Jenni Illustrations – Haul

August is the month of a very much needed spending ban… Which may go into September as well to be honest with you so I can try and save up some more monies ready for when Christmas is upon us.

I’ve mentioned before on my blog how during lock down I have saved and spent a lot of money on things I’d had my eye on for ages but never had the spare monies or urge to buy. I decided to on some things and have had zero regrets, even if my bank account doesn’t agree. One of the independent artists I finally took the plunge and bought from is Jenni Illustrations.

Jenni Illustrations is a Australian kawaii illustrator/designer who draws all sorts of designs from cute animals, some Ghibli inspired characters and even some of her own original characters, which I adore.

Jenni had recently closed her store and reopened it, just in time for me to make some purchases. I bought three things in total and I am here to show them off to you today in a little haul post. I really hope you enjoy it, as I’m so excited to share the goodies with you! 😀

As I mentioned before I picked up three items, a print, a sticker and of course an enamel pin.

• Soda Dog Sticker (link)

One of Jenni’s original characters that I have fallen in love with is her Soda Dog design. Not only do I love dogs but the colour of the soda being blue reminds me of Japanese ramune, which is what I think it’s actually meant to be. The sticker is a decent size and bigger than I thought it was going to be, as well as amazing quality. On the store it does tell you the size and about the quality, but I didn’t check to see how big or small it would be as I didn’t mind either way. 🙂

As you can see the design is of a soda bottle with some blue soda inside, a red lid and Soda Dog as the mascot on the label. There is some Japanese on either sides of the bottle too, which in all honesty I cannot read. I tried to see if the Google Translate app on my phone could help, but the only bit it could translate was the part on the left hand side which read “Soda Dog”. It struggled with the part on the right, but kept trying to say inu which I knew was wrong. After a lot of playing around with Google Translate I worked out that it says, “ramune”. Which makes sense! The Soda Dog design is so adorable, but I want to go into more detail about him when I talk about the enamel pin I picked up next.

So far I’ve not stuck my sticker to anything, as you can see. Instead I’ve stuck him on the side of my plushie bookcase.

This sticker cost $5.00 AUS, or £2.69 which I think is really decent for a sticker of this size and quality.

• Soda Dog Enamel Pin (link)

This is where I’m going to talk more about the Soda Dog design itself as I can’t not talk about it! I mean, look at it. 😀 Soda Dog is a little white puppy, but the bottom half of his body is blue ramune soda! He has a little red bottle top on his head, a floppy ear in the shape of a heart and massive pink cheeks. Oh and a red collar to match his hat red bottle top! This Soda Dog is of course supposed to be a bottle of ramune which has almost been finished and I think it’s such an amazing idea. When I saw that Jenni had an enamel pin design of this cute boy, I KNEW I had to buy it!

The enamel pin itself is really good quality! It’s on a gold enamel and has one back. The enamel pin itself cost $14.00 AUS, which is £7.54. I think this is an incredibly reasonable price for an enamel pin and I plan to buy more in the future from Jenni, which I’ll be showing at the end of this post.

• Kiki A6 Print (link)

First things first, at the time of me writing this post this print is currently sold out… I hope it comes back into stock because the Ghibli designs Jenni does are gorgeous! I’ve always liked Kiki’s Delivery Service, but I especially feel since my Japan trip in January that I really do love it. Japan especially love it, so whenever you go into a Ghibli store (or at least one that sells Ghibli goods) there will always be plenty of Kiki’s Delivery Service items to choose from. I actually regret not buying more. Before my trip to Japan I had my eye on this print, I love so much about it. The one thing I always love about Jenni’s designs is the eyes. They’re so three dimensional and gorgeous, I could stare at them for ages.

As you can see from the photo, it’s a design of Kiki holding Jiji, the overall design is adorable and it really brings joy to my day whenever I walk past it in the bedroom. Like the sticker, I have stuck it onto the side of my plushie bookcase. I would love to see more character from Ghibli movies drawn similar. I feel like Jenni did one of Chihiro from Spirited Away ages ago, but I can’t remember…

This print cost $8.00 AUS, which works out to £4.31, which is reasonable! If anything, I would have loved the option of having a bigger print. I would have definitely gone for an A5, maybe at a push an A4 as I honestly love this design.

So, those are all the goodies I picked up on my first order from Jenni Illustrations.

Due to COVID the items took just under a month to arrive to me. I have to be honest here and say I didn’t think shipping was cheap at £9.69, almost £10 for shipping from AUS to the UK. I didn’t care about paying the costs at the time as I really wanted the items but next time I make an order I’ll feel like I need to order plenty to make the shipping worth it.

This was a MASSIVE treat for me as I’d wanted these items for a while, but if you think the shipping is a little on the high side for you, it might be worth making an order with a friend whose also after these items and you can split the shipping fee.

Overall I am in love with my Jenni Illustration goodies and I’ll definitely buy from her store again and plan to in the future! I already have loads of items on my wish list that I plan to buy in the future and wanted to share them with you below.

Blue Clues Sticker Sheet – I loved Blue’s Clues growing up so these would be a nostalgic trip for me!

Animal Crossing Sticker Sheets – I don’t need to explain why I want these, but I do want them all!

Froggy Chair Sticker – I explained on my July Wish List ’20 post why I want this sticker.

JiJi and Lily 6×6″ Print – I would love this print to go with my Kiki print.

Dragon 6×6′ Print – This print shouts Haku from Spirited Away, who in turn is my favourite Ghibli character. I need this print in my life!

Lucky Kat Washi Tape – Whilst in Japan I discovered a love for washi tape. I would love to add this lucky cat washi tape my collection.

Chester Pin and Fern the Fox Pin – These are two more of the original characters that Jenni has drawn. Chester is a cute little red panda and Fern is an adorable fox. These are two of my favourite animals… What’s not to love, eh?

Soda Dog Keychain – I actually regret not ordering this at the time of my order, as I would have loved to add this onto one of my bags, or a set of keys. I definitely plan on adding him to my basket next time I make an order with Jenni Illustrations.

So there you have it guys! What do you think of Jenni Illustrations? Which item(s) are your favourite that I picked up. Plus, have you bought anything from Jenni Illustrations yourself? If you haven’t yet and plan to, let me know what you’re going to buy!

OH and don’t forget to check out Jenni Illustration over on Instagram too, where she shares new designs all the time. 🙂

Until next time all, take care stay safe and see you next time! 😀

August Wish List ’20

I can’t quite believe it’s August already and to be honest with you, I’m pretty damn glad. July was good because it meant my bathroom was completed, however it was incredibly stressful and I wasn’t very well for the majority of it.

I’m glad for August to bring a fresh month, something new and also a month for me to save the money I spent on the labour for the bathroom too.

Although I am trying to save my money this month, it doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to still have and share my wish list with you this month! That and I bought three pieces from the Black Milk Clothing x Pokemon collection last week… Oops! 😛

I’m really loving the variety on it and I hope you do too. 🙂

• Insert Coin Persona 5 Morgana Hoodie (link)

If there is one thing I love seeing, it’s when Insert Coin reveals they have a new collection out and it’s clearly Persona 5 related. They recently announced more items that were joining their ever growing collection and I for one love everything! I especially love that not everything is a high cost too. The new pullover hoodie they’ve brought out is so gorgeous! I don’t have a red hoodie, so this red is right up my street and I love that Morgana is on the front of it too. I wont be purchasing this for a while… But the time will come when I do decide to pick it up!

• Goodsmile Company Nendoroid A Clockwork Orange Alex DeLarge (link)

I feel like I haven’t had a Nendoroid pre-order arrive for quite a while, so I’m definitely overdue now. For those who may not know, I’m a big fan of A Clockwork Orange and have been since I was about… 15/16 years old. When I lived at home I used to have a canvas up of Alex DeLarge, I dressed up as him once for Halloween and I own some t-shirts with Alex DeLarge on. SO, when this Nendoroid was announced when I was in Japan in January, I asked YY Kawaii if she could get him for me, which she could and did! I’m so excited for Alex DeLarge to arrive this month! He looks perfect. If you haven’t watched A Clockwork Orange before then definitely give it a go, but it is a dark film, with some strange themes. There was a lot of controversy surrounding it due to a lot of the themes that went on in the film and I think it was banned from the UK for a time. I still recommend it though. 🙂

• Pokemon Four Seasons Collection Re-ment – Vulpix (link)

I was recently gifted an amazing parcel by YY Kawaii which contained some items she was giving away over on Instagram (the giveaway is now closed!) and within that there was some re-ment figures, including one from the four seasons collection. I was really hoping for the Vulpix re-ment but instead I got a Wartortle and Sandygast one which is really summery and cute. As Autumn is one of my favourite months, this Vulpix autumn re-ment is shouting out to me! I’ll buy it eventually, but for now I can wait. 🙂

• Kickstarter Adorablush Pokemon Fruit Salad Enamel Pins KICKSTARTER NOW ENDED (link)

This Kickstarter is adorable and it’s one both me and Sarah (from Raiin Monkey) have backed together to save on postage… Smart, eh? 😛 We both loved the look of this Kickstarter campaign for fruit Pokemon enamel pins. There are eight designs to choose from, I’ve gone for the watermelon Shaymin and strawberry Eevee and Sarah has gone for the strawberry Eevee too! Alongside the enamel pins you also get prints that match, which will be awesome! I’m so excited for us to receive our pins. I’ll be sending Sarah’s off to her when it arrives, with some other goodies too… 😛

• Lunaticgumis Puppycat Sticker (link)

If you guys didn’t know by now, I am a MASSIVE Bee & Puppycat fan! I’ve been after some more merchandise from the TV show/comic book for a while, but it’s lacking AND not easy to get hold of in the UK. This sticker is from Spain and delivers to the UK, which is always good. It’s really cute and would love to add it to my “sticker collection”. During  lock down I’ve gathered quite a lot of stickers but I don’t quite know what to do with them.

• Cushty Co Unicorn Blood Soy Wax Melt (link)

About 10 years ago I discovered a brand called Lily Flame and their gorgeous scented candle called Fairy Dust. I’ve owned a few since then and they’re amazing. However, I can’t justify buying any new candles right now and sadly Lily Flame aren’t exactly cheap. Cushty Co do a dupe of this scent, which I’d love to give a go myself in future! I’m still trying to get through my candles and wax melts at the moment, but sadly they’ve been hurting my throat so I’m trying not to use them too frequently at the moment.

• Disney Store Lady Small Soft Toy in Box (link)

This Lady plush is very much sold out/out of stock at he moment and I’m semi gutted. My favourite Disney film is Lady and the Tramp for so many reasons so when I saw that the Disney Store were selling this lady in a box, just like in the film I knew I had to have it. Of course, I’ve missed that window due to setting myself on a spending ban, but at the same time I was being indecisive. I’m really hoping the Disney Store bring it back as I would love to purchase this cute Lady plus.

• Costa Coffee China Unicorn Mug (link)

Finally we have an item I pre-ordered through YY Kawaii a month or so ago. I saw her mention that Costa Coffee in China were making unicorn mugs and merchandise, which looked and are adorable! There were two takeaway mugs and two mugs. I went for the glass unicorn mug to drink my teas and coffees from. I don’t exactly need anymore mugs in my life, but this was kind of too cute to pass up and as I used to work at Costa Coffee many moons ago, I thought it would be nice to add one of the unicorn designs from China to my kitchen!

So there we have it, my wish list for August! Some of the items are pre-orders or have arrived already, such as my Nendoroid Alex DeLarge, which arrived last week. This being said, as I mentioned at the start of the post I’m going on a spending ban for August. I will only buy items that are essential or occasionally buy items that are limited edition or limited time, but that probably won’t happen much.

What items do you have on your wish lists this month? Make sure to let me know in the comments below, as well as to what items you like from my list!

Until next time all, take care and stay safe. 🙂

July Favourites ’20

I can’t believe it’s August already, can you? I for one am glad as July was so bloody stressful and it drove me mad due to that fact. I just couldn’t wait for it to end to be honest, it started to affect my mental health, which is never good so to have a new month will be good. Plus, September is my favourite month of the year and I want to make sure to have a relaxing month before that favourite comes up. I could write a post every year as to why I love September… Maybe I’ll do it again this year? Let me know if you’re interested.

July wasn’t just a month of being stressed out however, it was also a month of getting good things done, including our bathroom and my nails. We had some issues with our bathroom in May with water damage and decided instead of just getting the water damage repaired, we would look and see if we could justify getting the whole bathroom done. Alas we did justify it and a couple of months later the work was completed and we now have our gorgeous new bathroom! We’ve had the work completed for two weeks now and I have loved it so much. I was going to show off the completed bathroom on my blog, but I have since gone against that as I’d like to keep some privacy.

As well as my bathroom being done, nail technicians were able to open their salons again, so I went to get my first gel manicure done in almost 4 months, which I was very happy about. Yesterday I went and got them done again and I went for black and holographic silver, because why not. 😛

Image taken from The Latest Kate

As always I like to share a positive photo here from The Latest Kate as I find her images are really sweet and the message behind them meaningful.

Here’s to August being a relaxing month, before my favourite comes. 🙂

• Bath Bake Love Cherry Lime Sugar Whip.

I have know about Bath Bake Love for quite a long time now through Instagram, but I’ve never bought from them until now. I feel like I’ve been missing out for a long time as I honestly love their products. So far I’ve bought quite a few of the sugar whips (including Frosting Fairy, Billionaires Shortbread) and some other items they create and sell. The one sugar whip I have fallen in love with is Cherry Lime, it smells just like it and it makes me so happy. I haven’t used it as much as Frosting Fairy, but that’s because I’m savouring it a little. The sugar whips are really creamy in texture and like a mousse, which make it really easy to lather them up and wash with. They make you smell really good and feel soft! The Cherry Lime scent is very zesty and summery, hence why I’ve loved it so much this past month. I can’t wait to use it more and I’ll definitely buy it when it’s restocked next. PLUS look how pretty the product is with the bright pink and green foil inside! It’s actually inspired me to potentially get my nails painted in these shades towards the end of the month.

• Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau de Toilette.

I decided to use some of my “older” perfumes up that I’ve had for quite some time. Years ago my mom bought me a set of mini Marc Jacobs perfumes and I’ve never used them… Until now! These bottles are TEENY and they aren’t the easiest of bottles to work with, but I just dab some of the scent on my neck, wrists and inside my elbows. For an EDT this scent lasts ages! It’s really light and I rather like it, although I doubt I would buy the full sized bottle. I’m not a massive fan of the Marc Jacobs scents, although I really do love Decadence.

• Revolution Skincare Blemish and Pore Refining Serum – 10% Niacinamide + 1% Zinc 30ml.

My good friend Claire recommend this serum to me a while ago, so I decided to buy myself a bottle of it back in June and since then I have on and off used it. I do really love it and I ended up buying some more niacinamide items from Revolution Skincare too, which I’ve been using alongside the serum. Niacinamide is good for oily skin types as it balances oil production and improves texture by making pores look smaller. Considering how warm it’s been towards the end of this week, after using this on my skin in the morning with my moisturiser, my skin hasn’t been as oily on my nose as it usually is! I’m going to keep trying this though, as I do feel like it’s starting to do something for my skin.

• romand – Juicy Lasting Tint Autumn Fruit Series Shade Cherry Bomb.

In June I ordered some goodies from Yes Style and it was a mixture of regret and happiness. I was happy to finally own some more Korean lip tints but regretted it due to the fact it took a whole month to arrive and I was paranoid about customs charges. However, looking back I don’t really regret it and I think I was just on edge and anxious. I’ll happily order with Yes Style again, especially as I’ve seen some stuff I would love for the future. That aside, I ordered two lip tints by romand and out of the two, Cherry Bomb has been my favourite. It’s a gorgeous cherry red lip tint that really does last ages on the lips. I’ve found myself wearing it on the rare occasions I’ve left the house, but I’ve mostly worn it whilst working from home. I recommend these lip tints to everyone and I already know I’ll be buying more romand products in the future.

• The Body Scrub Peppermint Candy Cane Body Scrub.

This is one that I received a couple of Christmases ago and have FINALLY gotten around to using! It’s one of The Body Shop scrubs and I honestly wish I had used it sooner as it’s amazing. It’s a very thick sugar scrub which really does scrub away! I’ve been using it on the tops of my arms, bum, thighs and even my feet. It’s worked amazingly on the latter but has left me feeling a little smoother than usual everywhere else. This was only a small pot as it was part of a set, but if I ever see this pop up in sales on the website in future, I may have to buy a bigger pot. It also smells AMAZING by the way!

So now my beauty favourites are done, time to talk about the miscellaneous favourites of the month!

Favourite TV Show – I May Destroy You.

First of all, this TV show is amazing and I cannot recommend it enough to you right now. In all fairness this does have some warnings due to scenes of sexual abuse/rape. The show is written and stars Michaela Coel (who also wrote Chewing Gum) and is about a writer who goes for a night out to take a break from her work. The next day she can’t seem to remember what happened during the night out, or how she even got home. Everything begins to unravel and she soon grows to realise she’s been raped during her night out. With the help of her friends she gains support, as well as tries to get justice for what happened to her and more. I definitely recommend watching it, it’s an amazing show.

Favourite Movie – A Whisker Away.

This film was an absolute delight to watch and after a takeaway me and Dane snuggled together and watched it on the sofa. It’s about a girl who is in love with a boy and the only way she can get close to him is by turning into a cat. We watched it dubbed, but it is subbed on Netflix as well. The story itself is adorable and we have all been there at some point in our youth with lusting over someone but not being able to get them to like you the same way! My only gripe with this film is that both me and Dane felt like it went on for a little bit too long… Which started to ruin the film for us. This being said, I would happily watch this film again as it did make me smile and the kitten that the girl turns into is adorable!

Image taken from Tumblr

Favourite Book – Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid manga.

FINALLY I HAVE READ SOMETHING! Can you believe it?! I had a quiet weekend in July and decided to start making my way through some of the volumes I haven’t read yet in my manga collection. Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid was a priority to me as it’s one of my favourites and I know quite a few volumes have come out for this and the spin off volumes (Kanna’s Daily Life and Elma’s Office Lady Diary) too. I feel so much better for catching up on my manga series but I do need to read more! I feel like I need to just assign myself two evenings a week to just read, as I’m terrible these days for reading and I don’t know why? I’m going to blame gaming as I feel since I bought my Switch Lite I’ve neglected reading, which is a shame. Not only do I have manga to read, but comics and even “normal” books to read too!

Favourite Music – Dai Numo – SUITED.

Years ago on Soundcloud I discovered Dai Numo and I have never regretted that day. I LOVE his music and keep wanting him to release more. I listened to his album on and off to and from Japan, whenever I visit Fuerteventura and when I really need to knuckle down with work of any type (work or personal). I thought I’d share a couple of songs above, but I’d highly recommend you go and check out his Soundcloud AND Bandcamp where you can download the album. I can’t describe what kind of music this is… It’s like chillout hip hop? I love it either way and I definitely recommend it for everyone to check out.

Image taken from GIPHY

Favourite Game – Aggretsuko: The Short Timer Strikes Back.

First of all guys I just want to say, I am still playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons, however I am not on it ALL the time. It has began to “bore” me a little, but lately I decided to sort out my island and redo parts of it, so every other day I’ve clocked onto Animal Crossing a couple of hours. However, recently an Aggretsuko game came out, ready for when the third season hits Netflix at the end of the month. This isn’t an in depth game in anyway shape or form, but towards the end of July I got addicted to it! It’s a free game and I can’t recommend it more if you want a puzzle game to play.

So those are my favourites from July! Again, I can’t believe it’s August already, the eighth month of the year! Next month will be my favourite month of the year and then before we know it we’ll be in autumn, Halloween, Bonfire Night, winter and then Christmas before we get a new year!

2020 hasn’t been amazing due to COVID, but we’re over halfway through this year now.

How has July been for you? What were your favourites? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

Until next time, stay safe and take care all!

June Favourites ’20

I feel like I say this every month… BUT how is it July already?! June flew by and I’m sad to see it gone in a way. However, I am excited for July and what it brings with it.

The start of July me and Dane are getting a new bathroom fitted and we cannot wait! It’s been something we have planned to do since we bought the house four years ago, so it’s great to get it done, finally! We sadly had some water damage back in May and it upset us both a lot. Thankfully this is getting sorted, alongside the bathroom itself.

I’m nervous but excited for all the work to be done and cannot wait for a fresh start to the bathroom! Hopefully I’ll be able to show you guys some before and after photos of the bathroom.

Majority of June I relaxed and eased off playing certain games to play others. It was a strange month to be honest but one I really liked as I loved just relaxing and not doing all that much. I’m hoping July will be more productive… But a little lazy still too. 😛

Image taken from The Latest Kate

As always I like to share a positive photo here from The Latest Kate as I find her images are really sweet and the message behind them meaningful.

Here’s to new things in July! I’m excited for what the month holds. 🙂

• Aveeno Daily Moisturising Lotion.

I recently did a MASSIVE spring clean of the belongings in our bedroom as well as the bathroom and I threw so much stuff away! Loads of old nail polishes, body products and more. I also discovered that I owned this Aveeno lotion too and I’ve started using it daily on my hands whilst working. I can’t have too many lotions at the moment for my hands and feet as I was to try and keep the eczema away as much as I can. Thankfully what I’m doing is working, which is good. I have to be honest though, as much as I love the Aveeno lotion I own, I won’t be buying it again. I’ve paid less for better in all honesty. I would however like to try more Aveeno products in the future.

• Barry M All in One Nail Paint.

This is the only all in one top and base coat that I’ll use and have used for years now. Lately I’ve found I haven’t been wearing much nail polish and instead I’ve just been wearing this clear nail paint instead. I like to have something on my nails and as this is also a nail hardener too, I find it really does help my nails strength wise and they grow quicker than they would without this on. I was hoping for my nail technician to be open again at the start of July, but alas beauty and nail bars won’t be opening… Sooooo I’ll be continuing to look after and paint my nails for a while longer. I definitely recommend this all in one nail paint if you’re on a budget but want something that will work!

• Peripera Sugar Glow Tint in shade Cherry Pie Filling.

I bought this lip tint recently from Depop. I’ve never bought a lip product second hand before so I was a little dubious. However, I haven’t encountered any issues which is great and in all honesty I’m glad I bought this lip tint as it’s amazing! I’ve worn it almost daily since around the start of June and I really like it. It’s a gorgeous dark pink shade, which you can put a little or a lot on to build up the colour. However, this doesn’t tint and stain the lips, which is a shame but even so it’s a lovely colour.

• Simple Kind to Eyes Soothing Eye Balm.

With a mixture of hot weather and my hayfever being on an all time high in June, this eye balm was very much needed and really did help to soothe my sore eyes. Whether that was down to the heat, hayfever making them sore and especially lack of sleep due to some nights where I couldn’t sleep well due to the warmth. I’ve used this eye balm on and off for years and it’s something I always go back to.

• L’Oreal Paris Smooth Sugars Clear Scrub (review here)

This is a face scrub if I need to finish using soon so I can buy myself a brand new one! I love this face scrub and it honestly lasts ages as a little bit goes a long way, so much so I’ve owned it for over two years now… A lot of people would have thrown it away by now, but for me it’s done me nothing but good. This is an easy face scrub to use and one that I thoroughly enjoy using due to that. You use it on dry skin and it not only feels gently and effective, but has a lovely warm feeling too. Then you rub a little bit of water into your skin to melt the scrubby sugars away. I always feel really clean and fresh after I use this scrub and still highly recommend it to this day!

So now my beauty favourites are done, time to talk about the miscellaneous favourites of the month!

Image taken from Pinterest

Favourite TV Show – Shameless.

First of all, can we just remember that a young James McAvoy played Steve in Shameless and how gorgeous and amazing he was in it (may I add – still is!)??? ANYWAY! I don’t know why, but I felt the need to binge watch this recently as it’s now on Netflix, which means no annoying adverts to contend with on All 4. I got to about season 8/9 before and turned it off as I got bored and turned to something else. I’m going to ride it through to season 11 and FINALLY finish binge watching it. Shameless has been a show I’ve loved since it came out in 2004 and I’ve watched it when it was on the TV back in the day, on DVD’s and of course streamed on All 4. I refuse to watch the American version by the way, so don’t recommend. 😛 I recommend the UK and ORIGINAL version if you fancy something new to watch!

Image taken from GIPHY

Favourite Movie – The Rescuers/The Rescuers Down Under.

That gif is so accurate for The Rescuers, I swear to God! Amongst the few Disney films that make me cry my eyes out this is one of them, alongside Dumbo! Penny in the first film breaks my fucking heart and I always sob at the scene where people chose a red headed girl over her and she’s praying to get away from the boat, the prison she has been kept in. I decided to binge watch these one evening as I wasn’t feeling great, but wanted something to keep me busy. Both The Rescuers films remind me of my childhood as I adored The Rescuers Down Under when it came out. I have fond memories of it and even photos of me holding the video and book my mom bought me with a massive smile on my face. If you haven’t watched it, GET ON IT! They’re lovely films.

Image taken from GIPHY

Favourite Book – Meh…

I haven’t been reading this month… End of. I did buy the new volume of Snot Girl but in all honesty I just haven’t gotten around to reading it for many reasons. I’m terrible with reading lately and I really need to improve that. 😦

Favourite Music – “Let Me Hear” – Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas and “Tequila” – Jax Jones, Martin Solveig & RAYE.

These are two songs I’ve found myself replaying over and over again lately on Spotify and in turn it makes me laugh how they’re completely different genres. The first song “Let Me Hear” I discovered through an anime called Parasyte which I watched in June (and recommend!) that this song features on the opening credits. I love it and whenever it comes up on my shuffle I sing loudly to it. I’ve also added “Tequila” which is a song I discovered months ago through a Spotify advert. I only really gave it a proper listen recently and instantly fell in love with the beat of it.

Image taken from Nintendo

Favourite Game – Pokemon Cafe Mix.

This is one of the newer game releases from Pokemon, a free to play game on both phones and the Nintendo Switch. I’ve downloaded it on both, but I’ve mostly been playing it on my phone. Animal Crossing has definitely taken a back burner the last week of June and I think it’s just due to be wanting to play other games. Pokemon Cafe Mix is so much fun and it really does remind me of the Pokemon Cafe in Japan (which you can read about here). As this game is free definitely give it a go!

So those are my favourites from June! June was a good but odd month. Again, I’m just so excited to get my new bathroom installed now and have my bathroom back again. I may write about it in the future as to what happened with my bathroom and how we dealt with it all.

What were your favourite things throughout June? How as June for you guys too? Make sure to let me know in the comments.

Until next time, stay safe and take care all!

February Favourites ’20

I know I mentioned on my life lately post that I would only be uploading/posting on Saturday’s moving forward, but my monthly favourites have always gone up on the 1st of each month. This isn’t a tradition I’m letting go of anytime soon! PLUS I didn’t see the point in having a post up on the 29th February and then one on the 1st March. It just seemed really pointless at the time…

I know February is a short month anyway, but damn did it fly by! Although to be fair, waiting for payday to come around felt like forever… 😛

February was a bit like a roller coaster with lots of ups and downs, but overall it was okay… I ended up having flu towards the end of the month, which sucked. I’ve come out the other side into March though, so it’s all good!

I’m so damn excited for this month. There are three games coming out that I’m excited for AND of all my favourite game franchises too! Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX, Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Persona 5 Royal. So yeah I think March will be a busy one for me. 😛

After coming back from Japan I’ve felt a little down with some post holiday blues, but I’ve tried to get back into the norm again and I’m okay… 😛 Until I go on another holiday! 😛 Speaking of Japan, I know since I’ve come back I’ve only done one post but I’m trying to pace them out nicely. I don’t want to flood you guys with Japanese content and as I would like to write more about Japan on my blog in the future, this isn’t exactly a bad thing!

Anyhoo, enough of me waffling away… On with my favourites from the month!

• Original Source Tropical Coconut & Shea Butter Shower Gel.

Okay I’ll be honest with you guys… I originally had a different product here for my favourite this month but that has been removed, scraped and GONE! Why? Because I learnt how shit the product actually was! The shower gel in question was Treacle Moon Gentle Powder Love Bath & Shower Gel. This shower gel smelt great, wasn’t cheap and ended up leaving my skin sore, dry and flakey… Which sucked! I had lovely soft skin during my trip to Japan, so the fact I came back and my skin had dried out, I put it down to a mixture of the products in Japan being better and the cold weather in the UK. Alas, this wasn’t the case. It turned out that the Treacle Moon shower gel is just… SHIT. I picked up this Original Source shower gel as to be honest, their products are always good. Not even a week into using the product and my skin has already improved, which I am so happy and relieved about. I get bouts of eczema and I started to panic this was one of them. This shower gel is amazing, not just for it’s ability to bring my skin back to life… It smells of creamy coconuts, which in turn always remind me of Fuerteventura and sunshine, but it’s cheap! This bottle cost us a £1, whilst the Treacle Moon cost me £3! I think I’m going to write a complaint as I’m annoyed at what it did to my skin. Sorry for the ramble by the way… 😛

• Sand & Sky Australian Pink Clay Porefining Face Mask.

I picked this face mask up on the plane home from Japan. I’ve wanted to try this face mask for a while now, but just never got round to picking one up. I didn’t realise how expensive it was until I checked out how much it retails for… £40 and up! Shocking price to be honest with you… So when I saw this for sale on the plane for £35, I thought I would treat myself. I’ve used it a couple of times now and I really love this! I find if I’ve broken out and I used this face mask, it really does help my spots to calm down and go away! I use this once a week/fortnight due to using other products, or my skin not needing a face mask. However, due to the price, I don’t know if I will repurchase… 😦

• Etude House Dear Darling Water Gel Tint in shade PK003 Sweet Potato Red.

After picking up the Etude House Dear Darling tint in Japan, I knew I had to get another one. I’ve had the sweet potato red shade on my wish list for quite some time now, so I found one on eBay and ordered! I am so glad I picked up this shade for so many reasons. The shade itself is gorgeous and reminds me of a colour I could call “my lip colour but better” if that makes sense? Also this is the newer packaging and product formula for this tint and this is SO MUCH BETTER! You don’t get loads of product on the applicator, it’s not as watery and it’s just great. I’ll definitely be reviewing these tints very soon!

• The Body Shop Peppermint Reviving Pumice Foot Scrub.

I picked a new one of these foot scrubs up from The Body Shop as I was in DIRE need of one! I’m going to put it down to that bloody Treacle Moon shower gel again, as my feet were so soft and smooth during my trip to Japan… My feet needed some major TLC this month so this foot scrub has been really good to use on my feet a couple of times a week, just to give them a good scrub over! I like to use this in the shower as the last thing I do before I get out and then before I put my socks on I’ll slather my feet in my favourite lotion. My go to at the moment is the Childs Farm Baby Moisturiser with Shea & Cocoa Butter – which you can read about on one of my previous favourites posts here.

• Maui Moisture Smooth and Revive Vanilla Bean Shampoo.

I picked this shampoo up just before I went to Japan and I have no regrets! I was after a shampoo that would lather easily, smell amazing, give my hair all the benefits we seek from a shampoo AND not contain any sulphates. This shampoo ticks all of the boxes and I couldn’t wait to talk about it on my blog this month. This shampoo goes a long way and you only need a little because of how thick it is, which is perfect for me. I hate shampoos where you needs loads in order to get a decent lather behind it. This smells so creamy and to be honest with you, I wish Maui would create a shower gel that smells just like this! I would be in heaven. 😛 This shampoo is for smoothing and reviving your hair… I don’t know if I need these benefits for my hair, but even so I really love this shampoo. It isn’t cheap at £5.99 BUT when you can buy Head & Shoulders for a £1 less… FYI Head & shoulder is one of the WORST shampoos out there that you can buy!

So now my beauty favourites are done, time to talk about the miscellaneous favourites of the month!

Image taken from Tumblr

Favourite TV Show – O Maidens in Your Savage Season.

This is an anime me and Dane binge watched not long after we got back from Japan. Dane is great at finding new anime series to watch together and this is one I fell in love with. It’s about a group of girls in a literature club who are going through puberty. You see the view from both the girls and the guys and how they’re all impacting each others sexual feelings… And awakenings if you will. It just reminded me of being a teenager and it’s a typical coming of age anime, which I LOVE.

Favourite Movie – 1917.

I loved this film so much. I was intrigued by it, but not fussed about watching it in the cinema… However, after someone I work with went to watch it and told me how amazing it was, I soon changed my mind. That and everything I had heard about it, I knew I had to see it for myself. Me and Dane booked it in the week after work and we’re so glad we did. We fell in love with this film for so many reasons. The way it is filmed, the editing, the acting, the story, just everything about it. I ended up crying at the end too… If you haven’t been to watch it yet, I recommend you do so as soon as possible before showings stop.

Image taken from Tenor.com

Favourite Book – Guys…

Guys I’m sorry. February was a bizarre month of being hella busy after Japan (both social and work related), as well as me being poorly with flu/chest infection… It sucked and reading was the last thing I wanted to do. It sucks because I said to myself that once I returned from Japan I would catch up on my manga so far as well as read new manga series. This hasn’t happened and I’m annoyed. 😦

Favourite Album – Billie Eilish – When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?

I decided this year that I wanted to listen to more music. I find I listen to the same stuff all the time and there are a lot of artists out there I would like to discover more of. Billie Eilish is an artist that blew up and I admit, I do like a couple of her singles (“Bad Guy” and “Lovely”) so, why not listen to her album? I didn’t fall head over heels in love with it, but I did enjoy listening to it whilst driving to and from work, as well as whilst I was at work. I especially love the song “Bury a Friend” which I haven’t been able to stop listening to since I first heard it! I definitely recommend giving this album a listen. It reminds me of a new genre of “depressing pop” and I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing…

Image taken from Amino Apps

Favourite Game – Neopets and Pokemon Shield.

Okay… Hear me out. Since before Christmas I have wanted to play on my old Neopets account. Sometimes I just want to play something simple, but I couldn’t get into my account due to email and password issues. I reached out to Neopets for months for help, but I didn’t receive any. After some digging around I finally managed to get into my account and since then I’ve been playing it for a few hours everyday! I forgot how shit, but addictive the games are, how you can grab a free slice of omelette and jelly daily and basically how the website hasn’t changed since I last went on in about 2016/2017… This being said it has really cheered me up to play after work when I’ve been feeling blue. It especially kept me entertained when I was poorly with my flu too, which isn’t a bad thing. Next month I will be super busy with games, so Neopets won’t have as much attention… 😛

Towards the end of the month I was really poorly (still am NGL!) and had to have some days sick at home. Due to the boredom of not being able to do much (apart from binge watch episodes and clips from Would I Lie to You? I decided to pick up Pokemon Shield again and try to finish the game, as well as complete my Pokedex. Well, this has now become an addition for myself AND Dane, who said he wouldn’t pick Pokemon back up until June when Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra are released. We are both working together now to complete our Pokedex’s and we’ve really been enjoying it!

There you have it guys, those are my favourites from February! Again, I honestly cannot believe how quick this month went by. I am so fucking hyped up for March for so many reasons! All the games, being able to go to Birmingham Comic Con, a blog related event I’ll be attending and more! 😀

What were your favourites from February? Do you have any exciting things coming up in March? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

Until next time all, take care and I hope you’ve had a lovely weekend so far. 🙂

Life Lately – 2020 So Far

Guys I have not written a life lately post since June 2019 – how crazy is that?! I’ve clearly been living too busy a life to even update you guys with anything, haha!

However, for February I thought one was necessary on my blog because for pretty much all of January (and hence 2020 so far) I’ve been pretty quiet, which many of you will know the reasons for.

I was in Japan! I didn’t state exactly when I was going, but from the 12th January until the 26th January I was in Tokyo, Japan for a very much overdue trip with Dane.

Since we got together in 2013 we have dreamed of going to Japan and finally that dream became a reality. I don’t want to talk too much about that here as I would like to talk about it over various posts on my blog. I will go into some minor details here though.

It was amazing and although we watch anime/read manga and know quite a bit about Japanese culture, we definitely weren’t prepared for what a culture shock we were in for. We LOVED Japan and we honestly cannot wait to plan our next trip there (probably 2022 now…).

We travelled to various places around Tokyo including Shinjuku (which is where we stayed), Shibuya, Harajuku, Hakone (which is an hour outside of Shinjuku), Ikebukuro, Akihabara, Chiyoda City, Toshima City, Nakano City and more!

My favourite place to go to was a mixture of Shinjuku, Shibuya and Akihabara for various reasons.

Akihabara was FULL of otaku, kawaii, geeky goods – which were right up our street. We loved it so much there that we went again for a second trip!

Shinjuku (as I mentioned) was where we stayed for our trip and it was definitely the best place to pick! Just a short 5-10 minute walk away was everything you could want and more, including places to eat, shop, play games and even catch trains from that went everywhere we wanted to go. It was perfect and I’ll definitely stay there again in the future.

Shibuya was the best for shopping, as well as walking around. It’s home to the famous Shibuya crossing, as well as the Hachi statue that sits right by the train station. Shopping there was incredible and I regret not going back for a second visit.

One place in particular was good, but also disappointing at the same time, which was Harajuku. I imagined it to be this lively, colourful eating and shopping haven that I would lap up! Sadly at the start of the day in Harajuku I was really poorly and ended up being sick. I quickly recovered and me and Dane were able to get on with what we set out to do for the day, which was mostly visiting animal cafes! Harajuku (to me anyway) wasn’t full of the lively and colourful places I’d imagined. Eating there was amazing and I regret not being able to eat more, but shopping was a bit of a let down. It seemed to be a mixture of copy and paste of Wego and (what seemed like) colourful fashion you could buy on eBay.

The only reason I would venture there again is to go back to the Pompompurin Cafe, which was one of my favourite places to eat at during our time in Japan! I’ll be talking about this on a separate blog post, so keep eyes peeled for that! 😀

The food in Japan was amazing and I miss it already. 7-eleven was so convenient for food, especially breakfast and the range of choice was incredible! The hot food was probably the best for me and I wish I’d eaten a lot more of it.

As a savoury eater, I ate so much sweet stuff because it was EVERYWHERE and it was amazing. I miss it so badly… I just wish we could at least have crepes here that are as good as the ones in Japan.

Enough of Japan for now – I’ll save all the in depth information for the blog post(s) about it.

I wanted to touch base on some other things here, including my blog and personal life.

Some news I want to share, which I am SUPER EXCITED FOR is that I am going to see My Chemical Romance in June!!! 😀 Booking tickets to go and see them was a nightmare and I haven’t felt so anxious about buying something since we booked our holiday to Japan.

I tried to book both the Saturday and Sunday show whilst out in Japan and due to the crap pocket WiFi we had, this just wasn’t doable. I sat in a cafe for an hour trying to book the Saturday show with zero luck. Then as we were walking around Tokyo I attempted to book the Sunday show, with less luck than before. I was gutted. Absolutely gutted. I got over it however by the time we got back to the UK.

THEN my friend Claire (Claire Likes To Doodle – who you can read about here) told me about a third show they had announced for Thursday. I knew I had to get on that as soon as I could. I saved the booking section on Ticketmaster on my phone and made sure to be ready to book. The morning came and a stressful 30 minutes later, tickets were booked and paid for and I WAS IN! YES, YES, YESSSSS!

I am beyond excited to see My Chemical Romance again after almost 10 years (I last saw them in 2011) and I already know loads of memories will come back to that show and the previous show I saw them at (Black Parade UK tour back in 2007).

I’ll be going with my boyfriend, who isn’t actually a massive My Chemical Romance fan, but is coming with so I’m not going alone. I don’t have any friends who can come in the week, or at all (due to also not being fans), so he’s doing me a favour. 🙂 I’m paying for his ticket, which is fine with me… Because he’ll be buying our dinner haha!

So yes, I am will be listening to loads of My Chemical Romance in the run up to the show in June and maybe bringing back my emo self from back in the day… 😛

At the start of January and just before my holiday I turned 30… Yes I am old and I don’t care! I had a lovely day with Dane, who took me out to an animal park and in the evening we went out for a meal with my parents. Japan was the biggest celebration in a way. 😛

Dane bought me my blue Pandora ring for my 30th, which I love so much!

I didn’t do my yearly “what I got for my birthday” post and the reason for this is because I didn’t really want to… I just wasn’t feeling it. I’m more than happy to share what I received on this post but other than that… I just didn’t want to.

This leads onto my next point about life lately for me, which includes a massive thing about There Might Be Coffee. I know I posted a while ago how I wanted to just stick to posting on my blog once a week. Sometimes it might be more, especially if I’ve been inspired to write and want to get something out there. However, I have recently felt like my blog isn’t as “big a deal” to me as it used to be years before and it’s Dane who has made me think why.

When I started my blog I was out of work and bored. I loved my blog as a place to talk and be myself. Then I got my job and since then until 2017 I was unhappy in work. I used my blog as a place to escape and talk about things I love and share these things with people. These days I’m pretty content in my life. I’ve got a job I love, Dane, my lovely home, I’ve just been to Japan and my mental health is the best it has ever been in 20 years! Life is pretty good right now and to be able to type that is amazing. If someone had of told me 4 years ago that I would be in this position now, I wouldn’t believe them.

Don’t worry guys. This isn’t the end of my blog – far from it! It’s just the beginning of me being able to realise what I want to do and how I want to do it. I want to venture more and more into topics I am mad about, especially Japan and now I’ve been I can talk about it more than ever before.

I also want to talk about more things I know and love and I STILL want to bring you guys enamel pin posts, as well as Nendoroid figures collecting and geeky home decor.

I would also love to venture into IGTV over on my blog Instagram account (theremightbecoffeeblog) as I have always wanted to do YouTube, but I don’t want to deal with editing and arsehole trolls. IGTV I feel would be a little bit more manageable.

So, my blog will be going through some “changes” but nothing too drastic. Just less posts a week, more Japan/kawaii/otaku content and less gifted content.

I noticed last year that at one point my blog was COVERED in gifted *** posts and although I loved it at the time (because companies wanted to work with me) I look back and shake my head. That isn’t me. It especially wasn’t me to work with so many different people.

This has taught me a few things. I LOVE working with food companies. I love food and I love talking and sharing good food places, so when I get to work with places I want to shout about, it makes me happy. What I don’t love however is working with loads of people and constantly having gifted posts, instead of posts I want to get up about geeky stuff.

So, I have decided to distance myself away from that. I just don’t want it anymore. I want to work with more independent artists whose work I love and want to shout out about! If I can work with the artists, amazing. If I can’t then whatever – I’ll still shout about their work! An example of this will be an independent company I’ll be reviewing this month called Quirkory. I discovered them back in August last year and since then I have been hooked on them and their designs… Make sure to keep eyes peeled for that post!

I’m also toying with what to do with my newsletter now we’re into 2020. I had 3 newsletters out (September-November) and I honestly feel like it was a massive flop. Hardly anyone subscribed to it and hence hardly anyone read it. Which is actually saddening. I’d decided to have the newsletter talk about what was due to come to my blog throughout the month, as well as a general chit chatter that I don’t really bring to my blog as much.

I’m thinking of doing something four times a year on the first day of Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. I’d possibly look to trying to work with companies to bring competitions too but even so… I don’t know if my heart is in it for my newsletter anymore. Any thoughts on this would be great. I know some of the readers/subscribers of my newsletter have been so lovely! But if your heart isn’t in it… You know?

Other than that, I can’t think of anything else to share really! 2020 is the year that I start to live my life and do things I wouldn’t have thought to before. I already have the itch to go back to Japan and plan to get our 2021/22 trip planned this year.

I also want to go to Amsterdam for mine and Dane’s 7 year anniversary. Only for a weekend, but it’s a place I have always wanted to go. As soon as I feel comfortable and ready, I’m going to book it for us both! Maybe as a surprise trip for Dane? 😛 We shall see.

Do you guys have anything to share from your lives lately? If so please let me know in the comments below! 😀 I love hearing about how things are going for people, good and bad. I’m always happy to listen if any of my readers who needs help and support. You can always reach out to me via a DM on Twitter (maybeecoffee) or Instagram (theremightbecoffeeblog).

Until next time guys, I hope you’re having a lovely weekend so far and enjoyed my ranty blog post. 😛

January Favourites ’20

Guys we are officially into 2020 now and I can’t believe it’s already February! January flew by for me due to being in Japan for 2 weeks but even so, still can’t believe how quick the month went by!

I know for a lot of people however January was very slow… 😛

January’s favourites are going to be a bit odd due to being away in Japan, but at the same time they’re going to be good, I know they are! I’m not changing how I write my favourites at all. I’ll still be sharing 5 beauty related products I have been loving as well as my favourite TV show(s), movie(s), book(s), music and game(s). 🙂

I hope the start of 2020 has been great for you guys, my readers and I hope it hasn’t been rough at all.

On with the favourites!

• Japanese Character Bath Bombs.

Whilst I was in Japan I used quite a few of the character bath bombs they had for sale in the shops. They didn’t cost much (Between £2-£4 depending on the character and store) and were really nice to have handy in the hotel room if we’d had a long day of walking and needed a soak. Dane actually used and had more baths than me, which was a massive shock! We’ve brought loads of these back to the UK with us, as we loved them so much. They often come with the characters inside that is on the cover. For example I picked up a shiba dog bath bomb and hence got a little white shiba dog inside, so cute! These weren’t bad for the price and one bath bomb was definitely enough to feel pampered. I felt soft and smooth after using one of these in the bath. I honestly recommend them if you’re in Japan! I feel like they’re better than Lush to be honest with you… 😉

• Etude House Dear Darling Water Gel Tint in shade RD302 Dracula Red.

I bought this lip tint whilst I was out in Japan and I honestly regret not buying more! It’s a gorgeous dark red shade I have had my eye on for years! It wasn’t expensive either, which was even better. Aside from my Laneige lip bar, this lip tint (review here) was my go to lip product the duration of my holiday! It’s really easy to apply and a little bit of this product goes a long way. I mostly like to use it to give a bitten look to my lips, which wasn’t easy to do with this lip tint at first, but the more I have done it, the easier it has gotten. I will be writing a review on this lip tint, as it’s too good not to share on my blog!

• L’Occitane Zesty Lime Hand Cream.

I haven’t used this hand cream for quite some time, which is mostly down to using up other hand creams first! This is a gorgeous thick hand cream that smells of limes, yummy!  I remember stocking up on loads of these during my MA in 2015 so I have a lot to use up! I decided to take one with me to Japan to use during the day and it really was a treat to use in the mornings before we ventured out for the day, as well as whilst we were out and about. I’ve stopped using it since we got home, but this really did help my hands when they were feeling dry and sore. I was recently diagnosed with having a form of dermatitis on my hand, which kept flaring up during the trip. This hand cream really did help it on bad days, alongside my dermatitis creams.

• Tepika Hand Sanitiser.

I know this is a strange one to add this month to my favourites but I just need to mention it for so many reasons! First of all look at the packaging… It has a cute little happy raccoon on it! Due to this me and Dane called this the “happy raccoon” whenever we wanted to use it. Aside from the cute raccoon on the front, this was also really good because it didn’t smell overly alcoholic, was gentle on my eczema skin and the packaging was handy for how you get the product out… I feel like that last part didn’t make sense! Either way this stuff is amazing and I honestly need to try and figure out a way to ship some over to the UK!!!

• Marc Jacobs Decadence EDP.

This is a perfume I keep reaching for at the moment and it’s the one I took with me to Japan too. The scent is perfect for any time of year and any occasion. My brother bought it for me quite a while ago now and it was so funny how this perfume came to be my gift. Just before Christmas in 2015 I went to Fuerteventura with my dad for a few weeks. This perfume was quite new so I decided to give it a try and see what I thought of it. I loved it and was close to buying it… But instead me and my dad went to a bar for some drinks. Just as we sat down with drinks my brother called my dad and said, “I’ve given mom Nat’s Christmas present.” Fast forward to Christmas Day… My brother bought me Decadence… Which I had nearly bought! How crazy is that?! So yeah, this is one of my favourite perfumes and I always wear it when I fancy something unique and different. I also love the bottle is comes in, which is in the shape of a handbag, strap included… 😛

So now my beauty favourites are done, time to talk about the miscellaneous favourites of the month!

Favourite TV Show – Don’t F**k With Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer.

I actually watched this documentary towards the end of December but thought it was worth a mention as I really enjoyed watching it. What you think is a documentary about a cat killer, actually turns out to be a human murder. I remember Dane telling me about the murder not long after we got together, so when we discovered what the documentary was about, we were even more interested whilst watching it! This documentary is very triggering in various ways and upsetting due to that. I love watching stuff like this, so I really enjoyed it. Definitely go and watch on Netflix if you can!

Favourite Movie – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

I watched this film on the flight home from Japan and it was really good! I don’t recall if me and Dane wanted to go and watch it in the cinema when it came out here, but either way we got to both watch it for free! It’s about an actor and his stuntman, as well as some other characters throughout. It’s all based around true events, as well as fictional characters. Whilst it’s a great film, I did start to wonder halfway through, “Where’s this going? What’s the point?”. This was quickly answered however, in such an amazing way! I honestly recommend you watch this film if you get the chance to! It’s not the best from Quentin Tarantino, but it’s still decent. 🙂

Image taken from GIPHY

Favourite Book – …

I didn’t read anything as I was on holiday… This was not a holiday where I could lounge around and read… I swear I am going to start reading more now I’m back from Japan. I have so much manga to catch up on. I need to make a monthly list of which series/volumes I plan to read!!!

Favourite Album – My Chemical Romance – “Welcome to the Black Parade”.

With the announcement of My Chemical Romance coming to the UK for 3 dates in June, I have been listening to them loads both during my time in Japan as well as when I got back home. I tried to order tickets to the first 2 shows My Chemical Romance announced, but was unsuccessful, which sucked. I was definitely in a sulk about this… UNTIL my friend Claire brought it to my attention that they had announced a third show! I managed to get tickets which I was SO HAPPY ABOUT!!! That day I did nothing but listen to My Chemical Romance during my shift at work. It was bliss and I loved every moment of it. 😛 I’m so excited for June now, I’ll be going with Dane too and it’ll also be the third time seeing them live… YAY!

Image taken from Polygon.com

Favourite Game – Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX.

I know this game is only a demo at the moment but I have been LOVING it so much! I played both of the original Mysery Dungeon games this one is based off of and I was beyond excited to give the demo at go. I played a little of it on my way to Japan on the plane, but I played more of it on my way home whilst we waited to board out flight, as well as on the plane. It looks amazing and plays really well. I’ve already pre ordered the game and cannot wait for it to arrive! I’m going to finally be kept busy on my Switch again in March and I am beyond excited for that!

So my first favourites post of 2020 is complete! I cannot believe it is already the start of February. Can you guys believe how quickly 2020 is going by already?!

How was the first month of 2020 for you guys? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below, as well as what your favourites were this month!

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

2019 Top 3 Favourites

It’s the first day of 2020 and I am spending it in the laziest way possible… Sat on my cuddle chair, in my pyjamas and wrapped in a blanket. I don’t think I can get any cosier to be perfectly honest with you. 😛

I decided to do an overall top favourites post for 2019, as December doesn’t have anything special on it that my January 2020 favourites won’t miss out on in a months time. I didn’t so a December 2018 favourites last year and no one missed it to be fair.

I really love writing my favourites post, I can reflect over the month on things I loved and I enjoy writing about them too and sharing with you all. However, 2019 wasn’t a good year for reading for me. I seem to have been too busy seeing friends or chilling on games, my phone or watching something on the TV… Which is a shame. 2020 is the year I will be trying to read a hell of a lot more! I do miss reading my favourite manga series as soon as the books come out in the UK, but at least 2020 means I will have more to read now… See, past Nat was doing future Nat a massive favour! 😛

Anyhoo, no more nattering, it’s time to show off my op 3 from 2019, as well as runner ups. 🙂 I really hope you enjoy the first post of 2020!

Beauty Top 3

1. The Body Shop Drops of Youth™ Youth Liquid Peel.

2. Laneige Two Tone Matte Lip Bar in Red Velvet (review here).

3. Childs Farm Baby Moisturiser with Shea & Cocoa Butter.

Runner Up – Lime Crime Wet Cherry Gloss in Cherry Bomb.

TV Shows Top 3

1. Inside No. 9.

2. Mr. Pickles.

3. Fruits Basket.

Runner Up – Stranger Things Season 3.

Movies Top 3

1. Detective Pikachu.

2. Spider-Man: Far From Home.

3. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Runner Up – Avengers: End Game.

Books Top 3

1. Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid.

2. In Real Life by Cory Doctorow.

3. Persona 4.

Music Top 3

1. PVRIS – “Fire” (this is the single that got me into the band this year – who I now LOVE TO BITS!).

2. Litany – “Bedroom”.

3. Billie Eilish – “Bad Guy”.

Runner Up – Grimes – “We Appreciate Power”.

Games Top 3

1. Yoshi’s Crafted World.

2. Untitled Goose Game.

3. Borderlands 3.

Runner up – Pokemon Sword & Shield.

So that’s all of the my favourite items of 2019! I honestly can’t believe it’s 2020 now! I’ve spent most of the day relaxing, writing and talking to my mom on FaceTime. Can it really get any better than that? 😛

What were your favourite items from 2019? I’d love to hear!

Until next time all, Happy New Year! ^_^

Christmas 2019 Wish List

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

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

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

Anyhoo, my list is very geeky and Japan heavy! 😛

• Nintendo Switch Taiko no Tatsujin.

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

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

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

• Juniper: The Happiest Fox 2020 Wall Calendar.

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

• PlayStation 4 Persona 3 and 5 Endless Night Collection.

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

• Nichijou Manga Volume 9 and 10.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The End Of A Decade – 2010-2019

Me at Fargo Village Coventry at night

A lot has happened in a decade and quite honestly I cannot believe how quickly that time has gone by! I knew I wanted to talk about this topic on my blog, especially as throughout those years I had a lot of highs and lows and it’s also when my blog was created.

I’m going to be talking about things that happened each year of the decade that come up in my mind straight away. Some of the years will be quieter than others and some will be more lengthy and chatty. I’m also going to be attaching profile photos I used for the years mentioned below as well… Because, why not! 😀

I really hope you enjoy reading this post as much as I enjoyed writing this. I’m not just writing this post for my readers, but for myself so I can reflect on what happened throughout the decade in one of the hardest points of my life, but also one of the best.

20 year old Natalee

21 year old Natalee on a night out… This was a good night!

2010-2011

A lot happened between this time. I finished university with a 2:1 in Drama and Creative Writing and ended a 3 year relationship with my ex boyfriend. I wasn’t particularly in a good place and my mental health wasn’t the best. I was also struggling to get work and instead tried to forget about how crap my life was by partying most days. I have zero regrets to be honest with you. I had loads of fun, did great at university and to be honest I left behind a toxic relationship.

22 year old Natalee – This used to be my old profile picture on my blog!

2012

2012 was the year that There Might Be Coffee was born! Which is probably my favourite thing from that year considering 7 years on my blog is still going strong and where I finally want it to be!

It’s also the year I got work and I hated that fucking job. I really did. It paid for things I wanted to do… Mostly going out and getting pissed to be fair… 😛 Even so it did me good as I gained loads of confidence, had a laugh (sometimes) and earned monies.

23 year old Natalee with Dane – We’d been together 4 months at this point

2013

This was a mixture of one of the best but one of the worst years of my life. I was still miserable in my job but was numbing this by going out and having fun with my friends.

It was also the year my gran passed away. I was heartbroken and it was a big shock to the system, which at the same time wasn’t something I dealt with properly. Due to this it fucked me up in a big way and it was only when I quit my job that I finally had time to let that shock process and it caused my mental health to be at a really bad point. The worst part of it all was that I never said goodbye to my gran before she died. My job wouldn’t let me have time off to go and visit my gran, but this being said my parents didn’t wish for me to see her so poorly. Sadly, the day after she was told she could go home she passed away. I was crushed and I remember keeping a front for everyone but going home on my own and breaking down. The worst part of it was that I had no support from my friends at the time. I mentioned in passing how I was putting on a brave face but deep down I was hurting. They didn’t care.

2013 was also the year I decided I wasn’t going to be messed around and spoken to like shit anymore. I was fed up of people treating me like I was the bad person, when in reality they were the ones who were bad. It was good to get the toxicity out of my life. Looking back I realise how much better off I am without them.

The best thing about 2013 was meeting Dane. We met through online dating and I don’t regret setting up that dating profile at all. I do wonder how I would be in my life right now if it wasn’t for us meeting and getting together. We went on our first date in Birmingham and visited a few bars, spoke about our mutual interests and agreed to go on another date a few days later.

We had so many mini adventures together and I still have fond memories of them all, especially when Dane took me to Hoar Park which you can read about here and here. That’s probably the highest read post on my blog to date.

In September I was finally diagnosed with anxiety and depression and at the end of 2013 around Christmas I started CBT counselling for my mental health issues. I also got myself a new job not long after I met Dane too… But 2014 was going to be a tough year.

24 year old Natalee

2014

2014 was a tough year but looking back it was crazy and manageable. A lot happened with me continuing with my CBT counselling as well as counselling in general. My mental health improved dramatically and I finally seemed to deal with what happened throughout 2013.

I also befriended some people who I now call some of my closest friends, which is through Dane.

Me and Dane went to Bristol for our first anniversary and we loved it. It was perfect and I really did fall in love with the city. It will always remind me of our first year together.

After over 10 years without a holiday, me and Dane finally booked for us to go on holiday with my family for 2015 for my 25th birthday and my mom’s 60th. Very exciting!

Finally towards the end of 2014 I decided to go back to university and enrolled on an MA course for Critical and Creative Writing.

25 year old Natalee drawn as a manga character – from Hyper Japan

2015

At the start of 2015 we also went on holiday with my family for 2 weeks. It was lovely to get away from everything and I didn’t use my phone for the whole time. However, the weather wasn’t the best and due to that I was a little bit disappointed by it… Even so, we still had a lovely time.

2015 was amazing in the sense of me and Dane really did start to come out of our geeky otaku shells that we had been hiding inside of for God knows how many years. We’re both massive nerds and we knew it, but we never really ventured into the Japan and geeky routes much until 2015.

We went to Hyper Japan in London for our second anniversary and also went to watch The Book of Mormon too. We loved it and that weekend was amazing!

I couldn’t wait to finish my MA… I don’t regret studying it but I do at the same time. The university wasn’t “professional” at all in my opinion due to half of the members of staff who were teaching myself and it pissed me off big time that me and my family had paid all the money for me to leave feeling disheartened. I haven’t written properly since finishing that course and the same can be said for reading too. 😦

At the end of 2015 I went on holiday again straight after I graduated from my MA and me and my dad had a great 2 weeks together! Just us two went because we had stuff to do whilst we were away and I was the only one who could go away with him for the holiday.

Just before I went on holiday I also left my job to start a new job. I was so excited for a fresh start but the worst job of my life showed some pretty shitty early signs. I wasn’t prepared for what the next 2 years would bring.

26 year old Natalee

2016

This was another year where great things happened, especially life goals but also really bad things.

After saving up for ages me and Dane finally bought out first home together. We loved it so much and it was in the perfect location. We still live here and we love it to bits. It’s really gone from being a house to a home and I adore it so much. It’s my favourite place to be and it was definitely a long time coming.

Sadly around the time that we bought the house my mental health went back downhill again and although my depression wasn’t as bad as it was in 2013/2014 it was still really bad.

It was so odd because I was enjoying my home but at the same time I was miserable as fuck. I had no support from my workplace at the time and I just hated it. I wanted out.

27 year old Natalee

2017

This like 2016 was a year of highs and lows, but mostly highs 2 years on.

My mental health was still really bad and there was nothing that could be done. I just needed to get out of my job at the time. I was trying for new jobs all the time and getting nowhere. To make matters worse I had an accident with my car and damaged one side of it. This was due to a shit shift at work, where I got no thanks from anyone from going out of my way. It was then that I realised I needed to get out. It wasn’t just affecting my mental health but my actions.

I had tried for ages and been unsuccessful and then finally I landed a job in the career I wanted – admin. I was so happy and it really did make all the crap I had been through previously worth it.

I can’t really talk about 2017 much because I can’t remember. I just know that everything was shit until October/November when I finally got my admin career moving. That Christmas was amazing too. It was lovely for me and Dane to have the time off together, as well as New Year.

28 year old Natalee – this was at EGX 2018

2018

2018 was a good but concerning year… Me and Dane were finally comfortable and happy and we definitely let our geeky sides go! We also started saving up for Japan which is pretty cool.

We decided towards the end of 2018 that we would either book and go to Japan in 2019 or book it for 2020. We didn’t book Japan in 2018, but we spoke about it a LOT.

I was also worried about my job. The summer hadn’t been great for the company as work was scarce and there was just many issues that I wasn’t 100% happy with. I decided towards the end of 2018 that I needed to get out of that job and get into a secure job that I would be happy doing. At the end of the day I wasn’t getting any younger and with a mortgage to pay for every month and more, I just had to make sure 2019 was to take care of myself.

One of the nicest things of 2018 was the fact that Dane became an uncle. We both love his nephew so damn much and every time we see him it really lights us up! It’s been lovely watching him grow up the past year and a half now. He’s such a little cutie.

29 year old Natalee – Photo taken by TV Trev

2019

2019 has definitely been my year this decade. It’s the year my mental health has finally been in a stable place, I got my dream job and both me and Dane finally booked our dream holiday to Japan!

In April both me and Dane started our new jobs and we’ve been so much happier since! We both love what we do and love the people we work with too. My job has really taught me how capable I am of so many things, as well as being rewarding too. Honestly never been happier and the best bit? I work for a Japanese company! How good is that?!

Around our anniversary in June we decided to book our holiday to Japan for the start of 2020! We have been so excited in the run up to this trip, but anxious too due to money, where we plan to travel within Tokyo and the rest of it. I know though that we’ll be okay and have the time of our lives! We already know that we want to go again the future and I’m pretty sure that as soon as we arrive home from our trip, we’ll be looking to book our next one. 🙂

It’s nothing major but towards the end of this year I started to get my nails done with gel polish, which has really helped with my anxiety. I don’t know why but since I started my new job I’ve started to chew and nibble on my nails more. I think its more of a concentration thing during meetings and such. I cut my nails stupidly short due to this but I’ve decided to start letting them grow a little and leave them be. Currently I have my third set of gel polish on and it’s really helped with the chewing/nibbling.

Me and Amy at a Coventry Blogger event in April

One of my favourite things about 2019 is meeting my friend Amy (Writing into the Ether) through Coventry Bloggers. She’s a nerd just like me, as well as a blogger! We got chatting over both of those facts and have been great friends ever since! She’s usually the person I go to if I want to talk about geeky stuff, as well as blog related things.

I also worked with Coventry Bloggers and was given loads of gifted opportunities through my blog, which were all amazing! I’ve met some lovely people both bloggers, as well as companies and people who work there/own them.

2020…?

These 10 years have really flown by and it’s makes me feel so old looking back through the photos on this post. I can’t believe what happened in those 10 years too. A lot of good and bad happened but most of all, I met the love of my life – Dane. He is my favourite person in the whole wide world and he is my life. I think about him every moment of the day and talk about him as and when the time is appropriate. It’s from meeting Dane this decade that I finally came out of my shell with my geeky self and embraced things I’d not done so much of before, such as reading more manga and watching more anime.

I’m also thankful to him for helping me throughout the 6 years we’ve been together so far. My mental health has been awful and he was there for every moment I needed someone to talk to, a cry and especially a cuddle. He’s been my rock and such a great person and boyfriend. I don’t know how he does as much as he does, he’s my little superhero. 🙂

Me at the Pokemon Center in London

So what does the next decade bring for me? Well 2020 will be the year I turn 30, as well as the year me and Dane have our trip to Japan!

I don’t know what else the next decade will bring but I can only imagine big things! Me and Dane might eventually look to move to a bigger home, I might buy a new car, we may try and look into getting a dog and the biggest one of all, we might eventually decide to start a family.

Me at a blog event at the Cosy Club Birmingham (read about it here)

So, here is to the next decade 2020-2029! I don’t quite know what the future will hold, but I hope it keeps going up from here. 🙂

I would love to hear about your decades and how they went for you, whether it be good, bad or a bit of both like myself. I want to know. I also want to know the best thing that happened to you in the decade too.

Until next time all, take care and I hope you’ve had a lovely weekend and are as excited for Christmas as I am. 🙂