September Favourites ’22

I can’t quite believe how quickly September flew by. Literally it felt like yesterday it was the first full week of September, so the fact it’s now the second day of October… It’s just mad!

I’m rather excited for October due to Halloween, as well as Bonfire Night looming. It’s also at the end of the month when me and Dane have some time off together to celebrate the colder celebrations of the year and more. Not to mention the excitement of Pokemon Scarlett and Violet coming out next month too! November is an exciting month, but I’ll save chatter about that for next months favourites post. 😉 So yeah, October is a bit of a calm before the storm kind of month for us.

A lot happened in September with (what felt like) events left, right, and centre! I do just want the world to slow down a little to be honest… I’m wary we’re less than 100 days until Christmas and God knows how many until my 33rd birthday… I looked… 96 days…

One thing I’m especially excited for for the rest of the year is how many people I’m meeting who I’ve befriended thanks to the internet and similar interests. This time next week I’ll be meeting up with someone I befriended through a Discord, which I know we’re both excited for! 😀

I’m going to jump straight into the September favourites, as I’m wary I’m going to waffle on! 😛

Beauty – Dove Body Scrub Pomegranate Seeds & Shea Butter and Dove Body Scrub Crushed Macadamia & Rice Milk.

This was a more recent purchase that I got towards the end of September, and in a short space of time it has fast become a favourite! I love a good body scrub, especially foaming ones as I feel like they’re sort of cleaning as they scrub. Anyone else feel like that? Anyway, to be honest I mostly use body scrubs on my underarms and legs before shaving. However, I will use all over too if I feel it’s needed. I picked up two types of the Dove body scrub, Pomegranate Seeds & Shea Butter and Crushed Macadamia & Rice Milk, as at the time of purchasing (and publishing this post) they were buy one get one free from Superdrug. I have wanted to try the Dove body scrubs for a while now, so didn’t see the harm in taking up the offer! These have fast become a staple for sure as they smell really good and leave my skin feeling soft and moisturised after use. They’re not rough in terms of scrubbiness, which is ideal if you have sensitive skin. I had a horrible allergic reaction on my legs to a body scrub recently (name here) so my legs are grateful for the Dove body scrubs, that’s for sure. My only problem with the Dove body scrubs is that we don’t have as much choice as America do. For example, they have the Brown Sugar & Coconut Butter, which I would LOVE to get one day!

Movie – Kalifornia.

I’ll pre-warn you now, the trailer for this film is so cringe and typical of the early 90’s. I remember watching this film with my parents when I was a teenager, and although it’s classed as a horror/thriller, we found so many parts hilarious due to some of the stuff Early would come out with. Kalifornia is about a writer and his photographer girlfriend, who are planning to drive from Kentucky to California, writing and taking photos for his book as they go. Due to the costs of such a trip, they advertise for people to travel with them, with the advertisement being filled by Early and his girlfriend. Prior to leaving and during their trip, things go from weird, to bad. On my dad’s birthday we spoke about the film again, one Dane had never heard of before, so I decided to buy it for us to watch one evening. I think due to the trailer (and the way we sold it to him) Dane didn’t expect much from it, but by the end of the film, he commented how much he enjoyed! I highly recommend if you fancy giving it a watch! It has a big cast with Brad Pitt, Juliette Lewis, David Duchovny, and Michelle Forbes.

TV Show – Bee & PuppyCat.

I’ve been so excited to talk about Bee & PuppyCat this month! As regular readers may have seen, I did talk about the show prior to it’s launch on Netflix at the start of September (which you can read here). I really loved the updated version of season one, however there were some hilarious and memorable moments from the original that I was sad not to see. I can only imagine they were so good previously that recreating them again wasn’t doable… But I don’t know. I won’t spoiler by mentioning what they are, but in the future I might write a blog post of what I thought of the Netflix version. To conclude here, I’m so excited for another season (there better be one!) as well the hype that is now around the show. I’ve always followed the hashtag on Instagram for the show so I always saw people’s posts about it. Since the show came out last month, I’m always seeing and discovering new people through Bee & PuppyCat, which in turn just makes me so happy!

Music – Electric Callboy Tekkno.

Electric Callboy’s new album Tekkno released towards the end of September, which both me and Dane were excited for! We were also meant to go and see the guys play last week but due to one of the singers falling ill, the gig has been postponed, which is a shame, but at the same time it’ll still be an amazing show! 😀 Tekkno is such a fun album and one I’ve been finding myself listening to lots since it came out, with putting it on in the morning on my way to work, whilst I’m working, as well as on my drive home! Electric Callboy are a band everyone should check out at some point, with their sound being a mixture of metal and electronic. We discovered them in 2020 when “Hypa Hypa” came out. Our friend told us about it and since then we’ve both been hooked!

Game – Bear & Breakfast.

I’ll be honest, as the days loomed for this game coming out, I did contemplate whether or not to buy. A review I watched mentioned how repetitive the game is, which wasn’t such an issue for me, but it did kind of put me off. Alongside that, I already have plenty of games to play so I was a bit torn. In the end, I bought it and have played it on and off the past couple of weeks! Bear & Breakfast is a game where you’re a bear and start a chain of bed and breakfasts in your woodland to try and encourage humans back to the forest. It’s a very basic game, but fun nonetheless if you want a game you don’t want to have to think too much about! Sadly the past week I haven’t touched it, as I’ve been working on some last minute cross stitch projects… More about that under other. 😛

Just a few of my favourite things…

Nature Centre, Birmingham.

I went out yesterday with my bestie and our best boys to see some cute animals at the Nature Centre in Birmingham, then lunch at our favourite independent coffee place. It was so lovely and I’m so glad the weather held up for us, as prior to that it has been fucking miserable! I started to really get into the autumnal feels and I honestly can’t wait for more of that. My bestie loves red pandas, so I told her it was time for us to go and see some in Birmingham! We picked the perfect day and time to go as there were hardly any people there, and with some coffees in hand, we walked around the park, in awe of the cute animals in front of us. I think the red panda knew it was the main reason for us going, as it really did do some poses for us. 😛

THIS IS HALLOWEEN, THIS IS HALLOWEEN!

Back in the summer my dad asked me if I could get him some vegetable seed packets. They didn’t have one he was after, so as I joke I decided to pick up some pumpkin seeds for him to try growing. They weren’t cheap, so I paid for them and we had a laugh about it. The above photo is from yesterday. I cannot believe just how well his pumpkins have grown! They look incredible and I’m so proud of him for giving it a go! He did give one to me to grow too, but we didn’t have the luck he did. This photo just gives me so many autumn and Halloween vibes, both of which I’m excited and beyond ready for now!

“Kiki, look it’s me!”

FYI I will be posting a blog post up all about this glass, and shirayukinikki, the store/artist behind it so keep eyes peeled for that this month! Back a couple of months ago me and one of my newer friends decided to go halves on shipping some glasses by shirayukinikki to us. Since this arrived last month, I’ve been using it for iced drinks, alcohol and even just glasses of squash. I really love the Jiji and Lily bakery design behind it and couldn’t resist. Of course if you aren’t aware, the design is inspired by Studio Ghibli film Kiki’s Delivery Service, which you should go and watch if you haven’t before!

Kawaii goods.

Finally, I want to show off some cute items that arrive the past few weeks, because why not!

The first image is of my honey bear gacha by shigematsu_kun that my friend Emily was kind enough to add to her From Japan order for me! I’d seen someone buy the four honey bear gacha and showcase them on an Instagram reel, I knew I needed them! Once Emily sent them to me, I decided to stick them on my desk monitor as I thought it was the perfect home for them! I love when I’m working from home, or sitting at my desk that I can look up and see the four little cuties sat there! My desk is growing more adorable and I love it!

The second image is of my Toast the raccoon plushie by Yencat! I backed it on Kickstarter earlier this year in February, alongside with a plush pouch too. This guy is a CHONK and I love it! It’s a lovely plush for cuddling due to this, but as I already have one mochi plush I use for cuddling, I’m going to purely keep Toast for display purposes. As I may have mentioned before on my blog, raccoons feel like my spirit animal and due to that I do adore them, but this is actually my first raccoon plush! I don’t think I could have chosen a better one, do you? 😛

So, there we have it guys, my favourites from September! It flew by, didn’t it? 😛 I am excited for October though due to more autumnal vibes and Halloween. 😛

What were your favourite things about September? Are you excited for October too? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

Until next time, take care all and enjoy the rest of your weekends. 🙂

Sugar Bunny Shop – Review

I’ve mentioned a few times now on my blog (as well as social media) but in December I went very shop happy and not just because I had Christmas presents and sales goods to buy.

It was announced by the government that there would be changes made to the VAT and how it’s treated on overseas goods sold to UK customers. Due to this a lot of independent stores/artists in America had to say no more to selling to the UK from 1st January 2021. I was gutted as more and more stores/artists I wanted to buy from announced no more sales in 2021 to the UK, so I went shopping. Sugar Bunny Shop was one of the stores I bought some goodies from and I had to share with you what I bought, as well as a bit of a back story in how I discovered Sugar Bunny Shop and why I’m glad, but also gutted (due to the VAT stuff) to have finally bought from them.

Before I talk more about Sugar Bunny Shop, I want to just address the VAT related issue here for people in the UK who may want to order. I did reach out to find out more information in regards to what may be set up/happen in the future for people in the UK looking to order. I know some American stores are looking to open Etsy stores for UK shoppers, as well as discuss further options etc.

Sugar Bunny Shop/Samantha did in fact reach out to me in regards to my query. I want to thank Samantha for taking the time to reply to my email and for how lovely she was too! 😀

Unfortunately I don’t have a resolution to the UK issues at the moment. I’ve considered using Etsy, but the fees are so high it’s not an ideal solution. I’m hoping the UK/EU will figure out some kind of solution to this for small businesses as they iron out the wrinkles in how the new VAT system works.

I wish I could offer a solution so that any of your readers could immediately order stuff if they wanted. My best suggestion is to recommend they maybe follow the shop on social media or sign up for the newsletter to be notified in any updates regarding UK orders.

I’ve known about Sugar Bunny Shop for years, I feel like it’s been since around 2011, so for the almost ten years and it’s only in 2020 I actually finally made an order. This being said, this isn’t the first time I’ve had something from Sugar Bunny Shop. Back in 2014 my boyfriend bought me a Doki Fox sticker sheet (which I spoke about here). He didn’t buy it direct from Sugar Bunny Shop (think he said it was on Crunchyroll’s store?) so when I opened it and said, “Oh my God! How did you know I loved Doki Fox?” He was taken by surprise.

Over the years I’ve been really interested in the Doki Fox original character, as well as a red panda original character called Ponwan. I’ll pop a little bit below about Doki Fox. I love that Sugar Bunny Shop wrote a little blurb about the cute fox character she’d created!

Silly li’l dumplin’ fox, Doki is a cheerful ball of fur that can’t contain his joy for pastries!

This plump little fox is cheeky, playful and so very fluffy! Small, dumpling-shaped chicks are his best friends and they love to follow him around, though sometimes he confuses them for real dumplings. Especially when they mingle with his food. He would never eat them, of course! But when he’s stuffing his face too quickly he sometimes discovers the taste of feathers. P’tooie!

Eating and sleeping are Doki’s two favorite hobbies, and he can often be found napping contentedly with his peeps after stuffing his tummy with tasty food. Aside from snacks and sleep, this wee fox enjoys soft grass and warm sunshine, which is the perfect spot to laze the day away.

Although dumplings are his favorite food, he also enjoys trying all kinds of other treats as well.

Text and image of Doki Fox taken from Sugar Bunny Shop

Doki Fox has been through some design changes over the years and doesn’t look as chibi as he used to. That being said, he’s still absolutely adorable and I’m glad to finally own a piece of clothing and some more stickers with Doki Fox on!

Short story behind my main reason for ordering from Sugar Bunny Shop. I asked Dane if he would be able to buy me the Doki Fox sweatshirt for me for Christmas/birthday and I’d somewhat hoped he had. Christmas passed and the size of the sweatshirt I was after came back into stock. I’d asked Dane in passing if he’d bought it for me and he said no. I rushed to the Sugar Bunny Shop website and got my order in for the sweatshirt, as well as some stickers! A part of me regrets not ordering more, especially as I’m unsure when I’ll be able to buy from Sugar Bunny Shop next…

• Doki Fox Chick Pile Sweatshirt – $55.00 (link)

This sweatshirt is gorgeous in every way shape and form. I remember when it was announced around autumn time in 2020 and I fell in love with it. The design, the colour, the autumn vibes and most of all that it’s on a sweater! This is a dark brown sweater that is so fluffy and soft inside and makes me feel like I’m wearing a cloud of marshmallow! The sleeves has yellow and orange autumn leaves on, which I love. Autumn is my favourite time of year, so this is already perfect for me! Of course on the front we have the Doki Fox design – he’s lying on his back with a cute little smile on his face and is surrounded by his dumpling chick friends, who look to be really happy to be around Doki Fox. There are more orange and yellow leaves surrounding them, which I like. The design is just so adorable and it makes me smile whenever I see it.

• Doki Fox and Chicks Vinyl Sticker – $4.00 (link) and Doki Fox Playful Vinyl Sticker – $4.00 (link)

I decided to order myself some stickers from Sugar Bunny Shop as I’ve become a bit of a sticker hoarder lately! Of course I couldn’t resist the Doki Fox stickers and both of the designs I bought are adorable. Both stickers feel like amazing quality due to the thickness, as well as the matte finish. I don’t mind shiny stickers, but I do prefer matte sometimes. The first design is of Doki fox lying on his belly and surrounded by his little dumpling chick friends. It’s such a sweet design and makes me smile! The second design is Doki Fox on his own, lying on his back, with his front and back legs in the air in a playful position! Both stickers are adorable and I regret not ordering two of each.

So that is everything I picked up! I regret not ordering more to be honest, so just wanted to share below just a few of the items I wish I could have picked up.

Image taken from Sugar Bunny Shop

• Red Panda Ponwan Parfait Vinyl Sticker – $4.00 (link)

I had so many regrets not buying this sticker and it was only JUST AFTER my items had been dispatched that I noticed it! NOOOO! Red pandas are one of my favourite animals and I swear, Sugar Bunny Shop has designed this so perfectly too, from how happy and fluffy the Ponwan is, to how yummy the parfait Ponwan is holding looks. I hope that Sugar Bunny Shop designs more Ponwan goodies in the future. 🙂

Image taken from Sugar Bunny Shop

• Lavendeer Fawn Floral Sweatshirt – $55.00 (link)

I don’t so much as regret not buying this sweatshirt, but it would have been awesome to have picked up considering how lovely my Doki Fox version is. This is something I’d definitely love to pick up in the future if possible. I love and live in sweatshirts, especially since working from home due to COVID. I love the colour purple and the Lavendeer Fawn design is so damn pretty!

Image taken from Sugar Bunny Shop

• Doki Fox Playful Bee Unisex Shirt – $25.00 currently on sale for $22.00 (link)

If this hadn’t of been sold out in my size, I would have ordered. The only size that is currently left is an XS and that wouldn’t have fit me AT ALL! I’m really gutted I couldn’t pick this t-shirt up as Doki Fox is adorable. The design is more spring/summer than my sweatshirt design and has Doki Fox playing with a bee. It’s really cute and I hope (again) in the future I can pick it up, or maybe even another/newer Doki Fox design.

That is everything I regret not picking up and hope to in the future from Sugar Bunny Shop and with that we have come to the end of this review.

Overall I’m really happy with my order and I’m glad I bit the bullet and placed it. I’d have regretted so much not picking up that Doki Fox sweatshirt. I’ve already worn it almost a handful of times and it just makes me feel so happy to wear.

I’m going to pop Sugar Bunny Shop’s links down below for you, including their store as well as social media.

Store

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Art Prints Store 

What do you guys think of Sugar Bunny Shop and her adorable AF designs? Make sure to let me know in the comments below, plus what you would buy from her store? 🙂

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

Birthday Wish List

As it’s my birthday tomorrow, I thought I would post a birthday wish list here! I’m actually out for my birthday today with my boyfriend, as he couldn’t get tomorrow off work to celebrate my actual birthday, but we shall FaceTime in the evening where we can talk about things, such as how our days have been so far, as we always do.

A lot of this stuff is things that may have been ordered for me (dress and skate shoes) and things I may have been bought by loved ones already without me knowing, but either way this is my wish list and even if I don’t get this stuff, I won’t care as Christmas just proved what lovely things my family, friends and my boyfriend buy me.

I’m really excited for my birthday and at this moment in time I’m probably having one of the best birthday’s I have ever had, but at this moment in time I am just sat in bed, writing up this post with a cup of peppermint tea and Let’s Play Minecraft on my iPad.

So, let’s get on with the post!

• Pandora Charm(s).

This isn’t on the image above but that’s because they have a post all of their own, here on the Pandora Wish List post I made for them. Due to my boyfriend being such a cutie, he hacked my wish list and typed at the bottom how he had actually bought me one of the charms on my wish list, but of course I will probably have to wait until this evening to find out which one he has bought me. I am rather excited! I know my Mom and Dad have both said they want to buy me some charms and asked for my wish list so that they’ll know which I would like, of course they knew which charm my boyfriend has bought me too. So maybe I’ll have more than one charm, who knows!

• Red Panda from Build A Bear.

Me and my boyfriend spotted these cute little guys in Build A Bear and as he has always wanted to make one himself and I call him my Red Panda, it seems like the best time to finally go and make one together! We both looked at all the clothes we could dress him up in when we ventured into Build A Bear after Christmas whilst we were sales shopping and both decided that we would go back there to make a Red Panda for me to keep. I know my boyfriend won’t have got me one of these in time for my actual birthday but I’m hoping once he’s back from his holiday that I’ll be able to go with him so we can make one together!

• Eileena Jumper from Animal.

I mentioned this a few months ago in a wish list post and I still want this jumper! It’s currently in the sale for £32.00, down from £45.00. It isn’t much of a saving to be fair but I do really want it. It’s a gorgeous red jumper with a fox on the front of it and when I went into town before Christmas with my boyfriend we had a look in Animal at the jumper, as he hadn’t seen it before. I tried it on and it felt lovely and soft and something that I could snuggle up in! I would wear this with the black skater skirt I bought from Topshop, which you can see in my sales haul post. I’m hoping the price of it lowers soon as I really want it but £32.00 still seems like a lot of money to me.

• Sticker Jeans from Element.

Since my boyfriend introduced me to Two Seasons I have gone mad looking at what they have for offer in their sale and I stumbled upon these jeans on their website in the sale. I’m after some new jeans as I’m a tad bored with the pairs I have at the moment and I think these would look great with my Chelsea boots and a jumper to keep me warm. They’re £30.00 in the sale, down from £60.00! I think they’re gorgeous and I love the effect on the top of the thigh. I would rather prefer some boyfriend jeans mind, as I love my baggy jeans on lazy days.

• Fearne Cotton Velvet Swing Dress.

I already have this dress as I’m wearing it today but it was on my wish list for my birthday or Christmas present for quite a while but my Mom offered to buy it me for my birthday present and I’m wearing it today. I’ve teamed it up with some thick black tights to keep me warm, my Chelsea boots and I’m still trying to decide which coat or jacket to wear with it. It’s a gorgeous dress and I know I’ll wear it quite a lot over the winter season. I love the colour purple too and as this is a swing dress it has a weird cut to it. The sleeves are tight, but not too tight. I find them comfortable but I know a lot of people who haven’t, judging by their comments on the website my Mom ordered this from. I’ve never been a fan of the cut of swing dresses as I find they make you look bigger than you actually are, but at the same time I hate my tummy and hips/love handles, which this dress does a good job of. I have wanted a new velvet dress for quite a while so this was a perfect buy and it gets better, this was meant to be £49.00 but my Mom snapped it up for £29.00! Bargain!

• DC Court Graffik Vulc Se Women’s Skate Shoes.

On Christmas my Mom asked me if I wanted some new trainers, as my Vans were starting to look worse for wear and that I could do with having some new ones. To be fair they are nearly 10 years old and I have started to notice that if I go out in them when it’s raining, my feet get soaked and soggy feet isn’t a pleasant thing, especially when it’s cold! So I told her I would have a look online for some new ones and I found these gorgeous DC ones! My boyfriend has quite a few pairs of DC trainers and lust after his black and purple pair all the time, telling him how much I want a pair of his for myself. These babies are pretty cheap in the sale at £30.00 down from £60.00 so I’ve ordered them and my Mom has been kind enough to offer to pay for them for me as a birthday present. I can’t wait for them to arrive so that I can start to wear them with my boyfriend jeans. I love my lazy days with trainers and DC’s are pretty great quality, from owning a pair before.

I think that’s pretty much everything from my birthday wish list! It wasn’t ever going to be a long list because I don’t really mind what I get for my birthday as it’s always the thought that counts, isn’t it?

I’ll be writing and posting about my birthday anyhoo especially after today as well as tomorrow if I do anything for it, but chances are I’ll probably stay in bed, or maybe venture out for a walk, we shall see!

Either way I’m excited for my birthday tomorrow and I haven’t been excited for a birthday for quite a long time.

I hope everyone’s had a good weekend, I know I will be!

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