Collective Toy Haul: Tsum Tsums #1

So I haven't really been collecting Tsum's for very long at all. As explained below, it started off when I heard from social media about these and I thought they were the cutest things I ever did see. I adore Disney, as you all should know by now, and I just needed them. My boyfriend got me Stitch and Winnie a few months ago and I fell in love with them. Unfortunately, because of a small child in the house, I have been hesitant to display them in case they were stolen or damaged, etc, but I do keep them beside my bed where they're very well looked after and cared for, I promise! 

I got the alien and the Red Queen/Queen of Hearts about a year ago...oh, wait, which means my boyfriend must have got them more then a year ago. Wow! Only collected six in over a year. All my money must have been going on food, obviously! Anyway, I went on a shopping trip for a few clothing items and came across them in the store and I just had to have them.

Bing Bong and Baymax were bought very recently when I went out to the same shopping centre, this time for college supplies (that haul is already up, shameless self promo). It was a hard choice, I wanted Cruella DeVil, Lucky, the ordinary dalmatian, and Anger (Inside Out). I might go back there a bit later on in the year but right now I have wasted too much money and am now on a strict finance plan! But these little guys were part of a great start to my year.  

So here they are! On the very top is Winnie from Winnie the Pooh and just underneath him to the left (ha) is Stitch from Lilo and Stitch who I got from my ex-boyfriend a few months ago, it's what really got me into the collection. Next to Stitch is one of the aliens which I probably should have got three but I didn't want to (waste of money, but it would be more accurate) from the Toy Story trilogy. Underneath it, from left to right, is Baymax from Big Hero 6 (a recent movie I watched and fucking loved), Red Queen/Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland (she has hearts on her undies!), and then Bing Bong from Inside Out. 

So yeah. I also recently learnt that Disney releases a new collection of Tsum Tsum's each month and I do wish my bank account would allow me to have them, but alas I can not! January's was The Lion King and they are oh so cute. I simply cannot wait for the Beauty and the Beast collection to come out. If they already have or you know when the date is, please let me know. Thank you for reading, I'll see you all next time. 

Birthday Haul Part Two || Shopping Trip (LUSH and Tsum's!)

I think I mentioned this a couple times before, but on Tuesday 18th August, I went on a shopping trip to Carmarthen by train. We left kind of late, around 11pm, and it was boiling hot, it felt like the waiting room to Hell and I imagine we were also the laughing stock of everyone in America...yeah, yeah, I get it, you'd be wearing jackets in our summer times!

Anyway, I thought I would show you the things I bought while I was there - which really wasn't that much, but I tried okay, I tried. I'm not good at spending money because I'm such an indecisive person!

The first place I went to was kind of a weird place to go, but it's Clintons, a card store. Reason why? Because of these beauties: 

Yes, this is the ass of the Queen of Hearts with her fancy underpants. 

Disney's Tsum Tsum's! I already have a couple, Winnie the Pooh and Stitch, that Austin my boyfriend got me a little while ago because Winnie the Pooh was my favourite TV program has a kid (and one of the movies I am obsessed with, still), Stitch is just adorable. I think everyone loves Stitch, you're crazy if you don't! 

It was really hard to pick the ones I wanted, I eventually settled for a Mini Queen of Hearts (from Alice in Wonderland/Alice's Adventures in Wonderland) and Mini Alien (from the Toy Story series). I wanted all of them! They had Minnie Mouse, a badger, Bambi, Dumbo, Jessie, Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Peas in a Pod...I'm going to have to go back there! They were £3.50 each. 

I was running out of pens and I also have a fountain pen at home, so the next things I got were these from Ryman's: 

The ink cartridges were their own brand, I think, and cost £1.99. I already have blue cartridges, but...this may sound weird, I just hate writing in blue ink and much prefer blue. Where I live, black ones seem to be non-existent so I just had to get some. It's a nice big bag for cheap, too. The pens are one of my favourites because of how smooth and easy to write with, the Bic Biro Original Crystal pens in black.Hopefully, I don't lose these, why do pens love to go missing?

These gems were from Waterstones, a fairly expensive but popular bookstore in the UK (and if it's in anywhere else in the world, I don't know about it). I think it was Alice's Adventures in Wonderland's anniversary, as it has a whole two bookshelves dedicated to it. Different editions of the books and merchandise, mostly. I'm a huge Alice fan, and if I had the money, I would have bought it all. Instead, I got some small things that I knew I would use often and would mean more to me then adding yet another Alice book edition to my shelves for £25. I couldn't find any of these online, so sorry I cannot provide any links! The small Cheshire Cat badge was 99p, the bookmarks were £1.50 each. I think it's good that it has a little information of the artist on the back, it's pretty interesting if you ask me. They're also really hard, but still plastic/paper bookmarks, so I think that means they'll have a stronger durability (RIP past bookmarks, you're missed).

You can get your own VooDoo doll from the website, WatchoverVooDoo but I got her from TheCardFactory!

Anyway, these are cute little VooDoo dolls found at a card shop (which was also shared with a chocolate store, pretty cute?) and there was so many but this witch stood out to be the most. They're £3.99, she claims to give me confidence and etc, but I don't believe in magic like that even though I obviously really like Harry Potter. I just thought she would look cute hanging from my bag.

I then went to a charity store for a bit because my mother had wandered off somewhere and I couldn't find her. I had bought the movie editions of New Moon and Breaking Dawn (which I actually really like) and have been looking around for the other two for a while. The Twilight series is commonly found in charity stores, so it shouldn't be hard, it's just finding the first book that I'm having difficulty with. I can't remember if I liked the series or not, seeing as the first time I read it I was pretty young and under a stronger influence from a friend of mine who really loved Twilight. Actually, a couple of friends of mine. We'll see...when I find the first book! I don't think I ever finished Eclipse!

I also got some earphones with strawberries decorated on the earbud but they broke and I therefore don't have a photo of them - they were pretty cheap, I was expecting them to break, from a shop called Tiger in Carmarthen, Pembrokeshire. 

And (my personal favourite from this haul), my first experience with buying from LUSH (even if you have money, visit that website...the animation of different bath bombs being thrown into water is amazing). I've tried their Blackberry Bath Bomb before, and I liked it but I didn't love it. It smells more like blueberries, which is good, because I actually hate blackberries and till I looked it up just now I thought it was blueberries. It was slimy, and doesn't do anything to the bath, it's a pretty simple and boring bath bomb. But, the bath stuff I bought for myself for my first time buying experience was *drum roll please*:

If you can read the labels, you can see I got the Sex Bomb Bath Bomb (oh, the pun) and if you click on the link, it'll show you what happens to it when you put it into a bath - if you can't be bothered to click it, it basically just turns pink. And, for my vegan readers, it's 100% vegan! I had a bath with it tonight, it was so relaxing and I still smell so good. Usually, the scent wears out after I have a shower because well I guess shower gels weren't meant to be strong scented! The second one, I haven't used yet, but it's called a bubble bar, I think? It's Rose Jam I think, but it doesn't look like that, it's more like a rose shape...I think? Anyway, I'm heading to England tomorrow and I'm bringing it with me so I'll let you know how I like it! Probably a lot more because it creates bubbles!!

That's not all I got, though, worry not:

My mother bought me the shower jelly by them quite often when I was younger, I forgot to mention, it reminds me of the ocean even though it's lime-scented (and the label makes me chuckle!). It's called Woosh, another reason why it reminds of the ocean, and it smells so good even if it is a bit hard to use in the shower. It's just fun to use, I suppose!

The second is something new, not just for me but for LUSH itself. It's a Yuzu and Cocoa Shower Cream that smells just like chocolate oranges! (also, the women in the image is just WAY TOO MUCH...such a pet peeve of mine!). It's a small 100ml bottle, to test it out, but also it's because it's kind of expensive. The prices of which are listed below: 

Sex Bomb Bath Bomb - £3.35
Woosh Shower Jelly - 3.50
Rose Jam Bubbleroon - £3.75
Yuzu and Cocoa Shower Cream - £4.75

I really hoped you enjoyed reading, I'll see you in my next post - goodbye for now!

May 2015 Book Haul: Part Four.

Finally, you say! We have reached the last post of my May Haul (and if you see a post following this one called the same thing but instead of having a part, it says Xtra, you know my buying books for this week has failed, but this is meant to be the last part!) 

"The Twins" by Saskia Sarginson. 

Isolte and Viola are twins. 

Inseparable as chirldren, they've grown into very different adults: Isolte, a successful features writer for a fashion magazine; and Viola, desperetly unhappy and struggling with a lifelong eating disorder. 

What happened all those years ago to set the twins on such different paths to adulthood? As both women start to unravel the esculating tragedies of a half-remembered summer, terrifying secrets from the past come rushing back - and threaten to overwhelm their adult lives...

What first caught my eye with this book was the beautiful cover and how it feels different (kinda a rough and tough texture, weird for a paperback) but the eating disorder really sealed the deal for me. I have always had an interest in eating disorders and first started research on the topic when I was thirteen and I feel like not enough women and men are educated on the subject so I want to be one of the people who do, even though I have never had one. 

"The kite runner" by Khaled Hosseini. 

Afghanistan, 1975: twelve-year-old Amir is desperete to win the local kite-fighting tournament and his loyal friend Hassan promises to help him. But neither of the boys can foresee what will happen to Hussan that afternoon, an event that is to shatter their lives. After the Russians invade and the family is forced to flee to America, Amir realises that one day he must return to Afghanistan under Taliban rule to find the one thing the world cannot grant him: redemption. 

This is a book that has been on my Amazon book wishlist for quite some time, so I'm glad I found it in a discount bookstore. I've heard mixed reviews on this book but, especially with all the racism in the news lately, I thought I would educate myself on the world around me. This might not be based on actual events in the world or the past, but it might give me an idea on what is happening in places I can't see. 

"Talon" by Julie Kagawi. 

'There are a dozen soldiers hiding in that maze. All hunting you. All looking to kill you'

To the ouside world, Ember Hill is an ordinary girl, but Ember has a deadly secret. A dragon hiding in human form, she is destined to fight the shadowy Order of St.George, a powerful society of dragonslayers. 

St.George soldier Garret is determined to kill Ember and her kind. Until her bravery makes him question all he has been taught about dragons. 

Now a war is coming and Garret and Ember must choose their sides -fight to save their bond or fulfil their fate and destory one another. 

This was very much an impulse by, but the cover and the general human-but-actually-a-dragon plotline had me reeled in. I've heard some mixed reviews about this book, but in general I'm quite exited to read it - a shame this is not a standalone, because it will take me a while to get the second if it's good enough for me to want to continue the saga. 

"Hollow Earth by John and Carole.E.Barrowman (yes, John as in actor who was in Doctor Who and yes, Carole as in his wife I think)

Twins Matt and Emily Calder have imaginations so powerful that they can make art come to life. Their powers are sought by villians intent on accessing the terrors of Hollow Earth - a place where all the devils, demons and monsters have imagined lie trapped for eternity. If Hollow Earth is breached, the world will be plunged into chaos. If Hollow Earth is breached, the twins are as good as dead. 

Possibly surprising to some, but I did not pick this up because of John Barrowman and my love for Doctor Who - at the time, I was rushed, and even though the name triggered a memory in my mind somewhere, I couldn't remember what it was. I just have an interest in the power of imagination (and art, hence Dorian Gray), so picked it up on impulse, the same time I got Talon and Over You. When I get round to reading it, you'll know in my Monday Missions/wrap ups so I can write a review, because I too am curious about Barrowman's writing style. 

"City of Heavenly Fire" by Cassandra Claire. 

Sebastian Morgenstern is on the move, systematically turning Shadowhunter against Shadowhunter. When one of the greatest betrayals the Nephilim have ever known is revealed, Clary, Jace, Isabelle, Simon and Alec must flee - even if their journey takes them deep into the demon realms...love will be sacrificed and lives lost. 

The first three books I actually quite liked, even if I much preferred Simon over Jace as I have no attraction towards the bad boy type, but as the series went on I found I wanted to read less and less of the story. I didn't even finish the second to last book, but picked the last book up anyway as I wanted to give it another shot and re-read it again. I felt like there wasn't enough mystery or suspence to want me to keep reading, and plus, it was on sale anyway. 

We have reached the end! Thank you SO MUCH for reading, especially if you got this far, and don't hesitate to let me know what you thought about it or the books I picked up. Sorry for any spelling errors, I have been so tired lately and if you click on the tabs above, you'll find a link to my second blog where I am doing a picture a day challenge for a year, so if you'd like to join or be a bit nosy, please go visit it! Thank you again, peace out!