Charity Shop & Bargain Haul 26/01/2017

I have decided that I would like to also focus on another aspect of my life that I am passionate about which is bargains! I am a self confessed bargain addict who loves nothing more than shopping in sales, on selling sites such as ebay, car boot sales or charity shops. I quite often go and have a gander at these places to see if I can spot anything worthwhile.

I had a look around my town centre today and did really well grabbing some things. I wanted to show you guys what I got. Unfortunately I do not have a brilliant camera and have just used my iPhone to take the photos so the quality isn't great! But if you are interested in this kind of thing, then keep reading!

So I first went into Wilkinson's which has now been renamed Wilko's (I am not sure why, but I still call it Wilkinson's.) They were selling off all of their Christmas decorations, gift bags and mugs for 20p. There wasn't an awful lot left but I did decide to grab one of the gift bags that I had been eyeing up earlier on in the year. I think they are really cute, it's a small gift bag with some hot pink lips on them. Very unique and would be great for a birthday gift of make-up. I may go back and get some more another day.

I then ventured into my local charity shops which is where I found some real bargains and some lovely clothing. 

Firstly I visited a local Animal Refuge shop where all the clothes are clearly priced as the same, for example: all dresses and playsuits were £2 regardless of the branding. I love this kind of shop as you can get primark or topshop clothes for the exact same price. I found a lovely black playsuit with white and hot pink flowers on. It also has a shiny gold belt around the middle. The playsuit wa from boohoo and I only paid £2 for it. I am always on the lookout for holiday clothes as I enjoy travelling, and this may end up being an outfit I take for my birthday trip to Disneyland Paris.

Next, I visited the Cancer Research shop which tends to be dearer than some of the others. However I was taking some of my own items in there and spotted a Superdry t-shirt. I know Superdry are pretty expensive as I love going in that shop myself. It was a deep purple/grey t-shirt with SuperDry Athletics written in silver sequins. I tried it on and it was a little bit big but I am going to wear it baggy style. It was only £3.25 which I think is really good for this brand. I love anything with a bit of sparkle!

Right behind the SuperDry t-shirt was a TopShop t-shirt. TopShop is currently my favourite high street brand, most of my clothing is from there to be honest. Again, I am like a magpie and spot anything sparkly, so this t-shirt caught my eye. It was a grey top with diamante and pearls on it. Unfortunately there is a pearl missing and one pearl is hanging off (which I shall be able to fix I would think and hopefully add a pearl back on.) I was susprised that this top was dearer than the SuperDry one but for £3.65 I still thought it was a bargain. I am always in need of more t-shirts.

I then went into Scope where most things are often only £1! I tried on 2 dresses, a jacket and a t-shirt. One dress was too small and one was too big unfortunately! The jacket wasn't my taste once I tried it on. But the t-shirt fit perfectly and was quite slimming. It's a plain black t-shirt with voil frills on the sleeves which gives it a more fancy look. I used to have a t-shirt like this years ago and it was great to jazz up a plain pair of jeans. It was from the brand South, which I personally had never heard of it, but I googled it and they seem to sell it on very.co.uk. The top was only £2.50 and I can't wait to wear it. 

My favourite purchase of the day came from a local Mind charity shop. I initially went into the shop as they had a gorgeous red skater dress with long sleeves on the mannequin in the window from Missguided. However, when I tried it on it was too tight. I then spotted a rail where everything was £2. I instantly saw this Topshop coral skater dress. I loved it from the moment I saw it, the material is so thick and heavy you can tell how brilliant quality it is. I tried it on and it fit perfectly. I cannot wait to wear this dress, just need an occasion for it now, maybe my birthday in Disneyland Paris again!

The last thing I found was in Debra (which is a skin charity.) I originally went in here to find a khaki green studded cardigan I'd spotted last week and for some reason didn't buy. Unfortunately for me, it had been sold. But then I found this black and electric blue sparkly jumper from Forever 21. I love Forever 21 and my nearest store (which was still 2 and a half hours away) shut down! The blue doesn't really show up on camera which is a little frustrating as I cannot show you how lovely this jumper is. It had just been reduced today from £2.49 to 99p! Bargain!

And that is everything I bought today on my quick trip into town. I'm sure you'll agree that these items were total bargains! If you'd like to see more of this kind of thing I am definitely up for posting about it more often. Leave a comment if you too are a bargain hunter!

The All-time Toughest Disney Quiz

I have been tagged in the All-Time Toughest Disney Quiz by the amazing and lovely Mandy Jean (@mandyjean on twitter & https://mandyjeanworld.wordpress.com/)

I love answering Disney questions and the tougher the better.....I say this now, but I haven't read the questions yet. So here goes.

Rules from Mandy Jean are as follows:
– You can only answer each question with ONE answer. No multiples! For example, if asked who your favourite character is, don’t answer with “Alice and Peter Pan”. You gotta choose ONLY ONE! (This is what’s gonna make it tough, you see… muahaha…)
– All answers must, of course, be Disney-related, but you can choose items from franchises owned by Disney i.e PIXAR, Star Wars, Marvel etc.
– Once you’re done, copy/paste the questions and tag some friends to challenge them too!
– EXTRA CHALLENGE: for extra pressure, time yourself and post the amount of time it took to complete this tag. Something tells me it won’t be quick!

If you want to join in I tag all of you to partake. 

Q1. Who is your all-time favourite Disney animator, and why?

I would have to say Ward Kimball who joined Disney back in 1934. He is my favourite as he animated some of my most beloved characters such as the Cheshire Cat, The Mad Hatter and Gus Gus from Cinderella.

Q2. What Disney era is your all-time favourite, and why? (i.e Golden Age, Renaissance etc.)

It would have to be the Renaissance era, starting at the Little Mermaid which was an amazing revival of the Princess movie, right up to Tarzan which has some of the most beautiful music from Disney cinematic history. It also features one of my ultimate favourite Disney movies: Beauty and the Beast.

Q3. If Walt Disney were alive and you were allowed to ask him ONE question, but ONE question only, what would you ask him?

Would you sign my autograph book please? ;)

Q4. Who is your all-time favourite Disney director, and why?

I would have to say Jennifer Lee...hello first female Disney film director and the first female director of a feature film that earned more than $1 billion in gross box office revenue! Plus Frozen is amazing!

Q5. What is your all-time favourite Disney song, and why?

Eeek such a hard question!!! I feel like it is most probably "Part of Your World" from the Little Mermaid. It has always resonated with me from being small. It's the song I sang aged 8 in the school choir, and I sang it again in a princess show in 2016. It is perfect!

Q6. If you were forced to erase ONE Disney movie from history, which would you pick, and why?

Home on the Range, I watched it once, and that was enough! It is literally so bad! Walt would disapprove.

Q7. Which Disney Park from around the world is your all-time favourite, and what makes it stand out from the others to you?

100% Epcot in Walt Disney World. I adore Epcot with every fibre of my being. Where else can you walk around the World like that and taste foods from each country, meet people from that country and just experience everything about that country. Plus I am totally into education and I feel like everytime I visit I learn something new!

Q8. You have only 30mins to spend in Disneyland before you’re magically whisked back home by a portal. What do you do with that time?

I would try and ride Alice in Wonderland and the Matterhorn as I am desperate to ride both of these rides! And if I could fit in a quick character meet and greet as I'm being whisked out I would!

Q9. You get to choose ONE Disney heroine to join the official line of Disney Princesses. Who do you choose and why?

Definitely Giselle, I relate to her so much and she technically is a Disney Princess. Therefore she deserves to be in the official line up. She has the sweetest personality and I wish more people in the real world could act like her sometimes.

Q10. Speaking of Disney Princesses… One will need to be demoted from the franchise to replace with the new heroine. Which existing princess would you remove from the franchise, and why?

This is going to be a controversial answer but...Mulan. Purely because she is not royal by blood or marriage and doesn't really fit into the princess line up. She is a very inspiring role model for young girls but just isn't a princess. She is so much more than that. 

Q11. What is your all-time favourite under-rated Disney movie, and why? (“Under-rated” meaning movies you don’t see or hear about these days… Like, ever.)

I would have to say The Great Mouse Detective (although a lot of my favourites are very underrated, however I am following the rules!) There is never any merchandise for this movie and nobody even knows it exists. It is so cute and is a type of family friendly mystery. It is unique to any other Disney film and I think this is why I enjoy it so much. Also, Vincent Price as the villain is perfection!

Q12. Which Disney villain do you feel is the most misunderstood, and why?

I would say Captain Hook. I am not saying he is a saint, but Peter Pan did get Hook's hand chopped off by a crocodile. It's no wonder he wants revenge!

Q13. You can only choose ONE Disney animal to be your pet. Who do you choose, and why?

I would choose Marie from the Aristocats. I am a cat person anyway but Marie is the sweetest little kitten ever. "Because I'm a lady that's why!"

Q14. Who is the ONE Disney character you can relate to most, and why?

Rapunzel is the character I relate to most. I feel that I am goofy and a bit naive just like her, but mostly I am a dreamer. I am always caught daydreaming about something, usually Disney related. My nickname growing up was Rapunzel too due to having extensively long blonde hair. ;)

Q15. Finally, the toughest question of all… What is your favourite Disney movie of all time, and why?

This changes pretty much every week but for now I am going to say Tangled. For all the reasons above and the fact that is one of the most beautiful love stories, has catchy music and one of my favourite villains. 

Ok guys I tag all of you to complete this too and let me know if you do!

Thanks Mandy!

Memory Maker

Have you ever wondered if the Memory Maker at Walt Disney World is worth the cost, or whether there are enough opportunities to take photographs in the parks? Well I can tell you the answer to those questions in my opinion is: YES!

Currently with all UK holidays bought through the Walt Disney World site, the Memory Maker package comes free. We visited in November 2016 and this was the case then too. However, I believe it is around $149 when bought in advance online. We wondered how many photographers were around the parks as I have been before and at different times of the year they appear in different locations. When we visited in November there were lots of opportunities for photos. As well as the photographers there are also ride photos and even in some cases, ride videos. Tower of Terror and the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train are the two attractions that currently have ride videos. It is very fun to go on rides more than once and figure out where the camera is for some hilarious posed photos such as above and below.

Space Mountain first time around.

Space Mountain second time around.

But I think that my favourite photos were the ones with the characters. Character meet and greets were so funny and the photos reflect that. Any of the permanent locations had a photopass photographer with them, which meant there were lots of options. Here are some of my favourites.

I also really enjoyed the magic shots. Magic shots are photographs which are posed in a particular way and then an added bit of "magic" appears in the photograph later. It's always fun watching the photographer pose people while trying to guess what may be added to the photograph! Here are my favourite magic shots!

Therefore, in my opinion the Memory Maker is most definitely worth it. It managed to get photographs that we wouldn't normally have been able to capture and meant that I didn't have to spend my days walking around with a camera. I really enjoy looking back at all of the captures. We were there for 13 nights but only spent about 10 of them in Disney World, and we managed to rack up over 950 photos! I would 100% recommend it to families or groups of friends. 

All Movies I Have Watched in 2016!

I adore watching movies and like a whole range of genres. This is a comprehensive list of everything I've watched in the year 2016. 

Purple = Seen Before

Pink = First Time Viewing

Viva Las Vegas

The Fault in Our Stars

The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Into the Woods

Diana The Last Days of a Princess

The Stepford Children

Alice in Wonderland (1951)

Home

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Endless Love

Stranger than Fiction

Pitch Perfect 2

Sleeping Beauty (2014)

Red Riding Hood

Nancy Drew

Winnie the Pooh

Secrets in the Walls

Cinderella (1997)

The Sword in the Stone

Grease Live

Tomorrowland

Goosebumps

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

Grease 2

Toy Story

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Mickey, Donald & Goofy, the Three Musketeers

The Little Mermaid

Rugrats Go Wild

Piglet's Big Movie

Boyhood

ATM

Toy Story 3

Lemonade Mouth

Maleficent

The Land Before Time

Poltergeist (2015)

The Ward

Zootopia

Snervous Tyler Oakley

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Meet the Robinsons

E.T.

Nanny Mcphee and the Big Bang

Descendants

The Princess and the Frog

Meet the Small Potatoes

The Jungle Book (2016)

Supergirl

A Bug's Life

Song of the South

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Friday Download: The Movie

Bad Hair Day

The Black Cauldron

Van Helsing

Kindergarten Cop

Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016)

Alice in Wonderland (2010)

Little Shop of Horrors

Chicago

The Birds

Aladdin

Matilda

Mamma Mia

Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed

Beethoven's 2nd

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The Good Dinosaur

The Conjuring 2

Crimson Peak

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad

WALL.E

Hocus Pocus

The 5th Wave

Coraline

The Sound of Music

Jingle All the Way 2

How The Grinch Stole Christmas

TinkerBell and the Legend of the Neverbeast

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials

The Angry Birds Movie

Lights Out

The Secret Life of Pets

Strange Magic

Valentine's Day

Barbie in a Christmas Carol

Miracle on 24th Street (!947)

Call Me Claus

Mickey's Once upon a Christmas

Moana

The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause

Hairspray Live

Les Miserables

Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger

Beauty and the Beast

Mickey's Christmas Carol

Miracle on 34th Street (1994)

Rise of the Guardians

The Country Bears

Get Santa

Jason and the Argonauts

Bedknobs and Broomsticks

The Jungle Book (2016)

Frozen

The Santa Clause 2

Back to the Future

Pinocchio

Perfect Sisters

Teen Beach Movie

The Princess Diaries

Disneyland Paris 2016 Trip Report

Today is the day that I finally talk about our amazing trip to Disneyland Paris! I knew taking a Disney first timer would be amazing but seeing Joe's face as we stepped into the magical land blew me away. He uttered the words, "it's more magical than I thought it would be!" And those exact words made my heart flutter!

Not only had Joe never been to Disney before, he also had not flown in a plane before. So it was a holiday of whole new experiences for him. As we stepped aboard the Easyjet plane on September 12th 2016, the excitement just grew and grew! We had already planned that once we arrived we would check in at our hotel and then head to Disney Village; and that is precisely what we did. We checked into the Kyriad, which is a Disney partner hotel (this means it's still close to Disney but they do not own the property.) The hotel itself I find lovely, it has a good breakfast too which is always a bonus! It now additionally has a farm with cute little bunnies, llamas, sheep etc. We dumped our bags and headed straight onto the bus for Disney Village. I have wanted to try Earl of Sandwich for a long time now, so my goal was to get us to go there for tea. Somehow I managed it, considering Joe isn't the World's Biggest Sandwich Fan. He spotted a pizza and opted for that. It looked really tasty and was smothered in that French cheese that was going to be a recurring theme for the holiday. I chose the children's meal as my Burger King at lunch had filled me up, plus I didn't fancy trying to ask for my sandwich plain with the language barrier. I had a ham and cheese sandwich and a chocolate mousse. Both items were divine and I cannot wait to visit Earl of Sandwich in Orlando now! I love how neatly the items were wrapped in foil with a little sticker on. Such a cute touch. We did a little bit of shopping and Joe was excited to see Christmas items in the shop windows, then we headed back home to get some sleep before the exciting day ahead.

The first day at Disneyland was full to the brim of rides and shows. We visited the main Disneyland Park first as I wanted to truly show Joe how magical it can be. Our first ride (which is actually turning into a Disneyland Paris tradition) was Buzz Lightyear. This is a ride where you shoot at targets to earn points. I knew Joe would enjoy this as it is an interactive style ride, plus who doesn't love Toy Story. I remember hearing Joe say, "it's just like real life Toy Story!" After this we followed on by riding Casey Junior, The Storybook land boats, It's a Small World, Snow White, Peter Pan's Flight, Dumbo, Mad Tea Party and so much more!! We tried the Market House Deli for lunch which was actually really nice, it's situated on Main Street. Lucy and Joe had toasties and I opted for a simple bag of crisps and a gorgeous cupcake. I love how soft their icing is. Joe was looking forward to seeing the Frozen singalong so we went there next, well after the 2 of them bought Elsa slushies. I believe Joe was very impressed with the show as he went to watch it again on our last day. Joe somehow managed to drag me on Space Mountain Mission 2! I hate going upside down and I don't know what crazy thought went through my head in that moment for me to agree to such things! However I braved it, I wouldn't go on it again though, I loved the speed of it but I got battered so much I had a bad headache and dizziness for the rest of the day! We then picked our parade spot the the most magical parade. We chose to sit in the immense heat outside the towers in Fantasyland for about 20 minutes, which felt like torture but so worth it. The temperature was 31 degrees!!! The parade was probably my favourite I've ever seen, not because of the floats but because of the character interactions. Me and Lucy were getting into the spirit by singing, waving and blowing kisses, and it really paid off. A lot of them noticed us and came over and talked to us which made for a great vlog. Phantom Manor had broken down so we made our way to Pirates of the Caribbean which quickly became one of Joe's favourite rides. He even bought the souvenir photograph! We finally got to go on Phantom Manor after that which is one of my favourites, but that's because I love anything out of the ordinary and have a fondness for Haunted Mansion in WDW. We decided we wanted to visit Hakuna Matata for tea, we all got the spicy chicken and spicy waffle fries. It is a fond favourite of all of ours. The taste is very spicy so if you're not keen on spices this is not the place to visit. I also love the African decor. We picked our spot at the front of the park near the gazebo and staked it out for Dreams. This is the first time I properly got to watch it and it was truly magical, I can see why everyone adores it so much. Even Lucy joined in with enjoying it once she realised the fireworks didn't make a loud noise. It ended the night beautifully. <3

Once Upon A Time Tag

Sorry I have been MIA for a while. Work has been busy and famiy stuff and I visited Disneyland Paris! However, today I am going to do the Once Upon a Time Tag. I have been a huge fan of Once Upon a Time since the first day it aired on UK television. Albeit they actually took it off British tv, but I now follow through my box sets and am waiting to get season 5 for Christmas! Yes I am behind but I am loving taking my time to catch up!

So here we go!

1. Favourite Male Character?

I can see this tag being tough already. Okay it has to be either Hook due to his dreamy and charismatic self, plus the way he defends Emma in any situation; or Rumpelstiltskin who I have enjoyed watching on screen from the very start.

2. Favourite Female Character?

Regina Mills, I have always loved a good Disney villain, but I love them even more when they turn over a new leaf and redeem themselves. Plus she has the most killer outfits!

3. Least Favourite Male Character?

This is a toss up between my 2 most hated characters in the whole series: Neal and Will. Neal I find annoying as he literally doesn't remind me as the cute Baelfire whatsoever (but at least they killed him off!) And then Will Scarlet is just generally annoying, I find his character very bland and he's just kind of there.

4. Least Favourite Female Character

Probably Lily, she was cute in her flashback scenes with Emma, but not overly keen on this bad ass dragon bitch kind of thing she has going.

5. Favourite Villain

Ahh Rumple or Regina, I really can't pick!

6. Your Favourite Scene

Wow that's specific erm...maybe when Belle chips the cup, as I love Beauty and the Beast!

7. Favourite Ship

Hook's pirate shi....haha just kidding! I would have to say Rumbelle! I know a lot of people dislike them but I have a huge admiration for anything Beauty and the Beast and I think it's sweet how Belle softens Rumple's hard core.

8. Favourite Friendship

Snow and Ruby in the earlier series.

9. Saddest Moment

When Henry almost died in season 1.

10. Funniest Moment

Pretty much any of the Rumple scenes with his little giggle.

11. Favourite bad ass scene

When Snow shows off all her fighting skills!

12. Favourite Kiss

When Charming kisses Snow to wake her up.

13. Do you want the Evil Queen to get her happy ending?

Of Course!!!!

14. Your Favourite OMFG moment

When you find out that Ruby is the wolf and ate her boyfriend

15. Which side are you? Good or Evil?

Good definitely. I like to think I always try and do what's right

16. Your Favourite Once upon a Time outfit?

Pretty much any of Regina's they are gorgeous!

17. Favourite Episode

Operation Mongoose

18. Favourite Actor

Robert Carlyle he is flawless!

19. Favourite Actress

Lana Parilla she is flawless too. She is so impressive as the Evil Queen

20. Favourite Quote

"Magic always comes with a price Dearie!"

21. Favourite Backstory

Rumplestiltskin's

22. Something you want to know that hasn't been revealed yet

If they are going to be stuck in Storybrooke forever

23. What prop would you steal from the set?

Henry's storybook

24. If you could be any character who would you be?

Either Belle or Regina.

25. Favourite Character Entrance?

Regina when she storms into Snow and Charming's Wedding

26. Which Character Would you like to see more of?

Tinker Bell!

27. Favourite location/set?

Rumple's shop with all the artefacts

28. Enchanted Forest or Storybrooke?

Enchanted Forest

29. Favourite Fairy tale

Beauty and the Beast

30. What got you interested in Once upon a Time?

Erm...Hello...Huge Disney Fan Alert!!!!

That's it for this tag guys...I tag all of you Once upon a time fans to do this too and comment below!