Inside Out Archives - Journeys Are My Diary

My Christmas Wishlist 2015

November 13, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

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.

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!

Movie Review – Inside Out

August 13, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

It’s actually been a few weeks since I saw Inside Out and it occurred to me the other day that I never actually wrote a review. We’d seen the Minions movie the week before and that was such a flop that I was probably just hoping it wouldn’t be the same. However Inside Out is Disney so the chances of it being a flop our low -in fact I already knew I would love it before I went.

As with all Disney movies, there are elements for kids and elements for adults. Most movies are kid based, but with another subtle level aimed at adults. In my opinion this is not the case for Inside Out and while there is plenty to enjoy for kids, I genuinely believe this movie is aimed at adults.

The concept of the movie is all about emotions, our brain being an area that features five characters (and characteristics); Joy, Sadness, Disgust, Fear and Anger. The main person in the story is a girl called Riley and so the main emotions characters (as listed as above) are hers. However as the idea is we all have these five emotions, it does feature those of Riley’s parents – and the end a funny montage of various peoples emotions too.

So the movie follows Riley growing up and then at the age of 11, her family move because of her dad’s job. This is the main period of time during the movie, explaining how her emotions and her react to the situation. However disaster strikes when Joy and Sadness accidentally leave HQ (the main control area) and end up lost long term memories. Telling you too much more would drastically spoil the movie for you and therefore I won’t. However I will say – 1) You come to love Sadness, even though she seems incredibly pointless and annoying to begin with. 2) Bing Bong will make you both happy and sad. He may well make you cry. 3) If you’re a parent this will probably make you reflect on your child’s life and maybe even make you cry about that.

On paper I thought that Disgust would be my favourite but actually she plays a sort of minor role (as do Fear and Anger). However I loved Joy and I think you will find it hard not to, along with Bing Bong as I stated above. Kids will love this movie as its colourful and fun, quotable and of course has a good base story. Adults will love this movie because we understand all the clever jokes, the way emotions effect us and generally just life. If you haven’t seen this movie you are missing out so go see it now! At least catch it on dvd when it comes out if nothing else!

Week 30 – Monday Round-up

July 27, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

This week has been a fab week and I’m hoping there are more to come! I’ve been very well behaved with my diet which is giving the motivation to continue and that in itself makes some days easier! Also the kids broke up from school this week and that has been so nice, spending loads of time together but more importantly, not even needing to get dressed on some days!!

On Monday Megan didn’t feel very well and so the girls didn’t go to school. Sure it was a little naughty to keep Lily off too but we were all wishing we were on Summer Holiday already that we probably needed a day! We were incredibly lazy and did nothing all day. It was actually very nice. However I did manage to get some sewing done and finally finished the Briar Rose cosplay outfit I was working on for Amy.

On the Tuesday, the girls went back to school and Chris was off work so we had one of those days when we got all sorts of little bits done. We took his drum kit to a friend’s house as he was selling it, we went shopping, we went out for lunch and eventually we headed back to pick the girls up from school. It was a nice day but I’d hoped to get loads more sewing done and that didn’t happen! I did however manage a lovely long bath in the evening, a read of my book and an early night.

Wednesday was the girls last day at school, so we headed out with presents and cards galore. Chris was at work all day and I had website training for the Saxilby School website, round at my mum’s house. The training took all morning and then after everyone left, Mum and I had lunch. In the afternoon we headed down to storage to sort it out, as we’re hoping to hand the keys back next week. It didn’t take half as long as we expected so I headed back to mum’s for another cup of tea before eventually going to get the girls. Once I picked them up we popped to the post office, to get petrol and then eventually to Pizza Hut. This is fast becoming our end of term/summer tradition as we’ve now been to Pizza Hut every summer for about the last five years!

When we were finished, we headed home and it was still pretty early (especially since the girls were now on holiday time bed time) and we all settled down to chill. Lily went on her computer, Megan her iPad and I sat down to finish off the book I had been reading on Kindle. When it was time for Lily to head to bed we read some James and the Giant Peach which was the current bedtime read. Megan went a while later and eventually Chris got home from work and we headed to bed not long after.

On Thursday we were all wanting a lazy day (though Chris was at work) and so we did a whole lot of nothing till midday. However we got lunch, got dressed and headed out in the afternoon to get Megan’s ears pierced. She was incredibly brave and I was honestly so surprised. I bought her some extra earrings for when her ears are healed and she is allowed to change them, and also some magnetic ones for Lily so she didn’t feel left out.

Since we’d paid for parking anyway, we went to get coffee from Costa. Megan had a Mint Choc Chip, while Lily had Belgian Chocolate, mine was technically the only coffee as I had a Caramel Latte. We shared a mint choc chip cake too and it was delicious. After we finished out coffee we walked around for a little bit but then headed home. Once we were home we unpacked some boxes from my car and started to go through them. They were a mixture of photos, scrap books and cuddly toys, as well as a box of my old memories, dating right back to school and including school reports and letters I’d received from friends.

The rest of the day was just spend doing out own things, relaxing or getting work done etc. Next came Friday and that started off fairly lazy too. However both the girls needed showers as they were going to their dad’s house and we weren’t sure what the situation was with showering there (they just moved house!). We grabbed showers, packed a bag and then their dad arrived to take them away. Next came a message from Amy to say her and Liv were on time with train and since Chris was going down to catch the train they were getting off, I walked down with him and waited at the station.

Once Amy arrived (and Chris left), we went to Aldi on the way back and then came home. We didn’t do an awful lot with the day, just occupied Liv and chatted to catch up on the last few weeks. Eventually Liv went to bed, we had jacket potatoes for dinner and then chatted some more. The wine came out and Chris arrived home with even more for us. We all sat watching YouTube videos for Five Nights at Freddy’s and it was really nice.

The next day I woke up because Chris had a driving lesson. I got up and started to make some bows for the girls to wear to the cinema that day, but sadly it didn’t work out! The day ended up a bit rushed – heading out to get the girls from their dad, mum getting a flat tyre, coming home to get changed and heading out to the cinema again. However in the end it all worked out and we made it to the movie on time!

Everyone loved Inside Out and I was so glad we’d booked to see it early. To be honest I wouldn’t be surprised if we ended up going to see it again! Once it was done (we stayed till the end but there was no extra clip!) we headed out and went for a walk around Scunthorpe. It wasn’t somewhere I had been before and I was curious as to what shops were available. We popped into Primark (and Chris did CEX) and then wandered back to the car. Even better it was free parking all day Saturday so I think it’s somewhere we would go again.

Picture taken from @livvybirdadventures Instagram

We came back home and once we’d settled, ordered takeaway. It was our one weekend treat but it was so good. There were burgers, chips, pizza, garlic bread and donner kebab. I was stuffed afterwards and knew I’d have put on several pounds! In the evening once everyone was in bed, Amy and I relocated to the dining room and I made the finishing touches to her Briar Rose dress (the zip and hem). After that we were all tired and so headed to bed.

In the morning, the kids all got up and since I stirred I figured I would get up too. Amy and I sat chatting as always and Chris went upstairs to play on his computer. Eventually I had to get the girls ready for going back to their dad’s for the day, so we left around 10.30am. By the time I came back, there wasn’t long before Amy needed to go, so we measured out the Wendy dress pattern so I could get on with that and figured out what else needed doing to her Snow White dress. After that I took Amy and Liv to the station, it was pretty miserable as it was raining. Once they had left, I went to Tesco and did some shopping, coming back and getting myself upset about how empty the house was!

Chris humoured me for a while so I wasn’t lonely but in the end I settled down to do absolutely nothing and just mong on my computer. The girls were back earlier than expected, so I had to figure out dinner for them. Chris went for a bath and the girls and I just spent the evening together. Finally the girls went to bed and Chris and I watched TV (well he did and I continued to do nothing on my computer). It was a nice end to a nice weekend but I’m looking forward to continuing on these nice days, for the next six weeks!

Week 29 – Monday Round-up

July 20, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

So it’s Sunday night again and I’m actually trying to be good and get this done in advance! What have I been up to this week? Well lots and nothing all at the same time! For the most part I’ve been sewing. I have attended a few things at the girls school too but every day I’ve either blogged or sewn with the majority of my day.

Monday was a sewing day for the most part. I had what I termed a “finishing day”, whereby I’d spent the whole weekend sewing and made three dresses, but most of them needed something doing in order to finish them. I had hemming, zips and even button holes to do and I got to use both the zipper foot on my sewing machine and also the button hole making zipper too. It was pretty great to learn something new.

The girls were with their dad after school and I always enjoy those days as it means I don’t have to stop what I’m doing and turn out for them at 3pm. Instead I got to sew pretty much all day and that was good. I did also do a bit of blogging so as not to fall behind but that was pretty much the sum total of my day.

Tuesday was a computer/blogging day. I caught up on a whole load of posts, emails and so on. I set myself up for the rest of the week too which is always nice as it means I know I have more free time to get what I want to do done. The girls got their school reports (which were awesome) and Megan finally finished the Harry Potter books. That was really the highlights of the day!

On Wednesday I dropped the girls off at school and headed into Lincoln. I needed a few bits but it was also nice to have a wander as I hadn’t been in a while. Afterwards I called at mum’s for a cup of tea and then I headed home. I didn’t get an awful lot done as I knew I was turning back out in a few hours but I did get some more blogging and sewing done. This continued on into the evening once we were home from school too.

Thursday was Lily’s end of school church service so after taking them to school, I walked with Lily’s class to church and back. Afterwards I headed home and since Mum was having the girls after school again, it was nice to know I had the whole day to get things done. I started working on a Pinocchio dress for Liv and while it was time consuming, over the next few days I got it done. That was majority of my day though and I don’t remember doing a lot else.

Friday was a lie-in, a trip into town, more sewing and finally picking up the girls from school. Spent the evening doing more sewing, made a pencil case and also wrapped presents for Lily’s friend Ciara, whose party was the next day. Saturday I dropped Lily off with Ciara, as they were going to the cinema and for lunch, and then Megan and I headed for the cinema and lunch together too. Afterwards we had a bit of shopping time but in the end we picked Lily up from Ciara’s around 3.30pm (though we didn’t leave till 4pm) and came home. Megan and Lily made some fimo bits and pieces while I sewed and then eventually it was bed time.

Sunday was a lie-in day too and also a chill day. I spent the morning being distracted by the girls doing their fimo and the afternoon sewing. Chris had hurt his leg so I was running around after him all day but I didn’t mind as I’m always at my nicest when I have someone to look after ;) We all had chicken fajitas for dinner which is a favourite in this house and then just chilled out. Chris and I ended up playing a silly game of Spot the Intro for ages and then eventually it was time to send Lily to bed. We had a bedtime story of James and the Giant Peach, which is our current read at the moment and then I came downstairs to watch Captain America with Chris. Megan went to bed shortly after and we just continued to watch the movie, though I was on my computer too!

Girls have three more days of school left before they break up and I wish they were done already. Can’t wait to have days when we don’t even need to bother getting dressed! Lots to look forward to this week but I’ll update you next week! Till then…

Week 28 – Monday Round-up

July 13, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

For the most part, this week has been great. It’s been busy in parts but not to the point of feeling like you don’t have a moment to breathe! Monday started off with Chris heading out to work, taking Lily to school and then Megan and I attending an Open Morning at one of the schools she is considering for next year. It was between 10am and 12.15 but it was nearer to half past by the time we left. Megan ate her lunch in the car, we called in briefly at mum’s and then I dropped her back at school before heading home. The girls were going with their dad after school so I knew I didn’t have to turn out and get them again, meaning I got on with some work when I got home. That said I started to feel a bit rough and curled up on the sofa to watch TV and chill. When Chris got home we had takeaway and didn’t do an awful lot else!

On Tuesday I took both the kids to school (and Lily’s tardis that we made over the weekend!) and then came home again. It ended up as a busy morning, picking up parcels, doing some shopping, calling to see Chris’ Gran and getting my sewing machine serviced. We managed to grab lunch and a few hours to ourselves before heading out to get the girls from school and going out for dinner. After that we dropped Lily off with her Grandma and headed back to school as Megan was in her school play. Chris and I watched and thoroughly enjoyed it, before picking Megan up, collecting Lily and then heading home and putting the girls to bed. By that point I was exhausted and yet again, didn’t get an awful lot done that evening! I took a bath and read some of my latest book.

Wednesday was Sports Day and so I headed out to school with the girls. Lily went first in the morning, participating in 4 races, though as every KS1 group took part, it took all morning. The weather was dull and it even rained a few times, but it turned out okay, despite being cold. Lily and I then had lunch together (along with my mum) and eventually Megan joined us too. In the afternoon it was Megan’s turn and there was a Kingball Tournament for all the KS2 kids. This took all afternoon too and though my mum bailed on us, Grandma turned up to support and keep me company as well. We managed to leave school about 10 minutes early but it did make a difference when we came home and collapsed! We had takeaway for dinner and then Nat came around in the evening.

On Thursday I decided to really try hard with my diet. On Wednesday I’d had a nasty shock when getting on the scales and it was just the kick I needed to make me try again. After taking the girls to school and then popping to mum’s to drop off their stuff (they were staying the night), I came home and emerged myself in wrapping parcels and going to the post office, all just to keep busy. I was good for lunch and good for dinner and I felt so much better for it. I also remembered how much I love jacket potatoes! In the evening Amy and I collaborated to book our Inside Out cinema tickets for when she comes down to visit in a few weeks time. We booked with Vue which means we get Disney Store vouchers each and since we’re buying Tsum Tsums on a monthly basis at the moment, it all comes in handy!

The girls had stayed at mum’s on Thursday night as it was school disco and her having them saved me a lot of hassle, however I still needed to get up on Friday morning and head to school as Lily was in shine assembly. This was the last one of the year and I was so proud of her for being in twice (she was originally in it at the beginning of the year). No surprise but I cried when she was up at the front – I’m such an emotional mess when it comes to the kids! Afterwards I came home and set myself to sewing. I challenged myself to three dresses over three days and I’m happy to say I managed it! I made a dress for Amy’s daughter Liv on Friday, which took majority of the afternoon and a little into the evening. Once that was finished I started on Lily’s, cutting out the pieces that evening. I obviously picked the girls up from school at the right time, had dinner etc. but the majority of the day was spent sewing!

On Saturday I got up and began to sew again. I started on Lily’s dress and worked on till after lunch. At that point the girls and I headed into town as we needed a few bits of food and also some material/elastic/zips from Boyes. When we came back I continued to sew but I did take a break here and there – especially when Megan wanted to make brownies. However I got Lily’s dress finished by the evening and even started to cut out Megan’s pattern pieces. Megan made her brownies into Minecraft Blocks as she’s a nerd like that, but they tasted amazing and looked pretty cool too.

Finally on Sunday I got up and had to take Chris to work, so the girls had to come too. We packed our swimming stuff as I promised we’d go swimming over the weekend and so once Chris was dropped off, we went to the leisure centre. We spent an hour or so there, had showers and got changed. We then had to pop into Tesco again on the way home, where the girls decided they wanted to make their own version of Subway subs. We then came home, made lunch and did some bits around the house, before I settled down to sew. I sewed all afternoon and into the evening, stopping to make food for the kids, help with homework etc. and of course feed myself and Chris. However by about 10pm Megan’s dress was finished too and I was really pleased with them all!

So that was pretty much my week, I don’t think I missed anything! It’s been a good week but I have to admit things are always so busy at the end of term – I look forward to the holidays. As of today, the girls have a week and a half left of school and I have at least 5 things penciled into my diary that I still need to do with regards to school. That said, it’s nothing too hectic so it should be a good coming week! Hope you’re all having good weeks too, I’m off to sew again!

28/52

July 12, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

What a busy weekend it has been, with barely a moment to breathe! I have to admit its been full of things I’ve wanted to do though so that’s been great! For a start I sewed three dresses, between Friday afternoon and Sunday afternoon. Lily is modelling hers in this first picture. On Saturday afternoon, Megan made brownies and they turned out amazing. She then went on to make Minecraft blocks out of them and they were great too. What a lovely weekend, spent pretty much solely with my two girls.

Things to Look Forward to…

July 10, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

I don’t know about you, but I need things to look forward to in life. Little milestone, events, days out, birthdays, holidays – whatever it is, just something in the not too distant future to look forward to. This time last year, I had a countdown running to LFCC (London Film and Comic Con) which was the first convention I’d ever attended AND the first time I’d cosplayed. I was also counting down to a holiday in Paris during October half term, though sadly that didn’t happen – and finally a wonderful trip of a lifetime to Florida the following Easter. Well all of that has been and gone now and I struggle at times to find things to look forward to. In fact, until a few weeks ago I really didn’t have any set dates and events penciled into my calendar. However, all that has changed!

picture from June 30th

Sheffield Film and Comic Con – A few weeks back, Amy and I decided we were dying to go to a convention again. I attended MCM in London during May but because I took the kids, I didn’t get the same level of enjoyment as last time and I also didn’t dress up. However Amy and I are going with the sole purpose being to cosplay and I’m excited! Amy is going as Disney’s Briar Rose (Aurora when she lives in the forest) and I’m going as Disney’s Belle in her blue peasant dress. I’ve already started on Amy’s costume and as soon as I can get the right grey for the skirt, it will be finished! I need to start on my own but I have a good idea what I’m doing.

Paris Weekend – As I mentioned before, last year we were supposed to have a family trip to Paris but we had to cancel it for a couple of reasons. I have been dying to go to Paris for pretty much all my life and I was devastated when all our plans crumbled. Over the last few months I’ve been looking into various ways to get to Paris cheaply, as ever since Florida my finances have been in a fairly poor state. There is a coach company that offers really good options, but also sites like Into the Blue experiences who offer not only day experiences, but also holidays too. They actually have a couple to Paris in fact. However in the end it looked like there might be another opportunity to go to Paris (see below) and so I jumped at that. Finances were figured out, options were looked into and even baby sitters were considered. But then I started to feel guilty that I hadn’t been with my family and maybe Chris and the girls would be sad if I went without them. In stepped my mum (a total hero) and offered to take us all away for the weekend in May and then there was a second thing added to my look forward to list!

Fairytales IV – As you can probably tell, I’m a huge fan of conventions. I’ve only been to a few but they are now becoming something I look into ALL the time. Well every year in Paris (for the last 3 years) there has been a Once Upon a Time convention and every year I’ve wanted to go. Last year we’d arranged a blog meet far too close to the date of the convention and this year we knew things would be tight after Florida. However next year there is really nothing stopping us… so let’s just say we’ve penciled it in and perhaps even booked a hotel ;)

There are lots of other things on the cards, MCM Comic Con in October, Storybrooke in April (though I have to admit to being jealous of SDCC that’s on this weekend), plus I hope to have the odd day here and there with the kids during Summer holidays. Amy and Liv are coming over in a few weekends time and we’re going to see Inside Out and even though that’s something small, again it’s just nice to have something to look forward to.