Journeys Are My Diary

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

Monthly Round-up – February 2017

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Watching: This month I watched Maze Runner, Sharknado 4, Anastasia, Sing, Batman Lego Movie and Green Lantern. I also watched Bitten, Helix and started Riverdale. As usual there was Dance Moms, Bones, New Girl, Big Bang Theory, Grimm, Blindspot, Casualty, Holby City, Let It Shine, Suits, Jane the Virgin and of course The Walking Dead started again.
Sewing & Making (for Closet Geek): February has been crazy busy with orders but seems to have gone in spurts. I listed Moana ears and bows in the store on January 30th and so that caused the first wave of crazy. February 1st was also the last day for my 2K giveaway box, but I also launched a new monthly giveaway later in the month which was Beauty and the Beast themed (not to mention a loop giveaway I had been participating in finished too). I fiddled with some new bows, got some of Megan’s artwork printed on postcards, tried out some candle designs and generally ploughed my way through orders. I made a duvet cover and pillowcase, then bunting to match. I tried to work on new ideas for dresses but never seemed to find time – but decided to look for boy models, so I might list boys clothes. All in all, it was hectic and that’s not even mentioning when I sewed my finger!

And in other news…
– This month we have definitely spent more time being sociable. One night we had our friends Jon and Becka around for games and ended up staying up till 3.30 in the morning. Another night we have Jon and Becka, plus Nat and Dan around for dinner and though Chris headed to bed early, we went well past midnight.
– Amy and I booked to go to Beauty and the Beast afternoon tea at The Kensington Hotel in London. It’s not till May but I’m already looking forward to it.
– Lily chopped her hair short! The decision came out of nowhere and luckily she hasn’t regretted it since but I couldn’t believe she actually decided to go through with it.


– Valentine’s Day happened! The night before, Chris and I had a M&S Valentine’s Meal because it was our one night without the girls in the week. Valentine’s Day itself I spent the day with the girls and my mum, playing board games. Then when Chris got home we all exchanged gifts (that’s a sort of new tradition we have now) and then we headed out for some food and the cinema to see Batman Lego movie.


– I treated myself to a new lipstick and nail polish from the L’Oreal Beauty and the Beast range. I had to order from Amazon Italy but I actually had some euros left on my travel card so it worked out well. The Beast lipstick that I picked is perfect, but I haven’t tried out the blue polish yet. Hopefully I’ll do a review!
– For Galentine’s Day I sent Amy and Liv a gift, plus gave Nat something when she came around later that week. In return Amy sent me a Gaston Pop Funko and I love him.
– I booked to go away for my birthday weekend and I’m so pleased I have. I’m desperate to get back to the Harry Potter Studios, especially now they have the Forbidden Forest though a bit sad Chris might not be able to come. I’m still hoping to throw a murder mystery the night before we go away though.
– Lily and I worked on and off on her chocolate project, largely through half term. When Pippa’s birthday came around I used everything I’d learnt about making ganache and baked an amazing (even if I do say so myself) chocolate cake for her.
– I reformatted my laptop as it was dying fast and I honestly thought I would need to buy a new one. However it seems much better and much faster now so hopefully I can last out a little longer!
– Got a letter from Megan’s school, commending her on her hard work (this is the second one I’ve had since September. She’s also up to 16 certificates, which she needs 10 merits for each (so 160 merits in total!).
– Finally came Pancake Day and in true form we had pancakes for both dinner and dessert. We had stuffed pancakes with chicken, followed by sweet pancakes with various toppings.

Looking forward to in March:
– Can’t really think what March has planned to be honest but I know it’s a fairly hectic month. There is Lily’s birthday to begin with, followed by Amy’s, followed by Chris’ and then finally Mother’s Day. Lily has a school trip and a school play in March, plus her chocolate project is due so I imagine that will make things even busier.
– Amy is coming to visit for the weekend of 17th-19th. I haven’t seen her since we went to DLP so it will be nice to catch up. We’re also seeing the new Beauty and the Beast movie which I’m excited but nervous about.
– As I mentioned, Chris’ birthday is this month and we’re going out for dinner with friends and then doing an Escape the Room game. I’m quite excited about that too but I have to admit I’m worried it will be creepy!

Week 22 – Monday Round-up

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Hello, me again! It’s Monday round-up time again. A fab week this week, largely because it was filled with birthday celebrations, but also because it was both bank holiday weekend and half term, so loads of family/kids time! After a weekend away, Monday kicked off with a bank holiday day. The girls were both going to their dad, so Chris and I drove over to Lincoln to meet their dad at McDonalds and do the passover. We missed McDonalds breakfast sadly but after dropping off the kids we instead headed over to get Starbucks coffee and then wander around some stores together. I ended up buying a sewing book and a very early stocking filler gift for my mum! Chris bought us some new bedding for our bed. Chris and I then headed home and I spent the day relaxing and watching TV, while he made quiche! We didn’t really do an awful lot useful (except change the bedding and soft furnishings of course) but it was nice to spend time together without the kids around.

Next morning, Chris was at work early so I got a bit of a lay-in and then went to pick the girls up from their dad. On the way back we went to do the weekly shop and also picked up some food for my birthday murder mystery at the weekend. We came home and really just chilled out (same as most days to be honest) but it was nice having nothing to do for the first time so far in the half term break. On Tuesday night I convinced my two best friends into getting a tattoo with me on my birthday. I sorted out pics of what they wanted and contacted a tattoo artist for prices. I booked our appointment and got everything sorted.

Wednesday was a lovely day, spent completely at home. During the majority of the day, I worked on a new business idea, texting back and forth with Amy and doing research on the internet. I also spent some time working on and thinking about my blog. However in the afternoon I actually did some DIY in the house, with the help of the girls, laying some lino in the doorway. I was fairly impressed with how it turned out and the girls were so helpful, also helping me tidy and hoover around downstairs. I spent the evening having a bath and enjoying a new bubble bar called Big Bang which I’d bought from Lush at the weekend.

The next day was MY BIRTHDAY! It started off early as Chris had to go to work, then the girls brought me breakfast in bed which was lovely. Eventually we got up and went downstairs, the two of them having a bath while I relaxed and spent some time online. Once the girls were out of the bath, I got them dressed, straightened my hair and did my makeup. We then headed out to pick Amy up from the station, popped back home briefly and then went out to my mum’s for lunch. Mum made steak sandwiches with onions and mushrooms, she even got a cake. My sister was there so it was nice to see them both on my birthday. Afterwards we headed to Lincoln and to the cinema to see Tomorrowland. This was my main birthday treat and event, spent with Amy and the kids.

After the cinema, mum came to pick the kids up as Amy, Nat and I were going to get a tattoo. A little while ago I posted on Twice the Mum about wanting another tattoo and that it would be Disney themed. Shortly after the post I made a decision to have one of the ones I’d picked out in that post. I then decided it would be great if I had it done on my birthday. Knowing both Amy and Nat were wanting tattoos as well, I convinced them both into getting one that day. Amy and I headed down to the tattoo studio and met up with Nat, going in together. Amy went first as she was nervous – it was her first tattoo and she was obviously worried. Luckily it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as she’d thought. I went next, my Beauty and the Beast tattoo already being printed out and ready to go. It took much longer than my last tattoo (though still not long) and hurt a little more. I was quite proud of myself for being okay with it, since I’m awful with pain too. Finally Nat went last and after about an hour, we were all done.

Nat gave Amy and I a lift down the road and then we walked the rest of the way back to my car. Chris had finished work by that point and so met us there. We picked the kids up from my mum, popped via the storage unit for the murder mystery decorations and then headed home. The girls got ready for bed and I ordered takeaway. Nat came round after a little while and Amy, Nat and I spent the evening hanging out until eventually heading to bed.

Friday was a fairly busy day, starting with food shopping for my murder mystery that night and then cooking and tidying the house. At 4pm we headed out, dropping the kids with my mum and then going on to the cinema, where Amy and I met up with Nat again – this time to see Pitch Perfect 2 (it was awesome). Nat and I always go to the cinema together, as I’m sure you know, and since Amy was down and child-free it seemed like a good idea to cram it all in. Once the movie finished however we all rushed to go our separate ways as we still had a murder mystery to get ready for.

When Amy and I got back to my house, we quickly set the table and put some of the food into the oven. We then went to get changed, people arriving every now and again. By 9pm everyone was here and we settled in for photos, eating and then the murder mystery. It was a fun evening, even though the murder mysteries are fairly dull, and I was so glad I decided last minute to have the party. It was well past midnight by the time everyone headed off and we all went to bed. In addition, Nat wrote about Thursday and Friday in her blog post today.

As Amy was leaving early in the morning, I got up a bit earlier than I might have, just to make sure I said goodbye. Chris and I had a cup of tea and then he left for work not that long after either. I spent the morning still in my PJs, waiting for mum to bring the kids home. She stopped for lunch so we all sat down and enjoyed salt and pepper tiger bread sandwiches, followed by cake. Mum stopped for a while into the afternoon and eventually headed off. At that point none of us felt like doing anything so we just hung out, not doing much, though I did work on my new business idea. Chris came home eventually and we watched some TV together before heading off to bed.

Finally it was Sunday and the end of half term, sadly. We made the most of one more day of doing nothing, though I did work on a new website/business idea which is still in progress and can be found at www.ClosetGeek.co.uk On top of that I sorted out washing, tidied the dining room etc. In the afternoon the girls did their homework and I worked on a cosplay outfit for Amy – ordering a pattern and, later in the evening, ordering some material. Around teatime, Chris, the girls and I all watched The Emperor’s New Groove and ordered takeaway. We then watched Wolverine. Once the girls were both in bed, Chris took a bath and I watched some TV. After he was out of the bath, we watched some TV together and then headed to bed.

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It was a good week, lovely to spent time with the girls and Chris, but also because Amy came over and I got time with Nat too. A night with my friends was just what was needed and all in all it was a good birthday week and a week off school. Looking forward to what the coming week brings as I have a lot of stuff planned for my new site.

Week 50 – Monday Round-up

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It’s been a really great week this week, other than work of course. Having Megan’s birthday party out of the way was such a relief and its been nice to just concentrate on life and of course her upcoming birthday too. It’s also been fun keeping up with our Disney Countdown, which right now has made me feel strangely Christmasy too.

Monday to Friday was work and school for all of us. Chris is still training in his new job at BT, my job is still a nightmare and the girls seem to be enjoying school – especially as it begins to wind down for Christmas. The girls had Singing Stars after school so I took the opportunity to pop into town, specifically Primark. Sadly they still don’t have any of the things I want and I’d also headed there for vests and the choice was pathetic. When I finished shopping, I headed to pick up the girls and we headed home. After grabbing some food, we settled down to watch Beauty and the Beast (our Disney task for the day) and by the time it ended, it was time for Lily to go to bed. After that I spent the evening on my computer, doing some blog posts and relaxing for what felt like the first time in ages. I also spent two hours playing on my iPad which was rather novel!

Tuesday after school we headed straight home, possibly via Aldi I think. I was very excited to receive two parcels from Minted when we got home – which I will be posting about later in the week. The evening was yet again chilled, this time with Nat calling around. We spent the evening chatting, while also making some jewellery – something I never thought we’d be doing together again. I also baked Megan’s cake, ready to decorate the next day.

Wednesday it was Lily’s school play and I was really excited to go and see it. However we had time to kill between school and the evening showing of the play, so Megan, Lily, Kristy (my friend from work) and I, headed into town and saw the Coca-Cola truck since it was in Lincoln for the day. Honestly it was a little disappointing but I’m still glad we could see it.

When we got to the truck, there was no music, no nothing really – well except a big queue. We decided not to queue though, as it was only for a picture with the truck which we took ourselves. They were handing out free mini-cokes and we each got one. Afterwards we headed into The Entertainer, just to keep warm. After a little shopping, we went to Burger King and the girls got some food. We then dropped Kristy off before heading back to school. Lily went to get changed and Megan and I went to get good seats. We saved one for Chris, who mum was picking up from work and dropping off for me. At 6pm the play started and it was finished by about 6.45pm.

We got Lily changed and headed home, wrapping Megan’s present from her and writing the card before quickly packing her off to bed as she was tired. Megan stayed up a little later than usual too, to help me make a start on her cake, but then she went to bed at 9pm. I worked on her cake, on and off all evening, in between sorting out her presents, writing her card etc. while Chris was kind enough to wrap the presents. It was about 11.30pm when we headed to bed and I was exhausted!

Thursday it was Megan’s actual birthday and though I’d given her permission to wake us whenever, it was 6.45am when she woke us, only 15 minutes earlier than we would normally be up. Her first present from us was an electric keyboard which we’d set up downstairs for her to find. We also got her some loom bands, a Where’s Wally book and a Hidden Mickey’s book. Later that day a case and headphones for her iPad also arrived (late) and I gave her those after school. She got a number of other presents, which I mentioned in the post all about her birthday celebrations. It was a bit of a mad rush that morning, making sure we had everything ready for school and then Megan’s birthday dinner after school – clothes, cake etc.

We headed out the door, hoping we had everything, going to work and school. Afterwards I picked up the girls and Megan’s friend Alex, heading to my mum’s house to get changed. I grabbed a shower, while the others got changed and ready. We headed into Lincoln for 5.15pm, for our table booked at Pizza Hut. There we met up with the girls dad, his girlfriend and their other grandparents. My Chris also joined us after work. We had a very pleasant evening together and then all headed our separate ways home. The girls went to bed as soon as possible, especially Lily who was on her second late night.

After the girls were both in bed, Chris and I struggled to actually stay awake. We were both ready for sleep at 9pm, but I forced him to stay up till 10pm, finally caving and heading to bed. It was much needed sleep though as we both slept right through.

Friday was a good day. It was the last day of work for the week and also Megan’s birthday had passed so the main stress and worry was out of the way. We arranged to have Megan’s friend Katai over after school, but unfortunately she wasn’t quite ready for us to pick her up and her mum offered to drop her off. Instead we headed to Tesco for some food and then to pick up a parcel too. When we got in from all the various tasks, Megan’s Millies cookie had arrived and we all tucked in. Sadly it was a bit later than I had hoped but it had been her one request – a cookie with a birthday message on, to eat for breakfast. Of course, we didn’t eat it all, so that Megan could have some for breakfast the next day.

Katai arrived around 6.30pm, just after I’d put Lily to bed. Megan and Katai spent the evening watching movies, eating popcorn, crisps etc. It was about 11pm when they went to bed but they were sleeping separately from Lily so I wasn’t too worried. In the morning we didn’t really hear them too much, so it was nice to grab a bit of a lie-in. I think Lily had woken first and gone downstairs, the girls staying upstairs when they woke. Eventually when I got up, I told Lily she could go up and join them and even at that point they weren’t too loud. Chris and I had a cup of tea and went downstairs, but as soon as the girls came down, Chris disappeared upstairs to hide.

At round 12pm I sent the girls up to get dressed, Megan having decided she wanted to go out for lunch and then go bowling. However they all messed around so much that even by 1.30pm they hadn’t come back down. In the end I went up to get them and see if they still wanted to go out and since they did, we headed out to Woodcocks in Lincoln to have some lunch. It was 2pm when we got there but it was really busy. It took a while to order and then even longer for our food to arrive. I had called my mum to see if she wanted to join us for a drink and so she headed over and sat with us for the whole of the meal. After lunch we decided to treat the girls to desserts but these took ages to arrive, meaning we were cutting it fine for bowling. To Megan’s disappointment, we decided not to go bowling and instead went back to Mum’s for a cup of coffee and allowing Megan to have a little more time with Katai. However at about 5pm we headed home, dropping Katai on the way home.

Megan wanted to distract herself I think, so she set to work on her first peg doll painting – Elsa. Lily wanted to participate too but since it was a delicate task, we persuaded her just to paint a picture. Afterwards it was Lily’s bed time and while Megan stayed up a little longer, I got her to bed early too so she could catch up on some sleep. I spent the rest of the evening watching TV and wrapping presents. Eventually Chris came to join me and we watched some TV together, before heading to bed.

Finally came Sunday and we really didn’t have an awful lot planned. We managed a little lie-in but luckily I wasn’t too tired. The morning was relaxed and chilled out, eventually getting dressed around 10.30am, ready to go and see Chris’ Nan. We took a mattress to the tip, headed up to his Nan’s and stayed for a cup of tea. We then went to Morrison’s for a few bits of food, dropping off some tomatoes with Chris’ Nan after. We then went to Next and picked up a kettle I ordered, finally heading back home. I spent the afternoon catching up on X Factor and even last week’s I’m a Celebrity which I hadn’t found time to watch. I also started to order a few last Christmas presents, making sure I was definitely organised. The rest of the day was spent relaxing really. I watched TV with the kids and just hung out, then blogged a bit and hung out with Chris.

All in all it was a good week, feeling busy but relaxed at the same time. We’re rushing towards Christmas and genuinely I can’t wait. The kids have 4 more days of school and I have 5 more days of work. I’m looking forward to two weeks off and some time as a family. Roll on one more week – let’s get it out of the way and onto the happy days!

The 100 – TV Series

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Today I want to tell you all about an awesome TV show called “The 100“. It was originally aired in March 2014, over in America, with a finale aired in June 2014. Of course, in typical UK style, we’re behind the times and it wasn’t shown here until a few months ago, the finale airing just a couple of weeks back.

When this show was advertised, I hadn’t heard anything about it. I didn’t know it had already shown in America and I had no idea of the storyline. The trailers looked interesting an as it had a sort of space theme, added with mysterious island – well I figured I would give it a go. Week after week, the recordings piled up on the Sky Box but neither Chris nor I suggested watching it. We had a lot of other TV to watch anyway, but because we didn’t really know anything about the show, there was no pull to watch it either. Anyway, eventually we got around to the first episode and to be absolutely honest – I thought it was pretty dire. It seemed like a lot of teenage drama, very angsty and though it had a semi-decent plot, I wasn’t sold. However we stuck with it, the following day watching the next episode. Episode two seemed a bit more interesting and both Chris and I were keen to watch the third episode immediately after. The following day we watched four more episodes, then four more… before we knew it, we were completely sucked in. In less than a week we watched the whole series – watching the finale episode within 2-3 days of when it actually aired on UK TV. I immediately rushed to Google, making sure it had been renewed for a second series and when that might be. That was when I discovered it had already aired ages ago in the US and was actually due to start again soon.

Basically, that’s my reason for making this post today. October 22nd is the day that Season 2 of The 100 begins in the US. I am super excited and I can’t wait to find out when we’ll get it over here in the UK. But anyway… I should probably tell you a little bit about the actual series.

The series is set 97 years after a devastating nuclear war wiped out almost all life on Earth. The only known survivors are the residents of twelve space stations in Earth’s orbit prior to the war. The space stations banded together to form a single massive station named “The Ark”, where about 2,400 people live. Resources are scarce and all crimes no matter their nature or severity are punishable by death (“floating”) unless the perpetrator is under 18 years of age. After the Ark’s life support systems are found to be critically failing, one hundred juvenile prisoners are declared “expendable” and sent to the surface in a last ditch attempt to determine if Earth is habitable again. The teens arrive on a beautiful planet they’ve only seen from space. Confronting the dangers of this rugged new world, they struggle to form a tentative community. However they discover that not all humanity was wiped out. There are people on Earth who survived the war, called “grounders” by the 100.

If you were a fan of “Lost“, I most definitely recommend that you watch this series. Not only is Earth very similar to the Lost island, but also the ever lovely Des (Henry Ian Cusick) appears in the show as Marcus Kane. Other favourites of mine definitely include Lincoln (Ricky Whittle) and Anya (Dichen Lachman). A lot of the cast, really growns on you – even though at times you think they might not.

As I mention, the series has been renewed for a second season, beginning tonight in the US. There are 13 episodes in Season 1 that you can get your teeth into though, and trust me the season was left on a great cliffhanger so you’ll be desperate to jump into the next season. If you need any more convincing it has a 7.5 rating on IMDB, which is pretty damn good, especially after just one season.

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Week 31 – Monday Round-up

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It’s been a great week! As I write this, I’m looking back and thinking how its been a great balance of relaxing, plus getting out and about! Yet another week of school holidays have passed but its a lovely feeling to know there are several more to go!

Monday started off with a family day out – my mum, the girls and I – to Warwick Castle. I’d gotten free tickets with my Sun+ Perks and so we headed out together for the day. It was breath-takingly beautiful at the castle, though mostly the grounds. I took so many photographs, though I have to admit that once we got into the castle itself, it did feel a little too comercialised. The girls seemed to enjoy the day and both left with a quill pen they bought themselves and a bow and arrow that I treated them to. I’m sure Lily thinks she’s Merida now!

Tuesday was a relax day. The girls and I didn’t do very much – in fact Megan spent pretty much the whole day Facetiming one of her friends. It still blows my mind how that’s even possible these days. Lily and I watched 3 movies, back to back; The Swan Princess, Tinker Bell and Princess Lillifee and the Little Unicorn. In the evening, Nat came around, and it was good to catch up!

Wednesday was another fairly quiet day. This time though, the girls and I headed out swimming. We’d been promising to go ever since school broke up but with one thing or another, we just hadn’t got around to it. We had a lovely swim and afterwards I treated the girls to their first proper Subway. We did some shopping in the afternoon and then headed home. Lily wanted to watch The Incredibles and amazingly Megan chose to come off her computer and watch it too. In the evening, my brother and our friend Jon came around to play a board game. Chris had bought the Firefly board game at LFCC and so we all sat down to play that – I even let Megan stay up for it. We ploughed our way through 5 bottles of wine and had a great night!

Thursday the kids were going to their dad’s, though he doesn’t usually arrive until almost lunch. However that seemed to put a stop to us really doing anything, just waiting for him to come and get them. We did of course pack up their bags and just hang out together. Once the girls were gone, I’d had lots of intentions of getting things done. However when the time came, I just wanted to mong! I finished watching Gossip Girl, season 5 and 6 which I had been making my way through for the last week or so. I then moved on to catching up on Misfits, only to realise I’d seen them all. Next I tried 90210 but that was only the first 4 seasons and I’d seen them. Finally I decided to just watch some movies and ended up watching The Big Wedding and Love and Other Impossible Pursuits. As well as watching A LOT of tv, I also caught up on the internet world and my blog. It was a nice day in the end!

Friday and Chris was off work, but I had to pick the kids up from their dad. We headed out about 10am and once we’d picked them up, we decided to head into Lincoln and get the kids school shoes sorted out. It didn’t take us very long, as it wasn’t busy. This was a huge relief compared the usual last week of holiday rush we’re used to. After shoes, we did lunch (Subway again) and then wandered around a few shops. We headed then to mum’s house and picked up Megan’s bike, as well as stopping for a cup of tea. Later when we went home, Megan went out on her bike but sadly at 9, she still isn’t willing to trust herself to ride! We’ll get there though…

Saturday and this time Chris was at work all day. We’d asked my mum if she wanted to come over and go swimming with us and so at about 10.30am she arrived. We headed out swimming and Lily made some good progress, managing to swim under water, even though she didn’t seem to be able to on top of the water. I managed to figure out why Megan was having so many problems swimming, and we tried to work on that too. After swimming, we stayed at the leisure centre cafe for lunch. It was pretty simple, not much choice, but nice enough. We headed back to our house and mum tried to take Megan out on her bike. Sadly there wasn’t much more progress and then it started to rain which put an end to it anyway. The girls and I relaxed for the rest of the day and I watched Short Circuit 2. Once the girls were in bed I sat down to just watch more tv and wait for Chris to get home.

Finally came Sunday and as we’d arranged for mum to come and go swimming with us again, we didn’t bother to get dressed until after lunch when we could put our swimming costumes straight on. To be honest, we didn’t really do anything all morning. However after lunch we headed out swimming again. I bought the girls a pair of goggle each as they’d struggled with sore eyes the day before. Lily officially became able to swim. It’s still under water but she’s managing almost a full width now. Megan also improved, finding that her style and form is much better under water, just like Lily. After swimming we headed to Morrisons for some shopping and then mum came back for a cup of tea. After she left, we got ready for the girls to go to their dad’s again, then had dinner and just waited for him to arrive. Once they’d gone, I again settled down with my laptop and the TV as company. I spent majority of the evening, chilling out and waiting for Chris to get home from work.

It was a great week and I’m hoping for another to come. I don’t think we have anything at all planned for this week so I guess we’ll just see what happens!

Orange is the new Black

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Have you seen all the fuss about Orange is the new Black this week? Apparently its the thing to be watching right now…

Well I’d never even heard of it before this last weekend. That was until it flooded my Facebook feed, with people saying how they were festing and gorging on the new season of it on Netflix. Of course, you wouldn’t be human if that didn’t at least make you a little curious, and so I decided to see what all the fuss is about.

We have Netflix and of course because its all the talk of the town at the moment, the option to watch it actually came straight up as I looked in. Two Seasons apparently. Both with 13 episodes.

In order to write this post, I actually looked the TV series up on the net. IMDB has it with an overall rating of 8.5. Wikipedia tells me that its a TV series, first released onto Netflix on July 11th 2013, based on memoirs of a Piper Kerman, called “Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison”. Knowing that now, makes me realised that the show (at least in part) must be based on facts, not just fiction. I’m not entirely sure if that makes me like it more or less…

So far, I’ve watched 3 episodes. They are titled; I Wasn’t Ready, Tit Punch and Lesbian Request Denied. For a comedy, I wouldn’t say it has had me laughing especially. Perhaps I’m just not far enough into it, or maybe I just don’t have the right sense of humour? But either way I’m not sold as yet. No doubt I’ll continue watching and see what happens, but I don’t hold out much hope.

Do you watch Orange is the new Black? What do you think of it?

Comic-Con Cosplay Choices!

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As you will know from my post about London Film and Comic-Con, I am going to Comic Con this year!! One of the biggest reasons for this decision, was to enable Amy and I to dress up like Disney characters! I know that probably sounds a little crazy, but to be honest as an adult, you rarely get a chance to dress up. Even less so, as something like a Disney Princess.

It’s been a couple of months since we officially decided and at least a month since the tickets actually arrived. All that time I’ve been trying to think who and what I want to go dressed as, but I’m not having much luck!

The first go to, as I mentioned before, is Disney Princesses. There is one very obvious choice for me and that’s Belle.

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For as long as I can remember, Belle has been my favourite Princess. She is one of the few brunettes in existence, she has an awesome name (haha) and she basically just rocks. Numerous times I have likened myself to Belle and in my birthday murder mystery last year, I even took on the role of her (sort of…). I love Belle, but in all honesty, do I want to wear that poofy yellow monstrosity?

Following in the Disney theme, my second choice would be Megara from Hercules. She isn’t a Princess, which often makes her underrated, but I’ve always loved her sassiness and of course – another brunette.

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I would love to dress like Megara and I adore her dress. However sadly, at a size 16 and very unhappy with my current weight, I know I wouldn’t feel happy in a dress that tight (or, from what I’ve seen, silky).

One of my kids favourites, though perhaps a little childish for me, is Vanellope from Wreck-It Ralph.

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She’s a fun, quirky kind of a character but more importantly her costume is incredibly simple. A hoodie, a skirt and some tights would make a very easy AND cheap costume.

My final Disney interest, would have to be Queen Elsa, from the latest Disney animation, Frozen. Again, not technically your tradition Disney Princess, she is awesome. Clearly I do not have blonde hair however, so that would require a wig. Also, as much as I love her blue flowing ice dress, I don’t really like the real life representations I’ve seen of it. Instead, I would like Coronation Elsa.

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However, from what I’ve seen, this costume would be incredibly expensive to buy. It’s not something readily available yet, so it would definitely be a custom made. Definitely a tempting option if I could splash the cash.

Moving on from Disney, but not from Fairytale, I considered playing on my fandom of Once Upon a Time. My instant thought is Regina, the Evil Queen.

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I adore Regina and always have – both as the Mayor and as the Evil Queen. However her evil queen costume would be far more interesting to wear, than her regular clothes version. I have always had a love of Disney Villains and so that’s possibly another Regina appeals. Let’s face it, who’d want to dress as Disney’s Evil Queen, or better yet, Ursula?

Still keeping in theme with Once Upon a Time, but also connected to my previous suggestion, is Belle.

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I loved Emilie De Ravin from her days in Lost and I love her even more as Belle. She has beautiful versions of the traditional Belle costumes, making me more than happy to dress up as this version of Belle.

My final consideration from Once Upon a Time, is Ruby aka Red Riding Hood. Sadly she doesn’t have a very big part but the part she does have is kick ass (apparently she’s not actually even in it from Season 3 onwards).

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She has a very simple yet beautiful costume, which I don’t think would be too hard to put together. Yet again she’s a brunette (noticing a theme here?) and I love the colour red!

Past Disney and Fairytales, I’m having a bit of a blank. Though I do have a million fandoms, a large amount of them have very nondescript dress, or are basically just average humans. I made my way through a few other things I liked, finding only these four options.

Game of Thrones: Daenerys Targaryen

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While I don’t really have the figure for a large amount of her costumes, this one pictured above is fairly simple and doesn’t require me to be super thin. Also the actress who plays Daenerys is naturally a brunette, which gives her dark eyebrows and a blonde wig which I could also do.

Game of Thrones: Margaery Tyrell

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I wouldn’t necessarily say that Margaery was one of my favourite characters but she does have some beautiful dresses. I’ve seen a few I like on Etsy, so she’s definitely a consideration. Not to mention, the actress who plays Margaery – Natalie Dormer – will be at London Film and Comic Con.

Harry Potter: Hermione Granger

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Well not technically Hermione I don’t suppose, but a Hogwarts student. I’d love an excuse to buy a proper set of robes and this could be just that excuse! Plus I could pretty much wear whatever I wanted underneath, making it a fairly simple costume.

Hunger Games: Katniss Everdeen

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Katniss has a lot of pretty dresses, but even her simple outfits are nice. She’s another brunette as well and being Katniss Everdeen would be a good excuse to learn how to fishtail braid.

I’ve racked my brains and I’m really struggling for other suggestions. Velma or Daphne from Scooby Doo perhaps? Tomb Raider? Star Trek costume? What I do know is that it won’t be anime, like a lot of Cosplay is – and it won’t be Superhero, owing to the fact those costumes are usually skin tight. I’m open to suggestions if anyone has any but right now I’m hoping to pick one, if not two of these suggestions above.