Petty Bones Club Haul

Hey lovelies! It is a glorious day today and has me so excited for the arrival of Spring. Only another month to go! It is one of my most favourite times of year and I can't wait for it to spring upon us :D (I tried to make a joke but I suck XD I'll just pretend that everyone is going to laugh when they read it, haha). The sunshine shining in through my bedroom window as I write this is wonderful, and I feel so at peace ♥ Anyhow, before I start getting poetic, on with this post!

A  few weeks ago, I finally saved up enough to purchase some items I'd had my eyes on for a while from Petty Bones Club. I was even more lucky to be able to save 10% using a code I got from my awesome friend Natalee, who is actually a Petty Bones brand rep! If you love Pokemon and all things kawaii, stick around & read this post :) 

As you can see from my photograph above, the artwork by Petty Bones Club is absolutely gorgeous and so very adorable!! There's nothing I love more than chibified versions of my favourite characters, especially when they are cartoons so are already super cute, but artists somehow manage to make them look even cuter!! It's amazing, and I am in love with the style of illustration that Petty Bones Club does :) So what did I buy? 

I BOUGHT ENAMEL PINS!! And just look how stunning they are!? I love them so much!! It was very tough to choose just two pins from the selection available on the store. I knew I'd be getting Vulpix because it's one of my top 5 favourite Pokemon, and this is the first pin of Vulpix I've bought. However, it took me a few hours to settle on the second pin I was going to get, and I eventually chose this adorable little Chansey pin! Each pin was £8 and I think that's a great price because they are really well-made :) 

Oh, and the super sweet Bulbasaur and Lapras stickers were freebies! I think it's so lovely when stores include little notes or freebies, because it makes your order feel a lot more personal and like the store owner really values each sale they make. The Lapras sticker went straight onto my laptop, but I don't know if I'm going to be able to bring myself to use the Bulbasaur one because it's just so precious! This illustration design is from a line of pins that Petty Bone Club made called 'messengers', so this is Messenger Bulbasaur, and it's available in a pin form too. It's been on my wishlist for a while but wasn't in stock when I did my haul, so it's really nice to get a sticker of it to admire until I can get the pin itself! Thankyou Petty Bones Club! ^.^ 

I can't put into words how much I love this pin badge! It's definitely now one of my favourites from my entire collection (I have a lot of pins now, and when I finally find the perfect way to display them, I'll share a post all about my collection!). It's so simplistic but then also detailed, does that even make sense? :D Probably not, but I know what I mean, haha! I love that the design isn't too busy but has just the right amount of detailing to make it stand out! My favourite thing about it has to be the curls of Vulpix's tail and 'mane'! Oh my gosh and it's tiny feet! They just make me think about real life foxes plodding through snow and leaving little paw-prints... *cuteness overload!*. 

I really love the bold colours of this pin too! I've found with other Vulpix pins I've seen that they seem to be a lot more dull compared to this one, which is a shame because it's a  type Pokemon! It's supposed to look like a flamey little badass!! I think this pin achieves that look :) Another feature I really like is Vulpix's facial expression, it looks so happy and that makes me happy whenever I look at this pin! Also, I really like the gold outline of this pin because it goes so well with the orange and browns, and just gives the pin an overall warm glow. It's very pretty, don't you think? 

How sweet is this Nurse Chansey pin though!? I really love her little nurse's cap, it's so precious! I very much like the detail of this pin, especially the starry design around the nurse cap, and on the body of Chansey. They are great additions and look super cute! As soon as I spotted this pin over on Instagram, I knew that I had to have it some day! I've never seen a Nurse Chansey pin before, and it's so nostalgic to me. Whenever I see Chansey without the nurse hat on, it always seems strange to me, because the image of these Pokemon working alongside Nurse Joy is just immortalised in my mind :D 

I love that it looks as though Chansey is running, because it just makes me picture loads of adorable little Chansey's scuttling around a busy hospital, being the perfect helper for all the patients and doctors :) I like that the pink colours used aren't too in-your-face, because I often see Chansey merch that is almost hot pink in shade. I much prefer the baby pink and salmony colours. The latter especially goes well with the gold outline, and even though I would have thought that silver may have looked better with the pink, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw this pin in person and the colours matched so well together! All-in-all, the pin grabs your attention, the big egg especially, and I can't wait to wear it out and about.

The only thing that's a shame about my new Chansey pin is that there seems to be a scratch on her right eye, which I can't not notice each time the light reflects over it. It's only faint so it's not too much of a problem though! I'm not sure if it was something that happened whilst the pins were in the mail, because there was no bubble-wrap or anything protecting the pins inside the little box that they came in. This also caused the corners of the backing cards to get somewhat bent too. 

Something that I really like about the enamel pins from Petty Bones Club is that they are double-backed, so they are less likely to accidently fall off when you're wearing them. I am clumsy and prone to knocking pins off when I'm moving my hair out of the way or moving the scraps of my bags, so I am very glad that there's two backs :) I'm also happy that these backs are made of a smooth rubber stuff, as it will make them less likely to irritate my skin if they rub against it through my top/dress. 

So those are the newest additions to my ever-growing enamel pin collection :) I am over the moon with these pins, because they are even more adorable in person and the designs are so lovely! The colours are vibrant and the outlining is bold and noticeable, which makes them even more wonderful, and the expression on both Vulpix's and Chansey's faces are super sweet, so I can't help but melt a little everytime I look at them! Which do you prefer guys, Chansey or Vulpix? I hope you all enjoyed reading today's post, and that you have an awesome week ahead! 

Thankyou for reading!

♥

Are you a fan of Pokemon? If so, who's your favourite?

Do you also collect enamel pins? 

I'd love to hear all about your favourite one that you own! 

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Why I'm Not Setting Goals This Year

Happy Thursday guys! At the end of January, I took part in a monthly twitter chat for the Blog Network (run by my lovely friends Estelle & Stacey), and the theme was goals. It was lovely to chat about this topic with other bloggers and to get an idea of how they all set goals, and also what their plans were for 2019! I talked about how I'm approaching the year myself, and it was nice to receive encouragement ♥ Today's post has been inspired by this twitter chat (even though I've taken my time getting it written up XD). I thought it would be helpful to others who, like me really struggle with feelings of failure when I don't manage to complete goals I've set. I decided after how tough a year I had in 2018 that I was no longer going to allow myself to get hung up on goals and end up putting unnecessary pressure on myself. So, I have started off twenty-nineteen without setting any concrete goals, and wanted to share my feelings about this with you all. I hope that this post is a good read! 

I feel like I have said it a hundred times now over the last year or so, but 2018 really was a pile of shit for me! I mean there were a few things that made the year bearable, which will allow me to look back at it and remember those things and ignore everything else, but as a whole, it sucked! I feel like any progress that I made with my mental illness 'recovery' the previous year just got wiped clean and thus I was a mess psychologically by the end of 2018. A lot of things happened that were out of my control that caused me a lot of turmoil, but there was nothing I could do about those things. I couldn't get away from them and I had no support in terms of therapy or anything like that (the reasons are a story for another day, maybe, but I'm not happy at all with my local MH services). I tried to get through my year the way I had planned at New Year 2017, when like most people, I set goals or resolutions for the twelve months ahead, and this is one of factors that ended up making everything just more of a struggle! 

Basically, whenever I was having one of those days... (we say this like they happen so sparingly, but when you're dealing with mental illness, those days happen all the time!), anyhow whenever I was experiencing days when depressive thoughts were all-consuming, I would always beat myself up over how bad I was doing when it came to my goals, even though I was trying my best just to get through each day, and so all of my attention was focused on that, and the goals I made got put on the back burner, or however that saying goes. 

Despite trying to remind myself that I was doing the best I could, depression likes to ignore reason and make you feel crap regardless of this, and as a consequence, I would obsess over all of the things I hadn't done. I would feel pathetic and like I was just allowing my life to fade away with nothing good to show for my existence. It feel embarrassed knowing that people are going to read those words, but I know there are other people out there who have to deal with mental illness themselves and if reading what I have to say can help them feel less alone, then it will be worth any awkwardness I feel about sharing this on the internet! 

After reflecting over 2018 and trying to decide how to better manage my mental well-being going into this year, I knew that having goals and especially sharing them on my blog had impacted me negatively. Since I had shared the goals online, I felt especially pressured to show that I was completing them and give updates, but I wasn't completing them and had nothing to show, and that just reinforced my feelings of failure and made me worry that everyone else was going to see me as a failure too. I wanted to ensure that this wasn't going to happen again, and I decided that I was not setting any goals for 2019! 

If I did have a goal for this year, it would be to be kinder and more forgiving to myself. To give myself the same level of understanding that I give to others, and to just cut myself some slack! As the beautifully illustrated postcard that I've used in my photography today so rightly says, I need to allow myself to be where I am (artwork is from The Sad Ghost Club). I am determined this year to just let myself be. To just go with the flow and do things when they feel right and not to let myself stress over what I'm not doing, but to be happy about the things that I am doing :) 

I want to celebrate the little victories! I want to focus on all of the stuff that fills me with joy and makes me smile and have an appreciation for life. I want to be able to look back on the year and remember that no matter how small something may seem, it is important and valuable and I did it! In 2017, I made a memory jar but I only put two notes into it last year... this year is going to be different. I am going to fill it with all of the small triumphs and events and moments that make me feel warm and fuzzy inside :3 #cheesemuch. No matter what the next 10 months are going to throw at me, I am going to stay focused on just trying my best! 

So that is why I am seeing no concentre goals this year. I know that is a good decision to put my mental health first and hopefully some day, I am make goals again, but for now I am just going to give myself room to breath and time to heal. I do think that goals are awesome to have and I commend anyone who sets them and does a fabulous job achieving them. You guys are awesome! But I also want to remind others that even if you are not achieving any goals you set, that does not mean you're failing, it does not mean that you will never complete your goals either. You are doing awesome too, and you will get there! Just give it your best attempt and remember to be kind to yourself :)

Thankyou for reading! 

♥

Did you make any goals this year? 

I'd love to hear what they are!

Are any of you guys approaching the year the same way as I am?

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More Ichiban Kuji Goodness! | Japan Award Haul

Hi everyone! I am so happy to be finally getting this post up! It's taken me forever but today's post is going to be all about the second big haul that I did through one of my favourite YouTube channels, Japan Award! If you love all things adorable and Japanese, then be sure to check out this fabulous channel! Horacio who runs Japan Award is always so excited and fun, that I can't help but be instantly happy when I'm watching :) I've been so looking forward to sharing the joy I get from playing ichiban kuji with you guys! Enjoy! 

If you are a regular reader of my blog, then you may have seen my previous post from back in October all about the wonders of ichiban kuji, and my experiences of playing it for the first time! If not and you're a fan of all things kawaii, then you can check it out here :) Before I get to showing you guys my fantastic prizes, I want to start off by just briefly explaining what ichiban kuji is, for those of you who haven't heard of it before! There's a more thorough explanation over on the previous post I mentioned, but just to summarise... the Japanese words ichiban kuji mean 'Number 1 Lottery', basically 'best lottery', and this is because it is a lottery game and the aim is to try to find tickets for the best prizes! These are usually A,B,C or 1,2,3 depending on who's running the lottery. Most are run by the company Banpresto. 

When you play ichiban kuji (or just kuji), you purchase however many tickets you want, and tear them open to reveal a letter/number, all of which correspond to a prize. I think it's absolutely fabulous that you win a prize no matter what! :) It's so different to these sorts of games here in the UK, when you play for just a chance at pulling out a winning ticket and often times you walk away with no prize. I just love kuji so so much! It's super exciting to play, and I can't wait until the day when I can finally go to Japan and play it in person for myself. But until that day, I am so happy to play via Japan Award :3 

So now that we all know what kuji is, it's time to reveal my prizes to you all! I bought tickets from three different ones, so in order to show you all my prizes, my post is going to get very picture heavy from now :D I will also link all of the videos showing my tickets being pulled, so that you can watch along and share in the excitement. Please give Japan Award's channel some love, by liking, commenting and subscribing! Okay, here we go...

First up is a Dragon Ball kuji! I recommend watching the entire video because it's really fun to see what everyone else who played wins, and this video is extra cute because chibi kuji crusher is choosing & opening all the tickets!! If you would like to see my prizes though, I'm at 6:13 :) I bought five tickets for this one! 

If you didn't watch the video yet, here are all of the prizes that I won! The tickets that I got for the Dragon Ball Battle of World kuji were E, G, E, H & F. So I won two smartphone rings, an art print, a plate and a glass. Yay! With this kuji having so many prize categories, I think that E might have been a top prize too, so it was very cool to win two of those :) 

For those of you who are curious to know more about the prize categories that were available in the Dragon Ball kuji, here's a list: A- a figure of Goku, B- a figure of Gohan, C- a figure of Majin Vegeta, D- another Goku figure, E- a smartphone ring (three designs available), F- a glass (four designs to pick from), G- an art print/ 'signature board' (this is a mystery pack, and you can win one of 12 designs!), H- a dragon ball mini plate (another mystery box, you can win dragon ball's  1-7), and the last prize was a figure too, another Goku. The last prize goes to the person who purchases the last ticket in the store... how awesome is that!? 

Now let's take a closer look at my prizes :) 

Each time, I am so impressed by how well packaged all of the individual prizes are in whichever kuji I play! They even make the boxes decorative which is fantastic, though for someone like me who is already a box hoarder, it just makes me want to keep every single box, even when I've already put the items on display in my bedroom :D (I have a problem, haha)! 

I always go into kuji games super excited at the prospect of winning any of the prizes, because no matter which letter/number you get, you are guaranteed to win something that is of great quality and equally as awesome! Although it's impossible not to want to pull a top prize, especially when they are usually either figures or big plushies, both of which I collect! Other than the Vegeta figure, which I really wanted to win because Vegeta is my favourite DBZ character, I also had my heart set on getting an art print and one of the dragon ball plates. So I was over the moon to get them! 

I really love how bright orange the dragon ball plate is, it's super eye-catching! It's not very big so I won't be able to put many trinkets on it, but that suits me fine because I want to use it as a little stand for a small Dragon Ball Z figure :) 

How brilliant is the design on the glass that I won?! I love how detailed it is! There was a Vegeta one available, but this Goku version was my second favourite of the bunch, so I'm glad to have won it! I really like the style of the glass that Banpresto chose for this prize category; it's one of those whisky glasses with the thick base. They are super sturdy, which makes them more durable and less likely to get broken, and this is great for me because I'm clumsy, oops! It actually has a print on both sides which is always awesome, mine has a faint white print of Frieza. Fun fact: when I was a child, I watched the American-English version of Dragon Ball Z on TV and little me thought that the English voice of Frieza sounded like a woman. So I grew up thinking that Frieza was a female character, and it wasn't until my late teens when I watched some of the original Japanese episodes, that I was confused to hear a man's voice and therefore discover that Frieza was in fact a male character! XD

It's fabulous that I won two of the E prizes, especially the Chiaotzu version! He's super cute!! He is the best buddie of Tien, and when I was a kid, I thought Tien was pretty cute ;) and I always think of Tien whenever I see Chiaotzu, haha. I love how happy he looks! I've never used a smartphone ring before, but to be honest, I don't think I am gonna be able to bring myself to use my Chiaotzu one because I drop my phone a lot and I don't want it to get all scratched up and ruined. I have decided not to open the other smartphone ring, the Raditz & Ranch one, because I am not as much of a fangirl over those characters and I think I'm going to gift this prize to a friend some day :) 

Okay so I absolutely adore this art print!! Just look how amazing it looks! It's gorgeous and I can't wait to find a good place to display it because I just want to show it off to the world! I love every single thing about this print, even though I wanted to 'unbox' one of my favourite characters, either Vegeta, Great Ape Vegeta or Cell. I am so surprised by the level of detail on this print, I really wasn't expecting it to look this cool! I wish I'd won more of these now :D So, which is your favourite of all the Dragon Ball items that I got? 

What's the next kuji that I played? Keep reading to find out! 

If you are a lover of sweet little bears, then watch this video!! It's a mix of both Sanrio/San-X's Rilakkuma and a Winnie the Pooh kuji! I played the Rilakkuma one, which was launched to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of this super cute character and his friends :3 I am a big fan of Korilakkuma so I couldn't resist buying tickets!! Again if you just want to find when I got my tickets, you can skip to 10:22 minutes. 

I forgot to take a flatlay photo of all the boxes for these prizes (sorry!) but I bought five tickets! What was really interesting about this kuji is that several of the prize categories were based on a character, rather than a specific item so you could win one of four different items for each of the characters, if that makes sense. For those of you who don't know, there are four Rilakkuma characters: Rilakkuma himself, Korilakkuma (the paler bear), Kiiroitori (the yellow bird) and Chairoikoguma (looks like Rilakkuma but is smaller and darker brown in colour). 

The prizes for this San-X kuji were: A- a plushie of Rilakkuma laying down with Kiiroitori sitting on his back!, B- Korilakkuma, dressed as Rilakkuma, C- Chairoikoguma, dressed as Rilakkuma, D- a Rilakkuma scarf/hat combo, E- Rilakkuma set, F- Korilakkuma set, G- Chairoikoguma set, H- Kiiroitori set. In each of these sets, you could win a decorative trinket dish, a plate, a bowl/dish and a glass. 

The tickets that I got were F, E, B!!!!!!!, E & G. Yes I won a B prize! Oh my gosh!! Eeeeee! *insert all the heart-eye emojis here*. I can't believe it :D I literally almost cried when I was watching this video and discovered that I won the big Korilakkuma plush because she's my favourite!! 

I feel so lucky that I won something from almost all of the sets, apart from the Kiiroitori one, which is my least favourite of the characters so I'm okay with that :) From the Rilakkuma set (E), I got the most adorable bowl! I really like the colour scheme, it's so vibrant and even though there's a winter theme for this ichiban kuji, they haven't used the traditional colder colours, which is different and I like it! I love all of the fir trees, and also the classic fair isle knitting design that they've chosen to decorate the bowl. It's pretty! Of course, little Rilakkuma in his scarf and mittens is the star of the show :3 

From the Rilakkuma set, I got a plate and I love that it's a pastel yellow shade. It's lovely! I like that he's blushing too, so cute! The last ticket Japan Award opened for me was a G prize, the Chairoikoguma set, and I got another plate. This one is a pale pea-green shade and it matches so well with the yellow plate. I think Chairoikoguma looks so excited, he is doing the face I do everytime I play kuji XD This is the first piece of merch I have owned for this lesser well-known Rilakkuma character, so I am very glad to add it to my collection. 

As for the Korilakkuma prize (F), I got a really pretty glass! I am such a fan of the design of this glass, I love the red base and the shape of it. It looks perfect to put desserts into, to make a mini ice-cream sundae in, don't you think? Although it does feel much more delicate than the glass I got in the Dragon Ball kuji, so I don't think I want to risk breaking it. I love that Korilakkuma is sitting on a strawberry, it's very sweet. My favourite thing about the glass though is that it says Rilakkuma 15th Anniversary on it, so it's an excellent collective piece to have.  Another thing I'm a fan of is how subtle the design is, it's a light gold colour; there really is beauty in simplicity, as they say :) 

Here's a close-up of the design on the Korilakkuma glass. I really like that they've put golden dots all around the character, because it just makes me see one giant strawberry XD … I'm definitely craving strawberries right now! Can I get a drumroll please?? It's time to show you all my amazing fabulous B prize!! Warning: extreme cuteness incoming...! 

AWWWWW! Look at it!! I squeeee everytime I see this plushie! I was super surprised about how big it actually was, and I think it's marvellous that this was actually a kuji prize! It's so cuddly and soft. The Rilakkuma outfit that Korilakkuma is wearing feels amazing, I can't describe it... it almost feels like a towel but really plush and furry. I don't really know what else to say about this plush, I think that it's perfect!! I love the colours, especially Korilakkuma's pink 'paws' and the yellow parts of the ears. The little red ribbon and button bowtie thing stands out so much against the other colours, and is so very sweet! I think it's awesome that they've put a 'badge' on the outfit too saying '15th Anniversary', again I really like commemorative items like this :) It's seriously so well made, and I feel very lucky that I won it. Thankyou so much Japan Award!! 

I have one more lot of ichiban kuji prizes to show you guys! There's no video for this one though so you'll just have to admire the prizes from my photos :) I bought three tickets for this one and it's Pokemon themed! The pokemon is very cute and is a big fan of Pikachu.... can you guess who it is?? *No peeking, go tell me who it is in the comments first!* 

IT'S MIMIKYU!! And this particular Banpresto ichiban kuji was called Mimikyu's Circus :) I am a big fan of circus themed things, so I was really excited to see what the prizes for this kuji were like. I was not disappointed! I really liked all of the prizes available. There was: A- a big Mimikyu plush, B- a Mimikyu poncho blanket with a hood, C- a circus tent-shaped trinket case, D- a decorative plate (four designs available), E- a glass (four designs to choose from), F- a face cloth (five designs available), G- a charm (mystery box, with six designs available), and the last prize was another big Mimikyu plushie! 

As you can see above, I won a F, E & D prize. Here are some shots of them out of box... 

All of the face clothes were incredibly adorable, however this one was actually my favourite of the five designs because it features Umbreon & Espeon, and I absolutely adore the Eeveelutions!! I also really love that Mimikyu looks like a magician's bunny popping out of a hat :3 There was another face cloth that I would have been super happy to get too, and that was one with a Gengar on it, and the design on it has gothic vibes, so it's right up my street!

The D prize plate is also very pretty, and the blue and white design makes me reminisce about these antique-looking oriental plates that my mom used to have when I was a kid. I love that in the design at the top of the plate, Mimikyu has a wand and is wearing a magicians top hat! I also really like all of the little stars dotted around the sky, and who wouldn't like the fact that there's a silhouette of both Pikachu and Ditto on there!? 

I really like that on my glass Mimikyu is wearing top hat and has a wand, just like in the silhouette on my plate. The red, brown and blue circus rent design looks wonderful as well! Something that I wish was different about the glass though is that the print is only on one side, but it's not a major problem or anything. This glass wasn't my favourite, I wanted the Gengar one that was available, but I still love it! That's why kuji is so spectacular, because if it's for a franchise that I love, there's never going to be a prize that I dislike! It was about time that I got some Mimikyu merch in my life!! 

Here's my entire ichiban kuji haul!! It's amazing if I do say so myself :3 Now everyone can see the boxes for the Rilakkuma kuji too! I'm so elated to be able to now play kuji and I don't think I'll ever not get excited whenever I hear that a new one is being released. I actually have to stop myself from buying tickets for kujis for animes that I haven't even watched yet, or for characters I have never heard of before XD It's addicting, haha! 

My post has almost come to an end, but there's just one more thing that I have to include!

 

When I discovered that the Pokemon Center was releasing a collection of Eevee and Pikachu collaboration merch, I was so flippin' excited, and when I saw the two plushies, I couldn't not buy one!! I very much wanted to buy both of them, but my bank balance said no T_T There was an Eevee dressed as Pikachu, and this one of Pikachu dressed as Eevee, and since I have been after a plushie of Pikachu dressed as another Pokemon FOREVER, I decided on this one. I wish there were more words for cute in the English language, especially for posts like this... I am very nearly resorting to using the German words for cute that I have learnt, haha! XD (I actually shared a post about how I'm learning German last year, if anyone's interested). But yeah, this Pikachu is so so cute!! Even more adorable in person than I'm imagined it would be, and like every official Pokemon Center plushie, it is really well-made and super soft! 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my new plushies!! Look how sweet they look together! So, we've reached the end of my second Japan Award haul post; I really enjoyed writing it, and I hope you all enjoy reading it just as much! That's if you managed to put up with my rambling :D You should totally go follow Japan Award over on YouTube, and Instagram. You can count on me to do more ichiban kuji posts this year because I cannot stop playing!! I hope you all have a lovely rest of the weekend :)

Thankyou for reading! 

♥ 

What's your favourite item that I won?

Had you ever heard about kuji before reading my post? 

Have you played it yourself before? I'd love to hear all about your prizes! 

January/February 2019 Kawaii & Geeky Wishlist

Hello lovelies! And Happy Love Day to my fabulous readers and fellow bloggers :) I decided to share my Kawaii & Geeky wishlist a little earlier this month, considering it's going to be a joint wishlist... you may have noticed that I didn't share a wishlist in January, and that was because there was barely anything that I wanted other than books!, with it just having been Christmas. So for today's post, I am combining the couple of items I was after in January with what I want at the moment. I hope you all enjoy reading! 

1. Funko Dragon Ball Z Android 17 Pop! Vinyl I was so over the moon when I discovered that Funko were planning to release more Dragon Ball Z characters, and especially excited when I learnt that Android 17 & 18 would be in the line up! These two were in my top 5 characters from this amazing anime series when I was a kid, specifically Android 18, and so I can't wait to add their Pop! figures to my collection! It won't be long until I reach 100 Pops! :O 

2. Funko Dragon Ball Z Android 18 Pop! Vinyl The design of Pop! figures is getting better and better over time, and I really love the stances that they are now creating their figures in. I really love the sass in Android 18's stance! It is so perfect for her character, and these two look great together on photographs as far as I've seen :) After Vegeta and Cell, Android 18 is my third favourite character. My fellow DBZ fans, who are your favourite characters? I also love Piccolo and Gohan! 

3. Pokemon Saiko Soda Series Vaporeon Plush This super adorable plush, along with the Android Pop's, is one of the items that I wanted back in January, however after Christmas, I was skint! But hopefully I can now get my hands on this lovely Vaporeon from the Soda Pop/Mix Au Lait collection. To be honest, I want all of the Eeveelutions, and even the Pikachu, from this collection, but that would cost so much! T_T I might just get a Leafon too... (I have too many plushies XD). 

4. Amuse Usa Dama-Chan Vinyl Figures As my regular readers will know by now, I have a little bit of an obsession with vinyl figures, especially when they are kawaii! I recently spotted these Amuse ones on Tokyo Otaku Mode and oh my gosh, they are so cute, I need them!! I just love everything made by the Japanese brand Amuse, and think these sweet little bunnies would look perfect all lined up on a shelf. Not that I have any space left :D but I WILL find a way to allow for more figures, haha! Which colour would you choose? My favourite are the yellow and the orange & white one :3 It's a shame that the website is an international one, which for me in England means pricey shipping, because these figures are so cheap! 

5. Sass & Belle Chasing Rainbows Notebook I'm a sucker for new notebooks, and I am yet to own one from Sass & Belle so I am very tempted to get this 'Chasing Rainbows Spread Happiness' A5 notebook, to pop into my bag to jot notes and blog ideas down whenever I'm out and about. I really like the mixture of vibrant and pastel colours on the cover, and the design is really pretty! It's very photogenic, perfect for those Instagram shots :p Chasing Rainbows instantly makes me think of a line in the UK's 2018 Eurovision song by SuRie, and that makes me happy :) 

6. Harry Potter Letter Set I have wanted this letter set every since I spotted in when having a nosey for Christmas presents online. I think it's lovely and you can never have too much fandom merch, right!? One of my hobbies is snailmail/penpal letter writing and so I am always looking for new letter paper to shock up on :) I very much like the old-fashioned style of this Harry Potter set, and love that it comes with stickers that resemble the Hogwarts Crest wax seals!

7. Weishi Art Ninetales Pin I recently came across this wonderful artist over on Instagram, and I am in love with their illustrations and products. There's so much on their website that I want, including this fantastic Ninetales pin! It is the cutest Ninetales pin that I have seen, and I have a mighty need to add it to my pin collection!! That big red eye though, melts me heart :3 Also if you're a fan of Pokemon, you'll hopefully enjoy my last post which you can check out here. We love a good shameless post link :D 

8. Happy House Animal Mechanical Sharpener I have wanted one of these mechanical pencil sharpeners for the longest time, but all of the designs I've seen for sale in the UK are boring, plain, dull-coloured ones that didn't appeal to me. I am so messy when it comes to emptying shavings out of sharpeners, no matter if I'm standing over a bin, I still without fail somehow manage to cover myself and/or the floor with bits! :D So I would love to own one of these sharpeners which have a much bigger tray inside, so I don't have to empty it as often XD Also, I just love the novelty of the lever thingie, haha. Thankyou Tofu Cute for stocking these pretty versions!

9. Amuse Fuwaneko Mew-Chan Plush JUST LOOK HOW CUTE THESE KITTIES ARE!? Mew-Chan!! How cute is that name too!? I literally squeeee'd when I came across these plushies on the Tofu Cute website. Does anyone remember those 90's cat plushies called 'Kitty, Kitty, Kittens' by Tyco? :) I have a grey one which I've had since I was at nursery and his name is Whiskers! Then when they re-released them back in the 2000's, I got another, a ginger & white one. They have the sweetest little expressions on their faces :) Anyhow before I get off topic, these remind me of the Japanese equivalent of them! I need the grey and white one in my life, because I love grey animals! Three of my precious hoppy furrbabies are grey! This cat's name is 'Grey Gretel' and that is just the sweetest name too. I. NEED. IT. 

10. King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo The final item on my wishlist is one that was brought to my attention last week, again on Instagram... which is going to be the death of my bank account at this rate :D I am looking for more fantasy books to read this year, and I like that this one is new and is one of two books (I think?) so I can follow along with the series from the start basically. Plus, that cover and title is giving me Song of Ice & Fire by George R.R. Martin vibes, so I am very curious. Leigh Bardugo wrote the Six of Crows series and people seem to love that, so I want to read some of her books and I'm gonna start with this one. Who's read it? Would you recommend? Any other fantasy recommendations would be most welcome :) 

Thankyou for reading! 

I hope you've all had a lovely day, and that you've given yourself some love & brought something nice as a present to yourself! 

♥

What's on your wishlist this month guys?

Also, which is your favourite of the items I've featured?

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!