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! 😀

July Wish List ’20

It’s that time of month again where I share my monthly wish list with you all! I know I say most months that I’ve struggled to put a list together, but this month I really HAVE struggled. In all honesty this is down to me buying things as and when I have wanted them.

During lock down I have saved quite a bit of money, which is great, but at the same time it’s also been nice having money to splurge on things I’ve wanted for a while, but now I’m running out of items from my wish list, which is a mixture of funny and sad. 😛

Half of the items on this list are Animal Crossing related… But is that such a big surprise? 😛

I hope you enjoy this months wish list, it’s sadly nothing special, but it’s better than nothing at all, eh?

• Fearless Illustration Danger Days Long Sleeved Top (link)

I don’t know why but I’ve really fallen in love with this top! I’m a sucker for baseball style t-shirts and have always loved them. They look great with anything, but especially jeans. I’d get this in the largest size too so I could have it baggy to tuck into my mom jeans and skirts. I know there is also a version with yellow/mustard sleeves instead of red, but I much prefer the red version. Also with the slogan on the top and it being called “Danger Days” it reminds me a little of My Chemical Romance… So this top could come in handy next June when I see them in Milton Keynes!

• Sugar Bunny Shop Animal Crossing Marshal Textured Print (link)

I’ve always been a fan of Sugar Bunny Shop and whilst people have bought me things from her store, I’ve never actually bought anything for myself. I’m LOVING the Animal Crossing prints the owner of the store has designed and I’ve especially fallen in love with this Marshal print. I never understood the fuss behind Marshal, until he visited my campsite and decided to move to my island. He’s one of my favourites now for so many reasons, but mostly because he loves coffee. This print would go in my bedroom along with my other Animal Crossing prints.

• Jenni Illustrations Froggy Chair Sticker (link)

This is another store that I have wanted to buy from for the longest time and never had. Well, recently Jenni opened up her store again with loads of new and old goodies. I decided I had waited long enough and made an order (which I’ll be showing you guys when it’s here, of course) BUT I made my order a little too soon. The next day Jenni added some more goodies to her store, some of them that I really wanted, including some Animal Crossing stickers, Blue’s Clues stickers and this Animal Crossing froggy chair sticker. It looks so adorable! I would have loved this for my iPad case or maybe even something else. With the amount of Jenni Illustration items in my wish list, I’ll be able to make another order in the future for sure!

• Eltamagotchi Isabelle Animal Crossing Cereal Vol.1 Enamel Pin (link)

This is an enamel pin I nearly ordered recently… But I went against it due to the cost of it overall to the UK with shipping. It wasn’t cheap and it made me cringe. This isn’t a massive enamel pin either, so I’m going to wait until I either buy someone else a pin as a birthday/Christmas present. The other thing that slightly puts me off is the fact it sort of looks like a “traced” copy of the Isabelle design from Nintendo? I don’t know if that’s just me? I do really love the idea of Animal Crossing characters in the size and shape of cereal. It would look adorable in my Isabelle ita bag… I’ll see. 😛

• Bobblejot Tori the Corgi Plushies Kickstarter (link)

First of all this Kickstarter campaign finishes Monday 6th July at 4.41pm, so if you like the look of this cute Tori plush by Bobblejot, then make sure to back the campaign before then! Okay, so I’ve been a fan of Bobblejot’s cartoon about Tori the corgi and Samuel the cat for as long as I can remember now, so when I heard they had brought out a Kickstarter with plushies of Tori, I KNEW I had to get one myself! Tori is an adorable young corgi who is finding out new things in the world, with the help of Samuel. I’ll link the Instagram page here so you can go and check out some of the cartoons for yourself.

• TK Maxx GC Home Decor White Giraffe Artificial Succulent (link)

Finally the last item on my wish list this month is this giraffe artificial succulent home decoration from TK Maxx. I’m not one for keeping plants in the house and I couldn’t tell you why… I love some flowers every now and again, but succulents and house plants aren’t for me. However, I would like to start potentially having some green around my house. This being said, I do not have a clue where I would keep this if I bought it… Maybe the office in the window or on the side by my front door? Who knows. I have fallen in love with the giraffe a little though!

So there you have it, my wish list for July. Again, I’m sorry there wasn’t anything “exciting” on there, but I like the items I popped on. I doubt very much I’ll be buying any of the items due to my bathroom being done. I’m going to be a little skint now until I’m paid at the end of the month. 😛

What item(s) do you like on my wish list? What items do you have on your lists? Make sure to let me know in the comments.

Until next time, take care all and stay safe!

August Wish List ’19

I really need to save. It’s so hard at the moment considering I’ve just had to fork out £250 for a part of my car to be replaced and erm… I kinda bought myself a new camera ready for Japan. Honestly I’m going to save up for Japan. I am. I NEED to otherwise I’ll be going to Japan with no sodding money to spend, or eat with. I have 5 months to go until we leave for the holiday and saving needs to happen NOW.

In all honesty though? I already really want at least 2 items on this wish list for work, as well as in general.

I will resist the urge and be good… I need to. 😛

Enough of me wallowing in poor pity, on with the wish list for August.

• Aggretsuko Day/Night Pyjamas (link)

If there is one thing I love buying (and it’s definitely a weakness of mine!) it’s pyjamas and it’s purely because I live in them mostly when I’m at home. Providing I don’t have plans, as soon as I get home from work I’ll get my pyjamas on and get comfortable. These will be perfect for during the summer months, as at the moment I am just purely living in baggy t-shirts and night shirts. EMP has a pretty awesome Aggretsuko line up at the moment, including a couple of hoodies, pyjama bottoms and even some fake Converse.

• Animal Crossing K.K. Slider Sticker by ncdoggGraphics (link)

I LOVE Animal Crossing and I am still stoked about the new one coming out on the Switch in March 2020. I love playing Pocket Camp daily and would love to grab some sort of Animal Crossing merch for when I’m in Japan. I love the “Yo” design of K.K. Slider and although I’ve added it onto this post as a sticker, I would rather love the hoodie or sweater design as I can only imagine it would so comfortable to wear around the house, as well as out and about when running errands.

• Pokemon Holiday Night Kuji Travelling Pouch with Bottles (link)

This is something I’ve had my eye on getting (and in one case winning) since I saw it was announced a couple of months back. I took part in this kuji through YY Kawaii (yykawaiimerch over on Instagram). I’ll be talking about the prizes I won soon, as well as this travelling pouch, which arrived yesterday. Yes, I bought it because I want it for my holiday to Japan, as well as travelling in general. This is a good sized pouch and comes with three generous sized bottles that you can fill with your beauty essentials. I’m already planning what product I’m going to pop in there for travelling with. As I said, I’ll be writing a post all about these goods soon, as well as a little bit of information about kujis, how they work and which amazing ones YY Kawaii has coming up soon!

• Aggretsuko Pencils (link)

I have discovered with my job that I love jotting down notes using pencil… I don’t know why, but I just have! I love Aggretsuko and since season 2 has come onto Netflix (also, they just announced season 3. Who else is excited?!) so I feel merchandise for this is becoming more and more likely everywhere. I don’t need any stationary anytime soon though to be honest. These would just be cool to have whenever I go into meetings and to perk my desk up a little. At the moment I’m using Pusheen pencils… I can’t complain. 😛

• Cath Kidston Stanley Lamp (link)

This isn’t going to be something I buy anytime soon due to the price, but it’s a lamp I will be keeping a close eye on, as I would love it to be a part of my home. I don’t quite know where it would go… Potentially by the sofa in our living room… It’s so damn cute and I love it! I can only assume Stanley is the dog but it’s so gorgeous and you can see a lot of precision went into the design, as it’s just perfect. This is something I’ll keep my eye on during the sales.

• Killstar Amaya Skater Dress (link)

I love a good skater dress, especially one from Killstar. This is from one of their new collections, which represents Japanese school style fashions and manga/anime designs too. This is something I’d love to be able to wear for work but due to the style of the dress (mostly the back with the hanging part) I doubt that would be doable… At least not during the warmer months when I don’t need to wear a cardigan, jumper or my work fleece. I’ll be keeping my eyes on it though, this is something I’ll definitely be picking up in the future.

• Boohoo Cable Boyfriend Button Up Cardigan (link)

I know it’s summer and we in the UK are currently rocking the warm and muggy weather but I am already thinking ahead to the months when the colder weather will be back and I’ll be wanting to snuggle up into something during my shifts at work. My friend Amy (Writing into the Ether) rocks a gorgeous mustard cardigan and she’s inspired me get myself a mustard cardigan, after years of never bothering. I love my burgundy and mustard colours for autumn and winter, and whilst I own loads of mustard jumpers, I haven’t yet picked up a mustard cardigan. I’ve found this one from Boohoo, which I’m going to keep my eye on. I need to venture around more places first, including charity shops. I know what I’m looking for, super soft and baggy so I can be snuggled and cosy!

So those are the items on my wish list for August! I always worry my wish lists are boring, but you guys never seem to say anything other than the complete opposite!

What items do you guys have on your wish lists this month? Make sure to let me know! Hey, let me know which items you’ve picked up this month too!

Until next time, take care all and I hope you’re having a good week so far.

Bubble Boba Mocktail Party and Masterclass*

If there is one thing I love it’s bubble tea, so the fact it’s now more readily and easily available to buy on the high street makes me so happy! I especially love that Coventry has more than one bubble tea place to venture to as well. They only have one chain and to be blunt, it’s shit. So after I discovered Bubbla Boba through Amy (Writing into the Ether) and my friend Sophie back at the start of the year, I haven’t really looked back and 9 times out of 10 when I visit Coventry I’ll go to Bubble Boba for a drink or two!

Me and Amy – Writing into the Ether

When Amy invited me to the Bubble Boba Mocktail Party and Masterclass I was so excited to go! I was meant to attend the first Bubba Boba event in March but I just wasn’t able to due to feeling too tired and run down, so the fact I was invited to the one after was lovely.

I was also able to take a plus one, so I ended up getting my boyfriend Dane to tag along too for a fun evening. This was definitely fun and I enjoyed every minute of it, which I think Dane did too.

This experience was gifted for reviewing purposes, so all views on this post are my own.

Bubble Boba is located in FarGo Village in Coventry and as you enter FarGo from Far Gosford Street it’s pretty much one of the first places you will spot on you way into FarGo, which I love! It’s the perfect location if you want to grab a drink before doing some shopping in FarGo or even on the way out on your way home.

Bubble Boba isn’t exactly the biggest store in the world and can’t really house a lot of people – which is a bit of a shame if you wanted to plan a biggish group of you to go and visit. It’s more of a place to go and hang out with a friend and play some games (they have some Nintendo consoles in there and a TV!) or even just relax and have a gossip. I don’t mind walking around with my bubble tea however. Can I also add how kawaii the store is with all the Alpacasso plushies lining the shelves?! 😀

Image taken by Amy – Writing into the Ether

Image taken by Amy – Writing into the Ether

Image taken by Amy – Writing into the Ether

We were running a little late for the event due to personal reasons so when we arrived we had just missed out on tasting all the yummy bubble waffles that Bubble Boba have on offer. I LOVE bubble waffles so much so it was nice to get the chance to try some of the ones that Bubble Boba have to offer. They have loads of different ones including; Original, Oodles of Oreo, Red Velvet, Salted Caramel, Unicorn Dreams and my favourite Matcha Madness (which is made out of matcha but also contains mochi).

Not long after we arrived and managed to scoff some of the yummy waffles, we started to taste some of the newest flavours to join Bubble Boba for their Mocktails Collection.

There are six new flavours in this collection and we got to try every single one! The order I talk about them will be the order we tried them in and of course I’ll tell you guys names, as well as what flavours they are and such.

Lemon & Honey – Freshly squeezed lemon with honey from bees.

Tropical Paradise – Passionfruit, strawberry, orange with orange and lemon slices.

Polynesian Punch – Pineapple, strawberry, mango with real pineapple pieces.

Spanish Riviera – Green apple, lychee and honeydew.

Summer Nights – Strawberry, blueberry and cherry.

Hawaiian Sunset – Mango, raspberry and peach.

Summer Nights was definitely my favourite will all the berry flavours. These were all really refreshing in taste to be honest with you and really did remind me of a tropical drink you would have abroad on holiday, or at a friends summertime BBQ party!

After we tried the new Mocktail collection we were able to try all of the toppings they have on offer, including the pudding and tapioca. I LOVE pudding since I discovered it in London last year and always order it for my matcha bubble tea drinks since. I had to give this a go and it was so delicious. I definitely plan to try this with Bubble Boba’s matcha in the future.

I also gave the coconut topping a try, which I didn’t realise was a mixture of popping bubbles and jellies. I HATE the jellies you have with bubble tea! They taste amazing but the texture of them just makes me sick and it just makes me think of gone off food or something. To be honest though I gave it a go and it was much better on it’s on than with the drink itself. Dane loves the jellies however and more often than not actually orders it with his bubble tea whenever we go for it.

We also got to taste Bubble Boba’s tapioca, which was lovely! It’s made with honey to naturally sweeten it, which works really well. I haven’t actually had tapioca for ages as I just prefer popping bubbles more. This was good though and Dane really loved it.

The one thing I really like about Bubble Boba is that they have 3 samples on the bar where you order, which means you can try before you buy specific drinks. They’d had 3 specific drinks on offer that day which were; Pineapple Fruit Tea, Hanoi Sunrise (which was the drink of the day!) and Orange Oolong Fruit Tea. I tried all three and whilst they were all nice I LOVED Hanoi Sunrise the most.

Just to add this in here, when you pop into the store you can order your drinks on the little tablets they have next to these three sample containers if you wish to pay by card, or you can go up to the till if you have cash. I love the system they have on the tablet as it gives you so many options.

After we got to have a try of all the new Mocktails Collection, it was finally time to start having a go at being little bubble tea baristas ourselves, which I was so excited for! I’ve been drinking bubble tea since I discovered it in 2012 and have to this day never given it a go myself, so I was intrigued to see the logic behind how it’s made. I didn’t quite know what to expect 100% but I wasn’t shocked, but I was somewhat surprised too.

We started off with being given our shakers and all told to pick three flavours from all the ones they gave us. These included; strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, green apple, rose, kiwi, pineapple, passionfruit, mango, honeydew, cherry, lemon, honey peach, orange and lychee.

We got to make two bubble teas of our own with two different recipes, or the same one if we really like our first! For my first drink I decided to go for the flavours – green apple, cherry and passionfruit.

Once we had added our desired flavours it was time to add some fructose, which he’s to sweeten the drink further. Then we added 50ml of hot water followed by mixing with a spoon to combine the flavoured syrups, fructose and water together.

Please excuse my face haha xD

When we were ready to move onto the next step we got to choose which tea we wanted to add to our bubble tea creations. We had the choice of three; floral jasmine, fruity assam or fruity oolong tea. For my first drink I decided to go for the floral jasmine tea, as this usually what I get from Bubble Boba when I order my usual, which is the green apple. You then go and add your ice up to a certain point in the shaker, pop on the lid and then get shaking!

Me and the gorgeous Emily – The Emily Chapters

Gemma – Just Gem, me, Emily – The Emily Chapters and Amy – Writing into the Ether

This was loads of fun in regards to all the photos, videos and especially Boomerangs you could take, but also bloody tiring! You know you had shook enough when your drink when a frothy texture. This section is VERY photo heavy by the way and I am SO NOT SORRY! 😛

This is when it was time to go ahead and pick which toppings we wanted for our bubble teas. As we had been giving the chance to taste these earlier on in the event it was good to have an idea of what we wanted. For my first drink I opted for blueberry, raspberry and lemon.

Dane’s first drink was raspberry, strawberry and lemon, with assam tea and strawberry bubbles.

We got to drink our first drinks at the event whilst everything was washed and tidied ready for round two!

Not going to lie, my first drink wasn’t very nice and although I somewhat enjoyed it, it wasn’t great. I was glad at the chance to have a go at making another drink in all honesty due to this. I think it was either the passion fruit flavour or the jasmine tea that ruined my flavours.

When we were ready it was time for round two! We definitely went through the second making of our bubbles teas quicker and sadly I didn’t really get many photos of this due to how straight forward it now was to go ahead and have a go again at making bubble tea.

My second bubble tea drink was a definitely better and I really enjoyed it the day after the event after work. I went for green apple, cherry and lemon with assam tea and blueberry, raspberry and cherry popping bubbles. Dane went for double lemon and green apple with assam tea and tapioca bubbles.

The event overall was amazing and it was great after 7 years of drinking bubble tea to finally be able to give it a go myself and even come up with a new and unique flavour. I especially love how the staff said, any flavours we made and enjoyed we could ask for in the future when visiting the store. YES!

Bubble Boba have recently decided to open their masterclasses to people and have loads of offers online for people to check out. I’m going to link them all down below, so please make sure to go and check them out if you’re interested in this!

AIRBNB

Groupon

Viator

LonelyPlanet

I’ll also link down to their social media pages too, just in case you want to go and check them out and follow them! I know they recently opened up new store in Cardiff University’s student union! If you’re also local to the Coventry or Cardiff stores you can also use Deliveroo or Uber Eats to get your Bubble Boba bubble fixes direct to your door!

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Overall I LOVED attending the Bubble Boba Mocktail Party and Masterclass last week and after work it really was something to look forward to. The fact I got to bring Dane along with me and see some of my favourite blogging beauties, it was just perfect all around! I mean, what’s better than bubble tea and friends? 😛

Do you love bubble tea? If so what do you usually order when you go? I always usually opt for a milky drink of green tea matcha with pudding OR green apple with black tea and cherry popping bubbles.

Are you local to either of the Bubble Boba stores? If so (and you haven’t done so already!) will you be planning to head there anytime soon? Let me know in the comments guys!

Until next time, I hope you’ve all had a fabulous week and your weekends are relaxing.

Two Unique Firebox Gifts You Should Buy For Her This Christmas*

I can’t believe we are a day away from being into the first week of December! I can’t believe how quick the month is already going and before we know it, it’ll be Christmas Day.

BUT have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? You might have some relatives to buy for, a best friend, someone you work with or maybe even a Secret Santa you need to find a gift for. I’m actually off shopping with one of my best friends this evening as we both have some last minute gifts to pick up.

I recently spoke to Firebox about wanting to work with them on a Christmas post and after some email exchanges I picked two items which I thought you guys may like the look of, for so many reasons.

So I thought today I would talk about the two items I was sent from Firebox, as well as why I think they’re both great Christmas present gifts for teenagers, younger and older women.

If there is one store I always go to for quirky and different gift ideas for anyone I always head to Firebox. Hey, I even buy myself stuff from there from time to time too. 😛

They have an amazing gifts for her section, as well as some unusual Christmas gifts too! The two items I chose are from the gifts for her section.

As you’re already aware, today’s post is about great gifts you can get for the girl/woman in your life and I’m going to be talking about two items today that are both different, in their own ways!

The first item I’m going to talk about is the Heart Waffle Maker*, which costs £24.99.

We love this brilliant machine a waffle lot. It’s a fact: you can’t make waffles without a waffle maker. Well, you could try, but good luck replicating their unique grid pattern and maintaining a uniform shape. With this hot pink delight, you can make up to five waffles in mere minutes from the comfort of your own kitchen. Why settle for the inferior dry ones from the shops when you could be feasting on delicious creations made your way? That’s right, get ready for Instagram worthy matcha, activated-charcoal, or rainbow waffles. Eat your heart out, Creams. Description taken from Firebox.com

You may think, “Nat what made you think a heart waffle maker was a good gift idea?” Well… Why not?! I know for a fact I don’t speak for myself when I say how much I love waffles! If there is one thing I love receiving for Christmas it’s items I can make use out of throughout the year and a waffle maker can not only be a great present for a food lover, but especially a food lover at Christmas!

As this heart waffle maker is a gorgeous pastel pink colour, this will make the ideal gift for a teenager who always holds sleepovers and wants to make yummy waffles. This is also a great gift for a couple who love food and women who love to cook. Of course anyone who has a pink theme for their kitchen will adore this pink heart waffle maker. PLUS who doesn’t want a heart shaped waffle, eh? 😛

I’ve already made loads of waffles for me and Dane with this and whilst it takes some getting used to at first, it is SO EASY to use and super easy to clean too. I plan to show how I make chicken and waffles and maybe even some chocolate waffles, so keep eyes peeled for that. 😛

I love how on the Firebox website it recommends how you can make all sorts of different waffles, including matcha, charcoal and even rainbow ones! I love the thought of making a rainbow waffle.

For just under £25 I think this would make a great gift for a teenager or someone who loves food. It’s just the perfect gift to get for a girl or woman that is hard to buy for, but who loves food.

The second item I chose and the one I was super excited to receive is the Elodie the Unicorn Light Up Umbrella*, which costs £29.99. This is also an exclusive product to Firebox!

It’s a big fat cliche but we Brits are no strangers to rain, so you can rest assured we know how to make a damn good umbrella. Sprinkle a little bit of fairy dust into the brolly machine and you get this! Elodie, our favourite unicorn, is back in the form of this perfect parasol that lights up and changes colour when in contact with water! Simply flick the little switch on the handle to illuminate the multicolour LEDs – there’s even a dimmer switch if you want romantic mood lighting for your rainy stroll. As for the liquid reactive bits, the cute little clusters of hearts and stars on take on ombre rainbow hues when in contact with water. And there’s a lot of them to go round with that 34” diameter so prepare your eyes for a full spectrum magical unicorn lightshow. Description taken from Firebox.com

I’m a massive fan of Elodie the Unicorn and I knew I had to share this wonderful thing with you guys on my blog! I’m really funny when it comes to umbrellas, as in I always like to have a unique one for whenever I need to use one. I also love this style of umbrella too as I find they’re just adorable and different. I remember when I was at college and this style of umbrella first came out in shops and markets. I fell in love and had a couple of them that I used on and off. They fast blew inside out and broke, long gone. 😛

This light up umbrella is so different though and as of yet I have never seen anything like it to date. As the description for this umbrella states, we in the UK are definitely not surprised when it rains, so why not have a glam brolly to use whenever we get any?! It chucked it down with rain earlier this week and thankfully I didn’t get soaked, thanks to my car and running from it to my workplace. 😛

Not only does this umbrella light up though with the simple push of a button by the handle, but it also has a cute unicorn face, and the gold part at the top of the umbrella resembles the unicorn horn! It also has liquid-reactive patterns all on the umbrella itself which change colour when rain water gets into contact with it. Could you honestly ask for anything cuter?!

So with all the crappy rain we get in the UK I think this light up umbrella would make a perfect gift for a girl, teenager or woman of any age group!

This would make a great gift for someone in education, especially secondary school for when it’s getting dark earlier and they have to walk home from school. Not only would the umbrella stop them getting soaked, but it would also have the lights on, which would help when crossing the road, getting around and maybe even if their friends or family are meeting them somewhere.

This umbrella also seems like such an awesome novelty for an adult too, especially if they’re like me and love anything cute and adorable like this and I know for a fact others would feel the same about it too.

Let’s not forget, mermaids and unicorns have blown up these past few years, so any unicorn lover out there would definitely love to receive this umbrella.

The one thing I will say about this umbrella is that the images on Firebox’s website don’t do it justice not just for how big it actually is, but also for how amazing the lights are on it! They’re incredibly bright and colourful, very kawaii!

I was going to talk about more items that I feel you should buy, but I’m actually going to save that for another post where I recommend gifts you should buy for the geeky girls and guys in your lives! 😛

What do you think of the items that Firebox sent me? Do you think they’re unique gifts that you could see yourself buying for someone? If so who would you buy them for and why? I want to know so make sure to let me know in the comments!

I just want a say a MASSIVE THANK YOU to Firebox for working with me. I have loved this brand for years and it has taken some massive confidence growth this year for me to built up the encouragement to email them, expressing how much I would love to work with them and why.

Until next time, take care all and I hope you’re ready for the weekend!

Elle’s Doodle Box*

I am so excited to write this post at the moment! I’m feeling a little under the weather right now but I’m sure by the end of this I’ll have perked up after looking at all the cute goodies Elle over at Elle’s Doodle Box sent me.

Recently I’ve gained some confidence in reaching out to companies myself to ask if I can work with them. Some have replied to me and some haven’t. Elle is one of the lovely companies who did and I was so excited to work with her.

I’ve known and brought items from Elle’s Doodle Box for quite a while now, whether that be at cons or via her Etsy. Her designs are so kawaii and I especially love all the characters she draws, especially Haku.

Elle’s Doodle Box store contains loads of different products ranging from greeting cards, prints, stickers, badges, charms, planner, sticker sheets and mystery boxes. Most of her work is based on fandoms, games characters, animals, and anime.

Me and Elle have been chatting since I reached out to her and she has fast become a friend and is such a lovely and sweet person. We plan to go on a coffee date very soon, hehe. 😛

ANYWAY you’re here to see what I was sent, so without further ado let me show you the box of kawaii magic she sent me! As I always do, an * will go next to any items I was gifted.

• Totoro Clear 2″ Acrylic Charm* – (link)

This is the first item I saw in the box and already it’s my favourite! It’s an adorable little Totoro from the Studio Ghibli film My Neighbour Totoro. He’s got such a lovely little face and I can’t quite tell if he’s super happy or smug. Either way I love it and I’m torn whether to hang him off of my car keys or my backpack… Either way I’m sure I’ll decide soon enough!

• Eeveelution Espeon Button Badge* – (link)
• Rockruff Badge* – (link)
• Fox Badge*
• Haku Spirited Away Pin Badge Button* – (link)

I love badges, even if I don’t use and wear them as much as I used to! These badged are all adorable, my favourite of the bunch has to be the Haku one. I especially love that it has holographic flecks throughout it too. You can never go wrong with something like that!

The Espeon badge is a bit bigger than the others and I feel if it had been smaller all the detail of the Pokemon would have been gone.

The Rockruff badge is adorable! Elle has clearly put so much into the design of this newer dog Pokemon and I really like it. I feel like she’s really given it a character.

Finally the fox badge is my second favourite! I love foxes, they’re one of my favourite animals so the fact she included this in my package was so thoughful and sweet. This bagde will definitely be popped on my cardigan!

• Mystery Sticker Bag Stickers Only Mix* – (link)

These contain damaged and miscut stickers but personally I don’t see any difference in these and normal stickers. They all look good to me! I love the amount of variety you get in the bag and I also can’t believe how many you get for the money either! I’ll list below all the ones you get in the pack and if possible link back to them too!

Pokemon – Growlithe, Leafeon, Alolan Vulpix and Vulpix.

Food – 3 scoops, kitty kat, pink cupcake, pizza, doughnut, watermelon and ice lolly.

 

Studio Ghibli – Totoro with umbrella.

Undertale – Frisk and Alphys.

Animals – Whale shark, chubby dog  and unicorn.

Other – Groot, anxiety warrior and puppy with yellow hoodie.

• Random Sticker Pack*

This is another random sticker pack that Elle sent me and out of the two I REALLY love this one! I feel like most of the stuff she popped in here was very personal as she did ask me what sort of stuff I was into. I love all the stickers in here! My favourite would have been the Haku sticker BUT I am loving the Baymax with Glaceon on his head. It’s so adorable.

Pokemon – Rockruff, Growlithe, Vaporeon, Leafeon, Gengar, Eevee and Haunter.

Studio Ghibli – No Face and Haku.

Other – Poison Ivy, Spyro, Baymax with Glaceon and Deadpool.

• Vulpix Card* – 50p (link)

Whilst I was in London Elle announced these Vulpix cards on her Facebook group for the store (which I’ve linked here) and I knew I wanted to get a couple for friends SO when I opened my package and saw one was already in there, I was so chuffed! I’m going to send this to someone special (not spoiling here!) who I know will really love this. 🙂 I plan to order some more to give away to some of my friends as special cards. There are other designs out too including Eevee, Xmas Rat and Gingerbread Man. You can also order these in packs of 4 for £2.00.

• Spirited Away Haku Dragon 7×5 Print* – £3.00 (link)

• Pokemon Rockruff 7×5 Print* – £3.00 (link)

• Pokemon Gardevoir 7×5 Print*

I love ALL the prints that Elle sent me! Sadly I have a feeling I already own the Haku print, so I’ll possibly be gifting this to someone for Christmas, as I know they’ll really appreciate it! 😀 But I do love the Haku print so damn much, as I say time and time again on my blog, Haku is one of my favourite things so any items with him on are always appreciated.

The other Pokemon prints are adorable, especially Rockruff which I think I’m going to keep in my office! 😀 The Gardevoir took me ages to try and remember the name of the Pokemon haha.

I love the size of these prints though, they’re perfect for popping into frames and hanging up near one another, say behind a sofa or a desk.

SO that is the amazing box of goodies that Elle sent me! I love everything she sent and I am so grateful to her for being more than happy to send me some goodies.

I just wanted to say what a lovely person Elle is! She’s really easy to talk to, friendly, always good to go to if you have any questions and finally an amazing and unique designer. I love her work so much and have loved buying from her in the past to gift people with her items.

Alongside the amazing items she sent, Elle also sent me a discount code for myself, as well as my readers to use.

I’ll have this code on the side of my blog after this post goes live, so don’t worry about needing to search through my posts to find this one, it’ll be on the right hand side. 😛

I’ll list below all of Elle’s Doodle Box’s website and social media pages.

Website

Etsy

Facebook

Facebook Group

Twitter

Instagram

What do you guys think of Elle’s Doodle Box? Make sure to let me know in the comments, as well as which item(s) you’d love to pick up!

Until next time, take care and have a fabulous weekend.

 

Things I’m Excited About EGX

Image taken from EGX Twitter @EGX

EGX is currently halfway through and I am so excited to say I’ll be there on Sunday for the first time ever! I’m pretty damn stoked to finally be attending EGX.

It was my best friends idea for us all to go (us two and our boyfriends) together for one day and we settled on Sunday.

For those of you who may not know what EGX is, it’s the UK’s biggest games event and it’s running from Thursday 20th until Sunday 23rd September at the NEC Birmingham.

It’s only the UK’s biggest video games event! Come along and you’ll find the most anticipated console and PC games, all playable weeks or months before they’re released. We also have presentations by game designers from world renowned studios, areas dedicated to esports, the opportunity to meet and chat with game creators and loads more.

I’ve heard about it on and off over the years but never really been bothered about going and instead would book and go to Hyper Japan or Comic Con. After my friend suggested the idea though, I was down for that!

Since booking the tickets about a month ago now I’ve been checking up on their social media and website every other day for updates on what games are going to be there and each time I look there’s a better announcement! I honestly cannot wait for Sunday now.

So, I thought I would write a blog post about what I’m excited for at EGX and why! I might also get Dane to talk about some games he’s excited about too, because why not! 😛

I’m just going to jump straight into it and I’ll also include trailers for games too. This is going to be a long lists, so I apologise in advance for all the waffling I’ll be doing. 😛

• Kingdom Hearts III – Out 29/01/2019 on PlayStation 4

Although I’ve on and off played the first Kingdom Hearts game, I have always been intrigued by the game series and would love to finally get into it now the third one is finally coming out! My best friend Gabriella loves this series so even if I’m not all arsed about going to play it, I know she’ll want to play it! Even if I don’t give it a go, I’d love to watch her try the demo.

• LEGO DC Super-Villains – Out 19/20/2018 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch

I’ve actually already preordered this game as I just fancied getting it for me and Dane to play together on lazy evenings and weekends in. I can’t wait to be honest with you as I remember back to one of the first LEGO games, Batman where they allowed you to be the good guys AND the bad guys. I LOVED being the baddies so damn much and since then they haven’t seemed to do that again as well. So when this was announced I knew I had to get it. I’m unsure if I’ll play the demo for the game as before I know it I’ll have it, BUT if I find we’re bored and want something to do, I’d definitely go and give the demo a play!

• Life is Strange 2 – Out 27/09/2018 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Steam

If there was a game I adored it was Life is Strange. It wasn’t particularly unique but it was definitely something different at the time and no one else was really doing it and if they were clearly not as well. The graphics and mouth work of the game is pretty poor, but the story really does make it worth it! Although this will be out less than a week after we attend EGX, I still wouldn’t mind giving the demo a go to see what the game play it like before I buy the game. The story seems to be completely different to the first game, but I hope that they include Max into this story somehow. I can’t wait for this come out, I’ll be buying it when it comes out.

• Mario Tennis Aces – Out now on Nintendo Switch

This game is out now and has been for a while but EGX are giving people the chance to play it, which is pretty cool. I really want this game but 1. I don’t know if it’s worth the price and 2. I don’t know if I’ll actually enjoy it! I’d definitely like to give this a play whenever I get the chance to and if I enjoy it I’ll definitely want it more than ever! I wanted it to play alone, as well as with Dane but he isn’t as arsed about getting it as I am.

• Persona 3: Dancing In Moonlight and Persona 5: Dancing In Starlight – Out 04/12/2018 on PlayStation 4

If there is a game series I fast fell in love with almost 2 years ago, it’s Persona and it’s all thanks to Persona 5. So when they announced the dance game for the fifth game I was so damn happy! I’ve finished Persona 5, and about halfway through (and severely fucking stuck!) on Persona 4: Golden. I also own the Persona 4 dance game and really enjoy it. I love the Phantom Thieves so I’m so excited to see more of them before they’re gone completely. Although I haven’t yet played Persona 3, I would still love to give the demo a play to see what it’s like. I’ll definitely be playing the Persona 5: Dancing In Starlight demo, no matter what. This is actually a game I haven’t preordered yet and it’s pretty much because Dane wants it as a possibly Christmas present idea. The cutie. 😛

• Pokemon Let’s Go! Eevee and Pokemon Let’s Go! Pikachu – Out 16/11/2018 on Nintendo Switch

Oh man as soon as this game was announced and released for preorder I was on that ASAP! There were rumours that this game was going to be coming out on the Switch when leaks popped up all over the internet. I won’t lie, I thought it was bullshit and would just become another 3DS game or nothing at all. Alas, I was wrong and it was announced a mere few days later for the Switch. I’m stoked for this to be honest with you and I’ve ordered the Eevee version, of course with the PokeBall! I’m unsure if I want to try the demo of this or not. I really want to, especially if you can play with the PokeBall but at the same time I really want a surprise… I’m more than sure I’ll end up going to play it… Got to get my Pokemon fix a few months in advance. 😛

• Spyro Reignited Trilogy – Out 13/11/2018 on Xbox One and PlayStation 4

Oh man I have been so excited for this game since it was announced months ago! Of course I was gutted when it got pushed back, especially as I’d have been playing it right now! I’m not bothered loads about playing this at EGX BUT if I find I’m bored and want something to do, I’d definitely go and give this a play if I had the chance to.

• Untitled Goose Game – Release date TBC but sometime in 2019 on Nintendo Switch and Steam

If there is a game I definitely want to have a go on, it’s this goose game! The release date hasn’t been announced yet but I’m hoping it’ll be sooner rather than later. This is such a fun looking game and I wish it was 2 player so you could be evil geese together. You play as an annoying goose who is terrorising and trolling people in a village. It appears that you do each part of the village in levels/stages and have to do certain tasks before you can move on. Overall it just looks like a really fun game and is definitely one I’ll be getting on the Switch in the future.

Now onto the indie games! I would do what I did previously with the other games and post videos and talk a little about them but there are so many games I’m interested in that sadly I won’t be able to do that as there are just too many. I will of course list them all down below! Whether or not I end up playing them all or not is another thing, but they’re definitely games I’ll be trying out! Anything that is bold are games I’m more interested in than others.

Alchemist Cutie

Bee Kind

Beyond Blue

Billie Bust Up

Catastronaughts

Doggo

Figment

Flashing Lights

Flotsam

Heaven’s Vault

Honey, I Joined A Cult

How To Kill Monsters

Inmost

Kingdom: Two Crowns

Meridian Line

Mice On Venus

Misfolded

My Time At Portia

Nippon Marathon

Obviously Inappropriate Content

Phoenix Point

Phogs

Primetime Detective

Soundfall

Stay

Those Who Remain

Tony Slopes

War Groove

We Were Here Together

What The Golf?

Wrong World

Of course as well as playing games there will be plenty of opportunities to take photos at special stands and from what I’ve seen so far these include Kingdom Hearts, Fallout 76 and many more!

They also have merchandise stands and I know that Insert Coin Clothing will be there who I’m sure I’ve mentioned on my blog in the past. There will be more merchandise stands there who I’ll be checking out whenever I get the chance to.

Overall I think it’s going to be a super busy day and I don’t honestly know what to expect at this moment in time… After viewing Twitter the past couple of days the event seems super busy with nothing but queues, mostly at the bigger games such as Kingdom Hearts III and Pokemon Let’s Go!

I am to check out all the indie games first and then focus on the bigger games, as I can only imagine everyone will run to the bigger stuff first! Most of the games I’d want to play I’ve preordered and are out soon anyways. Indie games are always worth supporting and trying before buying.

Either way, I know I’ll have an amazing time and quite honestly I can’t wait!

I’ll pop all of the EGX links down below for anyone who may want to follow on social media, or even book tickets so you can come to the event yourselves!

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

YouTube

Are you attending/attended EGX at all? If so what are you looking forward to the most/what did you enjoy the most? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below or over at my Twitter – @maybeecoffee

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

7 Games I’m Excited For

If there is one thing I would love to write more about on my blog, it’s games and how much I love gaming! I love it just as much as reading manga, watching anime and even writing on my blog! 😛

I really want to start writing more about games and I intend to write more about it all from now on, but please bear with me as it might take me a while to these kind of blog posts written.

For now though I will be writing about games I’m excited for in the future. I won’t just be talking about 2018, but I’ll be going into 2019 too as a couple of games I’ll be mentioning here won’t be out until then.

I really hope in advance that you like this post!

Image taken from Game.co.uk

• Marvel’s Spider-Man – Out September 7th 2018 on PlayStation 4

What a way to kick start this list! When this was first announced I was so nostalgic and excited! One of the first games I played fully on my PlayStation was Spider-Man and I loved it so much. Looking back I actually think it was this game that started off my love of superheroes and comic book characters. When E3 showed a trailer for it this year it just made me even more excited for it to come out. This is a game me and Dane have on pre-order already and we cannot wait to play it together. I’m not going to lie, I also wanted the limited edition Spider-Man PS4 that is coming out with the game too, but meh money. The game just looks impressive and I really hope it brings back the nostalgic feels of 10 year old Nat playing the first PlayStation Spider-Man game in her bedroom after school and on weekends.

Image taken from Game.co.uk

• Super Mario Party – Out October 5th 2018 on Nintendo Switch

If there’s a game me and Dane have always loved playing together on both the Nintendo Wii and the 3DS it’s the Super Mario Party games! They’re great for playing on lazy Sunday’s, at parties and just in general when you want to play a game but don’t have a clue what to play exactly. We’ve wanted some more games for the Switch but we’re a bit stumped as to what 2 player games we can get, but now we’ve noticed this is coming out we’ll probably get it around Christmas time!

Image taken from Game.co.uk

• LEGO DC Super-Villains – Out October 19th 2018 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch

I’m a saddo, I love the LEGO games but who COULDN’T not love the LEGO games to be honest with you?! They’re really chilled to play, funny and great for anyone of any age to play. Since the first LEGO games came out I’ve played the majority of them. Over the years I’ve not bought them as much to play but I love specific ones such as Harry Potter (even though I’m not a massive HP fan!), Star Wars and LOTR’s and The Hobbit. I remember playing the first LEGO Batman game where you could play as both good and bad characters. I loved being able to play as a villain so the fact that we now have a game dedicated to it is pretty awesome! 😀 I’ll definitely be pre ordering this sooner rather than later!

Image taken from Game.co.uk

• Spyro Reignited Trilogy – Out November 13th 2018 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One

I’m not going to lie, as I was starting to write this post yesterday I got an email from where I pre ordered this from letting me know that the release date has been pushed back. I’m gutted but it’s for decent reasons! Toys For Bob have stated that it won’t be perfect for their original release date (21st September 2018) so that’s the reason for pushing it back. I’m still gutted though, I was so excited to play this game on my day off work as well as for that weekend. Meh I guess I’ll just have to wait. It just kind of sucks that it’s out a couple of days before Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee. I can’t play two games at exactly the same time! 😛 I loved the Spyro games growing up, especially Spyro 2 and I was super excited to play it! Alas I’ve got to wait now until November… Unless I dig out the original and give that a go.

Image taken from Smythstoys.com

• Pokemon: Let’s Go, Eevee! & Pokeball Plus – Out November 16th 2018 on Nintendo Switch

This is definitely the game I am most excited about on this list! I remember when the first trailer came out for it and Dane woke me up at 6am to show me the video on his phone! I was pissed off that he woke me up so early, but when I realised what it was for I was ecstatic! I love that there are 2 versions to choose from, but I knew I wanted Eevee. I pre ordered this as soon as I found it at a decent price for both the game and the Pokeball Plus! Smyths is the best place to get it from as you save £5.00 on your order if you go and collect in store. I’m glad it’s now a new story and really like that they’re following Pokemon Yellow. The thing I think that I love the most is that it’s two player so me and Dane can play the game together! It’s amazing that they brought this into the game and it’s something I’ve wanted the Pokemon games to have for the longest time. I honestly cannot wait to play this with Dane when it comes out! This is a game I’ll be talking about for ages on my blog when it’s out.

Image taken from Amazon.co.uk

 

• Persona 5: Dancing In Starlight – Out 4th December 2018 on PlayStation 4

YES THIS FINALLY HAS A RELEASE DATE! Ahem… Apologies… BUT I have been so on edge about when this game is coming out and I didn’t think it was going to be until 2019 to be honest with you. Thankfully it’ll be out before the end of 2018 and I am super happy about that! I loved Persona 5 so much and it’s for sure become one of my favourite game series alongside Pokemon! This is out in Japan now and has been since May (from memory…) which is pretty cool, but it means trying to avoid any of the story etc. I’m currently playing Persona 4: Dancing All Night and so far it’s been more story than game play, which is bleh. I wouldn’t mind story in Persona 5 though! 😛 This is something I really want to pre order but… I probably shouldn’t. I know this would make an ideal Christmas present for someone who doesn’t know what to buy me, but all the same I WANT IT! 😀 We shall see, I’ll soon update you guys on if I’d pre ordered it.

Image taken from IMDB.com

• Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth – Release date TBC out on Nintendo 3DS

This only recently got announced at the start of August and loads of Persona fans have been excited for it and since it being revealed, the community has gone CRAZY! I’m not going to lie I’m yet to play Persona Q: Shadow Of The Labyrinth and I really want to download it asap to play! I wanted to actually pick up the physical copy of the game to play but it costs too much these days, which in turn sucks. With the Persona 5 babies being in this game I really need to get it to play! As I said in the title, it’s yet to be given a release date here in the UK, but as soon as I find out, I’ll be pre ordering it for sure.

So there are my seven games that I’m actually really excited about coming out! Whilst writing this post I was talking to Dane about which games I was going to add and asked him to give me a hand as I was worried I was forgetting some games. Alas I was and he reminded me of quite a few! He asked me if he could mention a couple of games he’s excited for too, so I said he could to round up this post.

• Shenmue I & II – Out August 21st 2018 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One

I played the first Shenmue back on the Dreamcast and it was a groundbreaking game for its time so when I saw it up for pre order on the Xbox One store I ordered it straight away.

• Battlefield 5 – Out October 19th 2018 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC

I have always preferred the Dice Battlefield games over the COD series, played BF1 for a short period but got bored after a while. Whilst I am ignoring the historically inaccuracies I am hoping the game play is a return to form.

• Red Dead Redemption 2 – Out October 29th 2018 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One

There is very little I need to say about my anticipation for this. Play the first one and watch the trailers, this game will be excellent.

• Fallout 76 – Out November 14th 2018 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC

The first multiplayer Fallout game. Count me in.

Thanks to Dane for adding some of the games he’s excited for! I’m equally excited for some of those too, but he’s far more excited than I am. 😛

What games are you looking forward to playing? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

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

My Daily Skin Care Essentials

Okay at the moment I am so DONE with how clammy and hot it has been. I love the hot weather, but I really don’t love it in the UK. Maybe it’s because work is hot and stuffy and maybe it’s because the UK isn’t prepared for heat? Meh either way, I just want a little bit of rain, if not for my gardens sake over my own!

Today’s blog post is one I’ve always thought about writing, but never have until now because I thought my skin care routine was boring and that no one would ever wish to see it.

This being said, why would it be boring? Especially if it works for my skin type! I feel like recently I’ve hit a jackpot with my skin care and FINALLY found some products that work for me and leave my skin looking great, as well as feeling good too.

Get yourselves a nice cold drink, maybe an ice cream or an ice lolly and prepare for this evenings blog post! Not only has it taken me a whole 6 years to write this post, but I’m spontaneously writing it at nearly 9pm. Oh dear, I hope it’s good reading. 😛

I have 6 main items I use when doing my morning skin care routine, some of them are recent newbies and some are products I’ve used on and off over the years. BUT it is finally so amazing to find products that work with my skin, and don’t cost a fortune to pick up either!

• Australian Bodycare Skin Wash.

This is the first thing I’ll use everyday as a part of my routine and it’s only recently that I’ve started using this on my face. My skin was breaking out constantly and I started to worry I had acne and was feeling ugly constantly. I looked how I did when I was 13 and very much so like a pepperoni pizza! You can use this skin wash all over your body and considering I always use it on my body, using it on my face couldn’t hurt, right? It was amazing to be honest with you and it’s really changed my skin for the better this past month! You don’t need a lot of this either, which is even better considering this is a 1000ml bottle. I need to get some refills for it as soon as I can.

• Clean & Clear Blackhead Clearing Cleanser.

This is the newest product in my skin care routine and it’s one I’m so glad I picked up! I needed a new face cleanser/toner and I usually pick up a tea tree one. They didn’t have that sadly and my mom has always raved about this cleanser, so I thought I’d give it a go. If I didn’t like it, I could always give it to my mom and pick up a different one. This is amazing to be honest with you and I feel like it really does lift up any leftover muck from my pores. Gross, but true! 😛 This is also really refreshing to use whilst the weather is hot.

• Simple Kind To Eyes Soothing Eye Balm.

This is an eye cream/balm I’ve been using for many years now and chopped and changed using it on and off for various reasons. I always go back to it though because it always leaves my eyes feeling cool, moisturised and although not looking “better”, they certainly look somewhat refreshed. This lasts ages too as you only need a little bit and it doesn’t cost a fortune either. My only issue with this is that it doesn’t help with ageing, which I probably need to start thinking about now… 😛

• LOreal Paris Hydra Genius Liquid Care (review here).

This is by far my favourite product alongside the tea tree skin wash in my skin care. This came out last year and it released at such a great time considering it was boiling when it came out. This is now my second bottle and look how much I have left! I’ll buy myself another bottle soon enough to be honest with you as I love using it everyday. As you’ll read from my review, this is a really light formula, which goes a long way and leaves your skin feeling moisturised and cooled down. It’s perfect to take abroad with you (if possible) due to how cooling it is. I especially love using it after a face mask.

• Rimmel London Insta Fix & Matte Translucent Powder.

This is my second one of these now and I love it so much! This is probably the only bit of make up I always use to be honest with you. Due to my combination skin, I get an oily t-zone and due to that I like to matte it down as much as I can, with as little effort as possible. This powder is really light and doesn’t do a heavy coverage at all, but nonetheless for me it does an amazing job!

• Collection Colour Lash Clear Mascara.

Due to having such big eye brows I need a good clear mascara to keep them in shape all day long and this is by far the best and most affordable clear mascara on the high street! I used to use the Miss Sporty one but the staying power wasn’t as good as it could have been. I’ve not really tried any other brands, I don’t need to considering how great the Collection one is! I recommend it if you want to use a clear mascara on both your eyelashes and eyebrows.

So those are my daily skin care essentials and my favourite ones to be honest with you! There are other bits and pieces I like using on and off too, but they don’t get a mention here. 😛

What are your daily skin care essentials? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below!

Until next time, take care all and I hope you’re excited for the weekend, I know I am. 😛

July Wish List ’18

Oh man as if we are in July and oh what a gorgeous year 2018 is turning out to be already, eh?! Last week we had nothing but sunshine and it was glorious.

I was really naughty in June and bought loads of stuff, but you know what? Fuck it! I don’t feel like I’ve had a proper treat since I left my previous job so it’s been nice to buy stuff for myself that I either need and don’t need, but have wanted for ages.

The majority of stuff on this months wish list I doubt I will buy as I need to save my monies now after an expensive month. I really struggled too with this months wish list as there isn’t much I really want to buy in all fairness… Well apart from the manga mentioned below. 😛

Anyhoo, ON WITH THE WISH LIST! 😀

• FairyGlo Gel Nail Polishes – (link)

This is what I’m going to kick off the blog post with as although I’ve mentioned I won’t be buying much this month, this is something I’ve ordered as I REALLY wanted to give FairyGlo gel polishes a go! Someone I work with uses these and they look amazing, so I wanted to give them a go for myself. I have 4 shades in mind that I want to grab and they’re purple, blue, raspberry pink and lavender shades and they look awesome! Where I’ve found them they’re £1.99 each which is pretty decently priced, but I know this is due to them being Chinese and cheap. But meh, I’ll give them a go they won’t cost me much to buy. 😛

• Cath Kidston Park Wildlife Fox Cushion – (link)

I really want this cushion and I regret not picking it up when me and Dane went away to Bristol/Somerset for a couple of days at the start of June. Dane was the one who pointed it out to me to be honest! The fox on it is so adorable and instead of grabbing this cushion I picked up a fox trinket dish and the park wildlife tray instead, which the fox is on. I really want more of the park wildlife bits that are all in the sale at the moment! I’m definitely going to keep my eye on the cushion because if it goes down in the sale anymore, I’ll definitely grab it!

• A Polar Bear in Love Vol. 3 – (link)

I mentioned this recently on my manga wish list (which you can read here) but this is out this month so I’ll be pre ordering this closer to the time, aka the end of the month. 😛 I love A Polar Bear in Love. It’s so bizarre but so cute and somewhat relate able all the same. If you love reading cute and strange manga, definitely give this series a go! I can’t wait to see where it’s going after where Vol. 2 left off!

• Le Mini Macaron 3X Shine Topcoat – (link)

I recently picked up one of the Le Mini Macaron gel nail kits and I LOVE IT! I really want to give the rest of their products a go though, including this 3X shine topcoat, which has nothing but good reviews! I haven’t used a topcoat whilst using the shade I picked up in the kit and it’s lasted for quite some time now. The only time it started to chip was when I was in the bath and I was kind of picking it off. 😛

• Vans x Marvel Spidey Webs LS – (link)

The Vans x Marvel collection is a mixture of awesome and disappointment of how much better they could have done. I really wanted the Deadpool Vans that they released but when I saw them in the flesh I was so disappointed. For a start they had a ninja star on them, which Deadpool doesn’t use! I mean, what? :S Anyway so the only things I actually liked from the collection are the Spider-Man t-shirts, including this long sleeved boyfriend tee. I love long sleeved tops, especially if they have a boyfriend tee feel to them! It’s not the cheapest in the world, but you’re paying for the brand, as well as for Marvel. I’ll definitely be picking this up in the future as I love it so much!

• Le Mini Macaron Kitticorn Magic Powder – (link)

I’ve always wanted to give the holographic and chrome nail powders a go but I haven’t really been able to. Although I would prefer to give a cheaper one a go, I’m adding this to my wish list because for the money I wouldn’t mind giving this one a go and it comes with a topcoat polish too, which is always good! I don’t know if it’s the same one as the 3X shine topcoat though…

• Marvel Spidey Ringer Tee – (link)

Like the boyfriend Spider-Man tee I really love this tee that Vans have brought out for the collaboration! This one would definitely be ideal lately with how bloody warm it’s been this past week. I’d rock this tee all the time with a cardigan, hoodie and jeans. At the time of writing this it’s on sale at EMP and I’m SO TEMPTED to order it but meh I need to watch my monies after an expensive month in June… 😦

• Le Mini Macaron Coffee Shop Les Minis Gel Polish Set – (link)

I’ve spied a couple of the gel polish shades I like the look of, including Latte which is in this coffee coloured set. I LOVE coffee coloured nail polishes and although I won’t this month, when it comes to it I’m going to order myself a couple of different shades from Le Mini Macaron as I really want to give this brand a go! I especially love all these shades as they’ll look great for every season too.

So those are all the items on my wish list for this month! Sorry if it’s really boring, I honestly cannot think of much I want to buy this month really… 😛

You watch though after this post, I’ll think of shit loads of stuff I want!

What items do you guys have on your wish lists this month? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below.

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