April Cute Things

Hello Everyone! Wow... it's been absolutely ages since I last blogged, and for a second there, I wasn't sure if I was coming back. Not gonna lie, 2023 hasn't started off great for me. Sorry to begin a cutesy themed post like this, but I don't want to sugarcoat things. Mental health struggles are unfortunately common and if me being open about my own struggles helps just one person feel not so alone, or gives them that little push to be open about what they're going through with their loved ones or a therapist or something, then it's worth it. Up until my early 20's, I used to be one of those people who hid what I was going through, but my OG readers will know I'm pretty open about the mental health conditions I have; I've even written a few posts about them in the past as well. Anyhow, this year has brought with it many unforeseen circumstances that have had a big impact on my already messy mind, and my ability to get-up-and-go all but vanished, until literally last week. So, here I am FINALLY with a new post, something short and sweet, as the saying goes (well, I'll try to keep it short but overexplaining is part of my package deal, haha!). I hope you all enjoy reading! 

Back in late December when I was doing what a lot of us do, thinking about our goals for the new year ahead, I came up with a post series idea. I used to share several posts a week at one point, but reality check: going from nothing to that just wasn't happening. I was trying to wrack my brain for ways to still talk about all the things that make my day-t0-day life that little bit brighter, whilst only sharing something once a week. Eventually, I thought why not do a sort of round up post at the end of each month, to share with you all anything cute that I might have bought or watched or whatever. I feel like most of you folks are here for that anyway! I'm not sure if the title will stay the same, but getting back to writing took enough energy without attempting to come up with a catchier name... I mean, does it really need one? We'll see :) 

Since today's post has more of a catching up vibe, I'm going to be sharing all about the cutest additions to my life since Christmas Time. Some might think it's a little late for that now, but the last few months have felt like one giant never-ending month. Somehow simultaneously speeding by and dragging at the same time! Who can relate? Plus, I think all my cutesy acquisitions deserve to be celebrated. I know I'll enjoy talking about them and remembering the joy I felt when I first got them. Fingers crossed it's still a fun read for everyone else! 

Decided to start off with these embroidery pieces. Aren't they gorgeous!? They were made for me by my wonderful blogging bestie, Natalee from ThereMightBeCoffee. Embroidery has been a new hobby of hers for several months now and she's made some lovely pieces, including these which she surprised me with for my birthday last Autumn and for Christmas. I know that I said I was just going to be featuring things from Christmas onwards, but I couldn't not show both pieces off,  because I'm absolutely over the moon with them! Both these characters are special to me, as Lily is my favourite villager from the Nintendo video game series, Animal Crossing, and Hamtaro holds a big place in my heart from my childhood. It was an anime series that I really adored growing up, so much so that I even named a pet hamster of mine after the main character. If you're also a fan of this little cutie, you should check out my previous post all about the Hamtaro Nendoroid :) Which is your favourite of the two pieces Nat very kindly made for me? I feel so loved because I know how much time these pieces take to put together ♥ I cannot wait to get them up on the wall in my bedroom! 

It wouldn't be a Raiin Monkey life update if it didn't include something about plushies! I am addicted to buying them, always have been and don't think I'm gonna be stopping any time soon, with new releases and collections popping up all the time. I have my eye on Jelly Cats now, so watch this space, haha! I've actually added a couple more to my collection this year, but I thought I'd leave something for the next edition of my monthly Cute Things series. Which of the plushies below pulls on your heartstrings the most? 

I have been aware of this lovely little froggy character since the early days of the internet, at least the early days for me which would be the early 2000s. I have always been very fond of frogs, but the obsession hadn't quite taken hold back then. I was all about Sanrio and San-X, especially some of the less talked about characters nowadays, such as Chi Chi Monchan. I would occasionally see this froggo around the kawaii enthusiast communities, but I didn't have a clue who it was until a few years ago. Its name is Pickles, and even though I have a tendency to refer to plushies as 'he', something cool about this frog is that, according to the info I found on wiki, its gender is a secret. I think that's really cool. Back in January, a new store was brought to my attention on Instagram called Disco Waffle. They sell plushies that can be quite tricky to source here in the UK, and as soon as they announced that they were stocking Pickles, I had to have one! I chose yellow, because it's just such an eye-catching and cheerful colour, and I am very happy with how well-made this plush is. 

I said I was going to attempt to keep this post short, but that ships already sailing... I can't help myself. I have to tell ALL THE DETAILS :D 

Another plushie that I got back in January was this fabulous Cinnamoroll from the Build A Bear Workshop. When BAB announced that they would be bringing out a Hello Kitty plush for the iconic character's 40th Anniversary, I was super excited, however, I wasn't a fan of the silver design choices they went for. I still have the original Hello Kitty plush they released when I was a teenager (it was my second ever purchase from them), so I didn't really need another, but the anniversary release had me hoping for a new series, like they seem to be doing a lot over the last several years, with the Pokemon collection for example, that seems to be still going strong! It was the prospect of more Sanrio characters that made me snap up a Cinnamoroll as soon as I spotted an ad on the stores instagram. I don't usually buy white plushies, just because of how quickly dust and stuff shows up on them, but I couldn't say no... he's sooooo cute! I love his little cinnamon bun shaped tail and squishy, floppy ears. They make up for the fact that whoever stuffed him did so so thoroughly that he can't be put into a sitting position, making him tough to display with my other plushies. Oops! Are you hoping for anymore Sanrio BAB's? Kuromi is my fave, so I'm hoping for a plush of her, but I'm also super curious how they would design Pom Pom Purin to make sure he's the chubby cutie we all know and love. 

How sweet are the squishmallows!? The standard sized one on the right was bought for me by my sister off my Christmas wishlist. It's supposed to be a beluga whale, one of my favourite sea creatures, and his name is Laslow. I fell in love with him as soon as I saw him, but the name also had a nostalgic appeal to it. I've been trying to think of where I'd heard the name back when I was a kid, and my sister made me remember the Cartoon Network show, Camp Lazlo, so I'm thinking that might be the one! Again, as I'm not generally a fan of white plushies, I am really glad that Squishmallow decided to shake things up and make Laslow a pastel lilac and blue colour, and to give him what I call the uwu mouth, that classic :3 face. It's so cute! The tiny squishmallow was gifted to me by my lovely friend, Sophie, and it was the perfect surprise because I'd been thinking about getting the standard sized Maggie the Stingray squishmallow for a while. If it wasn't due to the fact that my room is slowly being overtaken my plushies, I would have so many more squishmallows by now, but I'm trying to only get the ones I really have a mighty need for, so it's great that I now have a pocket-sized Maggie instead :) No matter how long it's been since I bought my first squishmallow, I am still amazed at how soft they are everytime I touch one! 

I thought I'd include some snippets from my instagram of other cute things I've been buying. There's just something about pez dispensers that makes me never able to walk away whenever I see one of my favourite characters. So, I had to grab this Bulbasaur when my sister spotted it in B&M. And of course because I have no self control, when she mentioned that they had a Pikachu in stock, I got that one, too. Do any of you guys like pez? Have you kept any from your childhood? The rug I got from Kenji when I headed to Manchester City with my best friend in December last year. I'd spotted these fabulous little rugs/mats back in September when I had visited the Trafford Centre store for the first time, and very much regretted not picking one up then. The Arndale store didn't have the Oppy the Frog one I wanted, so I got my second favourite Tiny K character, Dorothy the witchy cat. I was really impressed by how soft these rugs were, and love that they aren't fluffy so will be easy to clean. They were £8 each as far as I remember! 

I have the most fantastic of friends!! All but one of these items was a gift from one of my loved ones :') Thank you for being amazing, guys!! 

So, the only item above that I purchased myself was the stationery blind box with the adorable strawberry pig on the front. During my Christmas Time trip to Manchester, I popped into Miniso to see whether the rumoured Sanrio collection had been stocked yet. Unluckily, it showed up not long after we'd been! Because I was a little gutted, I was determined to find something to buy, but it's a pricey store so I was almost ready to admit defeat, when I spotted these little Miniso X Penple Toys boxes not far from the till (and discounted!). I have no idea what's inside yet, as I've been meaning to unbox it on the Tiktok I made just for sharing my toy collecting and unboxing hobby. I've not posted on there in ages, but hoping to change that very soon. So if that's your cup of tea, please give my account a follow. 

My friend Sophie, along with the tiny ray squishmallow gave me a gift bag filled with all sorts of lovely things when we met up in February (thank you!! ♥). Due to covid and just general life getting in the way, we hadn't seen each other for a ridiculously long time so it was so great to finally get a chance to hang out! We had lunch at a cute little tearoom in my hometown, and then headed to a local park to feed the ducks and have a wander about. It was a really nice day! And thanks for her, I now have my first Cats VS Pickles blind bag!! It's been so tough not to open, but I'm trying to save things for my tiktok. Everyone cross your fingers for me that there's a super cute cat inside! Lovin' the Winnie the Pooh initial mug she got for me, too. I really like the old style illustrations of A.A. Milne's charming characters, vs the cartoony ones :) 

Another of my awesome blogger friends, Kim from ChimmyVille, surprised me at Christmas Time by getting me something off my amazon wishlist. She's been buying me a gift off there for my birthday and Christmas for a few years now, because she's such an incredibly kind person ♥ I really appreciate it! This time, she got me the Jolteon Funko Pop, so I now have all three starter Eeveelutions thanks to her getting me the electric baby :) Really chuffed about that every time I look at my Pokemon shelf! 

How adorable is that Tiny K notebook from Kenji!? When we went to Manchester at the end of 2022, my best friend wanted me to pick something for my birthday and christmas presents, and this was one of the things I chose. Kenji has been my favourite store for a long time, and I am so delighted for them that they have grown so much that they are doing partnerships/collaborations with other companies and also expanding out of the north, with a few stores now popping up in the midlands. Go Kenji! We spotted this notebook in HMV, and I absolutely adore that it features most of the store's original characters, apart from the frog and the orange cat. It's also a really thick notebook and has the cream pages that I prefer. Only time will tell if it ends up being added to my hoard of notebooks that I can't bring myself to use, haha! 

Look how precious these babies are!! It's been well over a year now since these endearing Pucky X Pop Mart figures became my new favourite collectable blind boxes, and if it wasn't for the fact we've been experiencing a cost of living crisis in the UK since then, I'd have so many by now! These adorable little vinyl figures are always so well detailed and brilliant quality. I love that many of them come with tiny accessories, too, and the fact that there's loads of versions available. My most sought after collection is the Animal Tea Party Pucky Babies, which is where the two figures above come from. My sister bought me these for Christmas and I couldn't wait to open them in all the festive excitement. I probably should have included a photo of all the different figures you can find inside these blind boxes, but the ones I wanted most were Ducky Baby and Poker Rabbit Baby (as it looks like the white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland!). It must have been the Christmas magic because I only went and got Ducky Baby in my first box!! What a sweetheart he is with his tiny duckling mug!! I'm obsessed with how each of these cuties come with their own mug for the tea party. I was just as happy to get Squirrel Baby because there's not one Pucky Baby in this series that I don't like. A big thank you to my sister for making my Christmas Day so wonderful! 

In the previous photo, I featured another of the Animal Tea Party blind boxes and that's because the other gifts that my best friend got for me were Pucky Babies blind boxes!! Thank you so much, Jess ♥ I was super close to choosing two of the Tea Party ones as there was a deal on 2 in the Kenji Arndale store; I can't remember the price though, but I hope they keep that deal as a permanent thing! However,  I was so intrigued by the packaging of the Pucky Festival Babies! Each figure is dressed in a traditional outfit to represent elements of a festival celebrated in Asia, and they all have a gorgeous design! I'll get around to opening them on my tiktok soon, so keep on the lookout, fellow toy fans! 

Well, that's all I've got for you today, guys! I really hope that this was an interesting read and that I had you all thinking 'AWWW!' at some point thoroughout. Please let me know your thoughts on this new monthly series idea :) I am very glad that talking about some of the cutesy things I've gotten over the last several months with you all has pulled me out of that blogging slump that I was starting to worry would never end. It's good to be back, and I hope I can stick at it! Much better than I can stick at keeping my word count down... I think that one's an impossible hurdle for me though! Wishing you all an excellent month of May (in addition to being a fan of the adorable things in life, I am also a Eurovision Song Contest fan so I'm very much looking forward to that!). 

Thank you for reading! 

♥

What's the cutest thing you've bought lately?

Also, tell me what you're looking forward to next month! 

I've been a lot more active on my social media lately, 

so why not give me a follow over there?: 

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Build A Bear's Newest Pokemon Plush

Hi guys! If you follow me over on Instagram, then perhaps today's post is a long awaited one for you! I am finally going to be showing you guys the latest addition to my Build-A-Bear Workshop Pokemon plushie collection! Some of you might have seen a photo already on my social media, because I really couldn't resist sharing my adorable new cuddly friend! Haha, that just sounded super cheesy XD but I don't care! I love teddies, stuffies, plushies, whatever you call them, and I don't see myself stopping buying them anytime soon! I know there's lots of you out there who share this love of soft toys, and this post is one for you :) Enjoy! 

I know that everyone has been complaining about the weather we've been having in the UK over the last two weeks, but I'm about to contribute! I mentioned in my previous post that the heat wave has a crappy effect on my health, basically it makes my fibromyalgia flare up. I have spent all of July thus far in a constant state of exhaustion; I've been getting headaches a lot more than usual and my body is sore af. Having insomnia means that I'm used to doing most of my blogging at night-time, but because of the way the heat has been making me feel, I'm finding that by the end of the day, I am too drained to concentrate or do much of anything. It's really annoying me to be honest... I just want to write up all the ideas I have but it's been such a challenge. I've been wanting to show you guys this plush for ages now! Sorry it's taken me forever to get this post up >.<

Exactly a month ago today, my best friend & I had a day out in Manchester city. Literally the whole purpose of this trip was to visit the Build A Bear Workshop and pick up the newest Pokemon plush release, but because Manchester is such an awesome place, we decided to make the most of it and do other fun things whilst we were there :) We went for a meal at TGI Friday's (which was delicious by the way!), did some shopping in the Arndale centre and at the fabulous Affleck's Palace, and we also went geocaching. We only found one cache, but it was the biggest one that I've ever found so I was super happy. I can't believe the cache was so close to the hotel that we usually stay at whenever we go to a gig or something in Manchester, as if I never thought to look if there were any nearby! If you haven't heard of geocaching before, check out my post all about it. 

Something that I absolutely love about the Build A Bear Workshop experience is that, as the company name suggests, you get to 'build' your own plushies! Upon entering the store, you are greeted by a pretty big selection of different plush characters; there is a display showing each one that's available as a finished example, usually wearing something from the various clothing and accessory collections to make you wanna buy an outfit for your own. These outfits are adorable so it can be hard to resist getting something for your new plush to wear, haha! When I got my first ever Build A Bear plush as a teenager, I bought it a full outfit, shoes and everything :D Anyhow, underneath these example plushies, you will find the 'skins', which are basically the plushies without their fluffy filling. I always have a good rummage through the drawer to make sure that I find a perfect one :)

After choosing which plush you want, you can have a look at a selection of different sounds that you can put inside it. For example, there's a meow to go inside a cat plushie, and there's even a beating heart (which is more of a feel, than a sound of course)! Until my latest visit to the store, I'd never felt/listened to this beating heart, but one of the shop assistants wanted me to experience what it felt like and to watch my reaction... it was so weird XD But if you want one of these inside your plushie, then go for it! It's cool that the option is available, haha! 

The most fun step of the plushie building process comes next... I don't know what to call it, the stuffing? fluffing part? But it's when the 'skin' you've chosen actually becomes a cuddle-worthy plush! The middle photo above shows the machine which contains the fluff filling, and during this process a shop assistant controls the adding of the fluff but you get to put your foot on the black pedal you can see in my photo, and that is what causes the fluff to come out of the metal tube into your plush. I hope that makes sense! You can see that I'm holding a little chequered heart... you have the option to add one of these inside your plush, they are only £1 and all of the proceeds of the sale of them go to charity as far as I know. I make sure to get one of these hearts everytime :) It always makes me blush because just before closing up the stitching on the back of your plushie, the shop assistant always tells you to kiss this heart and make a wish, haha!

Once you have your plushie all fluffed and snuggly, you can explore the rest of the store and choose any outfits, including the costumes that are specifically made for the one you've chosen. Getting a whole outfit can get expensive, so most of the time I don't buy one. However, there are occasions when I can't not as the outfit is just so flippin' cute! Like the onesies that were released along with the Eevee and Vulpix Build-A-Bear's, omg they are so sweet! The final stage before heading to the till, is to fill in your details to get a certificate made for your plush. You don't have to do this but again, it's fun. You get to fill in the name you've chosen for your new plushie, and there are a few examples on the computers in store to help you if you can't decide on a name yourself. Keeping scrolling to find out what I named my new Jigglypuff! 

How adorable is Princess Candyfloss though!? Hahaha, yes I'm 25 years old & yes, that is the name I decided on for my plushie! XD I think it's the perfect name for her! She makes me think of a big ball of candyfloss because of how round she is, and also because of the shade of pink she is. I think she's such a gorgeous shade of pink! I also really like the colour they've chosen for her eyes, it goes so well with the pink. Turquoise is one of my favourite colours! 

Something else I love about this plush is just how chubby it is... it's so cuddly! It just looks so much like actual anime Jigglypuff, I'm impressed! The only thing that's different is that Jigglypuff has blue eyes VS these turquoise ones, but I love how they look so I'm not bothered about that and sometimes her eyes on the show do appear to look more of a turquoise colour. (I don't get why the birth certificate thing lists her eyes as green though?). Her little pointed ears look awesome, and I love how small and cute her arms are too! Omgosh, just everything about the Build A Bear Jigglypuff is too adorable! 

My favourite part of the Build A Bear Jigglypuff design overall has to be the little swirly tuff on her head! It's squishy and just looks so cute, they've done a great job in recreating this feature from the original Pokemon. How cute is Jigglypuff's facial expression as well!? She looks so happy... like someone finally listened to her song without falling asleep :D It would have been awesome if there was a marker pen accessory available for this plushie, don't you think??

Another thing that is so awesome about Build A Bear's Pokemon Plushies is the fact that they come with their very own Pokemon card, and they are really cool because they look the same as the real thing other than the company's logo. They are so nostalgic to me! I've put all of my Build A Bear Pokemon cards up on my wall, and they look awesome lined up together. I think they are such great little freebies to receive with the plushies; who doesn't love a freebie!? 

This time around, I finally decided to get a sound put inside my plushie. I've never opted to get one before, even if the sounds were super cute because I like to hug my plushies and use them as pillows when I'm relaxin' in bed so I thought it would be annoying if a sound kept going off all the time, haha. However, the Jigglypuff sound is seriously so adorable!! In fact, there are four different sounds in one, and I love them! The sound thing was put inside one of her feet, and because of the size and shape of the plush, it's not gonna got off if I use it as a pillow. Oh, I almost forgot to comment on just how soft my Jigglypuff is, well all of my Pokemon plushies from this store are so soft and made from excellent quality material. I love how nice they feel! 

Here is my entire collection of Build A Bear Workshop Pokemon plush :) LOOK AT ALL THOSE COLOURS!! *all the heart eyes emojis*. I have been continually impressed with the quality and design of each of the Pokemon plushies. If you've been following the release of the Pokemon collection, you'll know that I am missing the Meowth plush. I do think it's cute but he was never one of my favourite Pokemon and I don't want to collect the plushies just for the sake of having a complete collection... I just get the ones of Pokemon I love. Sorry Meowth! 

So, which is your favourite of all of my Pokemon plushies? Are there any Pokemon that you would like to see Build A Bear release next? My favourite Pokemon is Vaporeon so I obviously would love to see a Build A Bear of Vaporeon, as well as the other Eeveelutions. I would also be very happy with a Marill, a Clefairy and a Togepi! I hope you all enjoyed my post :) 

Thankyou for reading!

♥

Do you have a favourite Pokemon?

Do you have any of the Build A Bear Pokemon? or any other plush from the store?

I'd love to hear all about them!