What I got for Christmas 2021

Hello Everyone! Let's just pretend that it's not now almost March, so I can say a Happy New Year to you all! I wish each and every one of my lovely readers a wonderful 2022!! Seriously though, how is it almost three months into the year!? It feels like only yesterday since we were celebrating Christmas... and not just because I'm only just getting around to blogging about what I got! *insert awkward-face emoji here*. I feel so loved to have received so many fantastic presents, so I couldn't not talk about them. I hope you all enjoy reading and having a nosey at my gifts. This post is not meant to be a brag or make anyone feel bad, but a way for me to express how grateful I am, and to celebrate the thought that my loved ones put into choosing presents for me ♥(You guys are amazing!!). I'd love to hear all about what you got in 2021 for Christmas, so please let me know in the comments :) And so, without further ado, here's what I got!

I received the majority of my marvellous presents from my sister, so a huge THANK YOU to Nicole!! After our mom passed away, my sister & I decided to help make getting through the 'most wonderful time of the year' that little bit easier, that we would spoil one another (as best we could, anyway). In the past, we basically never bought each other anything for Christmas, haha! Oops... we have sure been making up for that over the last few years! My sister did a fantastic job as always of picking out great presents for me!! And I hope she loved the things I got for her just as much :)

If you are new to my blog, then you won't know that I have been an avid collector of figures all my life, starting when I was a little kid. As soon as I got to the age when I had my own money to spend on whatever I liked (even though it was supposed to go on adulting things...), I have been very much into vinyl figures. Although, my main love is for blind box collectable series, with those by Tokidoki being a firm favourite of mine, I couldn't help but fall in love with Funko Pops. I own over 100+ now, and I am trying to slow down with my collecting, because I was struggling to find space to store them all, haha. Can anyone else relate? 

Anyhow, when Tokidoki revealed that they were doing a collaboration with Funko, I pretty much lost my shit, as the saying goes XD And now have a mighty need to acquire ALL of the Pops they made (despite the fact that the unicorno looks strange to me in Pop form....). As you can imagine, I was over the moon to unwrap one of these Pops on Christmas morning, especially since the cactus characters are my absolute favourite by Tokidoki. I mean, just look how adorable Sandy is!!

Something that I really enjoy is receiving little gifts, you know the kind that are typically classed as 'stocking fillers'. And my sister always manages to find such awesome ones!! Like these Sanrio squishies! I don't know if I'm ever going to be able to bring myself to take them out of the packaging and risk ruining them because they are too cute. Are you a Sanrio fan? Who's your favourite out of the two I got for Christmas: Chococat or Hello Kitty? It's the latter for me. Hello Kitty will always hold a special place in my heart as she was the reason I got into Sanrio in my early teens. The best Sanrio characters, in my opinion, though are Kuromi and Pompompurin :) 

If you follow me over on Instagram (if you don't, you totally should), then you will likely have seen how much I was craving lebkuchen over the Christmas period! Being a spoonie, I can't get out of the house as often as I'd like to, and when I do, for example to do my monthly grocery shop, I have to try to get my shopping done all in one location, so I don't have to venture out again. As a consequence, I can't go to my local Lidl or Aldi stores to pick up all of the European festive goodies that I love so much, including the fabulous German spiced treats, lebkuchen. Oh my goodness, they are so yummy, and I was so happy to finally get my hands on some thanks to my sister. Yay!

I will be forever obsessed with plushies, and there is almost never a plushie that I don't love as soon as I set eyes on it. If you want to capture my heart quickly, give me a plushie and I will love you for all eternity. Obviously it's not that simple, but you get the picture! :D HOW BRILLIANT IS MY NEW GREEN MONSTER FRIEND!? My sister came across this one-eyed, floppy-eared dude in the sale for only £3 or something crazy like that!!? I am so happy that Ugly Dolls merch became popular in the UK over the last few years, as before then, I could never get any of the figures and such, without ordering from the US. And now I have a whole ass plushie!

Isn't the cover on that Harry Potter book just stunning? Thestrals are one of my favourite creatures from the Wizarding World, and the colour scheme appeals so much to the alternative part of me. The book is filled with intricate paper cut-out art (I have no idea what the proper name for that sort of thing is, so apologises if my explanation is crap...), depicting some of the locations featured throughout the Harry Potter stories. My sister thought it would make for a collection of interesting backgrounds I can use for my toy photography hobby, and I am very much looking forward to trying it out. I wish that I was skilled at doing intricate crafts because everytime I look through the book, I want so much to have a go at creating something similar myself! Alas, I struggle to even cut in a straight line with a pair of scissors...

As you can see, I received another Funko Pop for Christmas. It has become a little tradition for my niece to choose a Funko Pop for me as a gift, and it's just the sweetest thing knowing that she chose a particular character with me in mind :) In 2020, it was a Lion King (live action version) Pop of the character Scar, and this Christmas just gone, when she was deep into her obsession with Disney's Frozen, she wanted to gift me an Anna Pop, which was perfect for wintery toy photography! Little cutie ♥

This is the 'main' present that my sister got for me, and I was so surprised, in the happiest way!! My sister collects snowglobes, and so I always get her one for Christmas, or whenever I go on holiday and such. I really wasn't expecting her to go and get me one, too!! I also collect globes, but on a much smaller level. I think they are really pretty and will buy one as a keepsake from places I've travelled to. I think if I didn't already collect so many other things, I would allow myself to get even more globes, but I need to be sensible XD My life is overrun with enough things and stuff already, haha. I'm like the human equivalent of a magpie!

This Nightmare Before Christmas globe is SOOOO beautiful, and I couldn't have been more thrilled to receive it. I had been ummm'ing and ahhh'ing about getting myself an official Disney globe, but I always prioritised spending my money on adding to my various collections, so it's really nice that someone else took that step for me :) And what a phenomenal one to start with! My most favourite feature of this globe is the fact that it isn't filled with snow, or glitter, but bat confetti!! Yes, tiny little bats float around Jack and Zero when you shake it, and I think it is the most amazing idea ever! Whoever added that design needs a promotion, Disney! The detailing around the base of the globe is so eye-catching, and think of Lock, Shock and Barrell singing 'Kidnap the Sandy Claws' every time I look at it. Sally with her black cat in hand is the star of the show for me though :) Do you have an official Disney globe? I'd love to know which one(s)! 

My brother very kindly bought me a Lush gift set for Christmas (Thanks so much, Chris! ♥), and everything smells so good!! If I'm being honest, I always get a little nervous when someone says they are going to buy me a gift that involves fragrances, because I have so many sensory issues when it comes to certain scents. I can easily become overwhelmed, for lack of a better word, and so I am very 'picky' when it comes to perfume and the like. I told him that my favourite bathbomb by Lush was the peppermint-based Intergalactic, and whoever put together this Happy Daze box did an excellent job of pairing it with another bathbomb, and two bubble bars, with similar scents, in terms of their 'mildness'. 

The relief I felt when I unboxed it all!! It includes The Comforter, a bubble bar that I've used before and love, and then two new-for-me items, that luckily have citrus fruits and ylang-ylang as main ingredients, which are another of my go-to's, the Groovy Kind of Love bathbomb & the Brightside bubble bar. I cannot wait to see what the bathart they create is like! Something I really like about Lush is how colourful the packaging of their gift sets are :) 

Now, I'm going to show you all presents that I was gifted by my friends, who are incredible and I don't understand how I managed to have such great friends as them in my life :') A shoutout to Kim, who blogs over at Chimmyville, for buying me this Harry Potter origami book off of my Amazon wishlist! It was a lovely surprise. Thank you for being awesome!! Everyone go have a read of her blog :) I received some more Harry Potter themed goodies for my best friend, Jess, who knows I love her the most-est ever ever!! We recently spent a weekend in London, and thanks to her family, I finally got to visit the Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio Tour!! I will share some posts about it next month for those of you who are fellow fans of the book series and movie franchise, that we all know conjured themselves into existence and have no creator. Keep your eyes peeled for that (I hate that saying because of the imagery it creates, but still continue to use it. Why...). I think it's cool that my bestie chose a Hermione pin for me, since even though she's not my favourite character from the franchise, I relate to her book-counterpart so much! 

My other best friend went all out and did a haul from one of my favourite stores for me!! Thank you so so very much, Aaron, for getting me so many kawaii wonders from Kenji! It is too tough to choose a favourite, because I adore everything!! Notebooks are always welcome, as they are another thing that I cannot ever get enough of. And one of them has a froggo on it!! A round amphibian buddie that's facial expression speaks to me on a personal level XD The long boi panda is so squishy and soft, and somehow my friend managed to pick two of my favourite Asian snacks, milk flavoured Hello Panda biscuits, and cookies & cream (or white cookie, a new name used for Christmas branding?) Pepero. I was in need of some cutesy snacks for some tiktok ideas I have, so what perfect timing to get these as a gift! 

Another Funko Pop from my wishlist has come into my life, and it's all thanks to my amazing blogger-bestie, Natalee, who writes over at There Might Be Coffee. Seriously, if you are of the nerdy persuasion like myself, you need to go read Nat's posts! Ever since, Funko announced that they were working with the brand Tasty Peach, I was delighted!! I have wanted a Tasty Peach plushie for the longest time, but couldn't afford to get one, so vinyl figures of the beloved characters are the next best thing, right? The one I love most of the Funko X Tasty Peach Pop's is the Queen Bee Meowchi, and now it's mine!! Eeeee!

She might be the cutest Pop I have ever had the pleasure to lay eyes on before! I mean, LOOK AT HER! Everything about her is super sweet!! It's fantastic that she's so photogenic as well, and I cannot wait to feature her in some Springtime photography. Who else is counting down the days until Spring is here?? I enjoy Winter (even though my brain does not) but I am craving more daylight and eye-candy in the form of flowers and fresh green buds. I need it to hurry up and get here already! 

So, that's (almost) all of the gifts that I have been given for Christmas, and I hope today's post has put into words how truly thankful I am for the people in my life. I know that love isn't about material things, and my friends give me so much more with their conversation and being there to listen to me and all of my life problems (of which there's A LOT), and making my days better just by existing, but when they take the time to look for a gift that they know will make my little nerdy heart smile, it is so meaningful :') I cannot say thank you enough. Thank YOU, THANK you, THANK YOU! And that also extends to everyone who has taken the time to read today's post, because I know that I have been the world's shittiest blogger over the last several years, so it still baffles me that people take the time to check out my ramblings whenever I am sporadically hit with the motivation to share a snippet of my life with the world. You guys are the best! 

Thank you for reading!

♥

What's something that you gave or did for someone special in your life for Christmas 2021? 

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Pucky Monster Babies Unboxing

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!! It's my favourite holiday of the year, the day when everybody gets their spook on! As someone who's always leaned more to the alternative side, I am a big fan of all things macabre and scary. Horror is my favourite genre and my bedroom is decorated with skulls and witchy things and other ghoulish icons all year round. I love that for the month of October, everyone joins in with celebrating all things spooky, and I can spam all of my social media with halloweeny stuff :) Not that I can't do that anyway, but you know what I mean, haha! One of the best things about Halloween Time, in my opinion, is the mash up (*instantly starts singing The Monster Mash*) of cute and spooky, aptly coined spoopy by the internet... I just adore seeing chibified versions of 'terrifying' characters, and also kawaii ones in fancy dress. What's not to love about Kirby as a pumpkin or a tiny Freddy Krueger surrounded by candy!? Today's post is going to be shouting out to the spoopy, as well as one of my most loved things ever: toys/collectable figures! I hope you all enjoy reading and have a wonderful Halloween night!! 

If you follow me over on instagram, you will most probably be aware of my latest obsession when it comes to blind box figures. I have known Pucky Babies existed for a while, but I didn't know you could get them fairly easily here in the UK until a few months ago. Pucky Babies are a series of super adorable characters brought to us by the company, Pop Mart. There's so many varieties of the Pucky Babies blind boxes available, and I was lucky enough to stumble upon some that are perfect for the spooky season just in time for Halloween :) I was going to blog about them earlier in the month, but I've not found the time between trying to watch as many horror movies as possible and also preparing for NaNoWriMo, which starts tomorrow! Ahhh! Anyhow, here I am now showing off the lovely figures I got inside my Pucky Monster Babies boxes!

Before I reveal the figures, I just wanted to mention that this version of the Pucky Babies figures has 12 different ones to collect, and two hidden/mystery figures. I love when blind boxes have mystery chase variants, despite the fact that it's super irritating when you are trying to complete an entire set and can't seem to find any of them! My favourite of the ones available are the Pumpkin Black Cat (the one you can see on the box), Wolfman Poko, and the Forest Sorcerer; however, they are all so pretty and detailed that I have a mighty urge to try and collect every one of them now :D So, who did I get?? 

YAY!! It must be my lucky day! Halloween must love me as much as I love it, haha! I got the Pumpkin Black Cat figure in the first box I opened!! And isn't it a little stunner? What a eye-catching figure! I am obsessed with how vibrant it is, and there is so much to look at with all that detail. It has such a creative design! My most favourite feature of all has to be the tiny cat ears and whiskers, but of course, I can't not highlight that kitty scarf! I love polka dots, too and black and purple is such a lovely colour combination :) I really like how even though there's only two little buttons on the Pucky Babies tummy, they've made each have different coloured button holes or whatever those holes in the centre are called. 

It was such a marvellous surprise to discover these miniature babies inside the box along with the main figure (even if I have no idea where I'm going to store them so I don't lose them!). It's impressive that you get three of them, so you can choose whichever one you like best to sit inside the pumpkin bucket/basket. I opted for the green one, since that's my favourite colour. It's a lovely touch that they are pastel when the rest of the figure has such bold colouration. Which tiny pastel baby would you chose? 

I adore how photogenic Pucky Babies are and I cannot wait to share them on my dedicated toy photography instagram. You'll be seeing these little guys even after the night is through, because I'm not ready to let go of Halloween just yet :D The quality of these figures is so another thing that has me so impressed. The paintjob/finish of the vinyl is so smooth, and the figures themselves are heavy and sturdy, especially for figures that are inexpensive to buy! AWWW, just look at that tiny mouth, and little triangle nose. It reminds me of Snufkin from The Moomins for some reason, so it makes me smile whenever I look at the nose! I really like that the scarf cat has a triangular nose as well! Let's check out the other spoopy cutie I unboxed... 

I am obsessed with the design of the cloak/dress that this little vampire is wearing!! The pattern is gorgeous and I would totally wear a dress like that! This adorable character wasn't a favourite of mine, but he's still fantastic and I couldn't be happier about adding him to my collection :) It took me until I did my photography for this post to realise this the figure has a huge white collar and that those are tiny pointed ears sticking out of the hood. I honestly thought at first glace that he was raising his arms in the air (that his ears were actually hands), almost like he was saying 'OoOooo' :D And I thought it looked more like he was excited! But oh my god, it's a collar, which makes me love the design even more!! (Can you tell I'm tired today?) and those little pointed ears make me think of elves, which I adore just as much as the more spooky mythical creatures. Are you team vampires or team elves?

How fabulous is this cloak/dress though!? We are used to seeing vampires in their traditional black and red outfits, so I think it's fangtastic (I'm not even sorry...) that the designers at PopMart decided to incorporate some pastel colours into the look of their vampire, but still stuck to tradition by giving him the sweetest little red bowtie, and red eyes, which make his face stand out so much. I do have to admit that I think the thick blue trimming along the bottom of his cloak is a little random, but I don't hate it. The way it flares out along with the colour gives me octopus vibes. Don't you think? Furthermore, the flare makes me feel like he's in mid-twirl whilst dancing, and now I've decided that all the figures must be attending a Halloween fancy dress party or ball. 

I know that his hood is supposed to be a vampire bat, but I think it looks more like a monster/alien, which is so precious! It reminds me of a homemade costume that doesn't quite look like what it's supposed to :D Have you ever had a homemade costume like that? The bat wings are so sweet, too! Another marvellous figure and after writing all about it, I am now 100% sure that I need more in my life! How else are we going to have a 'best dressed' competition at the Pucky Babies costume party??

These guys just look so cute together!! I love that I got two figures that are so different from one another, and I am delighted with just how intricate the designs are! PopMart figures are amazing and I can already hear my bank account screaming... but tell me, which is your favourite of the two? 

I bought these figures from a website called Scout & Co, and I just wanted to thank them for packaging the blind boxes so well! Not only were they packed securely and arrived in perfect condition (which is not something that always happens with blind boxes!), but they also made the presentation so autumnal. Autumn is my favourite season so I was over the moon to open the box and be greeted the way I was. 

So pretty, don't you think? Scout & Co have three varieties of the Pucky Babies blind boxes for sale, and they are all £11.99 per box, which is a great price :) If you want to treat yourself to some Monster Babies of your own, definitely check out their site. They have the Milk Babies, too, and the box for those is shaped like a milk cartoon!! I love that!

I hope that you enjoyed checking out these super sweet figures today :) It's been a while since I blogged about blind boxes, and I used to blog about them all the time! Those of you who have been reading my blog since I started it in 2015 will remember my tokidoki blind box posts. Does anyone miss those? Let me know if you'd like to see more posts like this again, because I am still an avid collector and have a lot that I could share with you all. That reminds me, I wanted to let those of you who love this sort of thing know that I've set up a tiktok dedicated to unboxing toys :) If that's something you want to watch, I'd really appreciate a follow. Again, Happy Halloween (or Blessed Samhain, to my fellow witchy folks)! Enjoy your candy and scary movies!! 

Thankyou for reading!

♥

Had you ever heard of Pucky Babies before reading my post?

Do any of you guys collect PopMart figures? 

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Self-Care Sundae Bath Soak by The Bath Bae | Review

Hi guys! I hope you've all been having the loveliest start to September ♥ Is there anything you are excited for this month or that you've got planned? I'd love to hear all about it :) Usually, as soon as September rolls around, I instantly feel the full force of the autumnal bug hit me and I'm ready to get my spook on! However, it seems that summer wants to last forever this year (queue the Summer of '69 singing, haha), and the heatwave appears to be back again. Plus, I'm currently raising a butterfly, who's still in chrysalis form right now (just livin' that nature nerd life!), so summertime doesn't feel over for me quite yet. The fuchsias are going strong in the garden, my sunflower is growing, and I am still in the mood for reading in the sunshine, overloading on ice lollies and using all the summery candles & bath products... which brings us onto the topic of today's post.   

I recently did a little haul from a wonderful small/independent business called The Bath Bae, to pick up some birthday gifts for my loved ones and couldn't resist throwing a couple of goodies into my shopping cart for myself. One of them in particular really spoke to me because the colour scheme is pastel and just gave me kawaii vibes. Well, I finally used it last week and wanted to share all about it with my fellow pastel aesthetic lovers! Even though summer is still very much in the air, it won't be long until Christmas Time is upon us (seriously though, 2021 has flown by, don't you think?), so why not start stocking up on presents now? Not only do The Bath Bae's products smell fabulous, but the presentation is perfect, too. They make such lovely-looking gifts! Anyhow, it feels like I'm starting to go off on a tangent, so let's get into the reviewing. Enjoy! 

How gorgeous does this product look though!? The colours are so pretty, especially with how they are arranged in the package. So pleasing to the eye that I very nearly couldn't bring myself to actually pour it into my bath!! As the title tells, this product is called the Self-Care Sundae Bath Soak, which is essentially akin to a dissembled bathbomb. I really love how much easier it is to use, vs having to crumble up a standard spherical-shaped bathbomb yourself, in order to be able to use the product in more than one bath. Each bag of 'bath soak' available on The Bath Bae website contains 200g of powder and on the label, it suggests that you can sprinkle the entirety of the product into your bath or use half a bag each time. However, I bought my sister another of The Bath Bae's bath soaks as a gift last year and she said she used a lot less in her bath and that basically, a little goes a long way! She was impressed with just how strong and vibrant the colour was. I certainly have the same opinion after using mine, despite opting for a product made up of softer shades. I got overexcited and decided to pour the whole bag into my bath though! 

Before I show you guys some photos I snapped on my phone of the product in-use, I wanted to talk more about it. The Self-Care Sundae Bath Soak, which, by the way, is such a great name for a product in my opinion, is described as such; soak away in swirls of a sweet ice cream treat! Our very first Super-Summery pastel bath goodies! Scented in Screwball Swirl- The perfect throwback to your childhood summer days! A sweet, light and creamy blend of raspberry ripple ice cream and blue raspberry drizzle with a sweet bubblegum surprise. How lush does that sound!? Can I eat it? :D 

It really did smell delicious, guys! The product gave off a lovely fruity fragrance from the moment I opened the pouch, which at first reminded me of rhubarb and custard hard-boiled sweets. Maybe because of the vanilla ice-cream? Then, as it mixed throughout the warm water, my bathroom was filled with the scent of bubblegum, in a way that wasn't overpowering at all. I am usually not a huge fan of bubblegum-scented things, but the Self-Care Sundae had such a subtle note (if that even makes sense?), that I enjoyed it :) Now you all have an idea of what this bath soak smelled like, here's what it looked like...

As you can see, the Self-Care Sundae soak created a bath fit for a fairytale/unicorn/pastel princess (or prince, of course!) :D I absolutely loved watching all of the pretty shades of pink, mint and lilac spreading and bubbling around the water amidst the white foam that definitely made think of ice-cream. Mint is one of my favourite colours and I think it goes so well with pink and lilac, so it was super eye-catching for me. The water itself, underneath all of the colourful 'froth' remained a lovely lilac shade throughout my entire bath, even after I had washed my hair. Being pastel, it obviously isn't as vivid in colour as a different product would be, however that is the point of the Self-Care Sundae, and it made the pastel bath of dreams, so I can't recommend it enough. Which is your favourite colour out of the three: mint, pink or lilac? Let me know in the comments :) 

Whenever I try new bath products, I am always a little worried that they are going to be scented too strongly, and that they may be too much for me and the sensory issues that some of my disabilities cause, but I found this bath soak to have a nice balance. Thankfully, the scent was strong but not TOO strong, so I didn't get a headache or anything. I cannot wait to give some of their other products a go!

I couldn't not mention again just how nice the presentation of The Bath Bae's products are! The bath soaks, as well as the 'bath sparkle', 'bath cubes' & 'bath rocks', are all packaged in plastic pouches with a clear front, a window for the product to be seen, and a shiny silver back. I managed to capture just how stunning the iridescence on the back of the pouch is when the sunlight catches it. If the product itself didn't look magical enough on its own, the packaging definitely did! We can all do with a little rainbow magic in our lives, another reason why these products make awesome presents! 

All of the products available from The Bath Bae are also vegan/cruelty free, and contain ingredients that are good for your skin, as well as including 'antimicrobial benefits'. What's not to love? Furthermore, I almost forgot to talk about how the pouch has a zip-lock style opening, something that I really liked as its easy to store and keep your product for longer. One thing that I do wish the packaging included though is a description of the fragrance notes in the product, even if it was just a brief sentence. Most people readily have access to the internet nowadays and can easily look up the name of the product so they can read the description on The Bath Bae's website. But sometimes the loved ones who we might like to gift some of the products to may not be able to read this description for whatever reason, and might like a little information about the scents. Of course, we can tell them or include it in a personal note but I think it would be cool if the package included something.

Another thing that I think is fantastic about The Bath Bae is that everytime I go onto the website for a browse, there always seems to be great deal available when purchasing multiple products. The current deal is also the one I was offered when I did my recent haul, which is a mix & match on any four products, where if you buy three items, you get a fourth one free!  The standard postage for the UK is £3.99 so I feel like it's better to purchase several things per order anyway, making this offer super handy :) 

Overall, I had a lot of fun using the Self-Care Sundae Bath Soak. It is a fabulous product and made bathtime a much more enjoyable experience, as due to my chronic pain, baths can be difficult and so using something that smells lovely and makes the water colourful can really help! I am very much looking forward to using the other bath soak that I treated myself to. I chose Beach Baecation, another of the summer themed releases, because the colours and arrangement of the product look so much like a sandy beach with the ocean rolling up on it, foaming waves and all. It is literally a work of art! 

I hope you all enjoyed my review of the Self-Care Sundae Bath Soak. Be sure to go check out The Bath Bae's products for yourself and head over to their instagram for news on upcoming releases and such. With the colder months fast approaching, when snuggling up in a blanket and having hot drinks and plenty of baths is essential, you'll want to be stocked up on bath supplies! On a final note, is anyone else craving a screwball now? 

Thank you for reading!

♥

Do you prefer to add your bathbombs whole to your bath or crumble them up?

Also, what's your favourite bath product? I'd love some recommendations! 

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Flowery Eeveelution Pin by Quirkory

Hey everyone! Long time, no see... can I even consider myself a blogger anymore!? Oops! Before I start today's post, which is all about a gorgeous gift that a super awesome friend of mine picked up for me, I just wanted to say a massive, mega, huge THANK YOU to each and every one of you who still read my blog, and follow along with my shambles of a life over on social media. You guys are the best!! You make me feel loved and interesting and I am eternally grateful for that ♥ Anyhow, enough soppiness, you came here to read all about wonderful nerdy things and to get your daily dose of cuteness overload, so let's go! 

If you're one of those fabulous regular readers of mine, you may remember my Christmas in July post from last year. Time seemed to both drag and speed by in 2020, during those months and months of pandemic life, and like so many others who struggle with mental illness, my brain was all over the place. My motivation and drive to do anything all but disappeared, and as a result, we got to celebrate a second Christmas here on Raiin Monkey, when I was finally able to put together a post for you guys all about my presents :D 

Well, time has repeated itself! It's been a challenge to get out of this new 'normal' state of mind and because of this, my blog has took a back-burner. I feel like I'm starting to ramble... but yeah, if you love Christmas Time then this is your jam (do people even say that anymore? haha!). We are revisiting the ''most wonderful time of the year'' once again, because I want to show you all the most adorable enamel pin that the amazing Natalee who blogs over at ThereMightBeCoffee bought for me! :) Thanks so very much for being such a star, Nat!! I have been so looking forward to showing off your present (even though it's taken me absolutely ages; better late than never, right?). So, fans of christmas and pins and cute fandom things, keep reading. You will not be disappointed! 

LOOK HOW CUTE!! Everything is so sweet! I was super delighted when I opened this package on Christmas Day after it had been sitting on my bookshelf for weeks; I was sooooo tempted to open it early, especially when Nat told me I could. But I did it! I held off until the big day, and was very happy I managed to do so! It was a wonderful surprise to discover that the item inside had been wrapped in pretty Christmas paper, finished with a sparkly silver ribbon :) A huge thanks to Quirkory for doing this! 

If you haven't heard of Quirkory before, it is an amazing independent artist business based in Italy and run by the cutest little mascots, Inari & Mosted (and their human creators, Claudia & Marco). They make all sorts of fandom-related and adorable animal artwork, in the form of enamel pins, stickers and much more! Some of their collections include Pokemon, Animal Crossing, kawaii Greek Gods and their recent kickstarter project is based on spirit animals. You can check those out here. I had been wanting to add something from Quirkory to my ever-growing pin collection for so long, so I was over the moon that Nat helped me to finally do that! And with such a beautiful pin, too!! I love it so so much!! 

This little personalised note card is so nice! I'm definitely going to be displaying it on my art wall. I'm a bunny mom and I literally squealed upon spotting those five chubby bun-buns... aren't they just so precious!?! I love how they are all unique and my favourite has to be the one on the left that's holding his paws up to his cheeks. That was literally me when I saw this note card :D Which is your favourite? 

Something else that I especially adored about this package from Quirkory was the letter from the artists. It was a lovely read and printed onto the cutest paper ever! I just thought it was such an awesome touch for them to add into their orders, and even though I received the item as a present, it's really nice to get something personal, a heartfelt message, when you support artists, as you can tell how much they appreciate it. 

Also, how cute is Quirkory's business card!? As a big fan of canidae species, I find Mosted & Inari so precious!! I think they represent a fox and a wolf, but I'm not 100%. I love the christmassy attire they are wearing on the card, too. A couple of stickers were also included in the package, and I'm unsure whether Nat opted for them or if Quirkory added them as freebies; either way, they were a delight to receive! Inari in Christmas outfits is the sweetest thing, and Eevee sleeping on a flower is like something out of a fairytale! What's not to love? There was a sticker version of the pin Nat chose for me as well, but I didn't want to spoil the surprise until you guys saw the star of the show! 

It's Vaporeon, my favourite Pokemon ever!! The sweetest little water baby! And oh my goodness, he's sitting on a flower, which is just perfect for a nature nerd like me. I'm in love with Quirkory's art style, the chibi characters and how colourful they are! AWWW, TOE BEANS!! Vaporeon's facial expression is the cutest. He's winking and looks like he's sticking his tiny tongue out.  I love his rosy cheeks and the rounded shape of the fins on his head, too. They just look fluffy? Squishy?? I don't know how to explain it, but it's super cute :) 

This pin is part of the 'Flowers Collection' - Eeveelutions sitting on flowers, all of which Quirkory have chosen for a specific reason. Each backing card comes with a description of the 'lore' behind why each flower was picked. Vaporeon has been partnered with the lotus flower and here's what my backing card says: 

'Everyone knows that Vaporeon is a water Pokemon, so it could only be matched with an aquatic flower! What is not well known, however, is that Vaporeon has the ability to walk on water... and Lotus are really good at it, as well! Thanks to their huge leaf and long roots, they can always stay afloat, even in the most difficult situations! Their ideal habitat are lakes, and certainly Vaporeon's Aurora Beam would have no effect on this flower, because it's also frost resistant'. 

How awesome! It's so interesting to learn about why this flower was chosen to accompany Vaporeon in the pins design. It's making me want to buy the other pins in this collection just to find out the reasons why each specific flower was chosen to represent them :) 

Another element I love about this pin is the leaf of the lotus flower, which is very visually similar to a lily pad. Lily pads make me think of frogs and I adore frogs, so whenever I look at the leaf part of this pin, I think of frogs and that makes me smile :D Furthermore, I love the colour contrast between the pale blue and teal shades used for Vaporeon, and the more bold colours picked for the plant part of the pin. It just makes vaporeon stand out even more. The warm orange and yellow pairs very well with the gold plating, don't you think? The petals are almost illuminated whenever the light catches the gold outlines, and it makes me picture the suns rays shining over the waters surface and making all the lotus flowers glow. 

I really like that the rubber backs for this pin badge are blue! As far as I remember, I was yet to own a pin with blue backs before receiving this one and in my opinion, it's cool to have backs that match the colour scheme of the character. I wonder if the other pins in this collection also have backs that are colour co-ordinated with each Pokemon, or whether Quirkory's pins always have a blue rubber back. Either way, it's a welcome change from all the pink or black backs that currently fill up my collection. It's also a nice touch to have the name of the Pokemon included on the back of the pin :) I'm assuming that Vaporus is the Italian name for Vaporeon? I've never seen a pin before that had the name of the design written on it, so much attention to detail! The whole pin is just perfect and I really love Quirkory's interpretation of my favourite Pokemon!! What do you guys think? 

Overall, this package was filled with so much adorableness! It was such a pleasure to open, and there was so much included in there that it just felt like the gift that kept on giving. So many cute things to look at, and you can really tell how much love goes into the preparation of Quirkory's orders. It's a wonderful thing to see! Thank you so much Quirkory, and a huge thanks to Natalee for thinking of me and for choosing a gift that you knew I would adore so much :) I am very lucky to have a friend like you!

Be sure to check out Quirkory's Instagram & Etsy Store. They have so many products that I know you all will love! I have my eyes on several of their Animal Crossing Switch Controller pins right now :) The designs also come in sticker form. Sherb & Flick are on my wishlist! I also have a mighty need to get their witchy frog pin because I love all things that are a mixture of spooky and cute! Plus, FROGS!! (please make a Lily version of the switch controller pins!) You guys should totally treat yourselves, and even better... my friend Nat is a brand rep for Quirkory, so if you use her discount code, you can save 10% off your order!! Since we are revisiting Christmas today, might I suggest starting your festive shopping early and putting something adorable away for the nerdy loved ones in your life? :D Use the code TMBQUIRKORY at checkout. 

I hope you all enjoyed reading all about my 'new' Flowery Vaporeon enamel pin! I will try my very hardest to get back to blogging regularly, so be sure to check my social media for updates about upcoming posts. Instagram is where I'm most active so keep your eyes peeled over there. It's been so much fun to write again about the little nerdy snippets of my life that make me happy! Wishing you all a marvellous rest of the July filled with lovely summery days and ice-cream and happy mail and small steps towards post-covid normalcy. Remember to keep wearing those masks though, guys :) 

Thank you for reading! 

♥

Which of the Eeveelutions is your favourite?

Are you a fellow pin collector? 

If so, I'd love to hear all about the latest pin you bought!

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Animal Crossing: New Horizons | First Impressions

Hello everyone! Today is the one-year anniversary of the super cute Nintendo game, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, so I thought what better day than today to finally share my long-awaited first impressions review of the game! It's taken me so long to write about the fifth edition to the the Animal Crossing franchise, because playing it has gradually taken over my life, haha!! I'm late to the game and I'm sure as heck making up for it. Go hard or go home? Although, play hard and stay home seems more appropriate nowadays :D Anyhow, if you follow me over on social media, you will likely have seen that for Christmas, my sister got herself a Nintendo Switch, plus surprised me with the AC:NH game! And I am OBSESSED. For fellow fans of this absolutely adorable game, or those of you who have witnessed the hype and been unsure whether or not to join in, here are my opinions. I hope you all enjoy reading!

So, I currently don't have a Switch of my own and thus I've been playing AC:NH via my sister's game (after we discovered you could only have a one island per console! Cheeky Nintendo... gone are the days of buying shared consoles for your kids, I guess?), but yeah, this means that I'm not the 'resident representative' on the island and therefore don't get the 'perks' that come along with that. I have had a go at playing as my sister's islander though, so I know what you can do. I am currently saving for my own Nintendo Switch, and then I'll finally be ready to experience the interactive elements of New Horizons, such as visiting with friends. But my review is of the game options themselves and it doesn't really matter that my islander has not done any travelling yet.

I'm rambling, as per, so let's get into my thoughts and feelings, likes and dislikes. It's worth noting that I am basing my opinions in comparison to the 'old school' Animal Crossing: Wild World game, that was released back in 2005. My first handheld console was a Nintendo DS lite, a pink one to be specific, and AC:WW was one of my first games, as well as Nintendogs. (Oh my gosh, Nintendo! Please make this happen for the Switch!!). I never played the previous edition, New Leaf, so apologies if I think something about New Horizons is fantastic, only for it to have also been a thing back in 2012. So, now that my disclaimer(?) is out of the way, what were my initial thoughts about AC:NH? 

Upon creating my profile and islander, the first thoughts that popped into my head were 'wow! look how pretty this game is!! The graphics and general design is gorgeous and I want to live here!!'. I thought that the gameplay was so bright and shiny, and I was very impressed with my first experience playing on a Nintendo Switch. One of my favourite features of AC:NH as a whole is the nature. There is so so much attention to detail, and it has quickly become my happy place! Being a nature nerd but also living with several disabilities has had such an impact on me throughout the course of the pandemic, because a wedge has been driven between me and my in-real-life happy places. Even though, obviously a game is not a substitute for the actual world, it has been very nice to have the ability to see insects and flowers and trees each and every day in the palm of my hands, and in a way that is much more interactive than simply scrolling through photography on my phone. Damn though, every single natural element in AC:NH looks beautiful and I first started playing when everything was covered with snow... it really was a winter wonderland on our island :) 

I'm totally going to use the photograph above as an opportunity to give a shout-out to the amazing artist, Lizzy aka Aries Arts. Just look at the incredibly gorgeous Animal Crossing portrait that they made for me when I won a giveaway over on their instagram!! You can read more in a post I shared all about it here. Honestly, I cannot thank Lizzy enough for creating this piece for me and I feel like every Animal Crossing fan needs one in their lives! 

So back to my first opinions of AC:NH... I loved the variety of character design options we could have right away. This is probably something that was offered in the New Leaf game, but as I mentioned, I am comparing this to my experiences playing Wild World. I didn't realise the graphics were quite as different until I played New Horizons. It was great for the early 2000's but let's just say, I am so glad we have gotten this far with game development, haha! I also loved to discover that we still have many of the original villager cast of characters (and lots of newbies, for me anyway!). I missed these cuties so much!! Back when my sister & I played AC:WW, our favourite animal friend was always Chevre, the goat, and YAY!! She's still around :) My other personal favourites were Lily and Mint. I never see anyone online mentioning Mint T_T so I don't know if she's around nowadays. I am crossing my fingers that I can get hold of an Amiibo card for her... wish me luck! 

The most amazing thing happened when I obtained my first Nook Miles ticket and boarded a Dodo Airlines flight to explore a new island. Lily was there!! What are the chances of that!? I was over the moon to say the least that I could invite her to move onto our islander and there's she's been since January 2021. Who are your favourite villagers/islanders? 

Some other features that I was very happy to discover within my first week of gameplay were the fact that it's so easy to fish and the screenshot/photo-taking options! Back when I played on my Nintendo DS, I don't know why but I found it super difficult to fish and so I barely ever attempted to. It sucked because I was really curious about the species they'd included in the game, so I am delighted now that it is really simple to catch fish and I am very much loving how detailed the creatures are! I have set up a mini aquarium in my house because I just want to look at them all the time!! What are your favourite sea creatures on the game? I am yet to encounter sharks so I am super excited about that in the future :) I, of course, didn't have Harv's Island and his photo studio rooms at first, but I loved the filters you could use when taking screenshots and how you could zoom in, change the viewpoint, etc. Like, did you even play if you didn't take loads of cute pictures to share on social media?? :D Thank you Nintendo for giving me aesthetic choices! 

I have to admit that I was mortified when I initially got playing and couldn't locate Blathers and his museum anywhere, because that side of Animal Crossing has always been my firm favourite and I refused to believe that they were gone, but I wanted so desperately to start adding specimens to the museum collection. When Blathers finally showed up, I was so relieved!! And I am actually a fan of having to build up the museum from scratch. And guys, WHAT A MUSEUM IT IS!! I could not believe my eyes when I first got to explore the magnificent creation and I am slightly bitter that my islander can't set up home in it :D 

I mean, how could I not fall in love with the AC:NH museum!?! The designers did a phenomenal job with it and every exhibit is so well thought out and intricate and it's been a joy to fill it with fossils and wildlife. The dinosaur bones are especially beautiful! Okay, I will be here all day talking about the museum, so onto my likes and dislikes after playing the game for around three months. 

Features I really like in AC: New Horizons

That Resetti is no longer a thing! As an adult, I know better than to turn my consoles off before saving, but omg that character was the most annoying thing ever back when I was thirteen/fourteen years old! I love that you cannot fall into fossil holes anymore, because that was bloody annoying, too!! I am a big fan of the reactions, mostly for the screenshot potential but also because they are so damn cute!! And I love that the islanders will respond to you :) Another feature that I think is great is how easily you can stock up on so many Nook Mile points. At the moment though, I have too many than to know what to do with! 

The festivals and special events, as well as the themed items, are such a wonderful edition to the gameplay. I am a sucker for celebrating things, especially those random commemoration days on the calendar, like National Popcorn Day. Who is in the same boat? So, you bet I am going to jump at every opportunity to celebrate special times on Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Furthermore, those Super Mario items added for the recent 25th Anniversary are so cute!! I can now run around the island, catching butterflies and collecting fossils, dressed as Princess Peach. What more could I want? And those little mushroom furniture items... I want one in my real bedroom! Speaking of furniture, the way you can decorate and customise your home and island is so much fun!! I can live out all of my aesthetic dreams in one place... kawaii in the home, grunge on the beach :D AC:NH has got me covered! I very much like being able to craft so many interesting items, from apple hats to giant mossy rocks. Tell me about your favourite item and/or item to craft in the comments :) I'm really curious!

Features I dislike in AC: New Horizons

I feel like dislike is too strong a word, to be honest :') I adore this game and there are only a few things that I wish could be different or hope that they update in the future or whatever. I wish that you could make a huge house, a mansion even, or anything that your imagination could think of. That you could design your home in a construction-like building feature. I have only been playing for three months and I have already expanded my house as big as it can go, as far as I know. I love having a living room plus five extra rooms but this game has so many cool furniture pieces that I have a mighty need for never-ending space to fill with it all. 

I also wish that tools did not break so easily. I understand that the game needs to have features that make players work for things and complete tasks to obtain the items they require, however I still feel that there should be another feature to counterbalance this. I would love an option to bulk carry tools in my inventory, such as you can do with fruit. That way, I could always be carrying a fair amount of tools in case the one I'm using should break, but still allowing me to carry all of the goodies that I find whilst exploring.  I hate being all the way on the other side of the island and having to run back home to get another tool, however this is just a little annoyance of mine and I'm likely complaining too much :D we all have our things...

BUT I assume that everyone finds the wasps and tarantulas to be a pain!! The wasps, I can deal with. I have gotten used to them, and can mostly catch them before they get a chance to sting my islander. The tarantulas, on the other hand, always pop out of nowhere and its a little frustrating to say the least. I have managed to catch several now and they are very awesome-looking. My islander even has a 'pet' one in her home, but still! I don't know if that makes up for it... what do you think? The only other minor irk that I have with AC:NH is that when you visit your animal friends at their house and they happen to be crafting something, it's more often than not, for me, is an item that I already know how to make. Of course, when I start using Nintendo Online and visiting my friends/they visit me, I can leave these recipe cards about for them to collect. Right now though, I just have a stockpile and it's a little annoying. I know that they need to slowly give players all of the recipes but I'm impatient by nature. Help :D

So, those were my thoughts and feelings and opinions about Animal Crossing: New Horizons. I hope I didn't bore you all and that if you were on the fence about investing in your copy of the game, that I have persuaded you because it really is a lovely thing to pass the time, especially during lockdown. I find it so relaxing, and I can play for hours without getting bored, but that's because I love games like Animal Crossing, where you can just totter around, pretending, that instead of living in this mess of a world, you live on an pretty island with the sweetest animal buddies, and spend your days and nights picking fruit, planting trees and flowers, buying cute outfits, growing things and just have the perfect cottagecore-esque time! So, if that sounds like paradise to you, you need to get this game in your life!! 

After discussing the game, I am now desperate to go back to playing it and so I will finish up my post here :) By the way, if you did not already know, today is the Spring Equinox, so the official first day of the new season has sprung, and I am so ready for it :) Wishing you all a lovely Springtime!! 

Thankyou for reading!

♥

Do you have any recommendations for games similar to AC:NH? I'd love to check them out!

Also, tell me if you have any dislikes when it comes to this game. What changes would you make? 

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