December Wish List ’18

I cannot believe we are in December now. The last month of 2018 with Christmas and New Years looming and my bloody 29th birthday to follow. Yuck getting old sucks.

I am definitely not ready for Christmas and I usually am by now! I had a very busy and expensive November and a part of me regrets spending so much monies, but at the same time we only live. YOLO! 😛

Last year in December I actually wrote two wish list posts, one in general at the start of the month and one on Christmas Eve that I would have asked Father Christmas for as a kid, as well as what I was hoping to be gifted Christmas Day. I want to know if you guys want to see this again, but this time from my teenage self? Please let me know in the comments down below! I’ve been toying with the idea and I would like to do it.

Anyway, I’ve put a list together and not going to lie, I STRUGGLED! I’ve bought so much shit lately that I really didn’t need anything else. Some stuff on here I’ve pre ordered already. xD

• A Polar Bear In Love Vol. 4 – (link)

This is a manga I got into at the start of the year as Dane bought it for me for my birthday. We’re approaching the fourth volume now and I still love this manga so much, I could even go so far as to say it’s one of my favourites. It’s so bizarre and different, which being totally hilarious! I just love some of the quirky moments in there.

• Pokemon Eevee Hooded Sweater – (link)

I really don’t need a new hoodie, especially as Dane has just given me one of his hoodies! This one looks really snug though and comfortable. When I showed it to Dane he commented how it reminded him of a snowboarding hoodie. This definitely shows a sign of a good hoodie for sure! 😛 This is something I’ll be keeping my eye out for in the sales. I’d probably just have it to wear to pole and hoop fitness, as well as around the house when chilling out and with my pyjamas. 😛

• Sword Art Online Progressive Vol. 7 (link)

This is another manga I really love at the moment and it’s also a manga that doesn’t come out THAT much throughout the year, so I was quite surprised that they decided to bring out two volumes in one year! This is a manga I really enjoy and reminds me of when I first started buying manga to read

• Lime Crime Best Of Lip Holiday Collection in Reds – (link)

I’ve always been unsure of Lime Crime products, until I picked up the Plushies (which you can read my review about here) and since then I do really want to try more of their lipsticks. These gift sets for Christmas look amazing and I’d really love to pick one up, or have one for Christmas. They have a couple of different colours from darks, reds, mauves and nudes. I love me a bit of red when it comes to lip colours, but I do also love the darks and mauves too. I think I’ll keep my eye on these for when the Boxing Day sales roll around. 😛

• Pokemon Eevee Tamagotchi – (link)

I’ve actually pre-ordered this already! I had to, I couldn’t pass it up to be honest. 😛 Pokemon and Tamagotchi have teamed up to bring out an Eevee Tamagotchi, where you get an Eevee and can evolve it into one of it’s Eeveelutions, as well as (apparently!) a new Eeveelution, which is pretty exciting! I went for the brown Tamagotchi out of the two. This was such a good price and I’m so excited for it to come out at the start of 2019. I’m undecided whether to open it or not, we shall see. 😛

• Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid Manga Vol. 7 – (link)

This is something else I’ve pre-ordered as I LOVE this series of manga and I always try and get the latest volume without delay so I can keep up with the series. I’ve not had much manga to read in November as I read all my manga on my way to London. I’ve got manga to read on an app on my phone but it’s never the same as having a physical copy. 😛 I can’t wait for this to arrive now to read it.

• Stuffed Water Bear – (link)

The final item on this wish list IS ADORABLE! I really want this water bear, even though I don’t know what I’d do with it. 😛 I was so tempted to pick this up when the sales were on for Black Friday, but I left it as to be honest with you I HAVE BEEN SKINT! 😛 I may look into getting this another time but at the moment it’s not a priority. BUT DAMN it’s cute isn’t it?! 😛

So that is my December favourites! Of course this doesn’t include my whole, “wish list to Father Christmas aka family” stuff. That will come Christmas Eve like last year. 😛

I was going to try and do Blogmas this year but I have decided against it. I just simply don’t have time to do it. If I’m not busy with work, I’m busy with keeping up with my usually 2-3 posts a week or I’m busy having a life.

I’m definitely going to try and do it next year. BUT throughout December please keep eyes peeled for exciting posts on my blog, including Christmas themed posts as well as some collaboration posts! 😀

What do you have on your wish lists this month? AND what posts are you excited to see on my blog? Make sure to let me know in the comments.

Until next time, take care all and I hope you had a lovely weekend.

His N Her Manga Collection and Q&A

As regular readers will know, me and Dane are both massive fans of manga and our love of it is only growing more as we start and end another manga series.

I was writing and aiming for this post to be up on my blog around World Book Day but sadly due to life and how busy it can be, I never got around to finishing and publishing it on my blog.

BUT no time like the present and I’ve accumulated more manga since World Book Day which is amazing of course! I of course have included Dane into my manga collection as with both of our books combined we have a great collection so far. I also did some questions for both me and Dane to answer in relation to manga. So it’s kind of like a his and her manga post today! I hope you enjoy it.

Manga We Own

Dane:

Attack on Titan – Vol. 1-20

Attack on Titan: Before the Fall – Vol. 1-5

Attack on Titan: No Regrets – Vol. 1 and 2

Berserk – Vol. 1-6

Death Note – Vol. 1-6

One Punch Man – Vol. 1-10

Natalee:

Azumanga Daioh

Nana – Vol. 1-21

Nichijou – Vol. 1 and 2

Paradise Kiss – Vol. 1-3

A Silent Voice – Vol. 1-7

Sword Art Online: Progressive – Vol. 1-4

Wolf Children

Your Lie in April – Vol. 1-11

Manga We Want:

Attack on Titan: Before the Fall – Vol. 6

Attack on Titan: Lost Girls – Vol. 1 and 2

Berserk – Vol. 7-38

Masamune-kun’s Revenge – Vol. 1-3

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid – Vol. 1 and 2

Nichijou – Vol. 3-6

One Punch Man – Vol. 11

Sherlock: A Study in Pink

Sword Art Online: Progressive – Vol. 5

Dane Questions & Answers:

• What was the first manga you read?

Admittedly I have gotten into manga much later than I could or should have. My first manga was (is) actually Attack on Titan. After watching countless anime I watched the first season of Attack on Titan and couldn’t wait for the next season so I began reading the manga.

• What is your favourite manga to date and why?

Easily Berserk. I have seen and heard about it in the past but always thought it was a manga that was “edgy” for the sake of being edgy. Granted the first arc of the manga does show Guts to be an edgelord (someone, especially posting on the internet who uses shocking annalistic speech and opinions that they themselves may or may not believe to gain attention and come across as a more dangerous and unique person) but he is kept likeable and grows over the course of the manga.

The world of Berserk is a dark one, the manga is very explicit in this and does not shy away from some truly WTF moments. It is not for everyone. It begins with Guts getting freaky with a crazy demon only to kill it mid coitus which is a great way to show what is in store for you. This is one of its greatest assets the fact it is not afraid of going balls to the wall with its story, there are some truly great characters and events that will make you smile and sometimes you will be cutting onions outside in the rain whilst miraculously keeping the book and everywhere but your face dry.

One of the other assets that make this manga worth people’s time is the superior artwork that goes into it. Kentaro Miura is a master when it comes to bringing his panels to life, the character design and the detail (particular the full spreads) are just sublime and you have to see them to believe. Every artist has their moments where some things don’t look quite right but Miura can be excused when he does things like this:

Seriously, anyone should give this article (http://www.exprofundis.com/the-art-of-berserk/) a read because it helps break down the inspiration behind some of the art and showcase some of the best images.

The manga was not my first experience of Berserk. I had tried to watch the anime on a few occasions but never got into it. I have always found it difficult to watch most 90s anime because it doesn’t always gel with me. After giving the 90s season another go I surprised myself when I had a thirst for more, so, like I did with Attack on Titan I began reading the manga. I also heard about the three films which cover the golden age arc, which is the same arc as the 90s series. To me the CGI in those films works really well and I enjoyed those adaptations the most and really makes you wish they carried on making more. The problem is neither really follow the manga chronologically, the 90s anime has a few minutes of the black swordsman arc to go into the golden age arc and obviously the films skip the whole first chapter. So what you are left with is no true adaptation of a brilliant manga.

This then leads me on to why you should stick with the manga for the time being: The 2016 Berserk anime series. Since the first season has finished airing it has been greenlit for a second season. It was amazing to hear that we would finally get to see the full story of Guts in animated form. Only to be disappointed with a horribly directed and crudely animated shit show. The story was mostly there, even some moments which fans expected to be censored or cut (If you dare Google rape horse). I won’t go into too much of a critique but it had some good moments but was overshadowed by some really bad moments. It showed promise and I hope that the studio receive more time and money to give Berserk what it deserves.

• Any online websites or phone apps you suggest for reading manga on?

If you really can’t get the physical books to read I would recommend the manga rock app. It’s free, has decent scans and is what I used to read Berserk and some works by Junji Ito.

• What is a manga you regret reading and why?

I don’t really regret reading any not in that regards. I have looked at some and thought “nah I can’t be arsed with that” but never have I spent the time to read one and thought why did I bother.

To answer the question in a different manner I would say I regret reading some of the short stories Junji Ito has created. They leave you with a sense of uneasiness I haven’t felt from a book before. He is the master of the full spread shock and horror. The stories are some of the most unique I have experienced too, the creativity astounds me and leave you eerily excited to know the outcome but you are always left with a gaping hole because horror stories hardly ever end well.

• What is a manga you can read over and over again and why?

All the manga I am currently or have read is still in production so the stories are incomplete. I have Death Note but that is on my to-do list. So the only manga I can legitimately say is Berserk as I am currently on my second run after finally purchasing the physical copies.

• What is a manga you would suggest people read when first getting into it?

Attack on Titan was a very easy manga for me to get into, it has a decent story and is mature enough to keep me entertained. It is also one that lacks the typical tropes I have found with Japanese media; the fan service, unnecessary cute characters, sweat drop and so on. I don’t mind those things generally but sometimes I feel they remove you from the immersion in a story and western viewers may not appreciate too much of it.

• Is there a manga you think is overrated?

I cannot allow myself to say a manga is overrated because I have not experienced enough to judge. Although I will bash something in my own time I would feel unfair to claim something I have little exposure to. Especially as I can understand liking something that the general public would see as weird or too nerdy just because it’s different.

• Is there a manga you think is underrated?

Anyone who has read Berserk I hope will understand why people like it, even if they don’t themselves. I don’t think there are any that I have seen which don’t have a cult following or a new anime adaptation due out.

• Would you read any of the manga Natalee owns? If so which one(s)?

I would definitely give Your Lie in April and Nichijou a read as I have already taken a quick look and they have peaked my interest. Nana and Paradise Kiss aren’t really my thing, both are most likely brilliant in their own right (the anime for Paradise Kiss kept me interested enough) but it’s just not my thing.

• What’s a manga you love but hate the anime of?

Berserk, as mentioned above. Hate is a strong word for it though.

• What is the next manga you wish to buy and read?

I am currently purchasing as many Berserk manga as possible but it doesn’t really count as one I am due to read as I already have caught up to the latest chapter.

I haven’t really thought that far ahead to be honest so I genuinely don’t know.

Natalee Questions & Answers:

• What was the first manga you read?

The first manga I read was Elfen Lied. I had wanted to read manga for years but I never knew which one TO read. After watching the anime over a handful of times I knew it was time to find the manga to read. Physical copies are hard to come by in Japanese and I don’t think they’re available in English so I resorted to reading it online.

• What is your favourite manga to date and why?

This is a hard one because I love all the manga I have completely finished so far. I honestly can’t answer this question with one manga to be honest. I would like to say A Silent Voice as the story is so realistic and one that has really pulled on my heartstrings. It left me thinking too which I loved. This being said I also loved Elfen Lied and Nana, although Nana isn’t officially finished yet.

• Any online websites or phone apps you suggest for reading manga on?

I have used a phone app in the past but I can’t remember what it was called. I hated it. It wasn’t the app itself but just the way I felt about it. I can’t remember the website I used when I read Elfen Lied. I just Google’d it to be honest when I wanted to read it.

• What is a manga you regret reading and why?

I don’t think there’s a manga I regret reading to be honest with you. I usually check out the anime before reading the manga so I’ll always know if I’ll like the storyline or not. I don’t regret reading it because I haven’t bought it, but I do want to get Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid but the artwork doesn’t look as nice as the anime does… I could see myself regretting buying that one for example.

• What is a manga you can read over and over again and why?

Definitely Elfen Lied as I love the story. I especially love how different it was to the anime.

• What is a manga you would suggest people read when first getting into it?

Something light and quirky is always a good choice. Azumanga Daioh is one of the first I read and it’s an easy one to read and very funny! I suppose any anime you have watched and fallen in love with you should read the manga because the chances are you’ll love that more!

• Is there a manga you think is overrated?

From what I’ve seen it’s definitely got to be One Piece. I haven’t read it and I don’t even know what it’s about but fuck it takes up most of the manga books in shops such as Nostalgia Comics in Birmingham and Forbidden Planet’s all over the country. I’m sure it’s amazing and all but there’s just so many volumes! Same goes to Naruto as well.

• Is there a manga you think is underrated?

I want to say anything by Ai Yazawa but this being said I don’t think she’s underrated. Paradise Kiss is a classic alongside Nana, which isn’t even finished yet and very much sought after these days by Ai Yazawa fans alike. I’m saying it’s underrated because of how long the hiatus of Nana has been now. People have probably given up now on ever knowing what happens in the end. I however have a little bit of faith left in me. I hope we find out sooner rather than later what happens.

• Would you read any of the manga Dane owns? If so which one(s)?

I don’t know to be honest… I’d love to read Attack on Titan and One Punch Man but I would worry they’d involve too much action for my liking. Surprisingly I love this in Sword Art Online: Progressive but I don’t think I would like it in Attack on Titan and One Punch Man. This being said I love the anime of both of these, especially the action behind them!

• What’s a manga you love but hate the anime of?

I recently started watching the anime of Paradise Kiss to coincide with me reading the manga and so far I’m preferring the manga a hell of a lot more! I just find that there are huge chunks missing from the anime which sucks! The same can definitely be said for Elfen Lied too, which leaves the ending in the anime in a really poor manner. There is so much more to the story than the anime lets on which is extremely frustrating. I definitely recommend reading the manga if you love the show. It’s shit loads better!

• What is the next manga you wish to buy and read?

I don’t want to buy it because I wouldn’t be able to read it BUT I really want to print off all the Elfen Lied manga and pop them into a folder so I can physically read them. I would want to do the same for other manga that isn’t available in English.

Besides that I want to try and have a look at Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid before reading to see if I’ll like it and Masamune-kun’s Revenge as I recently started watching the anime which I’m really enjoying. I can see the manga being just as good to be honest.

So that is our lonnnng manga post! Do you like reading manga, or have you just started reading manga? Make sure to let us know which series you’re reading or have read! We’d love to hear from you all.

Until next time take care all and I hope you had a lovely weekend.

March Wish List 17

I should really call this wish list the “Japanese and geeky shit” wish list as apart from the two 101 Dalmatians mugs that’s pretty much all it is!

I’m not going to lie I haven’t made this months picture for my wish list look all that great… It just looks so clumpy and I hate it. BUT I blame all the manga books I put into it. I mean come on there’s 7 volumes clumped together there! 😛

So I’ll just run with my wish list this month. I am still on my spending ban however and if I buy anything off of it it’ll be the manga as currently manga is quite a big percentage of my life right now.

• Pokemon Center Easter Pikachu Plush (Sadly no link right now and prices vary)

This collection was announced not long ago and as soon as I saw this little cutie I just fell in love! I know it’s childish but I need her in my Pokemon collection so badly. I just love how it isn’t in your face Easter either. The cute little flower crown and kawaii eyes. You cannot go wrong! I don’t know how big this is though, but I would like to think it’s a decent size.

• A Silent Voice manga Vol. 1-7  – £8.99 each (link)

This is a manga I discovered through looking at the adverts in the back of Your Lie in April manga books. It’s about a deaf girl who starts at a new school and is bullied by one boy in the class and his friends. She leaves and years lately he’s being bullied himself for what he did to her. He bumps into her and learns how to say sorry in sign language. From there they become close and I think it’s a whole love thing. I love manga like this and when I heard that it had been made into an anime movie it made me happy! It’s out this month and me and Dane are going to try and see it at the cinema. I’ve linked the trailer above.

• Disney Store Disney Animators’ Collection 101 Dalmatians Mug – £8.99 (link)

I love Disney mugs and even though I don’t need anymore (nor do I have the room for them!) I would still love to get more of these. I just like being able to have a nice collection in my cupboard, especially considering most of my Disney mugs are 101 Dalmatians related. This one is really nice and it looks huge! I like how Pongo and Perdy are the main characters on the mug with sketches of their puppies around the rest of it. I’ll definitely be having a look at this mug when I go into a Disney Store next.

• Sword Art Online Progressive manga Vol. 5 – £9.99 (link) (OUT 21/3/17)

Another manga and a volume I’ve been waiting to have come out for about a year now! It won’t be out until the end of the month but it’ll be worth the wait, especially as I’ll pre order it when I get paid next week. I love Sword Art Online and I especially love the Progressive manga, which focuses around Asuna instead of Kirito. I just hope they don’t wait another year for the next volume to come out…

• Pokemon Center Easter Pikachu Phone Case (Sadly no link right now and prices vary)

This is probably the main thing I actually really want (besides from manga!) on my wish list this month! The Pokemon Center phone cases are amazing and very sturdy for what they are. Plus how cute does the Pikachu look on it? I mean COME ON?! The only issue I am having with it at the moment is the price… I’ve found that it’s been a tad pricey on places like eBay. We’re saying between £30-£50 which is of course a joke! I love my Redbubble Mew case that Dane bought me and that only cost about £20. We shall see what happens basically….

• Disney Store 101 Dalmatians Glazed Mug – £9.99 (link)

Finally we come to another 101 Dalmatians mug and one I have mentioned before on my blog. This one isn’t as nice at the other in my opinion but of course I still want it for the same reasons as the other. I would want to buy myself one of these mugs and one for Dane so that we sort of match. But even so these mugs with the glaze on the bottom are really sturdy from when I’ve seen them in store beforehand. You can’t go wrong with a sturdy mug! 😛

So that’s my wish list for this month! As I mentioned before I am still on my spending ban and don’t really intend to buy anything I don’t need. I have been a little naughty on and off this past month but meh. I’m not as bad as I was before so it’s not going all too badly. 😛

What do you have on your wish list for this month? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below!

Until next time take care all and have a lovely weekend.

2016 Favourites

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! It’s New Years Day and hello 2017! I can’t believe how quick it came around. I’m happy for a new year, even though I rather loved 2016 for various different reasons. SO I thought I would do a favourites of 2016 but it won’t just be for beauty like my monthly favourites posts are, it’ll cover a lot more. I’ll be talking about beauty, fashion, games, books and films. For each I’ll be naming 3 things that were my favourite. I know I usually write why they’re my favourite(s) but I won’t be doing that today.

Image taken from weheartit.com

Beauty

1. Jeffree Star Cosmetics Velour Liquid Lipstick in shade Redrum (review here)
2. Holika Holika Smoothie Peeling Jam
3. Kat Von D Beauty Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in shade Bauhau5

Image taken from weheartit.com

Fashion

1. Ohayou! Umbreon t-shirt
2. Black Milk Clothing Lumpy Space Princess skater dress
3. Primark fox pajamas

Image taken from weheartit.com

Games

1. Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens
2. Mafia III
3. Pokemon Moon

Image taken from weheartit.com

Books (well manga and comics)

1. Nana
2. Bee & Puppycat
3. Sword Art Online: Progression

Image taken from weheartit.com

Films

1. Deadpool
2. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
3. When Marnie Was There

Currently #6

Soon it will be May… I no like this. 2016 is going really quickly! I can’t complain too much though I guess. I want June to hurry up so I can spoil Dane with anniversary presents, have my two weeks off holiday, AND I’m going to London again (but I’ll save that for another post…)!

It’s my day off work (I wrote this post on Thursday 28th) so I thought I would do another currently post, as I actually really love to write them. I always seem to write these on my days off, which is nice. I like to sit on my bed, with the window open, maybe a candle burning, and just chill out to some music. Oh bliss. 😛

Watching:  I’ve been watching all sorts lately, but since the new season starting at the beginning of March I’ve been watching season 8 of RuPaul’s Drag Race religiously! KIM CHI TO WIN! I’m really loving this season, and it’s even better that I can gossip about it with one of the girls I work with. I’m going to be so sad when it’s finished, and we have to wait until season 9 next year. 😦

As well as that I’ve also been watching a TV show that I loved growing up, Harry Enfield and Chums. It was so hilarious at the time and going through the two series again just reminded me of how I would laugh so loudly at some of the sketches. My parents called me Kevin growing up, as I was pretty much just like him as a teenager. They still joke about it to this day. I don’t know who my favourite but my favourite five are, Kevin Patterson, The Lovely Wobbly Randy Old Ladies, The Old Gits, Harry and Lulu, and Wayne and Waynetta Slob.

I also recently continued watching Sword Art Online by starting series 2. I’m half way through it and I LOVE IT! It’s definitely up there as one of my favourite anime series. I’ll be finishing the rest off when Dane is here next. I love Sinon and her back story, she’s turning into my favourite character. FYI don’t watch the above video if you don’t want spoilers!

Reading: Speaking of Sword Art Online, I’ve been reading loads of my Sword Art Online Progressive manga lately. I’m currently about to start volume 4, and then I’ll have to wait God knows how long until I can read the next one. Then I’ll move onto my Nana manga and finish that off, considering I now have all of the volumes. I’m really enjoying this series, and it’s one I’m going to keep up with! The only problem I have with reading manga at work, is how sometimes there will be sexual images in there, which are somewhat innocent… I try to hide it, but I often worry if anyone sees what I’m reading, they’ll think I’m reading porn. Which of course I’m not! But we know what Japan is like when it comes to perving. 😛

Listening: I have been listening to various things lately. The past three mornings/afternoons I’ve been listening to cKy albums on my way to and from work. Can’t get much better than that!

Other than that though, I’ve discovered some songs I liked and downloaded to have on my phone. One I’ve only recently discovered is “Faded” by Alan Walker. I knew of the original track “Fade” which came out in 2014, but I didn’t realise that he had produced something new from it. I would hear “Faded” playing whilst out and say to Dane, “Pfft someone has ripped off Alan Walker’s track and used it to make a song. What arseholes!” Alas I was actually talking about Alan Walker really, who alas did not rip off his own song, but actually made it better. I am no obsessed with this song and listen to it daily. I don’t care if that sounds obsessive. I haven’t fallen in love a with song so hard for a very long time. Oh and the music video is beautiful too. I love videos like this, and have always wanted to direct/produce something like it myself.

As well as that I’ve been listening to loads of songs by Nightcore on YouTube. This is one of my favourites at the moment. I wish they had an album I could just buy and have in my car for journeys.

Eating: Mmm food… ME LOVE FOOD! I baked a lot the past month, which I really enjoyed doing. I made Dane a Deadpool birthday cake (which you can read in full detail here) as well as some ciabatta bread rolls. They were fun to make for sure, and I hope to make some more soon. I was meant to bake a cottage load for my dad, but I never got around to doing it. I might today, I guess it depends on what I’m doing with myself.

I tried an amazing Mexican dish yesterday too, and I wish I had bought some to eat tonight but I thought I would wait until I see Dane tomorrow after work and buy us one each to have before we go watch Civil War. Woop! It’s a potato, rice, and pulled steak pie. Was absolutely delicious! I’d love to try and make it myself.

Wearing: I’ve been dressing rather geeky lately, and I LOVE IT. I’ve rocked my Jake Dr Martens more than ever before (you can read about those here) and I can’t believe it’s been over a year now since Dane bought them me! Although I was only allowed them in September when I finished my masters. I’ve been teaming these up with my new Black Milk Clothing leggings, as well as my new Deadpool tee which Dane bought for me from Red Bubble. That is fast turning into one of my favourite places to shop for geeky clothing.

Wanting: I don’t actually feel like there is a whole lot I’m lusting after right now… I still really want ALL the Jeffree Star Velour Liquid Lipsticks, and one day that will happen. I’m going to slowly grow my collection until I have the all, yays! Other than that I’m not quite sure what I want… My wish list post will be up in a couple of days anyway so you can check that out!

Woo to the hoo so those are my currently’s at the moment! I love doing these posts so that I’m able to share all the things I am into and loving lately. I hope to start doing one every month, as that’s how they seem to be falling into place lately. Let me know what you think of this idea!

What are you currently loving lately? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

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

M.I.A. & This Week…

Oh dear I haven’t posted for over a week now… *smacks self on hand repeatedly until no longer feels bad and due to this arrives back to continue writing post hours later*

I do have my reasons though! I’m currently on holiday from work, and I’ll be returning back on Wednesday. I planned to sit around doing stuff at home, and writing loads of blog posts to last me at least a fortnight, but alas this hasn’t happened. For a change I haven’t been stuck in the house like I assumed I would be, and went out pretty much everyday!

Monday I went for a day out in town with my friend Sophie to eat sushi, do some nerdy shopping, got stuck in the rain, and chilled out at hers in the evening. It was lovely, and it’s days like that with her that I really do enjoy.

The new Matcha Roll from YO! Sushi. For how much it cost it wasn’t really worth the money…

Tuesday I wasn’t very well for pretty much most of the day so I spent it in bed playing Spyro 2 on my PlayStation and catching up with season 8 of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Seriously love that show! Later on in the afternoon Dane came over after work to stay the night. He had the rest of the week booked off as holiday, as it was his birthday Thursday.

Wednesday we had a VERY busy day! I had planned to bake Dane a cake for his birthday, and was supposed to go out and buy everything on Tuesday, but alas I was poorly. But it didn’t matter as we had a lovely day together on Wednesday! We discovered a new shopping centre to go to instead of our usual ones, had lunch at Ed’s Diner, and got all the stuff we needed for his cake! I’ll be writing a post on this for tomorrow, as his cake was just too amazing not to talk about… Well in my opinion anyway. 😛 It took almost three hours to make, so it better have been good!

Ed’s Diner shakes are the best! I had the Biscoff one, delicious. ^_^

Thursday was Dane’s birthday and it was a really nice day. We went to a local farm that we always enjoy visiting (you can read about it here and here) and saw the cutest little bunny there! We really wanted to buy him, but alas we don’t have the room for him right now, which sucks. 😦 We went for a meal at Frankie & Benny’s too, which was amazing! Dane loved all the presents he was bought, and was mostly bought Deadpool related goodies. I also bought him the Darth Vader Nendoroid that he needed for his ever-growing collection. He was really pleased with him, which is good because he was hard to find! 😛

Not going to lie when I say that it makes me sad looking at these pictures of the bunny, just because I fell in love with him so much. 😥

Friday was another good day. We spent the morning in bed chilling out, reading our comic books and manga, and decided to go out to Forbidden Planet in Coventry, as well as IKEA. Just to get us out the house really. I’m currently reading the Sword Art Online Progressive manga (and by the way, I am LOVING it!) and Dane as usual is reading his Deadpool comics. For the rest of the day we pretty much chilled out, and played Xbox One games.

Sword Art Online Progressive manga. I’m currently on book 3, and loving the series so far!

Saturday more of a chilled out day, and a bit stressful due to trying to decide whether or not to buy the bunny we had seen Thursday, but alas it hasn’t happened. Which is a shame but meh… We hope he’ll go to a loving home. He was so damn cute! For the rest of the day we chilled out, read more manga and comic books, and played more games. Was legit a very chilled out day. I was meant to try to get some blog work done, but alas it didn’t happen. I did however order myself some new Jeffree Star Cosmetics liquid lipsticks! WOOHOO! I picked up his new shade Scorpio, and Redrum! I cannot wait for them to arrive, I’ll be making sure to review them. 😛

Image taken from Jeffree Star Cosmetics Instagram account. This is one of his new shades, Scorpio. A gorgeous grey purple shade. I can’t wait for it to arrive!

Sunday is today and I intend to get LOADS of blog work done! Me and Dane are contemplating going out to get out of the house for a while… But personally I don’t think I can be arsed. I have at least three or four posts I want to attempt to get written today, and then loads Monday and Tuesday too before I’m due back at work Wednesday. We shall see what happens!

Again I apologise for not being very active this past week on my blog, and to be honest I’ve just wanted to relax over my holiday from work, even though I didn’t do that at allllll! I promise to be back and active on my blog from today.

I hope to have a post up today, but if not today, then tomorrow for sure!

Until next time, take care all and I hope you’ve had just as good a week as I did.

A-Z: Get To Know Me!

I recently found a post of the same title by Be over at Love From Be (link) and I just loved the post so much. It was just a nice and different way of getting to know the blogger you enjoy reading, or have just discovered. So I thought I would give it a go myself! Make sure to go and check out Be’s blog, as she’s so lovely and down to Earth.

Anime – I love anime so much, it’s something I have enjoyed watching from a young age, and the older I’ve got the more anime shows I have found myself watching. Some of my favourites are Elfen Lied, Nana, Azumanga Daioh, Himouto! Umaru-Chan, Sword Art Online, and Fullmetal Alchemist.

Blogging – I didn’t want to have to use this as the letter B, but I really couldn’t think of anything else! I love my blog. It’s my number one hobby, and something I would love to turn into my job in the future. I’ve been running my blog for four years now, and I continue to carry on with it for as long as possible.

Coffee – Well, the title of my blog does have the word coffee in it! I do really like coffee, so much so I worked in Costa Coffee for nearly three years. That is probably the first time I’ve admitted to working in Costa on my blog. 😛 My favourite coffee is vanilla flat white. I love my coffee strong! 😛

Dirty Sanchez – One of my favourite shows has to be this. I love not only that the guys are from the UK, but I also love how they do some worse off stuff than what Jackass have ever done. I’m sad that they aren’t still around, but I’ll always think of Dirty Sanchez as one of the shows I grew up watching and loving.

Evanescence – My favourite band for over ten years now. I fell in love with them when I first heard “Bring Me To Life” on KERRANG! Radio. I ended up buying their first album Fallen and listening to it none stop. I still have that album to this day! I have seen them live twice, and hope to go again in the future. I’ve also met all the band mates (apart from Amy!) from the Evanescence album days. My favourite song is “Imaginary”.

Fuerteventura – This place is legit my second home. I’ve been going there since the age of 5 and I love it. I didn’t go for 10 years and it broke my heart, I forgot how much I loved it and how amazing it was there. I really want to live there one day… But we shall see. I would want to work in a cocktail bar, or hell even run my own on the beach! 😛

Gaming – I’m a gamer. Not a hardcore one, but I still love to play my games! I’m also a console collector too, and I currently own 7 consoles (Nintendo SNES and GameCube, Playstation, PS2, PS3, and PS4, and an Xbox 360), as well as my handheld collection of the original Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS Lite, and my Nintendo 2DS. Go me! But I love playing games. Currently obsessed with the LEGO games. I can’t wait for the Star Wars one to come out.

Hyper Japan – I went to my first Hyper Japan convention last summer in London and I loved it so damn much! It wasn’t as good as I was hoping it was going to be, but I still enjoyed myself. I really hope that me and Dane can attend the winter one this year, seeing as we went to the summer one last year.

iPhone – I own an iPhone 6 and I love it to bits! It’s by far the best phone I have owned to date, and I just love it. It feels nice to hold, is great to look at, and to be honest my new phone case just makes me happy. I only got it in the post yesterday when I got home from work and it’s just so adorable. Who can say no to a sleeping Mew, huh?

Jackass – Another one of my favourite shows. I grew up watching this too funnily enough! I would skip school to stay at home eating toast and watching TV shows on MTV. Or I would stay awake all night watching them on Viva. God those were the days! I was gutted when Ryan Dunn died too by the way. It really hit home as he was my favourite one on the show. I’m sad that this has also come to an end, but I love Bad Grandpa, it’s amazing!

Kawaii – A Japanese word for cute. I love cute things and often say kawaii about them to try and be cute myself. It rarely works and I end up looking like a complete loser. 😛

Lipstick – This is really the only makeup I wear, and I’m pretty damn proud of that! I love lipstick, and I’ve recently started to get braver in wearing darker lip shades than I already wear. I love liquid lipsticks the most right now. My favourite brand being Jeffree Star Cosmetics. I also love my MAC lipsticks too, my favourite shade will always be Rebel. I love wearing reds, dark pinks, and purples. Can never get enough of them!

Manga – I love reading manga. I started to read it back in 2011 when I finish university and had time on my hands. I started with Elfen Lied, then moved onto Azumanga Daioh, and Nana. I currently have some Nana to finish reading and then I’ll be moving onto the Sword Art Online series. I need to read the Attack On Titan manga too… But I only have enough time on my hands for one thing at a time.

Nendoroid – These are the awesome figures that me and Dane collect, and we really do love them! We have a nice little collection going at the mostly, which are mostly Dane’s. I only have 3 at the moment whilst he has (from memory) 10 figures… My collection is really lame in comparison! Good Smile recently announced they were creating a Deadpool Nendoroid, so me and Dane are really excited for him!

Ocean – I love the ocean. I love how beautiful it looks and sounds with the colours, and the crashing and gentle swishing noises. I finally got to swim in the sea/ocean on my holiday last January with Dane and I loved it so damn much! I can’t wait to do that again someday.

Image taken from We Heart It

Pokemon – Since the age of 6 I have loved Pokemon, and that love is still just as strong now 10 years later. I still play the games, lust after the cute plushies (as you’ll have seen from my recent wish list post here), and get excited when any new news comes out to do with the franchise. I don’t care if I’m a 26-year-old woman, I love Pokemon! 😛

Queens Of The Stone Age – One of my other favourite bands, and one I really want to see soon! I have always ended up not going to see them live due to having no money, no one to go with, or them playing too far away from home. When they tour again however I won’t let the chance slip away!

Red – Not my  favourite colour (that’s purple) but it’s my colour of choice clothing wise! I love the colour red and how bold, and sexy it looks. It also suits me due to my warm yellow skin tone, as well as my brown hair and eyes. I’m after a gorgeous red rain coat at the moment, but alas I haven’t found much.

Studio Ghibli – This is my Disney. You know everyone loves Disney movies? Well I love Studio Ghibli movies. Me and my boyfriend between us have pretty much all of the films on DVD and whenever a new one comes out we try to go and watch it at the cinema. My favourite is Spirited Away, it always has been and I’m pretty sure it always will be. I do rather like Grave of The Fireflies, even though it’s a really sad film.

Teachers – Another TV show I grew up watching! This used to be on Channel 4 back in the day when I was still at school myself! It always made me want to be a teacher deep down due to how much fun all the teachers had both in and outside of school. Alas that hasn’t happened… My favourite season is probably season 2, but I love them all!

Image taken from We Heart It

Umaru – I am legit Umaru… Constantly hermitting away in my room playing games, eating crap, reading manga, and lusting after things I can’t afford to buy. I’m not cute like her though… Just a very sad 16-year-old stuck inside someone 10 years older than herself… Oh dear. 😛

Vitamin D – This is an odd one, but I actually recently found out I have a vitamin D deficiency… Which of course sucks but I’m currently on medication to help it. The little pills I get are tiny blue ones, which remind me of The Matrix. 😛

Writing – I love to write. I do it for my blog, I write books and stories in my spare time, and I even studied critical and creative writing for my masters degree (as well as for my BA too…). So it is safe to say I love writing. 😛 Need I say more than that???

X (I apologise but I couldn’t think of anything with this letter…)

Yankee Candle – I love these candles! They’re my candle of choice whenever I go to buy any new ones, so I’m always burning them at home. I currently have Christmas Eve burning at the moment as I’m trying to use up all my  tea lights and votives. 🙂

Z (I apologise but I couldn’t think of anything with this letter…)

Image taken from We Heart It

So that was my A-Z about me! Thanks again to Be for posting about this, as if she hadn’t I might not have gotten the chance to have a go at it myself. I also apologise if any of my answers were lame… 😛

Will you be having a go at talking about yourself through an A-Z post? Make sure to let me know if you do so I can read yours!

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

Currently #5

Since the end of February my life seems to be really busy… I mean REALLY busy! Mixture of work, and personal life. I can’t really go into detail as to why it’s so busy at the moment, but soon I’ll hopefully be able to!

It’s currently my day off work, and I’m going to spend most of it in bed, catching up with my blog, and watching stuff on Netflix… Oh and not forgetting pole fitness later too!

Watching: I’ve watched loads of TV shows lately, but I recently discovered a new one called We Bare Bears. It’s a newish children’s TV show on Cartoon Network, but I only discovered it last Saturday. I watched the whole season one, and so far of season two and I really do love it! I prefer it to Adventure Time at the moment… The humour is great for both kids and adults, which I love. My favourite character is Ice Bear, but I can relate more to Pan Pan.

I’ve also been watching some old favourites I loved during, and after university, such as Mongrels and Him & Her. Currently watching the latter. I used to relate to Him & Her for agggges when I was younger, and I somewhat still do to this day. It’s just an amazing show, and the way it’s filmed in a fly on the wall style makes it feel more personal, which I like about it the most. Sadly this series ended a few years ago, and I am still yet to pick up the DVD’s!

Image taken from We Heart It

Reading: I haven’t been playing many games lately… Well not really anyway. Not because I haven’t wanted to, but purely because I really haven’t had the time! But I have recently picked up my Nana manga again, and I forgot how much I loved it! I’m currently on book 14 out of 21 so I have a while to go yet! I’ve also been reading my Bee & PuppyCat comic book. I’ll probably try and finish my Nana manga series off soon so I can start the Sword Art Online manga fairly soonish.

Image taken from We Heart It

Listening: I haven’t listened to Evanescence for quite a long time, and recently listened to them driving to and from work. I don’t know how I neglected my favourite band for so long, but I’m glad to have listened to their work again! Fallen is still my favourite album ever, and I can’t wait to have it blasting from my car windows in the summer!

Eating: I haven’t really eaten anything special at the moment… I made me and Dane a macaroni cheese last night, with some of the fresh pasta that me and one of my co workers made that morning. It was delicious, and I added turkey ham to it as well! Nommy nom! I also made us some creme brulee… I say made, but I bought them from Sainsbury’s and then shoved them in the oven with some sugar on top. They didn’t have that nice crack on the top, but they were hella delicious! I have done nothing lately but drink tea, and I don’t know why! xD

Wearing: I have been living in Dane’s tartan pajama bottoms lately… They’re just so damn comfortable and baggy and actually, they really compliment my body. Clothes outside of my house wise, I’ve been living in Dane’s Funeral For A Friend hoodie. It’s just so damn comfortable, and I’m glad he hasn’t asked for it back yet… Nearly three years later! I seem to be living in Dane’s clothes instead of my own.

Image taken Jeffree Star Cosmetics Instagram

Wanting: Seeing as I’m on a semi spending ban, I am trying so hard not to buy things. My wanting/wish list is pretty huge at the moment. The one thing I am excited and REALLY want however is the new Jeffree Star Velour Liquid Lipstick shade he’s just revealed, Scorpio! It’s a grey purple shade, and exactly what I’ve been after for quite some time! So as soon as that comes out I’ll be ordering myself one. Other than that at the moment I have been lusting after a couple of rain macs from Marks & Spencer. They’re gorgeous bright red ones… But I can’t bring myself to buy one. I need to watch my money. 😦

So those are my currently at the moments! I was going to do a life lately post to have a bit of a catch up, but with not being able to reveal much of what actually HAS been going on at the moment, there wasn’t much point.

I do apologise for being so quiet on my blog lately, as I said at the start of this post I’ve been incredibly busy lately so as soon as I get a day off, or a chance to breathe I use that time to do things I need to do… That sounds mean to my blog but I don’t mean it that way. I don’t make money from my blog. I do from my job!

On that note, what are you currently loving? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

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

A Belated Birthday Money Haul

I mentioned in a post recently about how I’d received a Debenhams gift card (post here) from my brother for my birthday, as well as some birthday money from family… But that I hadn’t spent it yet.

Well after a crap week, a trip to A&E, and some resting in bed, I decided if I was feeling up to it I would take a trip to town with my boyfriend and do some much needed therapy shopping… and eating.

It’s not technically something I bought with birthday money, but I wanted to give the item, and my friend a mention. My friend Claire (over at All Mouth, No Spoons) offered to sell her Jeffree Star liquid lipstick in Unicorn Blood to me earlier on this week, and when she said for £10, I jumped at it straight away! She knows how much I love Jeffree Star’s lipsticks, and bless her she knows my skin tone well and that it would suit. It was nice to have a natter with her for a while when I went round to her house to buy it. I’m sure I’ll be meeting up with her soon, and doing some collaborative posts in the future!

Our first stop of for the day was to Yakinori, a noodle, bento, and sushi restaurant. There are two in Birmingham, one in Grand Central, and one in Selly Oak by Birmingham University. I have to say hands down it is some of the best katsu curry I have ever had, and let me tell you I’ve tried a lot from various Japanese restaurants… So I’m kind of a pro now at this taster stuff. Joke. 😛 It really did set us up though for the day, and we didn’t feel hungry at all after that. We intended to get some more sushi from there on our way home, but that never happened.

So we went into town to do some shopping, parking was a pain but it wasn’t SO bad and town was actually quieter than we originally thought it was going to be, due to people being paid and such. It was good though, nice and quiet just how we like it.

Our first place to go shopping was Nostalgia Comics. It’s my favourite place to go if I want to do some much needed geeky shopping. They stock comic books, manga, Pop Vinyl’s, various figures, I could go on. You get the gist of it by now, they stock a lot of nerdy stuff. We went in to get some comic books and manga. My boyfriend was on the hunt for more Deadpool comics, and I wanted to try and get some new manga to read. My boyfriend kindly offered to buy me some manga, my choice being the Sword Art Online Progressive series, which started not long ago. Nostalgia do a 3 for 2 offer on most manga, and these were on the deal too. They weren’t cheap in my mind at £9.99 each, but meh. They’ll keep me happy for a while!

I loved Nostalgia Comics anyway, but after yesterday I love them even more. When my boyfriend purchased his goodies, the woman serving us put some free Deadpool goodies in too! She gave him a beanie, a sleeping mask, and a badge. I said, “Oh wow I’d love the beanie!” To which my boyfriend replied, “No I bagsied it!” I said aww and obviously looked sad, so the woman asked if I wanted a hat too! I said yes of course, and only when I had a nose at the hats a while later did I realise she gave me a full set of goodies too. What a legend! The beanie hat is so damn comfortable and baggy, it’s definitely going to be worn to death.

Next stop was Debenhams, where I decided I would either use the whole £50 on my gift card, or just half of it. I ended using all of it! On things I really wanted mind. The first thing I picked up is this adorable fox dress by H! by Henry Holland. I LOVE foxes so I couldn’t pass picking this up. I went and tried it on, and it was just perfect. The fit, the length, and especially the print. It has a nice little cut out above the boobs as well, which is a nice change. For £28 I thought this was a bargain, and that’s full price. I’ll wear this loads throughout the year.

As well as that I picked up a new product by Benefit, the POREfessional: matte rescue. I can’t wait to try it, and have had my eye on it since it releasing in America a while ago. I’ve heard nothing but positives about it too, especially for people who have oily skin. I have an oily t-zone (which I HATE!) and whilst the POREfessional does help it, it doesn’t help it all day. This wasn’t cheap at £21.50 but to be honest, it’s a huge tube and a little bit does go a very long way, so I don’t mind spending that much. I’ll be writing a review on this in the future. The woman who served me at the Benefit counter was amazing too, she gave me a couple of free samples, which I can’t wait to try!

Finally I made a stop off at Victoria’s Secret, the shop I mainly wanted to go to town for. Since my friend Poppy introducing me to the store back in December 2014, I have loved their bras. It is like my boobs are on air, and they’re loving it! However, my first bra from there is damaged, two more I bought aren’t the right fit for me, and a duplicate/replacement I bought of the first one is just wearing away from overuse (oh dear…), so I decided it was time to buy a couple of new ones. I’m so glad I did! I always get my bras from upstairs in the PINK section, but this time I opted to try the Victoria’s Secret section downstairs, and I’m really glad I did. I picked up a gorgeous red bra that I liked the look of and waddled to the changing room to try it on. I asked Gemma, the girl who served me if I could try it on and be measured as I was concerned that I may have gone down a bra size. She said yes, not a problem and helped. She said I was still the same size, and that the bra I had picked up fitted perfectly. To be honest, I felt pretty damn good in the bra I picked up, and I loved it so much I picked up another one but in a nude shade. I can’t wait to wear them next week now. I’ve missed having a comfortable bra! The only problem with VS though, is the price… These made me want to cry when they came to £77.50… But meh they last quite a long time, and they feel comfortable, so to me it’s worth every penny.

So that was everything I picked up from town with my birthday money! I have bought some little bits and pieces up this month, but I’ll feature those in a separate post me thinks. I really need to stop buying things now. 😛

Have you picked up any nice goodies after pay day on Friday? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below!

Until next time all, take care and I hope you’ve had a great weekend.

January/Birthday ’16 Wish List

Is it my birthday in three days… I’ll be turning 26 and this saddens me. I am getting older, and with the years not only do I gain another wrinkle, another grey hair, and a saggier body, but I also gain other things. But we will leave that for another post because I now feel inspired to write it!

Back to this post however… With a new year, and a new month, comes a new wish list! A birthday one with that. I don’t really feel like I want much after Christmas, but I will try my best to try and come up with some things that I would love to receive, or buy for myself with birthday money.

So, list time! I love making these. ^_^

• Topshop Lady and the Tramp Pyjamas – £28.00 (link)

As soon as I heard about these pyjamas being available to buy I instantly though “NEED IN MY LIFE!”. I love Lady and the Tramp, it’s by far one of my favourite Disney movies, so I’m a complete sucker for these of course. They’re pretty expensive for what they are to be fair, and whilst I have enough pyjamas to last me a life time, I may just treat myself to some more new ones, or ask for them for my birthday. We shall see.

• Amazon The Hobbit Trilogy – Extended Edition Blu-ray – £44.00 (link)

I LOVE The Hobbit… More so than Lord of The Rings, but I put this down to me going to see all The Hobbit films in the cinema, I was never allowed to do this with Lord of The Rings as a child/teenager. I own The Lord of The Rings Trilogy Extended Edition Blu-ray’s so I have been eagerly waiting for The Hobbit’s one to be released so I could buy them all. I intend to have a marathon of this as soon as I get them. If no one buys me this for my birthday, I’ll soon buy it for myself… Possibly whilst my boyfriend is on holiday so I can marathon them the weekend he’s due to leave.

• Amazon Sword Art Online: Lost Song Playstation 4 game – £24.99 (link)

As I mentioned on a post recently, I now have a PS4 and I love it so much! I really would love to get some more games for it, and this is one I have my eye on, out of many! Me and my boyfriend got to demo this game whilst we were at Hyper Japan and I really liked it! There are many more games out there I would have asked for instead, like Life is Strange, but this isn’t released for another 20 days yet! I love the Sword Art Online anime, and I really want to read the manga, so the game is right up my street!

• AnimUK Animal Crossing Isabelle Nendoroid – £32.99 (link)

I’ve spoken various times in the past about Nendoroid’s and how much both me and my boyfriend love, and collect them. I wanted the Animal Crossing Isabelle figures ages ago, but they sold out and go for a lot of money now. However, they’ve re-released one of the two, and I intend to get one before they go again! It isn’t expensive either, and AnimUK are a great place to go to for Nendoroid’s as they don’t charge you for the custom fees that the official Good Smile Company shop do.

• Loungefly Star Wars Boba Fett Brown Wallet – $38.00 (link)

I don’t NEED a new wallet, but I would really like a new one… I love the fox one I have by Loungefly but I fancy a change for some reason, and this Boba Fett wallet is one I’ve had my eye on for a while. It isn’t cheap however, and is impossible to get hold of in the UK without paying through the teeth for it from America. I’ll have to see if I REALLY want it.

• GAME Sony PlayStation DUALSHOCK®4 Wireless Controller Darth Vader Edition – £49.99 (link)

With my new Playstation 4 I’ll need another controller for it so that my boyfriend can play games with me! I really wanted the limited edition Darth Vader PS4, but 1. it was too much money, and 2. it was sold out anyway so… The controller is probably the nicest part of the console itself, so the fact you can buy the controller is pretty awesome! It isn’t cheap, no but it’ll be worth it! I’d use this one, and my boyfriend could have the normal controller… Because he isn’t special enough for the Darth Vader one, of course. 😉

So that’s my wish list for my birthday, and January! I can’t believe I’m going to be 26 in just three days. Damn I’m getting old. 😛

What’s on your wish list for January? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below!

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