The British Tag

Today I'm doing the British Tag. I've been meaning to do it for a while after I spotted in on Zoe's blog, and I was going to post it yesterday but it took me ages to get my tsum tsum post on because I didn't feel very well, one of the many joys of having chronic illnesses is that whenever the weather is bad, it seems to really affect my mood and just overall health for the day. Does anyone else experience this? Anyhow, I really like doing these tags :) I hope I don't bore you all with my answers. Enjoy!

(1)  How many cups of tea do you have a day? How many sugars?

I drink between 2-5 cups a day, and I have 2 sugars in my tea. Lately, I've been drinking a lot less tea and too much hot chocolate or caramel lattes. Oh, the perks of autumn & winter :) 

(2) Favourite part of your roast dinner?

Sunday roast is one of my favourite meals, and my favourite part is definitely the roasties. I love them so much more when they are homemade. Yorkshire puddings are awesome, too. 

(3) Favourite dunking biscuit?

Custard Creams or Plain Digestive Biscuits. My favourite biscuits are actually current shortbreads but I don't like dunking them.

(4) Favourite quintessentially British pastime?

I don't know if there are any quintessentially British pastimes nowadays because people in many different countries now participate in our traditional hobbies & activities, but I associate letter writing and penpaling as an old British tradition :) I feel very British when I'm sitting in my garden surrounded by flowers in Spring/Summer, drinking tea & writing letters. 

(5) Favourite word?

As soon as I tried to answer this question, I seemed to forget most of awesome words in the English language haha which is annoying because I love words, especially fancy words that I can incorporated into everyday conservations. English language & literature where my favourite lessons at school, after history.  I really like the word 'Pith' (the stuff that you find in citrus fruits)... It always made me laugh whenever I said it and I don't know why! I also love swear words. 

(6) Cockney rhyme slang?

Well, I live nowhere near London & I've only ever been to London once on a trip with university to the Natural History Museum, so I don't know any cockney slang other than the one I can remember from a conservation me and my friends at college had about cockney slang :) 'Apples & Pears' which is apparently slang for stairs. 

(7) Favourite Sweet?

My favourite sweets are Jelly Beans, Dolly Mixture (mostly the dew drops and I often buy packets of them on their own) and Parma Violets. 

(8) What would your pub be called? 

This is a hard one, I have no idea! When I've seen other peoples answers to this question, I've loved their creativity and most of them made me laugh, like my best friend said 'Dog Inn' :) I found it quite difficult to think of my own answer. If I ever had a pub, I would love to have an old medieval style pub in the countryside with lots of history, and I would decorate the interior to make it look as close to an orginial medieval inn as possible. So I'd need a name fitting with the era, something with a mythical or animal... The Wolf's Den, The Raven's Nest, The Witch's Cauldron, The Griffin's Hollow.... the list is endless. 

(9) No.1 British Person?

Kit Harington, James Frain, Kiefer Sutherland, Maisie Williams, Kate Beckinsale... my MCM's & WCW's *heart eyed emoji* 

(10) Favourite shop/restaurant?

My favourite restaurants are pub-style ones that sell traditional British foods and carveries... I'm a very fussy eater so I always stick to the same meals when I eat out at restaurants... either roast dinners or steak meals. I really liked the Harvester so I'd have to say it's my favourite so far. My favourite shops are New Look, Yours Clothing, Paperchase, Lush & anywhere that sells lots of stationary!  

(11) What British song pops into your head?

Oasis songs always remind me of Britain, and home too because I'm from the North West of the country and the first Oasis song that always pops into my head is 'Wonderwall'. 

(12) Marmite?

Nope.

Thanks for reading! I hope you all also enjoyed all the quintessentially British photos I've taken over the last few years for my 'personal' instagram. I'm tagging Kiah, Laura & Codie to do the British tag, but if you read this & fancy doing it yourself, please do & let me know as I enjoy reading these tag thingies as much as I do filling them in. 

 ♥

What do you love most about Britain?

Even More Tsum Tsums

The UK Disney store released the Peter Pan tsum tsum collection on the 3rd November and it's such a fantastic movie that I could not resist purchasing all 10 of them! I love the story of Peter Pan and considering my love of kawaii things, plushies, stickers, fairytales, cartoons and lots more that could be classed as childish, I feel a kind of personal connection to the Never Growing Up motto of the movie and it's always been on my top 10 favourite disney movies. The collection includes Wendy and her brothers, John & Michael, Nana the dog, Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, Princess Tiger Lily, Tick-Tock the Crocodile, Mr.Smee and Captain Hook. Who's your favourite character?

I love the little details on all of the chracters and I can't choose one favourite! My top 4 are Princess Tiger Lily, Mr Smee, Tinkerbell & Nana. When I asked my family, most of them said that Nana was also their favourite. She looks adorable, exactly like her movie animation and I love the little blue bow under her chin.  Tinkerbell is my second favourite character from the movie and I feel the tsum tsum designers did her justice and made her look so cute, especially with her little wings! 

How adorable is Mr.Smee with his pink clown-like nose and his fluffy white hair?! I also really like how they made his t-shirt blue & grey striped like on the movie. I loved his character, and I used to 'quote' Captain Hook's line from the movie all the time, 'MR SMEEEEEEEE!'. I'm all about quoting movies haha

As for Princess Tiger Lily, she was my favourite character of the movie. I have always had a love for Native American culture and history as long as I can remember, and was always fascinated by dreamcatchers, totems, spirit animals & the clothing and traditions of the different Native American tribes so as a child, I adored her character. I also love how strong she is when Captain Hook threatens her in an attempt to make her reveal where Peter Pan is hiding but she refuses and remains a loyal friend to him. I'm lovin' all the details of the Princess Tiger Lily tsum tsum... her hair, her headband with the tiny feather and the design of her dress. 

 Lastly, I just wanted to show you all the adorable design on the Michael Darling tsum tsum. I was so happy when I spotted that they had included his teddy because it's such a key element of his character in the movie. Just look how kawaii it is! 

I hope you all enjoy reading the updates about my tsum tsum collection

& that you all had a great day, despite the bad weather!

 ♥

Which is your favourite of the Peter Pan tsum tsums? How many tsum tsums do you have?

 

Bonfire Night Celebrations

On Saturday 7th November, I went to the bonfire and firework display at my local country park. I was really happy that I got the chance to go to an event this year, because for the last three years at university I went to an event and I was missing uni a lot as I sat at home on bonfire night listening to all the sound of distant fireworks outside. Facebook timehop reminded me of the bonfire event in my hometown by showing me a photo of me & my friends there 4 years ago, so me and my mum decided to go. The event at Witton Country Park in Blackburn, Lancashire (NW England) is great fun! There's a fun fair, lots of yummy fastfood stalls, a great bonfire and a fantastic firework display. This post is going to be rather picture heavy, but I hope you all enjoy it!

When we arrived at the park, the first stop was the fun fair because it's always set up right by the entrance. I love funfairs... all the bright colourful lights, impressive cartoons and illustrations painted all over the rides and the music. They look so much better at night too. I love the sound of laughter and people's excited screams when they are on fast rides. I don't actually like going on rides myself so whenever I went in the past with my friends, I've had to awkwardly stand next to the rides being the designated bag and coat holder, but my mum doesn't like rides either so it was fun to walk around and just enjoy the atmosphere of the fair. At the end of the night after the firework display we revisited the fun fair and I had a go on a hook-a-duck game, only it was hook-a-dalmation as you can see the first photo! oh well, I won a little duck teddy so I suppose that fits in with the tradition :) haha. 

Me and my mum had a go on another game to try and win a great hello kitty. The game sounded easy and we watched other people winning before us, but it was much harder than it looked! We had to throw balls into a giant bucket thing, but they kept hitting the back and bouncing back out. You also weren't allowed to lean forward against the front of the stall when throwing the ball or let the balls hit the silver rim of the buckets. I was sad that I didn't get a giant plushie! 

 I really enjoy standing by a fire feeling the heat as soon as you walk towards it and the warmth on your face. It truly feels like autumn when you go to a bonfire at a park because you are surrounded by trees covered in autumn leaves and they are all over the ground at your feet. I like how bonfire night is a unique British tradition, too so it feels kind of special when so many people come together to watch the bonfire. 30 minutes after the bonfire was lit, it was time for the firework display, and it was amazing! It lasted for about 20 minutes and there were so many different types of firework. I love the kind that rain down and look almost like a willow tree. Who else went to a firework display? 

I left Witton Park feeling very happy, with boots covered in mud (I almost slipped on the grass because I'm ridiculously clumsy) with a cute duck teddy, a bag of blue and pink candyfloss (It's been ages since I last ate some so I couldn't resist!), a mint & chocolate nougat bar and one of those dummies made of rock. I also ate a decilious burger whilst I was there. I think it's a fantastic event that I really recommend attending if you are from the local area, plus all of the entry fees go to local charities. I cannot wait until next year!

♥

I'd love to hear all about everyone else's bonfire night... what did you do? 

Kawaii & Geeky Wishlist #2

Now that it's November, it's time for another wishlist filled with all the kawaii & geeky items I would love to have right now. My collage doesn't look as neat as I would have liked because most of the images did not have a white background >.< Maybe it's time for me to invest in Photoshop! Anyhow, I hope you all enjoy this post. 

(1) La Dolce Vita Kawaii Rabbit Sticker Sheet by kawaiistickers4you

(2) Dinosaurs Eat Man Woman Inherits the Earth Brooch by sweetsandlovely 

(3) Pokemon Bath Bomb by FizzyFairyApothecary  

(4) 'Ants Ants Ants' Anteater Necklace by lookmeem 

(5) Super Geek Box (find it here) 

(6) Game of Thrones Dragon Necklaces by BijouxMalou  

(7) Studio Ghibli Pinback Buttons by TurtlesSoup

1. These were another tumblr find... Tumblr is always great for alerting my attention to kawaii items from some fantastic etsy stores that I would not have found myself. kawaiistickers4you sells lots of adorable stickers directly from Japan, and I think they are quite cheap compared to the prices I've seen other websites selling similar items for. I LOVE bunnies so how could I resist these? I'm definitely going to be ordering a few sheets as soon as I get chance. 

2.  How awesome is this brooch!? As you all get to know me more, you'll learn that I am proud to call myself a feminist and issues relating to the many inequalities in society are something that I am very passionate about. I love cute, quirky items that represent girl power and after rabbits, reptiles are my next favourite group of animals so of course I love dinosaurs (who else loves dinosaurs?) making this brooch perfect for me. I need it. 

3.  I have wanted one of these for a while after spotting a facebook advert by a website called This is why I'm broke, who are always posting about awesome, unique products. Each bath bomb contains a surprise pokemon figure inside & I love surprises! The bath bomb also turns your bath water a different colour and who doesn't love that? It would be amazing if I had a vaporeon figure inside mine! Fingers crossed for when I get one :)

4.  I think this handmade anteater charm is gorgeous. Anteaters are another of my favourite animals and I love how adorable this one looks. There's several another charms that I would also purchase from lookmeem... the echidna, the okapi, the wombat and the platypus because they are all just so awesome and kawaii, and I love how they all have a little heart detail on them. 

5.  I spend a lot of my time on youtube watching unboxing videos of different subscription boxes and for a few months now I've been following several unboxing videos for the super geek box, with many of them also featuring the loot crate and the 1UP box so it has been interesting to see the comparisons between the boxes. I have decided that the super geek box is my favourite and I've liked the range of items you receive in each box. You can see what's been in previous boxes on their website. There's a different theme every month which is also cool. I just wish it was cheaper for the shipping cost, because I really want to subscribe to this box! If anyone in the UK gets this, please could you let me know how much you pay for P&P.

6. I'm a big fan of the Song of Ice & Fire novels by George R.R. Martin and I'm really enjoying the Game of Thrones TV Series, especially all of the Daenerys Targaryen scenes. I was searching for Game of Thrones jewellery on etsy and I loved these as soon as I saw them! I really like the bronze, old look of them and I'd choose Rhaegal since he's my favourite of Daenerys' dragons.  Do you have a favourite?

7. Last on my wishlist this month are 11 super cute Studio Ghibli button badges; they are also available as a magnet set. I adore many of the movies produced by Studio Ghibli and have an evergrowing collection of the DVDs. I think that the animation and attention to detail especially with the fauna and flora featured in the movies is amazing! Lots of the movies are based on old folk tales and myths or have a historical theme so that's another awesome thing about them, as well as all the adorable characters as you can see from the badges!

That's it for this month! 

♥

What kawaii or geeky items are on your own wishlist this month?

Hope you all have a nice day!

 

October Lucky Dip Club

 If you read my latest 'I've got mail' post last week, you'll know that I received my lucky dip club box, and now it's time to show you what was inside. This box was my first ever lucky dip club box and the theme was 'Biscuit Box'. I've been following #luckydipclub on instagram for a while, checking out all the photos of what people got in their boxes each month. I loved all the unique items that subscribers received, so as soon as I got the chance I ordered myself a box. 

Inside this month's box was: a personalised Nice biscuit brooch, Charm Club: Jammy Dodger, Party Ring Post-it Notes and two items from artist Nikki McWilliams, a DIY mini biscuit cushion & You're a Smart Cookie wall art. I really like how the boxes support small businesses, illustrators and designers and always include items from a different artist in each box. The other items are also unique and made especially for the lucky dip club, which is cool!

 

By following the lucky dip club on instagram, I have discovered that every box includes a DIY set/kit of some sort, which is great if you are an artsy person. The DIY sets are designed in a simple way with easy-to-understand instructions so everyone can have a go at making them. This is great for me because I'm not the best at DIY kits! :) I really like the packaging and overall appearance of the DIY kit. Nikki McWilliams is such a fantastic artist; check out her instagram here for lots of awesome biscuit themed creativity. The other item in the box by Nikki is the wall art, which is a lovely piece. It's made on great quality card that has such a nice texture! I love the feel of this kind of card. Am I weird or does anyone else feel the same way? haha. The font is shiny and sparkles with different colours when you move it so it would look pretty up on the wall whenever the light shined on it. There's a nice detail on the lettering too, the O's are shaped like biscuits. 

 Every lucky dip club box contains a personalised item and in the October box, subscribers received a lovely wooden brooch that was 'hand-baked' as the card details by the lucky dip club. There's an awesome little poem on the back of the card that reads... 'Savoury or sweet, you're always a treat, when I'm having a brew, it's perfect with you. I open the tin, reach a hand in, grab something yummy, to get in my tummy. Biscuits, we love you, Biscuits, we do, you're so blooming tasty, we need at least two!'. This poem is fabulous and has made me crave biscuits! I collect pin badges and brooches so this item was great for me! 

This is what was inside the mini silver envelope. All the little packaging is another thing I loved about this box. It's like receiving a snailmail package from one of my penpals. The card inside explains that each box from March-December 2015 contains a 'Charm of the Month', but this item is also great for people who get the box as a one-off. I'm glad there was an option when subscribing for whether you wanted to receive silver or gold coloured charms as I prefer silver. The charm is pretty and can be removed from the chain and used as a charm on a bracelet. I'm happy I got a jammy dodger because  they are one of my favourite biscuits. I wish the chain would have been a little longer though, but that's because I personally prefer to wear longer necklaces. 

The last item in the box was the party ring post-it notes and since I love stationary, I was very happy to receive these. I'm glad that there is no hole in the centre as I've seen with similar products. It's annoying when you buy a pretty set of sticky notes but cannot write much on them so the ones in the lucky dip box are great. You get a good amount of sheets and they are so cute. Next to the DIY set, these were my second favourite item in the box. Overall, I was surprised with how many items fit into such a thin box and I recommend this box to anyone who likes art and being creative. You don't get many items but it's nice to know that you are helping a small business by subscribing. 

Due to the boxes being so popular, they sell out quickly which means you have to get online on the 1st of each month at 7am on the dot to make sure you get a box! I almost forgot to mention the awesome newsletter inside the box which had a lovely, colourful biscuit illustration on the front & a page of short articles fitting in with the biscuit theme including a recipe and details about the artists involved with the October box. 

 

When you open up the newsletter, you get this lovely party ring paper that can be used for scrapbooking, art projects, smashbooking and much more. It is so pretty! I would definitely purchase a notebook or a pencil case with this design. I love it! 

 ♥

Who else gets the lucky dip club box? 

What was your favourite item in the Biscuit Box?