Currently at Christmas

Happy Christmas Eve!

I can't believe it's already here. This month has gone so fast.

I have one last festive post I want to squeeze in before I log off for Christmas, so let's do this.

It's been over six months since I last did one of these Currently posts, so it seems like the perfect time for a catch up. And since it's December, let's make it festive.

This is what I've been up to lately:

Reading

I wanted to read lots of festive books this month, but so far I've only found the time for a reread of A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J Maas, and three quarters of Upon a Frosted Star by M.A. Kuzniar. It's Swan Lake meets The Great Gatsby, and the writing is so beautiful, and giving off Caraval and The Night Circus vibes. I'm loving it so far- it's so gorgeous, sad, and romantic. (And I'm not one for romance books at all). I'm still hoping to fit in The Nutcracker this Christmas, but also wanted to read The Penguin Book of Christmas Stories, and reread Little Women, Midnight in Everwood, and A Christmas Carol before the month was through. I never find quite as much time to read in December, and often end up dozing off when I do as Christmas wears me out, so I guess most of them will have to keep for another year.

Besides seasonal books, I have read lots of great evergreen books over the last couple of months, too. I flew through the entire Blood and Ash series, adored A Curse for True Love, got completely lost in Iron Flame, and fell in love with Legends and Lattes when I read it earlier in the month. Would recommend them all. I've read a few others as well, but these were my favourites from recent months.

Watching

Over the last couple of weeks, I've broken out the Christmas movies and TV shows, and am trying to work my way through my favourites. So far I've watched Santa Claus the Movie, The Muppets Christmas Carol, The Santa Clause, While You Were Sleeping, Home Alone 1 & 2, Little Women (1994), Meet Me in St. Louis, Miracle on 34th Street, The Snowman, Love Actually, The Holiday, the Little Women BBC mini series, The Gavin and Stacey Christmas specials, and The Vicar of Dibley's 'Merry Christmas' episode (the one where Geraldine dives head first into the chocolate fountain and then gets drunk before Christmas mass). I've also had Christmas cooking shows on in the background, and have been watching some non-festive stuff, too, including Neighbours, Faraway Downs, and a Lost rewatch. (I'm currently on season five). No doubt I'll be watching lots of festive TV with the family over the next few days, too.

Listening

I've been listening to all the usual Christmas songs while getting ready for Christmas, and of course, Ronan Keating's Winter Songs album has also been played a lot lately. (Old habits die hard). It wouldn't be Christmas without it.

Stitching

I've just gone back to cross stitching the little Satsuma Street retro baubles I began a year or two ago. I'm only on the third one, and still have another four to go. 

Playing

It'll come as no surprise that I've been enjoying the seasonal content in Animal Crossing when I've found a spare second to play. I love the festive additions to the game so much. I've been busy building pink Christmas rooms in my main character's house, have added Christmas wreaths to all the doors of my villagers' houses, started putting out festive furniture on my island, and have been dressing my characters in the cutest Christmas outfits. It's such a cute game to play at Christmas time if you like cosy sim games. I've been playing it for almost four years, and I still love it!

Painting

It's been a few weeks since I last picked up a paint brush, but I recently started colourising the awesome Throne of Glass colouring book. I wanted to try some festive painting this year, but all the present wrapping has aggravated the spinal pain in my neck, so I've not been able to bend over a colouring book to try. *Sad face.*

Writing

I finally wrote my Christmas cards a couple of weeks ago while watching The Santa Clause. I went with these colourful cards by Tache from TK Maxx. The designs are so fun.

Wrapping

I also managed to get all of my Christmas presents wrapped by mid-month (including the dog's). I actually started wrapping them in November, and did them in small batches to try to make it easier on my back. If you have chronic pain, staggering your wrapping definitely helps! I spent a couple of hours last Sunday adding red and white twine and candy canes to them, and now they're done I feel much more organised. This year's wrapping paper is covered in gingerbread men using cups of cocoa like hot tubs, and I got it from Zazzle when it was half off. It's not cheap, but I couldn't resist.

Decorating

I decorated my bedroom for Christmas about ten days into the month, and it feels so festive and cosy with all the fairy lights and retro decorations up. I have a small real tree on what is normally my dressing table, loads of retro deer ornaments, and lots of other decorations dotted about. We also finally managed to put the decorations up in the living room on Wednesday, so the house is looking so festive now.

Loving

Seeing all the houses and town centres decorated for Christmas. We went for a drive to spot Christmas lights the other night, and there are so many good ones this year. I love how Christmas lights brighten up the long winter nights.

Liking

How my bedroom currently smells strongly of pine from the Christmas tree. It smells so good!

Enjoying

Getting ready for Christmas. I always enjoy all the fun little activities we do in the lead up to Christmas to prepare for it- wrapping presents, hanging decorations, shopping for treats etc- even if my body protests a lot these days.

Needing

To dress the mantle with fir branches and pine cones. (I've been waiting for the greenery from the garden to dry, so I'll have to do a last minute job today).

And some rest and a decent night's sleep because I've not been sleeping, and I'm shattered.

Wanting

To find the Loungefly Lady and the Tramp mini backpack, the Hunger Games deluxe box set, and the Illumicrate Olivie Blake book set under the tree this Christmas. Please Santa; I've been very good this year. *Cough cough.*

Wishing

I could get out and about more, and had someone to do all the fun festive things with. Christmas isn't so fun when there's no one to enjoy it all with.

Eating 

Far too many Reese's peanut butter Christmas trees and Cadbury praline chocolate Puds. And a couple of Christmas Doughnut Time doughnuts. Why are Christmas treats so much tastier than regular treats?

Drinking

I've had a couple of Costa hot chocolates delivered lately, which has been lovely as I hadn't had one in years. Their signature hot chocolate is my favourite, but last time, I tried the Terry's Chocolate Orange one and it was sooo good. Would recommend.

Looking

forward to a lovely Christmas with my family. We're having a family Christmas buffet this afternoon, and a quiet Christmas Day at home, but I can't wait to enjoy lots of good food, Christmas movies, and maybe even a board game or two together over the next couple of days. And most of all, I'm just looking forward to having a spare second to relax!

And that's my life lately in a nut shell.

I hope you have a fantastic Christmas how ever you're celebrating, or a lovely week / other religious holiday if you're not. Eat, drink, and be merry, and have an extra slice of cake for me. 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, guys!

What are your plans for Christmas?

What I Got For Christmas 2021

Today, I thought I'd show you the lovely presents I was given for Christmas last year.

I know, I know; Christmas was ages ago now, but I'm lagging behind with my blog posts as I've been unwell a lot lately. I still want to document them to look back on, so I hope you'll indulge me as I chat about the cute things I was given. I promise it won't get too festive.

If you're still reading this, I guess you're curious to see what presents I got under the tree, so let's get cracking before you change your mind.

My parents got me this amazing mint green Robin Hood mini backpack from Loungefly, which had been on my wish list for ages. I was so excited when I unwrapped it on Christmas morning, as Robin Hood has always been one of my favourite Disney films, and I was pretty obsessed with it when I was growing up. It's the cutest little backpack, and the best part is that it has Sir Hiss with his head in a balloon on the back, with the same image used for the lining. I love it!

If anyone wants me to do a full review of the backpack, just let me know.

As you've probably noticed by now, I'm a little addicted to Animal Crossing, so one of my sister's got me an Animal Crossing jigsaw. The funny thing is, I bought her the exact same one! We're going to have to have jigsaw wars to see who can complete it first. I haven't done a jigsaw since I was about ten, so this could end badly.

My little sister also got me the cutest Animal Crossing Poppy bookmark from Mollie Crossing Studio on Etsy., which is perfect as I was down to my last bookmark. Where do they disappear to? Someone please tell me.

I also got some Animal Crossing presents from one of my lovely friends, including some adorable bath fizzers, a Flurry figurine, and a fun summer jigsaw. They're all so cute! My friend also sent me an awesome pair of Alice in Wonderland studs, but I haven't been able to get them to photograph well.

My younger sister, Sarah, got me a copy of Two Point Hospital to play on the Switch. I haven't played on it much yet as I've been too fatigued and brain fogged to figure it out, but I'm sure it won't be long until I'm addicted. I remember spending hours playing Theme Hospital on the PS1 in the early noughties, and it looks like the same sort of thing.

I love getting books as presents, and I was pleased to receive a few for Christmas from my parents, and my older sister. I got the Shadow in the Glass by JJA Harwood, which sounds like a new take on Cinderella; The Deep by Alma Katsu, a psychological thriller and gothic ghost story set on board the Titanic and Britannic; and a beautiful Barnes & Noble leather bound edition of six of H.G. Wells' most famous books. I've only ever read War of the Worlds, and have wanted to try some of his other stories for years, so I'm pleased to finally have this book in my collection. It's been on my wish list for years. The cover is gorgeous, with a flying saucer, solar system, and clock faces entwined on cobalt blue, and if the design isn't enough to tempt you, the pages are gilded in gold. 

I naturally had a few Erstwilder brooches on my Christmas list, and my parents bought me the King of the Coast brooch from last year's Jocelyn Proust collection. It's a beautiful red and green Australian king parrot, and it's made from some stunning red, green, and pearlescent white textured resins. It's a beauty, and I love it.

Speaking of jewellery, I also got the cutest pair of scalloped-edged, hot pink Fossil heart earrings from my parents. I always seem to get things from Fossil as my Mum's obsessed.

One of the coolest, most meaningful presents I got was a Pound Puppies basset hound teddy, from my sister and brother-in-law. It's just like one I had when I was little, except my childhood version also had a Velcro pouch in its belly with three puppies inside. I used to take them everywhere, and still have them packed away in the loft somewhere. As it was a childhood favourite, I was thrilled when I discovered that some of the old eighties and nineties Pound Puppies had been brought back, even if the Mums and pups weren't included. I added this almost identical one to my wishlist ages ago, thinking of buying it for myself at some point for the nostalgia, but never expected anyone to buy it for me. I was really excited to unwrap it on Christmas morning, and it now brings back lots of childhood memories. Pound Puppies were the best. Did anyone have one?

My parents and sister stocked me up on chocolate with a couple of selection boxes. I also got a Chocolate Orange, which is a tradition in our family at Christmas, but it didn't last long enough to make it in to photos. They're just too yummy.

My best friend sent me a thoughtful box of American chocolate from Planet Candy... luckily filled with some of the few American chocolates I actually like. Who knew the white Reese's were so good?!

And I was also gifted some hot chocolate goodies from another of my lovely friends, including the sweetest gingerbread man spoon with my name engraved on it. I'm looking forward to trying the hot chocolate bomb and stirrers soon. They'll be perfect for a chilly evening in front of the TV.

I also got a few other small bits and bobs I haven't photographed, and some Christmas money from a couple of my relatives, which I put towards some goodies from The Body Shop (mostly body butters, and shower gels), as well as a navy polka dot Lyra dress from Lady Vintage I got in the sale.

I love everything I was given this Christmas. My friends and family gave me some really cute and thoughtful gifts, and several that I'd been coveting for ages. I'm so grateful for their generosity, and still feel spoilt. Thanks to everyone who gave me a present; you guys are the best!

What was the best present you got for Christmas?

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Currently on Lockdown : November 2020

It's been over a year since I last wrote a 'Currently' post to share what I've been getting up to and enjoying lately, so I think it's time for a long over due catch up. 

Reading

I've read for at least an hour every day so far this year, but I haven't read as much as I would've liked because I keep getting distracted by Animal Crossing. The addiction is real! I've just finished my twenty-seventh book of the year so far, which really isn't that bad at all, and have been reading a lot of psychological thrillers over the last few months. Some of them weren't anything special, but I really enjoyed The Minders and What Lies Between Us by John Marrs, No One Home by Tim Weaver, and Come Back For Me by Heidi Perks. 

I also loved The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, about a young woman with depression who takes her own life and gets to try out all the lives she could've lived in a library between life and death. While the writing style is quite simple, it's full of powerful messages about life that you can't always see for yourself when you're struggling with depression, and I think it could help a lot of people battling depression and suicidal thoughts. I wish I could've read this when I was at my lowest in my late teens. 

Other books I've really enjoyed this year include the new Hunger Games prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (although, I now hate Snow even more); Q by Christina Dalcher; Dear Edward by Ann Neapolitano, and The Caraval series by Stephanie Garber (which has become one of my favourite book series of all time). 

If you'd like to keep up with what I'm reading, you can find me on Goodreads here.

Watching

I've been so restless lately, I've been finding it really hard to get in to anything new. I started watching Away, and The Rain on Netflix, but got bored after a few episodes and haven't gone back to either yet. I've mostly just been enjoying Neighbours and Home and Away, and watching true crime documentaries. I finally got around to watching a fascinating Ted Bundy documentary on Amazon Prime, and have watched a few on Netflix about serial killers and unexplained missing person's / murder cases. I also enjoyed watching the mini series 'Des' about the serial killer Dennis Nilsen, who I didn't know much about before it. Even for a serial killer, what he did was fucked up. A few months ago, I also rewatched all six seasons of Lost twice, and finally got around to watching Anne with an E, which I loved.

As for movies, I've mostly been rewatching old favourites, but I recently watched Lion, which broke my heart; The Secret, which wasn't anything special but lovely for a rainy Sunday morning; and the new Little Women film, which I actually found quite disappointing. Am I the only one who thought it was mediocre compared to the 1994 and BBC versions? I mean, it was okay and it's grown on me since the first time I watched it, but I thought the actors who played Jo, Beth, and Meg didn't do the characters justice; they were really bland. Give me the Winona Ryder version any day! (If you haven't seen that version, it's lovely, and a great Christmas film, too).

Listening

I haven't been listening to much of anything new lately, except for two albums from opposite ends of my musical tastes- Ronan Keating's Twenty Twenty album, and Linkin Park's 20th anniversary rerelease of their debut album, Hybrid Theory. The fact that Hybrid Theory is 20 years old makes me feel so old. I was still in secondary school studying for my GCSEs when it was originally released in 2000, and it's hard to believe so many years have passed. (I refuse to believe I'm getting old). It was an incredible album then, and it still holds up all these years later. I've been returning to it time and time again for twenty years, but had to get the anniversary edition, which included Reanimation and a bunch of b-sides, rarities, and demos to download. There are some brilliant tracks in the mix, and it's so good to hear Chester's voice on 'new' music again- as well as have an excuse to blast out old favourites like In The End, Crawling, A Place For My Head, and Runaway.

Stitching

Between arthritis issues and Animal Crossing, I haven't done a lot of cross stitching this year, but I've just returned to a Christmas cross stitch I began last year and never finished. I'm stitching the Deck the Halls wall hanging from Satsuma Street, which is a really colourful Scandinavian-style cross stitch, and a little different to the more traditional designs you usually see at Christmas time in England. It's a beautiful design, and so fun and colourful. I need to put the effort in to get it finished in time to hang up in December, which should be doable as I haven't got loads left to stitch now. I think I'm about 3/5ths of the way through. I'll be sure to blog the finished wall hanging once I'm done- hopefully some time in December.

Playing

I'm still addicted to Animal Crossing New Horizons, and have played it every day since it was released in March. I've lost far too many hours to it this year... more than I care to admit, but it's helped me cope with lockdown and Covid life, so it's not necessarily a bad thing. I love playing on it every day- it's so cute and relaxing. Lately, I've been enjoying collecting the Halloween and Mush furniture, making my island look all autumnal, and working on a haunted house. I've also knocked down half of my island because I hate it and have decided to redo my island instead of restarting the game from scratch, so it's currently a big hot mess. I'm trying to make it pretty and colourful and a little bit fairy-core, and can't wait to make it festive for Christmas, too. Who else is addicted to Animal Crossing?

Buying

I've been concentrating on Christmas shopping lately and think I'm about half way there now. I've found some great gifts I can't wait to give to my family next month. (How is Christmas next month already)?? I've also bought a few treats for myself along the way, including Erstwilder brooches (naturally), the OPI Advent calendar, my first Papergang stationery box, and some of The Body Shop's festive products. I'm hoping to blog about all of them soon.

Wanting

About 8395890201 resin brooches, some new books, a cure for the Corona Virus, things to go back to how they were, a good Christmas with my family, and for Trump to do the world a favour and fuck off, 

Needing

I really need some new black ankle boots, some ballet pumps, new underwear, some new dresses, a hair cut, an eye test and new glasses, Christmas gift wrapping supplies, a holiday, some pain-free days, more hours in the day, a good concert, a good night's sleep, and to get out of this house before the walls close in on me.

Face covering from Lady Vintage

Wishing

The pandemic could be over, and the world could go back to normal. The news about the Pfizer vaccine does sound promising, though, so maybe immunity is on the horizon, and things will start improving for us in 2021. Fingers crossed.

Eating

One of the few positives of the pandemic is that things have become more accessible for people stuck at home, and things I would normally miss out on are now available for home delivery. I've enjoyed taking advantage of this and have treated my family to a box of baked goods a few times since the first lockdown in March to make lockdown / Covid life a little more bearable. I treated us to a box of Krispy Kremes over Halloween, and earlier in the year, we ordered treats from Millie's Cookies, Ben's Cookies, and Doughnut Time, which were always the best ideas. Cookies and doughnuts make any day better- especially during Covid times. Fact. It's all about the little things in life right now. 

I also recently discovered Cadbury Chocolate Orange buttons and holy crap, they're amazing! 

Celebrating

Biden winning the presidency and Trump losing with all the grace and dignity of a toddler throwing a tantrum because his toys were taken away. His reaction to losing has been so entertaining, I'm just sorry I didn't have popcorn. I've never been so invested in another country's election before, but I'm so relieved that Biden won and we won't have to endure another four years of Trump talking crap and causing devastation wherever he goes. It's great to have a female vice president- and a woman of colour at that- in the White House for the first time, too. The future actually feels hopeful for the first time in a while. Now we just need to get rid of Boris and the Tories and the UK might stand a chance, too.

Loving

I've loved finally getting to leave the house again recently after barely leaving the house all year (I think last week's trip to the doctor's brings me up to six breaks from confinement in 2020!). It's been great to get back out in to the real world, and seeing how pretty The Cotswolds is looking this autumn. 

Enjoying

Over the last year or two, we've been getting almost daily visits from grey squirrels in our garden. At first, I would just spot them running along our fence line, but recently, I've seen them foraging on the grass, and scurrying closer to the house to steal berries from next door's trees. There's at least two of them, and I think we now have a dray in the tree at the bottom of our garden. I've not been to investigate, but my Mum keeps finding abandoned walnuts on the ground beneath it. I haven't been able to go out much this year, so I've been enjoying watching them from my bedroom window, and trying to snap a photo or two before they're gone again. I recently snapped this photo through my  window of one of them helping itself to a seed pod / nut from my next door neighbour's garden after it climbed across from ours. It's not great quality as it was taken through glass and zoomed in, but you get the idea.

Looking

forward to spending Christmas with my family, and forgetting about the Corona Virus for a couple of days. I'm so ready for fairy lights and cheerful decorations, Christmas movies, listening to festive tunes, indulging in some good food, and a house full of Christmas cheer. I just hope we'll be allowed to mix households again after the national lockdown so my sister and brother-in-law will be able to join us for Christmas Day. I'm keeping everything crossed.

Well, that's what I've been up to lately. What about you? How are you coping with lockdown / virus life?

Surviving Lockdown With Animal Crossing New Horizons

When people ask you what you did during the Covid-19 lockdown, what are you going to be able to tell them? I learnt a new craft? I took up gardening? I read a book a day? Me? I will have to admit that I spent most of my time glued to my Switch playing Animal Crossing New Horizons.

I have played Animal Crossing New Horizons every day since it was released on March 20th, and have been enjoying it so much, I've already clocked up over 570 hours on the game! I'll admit I'm totally addicted, but I'm loving this game so much, and it's proving to be a great distraction from everything that's going on in the world at the moment. It's even helped to settle my anxiety, which was all over the place when lockdown first began in the UK. It could not have been released at a better time.

Before New Horizons was released, I was a big fan of Animal Crossing New Leaf, and had played it every day for over fifteen months after receiving a copy as a Christmas present from my younger sister. So, I was naturally excited for New Horizons as soon as I heard about it last year, and bought a Switch Lite just so I could play it.

I preordered the game and began playing it as soon as it arrived on release day. It took me four hours and a lot of resetting to settle on an island I liked (no, I'm not joking!), but once I was happy with a layout, island fruit (oranges), and airport colour (yellow) (all very important factors, as any AC devotee will tell you), I jumped right in to the game, and I've barely stopped playing since.

It didn't take me long to fall in love with this game or to become addicted to it just like I was with New Leaf. It's just so cute and wholesome.

I love that it includes many of the popular aspects and characteristics of previous Animal Crossing games we all know and love like fishing, catching bugs, expanding and decorating a house, cross breeding flowers, designing your own island, shopping for clothes and furniture etc., but with a new high def make over, and a ton of new features that were missing in the past. Some of my favourites include: Terraforming (waterfalls; waterfalls everywhere!); the ability to dig up trees and bushes and replant; crafting furniture from materials found on the island; wishing on shooting stars to earn star fragments for special furniture; having a large selection of clothes and accessories to shop from each day; being able to change your character's look at any time and getting a choice of skin colours; the ability to choose where to place villagers' houses and move the buildings; being able to send gifts to friends; and by far my favourite, the ability to place furniture outdoors! It used to frustrate the hell out of me that I couldn't do this in New Leaf! Now I can place sun loungers on the beach, and make a cemetery out of gravestones. It provides much more creative freedom.

Another thing I love is that the anthropomorphic animal islanders are even cuter in New Horizons than they were in New Leaf. I love how they now sing, run around air-planing, sit in random places eating snacks, and do yoga, I don't know why it amuses me so much. I've already said goodbye to a few characters since the beginning (Ken, Bruce, Bubbles, Zucker, Doc, Diva, Huck), and had several new ones move in, and I'm fairly happy with my current selection. I currently have Iggly, Mint, Gala, Cheri, Pinky, Poppy, Bianca, Nana, Tia and Eloise. I'm still hoping to find Lily and Peanut again, which were two of my favourites from my New Leaf town, but every time I island hop for new characters, I seem to find the worst characters like the eagles and gorillas. Or Ken. Ken's a creep.

I'm really enjoying visiting friends and my sister's islands to hang out, trade, shop, and find island inspiration, and having them visit me to do the same. It's the new cool way to socialise since we can't do this together in real life right now, and we don't even have to worry about social distancing! We can just run round islands together, wish on shooting stars, and beat each other with nets! Haha! (Still waiting on the return of the toy hammer, so nets will have to do for now!) The only bugbear I have about visiting other islands is that you now need a Nintendo subscription to be able to visit friends, which I feel is cheeky considering the price of the game. (You don't need the subscription to visit friends or family playing nearby via local play, though). I think it should be free and accessible to all players.

I've invested so many hours in to my island trying to make it look as pretty as possible. I've got loads still to develop, but the front section has been turned in to a housing estate with the plaza, a playground, and a cafe in the middle. I've got azalea hedges everywhere, and the gardens are filled with pink flowers. My funfair is taking shape, and I love my little cemetery and secret beach that I dug down to out of the cliff face. I'm still working on furnishing my house, but so far I'm happy with my pink and mint basement diner, and the pastel coloured playroom in my attic. I also began a Cute room this weekend, for the Cute furniture I have so far, and just added a second human character so that I could add another house to my island to decorate because six rooms are not enough for all the ideas I have planned. (It's also a great way to get extra storage when you've used up your 1600)!

I'm mostly aiming for a pretty, pastel, natural look for my island, but with fun, and creepy areas added in, but it's sure to change a thousand times before I'm satisfied with it. It's one of those games where you find yourself constantly tweaking and improving the look until it's perfect. It's all consuming, but it's proving to be the perfect distraction from the Corona Virus and isolation. It's given me something else to concentrate on and stops me thinking about all the awful stuff going on because I'm too busy trying to catch butterflies, craft recipes, and construct the perfect layouts. Even the natural sounds of the waves and the waterfalls are really calming, just like being near water in real life. It makes you feel like you're outdoors, even though you're cooped up indoors doing your part to stamp out the virus and keep everyone safe. Gah, I love it!

If you enjoy social simulation games and are looking for a fun way to occupy your time on lockdown and distract yourself from virus life, I couldn't recommend Animal Crossing New Horizons to you more. It's fun, it's cute, it's a great game to play with friends, and there is always so much to do. Yes, it's pricey, but it's worth every penny. Everyone I know who plays the game is addicted. Just be prepared to be, too! Once you start playing, you won't be able to stop!

If you play ACNH and want to hang out or trade, leave me your friend codes!

Do you play Animal Crossing New Horizons? What do you enjoy most about it?