February Favourites ’22

I know February is a short month anyway, but 2022 is flying past and I don’t know how I feel about that. I’m glad, because I want spring to come for light nights and slightly warmer days/better weather, but at the same time, I don’t want time to go too quickly as before we know it, we’ll be back at Christmas all over again!

I was recently speaking to someone about the idea of going to Japan again in 2023 and was met with, “Wait, you only went last year?” I went to Japan two years ago… Proof that as you get older, the years fly by quicker!

Alongside that, since turning 32 in January, February has been a month of me going, “Jeez I’m really getting old now, aren’t I?” and that’s kind of made me feel weird. It’s crazy how quick time flies after you turn a certain age (want to say 21). I do sometimes wish I’d spent more time enjoying my twenties, but that being said I don’t have any regrets.

ANYWAY today’s post isn’t about that stuff and is of course my monthly favourites! February was a strange one as whilst I definitely have things to share with you all, I don’t feel like I have a lot of general stuff to share?

As always, I hope you enjoy reading about things I loved throughout February.

Favourite Beauty Product – SBC Cotton Sensitive Body Wash.

I’ve been so excited to share this body wash with you all today as since receiving it around the start of February, it’s really improved my skin, which in turn makes me happy! My mom is the person who got me into SBC and their skin care, especially their body washes which seem to live in our bathroom for at least half of the year! This SBC body wash smells just like fresh washing and leaves my skin feeling baby soft, which is something I don’t achieve often! I’m shite for looking after my skin with body lotions and potions, not going to lie! A couple of pumps of this on my new silicone shower sponge and I’m guaranteed to be left a cotton scented lather and soft skin after I get out of the shower. This body wash is dermatologically tested which is great for me and my eczema, which recently flared up on my legs. This body wash did really help with it though, with no discomfort or stinging during use. I highly recommend this if you want something fancy in your shower, but have sensitive skin like me.

Favourite TV Show – The Legend of Vox Machina.

The Legend of Vox Machina is a new animated series on Amazon Prime that Dane has been looking forward to since March 2019 when the Kickstarter launched, which he backed. So, when the show finally launched in February, he was all over it for us to watch, which of course I was down for. Vox Machina is based off of the first Critical Role campaign/series, which if you didn’t know is a Dungeons & Dragons campaign written by Matt Mercer and played by a group of voice actors (Marisha Ray, Sam Reigel, Travis Willingham, Liam O’Brien, Laura Baily, Taliesin Jaffe and Ashley Johnson). It’s really popular and has recently gone into it’s third campaign/series! Dane is all caught up on the campaigns and loves Critical Role, I’m not an avid watcher of their campaigns but if Dane has it on, I will watch it on and off. Although the show is based off of D&D (and the Critical Role campaign) Vox Machina can be enjoyed by anyone, even if you’ve never watched the campaign it’s based off like me, or even if you aren’t a fan of D&D! It’s got some amazing adult comedy, bit of singing, lots of fighting and action and all around amazing show!

Favourite Music – Spiritbox – Eternal Blue.

Spiritbox are a band that Dane introduced me to a while ago now and for some reason I thought I’d mentioned them on my blog previously, which doesn’t seem to be the case! The song that caused me to really get into this band is the one I’ve added above called, “Secret Garden”, which is such a nice, mellow rock song to enjoy. I’ve especially been listening to their first album Eternal Blue when I’ve gone into the office to work, as well as when driving to and from places. Eternal Blue came out towards the end of 2021, so it’s a fairly new album, which I didn’t realise until I was writing this post. The band themselves are described as metal (progressive, alternative, etc) so if you like this genre of rock, make sure to check them out!

Image taken from Nintendo Life/Nintendo.

Favourite Game – Pokemon: Legends Arceus.

How could I not mention Legends Arceus this month? It came out at the end of January and every other weekend me and Dane have stayed in the house the whole time playing it. During the weekends where we’ve played it, we’ve snuggled up on the sofa under blankets and with hot drinks as we play this together! I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t 100% sure about the game when I first started playing it and felt a bit nervous of all sorts of aspects, mainly because it wasn’t the same as I was used to, due to the RPG gameplay. However, the more I’ve played it, the more I’ve started to relax and enjoy it, especially with Dane. I’m yet to finish the games story and in all honesty it’s not one I’ve been hooked on/about. In typical Japanese RPG fashion, the talking goes on and on and whilst I’m happy with it in Persona 5/Persona 5 Royal, it’s something I don’t like for Pokemon. Due to this, I’ve mostly skimmed the story, which in itself is a shame. This being said I really do enjoy and love the game, bugs aside too! I’ve recommend it to so many people, it’s definitely one to play as a Pokemon fan, especially if you love RPG.

Just a few of my favourite things…

Pokemon Center Vulpix Plush.

I was so happy to get my hands on this Pokemon plushie at the end of January. It’s been on my plushie grail list for as long as I can remember and after January payday, I decided to finally order one! This cost me less than £20 with shipping from Japan and I’m so glad I finally decided to get it! It’s from the Chiku Chiku Sewing collection from 2015 and I didn’t realise when buying it that it was new with tags, which is even better. I had some people online query if it was a fake plush, which was a tad annoying, but alas it’s very much real.

Ghost Foxes Bishop Longline Dress

Image taken from Black Milk Clothing. Unfortunately I don’t have any decent pictures of me wearing this yet… 😦

Black Milk Clothing Ghost Foxes Bishop Longline Dress.

This is a dress I decided to get to replace the Ghost Foxes Mini Strappy Dress, (which I have since sold) I bought back in July 2021. Although I’d removed the tags and washed it, I’ve never actually worn it and seeing the bishop dress style come out, I knew I had to get it. I LOVE the bishop style and already own three dresses in this cut, this one making it four. I’m planning to wear this dress for both work as well as in general. With it being white, it may be more the latter and especially for days out where I’m not eating or drinking anything that could stain and ruin this dress considering it’s white. I also picked up the longline so that it’s longer on me. The normal bishop cuts are okay on me, but if I can have a dress longer, I’ll always go for it! The length of this is amazing, it felt a little bit too long at first to me as I’m not quite used to it, but it’ll be perfect for work especially! The print is beautiful too with the ghost foxes on it. Foxes are my favourite animal, so I’m always a sucker for pieces with them on.

Cute outfits/clothes.

This is something I’m going to talk about in more detail in a couple of weeks on a post but I swear, getting myself some new staple pieces has been a big thing for me in 2022 so far. I don’t know what it is but I decided this year that I would love to do more with my style and change it up a bit. I’ve spent a lot of the past two years wearing the same baggy joggers, t-shirts and hoodies due to Covid and I want to change that. I want to dress up for the sake of it and feel cute whilst doing so, plus I think it would really do my mental health some good. I feel like a lot of pastel and cute prints have come into my wardrobe and I’m so excited to wear them all for work, as well as in general. If you want to see some of the stuff I picked up during February, make sure to keep eyes peeled for that post in a few weeks! For the time being, I’ve popped some of the items I’ll be talking about soon above, including Tallulah’s Threads, Disturbia and The Sad Ghost Club.

New enamel pins.

I ordered a couple of new enamel pins recently which was nice! I don’t know why but I feel like enamel pin purchasing has definitely slowed down a little, which is always good as quite frankly, I’m running out of space!

The sausage dog pin from MossFrogPress has been on my favourites list on Etsy for as long as I can remember. I made some monies from selling some pins at the end of 2021 so I decided to use the money I made to pick up this pin. As it was coming from America, the shipping was more expensive than the item itself, so this wasn’t a cheap pin in that aspect. Definitely worth it now! It’s such a cute pin I get to look at everyday when I get ready.

I finally decided to back FoxLeap’s enamel pin club on Patreon at the end of January so I could snag the Patreon exclusive Lady puppy pin that Sophie had made. Not only did I get my Lady pin (as this was a freebie), I also got a The Cat Returns pin too (which I chose), some prints and even a freebie Alolan Ninetales pin and mini pin! Sophie is one of the kindest and most generous people I know and definitely an enamel pin artist you should check out. Her Patreon is all about you picking what you would like that month, from a list of choices. No one else (as far as I’m aware…) offers this type of pin club.

Finally this is an enamel pin from Depop that I snagged second hand. This enamel pin is by Sugarbones, a Canadian artist I adore! I love her Studio Ghibli and Animal Crossing designs, but she decided in 2021 that she would move away from fan themed pieces, so whenever I see one I missed out on previously, I’m going to try and snag! Haku is my favourite Studio Ghibli character, so any gorgeous pins I see with him on, I have to buy! 😀

Kawaii AF Kickstarter campaigns!

Finally I’m here to share some adorable Kickstarter campaigns I’ve joined or at least had my eye on joining. They’re all so cute! I told myself in 2022 I wouldn’t back as many Kickstarter campaigns to try and save money, but some are just too adorable not to.

Project image for Toast the Raccoon Cute Plushie Toys + Keychains

Image taken from Kickstarter.

Toast the Raccoon Cute Plushie Toys + Keychains – link (ends April 8th 2022).

This campaign is adorable and straight away as soon as it launched I backed it! It’s by Yencat and is based off of her popular and original character Toast, who as you can see is a raccoon. I LOVE raccoons, they’re my spirit animal due to their love of food and being chubby, I can relate to both of those. 😛 Yencat decided to create a plushie Toast, as well as an enamel pin and plushie keychain. I’ve backed for all of them and already counting down the days until it arrives! The Kickstarter ends in April, so if you like the look of this campaign, you have plenty of time to check it out and back it yourself.

Project image for Delicows ~ enamel pins & more

Image taken from Kickstarter.

Delicows ~ enamel pins & more – link (ends March 19th 2022).

I’m pretty sure I mentioned this briefly on my post about Quirkory and their Patreon pin club (you can read all about it here) but if I didn’t, I’m mentioning it again as earlier this week Quirkory released a new Kickstarter campaign, all about cows! Delicows is a mixture between delicious (food and drinks) and cows. Hence, Delicow! There are loads of different types of designs to choose from and I’ve backed for five of the designs in question, Cowpuccino (ideally one with Shugarlump), Moocha Latte, Cowreo, Peppermint Moocha Latte and maybe Darcowness. It feels like there’s a design for everyone in this collection and considering there are 24 plus designs to unlock there’s plenty of choice for everyone!

Images taken from Kickstarter.

Cute Animal Knitted Sweaters and Enamel Pins – link (ends March 3rd 2022).

This is a Kickstarter campaign by Dogzsquadarts I really like the look of at the moment and one I’m tempted to back before it ends in a couple of days! I am trying to be better with my money in 2022 and so far, it’s been going really well! I’ve already bought a shit ton of clothes and I don’t know if I want to buy anymore due to this fact. This being said, two of the pieces from this campaign are adorable and I do feel like I’d love at least one of them in my wardrobe! There’s the Shiba Inu sweater, as well as the Golden Retriever cardigan that I would love to get, but… I don’t know if I can justify it? I’m going to see how I feel about it, they’d both be adorable to get but unfortunately they aren’t pieces I could wear to work, otherwise that would probably spur me on more.

So there we have it guys, my favourites from February! What did you guys love throughout February? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

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

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February Wish List ’22

Can you believe it’s already February? I can’t to be honest. I’ve been quite excited though for a new month. January wasn’t exactly great for me (as I mentioned in my January favourites here) for various reasons so a new month and a fresh start has been very much needed. I’ve always been an autumn girl but not going to lie, I’m really excited for spring for lighter nights, new baby animals being born and the excitement of Easter chocolate and roasts… Just a shame that’s a couple of months off yet. 😛

I’m back with another monthly post and of course this is my wish list. If there is one thing I’ve said to myself for 2022, it’s to be better with money, which I really was in January! I didn’t spend much and due to that I came out in February with some decent savings and more. That being said, January payday couldn’t have come quickly enough! Six weeks was long!

I want to state here that this months wish list was a tough one for me as two of the items listed are either ordered or pre-ordered months ago. I felt like I couldn’t come up with any items to add to the list, which is a rarity for me. That being said, all items listed are amazing (to me anyway) and I can’t wait to share them with you!

  • Pokémon Raihan Nendoroid – (link)

This is a pre order I’ve had for a while now (since May 2021, holy shit!) and I’m really excited for it to arrive. As regular readers will know, I collect Nendoroid’s and around ordering Raihan I decided that I finally needed to complete my Pokemon Nendoroid collection, once and for all! This being said I’m still missing three (Cynthia, N and Champion Red) which are some of the hardest to buy unless you’ve won the lottery. Raihan isn’t exactly a character I adore but he’s pretty cool nonetheless so I needed him for my collection. He’s due out in February so I’m looking forward to him arriving. I’m sure I’ll talk a little more about him in one of my monthly posts.

  • Geeky Clean Extinct Airlines Bubblegum & Candyfloss 3 in 1 Soap – (link)

I don’t know what’s happened but I appear to have run out of shower gel! We have the dregs of a bottle of Lush Snow Fairy, as well as a huge bottle of Australia Body Care tea tree body wash. I really want to try more brands for my shower gels and with Geeky Clean being an independent geeky beauty company I’ve tried and loved before, I’m definitely going to treat myself to a bottle of their 3 in 1 soap. This sounds like it’s going to smell like their Bard scent, which is a dupe of Snow Fairy, so hopefully all year round we should have the sickly sweet scent in our bathroom! Not going to lie though, I feel the £6.00 to be quite steep, but I’ll give it a go and if it’s not good/not worth the money I just won’t buy it again!

  • Tallulah’s Threads Love Bug Lilac Dress – (link)

This is actually an item I bought on payday a week ago and I have zero regrets! I’ve been eyeing it up for a while now and with how shit January was and a decent discount code to boot, I decided to treat myself! Tallulah’s Threads is a brand I’ve heard of for years now but was never keen previously as smock dresses never used to be my thing. Also, the dresses aren’t exactly cheap and younger me didn’t have much money to spend, unfortunately. I was never keen on the smock style of dress when I was younger as in my mind, (pretty sure everyone thinks this?) it always makes you look bigger than you are due to them being oversized. Back in the day I would have hated that idea, but now I don’t mind a smock dress hiding my body a bit. Plus, I think they’re fucking cute! I own two smock dresses (Disturbia and Fearless Illustration) and I adore them! They’re comfy, perfect for lounging around or hanging out with friends and with a belt around the middle they can be synched in! I also fell in love with the colour and pattern on this dress. It reminds me of spring and if there’s one thing I really want to do, it’s dress cuter! I’m already planning how I can style up this dress and I’m so excited for it!

  • Bravissimo Valentina Bra – (link)

If there’s one thing I am in desperate need of, it’s a new bra. Since Covid I’ve been mostly living in bralettes, which are super comfy and support a little, but the time has come where I need to wear a normal bra at least three days of the week and currently, I only have one… Well two if you take note that I have the same bra twice, because I fell in love and bought a back up… Anyone else own back up bras of their favourites? Anyhoo, when I spotted that Bravissimo were bringing out a Valentine’s Day/heart collection I FELL in love! I’m definitely going to take myself to Bravissimo very soon to try this cutie on and purchase, unless I purchase it online and hope for the best. Either way I need it. I really want the pyjamas that Bravissimo has brought out too, but I don’t need anymore so I’ll be giving those a miss. I keep wanting to order this online, but at the moment I may just hold off until me and Dane take a trip where there’s a Bravissimo store. That being said, I don’t want to wait too long in case I do miss out on it. I’ve done this before with previous bra styles and been gutted afterwards.

  • Pokemon Cafe Gacha Set – (link)

This is something I saw on Instagram last weekend and I’ve fallen in love with the gacha set that resembles the Pokemon Cafe items you can eat and drink! As regular readers will know, in January 2020 me and Dane went to Japan for a two week holiday and of course we ventured to the Pokemon Cafe (which you can read about here). Two of the gacha items in this set we actually drank/ate which has just taken me back to when we visited the Pokemon Cafe. I’d love to own all of these to keep with the gacha we obtained whilst we were in Japan. I need to try and source them all, which is proving a little tricky. 😦

  • Fluffy Cinnamoroll Backpack – (link)

First of all, I have a feeling this backpack isn’t a real Sanrio item… I’m wary of this. However, it’s so damn cute and I’d love to get it! In 2020-2021 I discovered fluffy backpacks (Loungefly Meeko and Loungefly PomPomPurin) and I adore them so much. They’re so comfortable to wear, look and feel lovely and just fit with the kawaii aesthetic I hope to achieve in the future. I know that Loungefly have a Cinnamoroll backpack as well which I didn’t like the look of when it first came out. Since then it’s really grown on me and before Christmas I could have snagged it for a BARGAIN on Vinted, but left it… I’m not gutted though, as I genuinely love this fluffy one more. I’ve found this backpack on Amazon recently for a decent price and went to order, BUT as I’m trying to be better with money I left it for a rainy day. Maybe if I have a shit day or two towards February payday, I could get it then? 😛

So there we have it guys, my monthly wish list for February!

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

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

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