Life, Adventures, Entertainment and more - A little bit of everything blog!
I tend to find that when I make a wishlist, I babble on about what the things are I want and why I want them. The truth is, I want them because they’re pretty and because they’re Disney. However I’m trying to be really good with money right now and so I’m not buying anything. Some of these items appeared on my last wishlist post and some are new. It’s probably not even everything I’d like. However they are a combination of Beauty and the Beast items (my favourite) and Christmas decorations.
Yes I know, they’re Christmas ornaments and its early to think about Christmas but the Disney Store released their ornaments last week and I just had to make a collection of some of the pieces I’d like! To be truthful I tend to avoid wishlists these days as they only make me want to spend money, but these are the one treat I seem to give myself each year. That said, I missed quite a few I would have liked last year and I hope that won’t be the case this year.
So my top pick on this particular wishlist is Belle (no surprise) and Vanessa. These are two characters I have actually cosplayed as and my top pick when it comes to characters generally. There is a singing Belle ornament too but while I like the fountain scene, I think I prefer the simple Belle version. As for Vanessa, its so unusual to get anything Ursula even, let alone her so I need this!
The other ornaments are definitely all secondary wants. The rose however is probably top of those. Again, Beauty and the Beast themed, I have a love of all things rose themed too. As for the rest, they are to fill gaps in my character themes or just because I like them. We do have Ariel already, but not as a mermaid. We also don’t have anything UP, Chip and Dale, or Jaq and Gus (though we do have Cinderella). Chip and Dale have a special place in my heart right now as they remind me very much of my girls. Finally that leaves Tinker Bell and while I do think we have a Tink decoration already, I love this one especially. I’m pretty sure there is a similar Disney tradition ornament which I would love.
I think a few have disappeared off the Disney Store website already so I may have missed a few I like. In fact, there are a few from last year floating around on Ebay so I may even do a second wishlist with those included too.
On the whole I avoid putting the actual age I am, on my blog. It’s not that it particularly bothers me (turning 30 never did) but I have to admit that inching closer to 40 does somehow make me feel old. However I’m sucking it up this year and trying to embrace it – and I’m going to let you know what a great birthday I had!
For a start, it was a Saturday (May 28th). Amy and Olivia came down to visit for the weekend, Chris was off work and even Amy’s O.H. was coming to spend the day with us! Though technically my birthday had started at midnight where Amy and I were still up and sitting in the dinning room, we soon headed to bed and started again properly in the morning. Chris sadly woke me at 7am when he got up and though I had hoped for a lie-in, it wasn’t to be! I got up and was greeted by many “happy birthday”s and Amy kindly made me a cup of tea! I sat down on the sofa to open cards and gifts from them all, which was really lovely.
The girls got me the Evil Queen from Snow White, in hag form. This is a Disney Tradition that I’ve been after for a while and I’m not sure why as she’s ugly as hell, but I love it regardless! Chris got me Seven Dwarves on a Log – again another Disney Tradition that I have loved for literally as long as I can remember. It was always far too expensive to consider getting but now it’s mine, yay! Finally Amy and Liv got me a box of goodies, including an Ursula decoration, Regina in Pop Funko, an art print of Belle and the Beast and a Tinker Bell scarf (I put it on straight away, so forgot to photograph it). There was also a limited edition print that Amy had found in a charity shop, which is literally amazing!
After this we sat around for a while relaxing, but the kids started to get hungry so I put on some breakfast. We had freshly baked croissants and pain au chocolat, along with margarine, nutella and chocolate/peanut butter spread. We actually didn’t even manage it all which was a surprise between six of us.
Everyone went off their separate ways then, to get dressed, to have another cup of tea etc. My mum arrived around lunch time to give me her gift and then Amy’s O.H. arrived too. After a while we headed out to Nottingham with the plan to play mini-golf but it actually turned out that we went shopping and ate at Five Guys. We headed home, got the girls to bed and then my friend Nat and her O.H. came around. We spent the evening chatting, laughing and drinking wine until about 1am.
While it maybe doesn’t sound like the most spectacular of birthdays, the evening was everything and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Thankfully its a whole year now until the next one but I’m glad this one turned out pretty great.
I may have forgotten to publish this yesterday (oops!)
So recently I’ve found myself looking at rings. And yes, I guess they could be looked at as engagement rings but they are also just pretty rings right? These are some beauties that I’ve picked out which are really spectacular and some that are much more affordable, since now a days you can even get a Sydney custom diamond engagement ring which is a great option for those looking for this. No surprise that they are Disney themed!
Majority of these really nice rings are from places like Etsy or custom design jewellery websites. However some are from places like Hot Topic, Disney Couture and TruffleShuffle. Can you spot which ring is which character, in the case of Ursula, Maleficent, Ariel, Elsa, Rapunzel and the Evil Queen?
My favourite of them all is definitely the Ursula themed ring (black ones on the bottom line) as these are just so unusual. I love the idea of a black ring instead of something silver/gold. A shop called Lakewood Treasures on Etsy is definitely the place to check out if you have a fair bit of cash and want something really beautiful and unique. Other favourites come from Disney Engagement Ring, Gemvara and Razo’s Ring Shop.
While gold isn’t really my colour, I do love the Belle rose ring too but that’s more because I love anything Beauty and the Beast. I also used to own the Believe ring pictured, but sadly it wore down to the actual metal because I wore it so much!
What would be your dream ring, Disney or otherwise?
Amy over at Cocktails in Teacups tagged me in something called 20 Facts About My Disney Life and although its taken me a week or so to get around to it, I didn’t want to forget altogether! The idea is really simple – no questions, just list 20 facts about your life that are connected to Disney! Here are mine…
1. Every single room in my house has something Disney in it. Some rooms have more than others but there is at least one Disney item in each. Even my car has some Disney on its aerial.
2. I have collected Disney Traditions for the last 7 years and I have almost 30.
3. I have collected Disney Pop Funkos for the last 3 years and I have 14.
4. Amy is the cause of me starting both the Traditions and Pop Funko collections, as she bought me the firsts.
5. To be honest, I would collect pretty much anything if its related to Disney. We have so many Tsum Tsums, both plush and vinyl, I went through a phase of buying Disney t-shirts, I find it hard to resist Disney at Primark and most recently I started collecting Disney Lego Minifigures.
6. Tinker Bell and Belle have always been my favourite Disney characters. I don’t think it’s because of being called Bel (or “Bel”inda) myself, because I only shortened my name during my 20’s.
7. I started Closet Geek, largely to sell Disney inspired dresses. Though I’m happy to make anything, the inspiration for Disney related ones comes the easiest. 98% of my store is Disney.
8. I absolutely love making adult cosplay, especially Disney. All the people I would love to dress as are Disney characters but sadly once I’ve made them and put them on, I don’t really feel that great about myself in them.
9. I’m sad to say that I’ve tried hardly any Disney Park food. Despite visiting DLP a few times and Florida for 2 weeks, we hardly eat in the parks. I’ve never had Dole Whip, Mickey shaped ice cream, turkey legs or whatever else that Disney Parks are famous for serving!
10. Beauty and the Beast is my favourite Disney movie of all time. Not only is Belle my favourite princess, I love the Beast, I cry every time I watch the movie and I really love all the characters. I even have a BATB tattoo.
11. I own nearly all the animated Disney movies on DVD but I pretty much never watch them. I’m sad about this really but I just hardly ever but dvds on.
12. Over the last two years I’ve started to buy a lot of Disney artwork. I think it started with the Disney Kinkade pictures being released (and I bought one at LFCC) and ever since then I’ve noticed artists at cons and online a lot more. This year I have discovered lots of new favourites and I made a post called Artist Spotlight.
13. I love this new movement that is “Disney blogging”. I honestly wish I could be a full time Disney blogger, but I don’t think I have enough interesting to say about Disney to do it all the time! Not that my life is any more interesting or anything, but I think I would run out of Disney stuff to say.
14. The only songs I know all the words to are Disney songs. When we were younger my brother and I would listen to VHS tapes over and over to write down the words and then learn the songs. We would even break them up into individual parts and we had a folder each with our own parts in it. I should probably be embarrassed about this but I’m not.
15. I’ve always worn scarves a lot but mostly it was just winter ones that I continued to wear once I walked back in the house. Over the last 2-3 years I’ve started buying lots of sheer scarves (I blame Hot Topic) and all but one are Disney!
16. I’ve been married (and divorce/separated) twice so I’m not especially keen to do it again. If I did though, it would have to be a really unusual or extravagant wedding. Ideally I’d like it to be either in WDW or Disney themed (where people dress as Disney characters).
17. Nearly all my mugs are Disney themed. At times they have got a bit out of control and Chris has now put a ban on any more mugs! However I recently moved a few to my display cabinet and tossed a few non-Disney ones out so hopefully I’m free to add a few more now!
18. For the first time ever, I’m seriously considering an annual pass to Disneyland Paris. This year I’ll have been at least three times and getting a pass might be a great excuse to go more. I would love to go during Halloween.
19. I can hand on heart say I have never wished to be a Disney Princess. To be honest, if I had a choice, I would be a sassy Villain or a character like Megara.
20. Before I started sewing, I had a couple of years where I made cakes for all my friends and family. Each person had at least one spectacular cake during that time. My all time favourite was the Tsum Tsum one that I made (with Megan’s help) for Lily.
I very rarely tag anyone in these things but if you’d like to do it then please let me know you have!
Today marks one month until my birthday and I thought I would celebrate by sharing a few bits and pieces I would love to receive! Over the next month you might see one or two more of these, as and when I find other things I like. However for now, these are my (off the) top (of my head) items.
It’s probably no great surprise, that everything on my list is Disney. That’s not to say it’s the only thing I like, but its one of the few I’m passionate enough to want to own or collect. Another amusing thing about my list is that it’s pretty much half villains and half Beauty and the Beast!
While I’m not going to explain each and every thing (the list is done on Polyvore so if you click on each item it will tell you where to get it from), I will explain some bits. For a start the Beauty and the Beast traditions ornaments. These Mrs Potts, Cogsworth and Lumiere are all new and I love them all. As you can tell, Beauty and the Beast is my favourite so I would love these to join my collection. The “Belle” necklace is because “Bel” is what I go by so I would actually love this for a duel reason and the cushion, makeup bags etc are just because I like them.
For the villains side, I would really love Regina to add to my Pop Funkos (but I’m pretty sure Lily knows this so fingers crossed this year), also I have the Evil Queen in small but I would like her in the regular size. There are loads of other Funkos I like though so its hard to pick. The Ursula cover book, is the third in a series that I have the other two of. The villains bag I’ve wanted for ages and the colouring book is pretty new and I haven’t spotted it before. Recently I treated myself to the QoH plush and I seriously regret not getting Ursula when she was in store – so connected to that is this old hag plush which I don’t think is technically Disney but I’d like her. Finally that leaves a book called Never Never that’s been on my wishlist for ages (but is still too expensive to buy myself) and some DVDs which I’m still missing from my collection.
I’ll be keeping an eye on other things over the next month so keep any eye out!
Amy posted her Disney Confessions Part One some time ago and I’ve been meaning to do mine ever since. I noticed that a few have appeared on my Twitter feed too so it’s reminded me to get it done. The idea is obviously to confess your feelings on popular (or unpopular) opinions when it comes to loves (and hates) of Disney. This is what I came up with.
What are your Disney Confessions?
Everyone loves a tag every now and again and sometimes I’m too busy when I get tagged or other times I’m just not that interested in the tag itself! However Amy over at Cocktails in Teacups tagged me in “The Disney Princess Tag” and I definitely couldn’t resist. If you would like to read her answers, you can see them here – but here are mine! (remember it’s just Disney Princess movies, nothing else).
1. Which Princess do you like the least?
I don’t really dislike any of the princesses, but I guess Snow White, Aurora and Tiana would be my least favourite. Snow White because her voice is so high pitched and annoying in the movie. Aurora because she’s sort of nothingy and Tiana just because I’m not really a big fan of the movie as a whole.
2. Which Princess do you adore the most?
Belle is and always has been my favourite princess. We share a name for a start (though hers is spelt nicer than mine), we both have brown hair and brown eyes, plus she has one of the coolest stories. I also love Ariel and Rapunzel though.
3. Which Princess do you relate to the most?
I think it’s pretty hard to relate to a princess when you’re not one, so those who start off as princesses like Ariel, Jasmine, Merida and to some extent Aurora. While they might have it tough or even lonely, they are still princesses at the end of the day. There are parts of everyone’s stories that I guess I can identify with but probably Belle the most.
4. Which sidekick do you wish you had?
Possibly because Beauty and the Beast is my absolute favourite anyway, but I would love both Cogsworth and Lumiere as sidekicks. They’re so incredibly loveable, even in their strange ways. I would also the genie – both for his sense of humour and of course his magic. (If Mulan was a princess, I’d say Mushu to).
5. Which best friend(s) would you like to hang out with?
To me this question is sort of like the sidekicks one, as in most cases the characters have animals or unusual characters as their best friends. If we’re talking people then definitely Lottie from The Princess and the Frog. However again, Genie (he’s Aladdin’s BFF for sure) and if Hercules was allowed (which sadly it isn’t), Pegasus would be up there too.
6. Which Prince would love you?
I don’t know about which would love me, but I hope “Beast”, as it all fits with my love of Beauty and the Beast. However I adore Flynn and Prince Eric, so I would happily have either of them too.
7. Which parents would raise you?
This is a toughie as you don’t see a lot of parent action in some of the movies, or if you do then it’s often one parent. I think perhaps my dad is most like King Tritton. He was always pretty strict but under it all he had such a big heart. He also had some qualities of Zeus (again not allowed) but he was loud and larger than life. My mum is probably most like Queen Elinor from Brave. She also reminds me somewhat of Rapunzel’s mum and (if it was allowed) Mrs Darling.
8. Which castle do you want to live in?
I would happily live in any castle – I’m not fussy! No surprise though that I love the Beast’s castle – both before and after the transformation. Rapunzel’s castle would also be great, especially on the nights with lanterns.
9. Which dress do you wish to own?
Rapunzel’s wedding dress would be my all time favourite pick, but I love her other pink/purple dresses too. After that it would have to be Belle’s green dress. Cinderella’s blue dress from the action movie would be awesome as well, so would her wedding dress though. Honestly though, I’d rather be a villain than a princess.
10. Which voice do you wish you had?
To sound like, or to sing? To be honest this is something I have never really thought about. I guess Belle or maybe Rapunzel? Just to sing and have animals clean would be good though right?
11. Which two Princesses would be best friends?
I always think of Ariel and Belle being friends, perhaps because I identify with Belle and consider Amy to be Ariel. However I also thing their desire for more in their lives, is also something that would bond them. I also think Rapunzel would easily fit into their friendship group.
12. Which two Princesses do you think would hate one another?
I don’t think Disney Princesses hate, isn’t that sort of their main quality? However I imagine Snow White’s voice would grate on everyone (and if it were allowed – Mulan is a bit tom boyish, so may struggle to fit in).
13. Which two sidekicks would make a good duo?
Pascal and Abu for sure. They don’t speak but they would just give each other those looks. Mushu (if allowed) and the Genie would make a great duo too.
14. Which two Princes would be best buds?
I think Flynn and Eric are pretty similar. They’re both light-hearted, energetic, (handsome) guys. I always imagine the original princes (Prince Charming, Prince Phillip and Snow White’s “Prince”) would be good friends.
15. Which scene makes you cry?
Without a shadow of a doubt, when the Beast “dies” in Beauty and the Beast, I always cry – it doesn’t matter how many times I see it, or even if its Disney on Ice, or Disney Live at WDW. Also the lantern scene and Flynn “dying” in Tangled. To be honest, there is pretty much something in every movie that makes me cry or at least get a lump in my throat.
16. What scene makes you cheer?
I love when Kristoff realises he loves Anna and heads back to the castle to save her. I also love when the Beast transforms and Belle says “it is you” as she looks into his eyes. When Mother Gothel falls out of the window (that’s a bit morbid.. oops).
17. Which movie is your favourite soundtrack?
This is UNFAIR as my favourite is Hercules and it’s not allowed *poutyface*. However playing by the rules, I love Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid. I also love loads of the songs from Pocahontas which is a surprise really as it’s fairly low on my list of favourite movies.
18. Which scene makes you cringe the most?
I honestly can’t think of anything really, because Disney isn’t designed to make you cringe! I’m pretty sick of Frozen these days though so simply the mention of it can make me cringe, especially Let it Go.
19. Which story do you wish was your life?
I think I would be happy to have any princess story really, because who wouldn’t love to experience the life at least once. However again, no surprise, but I would pick Belle’s. I’d also happily take Rapunzel’s, Ariel’s or maybe surprisingly again, Cinderella’s.
20. Which movie do you love the most?
I think all my answers have made this choice really obvious but Beauty and the Beast is by far my all time favourite, second place is tied between The Little Mermaid and Tangled.
I don’t tag anyone to take this tag, but if you want to then please feel free and by all means leave your links in my comments as I’d love to read your answers!
Over the next few weeks I’m going to be sharing some of my ideas for gift guides, including “for him”, “for her”, “for kids” etc. However I wanted to start off with a wish list of my own! This is my Christmas Wishlist 2015.
As you will see, even at a glance, my wishlist is almost entirely filled with Disney. This is because Disney is probably my biggest fandom love, followed immediately by Harry Potter (which there are also several items for). Anyway, let’s get started!
On the left hand side of the guide, you will see an Inside Out board game and a Ticket to Ride board game. I absolutely love playing board games, both with my family and with my friends. Though we already own a version of both these games, I would love these versions (just like I would love Disney Villains monopoly still). Inside Out seems like such a great idea for Game of Life and a United Kingdom version of Ticket to Ride sounds fun! On that same side you will also spot two DVDs, Inside Out and Tomorrowland. Inside Out isn’t released yet but Tomorrowland has been for a while, I’d like both to add to my every growing Disney DVD collection. Finally on that side is a Thomas Kinkade Disney calendar. I had the mini version last year but I would love the full size version as my main calendar this year. I love the art work and even better when you’re done with it you could always frame the pages.
On the right hand side I have clothes. The dress is an Alice print dress from Hot Topic which I absolutely love. I have another dress from Hot Topic in this style and its my favourite Disney dress. I also have this exact print in a scarf (which I’m wearing now) and I love it. Not only that it’s black and I know I’d get lots of wear out of it, even in winter paired with a cardigan and tights. Secondly there is a set of PJs and these are Beauty and the Beast from Topshop. Last year I treated myself to a pair of PJs from Topshop and though they had cuff bottoms on the trousers (which I thought I would hate) I loved them and as such would love this pair for this year.
Heading for the middle of the wishlist you can see its basically an array of ornaments and Pop Funko figures. However there is a Harry Potter umbrella in there too. I love the Marauders Map print and I know I would get loads of use out of this – especially living in the UK where rain is our standard. Also not an ornament is the Disney Villains bag. This is from Loungefly and have I loved their stuff for a long time. In this style there is also a Disney Villains wallet but as it doesn’t have card slots I know I wouldn’t use it much. This bag however is amazing and I would love to use it as my every day handbag. Not technically an ornament, this candle is also on my wishlist. It’s available from the Disney Store and comes in a few different colours. I’m not a huge candle fan but I find myself more drawn to them this time of year. Plus it’s Disney. No brainer.
Finally, onto the ornaments in the middle. There are four Disney Traditions/Showcase ornaments and some of these are firm favourites while others are new to my wish list. I have loads of Beauty and the Beast ornaments already but since it’s my favourite, I’d love to have them all. The ornament of Belle with the Beast has been on my wish list since last Christmas so hopefully this year I’ll get lucky and manage to get it. The one of Mrs Potts is new (or at least I haven’t seen it before) and since I have one of Lumiere and Cogsworth together, I’d love to have this too. That then leaves the Villains. Maleficent joined my wishlist over a year ago, for my birthday last year when we watched the new Maleficent movie. I love this figure so much but sadly it went out of stock last Christmas and I ended up with the Evil Queen instead. It’s now back in stock in most places so I’d love to add it to my collection. Then there is the “hag”, who is the Evil Queen from Snow White. I’m not exactly sure what draws me to this ornament as it’s pretty ugly but I love it nonetheless. Next comes the Pop Funko and sure enough one is Disney (sort of) and another is Harry Potter. I started out my collection of Pop Funkos with only Disney and I’ve tried hard to resist branching out into other Fandoms as its a disaster waiting to happen. However we do have several others, including some Harry Potter. I love this Voldemort figure and it would definitely be my next pick to add to the collection, though I would happily take any I do have (which is only Harry and Dumbledore). Regina Mills aka the Evil Queen from Once Upon a Time is another figure I’d love. She is my favourite character by far and I hope to cosplay his exact outfit someday. While OUAT isn’t technically Disney, its definitely a branch of it and therefore adding the OUAT figures to my collection is a must! Finally that leaves Katniss Everdeen. Until a few days ago I didn’t even know Hunger Games existed as Pop Funko figures. Now I know, I sort of want them all. Katniss is available in several different variations but I think this is my favourite – like I said though, I would take them all.
I could have gone on and on but hey, Christmas is about giving not receiving – so instead of concentrating on what I’d like, I’ll soon be moving on to what you can get for others!
In Summer, Amy and I (plus Kariss who we met there) attended SFCC (Sheffield Film and Comic Con). Last year we were attending LFCC (London Film and Comic Con) but unfortunately the timing just wasn’t right to get to that one this year. I’ve also attended MCM Comic Con in London this year, back in May. However in the end we decided not to cosplay for that, so SFCC was our first cosplay of the year.
Amy and I decided on Disney cosplay (surprise surprise). She was going as Briar Rose and I was Belle. Both choices are their “peasant” dresses, so in a way we’ll be a pair.
I started on Amy’s first as I couldn’t get the fabric I needed for mine without ordering. The first thing I did was find a pattern that would work for what I wanted (I only ever work from patterns). It was pretty easy and didn’t take me too long. Ironically it was another Disney pattern, one used to make Elsa’s Coronation dress.
Next was to pick out some colours. Luckily both costumes comprise of basic block colours, so cotton poplin is perfect for what we need. I headed off to Boyes, picked out come colours and then started to work with the pattern and fabrics.
So once I cut out all the pattern pieces I was sure about, there was the grey to figure out. I picked one that I thought might be a bit dark and when placed together with all the other fabrics, it was decided between Amy and I, that it was too dark. Sadly this began our own 50 Shades of Grey disaster which took about 8 fabric samples from Ebay before locating. However with the grey only effecting the skirt, it was easy to still continue and make a start.
I have a post on Closet Geek dedicated to all the Cosplay outfits I’ve made so far. But keep an eye out as I will be updating it before too long I’m sure!