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Book Review – A Frozen Heart

October 25, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

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.

Filed Under: book review Tagged With: a frozen heart, A Whole New World, Anna, books, Disney, elizabeth rudnick, Elsa, fiction, frozen, hans, kristoff, Liz Braswell, Olaf, reading

Pop Funko Collection

August 19, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

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!

popfunko

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!

unnamed

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!

unnamed

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!

Filed Under: about me Tagged With: Anna, Ariel, Beast, Belle, Cogsworth, daryl dixon, Disney, disney pop funko, Elsa, Evil Queen, Funko Pop, Glass Slipper, Groot, Gus, harry potter, Jigsaw, Judge Doom, Lumiere, Maleficent, Olaf, pop funko, Rapunzel, Stan Lee, Tinker Bell

Wednesday Wishlist – Hot Topic

April 15, 2015 by Bel 4 Comments

hottopic

As you know, I’m in Florida!! Now, instead of gazing hopelessly at a computer screen and wanting all the Hot Topic products, I can actually go and get them! Today I’m sharing my Hot Topic Wish List with you and you’ll just have to wait and see if I come back with them all!

A. Dumbo scarf – ever since buying my Princess Quotes scarf and my Doctor Who one, I’ve realised just how much I like wearing a scarf. This Dumbo scarf is a little different to the ones I have, as its an infinity (loop) scarf instead. The print is so cute though and I think I’d genuinely get a lot of wear from it.

B. Belle compact mirror – I’m a huge fan of this more grown up style of sketch and as Belle is my favourite princess, this mirror really appeals to me, even though I’d barely use it I’m sure. It’s neat and stylish though and it would make a great edition to my handbag.

C. Anna and Elsa Pocket Pop Funko – I mentioned in my wishlist post last week, that Megan and Lily already own the Pop Funko figures of Anna and Elsa, but that they stay in their room, rather than with my collection. I’d love to get these pocket figures, just to sit with my collection and represent!

D. Once Upon a Time’s “Evil isn’t born, it’s made” vest/tank top – as yet, I haven’t bought any vest tops from Hot Topic, largely because I really went off them as an item of clothes, due to my fat upper arms. However as summer comes around again and now I’ve lost a little weight, I’ll be looking forward to embracing them again. This t-shirt is just amazing and it would definitely be one of my “must-haves”. There are loads more though, to be honest.

E. Alice in Wonderland/The Little Mermaid tights – If you read my shopping post a few weeks ago, you’ll know that in preparation for this holiday, I bought myself some new dresses. One of those was Alice in Wonderland and the other was The Little Mermaid. Obviously in Florida it will be far too warm for tights but when I come back I’d love to keep on wearing my dresses. As such these cute tights would couple nicely with each dress, to make an awesome colder weather outfit.

F. Daryl Dixon’s Chopper – I’m going to ignore the innuendo in the title of this product and just point out that it’s a Pop Funko figure of Daryl Dixon on his motorbike. While majority of my Pop Funko wants are Disney related, this is one of the few that isn’t. Daryl is a character from The Walking Dead and has long been my favourite character. I’d love to get this figure to add to my collection, just as he’s so awesome.

G. Beauty and the Beast/Rapunzel hairbrush – these hairbrushes first arrived on the site before Christmas and I really wanted one for the girls but honestly we don’t really need them. However I love the Beauty and the Beast one and would happily throw out my current one, in order to replace it with that. For the girls I’d like the Tangled one as it just makes sense – Rapunzel has long hair that needs brushing, so what better choice is there?

H. Rapunzel umbrella – I honestly do not need another umbrella. My first ever brolly was Sylvester and Tweety Pie and I still have it to this day. Just before Christmas I bought myself an Alice in Wonderland one from BHS and I think I’ve only used it twice. However I do love the lantern scene from Rapunzel and that makes this umbrella almost irresistible to me!

I. Villains backpack – for a long time I fancied the Beauty and the Beast stained glass window backpack, but really it was just a little “loud” in colour for me. However when this Villains one came along, I was sold. Anyone who knows me, knows I have such a soft spot for Disney Villains. That makes this backpack straight out cold – regardless of the fact I so rarely use a backpack!

J. TWD Crossbow keychain – I definitely don’t need another keyring and yet I want one. This keyring is Daryl’s crossbow (from Walking Dead) and a tag that reads “Fight the Dead, Fear the Living”. Mostly I want it because of Daryl, but it’s cool and it’s about time I had something to represent my Walking Dead fandom.

So right now, these are the things I have my eyes on! Look out for a Hot Topic haul post when I return from my Florida trip!

Filed Under: wish list Tagged With: Alice In Wonderland, Anna, Ariel, beauty and the beast, Belle, clothes, crossbow, daryl dixon, Disney, Disney Villains, Dumbo, Elsa, Eric, Evil Queen, frozen, hairbrush, Hot Topic, keyring, OUAT, pop funko, Rapunzel, Regina, rucksack, scarf, tangled, The Little Mermaid, the walking dead, tights, umbrella, villains

Disney Countdown – Days 16 to 10

March 23, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

countdown
Monday (16) – March 16th – Read Disney
Tuesday (15) – March 17th – Play a Disney game
Wednesday (14) – March 18th – Dress up Disney
Thursday (13) – March 19th – Make or Draw Disney
Friday (12) – March 20th – Watch The Incredibles
Saturday (11) – March 21st – Make Disney food
Sunday (10) – March 22nd – Watch a random Disney movie – Cars

This week has been a busy one but we’re almost there now! This is days 16 down to 10 – yes 10! On Monday we had to Read Disney which was a nice calm start to the week. We read another couple of chapters from the Nevergirls book and we’re over half way now. On Tuesday it was play a Disney game and luckily we all play Tsum Tsum most days as it was a “daddy day” meaning the kids weren’t back till late. Wednesday it was Parent’s Evening and the girls’ went to mum’s while I went to see their teachers. This meant it was late when we got back and they didn’t actually dress up till Thursday to do Wednesday’s task. Also on Thursday we had to Make or Draw Disney and so the girls worked on their Tinkerbell fashion books. Still on Thursday, we also caught up with The Lion King from last week (finally) – Thursday was a very busy day! On Friday we came home from school and watched The Incredibles. Saturday was make Disney food and as we were looking for something easy we made Baymax faces on Marshmallows and toasted them. We also watched Cars in the afternoon as we knew we wouldn’t get time on Sunday – and that was Sunday’s task, watch a random movie.

Only 10 more days and 10 more tasks till we go on holiday. This week is the last week of school for the kids and their dad is having them over the weekend. Hopefully we keep on track and get all our tasks done, before we jet off to Florida, a week on Thursday.

Filed Under: Disney Countdown Tagged With: Anna, baymax, Big Hero 6, Cars, Cinderella, costumes, Disney, Disney fairies, disney fashion, dress up, from the mist, marshmallows, never girls, pixar, The Incredibles, Tinkerbell, tsum tsum

Disney Countdown – Days 23 to 17

March 15, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

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Monday (23) – March 9th – Play a Disney game
Tuesday (22) – March 10th – Make or Draw Disney
Wednesday (21) – March 11th – Paint Anna peg doll
Thursday (20) – March 12th – Read Disney
Friday (19) – March 13th – Watch The Lion King
Saturday (18) – March 14th – Dress up Disney
Sunday (17) – March 15th – Make Disney food

What a busy week! Monday was play a Disney game and luckily we all play Tsum Tsum daily – otherwise there would have been no time for anything! Tuesday was make or draw Disney and as the kids were with their dad/at Grandma’s they filled in their activity books. On Wednesday it was Paint the Anna peg doll and that’s now all of them complete! Thursday was Read Disney which was great as we really needed an easy and not too time consuming task. We read Chapter 3 & 4 of our most recent Never Girls book – from the mist. On Friday we were supposed to watch The Lion King but it was Lily’s murder mystery party so we didn’t get time. It was penciled in for the weekend but we still didn’t get around to it so hopefully one day this week instead. Saturday was dress up Disney which Amy’s daughter Liv was also here to participate in. Megan and Lily were Tinkerbell and Silvermist and Liv was Tinkerbell too. A whole heap of Disney Fairies! Finally came Sunday and the task was make Disney food. The day was so busy because I had to take Amy to the train station and my mum came for Mother’s Day lunch, meaning we really didn’t have time to do extra baking. Instead we cheated a little and used Amy’s birthday cake as our Disney food task!

I’ll be back next week with another 7 days of tasks, leaving only 10 until we go on holiday. I can’t believe it’s come around finally – it’s going to be here so soon.

Filed Under: Disney Countdown Tagged With: Amy's birthday, Amy's cake, Anna, Disney, disney activity books, Disney fairies, disney food, mickey mouse, never girls, peg doll, Silvermist, The Lion King, Tinkerbell, tsum tsum

Disney Countdown – Days 58 to 52

February 8, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

countdown

Monday (58) – Feb 2nd – Play a Disney game
Tuesday (57) – Feb 3rd – Make or Draw something Disney
Wednesday (56) – Feb 4th – Read a Disney book
Thursday (55) – Feb 5th – Make Disney inspired food
Friday (54) – Feb 6th – Dress up Disney
Saturday (53) – Feb 7th – Paint Belle peg-doll
Sunday (52) – Feb 8th – Watch Monsters University Bolt

This week kicked off with play a Disney game so the girls got in their Tsum Tsum before school on Monday morning. I’m pretty sure they also played later after school too! Tuesday was make or draw Disney and again the girls were with their dad so they dress some pictures at Grandma’s. I believe Megan’s is Minnie Mouse and Lily made a mask of some sort that I think said Rapunzel or something on it (lol). Wednesday was make Disney inspired food but as the girls were with mum, we switched with Thursday and they read a Disney book instead. At home on Thursday the girls and I were tired so our Disney inspired food was toast cut out with Disney shapes. Since we’d missed “read Disney” the night before too, we read a chapter of the Never Girls. We’re now onto Book 3 “A Dandelion Wish”.

Next came dress up Disney, that was after school on Friday. Megan took the opportunity to try out Lily’s Anna dress and Lily picked to be Alice in Wonderland. On Saturday we had paint a peg-doll and this time it was Belle. It was late on in the day before Megan got around to it but she did a good job. Finally came Sunday and as we’d already planned a movie night (and taken a vote on which movie to watch) we all sat together and watched Bolt. When we finally got around to checking what the Disney task was we realised we should have been watching Monsters University. I guess we switched that out in favour of Bolt, though hopefully we’ll get around to squeezing it back in this week.

Filed Under: Disney Countdown Tagged With: Alice In Wonderland, Anna, Belle, Bolt, Disney, dress up, never girl, peg doll, tsum tsum

2/52

January 11, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

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This week’s 52 Project picture is one taken early on in the week. I treated the girls to some dresses from Sports Direct, which I’ve had my eye on for ages. Both girls decided they would get more wear from them if they wore them as nighties instead of dresses, so wore them that night. I did post a similar picture to this on Instagram, but this is another one I took – just for variety purposes!

Filed Under: 52 project Tagged With: 2/52, Anna, blog project, Elsa, frozen, Lily, Megan, nighties, photographs

Week 51 – Monday Round-up

December 22, 2014 by Bel Leave a Comment

Well wow… what a week it has been! We headed into the week, knowing it was the last week of work (and school) for me (and the kids) but what I didn’t know is that it would actually be my last EVER week of work! While I won’t go into the details (not publically at least) I basically had a big blow out with my boss and ended up walking out half way through my shift on Wednesday. As I had Thursday and Friday left to work, I took them as sick days and am working out my notice period over the Christmas holidays. At first I was pretty devastated but now I’ve come to terms with being quite so irresponsible, I believe its for the best and I’m genuinely so much happier now.

Anyway! Monday to Thursday was school for the kids and Monday to Wednesday was work for me. The kids didn’t have Singing Stars after school on Monday and it was so nice that we got to come straight home. We had dinner, chilled out and the Megan made a Loomband Anna. The evening was spent with Chris, watching Arrow, as was most nights that week! I also had a bath with my Father Christmas bath bomb.

Tuesday the kids were with their dad and while I had every intention to come home and get their Anna and Elsa dresses finished. However I just ended up bumming around, watching TV and doing some last minute Christmas shopping online, as well as buying some new dress patterns to work on soon. When the girls got home we read more of “in a blink”, taking our selfies while we do (a weird tradition we’ve started) and enjoying some family time. Again once the girls were in bed, Chris and spent the evening watching Arrow together.

Wednesday, was obviously my last day of work, as I mentioned above. It started off fairly normal, ending abruptly just before lunch. I then spent the afternoon with my mum, waiting to pick the girls up at the end of school. I will admit I was a bit of a mess that evening. I let all my friends know what had happened and basically spent the evening wallowing. The girls had the task of dress up like Disney and other than Lily hurting herself falling out of the car, the two of them enjoyed their evening. Chris and I again watched TV but he also brought me Cheesecake and Wine home when he got back from work.

Thursday was the girls’ last day at school and obviously I didn’t have work. I took the girls to school as usual and since Megan had a Christmas Carol service for the first half an hour, I was lucky enough to be able to stay. Afterwards I headed into town, to get some Christmas shopping, hoping it might cheer me up. Sadly it all fell a bit flat and I headed home by about lunch time. I spent the afternoon watching crappy TV, before going back to get the girls from school. Seeing them did help pull me out of my mood a little though and when we came back home, we enjoyed our evening together – especially as it had been their last day at school and they were excited. We spent the evening judging my Disney Fashion competition and then reading more of our Disney book (and taking selfies). When the kids were in bed – yep you guessed it – more Arrow and snuggling on the sofa!

Finally it was Friday and the girls were off school – and I was off work. We had a leisurely morning, then headed over to my mums as she’d planned to make cards with the girls and even though I didn’t need her to have them any more, I didn’t want to disappoint her. We stayed for a few hours and over lunch too, before heading to the girls other grandparents to pick up my Christmas present (their dad had dropped it off there). We then headed back home, putting the girls letters to Santa in the post box as we went. When we got back, our Disney task of the day was to watch Frozen so we settled down to do that and I finally got around to sewing both their dresses. We had dinner while watching the movie and when it was over, Lily went to bed. Once she was in bed, Megan helped me add the tulips to the bottom of Lily’s dress, which took ages! Chris and I spent the evening together after that, watching TV before heading to bed.

The next day was Saturday and we were all so glad to not need to get up early. Chris and I managed a small lie-in but then I hung out on the sofa majority of the morning, while he played on his computer. I gave the girls a bath and then had one myself, before heading upstairs to get dressed and get the girls ready. Namu called to say she was on the train to Gainsborough and so I quickly trimmed the girls hair and headed out to get her. When we got back here, I did some hoovering and tidying, got the girls some lunch and then Namu and I went out to get some shopping. When we got back, we put up some Christmas decorations, but mostly sat around chatting and catching up. Eventually the girls had dinner and then went to bed, while we all got ready for the murder mystery. It was a fun evening and it was good to catch up with everyone. We had takeaway for food and so I really did very little except enjoy the evening.

When everyone left, Namu, Chris and I chatted for quite a while before we eventually headed to bed around 1am. We didn’t get much of a lie in the next morning but it didn’t really matter as we had to be up anyway. That day we were going out for lunch and Anna and Elsa were going to be there. The girls got dressed into their Anna and Elsa dresses and we headed out to Lincoln. We parked up and walked to the Hotel. My first impression was that we had entered hell on earth. Loads of tiny Annas and Elsas, running around and screaming! Nightmare. We waited almost an hour to be seated and food/service was really slow. The food was okay and Anna and Elsa themselves seemed to be enjoyable for the girls, but from a parent/adult perspective the whole thing was fairly dire. In total we were there three hours and it really felt like such a chore.

After lunch we headed to my mum’s, so the girls could get changed. They had a Christingle service to attend at 4pm, they were both singing and Megan was doing a reading. We got there, found seats and settled in for the hour or so the service would take. While I’m not one for Church, I do love Christingle as it always makes me feel Christmasy. Afterwards we all headed home, popped to the shop for some essentials and then had dinner and relaxed for a while. Namu and I spent the evening together – chatting and catching up – while Chris spent the evening on his computer.

All in all, it was a good week – despite the blip in the middle. I’ve ended the week feeling much happier than when I started it and honestly can’t wait to get to Christmas! Holidays are seeming even better to me now, especially knowing I don’t actually need to go back to work. I feel like life has opened up for me – even if there are a few things I need to figure out.

Hope you’re all having a great December and that Christmas is good to you as well!

Filed Under: Monday Round-up Tagged With: Anna, cheesecake, Chris, Christmas murder mystery, costumes, December, Disney, dressing up, Elsa, frozen, Lily, loom bands, Megan, Namu, quitting work, Sunday Lunch, wine

Disney Countdown – Days 107 – 101

December 21, 2014 by Bel Leave a Comment

It’s that time of the week again when I round up our Disney Countdown! I can’t believe our third week of doing this has passed and as of tomorrow we’re 100 days till Disney!

Monday (107) – Dec 15th – Make or Draw Disney
Tuesday (106) – Dec 16th – Read a Disney book
Wednesday (105) – Dec 17th – Dress up Disney
Thursday (104) – Dec 18th – Read a Disney book
Friday (103) – Dec 19th – Watch “Frozen”
Saturday (102) – Dec 20th – Dress up Disney
Sunday (101) – Dec 21st – Make or Draw Disney

This week has felt a little repetitive with some of the tasks, but its really the way we planned it because of December being so busy. Monday we had Make or Draw Disney and while Lily was so tired she went to bed without bothering, Megan started to use her Frozen loom bands, to make an Anna. Tuesday was Read a Disney book, largely because Tuesday is often a Daddy day and it was this week so this fitted in perfectly. Wednesday the girls dressed up, the first time since Megan’s birthday party. Since Lily had hurt herself getting out of the car, Megan let her be Elsa and as Rapunzel is Megan’s only other fitting dress, she had to be her. Thursday – because Tuesday or Thursday can be Daddy days – was Read a Disney book again. We didn’t mind though as we’re really getting into this book and actually read two chapters that night. On Friday the girls had their first day off school so we knew picking a movie night was a good choice. Frozen was the particular movie we were tasked with and this is because the next few days were going to be very Frozen-tastic. On Saturday it was Dress up Disney again, I think because the girls had wanted a full day to be able to dress up, not just after school. This time Megan insisted on being Elsa and so Lily chose to wear Megan’s Rapunzel dress. Sunday was the first of many FROZEN days. We were going out for lunch with Anna and Elsa, the girls were dressing as Young Anna and Elsa and everything would be very Frozen orientated. On top of that, the girls had to fit in Make or Draw Disney so Megan worked on her loomband Anna, while Lily chose just to do some colouring in.

This coming week is going to have two more days of FROZEN mania, before we settle down for Christmas. I already know that there will be no shortage of Disney in our house, even on the days without tasks! Check out my post next week, to see what we got up to!

Filed Under: Disney Countdown Tagged With: Anna, craft, Disney, dressing up, Elsa, florida, frozen, instagram, Lily, make, Megan, paperchains, read

51/52

December 21, 2014 by Bel Leave a Comment

I’ve been a bit quiet on my blog this week so I’m sorry about that! It’s a crazy time of year! We’re all broken up from school (and work for me – though there’s a story to that too) and now we’re onto enjoying Christmas. Today we went for Sunday Lunch with Anna and Elsa from Frozen. The kids absolutely loved it, even though I thought it was dire.

Filed Under: 52 project Tagged With: 51/52, Anna, Disney, dressing up, Elsa, frozen, Lily, Megan, photos, Sunday Lunch

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Hi, my name is Bel!


I’m a forty something, mother of two, self-confessed geek!

Here on my blog you’ll find;
books I’ve read, clothes I’ve made, movies I’ve watched, cakes I’ve baked, products I’ve tried, places I’ve been, pictures I’ve taken… plus lots and lots of DISNEY!!

I’m a lifestyle blogger – covering a little of everything I love <3

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