September Favourites ’22

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Movie – Kalifornia.

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

TV Show – Bee & PuppyCat.

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

Music – Electric Callboy Tekkno.

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

Game – Bear & Breakfast.

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

Just a few of my favourite things…

Nature Centre, Birmingham.

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

THIS IS HALLOWEEN, THIS IS HALLOWEEN!

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

“Kiki, look it’s me!”

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

Kawaii goods.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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!