My First Pop! In a Box

Yayy! I recently received my first Pop! in a Box and I've been looking forward to showing you all what I got! Subscribing to Pop! in a Box means that you will receive a random Funko Pop! Vinyl figure each month, although you can choose to receive between 1 and 12 figures and the more you buy, the cheaper you'll get each individual figure for. You may be thinking, what if I get a Pop! figure that I don't like? Well, when you sign up, you can go through the huge selection of figures on the website and select which ones you want :) You put a thumbs up to all the ones you'd be happy to receive and a thumbs down to those that you never want to get, plus there's also an option to list all the Pop! figures that you already have.  So... which Pop! figure greeted me inside the box this month? 

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I got CATBUG! Catbug is an adorable character who is half cat, half ladybird (or ladybug as they are known in the US) from the comic and cartoon 'Bravest Warriors'. I first started watching this awesome cartoon when I was at university but soon after I got wrapped up in the stress of having so many assignments and revision to do, and so I've not long started re-watching it. Catbug is my favourite character! He is soooo cute! 

 

I love Catbug's serious, determined face on this Commander edition figure.I also love his chubby design and the colours of his outfit. I love the feel of Pop! Vinyl figures... is that weird? I have to admit that I wanted a Catbug Pop! figure so I clicked thumbs up to this one, then later spotted the original Catbug and wanted that one so much more and so I selected a thumbs down to this one, because I don't need more than one Catbug, but it was too late. This one was already on it's way to me. I still think it's really sweet, though?

Omg, his ladybird back is adorable! ^.^ I paid £8.49 plus P&P for one figure a month, but I'm going to order two next time round. I'm a little worried that I'm going to become addicted to collecting Pop! figures! :D especially with the help of this subscription box. I got a really good figure because I can see no marks or mistakes on him at all, and the box was in great condition too. 

I really like this subscription box because you get the figures for a great price! I've been watching unboxing videos on youtube for Pop! in a Box for a few months now so I know that I should have gotten a tiny packet of popping candy. I got lots of advertisement leaflets but no poppping candy! haha I want my candy :P I recommend this subscription box if you love Pop! vinyls and I'll be blogging about my box each month from now on :) I can't wait to see which figures I get next time!

Thankyou for reading! 

 ♥

Do you collect Pop! figures? 

Are you a subscriber of Pop in a Box? If so, what's your favourite Pop! that you've received so far? 

February Wishlist

Hey everyone! It's time for another monthly wishlist :) Apologies for my lack of posting over the last few days, I've been really struggling with my mental health this past week and it's been difficult for me to get anything done. I'm so behind on my blogging schedule and to make up for it, I'll be posting twice today. I hope you're all having a loving day and that you enjoy today's posts! 

One I love the idea of this little book! I may not be the best artist but I really enjoy doodling and I love that this book will give me a random thing to draw each day. I think it will be fun to draw everyday, inconspicous objects as it will help me notice all of the little details in the things around me and make me more aware of their beauty and/or intricacy.

Two I really love this simple little ornament. It's so pretty and would go well in a room with any colour theme. I love everything Japanese related and I really want this to put in my bedroom. 

Three I am in serious need of a portable iPhone charger. The battery life on my phone is ridiculous and it sometimes dies on 40%! It makes it difficult to manage my instagram, twitter & tumblr when I'm out and about and want to show you all what I'm up to. Plus it's also really stressful to be out and not being able to contact anyone if I need to. I love the design and colour of the Veho Pebble and it will fit comfortably in my bag. 

Four I'm a firm believer that you can never own too many notepads, who's with me? I do own a silly amount of them though, but how can I resist this gorgeous RSPB notebook!? I love foxes and by purchasing it, I'm giving money to a great cause, contributing to the work of this amazing charity! If you love wildlife, check out their shop because there's some really beautiful things on there. I'll take one of EVERYTHING please :) 

Five I have been wearing make-up now for at least 10 years and I still have never used concealer! I really need to give it a try and so far, I've heard only good things about this one by Rimmel London. It's from a range called 'Wake Me Up' (there's also a foundation) and it's supposed to make your face look unfatigued, which I could really use right now :D Also on the Boots website, there's a 2 for £10 deal on selected Rimmel products! 

Six & Seven It's almost spring so I'm in need of some pretty, pastel shades of nail polish and these two colours, 'Huckleberry' from the Barry M Gelly Hi Shine range and 'Kiss me Quick' from the Barry M Speedy range caught my eye :) They are just lovely. 

Eight When I noticed that there's also a writing version of the first item featured on my wishlist this month, I was really interested. I'm curious about the different topics that will be inside :) I used to love writing; English was always one of my favourite subjects at school and back then, I used to write short stories all the time. I would love to get back into writing so this would be a nice start. 

Nine I've been spotting flower tealight candles on tumblr for such a long time and wondered like where the heck everyone was getting these awesome candles from? I want some! :( so I was really giddy when I found these. It's awesome that all the designs are different; my favourite flower is the pink and orange hibiscus. They are so pretty and I can imagine that I'd buy a pack and never actually light them :)

Ten How beautiful is this dress by Scarlet & Jo!? The colour is gorgeous and I really like the lacey sleeves. I can't not buy this dress any longer, I'm ordering it right after I've finished writing the post hahaha

 

Thankyou for reading!

♥

I changed the organisation from how I usually do my wishlists. Do you think it's better this way or do you prefer the links under the picture? :) & What's on your wishlist this month? 

Blogging Worries

Today's post is going to be a more personal one and has been inspired by the way I've been feeling lately. It's normal to feel a little anxious when it comes to our blogs, because of all the time and effort that goes into planning the posts, writing them, taking all the photographs and editing them, all the promoting we do and hours that go into the design and overall appearance of our blogs. We all love blogging and are proud of our hard work, and due to this, it's a given that many of us will get nervous about certain aspects of blogging. Lately, I've been struggling with my mental health which means that my anxiety is at an all-time high and this affects the way I feel when blogging. Blogging when dealing with anxiety already has it's challenges, especially if I'm feeling particular panicky that day. All the little insecurities and worries that usually come along with blogging seem to be on overdrive. In this post, I wanted to share with you all some of the things that I get anxious about and hopefully, if you are also feel the same, you'll know you're not alone and that almost everyone will worry about these things from time to time.

(1) Worrying about the way the blog post reads. 

I worry about how the blog post sounds, and whether my spelling and grammar is all correct. I proofread my posts so many times, and even repeatedly read it aloud to myself. I'm worry that it doesn't flow well, and whether my writing style is one which makes my posts enjoyable to read and makes you all want to read on.  It's not a massive problem if I have a few mispellings or a missing comma here or there, but at the time it feels so important. 

(2) Worrying about whether my posts are interesting. 

I worry about the content of my posts, because I want so much for them to be interesting and fun to read. I love that there are people that appreciate all of the little things in my life that make me happy and who have similar hobbies to my own but I still worry sometimes because it can be hard not to compare your blog to other blogs and worry that your life is not as interesting as other peoples. 

(3) Worrying when I write posts about my experiences with mental health.

One of the reasons I wanted to start blogging was so that I could be open about my mental health and share my story with others, and also meet lots of supportive people to help me along on my journey to recovery. Although the blogging community has been amazing in making me feel like I can open up about my struggles and has helped me a lot, especially through reading posts from others who struggle with MH, I still get worried when I blog about anxiety and depression. It's hard to shake the nerves I have about being open about MH after years of bottling up how I felt. Growing up, I was always the sort of person to put my friends before myself, to make sure they were all okay and be the strong one of the group. Even though I've been experiencing depression since I was 14 years old, it was something I didn't talk about with anyone until around a year ago. All the stigma surrounding MH in society really influenced my decision to keep quiet about my struggles and not seek help sooner, and so even now there is always that voice in my head that makes me worry about what people think about me. 

(4) Worrying about what others will think of me

This is something that a lot of people struggle with; it's normal to worry about how others perceive us especially when we are sharing personal things about our lives for so many people to see. It's difficult to not compare ourselves to others, even more so if we struggle with our self-esteem. For a long time, I struggled a lot with my self-esteem, I was bullied at school for being plus size and this really affected the way I thought about myself. I'm a lot better now than I was as a teenager but I still have those days when I feel down about myself. Another thing that my anxiety affects is my ability to talk to people; some days I struggle to chat to people and I worry that they will think I don't want to talk to them. I'm actually a really talkative person once I get to know someone and I'm trying really hard to get over this hurdle. I've been getting more involved with twitter chats and I'm quite proud of myself :) 

(My best friend suggested that I should draw a cute little nervous cartoon, so here's what I did. I'm not the best at drawing, but I really enjoy it and I got a C in GCSE Art so I can't be too bad hahaha).

 Thankyou for reading! I hope you all enjoyed today's post.

 ♥

What are some of the worries you have when blogging?  

More Unicorno Blindboxes

I knew that as soon as I ripped open my first unicorno blindbox, tore the silver packaging and revealed the adorable unicorn vinyl figure that was waiting inside, that I would be hooked. After watching people open these blindboxes on youtube for months, I was so excited to get my hands on one of my own! I was aware that they would be cute, but in person they are so much better! I love how every individual unicorno 'character' has so many little details that make them unique. Since opening my first two unicorno blindboxes, I've purchased six more. I get all of my unicornos from Collect & Display. I decided I wanted to complete the set and collect all twelve unicornos in the series 4 collection. I can't wait to put up a little shelf in my bedroom and line up my kawaii unicorno army! So anyhow... here are the newest unicornos to my colleciton :) 

The first new unicorno I got was 'Yuki'. She's so pretty! She's like the Elsa of the unicorno world :) I love the colour of this unicorno, the blues and whites and the silver horn, hooves and tokidoki logo. The little snowflakes are adorable, with their little smiley faces, especially the one in her hair. 

The next unicorno I got was 'Hikari', which means 'light' in Japanese. This unicorno is so lovely and is designed with a goldfish theme. The colours are very bright, with a mixture of dark and light orange, and silver patches to represent scales. I love how her cheeks are tiny orange hearts and the expression on the fishes face is cute; it looks in awe! 

 This little beauty is 'Pallina'; she wasn't one of my favourites from the pictures on the side of the box but she sure is one of them now. She is just so gorgeous! I love everything about her design. I love the bright coloured stars dotted all over her, her multi-coloured hooves, the little pink detail on her ears, the star design of her cheeks with whiskers on, the pale pink colour of her horn and how her eyelashes are a different style to the other unicornos.

She is a cat themed unicorno, how adorable is her cat nose? She also has the prettiest bow on her tail. She has a little bit of damage on the end of her horn, the point is missing, but you can barely notice it. She's just an all-around fantastic unicorno!

This unicorno is called 'Yuma' and she was one of my favourites that I really want to get! She's designed in the style of another of Tokidoki's characters, the Cactus Friends, which I've absolutely loved since I bought my hello kitty X cactus friends collaboration plushie :) I really like the illuminous pink colour of her hooves and horn. Green is also my favourite colour so that's another thing that drew me to this unicorno in particular and I just think the spikey design of her is so cool. 

 Her tail is also spikey, which is awesome! She's a great character and I really like her name.

 I know this unicorno is a really popular one, and I'm not surprised! Her colour and overall design is gorgeous. I love the mint colour of her is so pretty and the butterfly cartoons that decorate her body are so sweet. I love the mixture of pink and lilac that cover the rest of her body, and the butterfly in her hair is adorable. She's a really girly unicorno, even her eyes and eyelashes are designed in a way that makes her resemble a Disney Princess. 

She has a different decoration on the other side of her body, a butterfly and some colourful diasies. I like how two of her hooves are pink and two are mint. 

So far, I was really lucky not to get any duplicate unicornos, but my luck didn't last! My final blindbox contained one that I already had, 'Can Can', which I got in my first unboxing (see her here). Unfortunetly, this vinyl figure of Can Can was damaged and when I let the company know, I experienced fantastic customer service. They replied to my email very quickly asking if I'd like a new blindbox or a refund. Of course, I wanted another blindbox and they sent me a new one right away. I was very happy with how polite and facilitating the company were. This new blindbox also contained Can Can!! hahaha it made me laugh. Although it is a little annoying when you get repeats but the point of blindboxes is that you can get any of the unicornos so you have to be prepared to receive duplicates. I will save this unicorno to use for a future giveaway :)

 I have five more unicornos to collect to complete my entire set and two of those are chasers, which means they are harder to get! Wish me luck :) I hope you enjoyed reading today's post. 

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone! 

♥

Which of these unicornos is your favourite? Do you collect any figures: other tokidoki characters or something different? if you've blogged about them, please leave me links :) 

 

Another Lush Haul

I recently used up my last bubblebar and so decided it was about time I did another lush haul :) It didn't take long for me to become a lushie after my first lush haul. Lush Cosmetics makes a fantastic range of bath and beauty products, and their bathbombs are definitely a personal favourite of mine. I love that they make bathtime such an awesome, almost magical experience. I sometimes feel like a mermaid when I'm surrounded by bright swirls of rainbow colours and glittery water. The fragrances are so nice and getting into a lush bath really cheers me up when I'm having a bad day. So, here's what I bought...

 1. Guardian of the Forest Bath Bomb

2. Twilight Bath Bomb

3. Intergalactic Bath Bomb

4. Frozen Bath Bomb

5. Dragon's Egg Bath Bomb 

6. Unicorn Horn Bubble Bar

7. You've Been Mangoed Bath Oil

8. Mmmelting Marshmallow Moment Bath Oil 

I couldn't wait until I wrote this post to use this bathbomb because it's one that I really wanted after spotting photos and videos of it on instagram, so I tell you already that it's awesome! It smells really nice, containing a mixture of grapefruit, rose and neroli. It looks lovely in the bath and I really enjoyed it. The dragon's egg bathbomb was the first lush product I ever bought and it was awesome so I thought I'd pop another in my shopping cart :)

 How photogenic are lush bathbombs though? :) they always look so gorgeous! Everytime I do a shop at lush I can't not buy an Intergalatic bathbomb. So far, it's my favourite one and it will take a lot for another product to overtake it on my mental scoreboard. I love the scent of mint and it just looks incredible both like this, and once it's dropped into the water. If you haven't tried this one yet, I thoroughly recommend getting yourself one when you next visit a lush store. I was unsure about whether to get the Twilight bathbomb, it looks so pretty and from what I've seen, it looks great when used in the bath but I'm really not a fan of lavender. It's scent has always made me feel a little sick so I'm hoping that if I fill my bathroom with yankee candles, it will drown out the lavender and I can enjoy all the pretty colours :D 

Green is my favourite colour and the shades of green that I love the most are those that remind me of emeralds and evergreen forests, which is what attracted me to this bathbomb. As soon as I saw what it looked like in the bath, I had to try it for myself. The smell to me resembles the scent of freshly cut grass and is quite nostaglic because it makes me think about playing on the local park with my friends in summer when I was little... when the council would send people to cut the grass with one of those lawn mowers that you can drive (I don't have a clue if they have a specific name!). They would always leave huge piles of freshly cut grass everywhere, which me and my friends would gather up to make walls and little 'fortresses'. We would spilt up into teams and pretend we were from different kingdoms having a battle and there would be epic grass fights! I would always come home with my clothes covered in grass stains. It was great fun! I can't wait to use this bathbomb.

 The unicorn horn bubble bar looks so gorgeous! I almost can't decide if I wanna use it, or keep it forever :) (I might have to buy several more before they go!). Again, it's another lavender-scented product, but how could I not buy one? It reminds me of those 'rainbow dust' straws filled with sherbet, they were so good! I've never tried lush bath oils before so I'm really looking forward to trying them. The little yellow & pink one smells so so good; it's a combination of marshmallow, almond and coconut. I'm lovin' the name of the 'You've been mangoed' bath oil, it brings back memories of those Tango adverts in which someone got absolutely soaked in Tango with the slogan 'You know when you've been tangoed' at the end :) remember those? I'm curious about how these bath oils will 'dissolve' into the water. 

 
I almost forgot to mention this little cutie (my mum disagrees and thinks it looks quite creepy haha, what do you think?). This is the 'Ickle Devil bathbomb' and I think it's been made to be used by children; it has a mild scent of sandalwood, lavendar and chamomile. They were running out of stock online when I purchased it so I'm not sure if it's still available. It's adorable and unique, and I love how it came with this little polaroid card. 

 

 Thankyou for reading! 

♥

 Have you done a lush haul lately? Whats your favourite lush product?

Pop! Wishlist

| Vegeta Figure | Cell Figure | Lagertha Figure | Edward Scissorhands Figure | Rubberman Figure | Jamie Fraser Figure | Scrump Figure | The Crow Figure | Hello Kitty Figure | Captain Spaulding Figure | Tyrion Lannister Figure |

Early this month, I finally subscriped to the Pop! in a Box subscription box and I really enjoyed browsing through all the Pop! Vinyls and other Funko products on the site and putting a 'thumbs up' to the ones I wanted.  Whilst doing this, I was inspired to make a wishlist of my top 10 favourite vinyls (I couldn't stick to 10, oops!). I hope you all enjoy today's post :)

The first Pop! vinyl on my wishlist is Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z. Growing up DBZ was one of my favourite TV shows and Vegeta was always my favourite character. I love his grumpy, sarcastic personality and he was the first cartoon character I remember thinking was hot :D am I weird? hahaha I've wanted this Pop figure for ages and I searched everywhere for it when I went to Manchester Comic Con last summer but I couldn't find it. It would be amazing if I got it in my Pop! in a box! The next vinyl figure I want is another DBZ character, Cell. The Perfect Cell Saga was my favourite. He was an awesome character and I've always preferred the bad guys. I love the amount of detail that's on this Pop! figure, it looks so cool.

I featured Lagertha from Vikings and Jamie Fraser from Outlander on my first Kawaii & Geeky wishlist. Vikings and Outlander are two TV shows that I love! Lagertha is such an awesome badass character; I love that the Vikings had shield maidens who actually fought in battle alongside the male warriors. Katheryn Winnick, who plays Lagertha, also looks gorgeous as a Viking! Jamie Fraser is another fantastic character and Sam Heughan looks so bloody gorgeous in this role, well in every role... I just need this figure :) The Edward Scissorhands figure is so adorable and I really like the movie. 

American Horror Story is my most recent favourite show; I only started watching it in autumn last year and I absolutely love it. This rubber man figure is awesome and it reminds me of the father in one of my favourite horror movies, The People under the Stairs by Wes Craven. I LOVE scrump from Lilo & Stitch, it's just too cute! I have always loved ragdolls that look like like zombies or voodoo dolls and I really like the mint colour of scrump. Another movie that I really like is The Crow. It's a movie that reminds me of a really great time in my life, when I was 15 years old and I first started embacing my alternative side and met lots of amazing people. One of my friends gave me the nickname 'Sarah Monster' inspired by this movie, which I still use now. Brandon Lee is gorgeous, especially when he becomes 'The Crow' and I love the storyline of the movie. The Pop! figure is just so adorable. 

I have been a little obsessed with Hello Kitty for such a long time now so I can't not want this Pop! vinyl, it's just so kawaii and I love how big her eyes are. Another of my favourite horror movies is The Devils Rejects. Can you tell I'm a horror fan yet? :) I've really liked most of the movies that Rob Zombie has written and directed, but The Devil Rejects is the best. My favourite character is Otis B. Driftwood but they haven't made a Pop! of him yet (Dear Funko, please make one) so I'll have to get Captain Spaulding instead. It's an awesome and creepy vinyl figure, and everytime I look at it, it reminds me of the scene in the movie when he says to the child in the car 'Don't we make you laugh? Aren't be f**kin funny!?' which has always made me laugh too much. Anyone else love this movie? 

The last Pop! vinyl on my wishlist is this cute Tyrion Lannister one. I adore The Song of Ice & Fire book series by George R.R. Martin and Tyrion is definitely my favourite character, although Arya is too, but I didn't really like the vinyl figure of her... I doesn't do her justice in my opinion. Tyrion is just so awesome and witty and I can't wait to see what happens with his character. Peter Dinklage does such an amazing job as him on Game of Thrones, I love him for bringing my favourite character to life so well. 

Thankyou for reading!

♥

What's your favourite Pop! vinyl figure? 

Do you want any of the ones on my wishlist?

January Kawaii Box

A few days ago I received another lovely kawaii box. It arrived a lot quicker than usual which was a nice surprise as I wasn't expecting it. It's filled with some adorable items and I hope you enjoy reading about what was inside :) 

(1) Kracie Popin' Cookin' Oekaki Gummy Land DIY kit, (2) Tiny Bow Stickers, (3) Dreams Come Through Pen, (4) Sweet Mini Bag, (5) Soft Bear Plush, (6) Korean Secret Pen Set, (7) Jewelry Deco Stickers, (8) Sweet Neko Purse, (9) Nail Deco Flake Set, (10) Doughnut Squishy Charm (there was supposed to be an 11th item, a Cupcake Eraser but looks like they forgot to put it in my box, oops). 

My favourite items in the January kawaii box are the tiny bunny & bows stickers and the cat (neko) purse. How adorable are these stickers? Those little bunny faces are too cute! I can't wait to start using them in my filofax planner and notebooks. One of my favourite things about the kawaii box in general is that it always includes a lovely sticker sheet and they are usually the squishy ones which are the best! The neko purse is also so adorable! I love it's big eyes and cute little nose, and those ears are awesome. The fabric that the purse is made from is lovely; it feels so soft. 

This crown pen would have made it to my favourites because I think it's really pretty and I love the tiny pink jewel detail, but there's a misspelling on the pen so that's disappointing. Instead of saying 'Dreams come true', it says 'ture'. The sweet mini bag is something that I know I won't use so I will give it to my niece. I love squishies like this donut charm so I will definitely put it on one of my bags some day. 

 The jewelery deco sticker is so bright and pretty, but I will more than likely use it in scrapbooking or crafty projects rather than on my phone. Again, I will probably use the nail deco flake set for decorating in crafty projects than on my nails, because I don't use nail art. I'm so clumsy that I know I'd have knocked them off or ruined my fancy nails within a few hours of decorating them. 

This is the yummiest looking DIY candy kit I've received since I subscriped to the kawaii box. It's so colourful and I can't wait to make it, it looks so fun! Overall, it was another great box with lots of cute Japanese and Korean items and if  you love kawaii, I recommend that you subscribe it to. International shipping is free and the box is really cheap for all the items you get. Why not get a one off box for your friend who loves kawaii? it was also make a great gift for your children/grandchildren/nieces & nephews :) 

Thankyou for reading! 
I hope you're all having a great week.
 I'm so excited, I'm going to see a musical tomorow! I really need to do something fun after the week I've had so far!

 ♥

What was your favourite item in my kawaii box this month? 

 

Manchester Travelodge Review & Bowling for Soup

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Today's post is all about how I spent my Friday & Saturday; I went to Manchester with my best friend to see Bowling For Soup and I had such an awesome time! We stayed over for the night at the Upper Brook Street Travelodge and I thought I'd do a little review about my stay there as well as tell you all about the concert :) I hope you enjoy reading!

I really enjoyed my stay at Travelodge. I've not stayed in many hotels before so I haven't got much to make a comparison to but I think the room was great for a budget hotel. It wasn't too big, but I just found this more cosy and it was the perfect size for two people to comfortably stay in. Our bedroom included a king-sized bed, a desk with simple tea/coffee making facilities, a desk chair, a shelf with a rail attached underneath for hanging up your clothes, a full length mirror and a TV. The room also had an en-suite bathroom with a shower. I heard that the 'Dreamer beds' at Travelodge were great, and this was very true :) It was so comfy and snuggly, and I was really happy that we both got two pillows each. That duvet was fab too! The bedroom was also lovely and warm, and both the bedroom and bathroom were very clean and tidy. The hotel provided handwash and theres a dispenser containing a 2-in-1 shampoo and body wash in the shower.

The Travelodge hotel as a whole was great. The staff working at the reception were friendly and welcoming. I've never been to a hotel without my parents (or my school when I went on a trip abroad with my high school history class) so I was really nervous about having to check in on my own. Due to my anxiety, I really struggle talking to people but the lady I spoke to at the desk was very professional, making it a lot easier to check in. The building itself looked nice and modern, and the interior looked great; it was easy to find your way around the hotel. As we entered the hotel, a member of staff was having her photo taken with Andy Bell from 80's band, Eurasia but I was so nervous about checking in that I didn't notice who it was... my friend had to tell me when we got to our room :D haha

 I didn't like that there were only two plug sockets in the room that were located at the far corner by the desk. I like to have my phone within reach of the bed when I put it on charge overnight. It was a little annoying having no spare plugs to use when my friend and I were both charging our phones, and having to unplug them if we wanted to use the kettle. I also didn't like that there were several sachets of coffee but only two teabags but that's because I was too nervous about going to ask for more at the desk... I'm a tea lover so I wish there were a few more teabags in the bedroom. Other than those little issues, I loved the bedroom at Travelodge and would definitely stay in one again. 

My best friend wanted to eat breakfast in the hotel so we paid for the all-you-can-eat full english breakfast, which was £7.95 each. You could also pay for the lighter option which was a little cheaper but didn't include the hot food. All-you-can-eat buffet style meals are great for me as I'm a fussy eater and I also have to watch what I eat because I have irritable bowel syndrome so I like being able to choose exactly what/how much I want. I also like that it was a self-service breakfast so I could avoid interacting with people... a mixture of tiredness, anxiety and just being the general introvert I am haha :D For the full english breakfast, there were sausages (with vegetarian sausages available too), bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms, hash browns, scrambled egg and baked beans. There was also bread (with a toaster available), croissants, fruit, granola and cereal. For drinks, there was a machine with water, orange juice and apple juice, a hot drinks machine with a variety of coffees and hot choocolate (which I got and it was yummy!) and tea making facilities with english breakfast tea and a selection of fruit teas.

 The venue was around ten minutes walk away from the hotel and there was a mcdonald's really close by and a few bars that served food. We wanted something quick and not too expensive so we opted for McDonald's but google maps on our phones confused us and instead of finding the local McDonald's we went on a massive trek to the McDonald's near Oxford Road train station which unfortunately meant that I was exhausted and in pain throughout the concert #spoonieproblems. Luckily, I still had a fun time!

I think it was great that the Manchester Academy posted the time schedule for the concert on their facebook page, because due to our McDonald's mission we were so behind schedule and with the concert starting at 7pm, there was no way we were going to make it in time. We decided to head over to the venue at around 8:15pm and got there an hour before Bowling For Soup were set to play, so we could visit the little merch stall and buy t-shirts and find a good spot to stand. The venue was huge, a lot bigger than I imagined. I'd only ever been to Academy 2 which was smaller. The supporting bands were MC Lars, Lacey and the Dollyrots, and we listened to the end of MC Lars act and the Dollyrots (who my best friend really enjoyed) :)

Going to see Bowling for Soup was sooo awesome! I have loved them since I was around 13 years old and listening to their music is really nostalgic. Me and my best friend also become friends around that time so it reminds me of how happy I was to find someone who I could be my weird little self around haha I got to see them in concert for the first time at Nottingham Rock City in 2013 when I was at university for their Farewell Tour and I was so sad that they wouldn't be coming back and so I couldn't see them with my best friend. But then they announced their 'How About Another Round' tour so I booked tickets as soon as I could. They are amazing live; they are hilarious, great performers and have an awesome stage presence. They sang my favourite song by them, 'Punk Rock 101' and they also sang lots of great songs from other punk rock bands. I was so elated when they sang 'Basket Case' by Green Day... Green Day are my favourite band of all time! Bowling for Soup are definitely a 10 out of 10 for overall gig experience!

(Here's a photo of the stage when The Dollyrots were playing; I didn't get one when of BFS where on because I was too excited and dancing haha). 

After the concert, we went to wait around the back of the venue in hopes that the band would come out and they did! It was so incredible to meet them all; they are so lovely and friendly even though I was fangirling big time and could barely speak hahaha I still can't believe I actually met them! :) it was so surreal. Here's a college of some of the photos we took with Jaret and Erik. It was way past midnight, I was exhausted and bedraggled so I don't look at my best, but I don't care... I'm so bloody happy!

 Thanks for reading!

 ♥

Who else has seen Bowling For Soup live? What's your favourite BFS song? 

Have you been to Manchester Academy? Who did you see?