PokoPins Haul | Review

Hello guys! It's almost the end of the first week of September and gosh, where did the last five days go!? I hope you all had a fantastic start to the month, and that your weekends are just as fantastic. If not, *big hugs*. Today, I have some gorgeous, super adorable things to show you and help brighten your day, hopefully! If you follow me over on Instagram, then the topic of this post has been long awaited for you. So, enjoy! And if this is your first time stumbling upon my little corner of the internet, welcome :) 

Back in May, I received my pin I'd purchased from PokoPins, and I posted 'unboxing' videos on my IG story where I discussed my initial thoughts. And you guys loved watching! I promised to blog all about it, but then something amazing happened :) The artist behind PokoPins watched my videos and loved them, too!! As a thankyou, Beth very kindly offered to send me a free pin with my next purchase from her store. How lovely is that!?! When I made my first order at the beginning of May, it was such a challenge to choose just one pin, but I had a budget to stick to. I planned to get myself another as soon as payday rolled around, so this gesture from Beth was so wonderful!! When payday finally arrived, I headed over to the PokoPins website and popped another of their stunning enamel pins into my shopping cart. Then I got to chose another!! 

Before I show off the latest additions to my ever-growing pin collection to you guys, I just wanted to say a huge thankyou to Beth!! It was so very kind of you! ♥. And now... let's look at these beauties! 

So, the very first pin that I got from the PokoPins Ghibli Beast Dangle Pin Collection was Moro. I HAD to have it as soon as I laid eyes on it, as I hardly ever see fanart/merch of this character. If you didn't already know, Moro is a character from the Studio Ghibli movie Princess Mononoke (1997), which is my absolute favourite movie by this phenomenal Japanese animation company! There are several reasons why I love it above all of their other brilliant movies, but the main one is the legendary/mythological creatures. Moro is one such creature; she's an ancient wolf god and she's epic. It's so fantastic that PokoPins included her in this collection, and even more so that she's been made cutesy! I love kawaii Moro, the cutest god of the wolves there ever was :D 

And just look at those charms! As a nature nerd, I fell in love with the pin after seeing those tiny leaves (as well as the bed of leaves Moro is sitting on), and I love that Beth incorporated Mononoke's mask into the design. It's so eye-catching and just makes the pin stand out even more. Of course, the gorgeous gold plating/outline helps. I've said this so many times, but I used to always prefer silver or darker plated metals when it came to pin badges, but I've been sold on the gold! The way it shines when it catches the sun on a nice day, almost illuminating the design. It's kind of magical! Wouldn't you agree? 

The second pin I purchased was of The Baron, who is a character from both Whisper of the Heart (1995) and The Cat Returns (2002). This dashing little feline gentleman who's full name is actually Baron Humbert von Gikkingen (what a name!) is a statue living in an antique shop, who comes to life at night-time. As soon as I discovered this fabulous character, I instantly adored him :) I have been a fan of anthropomorphic (humanised) cats since I was a small child, and the 1998 movie production of Cats the Musical is to blame. I was obsessed as a kid, still am now to be honest, and The Baron reminds me of a mashup of several characters from T.S. Elliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. This book was the inspiration behind the world famous musical. 

I am super happy that I now own some artwork of The Baron; the pin design of this character by PokoPins is the best I've seen so far! And he's even more dapper in person; you could say he's purrrfect... I'll never tire of using that pun. Please don't hate me :D

How adorable are his little top-hat and bow tie!? He looks like he means business, especially with his stern facial expression. The gold-plating matches fabulously with The Baron's ginger coat, and I really like how subtle the touches of red and blue are to his outfit. The sparkles dotted about are so pretty as well, and his ears!! They are so pointy! His dangle charms are of Toto the crow, another enchanted statue from The Cat Returns. And it's super cool that Beth has chosen him for the charms, as he's a very underrepresented character when it comes to fanart. This is actually the only time I have seen him!

This incredibly sweet pin is the one Beth very kindly gifted* to me (this was not in exchange for a review or anything, just as a thankyou for my videos, which I appreciate so much! I have anxiety disorder and videos are tough for me to make, so it's a lovely reward!). Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea is a 2008 Studio Ghibli movie, with a storyline that somewhat mirrors popular mermaid-to-human fantasies but with a twist. The star of the show is actually a goldfish who longs to be a human. She's magically transformed into one when her friendship with a little boy called Sosuke blossoms. It is such a cute and heart-warming tale, and Ponyo is a sweetheart. She is so captivated by the human world (instantly sings *Ariel, listen to me! The human world is a mess*. Uh oh, the Disney fan in me is trying to come out!), and it's such a joy to experience the journey of her first time on land alongside her. If you've seen the movie, the scene with the ramen!! If not, get it watched immediately! Heads up, if you're in the UK, it is on Netflix :) 

This pin though!! It's so bright and colourful and attention-grabbing. It's also quite bigger than the other two pins, so that makes it further stand out. I can't wait to wear it! It is marvellous that the design is of Ponyo jumping/running on top of the waves, and that her hair is flowering with the current. So adorable :) Her little happy facial expression makes me melt from the cuteness overload each time I look at it! 

The charms are super precious! The green bucket is the one that Sosuke carries his new friend around in. The boat is his toy that he's playing with in the ocean when he meets Ponyo for the first time. And the egg & pork is from that ramen scene I mentioned, so you can imagine how delighted I was when I saw this feature of the pin!! 

Guys, I need more of these Ghibli Beast Dangle pins in my life! There's so many others available; including: No Face, a soot sprite surrounded by konpeito candy, Totoro, Calcifer, the Catbus, Haku as a dragon, Jiji and Howl in his bird form. They're all stunning and their charms are so well thought out! I'd really love to buy the Haku pin next (because he's the greatest dragon ever!) but he's sold out T_T. Fingers crossed that he is backed in stock next time I visit the shop. 

All three of the pins I've talked about today are 'grade B'. If you are not familiar with this term, it refers to pins that a bit cheaper because they have the tiniest imperfections. However, as you can see, mine are all beautiful and it's really hard to notice the minuscule 'blemishes'. I have always been kind of weary about ordering grade B's, but I'm not anymore! I'm over the moon with the overall quality of the pins I received from PokoPins. Oh, by the way, the grade B pins are £10 and the standard ones are £12 each. When I placed both of my orders, there was a 10% discount offered so I only paid £9 per pin. And if you're a fellow Brit, the P&P was such a great price at £1.15! Worldwide shipping is also available, though.

Each of the pins is double-backed with two pink backs/clutches/clasps- I don't know what the heck these things are called XD But yeah, I'm very glad they are double-backed because the likelihood of them being accidentally knocked off my clothing by clumsy me is very slim, haha! One of my concerns when I first spotted these pins was that the o-rings, connecting the charms to the main body of the pin, would be flimsy and leave me worrying I'd loose a charm when I was out and about. But they seem very sturdy; i'm impressed, but only time will tell! I've not been able to persuade myself to wear them yet because they are too lovely. I have a problem. So many pins never worn... who's the same!? At least I have ita bags ordered I'm waiting for to pop my favourites in. I'm looking forward to being able to display them, without the risk of wearing them. Honestly, I have lost pins before because I've forgotten I'm wearing them and as a consequence have haphazardly took my backpack on and off whilst shopping. Oops! 

Finally, I just want to mention how smooth the enamel is. The surface of the pins have a great finish! If you have a friend or family member who's a lover of all things Ghibli, you should totally put one of these awesome pin badges away for them for Christmas, or treat yo'self. You know you want to :) 

Well, I hope you all enjoyed reading about these superb enamel pins. Which is your favourite and why? Please check out Beth's shop and give her a follow on instagram. Her artwork is soooo cute and always cheers me up whenever I'm scrolling on IG and spot her posts! Now, I'm gonna go watch The Cat Returns :D Have a nice evening, lovelies!

Thankyou for reading!

♥

Are you a pin collector?

What's your favourite Studio Ghibli character and/or movie? 

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Stina Glaas Jewellery

Hey lovelies! Can you believe it's August now!?! It's one of those years that feels like it's going by too fast, but super slow at the same time! How is that even possible?? I'd be happy if this year continued to speed by, or at least this pandemic anyway! I wanted to do so many things in 2020 and hope I get a chance to do if only a couple of them. But obviously, I'm more concerned with following the advice of the scientists and doctors and not the UK government, which has been so confusing with their guidelines... but the subject of this post isn't politics, so let's not get into that! Stay safe, my lovely readers! 

Today, I actually wanted to share something with you guys that has been one of the highlights of my year. Something that made me feel loved and I'm very thankful for that :) I've needed it! So, I hope you guys enjoy reading all about the gorgeous jewellery that my wonderful friend made for me ♥

As many of you know if you follow me over on instagram or if you've been reading my blog for a while now, one of my hobbies is toy photography. I've been collecting figures and toys for most of my life, and so you can imagine how delighted I was to discover that there's such a huge community of like-minded people over on IG. It's been amazing to share my passion for both photography and toys with people from all over the world, and I have made a lot of friends through the toy community. Friends that have really helped me get through the first year without my mother, and they provided me a place to escape from my sadness as my mother's health declined. I'm not sure where I'd be without the kindness of my online friends! 

One of those friends is a beautiful person, inside and out, by the name of Stina. We become fast friends once we got talking, because we have so much in common. Honestly, Stina has been a rock for me; she often helps me get distracted from my struggles, and to focus on the things that make me happy and keep me going. She's a ray of sunshine and colours, and also the perfect person to rant to about all the shitty things in life, which is equally important. It's cathartic and I need it... because I hate people XD (I'm only kidding, a little at least). So Thankyou Stina for being a brilliant friend!

Not only is Stina a fantastic person, but she's also a talented artist! And along with painting the loveliest colour-filled artwork, she makes jewellery as well! And as you know, that's the main reason for today's post. I wanted to show off my friend's handiwork, since I love what she made for me, but also because it's even more important than ever right now to show your support for independent businesses/artists. 

Before I show you all the creation from my friend, I just wanted to show how cutely she packaged it! She included a Pusheen badge!! Awww, it put a big smile on my face :) I love her little 'business card', too. The combination of all those colours, patterns and shapes makes my heart happy. She actually created a big painting and cut it up into small pieces to make her cards, and I think that's an awesome idea! It feels a lot nicer from a customer point of view to receive a note card like this VS a printed one (not that they can't also be lovely). 

Stina very kindly offered to make me one of her bracelets as a gift, because she is just that fabulous of a friend ♥ So let's talk all about the bracelets that she makes...

HOW PRETTY IS THIS!? As you can see, Stina creates leather bracelets that have a beautiful simplicity to them. You can choose from various colours/shades of leather, but darker shades will lighten over time. Stina can add any caption you like and I've also seen her add a little star or two along with the words! She offers the bracelets for 250 Swedish Krona, which is around £21, and for that you can have any one line of text added.  

So what do the words that I chose mean?

'Var nyfiken' means stay curious in Swedish :) I wanted my bracelet's caption to be in Swedish because I think different languages are beautiful, but also because I have always loved the Nordic countries, especially Sweden. Not only is the history fascinating and the natural landscapes breathtaking, but I'm a big fan of the Eurovision Song Content and Sweden always put on such a great show with their Melodifestivalen shows, to select the musician(s) who will represent the country each year. So yeah, I couldn't not get the wording I wanted in Swedish! 

But why 'stay curious'? For me, this statement has an important meaning. I have always been full of curiosity, since being a little kid. I have had an avid thirst for knowledge for as long as I can remember. Getting lost between the pages of factual books filled up so much of my childhood, and without getting too deep for a Saturday afternoon, I used to hate a lot of aspects about myself growing up... except my curiosity and need to discover all that I could about the world around me. And so this attribute of my personality has always been my favourite thing about me, and therefore I hold it dear to my heart. 

Furthermore, I love to encourage other people to keep learning and exploring and trying to soak up all the knowledge they can about everything around them. It is never too late to be taught something new and it's good for your brain to keep those cogs turning! I'm getting rambly, so back to my bracelet :D 

I opted for a dark shade of brown, because most of the clothing I wear is black so I thought this would bring a little colour to my overall look, but wouldn't be so bright that it clashed with any of the dresses I have that also have a splash of colour to them. I don't know if that makes sense to anyone but myself XD 

I'm also a lover of earthy tones, and the brown shade of my bracelet from Stina makes me think of trees. Gosh, do I love trees! Because of this, it's like wearing a happiness reminder on my wrist. 

Here's a photo of the bracelet on. It's so comfortable to wear! The lining is very soft and doesn't rub/irritate my skin after wearing it for an entire day, which is brilliant :) I've had lots of problems like this with bracelets in the past, probably due to a mix of sensitive skin and crappy material choices. But you don't have to worry about that with Stina's bracelets!

They fasten via a press stud (also called a snap fastener), so they are easy to get on & off, but still very sturdy. My little niece tried to open my bracelet and couldn't, so looks like they are small child proof but don't quote me on that, haha! 

Something that I love about the bracelets that my fabulous friend makes is how they are very gender neutral/unisex. This very much appeals to me. I grew up as a 'tomboy' and although I am very happy embracing my feminine side as an adult, I still find that a lot of my tastes reflect my childhood personality(?). I don't think that those tendencies were un-girl like even if society does, to the point where they have to single out a girl who likes 'boy-typical' activities (whatever they are?) as a tomboy. However, that's a whole other discussion for another post! 

I love the outdoors and mud and moss and getting on my hands and knees in the overgrowth, and the colour of this bracelet appeals to my inner goblin child :D (I think I spend too much time on tumblr...).

Stina's bracelets are custom-made so you can get the right size for yours to fit snugly or loosely, whatever your personal preference is. I decided to get mine at a size that would mean it would sit a bit further down from my wrist. This is due to the fact that bracelets can annoy me when I'm writing or typing if they are on my wrist. I've had no such issues so far doing these things whilst wearing the bracelet crafted by Stina! 

I wanted to let you guys know that my friend makes other jewellery pieces as well, including necklaces and bracelets with different thicknesses and designs. All at very affordable prices :) You can find out more over on Stina's instagram and have a look through the photos she has of her pieces (plus lots of flowers and other pretty things!). Go give her a follow here. 

I thought I'd show off the adorable way that Stina packaged my bracelet. I absolutely love when artists present their work in such a lovely way, in which you can tell that a lot of thought and care has gone into it. As a customer, you feel that they really appreciate your order and it's just a sweet touch. I mean, who doesn't enjoy opening pretty mail!? 

Check out how fancy Stina's signature looks! Mine is like a child attempting to write cursive for the first time :D I'm not even joking... I seriously need to up my signature game. Anyhow, I am really impressed with the bracelet that my wonderful friend very kindly made me as a gift. It's aesthetically pleasing, goes well with every outfit I have worn it with, I've even gotten in soaking wet whilst gardening and it came out unscathed! These bracelets, and the other creations by Stina, would make such awesome presents for your friends and family; you should totally make an order now that Christmas is going to be with us in a few months time! 

I hope you guys enjoyed reading all about my stay curious bracelet by the fantastic Stina Glaas, and checking out my photography of it. Isn't it super beautiful!? Today is actually Stina's birthday and her artwork deserves your love!! I've been meaning to write this post for a while but I recently decided what better day to share it on than her birthday. I wanted to champion my friend and her talents! Wishing you the most marvellous day filled with cake and sunshine and relaxation and all things pretty, Stina! Thankyou for being an amazing friend to me!! Have a lovely rest of the weekend, people :) 

Thankyou for reading! 

♥

What would you get written on your own personalised bracelet? 

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I Didn't Complete the Readathon and That's Okay

Hi everyone! I hope you've all had an excellent bank holiday weekend :) It's just been the same old weekend as always for me, but I know many of you are very glad to have a break from work. I'd love to hear all about how you spent your bank holiday (despite lockdown making our days pretty uneventful, or mine at least!). 

So as you guys can tell from the title, today I'm writing a follow up to the last few bookish posts I shared on my blog. They were all about a readathon I was taking part in, and well... I didn't end up completing it! Oops :D But instead of beating myself up about it, I thought I'd share my thoughts about how I am looking at this positively. Enjoy reading! 

In case you haven't read my previous posts about the reading challenge, let me tell you all about it. It's a readathon that you can join in all year round, so if you're feeling inspired or looking for something to keep you busy during the current quarantine situation (don't listen to the government, you should still be staying indoors, if you can help it!), then definitely do the EstellosaurusReads 3 week, 4 book readathon! The reading challenge was set up by my amazing friend Estelle, over on her booktube, aka. book-themed YouTube channel. Go give EstellosaurusReads a follow! The rules of the challenge, as the name suggests, involve reading four books over a three week period, one from each of the following categories: a historical fiction, a non-fiction, a re-read & a book about the apocalypse (which is very fitting right now!). If you have read a book from one of these categories before and decide to give it another read, then you could tick off both for example, the non-fiction and the re-read books together, if that makes sense :) I however wanted to challenge myself to read more, because I was so behind on the Good Reads challenge I set myself for 2020!

So, what happened? 

Like with most of these kinds of things I decide to partake in, I always begin really determined and motivated. I get off to a great start and am very hyped about the challenge, but then eventually, life gets in the way and my enthusiasm ends up dwindling. It doesn't matter how much I love whatever I am trying to do, it's a struggle for me to keep it up. And this is most attributed to the fact that I live with several chronic illnesses, which mean my daily experience changes and whereas one day I can feel energised and ready to throw all my attention at something, the next day I can wake up feeling dejected, riddled with pain and it's a struggle to pull myself through the day. Who can relate? When it comes to my love for reading, don't get me wrong, it is a passion of mine; I love books! I adore getting lost between the pages, and many a difficult day throughout my life has been spent ignoring the outside world and getting drawn into a captivating story. Unfortunately, sometimes this just isn't possible. I just can't muster the mental strength it takes to pick up a book I'm supposed to be reading, and even if I do manage it, my concentration will often be almost non-existent and the intrusive thoughts I suffer from can mean that I can't detach myself from the negativity, and therefore I cannot get engrossed in the words on the page. 

Right now, so many of us are feeling crappy. And to be honest, I didn't expect to feel the way I do, considering I'm introverted and I have social anxiety, so staying at home is usually my happy place. Even when I'm looking forward to something, it's a challenge for me to fight the urge to cancel plans last-minute. But, I have started to feel trapped. I guess that it's different when you are forced to stay home VS getting to make that decision yourself (even if it can feel like your anxious wreck of a brain is usually the one making the decisions for you). It's tough enough being drained of energy due to my chronic illnesses, but then there's all this piled on top of that. Basically, it's tough af to get things done at the moment, and I'm sure lots of you will be in the same boat! 

Thus, I have been really up and down with my reading, and this all began practically as soon as I started the readathon. I re-read a favourite children's classic of mine, A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. You can check my review here, if you're interested. Everything was going well. Then I started the non-fiction, and had opted for a topic that I don't usually read because I wanted to really challenge myself and learn something new in the process, however in hindsight, I shouldn't have done that whilst taking part in a challenge because I know my ways! I really couldn't get into it, and although there were some interesting parts, I was finding that I didn't want to pick up the book and it became a chore. 

I started to get irritated at myself and this didn't help either. I was irritated that I wasn't compelled to finish the book, and then the annoyance was making it even more difficult for me to do it. Living with mental illness really is like walking around with a storm cloud hoovering above your head sometimes! I found that I would get negative feelings about myself every time I thought about the book. By the time I finally convinced myself that I wasn't giving up and could come back to the non-fiction book, I didn't have much time left... 

I started reading Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace, for the historical fiction category, and I loved it! It was exactly what I wanted to be reading. It consumed my mind in the way that you want a book to, or I do anyway! I want to be thinking about the book after I put it down, find myself throughout the day puzzling over questions and theories I have developed, and struggle to put the book down to get boring adulting stuff done. But this novel is a good size and so it got to the end of my three weeks and I hadn't completed the challenge. With this came more negative thoughts, and that ruined my reading experience for a while. Oh, the joys of an overcritical mind! 

Last week, after giving myself a much needed rest, I picked up the book where I'd left off and all was great again! I've finished it now, and I very much enjoyed it :) Although I have my opinions, both positive and not, but this isn't a review post, haha. Since then, I have felt very motivated to read. I am almost finished with another book, The Neverending Story by Michael Ende, and oh my gosh, I'm obsessed!! Next, I will be FINALLY be reading Christina Dalcher's Vox :D So, in my opinion, the challenge has had a positive outcome. And even though I didn't complete it, as a result of taking part, I have been able to make additions to my Good Reads challenge and have had new stories brought into my life. Now, I don't want to stop reading! I am even now looking over at The Neverending Story with hungry eyes :D 

Something that I really like about Estelle's readathon is that I can have another go at any time! And so, I am planning on trying again later in the year, maybe when things are much improved with regards to the pandemic, or when I've gotten used to things! With the way the people in charge of running my country are going, I feel like it's only going to get worse, but let's not get into that... And this time around, I'm going to stick to a non-fiction topic that I know I will enjoy, like nature or psychology. I might try to go back to the book that initiated a case of readers-block in me at some point, now that there's no time constraint looming in the back of my mind. Even if I only read a page a day! It's not THAT boring, but I have discovered that a close look into the ins and outs of life as a barrister in the UK is not my thing. Although, at least I've added to my bank of random knowledge to pull out during a pub quiz! You never know when you might require a snippet of seemingly unimportant knowledge. haha. 

Anyhow, all in all, I enjoyed that the challenge lead me to read A Little Princess again, since I'd not read it for close to eight years and it was interesting to look at the book after having gone though some more life experience. It's always fascinating to see how you'll interpret a text in a future read, and discover how much your tastes or thoughts around a particular subject may have changed over time. It was a lovely nostalgic read and it got my imagination cogs turning, so to speak, which is always fun! As I said, I have been reading more over the last two weeks and that is also thanks to the readathon. So even if you don't complete a task that you start, especially if it's a challenge, then all was not in vain. You can still get something out an experience that you tried, even if that's just knowing what not to do again :)

I'll stop typing away now because Bastian, Atreyu and the Childlike Empress are calling me, and I have a mighty need to get lost in their adventure once more! This was a very wordy, chatty, whatever you'd call it type of post but I hope that it was still an interesting read, nonetheless. I hope that if you take anything away from it, that it's a reminder to not put yourself down for trying. It can take a lot to have a go at something, and we all have things going on in our lives that can interrupt our plans, but that's okay (albeit frustrating). Be kind of yourselves!

Thankyou for reading!

♥

Have you been reading lately? 

Got any recommendations (or suggestions of books to avoid)? 

I'm also interested to know whether you just enjoy reading posts like this? 

EstellosaurusReads Readathon: Week 1 Update

Happy Wednesday, guys! How's your life in lockdown going? Lately, my time has been filled up by reading & photography. I've been spending most of my days in the garden :) I have always been very grateful for the fact that I have a garden, as it is a big help when it comes to my mental health, but especially now, it has taken my gratitude to a whole new level! If you don't have a garden yourself, please make sure to get outside for a little while, at least once a week, even if it's just to venture around the block. Fresh air & surrounding yourselves with nature is important for your well-being, and it's nice to appreciate the seasonal changes that have sprung around us all now that it's Springtime. Anyhow... let me shut up my inner nature nerd and get on topic :D 

Today, I'm going to be talking about my progress now that I'm one week into the EstellosaurusReads 3 week, 4 book Readathon. If you haven't read my previous post, check it out now for all the important info :) And then you can join in, too! Now's the perfect time to throw yourself into reading and get transported to a world where Covid-19 is not wreaking havoc! 

So far, I have checked off the re-read category, by finishing A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I'm going to be sharing a little review for that in this post :) This story was a childhood favourite of mine, and I have the 1995 movie to thank for that. I didn't actually read the book until I was a teenager, and before this past week, I had only read it two times. It had been around 8 years since that second reading, and it's always interesting how our opinions and feelings surrounding stories can change over time. I still love it, don't worry! But it's fascinating how looking at the book with fresh eyes (if that even makes sense) and a few more years life experience has an impact, even if it's a small one. It did not take me long to complete this book, especially as the story gets going, as I am always pulled into it and it doesn't take long for my brain to start swirling with imagery. It's lovely to experience feelings of nostalgia when remembering things you were fond of as a child. I just didn't want to put the book down! 

I decided that next I was going to start the non-fiction category, as I felt like it would a good transitionary read between a children's book and the apocalyptic novel I'm planning on reading as my third book of the readathon. When it comes to non-fiction, I usually stick to the same subjects, the ones that most interest me, such a animal science, nature, psychology & true crime. But as I mentioned in my first post for the EstellosaurusReads challenge, I went with something different, and I'm interested to broaden my knowledge of the in's and out's of the UK's criminal justice system. I started Anonymous Author's The Secret Barrister on Monday, and so far, it's been a pretty good read. Up to where I am now, the author is going over the history of various sectors of the law, and how those have changed into what we now see in the modern day court setting. As a history lover, I have found myself pretty engrossed in these pages. However, I'll let you guys know more in my next update :) 

Okay, here's my attempt at a book review :D Apologies in advance if it's boring or I ramble! 


Firstly, I want to give this novel a rating of 5 stars! And thus, it's pretty obviously that this review is going to be a mostly positive one, but I will mention some parts that I wish were done differently and give my two-cents on the very few negative opinions I have. The blurb for A Little Princess is as follows: Alone in a new country, wealthy Sara Crewe tries to settle in and make friends at boarding school. But when she learns that she'll never see her beloved father again, her life is turned upside down. Transformed from princess to pauper, she must swap dancing lessons and luxury for hard work and a room in the attic. Will she find that kindness and generosity are all the riches she truly needs? I love a good boarding school setting! I'm not sure why, possibly because of its historical element (I mean, there are of course modern day boarding schools, but the kind that pop up in fiction are typically from another time period or run in the same traditional way that they have always done. When it comes to Harry Potter, for example... although it is full of magic, the school itself is dated, and it's wonderful!). 

The protagonist, little Sara Crewe, is easy to like! With a whimsical and fanciful nature, it's impossible to not find her endearing. Her imagination runs away with her constantly and we are given the impression that she was basically a story-teller from the moment she could talk. She's awe-inspiring to all who meet her throughout the story, and it is not difficult to see why. She's caring, very understanding of human nature for such a young person, and her personality makes one wish that they had a friend like her, at least I do! I can very much relate to Sara in that I would get carried away with myself all the time as a kid when it came to story-telling. I would go off on a tangent as my imagination took over :D I just hope that others thought of me as those around the protagonist do, and didn't find me annoying, haha! 

We are now heading into spoiler territory! I won't go into too much detail, as I might ramble on all night given the chance, but I will tell you guys all about my favourite and least favourite moments of the novel. 

What I Liked About this Book

As mentioned above, Sara's character is one of the best features of the story, in my opinion :) The book is set in the Victorian era, and so we are met with various customs surrounding class and societal expectations. There was a strict class system during this period of history and people were treat a certain way depending on which part of society they belonged to. Sara and the other students of the boarding school were upper-class, and as such we see that they have been raised to uphold specific judgements towards people who are lower in social rank than them. Sara, however, who was raised in India around many people who all lead different walks of life, is a very compassionate little girl and does not look at the world through the prejudiced eyes that those around her do. She is nice to everyone, even those who are mean towards her, and this is a lovely quality to possess, especially because it so contrasts the status quo of the period. 

One of my favourite parts of A Little Princess is the relationship between Sara and the scullery maid, Becky. Becky has been accustomed to a life of hardship and has always been treat poorly because she is a servant. The children of the school copy the example of their teachers & the figures of authority in their lives and so they shun Becky/ ignore her due to the difference in their situations. Sara was lovely with Becky from the start. As she told her stories to her peers, she wanted to share the joy of make-believe with all who were interested in hearing it, and therefore encouraged Becky to listen, too, to the confusion of the other girls. She and Becky fast-formed a bond as teller and listener, and Sara would organise for her new-found friend to meet with her whilst she was carrying out her chores so that she could give her a new snippet of a tale each day. It was so sweet! Once Sara's situation changed and she & Becky were now living under the same circumstance, their friendship only grew and it was heart-warming to read :) 

There are so many other things that I could mention as another favourite! But I'll go for the way that Sara has such a positive outlook on life. Due to the power of such a strong imagination and her ability to see the best in everything, she is able to always look on the bright side of life, as the saying goes. So much so that the people around her can't help seeing things the way she does. Her happiness radiates and she is very persuasive. There is a scene in particular when she is able to imagine that she is hosting a fine tea party in her attic bedroom, and is able to describe the most enchanting scene that her friends become fully enthralled in the fantasy, too. It's beautiful! 

I can't focus on anymore of the good parts now because my post is getting very long! Thankyou to all of you who are made it this far; I hope that you are finding my review to be an interesting one at least! :D 

What I Disliked About this Book 

Now let's discuss the parts I don't like! In the story, extraordinary occurrences take place. A man living next door, after having observed Sara's wonderful personality and her unique ways, decides to surprise our protagonist by transforming her attic bedroom into a tiny replica of a one that is fit for a princess. Whilst she is asleep, her room is transformed and she wakes up, as is to be expected, with amazed surprise to the extremely kind gesture. This is all wonderful, however, we find out that the man has been watching her (that sounds creepy, haha!) and he takes pity on her living situation. As Sara shares the attic with Becky, and they spend time together often, it annoys me that the man doesn't show the same generosity towards her also. Eventually, after watching the reaction of Sara in response to the bedroom makeover and that Becky was immediately invited to join in the splendour by her, he then makes sure to leave behind enough food for the both of them the following morning. It just somewhat broke my heart that after observing the both of them, he only took it upon himself to treat Sara. Why though? His character is described in such a way that we are supposed to see him as a very kind and caring man, and although he clearly shows that with his gesture, I still see an underlying layer of classism. He can tell that because Sara is a well-spoken, educated person, that she clearly isn't the typical servant girl, and she is given this surprise largely because of that. Yes, she is also kind and sweet, but so is Becky... so why was she not considered? Let me know what you guys think about this... singling out?

Also in regards to the treatment of Becky, it really disappoints me at the end of the novel, when Sara's place in society is reinstated once she is 'found' and made aware of her fortune, that she is taken away from the life of a servant and is once more going to be raised as a high-society lady, that Becky, her ally and now very close friend, is removed from the school, too, yes, but she is to become one of Sara's servants essentially. I don't see why the kind man who takes Sara in couldn't also 'adopt' Becky as well; it's not as if Sara's fortune is meagre, she's really rich!! Both girls could live very comfortable lives via her inheritance and Becky could be educated, as well. This would have been a happy ending for all round! I know that we are made to see this ending as a happy one for Becky, but she's still a servant at the end of the day. I understand that the book was written in 1901 (I think) and this ending for Becky would have been seen as a very fortunate one by readers at the time, but ugh. It just irks me. In the 1995 movie adaptation, Becky becomes like a sister to Sara. I could write a whole post about the difference between the movie and the book though, so let me know if that's something you'd like to see, guys :) 

I will force myself to stop here! I hope you all enjoyed reading my review of Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess. Please tell me if you did so I can stop worrying, and share more in the future. I'm having a lot of fun taking part in the EstellosaurusReads readathon! Be sure to check out Estelle's blog & booktube channel. 

Thankyou for reading! Have a lovely rest of the week, everyone! 

♥

Have you ever read A Little Princess before? What's your opinion?

What about the movie adaptation I've mentioned? 

Also, I'd love to hear what books you're all reading right now :) 

The EstellosaurusReads Readathon

Hi lovelies! I hope you're all having a marvellous start to the week :) Today, I have another bookish post to share with you all & as you can see from the title, it involves my fabulous friend & fellow blogger, Estelle. If you haven't read my last post where I answered Estelle's Book Tag, you can check it out here. As for today's post, I'm going to be talking about the EstellosaurusReads 3 Week, 4 Book Readathon. I'll be talking about what's involved, aka., the categories, and discussing the four books I have chosen. Enjoy!

As well as writing a blog, Estelle also runs two YouTube channels, one dedicated to spreading awareness about everyday life living with a disability, and the other is EstellosaurusReads, which as you have probably guessed, it's all about the wonderful world of reading! It is through this channel that Estelle has launched her new readathon challenge, that you can join in with at anytime. The only rules are that you follow the categories and you read your books within three weeks :) Click here to watch the original challenge video. 

So, what are the categories? Participants are asked to choose a book from each of the following genres: 1 Historical fiction, 1 Apocolypse themed book, 1 non-fiction, and 1 re-read of any kind. There's also the option to limit the amount of books to have to read to three, if the re-read chosen also fits into another of the aforementioned categories. 

It was perfect timing that Estelle announced her readathon just before I was planning to do a book haul on eBay! I had been wanting to get some new books for a while, and this lockdown/quarantine was the kick up the butt I needed to get the ball rolling :D The start of 2020 has been a rough one for me, even before this dreadful virus surfaced, and as a consequence, I just haven't had any motivation to do much of anything. I am seriously behind on my GoodReads challenge for the year! But it feels like a brilliant time to get lost in my happy place, which is between the pages of a good book, and not think about what's happening in the world as I stay indoors. If you're a fan of reading and you're looking for something to occupy these days cooped up at home, then you should join in, too :) 

Okay, so the books that I have chosen are as follows; 

For Historical Fiction, I decided on Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood. If you haven't heard of this author before, she is the brains behind the original story that inspired the popular Hulu series, The Handmaid's Tale. This book is actually one of the best I've read and I'm a big fan of the show, so I'm very curious to see how her writing translates over to a historical tale. Alias Grace was adapted into a six-part series by Netflix back in 2017, and as I am a lover of all things period drama, I really enjoyed it. Let's see if I feel the same way about the story in its literary form! 

For the Apocolytic catergory, I originally chose The Passage by Justin Cronin, but the book that arrived is MASSIVE and I feel like it might be a struggle for me to read along with the other books :D However, I luckily ordered another novel of the same type and that is Cormac McCarthy's The Road. You may recognise the name from the movie adaptation released in 2009. I watched it as soon as it was released on DVD because Viggo Mortensen *all the heart eyes*, and thought it was a very compeling story. I am super excited to read the book! 

When it comes to the re-read, I have chosen one of my favourite stories of all-time,  A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. This is a classic children's novel by the same author who is behind the more well known, The Secret Garden. I fell in love with the tale I am going to re-read when I was around 7 years old and watched the 1995 movie on TV. The protagonist is called Sara, just like me and that made me even more drawn into the story, as well as the historical setting, as I have always been a history nerd. I didn't actually read the book until I was in my teens when I borrowed it from the local library, and in my 20's when I got my kindle, I downloaded the story and read it again, and loved it just as much. I'm very much looking forward to reading it for a third time, and I'm sure I'll read it again and again for years to come :)

Lastly, the fourth book that I will be reading as part of the EstellosaurusReads readathon, to check off the non-fiction category, is something that I wouldn't normally read, so it's going be very interesting. I am a seeker of knowledge, in general, and will read a lot of non-fiction books about topics that interest me, mostly animal science and nature related, but also psychology, history, medical science and enclyopaedia-esque books. Even though I was wanting to choose a book that was outside of my usual go-to topics, I honestly just went for this book as I was trying to pick things from the same second-hand seller :D But I'm hoping that The Secret Barrister is a fun read. We'll see! I do really like how the author is anoymous... i'm crossing my fingers for some intriguing reveals about what goes on behind the scenes in the law system. 

Well, those are the reasons for why I chose the four books I am going to be reading over the next three weeks. I'm going to start tomorrow, Wednesday 8th April and will need to be completed by the 29th. Wish me luck! I am planning to post updates, maybe including book reviews, even through I'm not sure I can write them very well, haha. 

A big thankyou to Estelle for setting up this readathon challenge, and giving us all something to distract ourselves from all the shit that's taking place around us at the moment. Be sure to head over to her blog to have a read; she posts lots about books, and also fashion, living with sacral agenesis, hauls, cats and more. She also the most colourful & awesome Instagram that you need to follow! Whether you are joining in with this readathon or not (which you totally should be), happy reading, my bookworm brethren :)

Thankyou for reading!

♥

What are you reading at the moment?

Do you have any book recommendations from the categories mentioned in this post? 

Follow along with my readathon progress via my Instagram & Twitter 

Blogging & Perfectionism

This probably isn't going to be a very interesting post to read, more like reading a diary entry full of rambling. I'm not sure; I'm just sort of word-vomiting onto my laptop, in an attempt to get myself back into the swing of blogging. Maybe I'll post this, maybe not. So, I haven't blogged in what feels like forever (since the start of November, to be exact!). 

You will likely know why if you follow me over on Instagram. I don't want to get into things today, but 2019 was the worst and as a result, my mental health has been all over the place- I'm constantly flitting (that doesn't sound like a real word? :D) between a deep low to a state of numbness. It's tiring... disorienting... debilitating. The way I'm feeling has seeped into all areas of my life, putting a dampener on everything. When I'm happy for a brief moment, it feels somewhat fake... I don't really know how to put it into words, sort of like true happiness is unattainable to me now. Gosh, reading back over my words, that sounds so dire. My inner emo kid has been awaking ever since My Chemical Romance announced their comeback, but bloody hell XD. Sorry to anyone reading! 

But yeah, that's how things have been going for me. My mental health has been wrecking havoc on my ability to function. I guess that leads me onto a topic for this post I'm writing today. 

Any blogger, or creator sharing their work with others, will tell you that even with the most confident of people, there are always going to be times when you critique yourselves too harshly, question whether your work is good enough, wonder if you sound silly or [insert another negative descriptive here]. It's inevitable. We are our own worst critics, as they say. However, when you struggle with low confidence on a daily basis, or live with a mental illness- the self-doubt can be intense and really affect writing (or whatever creative outlet is your thing). 

I can't put a number to how many times I've deleted posts because I wasn't happy with how it read, or left content sitting unpublished for weeks, months even, trying to persuade myself that it was good enough to share. I often have to get my friends to read my writing for reassurance, too. That's the reality of being a blogger when you deal with anxiety disorder and depression >.< 

As with all chronic illnesses, when times are tough, when life is stressful, when you're feeling under the weather and whatnot, your conditions get worse. So all of these 'symptoms', things that occur due to that relentless, judging internal voice, become amplified, more nagging, and can have a substantial impact on the criticism we dish out to ourselves. 

So, how does this tie in with my current situation? Amongst other things, something that I can only describe as perfectionism plays a huge role in my anxiety around blogging. Well, writing in any form... essays and assignments back when I was studying, the fantasy stories I enjoy writing as a hobby, even when formulating emails or having conversations online- all that I do with regards to writing is, for lack of a better word, obsessed over. It's because it means so much to me! I put a lot into my writing and it's my favourite way of expressing myself, and thus it's something I give myself a lot of pressure to do well at. And when I'm experiencing feelings like the way I am at the moment, where my inner negativity monster is seemingly winning (if that even makes sense), my perfectionism complex is raging. 

If you made it through my rambles this far and haven't clicked off my blog in boredom, then I want to say Thankyou :) I know it probably sucks that this is my first post in ages and of the New Year, but I want to share something personal with you guys, especially with my loyal readers who have stuck around even though I've become the worst blogger ever. It means so much to me! Life is tough, but it's made that little bit more bearable knowing that you all still want to visit my little corner of the internet and are interested in what's going on in my mess of a life ♥ 

Anyhow, the reason I wanted to spill my brains into this post and share with you all my dealings with the wonderful world of perfectionism is because it's this very thing that has caused (not solely, but mostly) my severe lack of posts. Self-criticism has been ridiculously peaked for me, for a while now, meaning that I just couldn't bring myself to post new content or even write it. I convinced myself that in cheerful posts I sounded like I was trying too hard to disguise the reality, that I felt really shitty. I told myself that nothing read well, everything was uninteresting or lacking something that I didn't have the ability to fix. 

Upon reflection, I know that these 'imperfections' would probably have been unnoticeable to someone reading my posts, but at the time of writing, the anxiety was overwhelming and so I just couldn't work past it. Blogging just wasn't happening :( 

I thought that this would go away as time went by, that things would get better. But I'm still feeling as crap as ever, and I can't say anything has gotten easier. I don't really know what I'm supposed to do to help pull myself out of this hole that I've fallen into. However, my blog is important to me and it's causing me so much stress that it's just sitting here being neglected. I want 2020 to be better and so I've decided that I'm going to work my butt off to get things at Raiin Monkey back to how they were. If my writing sounds rubbish or is boring or doesn't make sense, fuck it. I'm trying my best and that's all that I can do! 

So, I think I'm going to end my first post of 2020 here before I give myself the opportunity to go off on a tangent, and make anyone actually reading this never want to come back to my blog again :D Thanks again to anyone who made it this far! You're all stars & I love you!! Wishing you all an incredibly wonderful year, filled with yummy food, happy moments, good mental health days & all the motivation to get shit done! 

Thankyou for reading!

♥ 

What's something that you're looking forward to this year?

Did you set any goals for yourself? I'd love to hear what they are!

Even though I've been crap at blogging, I'm still active over on my social media, so give me a follow to keep up to date with what I'm doing and such :)

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