Journeys Are My Diary

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

Wednesday Wish List – Valentine’s Special

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Valentine's Day

 

I’m not a massive fan of Valentine’s Day as for the most part I know it’s just a commercialised holiday. However I’ve always seen it as a day to show everyone that you love them, not just a boyfriend, husband, partner etc. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always bought the girls a gift, as well as my partner – now this year, we’re all buying each other gifts and having a romantic family meal for 4 in the evening. The following day is affectionately known as Galentine’s Day – a day to show your female friends that you care and although I’ll be a day late, I might well get my best friend’s some gifts too!

Anyway, despite the fact I don’t think I’ll get any of these gifts, I figured I’d share a few bits I’d like to get. Starting at the top is Lush. There aren’t many Valentine products I’d like from Lush this year, having previously tried both. However the Unicorn Horn bubble bar was a firm favourite last year and I’d like to give Lover Lamp bath bomb a go too. Next is a Disney Tradition – I have a whole ton of these but Minnie with a heart? Seems like a good one to get for V Day! Of course my wish list wouldn’t be complete without a Pop Funko and who better than Hook? If I had to pick someone to spend my imaginary Valentine’s Day, Captain Hook from OUAT would definitely be my top choice!

Next up is Ferrero Rocher, in a heart shape box of course. These are one of my favourite chocolates and even though I know Chris has bought some for the girls, I secretly hope I have a box too! Since we’re spending the day together as a family, a board game would be a great idea. I love Ticket to Ride and since the new United Kingdom version was released just before Christmas, I’d love a copy of this. Finally, last but not least, some Haagen Dazs. Strawberry Cheesecake is the big recommendation for Valentine’s Day this year but I’d happily take any flavour! Bailey’s has always been my all time favourite and I’d love to give Salted Caramel a try too!

My Christmas Wishlist 2015

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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!

A Weekend Wish List – Electrical Appliances

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As it’s been a while since I did a wish list, I thought I would take some downtime over the weekend to tell you about the electrical items I’ve been lusting after recently. Sure it’s a little sad to want some of these things, but this is coming from someone who once had a kettle, toaster and microwave for her birthday! Also, since my kettle had to be returned (it was recalled) I’ve been looking around for a new one and come across several handy items which may be bought from sites like Kitchenotic.com.

electrics

Okay so it’s not a huge list, but all of these things would definitely be greatly appreciated. Majority of these are luxuries not essentials, but some would obviously replace the items I currently have and are on their way out, but since I have been trying to save money I think I’ll get a sub zero Freezer Appliance Repair for the ones that are currently malfunctioning instead of buying a completely new appliance.

Steam Irons – while I do currently have an iron, it’s definitely on it’s last legs. With all the sewing I’ve been doing recently (and more planned) I’m going to need a good working iron to make sure everything looks at its best. Even the hair bows I make require ironing so it’s pretty much an essential – especially if my current one dies.

Hand-held Vacuum – this is both an essential and a luxury. We currently have two hoovers, a Henry and a Dyson. One is kept on the ground floor and one on the first floor but both are big and a hassle to get out. As we have laminate flooring throughout our downstairs, dust and hairs collect really quickly. A hand-held vacuum would just be so much quicker to grab, hoover and be done with once or twice a week.

Electric Pasta Maker – until recently I didn’t even know these existed. I’ve always fancied the idea of making my own pasta but it always seems like such a hassle, especially with the ones where you feed it in and turn the handle. These electric pasta makers look so much easier and I’d definitely like to give it a try. I doubt it would get much use, just like my stand mixer and bread maker, but even still.

Breakfast machine – I don’t think that’s its official name but it’s definitely what I think of it as. These are a bit of a gadget really and you can get all types of different ones. However I think it would be pretty cool to have one machine that sort of did everything when it comes to a cooked breakfast. It won’t feed the whole family but it might mean I’d get breakfast in bed more often!

Sewing machines – last week I mentioned that I might be needing a sewing machine soon as mine is definitely not what it used to be when I was given it for my 18th birthday. I’m not exactly sure what I’m looking for when it comes to a new sewing machine though but making sure it looks pretty would definitely be a factor! Also buttons instead of a dial might be a nice change.

Dulux PaintPod – I’m sure other people make these but Dulux is the only make I’ve seen for sale (usually in B&Q). With doing so much decorating (we’re on our fourth room) and more to do I can’t help but feel like one of these would make life so much easier. We bought a wallpaper stripper very early on but these look like they could be a godsend. That said, you don’t see them for sale as much these days so maybe they’re more hassle than they’re worth.

As well as all those things, I would also love an iKettle (control the kettle with your iPhone, hell yeah), a breakfast sandwich maker (can you see a theme here?), a new refrigerator, and a tap that boils water for me (imagine, instant tea!!). Honestly I should probably just enter the Gadget Show competitions and then I’d have lots of appliances that I would really love!