Elle’s Doodle Box*

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pokemon – Growlithe, Leafeon, Alolan Vulpix and Vulpix.

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

 

Studio Ghibli – Totoro with umbrella.

Undertale – Frisk and Alphys.

Animals – Whale shark, chubby dog  and unicorn.

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

• Random Sticker Pack*

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

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

Studio Ghibli – No Face and Haku.

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

• Vulpix Card* – 50p (link)

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

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

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

• Pokemon Gardevoir 7×5 Print*

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Website

Etsy

Facebook

Facebook Group

Twitter

Instagram

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

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

 

MCM Comic Con – Birmingham

On Saturday me and Dane went to the Birmingham Comic Con and it was one of my favourite ones to date! Maybe not over Hyper Japan for obvious reasons… 😛

It was pretty much a last minute decision to go after umming and ahhing for a couple of weeks and due to this we weren’t able to grab priority tickets like we did back at the 2014 Comic Con. This being said it turned out well as we booked our parking in advance so we didn’t have to pay after etc etc. We got there an hour early and had to wait what felt like 10 minutes to be let into the convention. Then we had 6 hours of browsing around the stalls, doing some shopping, admiring all the amazing cosplayers and have a good time.

Before I go onto what amazing cosplayers I met and had pictures with throughout the day I want to show off what I wore as I loved it so damn much and got loads of compliments on it!

A few weeks prior to Comic Con I did my weekly eBay search of Black Milk Clothing bargains and came across this Adventure Time dress. These came out YEARS ago and are now museum pieces, meaning they aren’t coming back unless Black Milk decide to release a limited amount. I wanted this dress back when it first came out but due to money and such I didn’t get it. What probably would have cost near to $100 AUS dollars I go for £35. What a bargain! Of course the pattern as you can see is Lumpy Space Princess who I adore!

It’s a skater dress so it flares out a little which I find to be the best style for my figure. The material is lovely and think meaning if it needs to stretch a little the pattern on it won’t get ruined. I teamed it up with a long white t-shirt as I knew it would be too cold outside to wear it without anything underneath. All about the layering in the winter time! I also teamed it with black tights (which I wish had been thicker!), my triumph Dr Martens boots, my new red coat from M&S and a navy choker.

So when we were ready to go we set off to Comic Con!

This was one of my favourite comic cons I’ve attended to date for one reason, all the amazing pictures I managed to get with cosplayers! I’ll be talking about who I saw in the order I saw them!

The first cosplay we spotted was this amazing Totoro from Studio Ghibli My Neighbour Totoro, which is one of mine and Dane’s favourite movies. I never usually have pictures with anyone at conventions as I often feel too shy or they walk off and I never get chance to have a picture at all. However I shoved my way in the best I could and got my picture.

The next cosplayer we saw was another Studio Ghibli related one, which is from my favourite movie, Spirited Away. This person was dressed as No Face and was definitely one of the best cosplayers I saw all day! I’ve never really seen anyone dress as No Face before so I was so excited to see him. Again like Totoro I waited for my turn to have a picture and got it. By this point I was like a little kid, I was so happy!

This next cosplayer felt kind of official due to where you had to stand to have a picture and although there wasn’t an official queue, it did feel like you were queuing to have your picture with him. Of course it’s Deadpool and oh my God he was a legend! Of course it would have been better if it was Ryan Reynolds, but hey it was a guy dressed as Deadpool, a proper costume too not a shitty morphe suit! No offense to anyone who wears/wore a Deadpool morphe suit… 😛

When I went over to him I didn’t expect him to talk, but he did! He say hello, asked if I was okay and even complimented me on my dress and said, “Purple really suits you!” WHAT A BEAUTIFUL HUMAN BEING!

Ahem… Anyway! He got me to put my hand in a backwards C shape to form a heart and thus our picture was taken. I loved how chatty he was and how into the role of Deadpool he was. It was amazing and I hope everyone got the chance to get a picture with him who loves Deadpool just as much as I do. OH and he even has his little unicorn. 😛

This cosplayer was one of the hardest to get a picture with and I’m so glad I did to be honest, even though I did feel like a pain in the arse. I was tired, as was Dane and I couldn’t be arsed to push and shove to get a picture BUT by not doing this a lot of people were being rude and barging their way through. One girl in particular was very rude and as I went over to have my picture she barged past me. I ended up calling her something very nasty (begins with a C…) and walked off. Later on however I saw the Totoro again and this time with the cosplayers family who were dressed as Satsuki and Mei and not only did a somewhat get a picture of them all together, but I finally got my picture with Totoro.

After taking some photographs of me by the big MCM Comic Con sign we were just about ready to go home when we saw the last cosplayers we had pictures with and by far the best ones we had pictures with. Dane had wanted to get a picture with a Stormtrooper (or two) all day and we never got the chance to. So we saw them having pictures with some other people and went over to have ours done too. Dane had his picture taken first which he loves, but then it was my turn and it got funny very fast!

They had proper Stormtrooper armour on that also had voice changers inside so they sounded like the ones from the movies. They told me to get down on my knees as I was being arrested and proper went for it! The officer in black wasn’t there beforehand but when he saw how I was having my picture taken he got into the picture without me knowing… Until I saw the picture anyway! I loved the two pictures that me and Dane got with the Stormtroopers and a part of me wants to pop them in a frame at some point so we can remember what an amazing day we had.

Haul wise we bought each other a couple of Christmas presents, as well as some pictures for the house, but in Dane and Natalee tradition we always get at least one picture drawn of us, which is this one. We both love it so much and it’ll go in a frame and put in the house somewhere.

After a long day we came home cooked some dinner and relaxed. We had a lovely time at Comic Con and it was definitely better than the first one we attended together in 2014. My only negative about it this year was how many fake Nendoroid’s were flying around. One stall in particular annoyed me as it just sold nothing but fake items. You could tell they were fake too… I wanted to say something to some guys buying them but I couldn’t, I didn’t want to worry I would be kicked out for being rude or offensive.

Other than that it was amazing and I can’t wait to either attend Comic Con again or even Hyper Japan next year!

Did you go to an MCM Comic Con event this year? If so let me know which one and which cosplayers you saw and loved! You may have even attended Birmingham like I did! If so what did you do there? Make sure to leave all your comments down below!

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

July/Hyper Japan Wish List 2015

Due to London taking up most of my money this month, I don’t have much of a wish list this month either. This will mostly be stuff I’ll be trying to buy whilst I’m in London at Hyper Japan, as well as from places around London that me and my boyfriend hope to be going to when we get a chance.

I’ve already made a separate wish list for Lush, which will be live on my blog Wednesday.

• Pokemon Center Pokemon Time Eievui Vaporeon Plush Keychain.

I recently showed you guys a haul of some purchases from Japan, this is part of that collection and something I regret not asking for! But I’ll be keeping my eye out for it when I go to Hyper Japan for sure! It’s a cute little Vaporeon plushie keychain which is just pulling on my heartstrings… Not good, not good at all! There is of course a full collection of these in all the Eeveelutions but this one is my favourite for sure.

• Nana Manga Volumes 10-15.

I LOVE this manga and even though I’ve been reading it for a couple of years now, I’m still up to volume 9. Why? Because this manga is proving hard to find! My boyfriend was amazing and bought me 8 and 9 for Christmas, but they didn’t last me long whilst we were on holiday. I want to try and finish this manga this year so I can focus on reading another (Attack on Titan maybe?) and whilst I could be naughty and read it online for free, I love this manga enough that I want to own it. I love the anime and the manga continues on for longer than the anime does. I’m hoping I can pick these five volumes up from Hyper Japan, or maybe even a Japanese or geeky book shop in London.

• My Neighbour Totoro Backpack.

I don’t exactly NEED a new backpack, but I would like one. I love my current one, but I fancy something new and something that will work with both my fashion needs and practical needs. I saw a gorgeous Totoro backpack when I went to Comic Con in November, but it wasn’t this one. I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for a gorgeous new Totoro bag, whether it’s a backpack, or a shoulder bag. You can’t go wrong with Totoro!

• Kit Kat in Green Tea Matcha.

I LOVE matcha Kit Kat’s! I could eat them all day but I also hate them. They cost so much money to buy, but oh so worth it! I plan on investing in these and buying as many as humanly possible. You can pick them up for decent prices on eBay, Amazon, and other websites online, but if I can pick some up from Hyper Japan, then I’m good with this. If you’ve never tried any of the random yet amazing flavours that Kit Kat’s that Japan have to offer, then you really are losing out! Websites like Sushi Noms and Tofu Cute sell these at decent prices.

• Pokemon Center Pikazard Plushie.

Who can say no to this cutie? I’ve wanted the Pikazard plushie since it came out and although it isn’t a must, if Sushi Noms is selling it (like I think they might be!) then I may have to look into it. I’m sure there will be hundreds of fakes of these flying around Hyper Japan, but I’ll only buy from sellers I KNOW go to Japan to buy legits. These are incredibly cute though. Who could resist?

• Pocky in flavours Peach, Banana, and Matcha.

I LOVE Pocky. Like Kit Kat’s really, the Japanese do these treats well and what’s best is they’re not too many calories. So I don’t have to feel too guilty whilst I snack on them. Once again, I love matcha flavouring so I can hardly resist the matcha Pocky. I bought loads of Pocky when I attended Comic Con and I loved them all. The only problem with Pocky sellers is they often rack the prices up, whilst Asian supermarkets sell these dirt cheap! I may stock up on these if I can get them for reasonable prices, like the Kit Kat’s. I mostly want banana and matcha flavours. Nom, nom, nom!

• Nendoroid – Sword Art Online Kirito.

This isn’t just a rare Nendoroid, but it’s also very bloody expensive due to it! This is something I have been after for quite some time now, not for myself, but for my boyfriend. He loves his Nendoroid’s like myself, if not more and most of his collection have been bought by myself as presents. I’ve bought him a majority of the Attack on Titan series with only two left to get (Colossal Titan and Cleaning Levi) which I am also on the hunt for at Hyper Japan. However, if I can find a real version of Kirito, then I’ll probably buy it, or give him some money towards this as I know how much he’s after it. He’s a gorgeous little character and who wouldn’t want him in their collection, eh?

So that’s my wish list for July and for Hyper Japan!

Are you attending Hyper Japan this summer? If so, let me know!

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

Wish List Wednesday – London

Of course I’m due to go to London in a months time and I know that is going to fly by! Like Bristol, I’ll be popping to the shops a week before I’m due to go to pick up some bits and pieces I can used whilst I’m away. This is what this wish list is for! I may also mention in a separate wish list post which items I’ll be trying to pick up whilst I’m in London. *cough* LUSH *cough*

Some of these things I would like to pick up anyway and London is sort of an excuse for this, at the same time it’s also things I would like to have for London.

•  John Frieda Beach Blonde Cool Dip Purifying Shampoo and Sea Waves Sea Salt Spray.

When John Frieda brought this collection back out a month or so ago, I had such a nostalgic moment. I remember when I was a kid when all the “cool” girls in the playground used the spray in their hair. It was the “it” product and was something I lusted after for years. However my mom would never buy it for me and she wouldn’t let me buy it with my own pocket money either. I won’t lie when I admit that I contemplated stealing it once just so I could have it, and she wouldn’t find out about me buying it either. But I knew better and left it… Don’t steal kids! Anyway… Now I’m old enough I can buy it for myself and from what I remember this spray isn’t as harsh on hair as many of the sea salt sprays on the market are. I’ve already tried one and although it made my hair look and feel gorgeous, it was a bit too much for my liking. I remember trying this as a kid once or twice when the “cool” girls let me try it out. I mostly remember how gorgeous it smelt, like coconuts. Nom! I want that again so I’m going to pick this up in time for summer, and London. Also in the range is the shampoo, which sounds so nice! I don’t really need any shampoo as I already have my eye on one I want to pick up (check my wish list for June here) but I’d like one to take with me to London for both me and my boyfriend to use. I would end up sending it over to his house so that I could use it there whenever I wash my hair, as the current shampoo I use there is pretty lame and makes my hair go really flat… It used to work wonders before! I’ll have to contemplate this mind, as I do really have my eyes set on the Neal & Wolf shampoo.

• Evian Facial Spray.

I’m going to be a little honest here when I say, if I buy water whilst I’m out and about, I won’t buy anything else other than Evian (if I have that choice of course) because it’s the best one you can buy! I’ve used their facial spray in the past when it first came out and it’s gorgeous! It’s also expensive… But if you look in the right places you can pick up a bargain. As me and my boyfriend will be at Hyper Japan all day the second day of our stay in London, we’re going to be HOT! So I thought it might be a good idea to pick up a cooling spray. I know there are loads out there, but searching online the only one I’m seeming to find (I’m probably not searching hard enough!) is this one. I doubt this will be the one I pick up due to the price, but if I wanted a splurge, I would.

• Rimmel London Moisture Renew Lip Liner.

I’ve been eying this up for a while now as I LOVE wearing lipstick. However, I don’t like only have three lip liners (red, pinky nude, and raspberry pink) that won’t suit the needs of all my lipsticks. This is where this lip liner will be great for this. It’s a clear one, so it can be applied under any colour lipstick and it’ll still do the same job as any other. Plus I imagine from the moisture in the name that it helps keep your lips nice and hydrated throughout the day. This is what I need for London, as whilst I’ll be walking around all day and kept busy, I don’t really want to worry that my lipstick isn’t perfect. I’ve tried this out in Boots before and it does look like a great product, and for less than £4.00 you can’t complain either!

• Reeses Pajamas from Primark.

I recently spotted these gorgeous pajamas on Primark’s Instagram and since I have fallen in love! I haven’t been near a Primark to pick them up yet, but I’ll hopefully be able to the weekend when I’m near one. I don’t own a pair of short pajamas that I really like so these would be great for the warm summer months. They’ll also be ideal for London because of it. They’re only £10, which you can’t say is a bad price. They also sell underwear and boxers too, so I may just have to pick some of those up for myself and my boyfriend. 😛

• Aussie Shower Gel in Fresh Mate.

If there is one thing I love about the Aussie hair care range, it’s the smell. Oh my Gosh, heaven in a bottle. When I was on holiday for the first couple of days I used an Aussie shampoo and not only did it leave my hair feeling and looking great, it smelt great too. So when Aussie announced they would bring out a shower gel range, I was pretty excited. This is the one that smells just like the shampoo I used whilst I was away. Need it in my life! Not only do I want this to take away with us to use during our time in London, but I want it to use anyway. I’ve wanted to try it for ages, but I refuse to buy it until it is on offer! I want to try all the different versions, although I can see me liking this one the most.

• Quickies Nail Varnish Remover Travel Pot.

I don’t know if I’ll pick this up, but it’s always a good idea to think about. When I went to Bristol I didn’t paint my nails, but when I got there I did, due to picking up some nail polishes. I’m pretty sure I’m going to be painting my nails this time, before I go but I have contemplating painting them again whilst I’m there. So something like this can come in handy for if I need to remove my nail polish quickly, or if I paint them and make any mess. At a £1, you’re not going to break the bank. If I pick any up, it’ll be a last-minute thing.

• My Neighbour Totoro Sweatshirt.

I’ve seen this in the past on eBay and contemplated buying it, but in the end I left it. However, I had my eye on it again… Whether I pick it up for London or not is another story. My boyfriend asked me what I would be wearing for Hyper Japan, and I honestly don’t know! I want to make a statement of course and look awesome whilst doing it, and this sweater could be something cool to rock up wearing. However, I need to save money and I have other items in my wardrobe I can throw on for the day. If I pick this up, again it’ll be very last-minute…

So that’s my wish list for London! I will of course be basing my July wish list around what I am hoping to pick up in London… I might even do a Lush Oxford wish list too… We shall see!

Do you have any suggestions of what I should take with me to London? Let me know in the comments!

I hope everyone is having a great week.

Take care and see you soon!

April Wish List

I won’t lie when I say that this wish list post seemed hard to do at first because I honestly don’t really want anything special at this moment in time. I put that down to wanting to save money and I did infact treat myself towards the end of March to a few things (3DS game, Wall E Pop Vinyl and Attack on Titan badges…).

However I did think long and hard and even searched through my wish list folder in my bookmarks, as well as my history and found 6 things to talk about. One I actually spoke about last month but there is a reason why I’m bringing it up again this month.

So this is my wish list for this month, some I don’t need, some I would like. But for the majority, I probably won’t even buy.

• Cooking Mama Bon Appetit Nintendo 3DS Game.

Now I’ve bought a new game I probably have enough games to last me another couple of months, but no. No that never happens. I’ve always loved the Cooking Mama games and whilst they’re seen as being stressful due to the sort of challenges you need to complete, I find it rather relaxing at the best of times. I also never get time to cook in my real life (not properly anyway!) so it’d be good to try and attempt to make some dishes in game anyway. This isn’t that much money either so if I’m really bored and want something new, it won’t break the bank for me.

• Yankee Candle Set of 2 Celebration Large Jars (Red Velvet & Celebrate).

I know I spoke about Celebrate last month (link here) but this is sold as a set so sadly I couldn’t avoid mentioning this candle again. My favourite Yankee Candle is Red Velvet but sadly it has been discontinued in the UK, so whenever I find it for sale at a decent price I usually want to buy it. These candles are being sold by QVC at a bargain and whilst they are currently on a waiting list, me and my boyfriend are probably going to be picking these up. I’ll keep Red Velvet and he can have Celebrate. QVC always offer some really good deals so keep your eyes peeled on them for these.

• Vans Realm Backpack in Stars and Stripes Print.

I’m not in any need of a new backpack, but I’m keeping my eye firmly peeled on this one for in future sales. It’s a really pretty Vans one with stars and stripes print all over. My current backpack is amazing, but I have a feeling by the end of uni life it’ll be on its last days. I would like a purple galaxy print backpack, but I shall still keep my eye on this one. I may be trying to get away from my skate/snow style but I love my backpacks, they’re comfortable and roomy.

• Yankee Candle Love is in the Air Hearts Melt Warmer.

I’ve been after a new wax tart warmer for ages, as whilst my current one does the job, it is badly chipped in most places and not exactly the best to look at due to it. Plus I only paid a couple of quid for it, so I can’t complain much. Who can deny a cute melt warmer, which will leave your melts in heart shapes? I’ll wait for this to go into the sale mind, as I’m not paying over £10 for this. That’s just too much for me.

• My Neighbour Totoro Notebook.

I love notebooks. I always want a new one and I honestly don’t know why. But for my dissertation I really want this notebook. I’d carry it around with me everywhere for ideas and to jot bits and pieces in. This isn’t that expensive and I’m pretty sure it isn’t official, but I’m not that bothered about it. I love My Neighbour Totoro so I can’t really deny this being mine. I have also spied an Attack on Titan notebook that looks exactly the same as this one, but I don’t think any are for sale over on eBay at the moment… I will keep my eye out though.

• Nendoroid Yoshino.

Finally we have a Nendoroid I’m after and my boyfriend has actually bought for me. I’ve always been drawn to this Nendoroid and whilst I don’t know why, I do at the same time. I mean, look how cute she is!? She’s from the anime Date A Live, which I’ve only started watching recently and whilst it is rather odd, it’s also pretty cool too. I need to finish watching the first season so I can move onto the second, which started not long ago in Japan. Nendoroids have definitely turned into my guilty nerdy pleasure and I just can’t help but be fascinated by them. They’re so damn cute and make great collectables for adults and anime fans alike. She didn’t even cost that much including postage which is amazing. The sad news is I won’t be able to have her until August, sad times. But she’ll certainly be worth the wait!

So what do you have on your wish list this month? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below.

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

5 Unique Items Tag

I’m starting this tag off, because I can’t find anything else like it on the internet and it is something I would LOVE to do. This is the unique items tag… Well not so much unique, but not something everyone will have in their room/home. You name five unique items in your room/home that not many people would have. They can be anything from a signed album by your favourite band, a limited edition frame, something from a different part of the world that not many Brits would own. You get the picture.

I love having unique and different things that I know not many would have and since being with my boyfriend, my collection of uniqueness has grown!

I really enjoyed walking around my room and picking things up to talk about. I do hope you enjoy this tag!

• Nendoroid Penguindrum Princess of the Crystal.

This was one of my birthday presents this year from my boyfriend and one of the best I received. I’ve wanted a Nendoroid for years and this is my first one! These aren’t exactly in every home in the UK, considering they’re pretty nerdy and look like children’s toys. Yes, they are toys but if you ask me they’re for adults. These are made and sold in Japan and whilst they state on the boxes that they aren’t meant to be sold outside of Japan, they are all the time. I watched Penguindrum when me and my boyfriend first started talking so I have fond memories of the anime due to this. But onto the doll. I love this doll so much, she’s just so pretty! With her red hair and pink eyes she’s just adorable and she even comes with the three penguins that the three main characters have. So cute! This doll is pretty rare for quite a few reasons. One being that the anime isn’t actually that popular in the UK, but alongside that this doll was made and sold in 2012, three years ago! Plus this isn’t opened and to be honest I don’t intend to open it. I don’t care, I want her to stay special and rare.

• Sooty clock.

This is probably one of the oldest things I own and I’ve owned it since I was 3 or 4. I remember the day my mom ordered it for me from the official Sooty magazine and she asked me which colour I would like. I still own it over 20 years later and I love it. It’s still in working order and the image of Sooty always makes me smile and reminds me of my childhood. I’ll definitely take this clock with me when I move out, I just love it too much to leave it behind. I doubt many 25 year old’s have Sooty clock’s in their rooms eh? 😉

• Skribble This artwork.

This is a chibi version of me that was drawn by Skribble This. She was at Comic Con in Birmingham in November and me and my boyfriend loved her artwork that much we wanted some artwork done by her. I love the picture of me so much and it always makes me smile. It’s just so cute and definitely makes me look better than I actually am. She really did draw me how I wanted her to as well. I know in the future I want a massive piece of artwork drawn by her, but that won’t be until I move out.

• Pokemon Valentine’s Day tin.

I love Pokemon, as regular readers will know so it was super cute when my boyfriend bought me this tin for Valentine’s Day this year. It came with loads of little chocolate cornflake bites inside and damn they were yummy! The tin itself is covered in male and female Pokemon and the cutest couple on the tin are definitely the Pikachu’s. They just make me happy when I look at the tin itself. I don’t know what I’ll be using it for, maybe some Yankee Candle wax tarts, or even something else. Either way it’s just so cute and would look lovely on a shelf. This came straight from the Pokemon Center in Japan (well my boyfriend bought it from a seller in the UK, but you know what I mean). So it has a little bit more of a special place in my bedroom than some of my pieces.

• Totoro plushie.

I thought I would save the best for last and that’s my Totoro plushie. My boyfriend bought me this for Christmas, as he knows how much I love the anime film and also how much I wanted one of these plushies. Way before we even met I’ve always wanted one so when I opened this and it was THIS big I was over the moon. It’s a really hard plushie and you can give him a good squish when you really need one. I like to cuddle him whilst I read or play games as he’s just really comfortable. We have looked over whether or not this is official and we do have a feeling it is, but either way I still love it all the same. I would love the little white and blue Totoro’s to add alongside this one. Hopefully in the future!

So those are my 5 unique items. So who do I tag? EVERYONE! Give this tag a go, it’ll definitely make you think.

Do you own any of these items, or at least ones similar? Let me know in the comments.

Until next time, take care all and I hope all my readers are well.

Some Bedtime Treats

I love my bed. It’s my safe place and the best place to snuggle up on rainy weekends with my boyfriend whilst we watch anime and films.

It’s also the place where I like to snuggle up under the covers and have some beauty and self-indulgent treats.

The first thing I like to do is make sure I’m nice and moisturised before bed. I’ve been using various foot moisturisers at the moment, with I slather on my feet as much as possible and put my white cotton socks over the top. I sleep in this and wake up to find my feet lovely and soft! The foot cream I’ve been reaching for the most at the moment is Heel Genius by Soap & Glory (review here). I don’t do this every night, but every other night I’ll do this. I’ll soon be doing this every night as I want nice soft feet ready for spring and summer this year.

Another thing I like to keep soft and smooth are my hands. I suffer from mild eczema in both the winter and summer, HOWEVER I haven’t as of yet had any issues and I thinks it’s because I’ve been making sure to keep my hands moisturised whenever I can. My sister-in-law gave me a huge Sanctuary Spa gift set for Christmas and this came inside of it. I’ve been keeping it by my bed to use throughout the day as well as before I go to sleep. It’s not too thick and really does leave my hands feeling soft. The smell isn’t the best in the world but I don’t care, it does the job.

I like to make sure my lips are moisturised all the time! As soon as they feel dry I make sure to apply plenty of lip balm, as the worst thing for me are a chapped pair of lips. Especially if I want to wear my lipstick and not need to worry about scrubbing away any dead skin first. I know it should be the done thing, but sometimes I don’t have the effort. I love my Carmex lip balms (review here) and these are my go to lip balm at the moment for when I’m at home. I’m currently trying to make my way through plenty of lip balms as I appear to have quite a few… I’m sure I’ll make my way through them though.

You can’t go wrong with burning a candle in the evenings, especially when it’s cold and miserable at the moment. I’m currently burning Yankee Candle’s Red Raspberry wax tart and it’s safe to say I LOVE it! At first it reminded me of The Comforter bubble bar from Lush but now it reminds me of something else, which I can’t quite put my finger on. I love this though and intend to buy a jar of it in the future. I’ve recently gone back to burning wax tarts as instead of forking out for large jars, I may as well pick up some of the scents I want to try before I buy in tart form.

Days in bed are definitely days spent doing next to anything and watching TV shows. One series I’ve been loving at the moment is Dexter and since getting Netflix I’ve been able to continue watching it… Seeing as Amazon Prime took it down. I’m currently just over the halfway mark of season 4 and really addicted to it. I’ve been told not to watch until the end, but I will. I love Dexter’s character too much to just let him go and not find out what happens to him.

Another series, well three series in one that I’ve been enjoying is Cucumber, Banana and Tofu. These are a trilogy of shows put together about gay relationships, as well as a couple of straight ones thrown in there. It’s very modern, funny and great for people of any age. Cucumber focuses more towards older ages, whilst Banana focuses towards a younger audience. Tofu however is only 10-11 minutes long and each week focuses on different topics relating to sex. I love shows like this as they’re so interesting, as well as keeping a funny and lighthearted side to them too. If you haven’t watching any of them yet, do it!

Finally what I really enjoying doing whether my boyfriend is here or not, is to snuggle up to my Totoro plushie and my seal plushie from my second home. My Totoro is huge and it makes it somewhat comforting if I’m feeling a little lonely, sleepy, or just want something to snuggle. My seal plushie is just so squishy and nice, which can make a change from the size of the Totoro one.

Either way, I love having time to chill in bed with all these comforts and treats before I go to sleep and as I’ve written this post out this evening, I’ve done them all. Including snuggling with my Totoro plushie and watching Dexter.

What are your bedtime treats that you do before bed? Let me know in the comments down below.

Until next time, take care all and I wish you all a good sleep tonight.

Japanese Series: Places To Visit (Inc. Boyfriend’s too!)

Image taken from weheartit.com

Hello and welcome to post number three in the Japanese series! As I mentioned last week on the Asian Food post, I would today be talking about places I really want to go when I visit Japan. As well as that, I also mentioned that I would have a special guest on this post, which in turn is my boyfriend. He asked if he could write about a place he wants us to visit when we both go to Japan in the future and of course I wouldn’t say no!

I shall be talking about three places I really wish to go and visit in Japan, my boyfriends post will find itself amongst those posts and you’ll be able to tell which is his place that he wishes for us to go and visit… It’s snow related. 😛

Whilst the place he wishes to go and visit is snow related, all mine are kawaii and pretty much anime related, which makes me sound a little bad sad, doesn’t it?

This is going to be a pretty long post, so no time like the present to get talking about all the places we wish to go to when we visit Japan!

Sanrio Puroland

Image taken from weheartit.com

When I was talking to my boyfriend about places I could mention on here, I came up with four altogether, this being one of them but when I mentioned that I felt rather silly for wanting to go to such a place, he said he knew how much I wanted to go and it was definitely worth a mention!

I’ve been in love with Hello Kitty and all things Sanrio since the age of 11. I can’t remember how I came to discover who Hello Kitty was, but when I did I was hooked and for years I went out of my way to find things Hello Kitty related to buy. Eventually I discovered that Hello Kitty was by a Japanese brand called Sanrio and there were many other characters just like her and just as cute! I came to find out about Chococat, Charmmy Kitty, Cinnamoroll, Pochacco, Kuririn, My Melody, and many more!

Although Puroland isn’t number one on my list of places to visit whilst I visit Japan, I know it’s definitely there and it’d be a shame to miss it whilst I was there. I’ve seen many pictures of what it’s like inside Puroland itself and it looks like so much fun! I know I would end up spending a lot of money in there, I have to say and that would probably be one of my main reasons for going, to stock on cute Sanrio related products! This is more for children than adults, but after loving Hello Kitty since a very young age, the child in me would love this.

Pokemon Center

Image taken from weheartit.com

I don’t know if I have really spoken about it much, but I love Pokemon and have done since it came out on the Game Boy back in 1999. It’s been over 10 years since then and over that time there have been loads more games released, the anime followed after the game which I watched religiously as a child, card games were invented, and as well as that, Pokemon Center’s began popping up all over Japan, as well as in America.

When I first found out about the Pokemon Center, I thought it was just a museum and thought nothing more about it, but back in 2011 I did some research on it and pleasantly discovered that it was infact a shop! You could buy all sorts in there and I imagined how amazing it must be to actually go and wander around. Then one morning in 2013 whilst I lay in bed, waiting to go to work, I searching “Pokemon Center Japan” into YouTube and was greeted by hundreds of videos that people had recorded, all of them showing what the Pokemon Center was like. The one that showed up the most, was the store in Tokyo!

The stores are owned by The Pokemon Company in Japan and The Pokemon Company International in America. As I would be visiting Tokyo when I finally go to Japan, the Pokemon Center in Tokyo would be the ideal store for me to visit, this being said there is also a store in Tokyo Bay, so knowing me I’d go and visit both if it was doable!

I’ve already said to my boyfriend that I’ll probably need a lot of money for when we visit the Pokemon Center, as I’d want to buy a bit of everything to bring back home with me. I know when I visit Japan anyway that I’ll be buying a lot of stationery (they have the best stationery!) but I know I’ll want to come home with a huge Eevee plushie. Whenever I watch the videos of people in the Pokemon Center’s I just want to buy most of the things they show and I envy what things I watch people showing off that they’ve bought in haul videos.

This is probably number one on my list of places to visit in Japan… Alongside all the yummy food shops too of course!

Shiga Kogen, Nagano Prefecture – The place Dane (my boyfriend) wants to visit

Japan is a destination I NEED to visit in the near future, although being content with doing the expected things of visiting Tokyoʼs many attractions and districts (Iʼm looking at you Harajuku), getting communal in an onsen and traveling south to visit Osaka and Kyoto.

There is one thing I must do and that is to snowboard in Shiga Kogen, Nagano.

As Natalee may have explained, I am an avid snowboarder going on yearly trips away to the French Alps. Resorts in the French Alps tend to be very similar and having to go there every year is becoming quite monotonous. Apart from going up north to Norway and visiting the homeland of my all time favourite snowboarder, Torstein Horgmo, snowboarding in Japan is a high priority.

Japan is notorious for is snowfall, is an incredibly mountainous group of islands and has literally hundreds of Skijo (ski hills). Adding the fact some of my favourite snowboarders, Kazuhiro Kokubo and Tadashi Fuse, are both from Japan it all greatly adds up for me to snowboard there. If you want to truly understand what it is like to snowboard in Japan see the snowboard film “Seven Samurai – The Catcher on the Line”. And to quote Jimmy Peterson from his book “Skiing Around the World”:

“Snowstorms breeze into the Japanese mountains almost unabatedly from December until late March. The cold, stormy fronts blow in from Siberia, picking up extra moisture as they cross the Sea of Japan. They then dump enormous amounts of white fluff all along the western side of Japan. A number of the Japanese resorts rank among the most snow-rich ski areas in the world.”

image taken from powerhounds.com

That above image should give you an idea of what I want to experience.

Most tour operators (I.e Crystal Ski) would suggest going up north to Hokkaido for the fresh powder. There are two problems, I can think of, with that.

The first being that it’s an 1hr 30min plane ride away from Tokyo, where as going to Shiga Kogen is nearly a 4 hour drive away. Bear with me on that. Yes it takes longer, I have taken multiple 24 hour coach journeys to the Alps and even with flying there is always a 2-3 hour transfer from the airport. Plus flying is always a hassle of checking in, boarding and waiting to fly. So I can handle a measly 4 hour bus journey. In the long run it is much cheaper and you get to see the sights of Japan en route.

The next reason is as follows…

Image taken from flightcentre.com.au

Do I need to explain more?

Well yes. This is the Jigokudani Monkey Park, located on the edge of the national park in the Nagano prefecture, a short distance from Shiga Kogen. A place where just under 200 macaques live and bath in the natural hot springs, which you can visit and get up close to. How close you say? These guys are supposedly incredibly tame and let you get within inches of your camera to take nice close-ups, whether I want my camera/phone stolen by a monkey is something of contention. Having it in such a close proximity to a great resort would be incredible and taking a day trip to visit the park is a must in my book.

Ghibli Museum

Image taken from weheartit.com

Like most people, I LOVE Studio Ghibli movies and since I first discovered their films back in 2004/2005 when I watched Spirited Away and since then I have gone on to watch My Neighbour Totoro, Porco Rosso, The Cat Returns, Kiki’s Delivery Service and many more!

I vaguely remember finding out about the Ghibli Museum even existing due to reading about how there is a short film about the cat bus from My Neighbour Totoro and how it was only being shown at the museum at that time. I researched a little about the museum and since then I have wanted to go there myself!

I won’t talk too much about Studio Ghibli here, as I’m saving it for my fourth and final Japanese Series post next week, but I will say this much… Studio Ghibli is the Japanese version of Disney so I can only imagine the museum to be like a mini version of Disney Land, but that little bit better!

Upon checking out the website in the past about what the museum is all about, I’m already craving to go at this sentence:

Standing in front of a sign that says “Ghibli Museum, Mitaka”, a very large Totoro welcomes you at the entrance. When you look through the portholes, soot-black Dust Bunnies are there as well. But this is not the real entrance. Totoro shows you where the real entrance is.

Real entrance??? This is a total children’s fantasy, adventure world, and it just sounds wonderful! Plus the fact that you are greeted by a huge Totoro, is somewhat of a dream come true.

Some of mine and my boyfriends friends have been to the museum and they’ve told us nothing but positive things about it, but as well as that I’ve seen various YouTube videos about it too and all of the people in question spoke of what a wonderful place it was to visit and how they want to go back in the future.

This isn’t number one like the Pokemon Center, BUT it is the second place I would like to visit and I already know like the Pokemon Center that I WILL need a lot of money when I visit, as I will want to buy myself a huge Totoro to cuddle and keep on my bed.

As my boyfriend and I are both big fans, we both really want to visit the Ghibli Museum and it’d be lovely for us to venture around together.

We’ve really got into Studio Ghibli more than ever and with my boyfriend collecting all the films, our visit to the Ghibli Museum in the future will be extremely exciting!

Speaking of Studio Ghibli, next weeks post is going to be a really exciting one!

As I mentioned above, my fourth and final Japanese series post will be about Studio Ghibli and I’m excited to write about it come the weekend.

So, which places would you like to visit in Japan? Hey, have you been to Japan? If so where did you visit, any places you can recommend?

My boyfriend recently inquired about prices for our future Japanese holiday and now we have decided to save up for it! So as many suggestions as possible, especially kawaii and food related!

Until next week, talk care all and I hope you’re enjoying this series.