New Years Tag | Hello 2021

Hi lovelies! I hope the start of the year has been good for you all ♥ (if not, sending you virtual hugs!). During the lead up to January, I was trying to think of a New Years themed post, because well, it's just the obligatory thing to post on a blog. However, I'm not a huge fan of goals or resolutions posts, at least for myself, anymore. I just find that they make me put a huge amount of pressure on myself to complete the tasks and then give my readers updates, and when it comes to my own mental health, it is not a great idea... so yeah, I searched my brain for something different I could share with you all. And I eventually thought why not create a tag? That way, those of you who feel the same as I do when it comes to sharing your goals for the year on the internet (or even making concentre goals at all) would still be able to chat about the start of a new year on your blog! I hope you guys enjoy reading my answers and please feel free to do the tag, but be sure to tag me so I can check your post :) Happy New Year Everyone!! 

Tags always include rules, right? So, here's mine: 

1) Copy the questions to your blog,

2) Link back to my original post, and also thank the person who tagged you (linking theirs, too),

3) Answer the questions, 

4) Add your own question (if you want to), 

5) Tag 4-6 friends to answer it,

6) Give yourself a pat on the back. You blogged!! You're awesome! 

And here are my answers. Enjoy! 

1) Let's start by looking back at 2020. What were three good things that happened to you?

If you follow me over on instagram, then you'll more than likely know that last year, my sister & I welcomed our niece into our home. She cannot live with her parents, for reasons that I would never disclose on the internet, so she's living with us permanently; although, technically with my sister, but we live together at the moment so yeah, we have a very curious and energetic two year old in our lives now! She's honestly brought so much joy back into our home, which hadn't felt the same ever since our mom passed away. Now, the house is filled with laughter and constant adorableness. So of course, Fifi is the best thing that happened for me in 2020 :)  

Also, throughout the year, my amazing friends seriously spoilt me with all of the gifts and letters and packages they sent to me!! It was so very kind of them and I am ever so grateful! I feel very loved :') And good thing no.3 has to be Animal Crossing coming into my life at Christmas Time!! Eeee! I'm already obsessed, and it was even a struggle to pry myself off the game this evening to write this post, haha! 

2) What was a positive to come out of spending all that time at home?

To be honest, living the chronic illness life means that I spend the majority of my existence at home anyway. Alongside that, I've always been a hermit who prefers my own company, tucked away indoors with a good book or show/movie to get lost in. So, 2020 wasn't a massive change for me when it came to lockdown. The only struggles I've had is not being able to see my best friends (and the challenge of trying to get a grocery delivery slot, and in the end being forced to venture to the supermarket, even though I have asthma and a crappy immune system... ugh). 

Negativity aside, something that happened due to being at home and seeing so many people decorating whilst browsing online is that it gave me the kick up the butt that I needed to finally decorate my own room! I'd been delaying it for years because of life problems, so it feels awesome to have my new furniture assembled, wallpaper up and I'm a few steps away from finishing converting the built-in cupboard into my wardrobe! Hooray!! 

3) Did you start any new hobbies in 2020? Discover any new interests?

My answer to this question is a boring one, because I didn't begin any new hobbies! I already have too many hobbies and interests than I can handle as it is XD I fixate on one of them for a while, and then end up moving onto something else, but I will continue to partake in them all. I guess, I did end up colouring a lot more than usual, and that's mostly down to the fact that my friends bought me so many lovely colouring books from my amazon wishlist. Love you guys! 

4) What was your best watch and/or read of 2020?

The best read for me was The NeverEnding Story by Michael Ende. I absolutely adored it! It was really enthralling and a wonderful journey to go on with the characters :) I haven't seen the movie since I was too young to remember, so it was a lovely surprise! I've been putting off re-watching the movie until I read the book, so I need to do that soon. It's actually one of my best reads ever! 

As for movies, that's a tough one. I watched 56 movies in 2020 (I keep a list... nerdy, I know!), and there were many that I enjoyed a lot. I finally watched Wreck It Ralph (2012) and Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018) with my sister for her birthday back in April, and they were epic!! I regret not watching them sooner! The sequel was my favourite of the two. How about you? I also wanted a movie called Hippotamus (2017) that had a very interesting storyline.  Oh, The Nightingale (2018) was another good watch, and Netflix's Enola Holmes (2020). When it comes to TV shows, The Witcher was the highlight of my year. I watched it three times, and bought all of the books to read this year! It's amazing!! I also watched the adaptation of His Dark Materials and loved that (I've purchased the books now, too). Netflix's Cursed was awesome, as well. I've heard that it's been cancelled... I hope not! I finally watched the two part adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time from 2004, and it was fantastic! I need to add the book to my TBR list... 

5) Name five things or people that helped get you through the gloomy times?

- Music (and doing a lot of theatrical singalongs... my poor neighbours :D),

- YouTube (I watched way more YT than shows or movies in 2020. I practically live on YT!),

- Nature (my garden has always been my happy place, but even more so this year!),

- The internet!

- Writing (it's been a big help to focus my thoughts on a fantasy realm VS real life, haha),

And when it comes to people, my sister and my niece has been a massive help! As well as one of my closest online friends, Stina, who has become a best friend of mine through 2020; we have grown so close through talking almost everyday, and I don't know what I'd have done without her :) All of my online, and fellow blogger, friends had a huge impact on my life last year and I cannot thank them enough! I have the most fabulous friends!! 

6) Okay, phew! We can forget last year now!! Share something you want to achieve this year.

I want to read more. I said that at the beginning of 2020, yet for some reason, I just couldn't do it. My mental health wasn't great because of all that was going on in the world, and then I was super busy preparing for the arrival of my niece and then adjusting to all of the changes to my life. So yeah, I need to read all of the books that I kept on buying last year and not reading... oops. I also want to, of course, complete my room decorating, and I want give more attention to writing my novel. 

7) Tell us three things you're looking forward to.

I am always looking forward to the joys that nature will bring into my life every year, the changing of the seasons and what delights will come with them. All of the wildlife encounters I might have, and the shots that I may manage to get on my camera. It's so exciting to me because I'm a massive nature geek :D

That, and Animal Crossing!! Getting a switch of my own (because right now, I'm playing on my sisters) and all of the games I'll be able to play. It has been a while since I've been able to game, and I cannot wait to play more!! 

8) Other than our current global situation, what's one thing in your life that you'd like to change in 2021? 

Umm, the only aspects of my life that I would like to improve upon this year that I can think of right now, are my German language skills and my confidence. I have been learning German for a while now, and I haven't got as far as I would have liked to, thus I need to up my game and practice every single day! And even though I have come a long lonnnnnng way with my self-love, there's still a lot that I need to work on :) Maybe 2021 will be my year!

The Questions:

1. Let's start by looking back at 2020. What were three good things that happened to you?

2. What was a positive to come out of spending all that time at home? 

3. Did you start any new hobbies in 2020? Discover any new interests? 

4. What was your best watch and/or read of 2020?

5. Name five things or people that helped get you through the gloomy times?

6. Okay, phew! We can forget last year now!! Share something you want to achieve this year.

7. Tell us three things you're looking forward to.

8. Other than our current global situation, what's one thing in your life that you'd like to change in 2021? 

I tag: 

Jess from Little Piink Duck

Natalee from There Might Be Coffee

Estelle from Estellosaurus 

Kim from Chimmyville

Cate from Cateaclysmic

and Eleanor from MxrshmallowQueen 

Well, it was quite cathartic to look back on 2020 in a positive light :D I hope reading my post helped you guys feel better about that shitshow! And that it's gotten you feeling at least a little optimistic about the next twelve months :) Here's to a year full of fun moments, lots of happy mail, yummy food, good movies and vaccinations! Yay!! 

Thankyou for reading! 

♥

One final question for today, what new releases are you excited for in 2021? 

movies, games, shows, products... whatever it is, tell me :)

You can find me over on:

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Horror Movie Tag

Hello everyone! I hope all of you are having a marvellous weekend! It's 19 days into October and I'm only now posting something Halloween-y. This is shocking behaviour and I thought it was about time that I fixed it!! Over the last week or so, I've been trying to come up with spooky post ideas, so it was perfect timing for the lovely Kim over at Chimmyville to tag me in this Horror Movie Tag! Be sure to head over to her blog and check out her post :) I hope you all enjoy reading my answers! 

1. What is the first horror movie you remember watching?

When I was around 10 or 11 years old, I was hanging out at my friends house and being the weird little vampire-obsessed kids that we were back then (totally not changed much, haha!), we decided to watch Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992). I felt like such a rebel because I knew I wouldn't have been allowed to watch it at home :D In all the excitement, we then wanted to watch another horror, and ended up choosing Alien (1979) next. Are there any movies that made you feel cool when you watched it as a kid? 

2. What is your favourite horror movie?

My more well-known favourite horror movies are A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), Rob Zombie's The Devil's Rejects (2005), and 2017's IT movie (Chapter 1). I also LOVE a much lesser-known horror by Wes Craven, The People Under the Stairs (1991) and a more recent fantastic, and often underrated, movie called The Witch / The VVitch: A New-England Folk Tale (2015). Any fellow Black Phillip fans reading? :D 

3. What's your favourite horror movie genre?

I love slasher movies best. I also thoroughly enjoy a good old psychological horror/thriller, especially The Silence of the Lambs (1991). 

4. What genre scares you the most?

I don't get scared by horrors, but there's definitely things that make me cringe (and not in a 'gosh, that's bad' kind of way). When it comes to some gore, I always have cover my eyes but of course, I'm peeping through my hands because I'm too curious for my own good, haha! One scene that comes to mind is from House of Wax (2005) when a character gets their Achilles tendon cut with scissors... eeeek! 

5. What is the last horror movie you watched that actually scared you?

As I said above, I don't really get scared when watching horror. I just love them! But I've jumped a couple of times... I'm not a fan of that clown doll in Poltergeist (1982) that pulls the kid under the bed! I also once watched one of those dramatized 'based on a real story' style thrillers, called Megan Is Missing (2011) and there's a dead body scene in that which looked so realistic the first time I watched it that I jumped! Anyone ever seen this movie? 

6. Who is your ultimate Scream Queen?

I think Drew Barrymore was brilliant at the start of Scream (1996)… did you know that she was originally offered the lead role but she couldn't do it, so Neve Campbell was cast? I love Neve Campbell's performance though so I'm happy it worked out that way! I'm gonna have the iconic 'Hello Sidney' line stuck in my head for ages now XD One of the best horror movie intros ever! 

Maika Monroe's role as lead character in It Follows (2014) is fantastic, too! I know it's not a movie, but Sarah Paulson is always epic in American Horror Story :) Who else watches the show? If so, do you have a favourite season? Mine's Season 4: Freak Show. I love Anya Taylor-Joy as well; she's fabulous in the Witch and Split (2017), and I can't wait to see her in more horror/thriller movies. 

7. What's a concept that you'd like to see in horror?

I'm not sure, because to be honest I am a sucker for certain tropes, even if they've been done time and time again. What can I say? I'm a creature of habit :) It's always a welcome surprise to see a unique twist to the stereotypical storyline of most slasher movies though! I love unique concepts, such as the one for It Follows, which you really need to watch if you haven't already! Oh, and I would love a good cult movie, that isn't cheesy af. I've not watched Midsommar (2019) yet... If you have, what did you think? 

I have started to enjoy sci-fi horror a lot more after discovering that they are not all about aliens... which are not really my cup of tea when it comes to horror. I enjoyed Splice back in 2009, for example. It would be great to see more like this, that have more focus on the science side of things, if that makes sense. 

8. What is your favourite on-screen kill?

Oh wow, there's so many! What horror fan doesn't have a long list of favourites!? (or maybe I'm just weird...). To name a few: the scene in Child's Play 2 (1990) when the guy gets his eyes impaled in the factory's doll production line, the end of Hostel: Part 2 (2007) when the protagonist gets her own back!, the puppet scene in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3, Paris Hilton's characters death in House of Wax, the chair torture scene in (I think) Hellraiser: Deader (2005). I could list more... but I'll stop now before you'll all think I'm weirder than you already know I am XD 

9. What's your favourite franchise?

I adore the franchise by Rob Zombie that includes House of 1000 Corpses (2003), The Devil's Rejects and I am yet to watch the newest addition, 3 From Hell (2019). RIP Sid Haig T_T. I am also a lover of all the A Nightmare on Elm Street movies. Most of the Hellraiser movies are awesome, too, as well as the first few Child's Play movies. 

10. Who's your favourite horror director? 

Wes Craven and Rob Zombie are my all-time favourites. Clive Baker too, of course, for Hellraiser. I know that Guillermo del Toro is more well-known for his creepy fantasy but the Spanish horror The Orphanage (2007) is brilliant and he's another of my favourite directors, so I'm including him anyway. Who else loves his work? 

Well, those are my answers to the horror tag! I very much enjoyed writing about my favourite movie genre, and I now want to re-watch, for probably the 50th time, the horrors that I mentioned. However, I am currently doing a Horrorthon challenge, where I watch a horror movie that I have never seen before each day of October. I'm having a lot of fun with that, and I'll be sure to blog all about it at the end of the month. Are any of you guys doing a spooky movie marathon this month, whether it's a horror one or not? Before I finish up today's post, it's time to nominate some of my fabulous fellow bloggers to join in. I tag: Jess, Natalee, Eleanor , Vikki and Kiah to do the Horror Movie Tag. I'm looking forward to reading your answers guys! Feel free to answer this even if I didn't tag you, and please send me a link so I can have a read of your post :) 

Thankyou for reading! 

♥ 

What's your favourite horror movie? 

What is the last horror movie you watched & was it any good? 

Here are my social media links: 

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The Pokemon Tag

Hey guys! Last week, one of my lovely blogger friends brought this Pokemon Tag to my attention. Thank you Kim! (find her blog here). I thought it was awesome; plus I'd never seen a Pokemon-themed tag before! So I wanted to share my answers with you guys today. Here is the blog where the Pokemon Tag was found; be sure to go and have a read of their post :) I hope you all enjoy reading! 

Before I get onto answering the questions of this tag, I thought I'd mention something that I was thinking about as I was reading through the questions. As many of my fellow nerds will likely have experienced, there are some people within our sub-culture/community that seem to have an elitist outlook when it comes to their favourite franchises, shows, books, movies or whatever. These kinds of people put others down for not knowing everything about a specific interest of theirs and make ridiculous claims that you can't be a 'true' or 'real' fan if you are not a walking encyclopaedia on the subject. Ugh, people like this annoy me to no end! Just let people enjoy things! It's fantastic if you're really knowledgeable on a particular topic and want to find like-minded fans to have discussions with, but that doesn't mean that you can't nerd out about things with fans who don't know each and every character's blood type and shoe size! :D 

All of this came to mind for me because I am a fan of Pokemon, but unlike lots of people who also share a love for this fantastic anime franchise, I never grew up playing the games. We couldn't afford to buy all of the latest Nintendo products, and throughout my late teens/early 20's I had other hobbies and interests that I chose to use any spending money on. However, I still grew up watching the TV show, which I started doing before school when I was around six years old and was obsessed with Pokemon! I had so many plushies and figures and even some Pokemon clothes and a huge Pikachu backpack! Up on my bedroom wall was a massive poster that I got  free with my video of Pokemon: The First Movie that literally covered about half a wall :D I luckily still have it and hope to display it in a huge frame someday when I have my own place. 

I watched the show for many years and even though I may not be a living Pokedex when it comes to any Pokemon after the 1st and 2nd generation, and I don't know much about the games, other than what my friends have told me over the years, Pokemon was a memorable part of my childhood, and a life-long love, it helped me on my way to developing into a teenager who was obsessed with all things Japanese and an adult who squeee's everytime she sees a kawaii plushie! I am a fan of Pokemon despite not knowing everything and I don't care what anyone else thinks about it :p Anyhow, here are my answers to the questions, before I go off on even more of a tangent! 

1) Favourite Pokemon? I wonder who it could be? My photo above doesn't give it away or anything, haha! :D It's Vaporeon! (closely followed by Eevee, Mew, Vulpix and Pichu). 

2) Least favourite Pokemon? I don't really have a least favourite, but since I kept on getting Rattata all the time back when I played Pokemon Go for a while, and it was getting super annoying, I'll say Rattata :D 

3) Favourite starter Pokemon? Bulbasaur 

4) Favourite Eeveelution? Well obviously it's Vaporeon, but since that's my favourite Pokemon overall, I'll say Leafeon :) 

5) Favourite legendary Pokemon? Mew (Lugia, too)

6) Most terrifying Pokemon? I think all Pokemon are adorable! But because I need to answer this question, I guess I'll say Mewtwo because he's super powerful and intelligent, and could use his psychic abilities to put you under his control like he did with Nurse Joy in Pokemon: The First Movie, and that's scary! 

7) Most adorable Pokemon? Now this is a tough question! Other than my top five favourite Pokemon, I'd say Clefairy, Bulbasaur, all the Eeveelutions, Togepi, Bellossom… OMG  seriously though just all of them!! ^.^

8) Most amusing Pokemon? WOBBUFFET! 

9) Favourite Pokemon type? Water and Fairy probably :) 

10) Least favourite Pokemon type? I'm not a huge fan of Rock type Pokemon

11) Favourite new Pokemon from X and Y? Sylveon (Dedenne is super cute, too!) 

12) Favourite Pokemon attack or move? Water Gun, only because it's one of Vaporeon's moves and I'm a fangirl XD

13) Favourite trainer type? I have no idea, but Fairy Tale Girl sounds super cute! But Eevee users probably. I still remember the first time I ever saw Vaporeon and it instantly became my favourite Pokemon! It was on episode 40 of Pokemon: The Battling Eevee Brothers, and as a kid, they were my favourite trainers :) 

14) Your gym leader speciality? I don't know much about the gyms in the games, so I'll just choose water or fairy because those are my favourite types :D 

15) Favourite region? Kanto 

16) Favourite location? I'll just say Mt. Moon :D Haha, anyone bored of my lack of Pokemon Game knowledge yet?

17) Most relatable Pokemon? Eevee, and Marill too :D 

18) Favourite gym leader? I'll just say Misty, she's awesome! But also because of my limited knowledge of gym leaders XD

19) Favourite elite 4 member/champion? I literally  have no idea :D

20) Favourite Professor? Professor Oak   

21) Favourite Pokemon bad guy? Team Rocket :) (James, especially, was my favourite as a kid!) 

22) Favourite rival? Gary Oak is the only one I remember and I, passionately, disliked him :D I used to complain when I was a kid, like 'ugh, not Gary again' and 'he's the worst!' whenever he featured on an episode, haha! 

23) A friend-relatable Pokemon? Jigglypuff used to remind me of my best friend whenever she got annoyed XD LOL. 

24) Most useful Pokemon? Chansey is an epic little nurse :3 

25) Favourite animal Pokemon? Fox

26) Favourite coloured Pokemon? Blue and Brown 

27) Favourite game? We've obviously all established by now that I don't have a clue :D I played a little of Pokemon Diamond once so I'll say that! 

28) What did you nickname your rival? If I would have given a nickname to a rival, I would have probably named it something silly like Meany McMeanPants :D 

29) Favourite Pokemon tune or song? Well, since I'm not a player of the Pokemon games so I don't know about any of their tunes, my favourite Pokemon song is the original theme song, Team Rocket's 'Double Trouble' song and the Viridian City song... 'We're on the road to Viridian City!'. Writing about that song is so nostalgic! :D

30) Most nostalgic element? Apart from the Pokemon theme song, it's probably all of the sounds that the Pokemon make :) because I used to constantly run around imitating Pokemon as a kid, and all my friends will tell you that I still do! I don't think I'll ever grow out of it, haha. 

My lack of Pokemon game experience aside, I hope that this post was a fun and interesting one to read :) I really enjoy answering tag posts and giving all of my wonderful readers the chance to get to know more about me! I also love reading other people's  tags for that same reason. It's especially cool when you discover they have a very similar interest to you or answer a question exactly how you would :) I'm not going to tag anyone specifically, but if you read this and you want to answer it yourself then please send me a link so I can check out your posts! Have a lovely week guys! 

Thankyou for reading! 

♥

What's your favourite and/or least favourite Pokemon? 

What are your top five anime shows in general? 

I would love some new recommendations! 

10 Basic Confessions Tag

Hello everyone! I hope you've all had a lovely weekend, despite the downpours! I don't know about you guys, but I always feel much more relaxed and cosy when I'm indoors listening to/watching the heavy rain outside :) I love the sound and it just makes it feel so much more warmer and snug in my bed, which in turn makes it even more difficult to get out of it! Thus, I spent most of the weekend in bed, haha! This has actually worked in my favour because I've been more motivated to type away on my laptop, writing blog posts and adding more to the fanfiction story I'm currently working on. I thought it was about time that I did the 10 Basic Confessions Tag that the lovely Kiah from over at SpookyKiah tagged me in a few months back (sorry that its taken me so long!). 

I think this tag is such a fabulous idea! It always bugs me when people make fun of others for being 'basic' just because they like something that is popular. There's a reason these things are so well-loved and it's because they bring people joy. Why someone would want to be mean about people liking something that makes them happy, I don't know... It's ridiculous! So to celebrate loving things that people deem to be 'basic', I'm sharing 10 things that I love that so many others do too! I'm a basic bitch & proud! I hope you all enjoy reading :) 

Bathbombs!

Over the last few years, bathbombs have become really popular, most likely because of everyone sharing their bathart on Instagram! If you're a fan of baths, it's tough to resist wanting to get yourself bath bombs when you can see photos of gorgeous, vibrant coloured baths all over your newsfeed. It is so fascinating to watch them spinning and swirling around in the water, releasing an array of colours. Bath bombs are kind of magical and adult life can be miserable at times, so who wouldn't want to make bathtime a little more exciting!? I know that I do! I spend so much on bath bombs it's silly, but I don't care :D 

Llamas!

As much as I love unicorns and mermaids, and am thrilled that they have become so popular, when all the llama themed products hit the market, I was over the moon! One of my most favourite animals are alpacas, and to be honest, so many of the llama designs that I've seen much more resemble alpacas in my opinion so I'm lovin' that! I used to have to buy products from Japan where chibi alpaca designs have been popular for years now, especially after the release of Alpacasso plushies (which if you've been a regular reader of my blog for a while now, you'll know I'm pretty obsessed with!). However now that the llama craze is here, I can find cute products here in the UK (yay! no more pricey shipping fees)! Llamas are in the same family of mammals as alpacas & I find them just as cute! 

Iridescent coloured things!

I've always been a fan of iridescent colours, shiny shades that change when moved. There's just something so surreal and magical about them, and they have always caught my eye. They remind me of colours from a dream world, from fantasy, like something from Alice In Wonderland. They make me think about the wonder that is light and how it can change the way something appears, and also of optical illusions. Iridescent coloured products have been very popular this year and I'm all for that :) 

Stationery/Notebook Obsessed!

I see so many people talking about how much they love buying new stationery and how many notebooks they have that they've never written in but cannot stop buying more and more, so I know I'm not alone in my love for these things! That's because getting new stationery is awesome! I'm sure most people can relate when they think back to their childhood/teens, to the excitement of getting all of your new stationery just before the start of the new school year. Well, this excitement for many of us as never left us and we still get a thrill when we are picking up new writing supplies! I can't stop buying cute pens, pencils, sticky notes, notebooks and pencil cases! I have too many pencil cases than I can ever use but it's so hard to stop XD 

Snapchat filters!

The snapchat craze seems to be dying down a lot more, especially since Instagram and Facebook introduced similar filters that you could apply to your selfies, however I am a big fan of snapchat and I still use their filters whenever I want to take cute photos of myself :) That's literally all that I use my app for now! They are super fun and I think it will be a long time until I ever get bored of using them. Selfies with filters are something that are considered basic apparently, but I bet most people who call them that still love having a play around with them when no-ones watching! :D 

Using gifs to communicate!

I don't really know if this is something that is universally considered basic, however I thought I'd include it anyway because of how popular gifs are. The gif sharing website Giphy, has become a feature of most social media platforms now and I can't scroll for more than a few minutes without seeing them on my newsfeed, so I think they are eligible to make this list :D As someone with social anxiety, I find gifs a really useful tool as I often struggle to find the right words to express what I want to say, and I get nervous a lot when responding to comments, but it's so common for someone to answer with a relatable gif now! As such, I use them abundantly and its now a very socially-acceptable why to communicate that I take advantage whenever I can. When I'm talking to my best friend, I almost use gifs (and emojis) more than words XD 

Crime Documentaries!

Crime documentaries, specifically those about serial killers and unsolved murders, etc., used to be something that only a handful of people were interested in, or maybe willing to admit that they were. It seemed to be one of those clichés that were often associated with the alternative sub-culture, and when I was younger, if I told people that one of my hobbies was watching crime documentaries and reading books about notorious murderers, I would get weird looks. However nowadays, maybe due to the growing popularity of streaming sites and Netflix, interest in this genre of documentary is now very mainstream and 'documentaries and chill' is a thing! Which is great for me because it now means that there are lots more people to talk to about shows I watch and a lot more intricate documentaries being aired. Liking crime documentaries is nowadays considered a very basic thing, and I'm okay with that :) 

Living in Leggings!

Okay, so I have no idea if this makes me a basic bitch, but I know that a lot of people prefer to basically wear leggings as pants, and essentially 'live in them', and I am one of those people! I used to just wear jeans all the time, until I first discovered the marvelousness of leggings when I was at college. I immediately ditched the jeans for leggings, because they are super comfy and it feels like you're wearing PJ pants during the day (although I'm always to be found either in leggings or PJs, haha). 

Hashtags galore!

I feel kind of cringey admitting this but I can't stop using hashtags in everyday conversation! It's ridiculous but I'm always writing #InsertRelatableWord at the end of discussions, and I've even said them aloud in literal person-to-person conversation! If this isn't basic, then I don't know what is! #basicmuch XD 

Forever Quoting Mean Girls (2004)

Yes, I am still quoting the amazing movie that is Mean Girls over 10 years after its release, and I feel no shame! So many of the lines in this movie are fabulous and they are just perfect for throwing out in response to so many everyday situations. Almost everybody around my age group recognises that its a quote from this movie right away, and it makes them laugh. I actually do this with lots of movies and TV shows that I love, but I chose to use Mean Girls for this post because it's so common to see other people doing this too! I love the nostalgia of quoting media that I'm a fan of. Who else does this? Also, what's your favourite Mean Girls quote? I find myself saying 'She doesn't even go here!', '4 for you Glen Coco, you go Glen Coco' and 'Why are you so obsessed with me?' too often :D 

I hope you all enjoyed reading! I think this tag is awesome! Don't let anyone make you feel bad for loving the things you do, no matter how popular or basic they are. You do whatever makes you happy and if you enjoy using filters or drinking Pumpkin Spice Lattes or you love yourself an inspiration quote, then that's fantastic :) 

So here's who I tag to join in with the 10 Basic Confessions Tag: 

Natalee

Jess

Estelle

Eleanor 

Stacey

Thankyou for reading!

♥

Can you relate to any of the things I shared in this post?

What something that makes you a basic bitch too? 

Sunshine Blogger Award

Hey guys! Well, my aim this month was to be more productive and I have actually been very motivated to get stuff done, just apparently not on my blog XD (I'm the worse blogger!). So far this month, I have been focusing all my energy (which is not a lot to be honest, Seasonal Affective Disorder is not fun!) on my toy photography hobby. Over on my Instagram that's dedicated entirely to my love of toys and collectable vinyl figures, I have been taking part in two daily challenges, one of them has prompts for each day which is great (Oh, and I just started joining in with a new one today!). Its been very fun! I've also been dealing with the typical #WriterProblems of ignoring the piece I'm supposed to be working on, indulging my overactive imagination, and writing new stories, haha! It's both enjoyable and frustrating- I'd just like to finish a 'project' for once! 

So anyhow, today I'm focusing on my blog (and my story :D because I just want to exist in a fantasy realm as much as possible) and finally answering the tag post that the awesome Kim over at Chimmyville tagged me in. Be sure to check out her blog & have a read of her answers :) Thankyou for the tag lovely ♥ I hope you all enjoy reading! 

I can't seem to find who the original creator of the Sunshine Blogger Award was, but I absolutely love that it's given from blogger to blogger and is a celebration of bloggers who are inspiring, motivational or positive :) It's a lovely message and an awesome way to spread the love! Here are the rules for the Sunshine Blogger Award: 

♥ Thank the blogger who nominated you & link back to their blog,

♥ Answer the 11 questions the blogger asked you,

♥ Nominate 11 bloggers to receive the award & ask them 11 questions,

♥ And finally, make sure to list the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo on your post and/or your blog. 

Here are my answers to Kim's questions... 

1. What keeps you motivated?

I actually struggle a lot with motivating myself, a very frustrating symptom of depression, which is something that I struggle with. Probably not a very positive way to start my post, but to be honest I haven't found much that keeps me motivated! Well, other than to do things that I really love to do :) If I enjoy it, then I'm more likely to be motivated to do it because it makes me feel good. This year I've been working on not forcing myself to do things and putting too much pressure on myself. I've been trying to just go with the flow and do things whenever I get a random burst of motivation! Sorry guys, I know this isn't very helpful advice... but just do things that make you happy, and don't force things! Oh and make to-do lists, they do actually help me! Remember to break your tasks up into smaller, more manageable ones so that they won't be as much of a challenge to complete. Baby steps are key when you're feeling unmotivated in my opinion! 

2. If you could travel anywhere in the world (money is no object here), where would you go and why? 

I would most definitely travel to Japan. I have wanted to go ever since I was in my early teens and it would just be a dream come true! :) I am determined to get there some day! Not only does it look like such a beautiful place with its gorgeous natural scenery and interesting culture and architecture, it's also rich in history and fascinating traditions. Plus it's just the perfect place for nerds :p 

3. What is your favourite season and why?

My favourite season is Autumn, for so many reasons. I love the seasonal changes, the colourful leaves are just gorgeous and I adore that the blaring sunshine and the heat goes away because I'm not a fan of it at all! It's nice to experience a few sunny days but I much prefer autumnal weather, when it's not too hot and not freezing cold yet. It's also the time of year in which both my birthday and my favourite holiday fall (haha, get it! :D). Halloween is wonderful and I look forward to it so much! It's super fun being able to dress up and also decorate my bedroom with ALL THE SPOOKY THINGS! (Although my bedroom has spooky things in it all year round; well spooky to some, beautiful to me!). You can check out what else I love about Autumn here, on the first blog post I ever wrote back in 2015 :O 

4. List your five favourite movies and why they're your favourites.

♥ Disney's The Lion King 2 (and the first movie too of course)

- Because the soundtrack is AMAZING, it's super nostalgic to me and makes me feel happy whenever I watch it, Scar is my favourite Disney villain, I absolutely love Kovu's and Zira's characters from LK 2 and oh my gosh, the sassy zebra & antelope that sing 'Not One of Us' :D they are fabulous! 

♥ Little Shop of Horrors 

- This is an outstanding musical! It was the first ever musical that I watched when I was around six years old and I just fell in love with musicals from then on :) As a fan of horror, I love that this musical has a horror theme and Audrey 2 is fantastic! The soundtrack is epic and I find myself randomly bursting into song all the time with them. 

♥ Princess Mononoke
- It's actually so tough for me to choose my absolute favourite Studio Ghibli movie because they are all so wonderful, but I think it's gonna have to be Princess Mononoke. One of the reasons why I love Studio Ghibli movies so much is their attention to detail when it comes to their nature animation. It looks so beautiful, and Princess Mononoke has a lot of it! I love the mythology theme of the movie and all of the gorgeous creatures it in. I also love Princess Mononoke herself because she's epic! Are you a fan of Ghibli movies guys? Let me know your favourite in the comments :) 

♥ Pan's Labyrinth
- I love Guillermo del Toro's movies, they are fantastic, especially Pan's Labyrinth :) It's basically a fairytale for adults with a sinister story and spooky legendary creatures. I'm a fan of both fairytales and horrors, and this is the perfect combination of the two. I just love it! I also really like watching movies in other languages, and this one is in Spanish. If you haven't seen it, you need to! 

♥ The Devils Rejects 
- I couldn't not include a horror movie on here and although I actually have three top horror movies, I find it hard to rank them so I just picked one of them at random to include on this list. I really enjoy movies from Rob Zombie, and this is my favourite horror he's done. It's about a family of serial killers and I like that a lot of the story is told from their point of view, VS the 'good guys' involved. I don't want to give away too many spoilers if you haven't watched it so I can't explain some of the reasons why I love it, but one thing I can say is that there are some really funny lines in it, that never fail to make me laugh :D 

5. List your five favourite TV shows and why they're your favourites. 

♥ Game of Thrones
- I loved the books, it's got the perfect mix of fantasy and history, lots of strong female characters, sorcery, lots of wit and humour so it always makes me laugh, DRAGONS! Also, I have it to thank for bringing Jason Momoa into my life! Khal Drogo though *heart eyes*

♥ Vikings
- Lots of historical accuracy because it's produced by the History Channel, I didn't know much about Viking history from the point of view of the Vikings themselves before watching the show so I found it very interesting learning all about them, I love Norse mythology, lots of gorgeous guys, epic battle scenes, Lagertha (she's amazing!), shield-maidens (if you didn't know, the Vikings had female warriors and they were badass)! 

♥ The Handmaid's Tale
- I really enjoy the dystopian genre, the lead is a really relatable and strong female character, the whole story revolves around the life of women living under a strict, religious regime that oppresses and controls them and there are so many badass characters who are fighting for their lives and trying to escape so it's a very compelling watch :) The book by Margaret Atwood that it's adapted from is really good too! 

♥ The Walking Dead
- Daryl Dixon and other intricate, interesting characters, the zombies look incredible and the makeup artists who bring them to life are so so talented, it's another dystopian/apocalyptic themed show that also has a lot of horror elements to it, so many great storylines and relationships that make you really invested in the characters, epic villains (especially Negan!), did I mention Daryl Dixon? Because he's fantastic! :P 

♥ The OA
- This is a brilliant tv show written by Brit Marling, who is also an amazing actress (who happens to star in this show too)! It's a Netflix series and I cannot recommend it enough :) It's a mix of several genres that mesh so well together to create a complex, fascinating tale. It is one of the many shows that has helped me get more and more interested in Sci-fi, and its' one of those shows that really gets you thinking and questioning things. Plus, Jason Isaacs is in it and he's one of my favourite actors, and he's not so bad to look at either ;) 

6. What are you reading at the moment? 

I've not long finished reading the Harry Potter novels and the urge to read them all over again is real, but I'm currently writing a fanfiction branching off the stories so I don't want to distract myself away from my own storyline by reading the books again! :D I'm going to get myself a copy of the new book, Vox by Christina Dalcher (check out my awesome friend Estelle's review all about it here) as soon as I can spare the cash :) I also think it's about time that I read the Lord of Rings trilogy & The Hobbit, so I need to pick up books those too! 

7. Why do you blog?

I blog for so many reasons, but I originally started my blog to give myself a creative outlet and to help encourage myself to focus on something, to distract myself away from the hard things I was experiencing in my life. My mental health got really bad when I was in my final year at university and after I graduated, I was still in a really dark place so I was in desperate need of my own little happy place, somewhere to take myself away from all the stuff I was dealing with on a daily basis. So, I made my blog as a space for me to talk about all of the things that I loved! Now three years later, I am still dealing with the struggles my mental health conditions bring and so my blog is still somewhere I can go to remind myself of all the good things in life. It's been a tough year for me, and I haven't been able to blog as much as I've wanted to, but it's still awesome being able to look back on all the positive things that have happened in my life over the last few years via my blog :) 

8. If you could go back in time, which period of history would you visit and why?

As a history geek, this question was such a challenge to answer! I've been sitting here for like 10 minutes trying to settle on just one :D My favourite historical periods/civilisations were the Vikings, the Ancient Egyptians, the Native Americans and the Victorians. I really like the Middle Ages too. I could list several more XD But I think I'm gonna have to go with Ancient Egypt as my final answer. It has been the historical time period that I have been fascinated with for the longest. I was only around 7 or 8 when I become really interested in history and I have the Egyptians to thank for that :) I just love everything about their history: the religions and all the ceremonies and deities that came with them, the architecture, the traditions and culture. It would be incredible to see it all with my own eyes! *starts drawing up plans to make a time machine*… HA I won't get far with my maths skills XD

9. You're holding a dinner party, which five fictional characters would you invite and why? 

I would invite Tyrion Lannister from The Song of Ice & Fire/Game of Thrones, Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter, Newt Scamander from Fantastic Beasts, Hannibal Lecturer from the TV series, Hannibal, and Jason Momoa in any fictional form he wants XD Tyrion because he's hilarious and witty af, so he'd make the dinner party so entertaining. Luna because she's wonderful and quirky and I'd love to have conversation with her about creatures and all things mythical. I'd invite Newt for similar reasons, and he'd be able to share stories of his adventures in far-off lands and about all the creatures he's encountered along the way! It probably sounds weird that I would invite Hannibal :D but the guy is so intelligent and I think he'd talk about some very interesting things. I'm a sucker for deep conversation. And finally, why Jason? Because this dream banquet wouldn't be complete without some eye-candy :p 

10. Would you spend £10,000 on a deposit for a house or your dream wedding?

I'm a single pringle right now, but to be honest I'd rather have a cute, little, inexpensive wedding to get the chance to buy a beautiful house in the countryside with land for all my dream pets any day! 

11. What is your dream car? 

I am not really up to date with popular car models and makes, and I don't drive, but I like big trucks and I cannot lie :p If it looks like a serial killer in a horror movie would drive it, I'll take it XD I don't even know why! #HorrorObsessed

Now, here are my 11 questions for all of the wonderful bloggers I've tagged to answer :)

1. What's your favourite mythical creature?

2. Do you collect anything? If so what?

3. If you could dress up as anything for Halloween (with no cost restrictions in mind), what would you dress as?

4. What are your top 5 songs right now?

5. Share a fond memory from your childhood, and why it's meaningful to you :) 

6. What's your favourite species of bird? (hahaha I know this is super random, but I was just having a conversation about birds and was compelled to ask! :D) 

7. Imagine you could be a witch or wizard for a day, what spell would you most like to cast first? Tell us why.

8. Do you have a go-to Autumnal make up product?

9. Spooky or Spoopy? (or both like me!)? 

10. What's something that you love the texture of? (Apologies for the random questions guys, I'm not very good at this!) 

11. Are you a fan of Sci-fi? If so, do you have a favourite movie and/or TV show?

I nominate... 

♥ Natalee

♥ Estelle

♥ Jess

♥ Eleanor

♥ Stacey

♥ Cate

♥ Elle May

♥ Gail 

♥ Amy 

♥ India Rose

♥ Vikki

Thankyou for reading! I know it was a super long post to get through :D 

I hope you have a lovely week everyone!

♥ 

I'd love to hear your answers to any of the questions I've answered in today's post,

or to any of my 11 questions so please feel free to share those in the comments :)