects everyone who has worked on the anime in question (not just speaking about My Dress-Up Darling here!). As I said, it doesn’t personally bother me, but I do question some stuff. The animators of the show (who may have also worked on the manga too) were probably given a clear vision to be like the manga, so, they have.

As I always do, when I really fall in love with something I always like to try and get some merchandise of it, official or fan made merch at that. I’ve seen one piece of official merchandise I’d love to pick up (key chain) but I’d also love a t-shirt with Marin on, especially pulling one of her many happy faces that she’s pulling during the opening credits of the anime.

Marin is very much loved in the community right now for both her personality, as well as for how pretty and “perfect” she is. I guess it’s because we can all relate to her one way or another as anime, manga and game lovers who just want to show off how much we love characters we watch, read and play as. I’ve personally only cosplayed twice, my first time as Lucy from Elfen Lied and my second time as Cartman’s The Coon from South Park. Both times were so much fun, especially the latter as so many people were telling me and Dane (he dressed up as Kenny’s Mysterion persona) how amazing we looked.

I’d love to cosplay as so many characters and people but I just don’t think I have it in me. I’d be so self conscious the whole day in case anyone judged, if I did the character wrong and more.

So, watching My Dress-Up Darling is a nice way of seeing how people DO get their cosplays together, how happy it makes them feel, the learning processes behind it all and more. Plus the friendships Gojo and Marin make together and with others is really lovely to see. OH and to add, it’s so cool to see how they drew parts of Tokyo. Me and Dane are especially missing Japan so far this year and are craving going back, especially when watching anime where it’s set in areas we stayed/ventured to.

Now I’ve spoken a little about My Dress-Up Darling’s anime, I want to touch upon the manga a little, which I’ve been speed reading the past week since I got volume three! I won’t talk too much about it, as I’ve already spoken a lot about the anime as it is.

The manga (from what I’ve read so far) is pretty much identical to the anime. I can’t say as I’ve noticed any massive differences so far, which I like. The manga style is gorgeous to boot by the way and is very similar again to the anime. I know some manga styles differ to the style when you watch the anime (Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid being a good example of this…) but thankfully this didn’t do that.

At the time of writing this, season one of My Dress-Up Darling has come to a close and what a close it was to a show so many of us adored! I won’t say too much of what happens in the episode itself due to spoilers, etc, but for anyone who is watching (from January, or if you decide to watch it after reading this post), please make sure to continue watching episode twelve after the credits begin… There’s a bit at the end that really rounds up the season perfectly.

Overall I’ve fallen head over heels for My Dress-Up Darling, which is also bad news because now not only do I want as much merchandise from it as I can get my mitts on, but I’m also sad that the anime’s first season is coming to a close this weekend.

Image taken from Good Smile Company US Twitter

I’m already planning on watching the dub version, just so I can enjoy it all over again, as well as ordering the Marin Nendoroid when it releases too! Me and Dane have been talking about whether a DX version will release too, where Marin will have all her cosplay outfits to dress up in too! Otherwise, an additional set of outfits for this would be great. Good Smile Company would miss a trick not doing that!

If you’d like to watch My Dress-Up Darling yourself, you can find it on both Funimation and Crunchyroll!

So, have you been watching My Dress-Up Darling? If so, what do you think of it? Have you been watching the dub, or the sub? Of course, have you also read the manga? Maybe you hadn’t heard of it until now, has my post inspired you to watch? Make sure to let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

Until next time guys, have an amazing weekend and I’ll see you in April! 🙂

January Favourites ’22

Can you believe it’s almost the end of January already?! 2022 is already flying by and I don’t like it. 😛 I know I always say this every month, but I know I’m not the only one!

January for me was crap to say the least as both me and Dane were really sick for the first week of it with chest infections (thankfully not Covid!) and without going into too much detail, my mental health has been really bad. I’m hoping it’ll improve moving forward…

I think another thing that sucked was due to us being sick on my birthday, I didn’t exactly have the best day. Memorable, yes, but crap. 😛 I know we’ll be making up for that at some point soon, which I’m really excited about. What though, I don’t know.

That being said January wasn’t all bad! Money wise I did pretty good considering how long people wait for payday in office jobs (six whole weeks!). I came into 2022 with the attitude of, “Spend less and sell more!” after doing really well with selling old stuff I no longer want on Vinted. If you’re interested in what I’m selling please ask for my store link, I won’t post it publicly on my blog. I’m finally going to clear out a lot of my old clothes from my old room, which is WELL overdue seeing as I moved out almost six years ago. xD

I’m hoping for February to be a better month, mainly health wise but also money wise too. Me and Dane have set a lot of home improvement goals for 2022 and I hope to get started on a lot of them this month, including a LOT of spring cleaning!

I don’t know why but I’m incredibly excited for spring this year. Maybe because of nicer weather and baby animals? 😛

Are you looking forward to anything in February? Make sure to let me know.

Anyhoo, on with the monthly favourites!!!

Favourite Beauty Product – Happy Place Cosmetics Bougie Body Scrub.

If there is one product I cannot live without in my bath/shower it’s the Happy Place Cosmetics body scrubs. They are the best I have ever used and smell amazing to boot! Black Friday they brought out some amazing deals, including body scrubs being on offer, so I bought a bunch of them to keep me going for a while, including Bougie. Bougie is a dupe of Lush Yog Nog, which is one of my favourite scents, from both brands! The HPC body scrubs foam up when you add a little bit of water, so not only do you feel nice and scrubbed after use, but clean too! I especially love to give my whole body a good scrub once to twice a week, depending. Mostly however I love using my body scrub on my legs before shaving. My legs were getting really dry at one point and even with a good moisture, they just seemed dry and itchy. Since using the scrub on them before shaving that dry and itchy feeling has gone and I’m so relieved. I need to do a review of HPC in the future, as not only do they create amazing things for your bath and shower, but for your home too with the wax tarts!

Favourite Film – Ron’s Gone Wrong.

Unfortunately I don’t have any “massive” films to shout about watching. Me and Dane are too anxious to go to the cinema so we’ve not been able to watch anything new lately. However, over Christmas we did binge watch a lot of films on Disney+ and Ron’s Gone Wrong was one of them. I’d been itching to watch this film for a while as not only had I seen it spoken about online, but I’d watched the trailer with Dane and found it adorable, which is exactly what it was. Ron’s Gone Wrong is about a new robot (B-bot) that children are using to find friends they’ll have in common and more. It’s basically a phone but disguised as a toy robot for kids. Barney is the only kid in school without a B-bot and it shows how much it affects him and even when Barney does get one, there’s something wrong with it. I won’t talk too much about the plot in case of spoilers, but I highly recommend checking it out, it’s got a really good message to it for younger and even older people about how much technology can affect us forget about what’s actually around us. I had a little cry at the end too. :’)

Favourite TV Show/Anime – Attack on Titan Final Season.

I’ve really been itching to talk about this this month and before I do, do not worry! There won’t be any spoilers shared here. A massive one came up on the latest episode (23/01) and DAMN I’m so glad we watched it. I’d have hated to see spoilers the next day. Anyhoo… Attack on Titan means a lot to me for various reasons and due to that I’m really sad to see it coming to an end to be honest. It’s one of the first (if not the first) anime me and Dane really got into together. We discovered Attack on Titan back in June 2014 when we went to Bristol for our first anniversary. Dane had heard loads about it and decided to buy some of the manga volumes in Forbidden Planet, as well as find the first episode online for us to watch. Dane fell in love with it, as did I and before we knew it, he’d bought all the manga there was on offer at the time and we found the first season to watch online too. I still remember getting to the last episode of season one and saying to Dane, “Next episode!” with him replying, “That’s it, we need to wit for the next season now.” This was almost ten years ago… How crazy is that? It’s amazing and sad at the same time that we’re now on the final season! It’s kind of the end of an era for a lot of people, including me and Dane. So far though, the final season is amazing! I’m still leaving each episode screaming at the screen saying, “WHAT? What’s happening?”. xD

Favourite Music – PVRIS Shuffle and Bring Me The Horizon – Kingslayer (feat. BABYMETAL).

I don’t know why (well I do, because I love them) but lately I’ve been listening to PVRIS so much. I think it’s because when I’ve been in the office for work, or been working on my own stuff at home, I’ve found that they’re my go to choice when I just need to concentrate and get on with things. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before on my blog, but PVRIS are actually doing a tour in the UK in May which I REALLY want to go to, but I don’t know if I can justify it with Covid and such? Purely because I’m seeing My Chemical Romance a week or two after and I’d be gutted if I came out of the PVRIS gig with Covid and couldn’t then see MCR… So yeah. That sucks at the moment! I’m still not writing it out because you never know, but yeah…

I also wanted to share with you a song I discovered around Christmas/New Year that Dane showed me. It’s by Bring Me The Horizon but features BABYMETAL, it’s amazing and I fucking love it! It’s really catchy, can be danced to as well as sang along to as well as it has a mixture of screaming and singing. I’m not a massive Bring Me The Horizon fan (not so much the music…) but I do love BABYMETAL. It’s just a perfect song to me and you should give it a listen.

Image taken from Amazon

Favourite Book – The Sad Ghost Club Volume Two.

Guys I actually did some reading in January! Can you believe it? 😛 I LOVE The Sad Ghost Club and as soon as I heard that the second book was coming out, I knew I had to get it. I pre-ordered as soon as it could be and it arrived on my birthday. As I mentioned at the start of the post, both me and Dane were really sick at the start of January, which sucked. This also meant I didn’t get to do anything for my birthday, apart from cuddle up on the sofa and cuddle with Dane. This being said, I did also read The Sad Ghost Club Volume 2 and I really loved it. I won’t say too much so it doesn’t ruin it for other people, but it really did touch upon people’s anxieties even more, which I loved. I could relate to Socks and it really tore on my heart strings. If you love The Sad Ghost Club on Instagram or any other social media, then you need to pick up the books to read. They’re so wholesome and make me smile when I feel down. I can’t wait for the next instalment!

Image taken from PokeCommunity Daily

Favourite Game – Pokemon Shining Pearl.

I was actually going to mention Pokemon: Legend Arceus today BUT it only came out yesterday so seems a bit premature to mention it so quickly. I’ve found myself picking up Shining Pearl quite a bit over January. Mainly because I REALLY wanted to try and get the main bulk of the story completed before Legend Arceus came out. I did in fact do this, but now I’ve opened the national dex and need to bloody complete that! 😛 This being said, Shining Pearl has been so nice and relaxing to play, especially when I wasn’t feeling very well and had the energy to do something more than binge watch Netflix and TV shows on Channel 4. I forgot how long the gen four games are, but I’m not complaining as it’s much better when you compare to Sword and Shield. I did mention it in November when the gen four remakes came out, BUT I did in fact buy Shining Pearl and Brilliant Diamond, as I expected Dane to play with me. As he isn’t doing such a thing and I’d like to 100% complete Shining Pearl, I will eventually play Brilliant Diamond on his switch so I can swap exclusives and such. Is that sad? Yeah, but whatever. 😛

Another thing I wanted to mention here that’s game related is, I’ve decided to create a games completion thread over on my Twitter, which you can find here! My friend Connor did this in 2021 and he really inspired me to do it myself. At the moment I only really have one game on there, but I’m sure that list will grow! I really want to work my way through some of my games this year. I’m sick of buying new when I have half completed ones gathering dust.

Just a few of my favourite things…

Pingki Buddy plush.

I don’t want to talk tooooo much about this plush as in April I’ll be talking in depth about all of the penguin friends that Pingki has created. However, I couldn’t not talk about my Buddy plush today as it’s so bloody cute! If you haven’t already recognised Buddy, he’s heavily inspired by a certain jock penguin from Animal Crossing… 😛 I pre-ordered this cutie from Pingki back in September 2021 and eagerly waited almost four months for him to arrive! It’s such an adorable plush, a nice size for cuddling and especially perfect for taking lots of photos of, as you can see above. 😛 Just an FYI, Buddy is currently sold out and I’m unsure when he’ll be back up for pre-order since the April pre-orders are all booked up!

In the December pre-orders I also pre-ordered the rest of the penguin gang and I’m already counting down the months until April when they’re due to start being shipped to their new homes! We have Baby, Bestie, Slushie and Brainfreeze. I wasn’t planning on getting them all due to lack of space, but I’ve decided to keep them on the back of our sofa as they’ll look really cute and like they’re watching TV with us… Which any Animal Crossing fan wants, right?

Loungefly Sanrio kawaii wallet.

At the start of January I snagged one of my Loungefly grails and for a fucking bargain too! If you don’t know what I mean when I say a grail, it means an item that you’re after that’s hard to find and rare, expensive or both. I feel like this wallet came out between 2020 and 2021, but don’t quote me on that. I just remember it coming out and really wanting the wallet, as well as the matching backpack too (which is also on my grail list!). I found this wallet on Vinted for a steal and decided to treat myself to it straight away. A couple of days later it arrived and I adore it! It was brand new with tags and under £25. I feel like the person who sold it to me knew the value and didn’t want to be a twat about selling it for a stupidly high price? I do have one flaw with this wallet though and that’s it made me feel a little anxious about keeping my bank card and ID in the usual places, so they’re elsewhere. I thought I’d mention this as I know this wallet style is a popular one that Loungefly make, so if you’re looking to buy this style of wallet from them, please bear this in mind! In the future I’m semi hoping to snag the backpack for a bargain too! 😛

Baking – Salted caramel and salted caramel shortbread.

As me and Dane had some stuff to use up in the house, as well as friends to see I decided to not only make salted caramel, but also to make salted caramel shortbread too! Both were a success and it’s made me realise just how much I do love baking! I mean, I know I love baking but you know what I mean. 😛

I’ve made the caramel shortbread before and don’t recall it being a bit hit with everyone, but this time when I made it, Dane and our friends loved it! It made me so happy to hear everyone’s praise and it’s just made me want to bake more and more! Maybe 2022 will be the year I do lots of baking? Watch this space. I absolutely adore baking, it’s a big passion of mine but at the same time I hate it because then I have to find people to eat it all, or me and Dane scoff all the yummy goods. 😛

I’m going to pop the videos about of the recipes I used as they’re really simple, easy to follow and highly recommended!

Fluffy cardigan.

One of my birthday presents from my mom this year was a fluffy cardigan and I fucking love it. So much so I wore it everyday for a week before washing… Grim yes but true. For Christmas my mom bought me and Dane loads of winter warmers such as a fluffy hot water bottle, teddy bear bedding and a gorgeous cream fluffy throw. Her gifts have really been appreciated to say the least, especially when we were poorly. Due to all these warm goodies and the gas prices going up, I suggested to Dane that we make the most of her gifts and turn the heating off in the day, which he agreed. Since then those winter warmers have been getting some use!

My mom had seen this fluffy cardigan on QVC and decided to order us both one and she gave it to me a couple of weeks ago. It’s so soft and fluffy, baggy, has a MASSIVE hood and is just perfect to throw on when you’re feeling chilly or want something comforting. I’ve practically lived in it! Dane jokily wore it the once whilst I was cooking dinner so I snapped a photo on my phone and sent it to my mom. To my surprise she ordered another one, so me and Dane could have one each! That’s my mom all over, bless her.

I am rather excited for us to get another so I can rotate wear them and always have one to live in when it’s chilly!

Image take from GIPHY

Being sick, boo.

Finally I’m going to talk a bit more about what a shit start to the year I had, and Dane for that matter! Right at the end of 2021 me and Dane started to feel under the weather and we put it down to being a cold, but that soon turned out to be a chest infection, which was evidently worse for me than it was for Dane. I came into 2022 with conjunctivitis in both eyes, a horrible cough and sore throat and no to mention no fucking sleep due to the previous two illnesses. It was vile and no matter what me and Dane did to try and shift it, nothing would. It seemed at one point like it was getting worse! Most of our days in the first week of January were spent on our sofa binge watching anything and everything we could on Netflix and All 4.

Of course I can hear you asking, “It wasn’t Covid then?” Nope, thankfully, but trying to find out if it was or not was a fucking pain in the arse! We’d both booked PCR tests on the Monday to find out if we had it, only for them to arrive on the Thursday. Post was very delayed due to the weird bank holidays we’d had at the start of the year, as well as both the Royal Mail and NHS struggling due to rising Covid rates. We’d tried to book to go to a test centre but had no luck, however, one sleepless night we were awake around 3am and managed to book drive thru tests in on the Wednesday. Thursday morning, we found out we were Covid free, as well as see our PCR tests arrive. They’ve been kept somewhere safe for potential future use.

Alongside all that with us being sick, not only did I not get to do fuck all for my own birthday, but I didn’t get to do anything for mom’s either and it really broke my heart. We didn’t get to do anything last year due to Covid and this year I was sick. My mom’s birthday is the day after mine so we do always try and go for a meal, whether it be her day or mine. We’ll go and do something in February no doubt, but it just felt really shit this year and it’s definitely not put me in the best of moods this month due to that.

During me being sick I lost my voice, which was incredibly uncomfortable and annoying. My voice still breaks every now and then and I’m worried whatever was wrong with me is still present in my system. I’m definitely hopeful that February will not contain any sicknesses of any kind. 😛

So, there we have it guys my January favourites! I really missed not writing this style of post since December when I wrote about my November favourites, but it’s definitely good to be back!

What were some of your favourites from January? Make sure to let me know in the comments.

Until next time guys, take care and have a lovely and safe weekend!

December/Christmas Wish List ’21

It is officially three weeks until Christmas… How crazy is that?! It only feels like this time last year I was saying something very similar when talking about my Christmas wish list!

Long time readers of my blog will know I usually tend to write my December/Christmas wish list on Christmas Eve, but this time I decided to change it up and do it the same time as my wish lists usually are. It means come Christmas Eve, I can wish you all a Merry Christmas as well as other things. 🙂

I’m rather excited for the type of content that I have planned for the rest of December, as well as Christmas as a whole. Me and Dane are spending it together again this year and I cannot wait! I’m also hoping to host a German Market themed weekend at mine too, with yummy food, hot mulled cider, Christmas movies, games and more. I’m really excited for that!

Alongside that, Christmas shopping is in full swing with most of mine being done now. I just have a couple of friends to buy for, as well as my dad and maybe a few more bits and pieces for Dane too.

However, I don’t want to ramble too much in regards to Christmas presents as I’ll be talking about that sort of topic next week on my blog and independent UK businesses you should buy from!

Until then however, please enjoy seeing what items are on my wish list for December… But mostly Christmas. 😛

Cheeky disclaimer to any friends who are looking for ideas, Dane may have bought me some of these things, so if you see something you’d like to buy, drop him a message first. 😛

• Pingki Buddy Penguin Plush Pals – (link)

First of all this is a pre-order I placed months ago and unfortunately at the moment, none of the penguin pals plushies are available to pre-order. This being said, Pingki is constantly posting updates in regards on their Twitter page. Buddy (Roald… :P) is a plush I just had to add to my collection and as he’s due in December or January, I had to add him to this months wish list! I’m not a massive Roald fan, but when I do look at him he reminds me of my best friend (Hi Gab!), she has him on her island and I always go search for him whenever I visit. The penguin pals plushies look so well made and with more characters coming soon, a part of me feels like getting together a little penguin army myself… 😛

• Converse x Pokémon First Partners Chuck Taylor All Star – (link to collection)

When I was fourteen I was bought my first pair of Converse as a birthday present. I went for the classic Chuck Taylors in red and I wore and loved them for two years, until I couldn’t wear them anymore. If you had told fourteen year old Nat that almost twenty years later Converse would FINALLY bring out Pokemon ones, she’d be counting down every year until the time came out. The collection looks pretty cool to be honest and although I would love to pick them up next week, I don’t think I will… Converse are shoes I loved growing up but realistically they’re not the best shoes for the price tag. Vans and Dr Martens in my opinion are a lot better. This being said, the clothes look cool too so I may snag some of those if I feel up to it. 🙂 I mostly wanted to share these for any Pokemon fans who would love some footwear!

• Smoko Vibrating Boo Pillow – (link)

Long time readers will know by now that I am a MASSIVE Smoko fan! If I can get my home filled with cute Smoko goodies, I bloody well will! For the past couple of Christmases and birthdays now, Dane has bought me Smoko themed items that he’s purchased from Firebox, which has always been appreciated! I own four of the lights (ramen cup, bao dumpling, boba tea and couch potato) as well as a handwarmer in the shape of toast (which I really need to dig out and start using now it’s chilly outside!). Surely I don’t need to add more to my Smoko collection? Yes, yes I do. 😛 I’d found this vibrating boba tea pillow ages ago on the Smoko website BUT when I saw Urban Outfitters UK were stocking it, it was literally the first item to be added to my list of ideas for Dane. I have terrible posture and often hunch over my laptop when sat in bed and rarely sit up. I’d like to think with a pillow like this it could help support my back a little and encourage me to sit back, plus with the vibrating function it should also be really relaxing too? It’s so bloody cute! I’m a sucker for Smoko items. I wish we could get more of them here in the UK to be honest.

• Manga – Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon (Vol 8-10) Maid, Kanna’s Daily Life (Vol 5-8) and Elma’s Office Lady Diary (Vol 3 and 4).

If there’s one thing I’ve hardly done since moving to my current job it’s reading. I was always reading in my previous roles as I’d either go to my car for lunch and read, or get to the office really early and read. Recently I decided to take a couple of my Kobayashi volumes with me to the bath and read as I had a soak. I honestly forgot how much I love reading manga, as well as this series so I’d love the ones I’m missing for Christmas. There’s quite a few from both the main series, as well as the spin off series about Kanna and Elma. I’ve added all the ones I need to my list, if I don’t get them for Christmas I’m going to order them for myself. These manga series seem to fly as soon as they’re stocked.

• Animal Crossing Friend Dolls Volume 1 – (link)

The Animal Crossing friend dolls are absolutely adorable! I never saw the appeal of them at first, but after a while they really grew on me and now I have the third volume pre-ordered and keeping fingers crossed for the first volume… Maybe even the second too. 😛 The first volume is available to buy from Amazon at the moment but I haven’t found the second volume anywhere where all the characters are available together. I’ll pop links as to where you can purchase these in the UK, as well as where I’ve pre-ordered volume three.

• Smoko Astro Tayto Night Light – (link)

As mentioned above, I do love my Smoko goodies! This is one of the night lights I’ve had my eye on for a while, but only recently did it hit the UK/the Firebox website. I have the normal tayto night light but I’d love the astro one too. I mean, look at how cute he is! Not only have Firebox stocked the astro tayto, but they also have some more astro tayto goods including the moon light and USB reading light, BUT they also have an adorable tayto coach potato sofa light too! If I end up getting all of these Smoko lights for Christmas, I’ll have to find a place for them all! 😛

• DIY Crossing Cross Stitch Kit – (link)

Finally we have the DIY Crossing cross stitch kits, that I adore! I stopped buying them a while ago due to Christmas coming up, so I’m hoping I may find one of two of these in my stocking… 😛 As I’m a Patreon of DIY Crossing I always request the dog villagers, as I’m hoping to stitch them all in the future. If there’s one pattern I really want to pick up in the New Year though, it’s Shino. Shino has fast become one of my favourite villagers as she’s so adorable and shouts Japan to me! I requested her cross stitch design last month, which I saw earlier this week. It’s gorgeous and I NEED to stitch it soon!

So, there we have it guys, my December/Christmas wish list! I feel like it’s nothing special, but it’s lots of kawaii and geeky goods I love and hope to receive some of them this year… Mostly from Dane. 😛

What do you all have on your wish lists for December, as well as any gifts you’d like to receive for Christmas? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

After Christmas, would you guys like to see what I received for Christmas? Make sure to let me know in the comments too.

Until next time, take care all and I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend so far. 🙂

November Favourites ’21

I can’t quite believe we’re less than a week until December but just four weeks away until Christmas! 2021 has flown by and I’m already frightened at what 2022 holds, as well as how quickly that may fly by too.

I know I’m posting my monthly favourites for November a little earlier than I usually would but this is because I want Decembers content to be full of Christmas related/style posts!

I’m actually really excited for Christmas this year! I’m excited to decorate the house a little more with lights, as well as lots of tinsel, and especially for being able to see the people I love and care about too. Me and Dane ordered our Christmas food months ago out the way, so the hardest part of Christmas Day is done. 😛

Now all I need to do is decorate this weekend, as well as finish my Christmas shopping ready for the big day! Hopefully I can smash most of it this weekend so I can spend the rest of December relaxing, buying any last minute bits and pieces, as well as spending time with people I care about.

I’m so excited for the content I have planned for the rest of December! A sneak peak includes independent businesses you should buy from this year, which will talk about geek goods, candles, beauty and more. Make sure to keep eyes peeled for that in a couple of weeks.

However, for now I want to dive into what I’ll be talking about this month. This may well be the last favourites of the year, as I rarely talk about the December favourites until the New Year. I hope you guys enjoy!

Favourite Beauty Product – Lush Yog Nog Shower Gel.

I picked up this shower gel in the Lush Boxing Day sales last year and I’ve been waiting for the right time to use it! I love Yog Nog so much, I was beyond gutted when they decided to discontinue the bath bomb. The bubble bar is good, but I don’t know… The bath bomb always smelt stronger to me. The scent has always reminded me of Biscoff biscuits, which I’ve loved since I was a kid. This shower cream/gel is so luxurious and creamy smelling and with the fact it’s gold, I feel so fancy when I use it in the shower! It always leaves me smelling good and a little bit soft. The scent isn’t crazy strong, which I really like. I’m hoping to pick up a replacement bottle in the Lush Boxing Day sales this year… If they do them online again that is! If you haven’t tried this before, give it a go! I’m not as much of a Lush fan as I used to be, I found they’ve really changed a company and their prices are shocking! I much prefer to buy and support small indie beauty brands, who have scents like Yog Nog and Snow Fairy all year around, at a more pocket friendly price.

Favourite TV Show – Komi Can’t Communicate.

This is a new anime series that Dane has gotten me into and I’m so grateful for it! It’s kind of obvious from the title of the anime what it’s all about. Komi can’t communicate due to social anxiety, but now she’s in high school, she wants to gain lots of friends and start to communicate more. Komi befriends Tadano, a guy in her class who really wants to help her with her goals. It’s a very cute, funny and heartfelt show. Not going to lie, I cried at a scene in the first episode. 😛 This is a Netflix exclusive, so make sure to check it out.

Image taken from GIPHY

Favourite Manga – Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Kanna’s Daily Life and Elma’s Office Lady Diary.

Don’t double check this to see if you read correctly, because you have. Yes in fuck knows how many months now, I’ve picked up a book and read it. No, I can’t believe it either! I think due to my mental health declining the past year I just haven’t been in the right frame of mind to read, which really does break my heart. I love reading manga and in one of my jobs years ago, I couldn’t get enough series or volumes to read due to that fact. Thinking about Christmas present ideas, I know I’ve needed to stock up on my volumes of the Kobayashi series, so I decided to start catching up on the volumes I need to read, add ones I need to my Christmas present ideas list, as well as pre-order some volumes I need too. I forgot how much I love reading manga! I’d take it to work and read it more, but I don’t feel comfortable sat at my desk with some potential NSFW pages… Which has happened in the past at previous jobs and people have talked… 😛

Image taken from My Nintendo News

Favourite Game – Pokemon Shining Pearl.

I haven’t been nonstop playing this game due to how busy I’ve been, but when I have been playing it, I’ve really enjoyed it! Technically Animal Crossing should be noted here this month too as I’ve been playing it LOADS since the update but I felt like I spoke about it loads of my previous post (Games I’m Loving This Month). The Pokemon gen 4 remakes are officially out and not only are they cute, but they’re so fucking nostalgic and I know I’m not the only one feeling that. I’ve got to the second gym on my game, but I’m planning to try and fit in some more Pokemon game time soon.

Just a few of my favourite other things…

I bought an Apple Watch!

I finally took the plunge and bought myself an Apple Watch during my week off work in November! Thanks to Dane I’ve ended up not only buying the Apple Watch but also the Apple AirPods too so I have all the fancy technology I need/want. 😛 Dane bought himself a Samsung watch earlier this year and has been loving it, which in turn has influenced me to get my own tech watch and why not the Apple watch seeing as I have an iPhone? So far I’m really loving it and it’s definitely come in handy when out and about if I want to keep my phone in my backpack, as well as at work. I picked up the newest watch and highly recommend to anyone who is thinking of getting one.

New clothes pieces I’ve obtained (including a grail piece!).

Alongside my Apple Watch, I also snagged some clothing pieces I’ve been after a while, including a grail piece by Black Milk Clothing.

The pastel jumper is by Wego, a Japanese fashion brand. I heard about it through Instagram and immediately went to From Japan to see if I could order it! I requested a custom order and a couple of weeks later it arrived! It’s such a lovely jumper, super warm and cosy, as well as baggy too. I really want the bright rainbow version too, but that’ll have to wait. 🙂

Although the snake dress isn’t new, the Route 666 Underbust Corset is and I FUCKING love it! I bought it second hand through an amazing Sharkie who I know and speak to often via Instagram. Instead of £42.61 I only paid £30 (not including postage) which is a complete bargain. I’m really happy with it, it’s so comfortable and the exact size I’d want as well which is perfect.

Finally I’m so excited to share my grail piece! I’ve been after the Merboy Shatter Reversible Skater Dress for the longest time and through one of the Black Milk Clothing sales groups I’m a part of someone in Australia was selling this piece for a second price including shipping. I decided to treat myself to it when last pay day came around and finally a few weeks ago it arrived! I honestly cannot wait to wear it over the Christmas period for parties with a pair of boots and a sheer mesh top underneath. It has pockets too, which is amazing!!! So damn happy to have this. :’)

Finally, Christmas nails season has begun.

Finally, I wanted to show off my Christmas nails because I’m in love with them! I know they aren’t in your face Christmassy, but I think they sort of are! I’m waiting for 16th December for my green and red OR blue and silver nails to be done. I’m feeling the latter as I can get away with them for New Years as well. Honestly though, these nails are bloody gorgeous and the rose gold makes me so happy to see.

So there we have it guys… The last favourites post of the year! I know it’s a bit short but I honestly couldn’t think of loads of talk about this month. There hasn’t been a film or music that has stood out for me this month. Plus, as I said before, November has been a tough month for me this year, so I haven’t felt all that… “get up and go!” kind of thing.

That aside, what were your favourites from November? I can’t believe November is done in less than a week now… Can you?

Make sure to let me know in the comments below what your thoughts are about November, as well as December being just around the corner!

Until next time guys, take care and hope you have a lovely weekend.

October Favourites ’21

In the blink of an eye, October has flown by and I don’t know how I feel about that! xD October wasn’t the best month for me in regards to my mental health but the end of October, start of November has been really nice so far. Albeit with cute games coming out this week and some time off work with Dane… 😛

Of course I won’t go too much into my personal issues but instead I’m excited to share how exciting the first week of November has been for me! Not only did the Animal Crossing: New Horizons update and DLC (Happy Home Paradise) come out, BUT so did indie games Unpacking and To The Rescue! came out too, with the latter being a game I backed on Kickstarter. So, my week off mainly consisted of playing games with Dane, doing things around the house and catching up with people. It was great and very much needed. I’ll be talking about the games on a separate blog post at some point this month, so keep eyes peeled for that!

For now however, I want to share my monthly favourites with you guys! I hope you enjoy this months favourites.

Favourite Beauty Product – Badedas 3 in 1 Original Indulgent Bath Gel.

This is something my mom bought for me and Dane Christmas 2020. I’ve always loved the smell of Badedas as it was always something we had on the side of the bath when I lived at home. It smells really fresh, masculine and gorgeous, plus it always reminds me of my dad so it has a nice comforting/familiar feeling to it. I used some of this throughout the winter period at the start of 2021 and stopped when spring and summer hit. Now the weather is colder again, I’ve brought it out to use not only as a bath gel, but as a shower gel too! When I was poorly with flu later on in October, this helped clear my sinuses somewhat, as well as comfort me with the scent. I know it’s a bath gel both me and Dane used too with the flu (I passed it onto Dane…), so it’s definitely good it being in our cupboard! It’s a bloody huge bottle and it feels like it’s lasting forever! This isn’t something I’d buy for myself to be honest, but I did enjoy receiving it as a gift last year.

Favourite Film – Violet Evergarden: The Movie.

For any regular readers of my blog, you’ll know I LOVE Violet Evergarden and have done since it first came to Netflix in 2018. Violet is about a young girl/woman who has fought in the war as a child and comes out to be “adopted” by a post office owner. She begins training to become a ghost-writer and the feelings and emotions she lost during the end of the war slowly start to come back through helping people by writing their letters. Violet is also pained by the meaning of some words spoken to her during the war. I don’t want to say too much for fear of spoilers, but the movie basically ends a lot of questions that long time viewers will have been asking/wondering. It definitely answered these for me and Dane and my emotions were all over the place! We’re still asking questions after the movie, but we hope this won’t be the end of Violet Evergarden’s story and only the beginning of a new one!

Image taken from GIPHY

Favourite TV Show – Squid Game.

Okay, now I know you’re either thinking… “YAY someone else who loves Squid Game!” or, “Urgh, someone else who loves Squid Game?” and of course I loved it. I heard all the hype around it on Instagram and Twitter and wanted to watch it before spoilers started to show, which I thankfully missed. Damn, Squid Game is a journey and it was one me and Dane completed over two evenings of watching nonstop. I don’t want to share spoilers, even if the majority of people HAVE seen it. It’s basically a Battle Royale style show about people competing in life or death situations to win a lot of money. It’s really good to be honest and much better watched in subbed (subtitles), not dubbed (voice over in your language), which I know a lot of people have watched it in.

Favourite Game – Dorfromantik.

This is a game that Dane introduced me to fairly recently and since then when I need a moment to relax and not think about stuff for a while, I pop this on. Dorfromantik is a game where you need to build a town/village with puzzle style pieces. Pieces will differ, whether they be pieces of river, railway track, farm, trees and homes. You need to pop pieces in certain places to make up targets, such as fifty trees altogether, or ten homes, etc. It’s such a relaxing game and I really do love to play it!

Just a few of my favourite things…

Black Milk Clothing Ghouls Night In photoshoot with Dane.

I want to say a massive thank you to Dane for doing the mini photoshoot on Halloween for my last blog post, which was all about Black Milk Clothing and their Ghouls Night In collection for Halloween. I was sick the week of Halloween with flu, as was Dane so we both felt a little sorry for ourselves. My original plans for the photoshoot I wanted to do was to venture out into the area(s) nearby and take photos in autumnal weather… Because why not! Alas, due to how we were feeling, those plans didn’t go ahead. Instead Dane suggested we grab some Halloween themed props and take photos in our office. We were able to change our smart bulb to various different colours to make the photos look better and personally, I feel like they came out amazing! I’ve received so many lovely compliments and comments in regards to the photos, which has made me so happy! I can’t wait to do more fun photoshoots in the future! You can read all about the Halloween collection here.

Rae Dunn boo ghost candle.

I fell in love with some of the Halloween merchandise offerings that TK Maxx brought out this year, including the massive DW Home ghost candle I bought in September (you can see it in my September favourites here). I’ve been on the hunt for the Rae Dunn boo ghost candle for the same amount of time and in October I found one at a decent price on eBay, so I ended up snagging one. I started burning it on Halloween and it has a lovely toasted marshmallow scent to it, but it isn’t very strong… Which is a shame. I mostly wanted it for the jar though, which I’m probably going to use for fake flowers. 😛

Halloween nails!

Guys you know me by now (well, I hope anyway!), I bloody love Halloween! Last yeah my Halloween nails were ON POINT and gave Beetlejuice vibes. This year I decided to go for orange and black and white stripes instead after getting some major inspiration from Pinterest. I wasn’t going to bother getting the stripes as I hadn’t booked in the extra time with my nail technician and instead I was going to get white with black glitter. However, my nail tech being the amazing person she is did it anyway and at no extra charge! She is such a star and I honestly always look forward to my nail appointments. I’m currently rocking glittery purple and green nails… Halloween isn’t done for me yet. 😛

BarleyBlossom Glow In The Dark Animal Crossing Halloween Timmy & Tommy T-Shirt.

Finally, I wanted to show you guys the Halloween Animal Crossing t-shirt I bought by BarleyBlossom. I wore this t-shirt on Halloween, as well as earlier in the week and it’s SO BLOODY COMFY! As you can see, Timmy and Tommy are dressed up as ghosts for Halloween. The white fabric glows in the dark, so when in a dark room the Nook brothers look spooky as fuck! I was planning to write a blog post all about my purchase, but when I was due to, BarelyBlossom was taking the Halloween goods down from the store, so unfortunately I didn’t see the point in sharing the item at the time if no one could buy. 😦 This being said, at the time of writing this (4th November) BarelyBlossom has listed two Molly pieces (t-shirt and sweater) where she is dressed up as a bat, so make sure to go and check it out!

So, there we have it guys! All my favourites from October! Honestly it really did go by quickly and I partially hope November doesn’t go as quickly. I’m not ready for Christmas yet… xD

How was October for you guys? What were your favourites from the month? PLUS are you all playing Animal Crossing now? 😛 Make sure to let me know in the comments below.

Until next time guys, take care and see you soon!

July Favourites ’21

I feel like I always say stuff like this when it comes to my monthly posts, but seriously… How is it August already?! This year has really flown by, so much so I didn’t realise my boiler was due a service because it only felt like yesterday that it had had one! xD

This month feels like it’s been… Strange? My mental health hasn’t been very good to be perfectly honest but at the same time it actually improved due to dog sitting my best friends dog Eddie. I’ll be talking more about him later… 😉

I’m hopeful for August being a better month. I have lots of fun things planned with friends and I can’t wait to go on some mini adventures with some of them too.

Beauty.

• Dr. Bronner’s Pure-Castile Soap in Peppermint.

This is an all purpose soap that my mom recently gave to me in lavender form. She’d treated herself to some of the scents but had found she had too many. As I wasn’t using it due to having a lot of my on stuff to use, I gave it back to my mom. When I did however, she offered me another scent that she hardly had any of, the peppermint one. This came at a good time with the heat wave we experienced in the UK. This is a multi purpose soap that can be used as a body wash, shaving and even for cleaning around the home! I’m yet to try it for shaving, but so far both me and Dane have used it on the body. As this is peppermint it leaves a lovely cool feeling behind after rinsing off of the skin, which felt amazing during the heat wave! I don’t know if I would go out of my way to buy this soap as I feel for less money I could pick up the Original Source mint shower gel for a lot less money.

Image taken from GIPHY

Favourite Film – All the Jackass movies!

As some of you may know I am a MASSIVE Jackass fan and earlier last week the trailer for Jackass Forever came out, so I was kind of an excited fan girl… 😛 I was so excited that I decided to binge watch ALL five Jackass films, including Jackass 2.5 and Jackass 3.5. I forgot about some of the scenes from the films so it’s always a delight to be reminded of some of them. I can’t tell you guys how many times I’ve watched the Jackass series as well as the films now. Whilst studying my undergraduate degree I remember watching everything over and over again as it helped me whilst I worked on my dissertation. To add here, whilst I’m really excited for Jackass Forever I’m not excited about a few things. 1. The fact Bam Margera and Ryan Dunn won’t be there (who are both my favourite Jackass guys) and 2. This is actually going to be Johnny Knoxville’s last Jackass film… Gutted! It’s obviously the end of an era in a way and the young 11/12 year old Nat probably didn’t even realise how much this show would change her life. I’ll be writing a post all about Jackass towards the fourth film, which comes to cinemas on 22nd October!

Image taken from Tenor

Favourite TV Show – Beastars season two.

Me and Dane literally binge watched season 2 of Beastars as soon as it came out on Netflix. We watched the first season last year and really enjoyed it! As I haven’t read the manga, I didn’t expect there to be another season coming out, so when it was announced a while ago I was surprised! This being said, I was intrigued as to what would happen in season two and other questions about Legoshi (wolf) and Haru (rabbit). For those of you who may not know, Beastars is about anthropomorphic animals where carnivores and herbivores are divided. We follow Legoshi during his time as a student where we see how this divide is affecting students, as well as adults outside of the school/college/university. I definitely recommend watching! You can watch it on Netflix, subbed and dubbed.

Favourite Music – Girl Talk – All Day.

All Day is an album my ex actually told me about over 10 years ago and I still listen to it to this day. It’s a mash up album with all sorts of genres mashed up to make one amazing piece of work. I love listening to this when I have stuff to do, whether it be doing paperwork, blog work or cleaning around the house, it’s the perfect album to put on and listen to. I especially love listening to it whilst driving. There are 372 songs used on this album. Honestly go and give it a listen if you’ve never heard of it before… I don’t think you’ll regret it. 😉

Favourite Game – The Greatest Penguin Heist of All Time.

This is a game that Dane introduced me to about three weeks ago now! It’s an early access game on Steam and it is fucking hilarious! If you can’t gather what it’s about from the title then… 😛 Obviously you play as a penguin and you’re off on a heist, the greatest of all time! This game can be played alone or in a group of four through private parties and it’s one that me and Dane have been really loving playing together, especially on streams. You play various different levels and each time you are set tasks to complete. You complete the tasks successfully, you make big penguin bucks which can be used to buy new areas to play, as well as weapons, clothing and more! As this is an early access game there are bugs and items still in development but this doesn’t bother us too much as it’s still crazy and fun to play. 🙂 If you fancy watching us play it on stream make sure to drop us a follow so you can watch us play games! We stream this game every Wednesday between 7pm-9pm. Dane’s Twitch and my Twitch.

Just a few of my favourite things…

New Black Milk Clothing pieces.

Okay so I found some Black Milk Clothing bargains online in July, but I also picked up the Snorlax Snoozing Snuggle Suit when it was re-released! It originally came out in the second Pokemon collection. I’d been nagging BMC via Twitter for ages to bring it back and it would seem myself and others would get their wishes (and nagging!) come true. I’ve owned it for a month now and I’ve worn it loads when the weather was cool enough to. It’s really comfortable and I feel adorable as fuck in it too! If there’s one thing I realised this year, it’s just how much I love BMC’s snuggle suits and how I need more. 😛

As I mentioned, I did pick up some bargains, two in fact! The Snorlax Apples Apron Dress originally came out in the second Pokemon collection and I snagged for £10 less than what BMC are selling it for! Although I’m yet to wear it out and about, I have zero regrets about buying it! It’s a gorgeous apron piece that I’ve teamed up with a strawberry t-shirt from TU Sainsburys. Apron pieces are some I’ve always been unsure of due to the length, but with leggings or a pair of tights with shorts on top, I’m sure it’ll be fine! I’m planning to wear this outfit soon, maybe on a day trip with a friend or for a picnic date with Dane! It’s the perfect outfit for spring and summer!

The second bargain I picked up is the Mew Sheer Midaxi Dress which came out in the first Pokemon collection. This is a piece I’d always lusted after but… Couldn’t justify the monies. I’d bought the Gastly Evolution Handkerchief Dress and felt that was enough for me. However, months later BMC put the Mew dress into the sale and I started to think more about ordering it. I put it off and just as I went to, it had sold out… I was gutted and it was clearly never meant to be. However, one morning whilst scrolling through the internet I found someone was selling the Mew dress on Vinted for a decent price! It was a size M, so a size down from what I usually buy and after some chat with the seller I placed an order. It arrived a few days later and fits perfectly! I’m so happy I bought it and I’m waiting for the right time to wear it… But with the way the weather is now in the UK I may need to wait a while. xD

Lucky art commission from Claire Likes To Doodle.

About a year ago now my amazing friend Claire/Claire Likes To Doodle would stream whilst doing art over on Twitch channel and as she would stream during the day I would join to watch during work for company. I saved enough channel points so I could ask Claire to draw something quick for me! I asked for Lucky from Animal Crossing and she smashed it! Recently I asked her if she still had that initial quick sketch she did for me and she did! I paid for her to finish it for me and paint him. I met Claire for coffee last weekend and was presented with this gorgeous piece. I love how Lucky has a cute little butterfly on his nose, as well as the bees around the flowers too! I’m currently catching loads of bees on Animal Crossing so I can make lots of bee models for my hive!

If you’re interested in getting a commission from Claire yourself make sure to check out her Instagram page and drop her a DM. 🙂

New clothing in general… 😛

I seem to have acquired some new clothing pieces over the last week of July and I have my reasons for this! xD I’d seen the Disturbia Strange Oversized Skater Dress making it’s way around social media for a while and after a lot of thought, I decided to pick one up! I’d seen and heard in a lot of posts and reviews of this dress that the sizing of it was incredibly generous and as my size(s) had sold out, I had to go for a size I haven’t been able to fit into for a VERY long time. Alas a few days passed and the dress arrived. I was so anxious to try it on in case it didn’t fit, but alas it did and it was still very oversized. This being said I don’t mind it, it feels really comfortable and with a belt around (as shown in the image above) you wouldn’t even know how oversized it is! I’m planning to wear this over the weekend.

This sweater literally arrived a few days ago and as you can see it’s a Space Jam Lola Bunny sweater from George Asda. To be able to order an item I’d wanted for AGES I had to order something else, so I decided to get this sweater. It claimed to be oversized and it had Lola Bunny on it so… Win win really! 😛 I used to love Lola Bunny growing up, so much so my dad bought me a keyring/chain with her on. I loved it! I remember being so hyped for a female bunny character and Space Jam but when it came down to watching the film, I was left feeling disappointed and a bit freaked out by the aliens. xD I plan on watching it again soon.

Dog sitting a cutie pie! ***WARNING IMAGE HEAVY***

Finally I’m here to show off this little cutie pie, Eddie, my best friend and her husbands dog! He’s a Shih Tzu Yorkshire Terrier cross, or a Shorkie for short. Me and Dane love him to death so when our friends were talking about where they could put him (aka a kennel/dog boarding) whilst they go on holiday we offered to look after him! We had him for a week and we loved every minute of it. I wanted to share with you guys some of the memorable and funny moments we had with Eddie during his week holiday at ours! We’ll be looking after him again in August and hopefully September which we’re really looking forward to!

This is our living room and for some reason a couple of days into his stay with us he got obsessed by our living room light. As you can see it’s mirrored and he kept staring at it one day after Dane had come home from visiting his family. Eddie was going crazy after a while, in the sense he was trying to get up to the light, whether it was via my airer or the dining table! We don’t 100% know why but we can only assume he saw himself in the mirror and thought it was another dog. We ended up wrapping the light with kitchen roll in the hopes he would forget about it, he didn’t. 😛

On his way home one day from work Dane brought Eddie a puppuccino from Starbucks. It’s basically just a cup of cream but damn did Starbucks give Dane a big cup! Eddie really enjoyed it but he kept wandering off thinking he was finished, when he wasn’t! We might treat him to one in August/September if we get time to. 🙂

Most of the time Eddie would nap, especially during the work day when I was busy and in the evening when me and Dane were chilling or streaming on Twitch. This was taken the day he went back home after his mini holiday with me and Dane. This was typical of Eddie to have a nap next to me on the sofa, or underneath my desk. Look at his cute little face!

The weather was mostly lovely whilst Eddie was staying with us and one afternoon whenever I let him out for a wee or was sorting my washing, he would sit on our decking (I know it’s seen better days…) and look out at the garden and take in all the smells! It was really nice to sit with him and relax, especially if I wasn’t having a very good mental health day. Taking this photo of Eddie has really added to me want to get a dog to sit and have chill moments with… As well as other reasons of course!

Finally my favourite part of having Eddie stay with us for the week was all the doggy cuddles we got to have… More so me than Dane as Eddie really did get attached to me. Every morning Eddie would come and sit on my lap during my morning meetings and then later on come for snuggles and cuddles on the sofa during lunchtime and then on the bed before me and Dane would sleep. These two photos of him are my favourites as he’s given me those perfect puppy dog eyes for fuss. I mean, who can say no to that face?

I know I said finally before, but the day after Eddie went home, I went to my besties for a hot tub party! Typical Eddie came for snuggles with me… 😛 I didn’t mind of course. 😛

So there we have it guys, those are my favourites from July, with Eddie being number one of course!

What were your favourites from July guys? Make sure to let me know in the comments.

Until next time all, I hope you’re having a great weekend and I hope August is a good and sunny month for us all. 🙂