Journeys Are My Diary

Life, Adventures, Entertainment and more - A little bit of everything blog!

Book Review – A Frozen Heart

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frozen_heart

I bought this book from Asda and I have to admit I was pretty excited to find it, especially for £3.75. This book had been on my Amazon wishlist for some time and I assumed it would be similar to the Twisted Tales by by Liz Braswell. I had read A Whole New World, picked up Once Upon a Dream and this seemed like it would be similar, despite being by a different author, Elizabeth Rudnick.

Sadly, I was quite disappointed. If you want to read the novelisation of the Frozen movie, then this book is for you. It’s the exact story that the Frozen movie provides you with, except in a written form – meaning more detail, more description, more dialogue etc. That said, any dialogue that appeared in the movie, appears in this book. Every quote your children (or you) know off by heart, will be in this book. At first its sort of lovely – an indepth look to Anna and Elsa’s life, even a bit more background on Hans which you don’t really get in the movie. However once the storyline gets going, the story is basically exactly like the animation and it loses something for me.

That said, the end still made me cry, just like it does when I watch it. The book is a beautiful rendition of the movie, but that is all it is. I was expecting something more, something different, something that tells us a different part of the story. But sadly it’s not that. If you want to read “Frozen”, then absolutely pick up this book. If you’re looking for something more, it’s probably best not to bother.

Pop Funko Collection

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Though I could quite easily have made this post a wish list – the truth of the matter is, I’d pretty much like every Pop Funko in the world. Disney is obviously my main collection, but I have one from Harry Potter (and want the rest), one from The Walking Dead (and would probably like a few more) and definitely definitely would like any Marvel and DC comic ones. However instead I decided just to share with you my current Pop Funko collection, as it grew somewhat over this last weekend!

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So this is my main Disney collection of Pop Funkos. It all started with Belle in her yellow dress (which Amy bought for me and is now near on impossible to get), along with the Beast that Amy bought for Chris and it just sort of became mine! Over time, the collection has grown to include Lumiere, Cogsworth and Belle in her blue dress (just like I cosplayed at the weekend). Tinker Bell came from Hot Topic when we went to Florida, as did Ariel in her town dress (though that was via mail). Gus in the Glass Slipper, Rapunzel and Ariel (as a mermaid) came from SFCC, this weekend just gone. Maleficent was a gift, Groot came from a Loot Crate and Judge Doom belongs to Chris.

However this isn’t all we have between us, there is more!

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While not all these are Pop Funkos of course (its just a geek hole really), there is Jigsaw who belongs to Chris, as does Jason. There is Stan Lee (an LFCC special) still in its box, who is probably my most expensive purchase. There are then mini Pop Funkos (or pocket as I think they are called) in the form of Elsa, Anna and Olaf, then Maleficent and Evil Queen too who are a tiny bit bigger. Again, not funko but there is Olaf, Pooh and Anna on keyrings, along with a random collection of blind box figures!

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Harry Potter is from Hot Topic and he’s an exclusive. Instead of the regular Harry Potter, who comes with a wand, this Harry comes with the sword of Gryffindor. I’m still undecided as to whether or not I want to get regular Harry, but I do know I want Voldemort next. He’s amazing.

unnamedFinally my last Pop Funko has just found a new home in my glass cabinet. He’s Daryl Dixon from TWD and he’s on a motorbike. He was my second most expensive Pop Funko and I’ve wanted him for so long that at MCM Comic Con in May, I treated myself.

With several more conventions in the works, I’m sure my Pop Funko collection will continue to steadily grow. When I got my first ever, I couldn’t possibly believe I would end up collecting them. But here I am!

Hot Topic – Haul #4

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Yes… yes I did. I know… I’m terrible. But at the same time, you all want to know what I got, right? Here it is! (All my other Hot Topic posts can be found here)

This is Hot Topic Haul, number 4 and for the first time, there was actually lots of stuff for me. I’ll break it down into smaller sections, so you can see what I got.

First up was some underwear.

 

These bra and pants come as separates, but I’m a sucker for matching sets. It’s been a long time since I treated myself to some nice underwear and as these were Disney, I thought “why not?” You may also have seen on Instagram that I got myself some Tinker Bell and Bambi matching sets from Primark too. I now have four nice pairs of underwear. You must have a look at the Next Level Bra and Panty Trends: 2021 Edition and see what suits you the best.

 

Next there is a new scarf – this time Doctor Who. I love my Disney Script one so much and I wear it all the time. This one has a nice pop of colour though, whilst still being beautiful big, soft and long. As well as the bra sets above, I got this pants set which is Harry Potter themed. I loved this pack specifically because it has one pair of Hogwarts pants, then one for Gryffindor and one for Slytherin. As I mentioned in my recent Magical Orlando Tag, I can never truly pick between the houses so I loved the idea of this pack of pants. Finally there is a little mermaid bracelet. It’s a simple metal one that reminds me of one I bought from Black Tied some time ago. Since I get a lot of wear out of that, I’m hoping the same will be said for this new one.
Finally there are some Olaf bits and pieces! And some headphones for Chris.
The Batman earbuds, as I mentioned, are for Chris – to go in his stocking. He loves Batman, DC etc and always listens to his phone on the way to and from work. As for the Olaf bits, well there’s some Sticky Notes, a lanyard and a sunglasses case. The sticky notes are either for me or my mum – to go in a stocking. The lanyard is for my mum as previously I only got her a HP lanyard and this is her Disney one. The sunglasses case is for me – for the sunglasses I got in a previous Hot Topic haul. I just loved the fact they are Olaf sunbathing, such an iconic part of his character.
So that rounds up my latest haul post and believe me when I tell you I have a whole load more stuff in my basket ready to get next time! I’m seriously addicted to Hot Topic and I really wish they’d open up over here in the UK!

How Frozen (and Disney in general) have taken over our lives!

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In September I posted about the Girls’ bedroom and how it was coming along nicely. It’s currently still pink but as I mentioned before, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they want it painting blue before long, along with some of the best divan beds. This week saw the one year anniversary of Disney’s Frozen release and honestly I can’t quite believe just how crazy the kids still are about Frozen. Last year for Megan’s birthday we went to the cinema to see the movie and this just kicked off a whole Frozen theme in our lives. Megan’s cake was Frozen, as her birthday is in December, but even in March, Lily’s cake of choice was Frozen themed too.

Lily wore and Anna costume to her 6th birthday party and Megan has been hunting for the perfect Elsa dress for months. Luckily we managed to find one and it actually arrived just last week. With Megan’s birthday coming up again (and a heavy Disney theme to our house), it will come as no surprise that Megan’s costume for her own birthday is also Frozen themed (Lily’s too). While the costume’s not completely finished yet, this time next week Megan will be staring as Young Elsa from the Frozen movie and Lily will be Young Anna.

Anyway, I digress from my original point and that is – the girls room is gradually becoming more and more Frozen. While the original theme was just Disney, Frozen is sneaking in and taking over. A few months back I treated them to new duvet covers, after their ceiling got redecorated and an Anna border was put up. These are really the second Frozen themed item in the room, after the original sticker decals we bought this time last year. Both girls have the exact same covers, as the only other kinds you can get are just Elsa. I always think its a bit of a shame that Elsa gets more air time and more products than Anna, because you often find one sibling likes one and the other likes the other.

As a special treat for Christmas, I’ve bought them some new curtains for their room. I don’t know why really as the ones they have are perfectly good but I know just how obsessed they both are (and maybe me a little too). Besides, I can always chop up their old curtains and make more dresses for Florida! The new curtains are of course Frozen and while I haven’t actually got them out of the packet yet, I do hope to as of Monday/Tuesday.

Of course, these thin curtains are fine this time of year but come Summer I might need to rethink it. Not because of the theme – though of course Frozen in Summer is perhaps a little weird (not for Olaf mind you) – but because of the material and the see-throughness of the curtains. This time of year it’s dark as the girls go to bed and dark as they get up so it doesn’t affect their sleeping at all as the Comfy Bamboo Sheets are kids friendly and breathable. It is softer than cotton which makes my kids not get out of their beds because of its coziness. Sadly the same can’t be said in the lighter months. When the sun comes up at 5am and doesn’t set till 10pm, I always have trouble getting the most sleep out of the girls. It will be at this point I look into getting some blackout blinds or curtains. VELUX has a Disney Dream Collection of blinds and it honestly makes me wish the girls had an attic bedroom with a sloped window. The Disney blinds from VELUX are so awesome (though there isn’t a Frozen one as yet!) that I would be hard pushed to know which one to choose! There is a wide range though so I imagine there is something for everyone.

While plans for new blinds are a long way off, especially given the fact I’ve just bought new curtains, I did hear mention that the girls are wanting new bunkbeds. With a trip to Florida on the horizon, I imagine that is unlikely. However with bunkbeds as “cool” as these, who wouldn’t want Frozen beds?

However I imagine a far more likely solution is some new pictures on the walls, a new toybox or perhaps more cuddly toys! With wanting to move still, its unlikely we’ll be investing in any large pieces of furniture or radical changes to the room. Not only that, but kids are so faddy and while this Frozen fad does seem to have lasted a lot longer than any other, it won’t last forever I’m sure!

Disney Store – Wednesday Wish List

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As much as I love Disney, shopping on the Disney Store website is usually solely for my kids. Yes, I occasionally pick up something for me, but 99% of what I purchase is for Megan and Lily. This Wish List however is completely, one hundred percent for me. I can’t tell you how many times I was distracted thinking “the kids would like that” but I have managed to get myself a list together – and here it is.

First up is the Elsa Animator doll. I love her and Anna, but Elsa would definitely be my first pick. I have a Belle one, that the Disney Store no longer sells and while the way she seems to always be staring at you can be a bit creepy, I still love her.

In Belle’s hand is Chips, which leads me onto my next item – Mrs Potts and Chip soft toys. Beauty and the Beast has always been one of my favourite Disney movies and Belle one of my favourite princesses. As such, I love the whole cast. Mrs Potts and Chip are definitely two of my favourite side kicks and this soft toy which includes both of them is pretty awesome.

The next item shows my love for Disney Villains, with this Evil Queen mug. I’ve always been a lover of the Villains and recently I’ve noticed it more and more. Of the ones available – Captain Hook, Jafar & the Evil Queen – this is definitely my favourite. I only wish there was an Ursula one though, as I’d snap that right up!

Christmas is just around the corner and from my selection of decorations, you’ll see I love the unusual and quirky most. These hanging decorations, including Olaf sunbathing, Alice in Wonderland and Pascal dressed as Rapunzel, are awesome. They would all go perfectly on our Disney tree, plus its nice to add to the pieces we already have, with something a bit different.

Finally comes the Disneyland Paris Signature Collection of dinnerware. Made up from an espresso set, mugs, small plates, large plates and even bottle stoppers, I honestly wish this was my every day plates. Sadly that’s a bit of a dream… but hey, Dreams Really Do Come True, right?

My “Need That Look” order

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I have been a fan of Need That Look on Facebook for some time now, but I’ve never actually used their website. However I was finally sold on making a purchase, when this awesome Christmas Jumper came up on my Facebook feed.

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With £5 off, making it £19.95, it was still a bit expensive – but its OLAF, so how could I resist? Besides, Christmas jumpers can be sort of pricey so it really wasn’t that bad!

I placed my order on 23rd September, paying £23.90 including postage. I received an email confirmation of my order, within minutes of placing it. The next day, I received another email – this time telling me that the status of my order had changed to “awaiting shipping”. I felt really pleased that the company was keeping me so up to date and I hoped it wouldn’t be too long before the jumper arrived. Sadly however, it was 30th September before I had another email, telling my status was now “shipped”. I was also informed that the delivery would be by Royal Mail, 1st Class Signed For. The jumper arrived on October 1st, just over a week from when I ordered it.

To tell you the truth, a week for delivery isn’t that bad and if I’d ordered from Ebay, I wouldn’t have expected anything different. However with recent orders from Asda, Next, Tesco and H&M – I’ve gotten a little used to next day delivery, or at least delivery within a day or two. For me, had the item been dispatched sooner, but taken longer in the mail, this would somehow have felt more acceptable. But instead, having the jumper ready to dispatch the very next day after I ordered it, but taking six days to get in the mail, seems somehow less acceptable.

Anyway the jumper is here and at first glance I was really pleased with it. However I soon realised that the nose was supposed to sort of stick out and on further inspection, I realised that because of that, the jumper actually had two big holes in it.

The chances are, I’m not going to wear this jumper very much. One or two days at the most. As such I suppose the fact it had these holes isn’t that bad, but it is however a little disappointing. Not only that, but the jumper smells really disgusting. I can’t quite place what the smell is, but I’m absolutely sure I’m going to have to wash it before wearing it at Christmas. There are now two other similar jumpers for sale on the site and I almost wish I’d got one of those instead. They don’t have the sticking out nose thing but at the same time, the writing looks a little strange on them.

To say I’m not very satisfied with my purchase, would be a bit of an understatement. However I probably won’t bother sending it back or doing anything about it because as I said, I’ll only likely wear it once. My main reason for even posting about it is to alert people of my one and only experience with the company and really to admit that I probably won’t be using them again.

Have you used Need That Look before? What did you think?