In which I have a birthday wishlist

It's my birthday in a couple of weeks so I thought this would be a good excuse to indulge in some online window shopping. I thought I would go ahead and share some of the things I have been eying up of late.

1. Galaxy tights.
I know this trend has been around for a while, but it looks so much fun to pair with a black dress. It is also one of those things where they cost so much that I always find myself thinking of how much more stuff I could get for the same amount, but perfect indulgence for a birthday. Right? 

2. More Lego.
 I can't deny that Lego have some freaking awesome sets out right now. My favourites are the Lego Gandalf + Cart set or Wethertop from the Lord of the Rings series. Or Wolverine, Deadpool and the Helicoper set, or the massive Harley, Joker, Batman circus set from the Lego Heroes series. There is also a really cool looking lighthouse in the Creator series. I drool over all of these in the toy shop. 

3. My ears pierced 
I used to wear earrings every single day for years. I had them pierced at 16 and then about 2 years ago one day they started bleeding. After wearing earrings for 6 years they slowly healed up. One is completely gone and with some effort I can still get an earring in the left ear. Seems an odd birthday wish because it's a lack of a thing, a hole that I am wanting rather than a thing itself. :)

4. New shoes.
I would like a new pair of every day comfy shoes for just being out and about + a new pair of comfortable heels for going out out. When searching for shoes I found the pervading presence of creepers fascinating. There were so many that there were a few lace up brogue-like ones that I paused over and considered. It shows how effective trends can be. Creepers are not my style. Or they are the style I wore as a teenager. I like to wear brogues as my every day shoes or other cute lace-ups and yet for a moment I was nearly convinced that I like something I don't!

This is the one I was tempted by, but it doesn't beat the blue sude shoes below a bit.

Night Out shoe contenders:
From Irregular Choice

 

Every day shoes:

Blue Suede shoes from Clarks.
 Actually looked and touched these in the shop yesterday. They are so soft! However as I live in Britain I am a bit afraid of getting suede shoes as they can get ruined in the rain. I know people say avoid wearing them in the rain, but again -Britain- it can look like a sunny day and then chuck it down. Any advice on this as I do really like these shoes?

Churnky brogues 'Luigi Shark Tooth' from Office They look really comfy and long-lasting. 

 Kickers red ankle boots from Asos. Again, comfy but possibly won't go with quite as much stuff.

And that is enough shoes!

5. Peter pan collar.
qtpiworkshop on etsy has loads of beautiful collars that are seriously tempting. Like this one:

6. Something cute like this!
Heartless Amigurimi from AnaZoe.

After all that though I am honestly a massive fan of surprises so if you are someone who actually knows me don't think of these as demands. They are mere wishes. I am not going to pretend to be one of those people who claim not to like presents. Presents are fun, as materialistic as that may sound, but I do especially love the anticipation. I love getting a parcel and feeling all the bumps and trying to guess what it is. How can that not be fun?
What do you think?

In which I discuss board games and cherry buttons

I have a friend who has wonderful luck finding things in charity shops. I have had some pretty good finds in the past (my winter coat for example) but in work clothes, where I am trying so hard, I score nothing. I think there must be someone in her size and style just donating things for her to find. Even this weekend I popped in to the local Oxfam at the weekend and sighed over finding not a single shirt I liked. However I spotted something quite different and just as fantastic as a pair of designer shoes going for £10: A Mah Jong set.

I actually already have one, but a mini version a friend gave me. This set was in a beautiful box, complete amount of tiles and even the little bone scoring sticks. Only going for £20. I have since looked it up online and equivalent sets go for at least £80 so that is my charity shop deal.

To me a Mah Jong set is the definitive item to have in a house. I have mentioned my love of board games very recently so you can see how quickly I amass them, but it is really nice to have something this beautiful. I can’t wait to put all our board games together when we get a place. In our house with friends last year there was quite a collection, but about half were ours! Add to that the ones bought in the last few months and the ones I didn’t take to uni, we are going to have so much entertainment we shall have to throw a board game party. I look forward to photographing the pile to share here.

Behold, photos of my Mah Jong set:

In other news, as I fail to find anything in the charity shops I have been browsing on Asos for interesting work clothes.

I am looking at these shirts and trying to work out whether they are really nice or I am just being tricked into believing they are nice because the model look hot in them. Cherry buttons for instance. Is that quirky, but smart or really just childish and not work suitable st all? Or is it just that the model reminds me a little bit of Amelie in the first photos and I am suffering from a brief girl crush, unable to see beyond her cute surprised look? I don’t know! I sound very fickle, but it is always the problem that clothes generally do look better on a model than in a shop and online shopping doesn’t allow the key element of looking at me in them. I thought I would share these with you and ask for opinions.

Thoughts?

In which I list frivolous birthday wishes

It is my birthday coming up soon so I thought it would be fun to d
o a little wish list. The thing is that the list below is not the stuff that I really want, like a light box or a kindle, but the things I have my eye on for aaages, but will probably never buy because they are completely frivolous and too expensive. Everyone has things like this. Plus I can show you some of the bizarre stuff I have saved on my wishlists.

1. Power Cable scarf.

I think this is adorable. It isn’t obvious immediately how geeky it is and then you notice. It comes in lots of colours although I am really into orange at the moment. However it isn’t that thick so is more like a necklace than a scarf and is fairly expensive. Available to buy here.

2. Nail Varnish.

I have a growing obsession with nail varnish. I have one colour that I wear nearly all year round, a shimmering turquoise that I bought from Sephora. I’ve had it for 2 years and the bottle is only half full. I love Sephora! Anyway I never used to like nail varnish because it is bad for the environment and doesn’t decompose and all that. However lately I have such a craving to give up my nail varnish fast and buy some coral and sunset and sea green because I think it really jazzes up and outfit. I’m going to rebel against my own environmentalism! Available to buy here

3. Ruler Bangle

I love this as a really unusual piece of jewellery and suiting me as a crafting/sewing type person. All great, but wait, how much is it? $70! Plus another $20 for postage. I Really Don’t Think So. Oh and I have tiny wrists so buying bracelets off the internet isn’t the best idea anyway. Available to buy here

4. A bonjourpoupette figure.

I know! I’ve featured this shop before! I can’t help it. I love the slightly creepy but beautiful models. This is probably the most pointless thing I want though. I have so many ornaments and decorative things in my room that this is not necessary. Still beautiful though… Available to buy here

5. A keyblade.

Keyblades are the weapon that you use in Kingdom Hearts, my favourite computer game. I did once have a beautiful keyblade necklace from the Alice in Wonderland world but it snapped. However what I want it a life-size wielding one. It could go mounted on my wall and I could do awesome photo-shoots with it. It’s true that Origami Girl has some pretty sweet powers but everything made out of origami eventually turns back to paper. It would be nice to have a keyblade that could stay as a keyblade. I don't know where to buy this one and I don't have the skills for making it yet.

In which I begin to list

I have decided (as part of Being a Better Blogger) that I am going to attempt to do a regular feature on my blog. I am going to do Wednesday Lists.

I organise myself through making lists and I really enjoy doing them. I love To Do lists. I love the satisfaction of ticking things off. I think it relates to my interest in graphs which I mentioned a while ago. I love to see progress and list achievements. I like to self-evaluate. Perhaps I'm just a little mad. I actually have a book of lists. Sometimes To Do lists, but actually it has all sorts of other ones in it that I slowly update. Like one embarrassing thing is I keep a list of the presents I have got my boyfriend. It's not to show off, or even feel smug to myself about awesome presents -its so I can keep it varied. He may love boardgames but getting them every time wouldn't be exciting.
I also keep lists of places I have been, aspirations, places to go, funny quotations and new types of kisses. Types of kisses (as it may need a note) include machine gun (rapid kissing), suprise kisses (self-explantory), high five kisses (you kiss each other moving sideways very fast). Wow. This sounds lame so we'll move on.

To prove my love of lists, having decided to do this I made a List of Lists. A list of possible lists I could blog about! Oh yeah.

So today's list? "My all-time favourite Etsy shops." Here we go:
1. BonjourPoupette. Weird and beautiful polymer clay animal scultpures that are occassionally also creepy. 2. Patrick Irla Jewellery. Makes amazing delicate pieces of jewellery that relate to nature and yet are still unlike anything I've ever seen before.


3. Prunella Soaps. Obviously makes soap. I know a lot of places supply soap so that might not be so unique. However her photographs are. I love the style of her shop. It really has a distinct feel to it. One day I will actually buy some soap from her.

4. Shirae. Artwork that I long to own. I have a set of three paintings that I swear will one day be up in my future house. They have images of girls in forests often, with a sense that trees are comforting rather than scary, something I really identify with.

5. The Pretty Pixie. She makes little dolls of things. Out of wood. Generally she paints wooden dolls with the likeness of a couple on their wedding day as a custom listing. However there are also things full of win, like this:

That will do for now. In choosing these I have realised that a future list needs to be: 'I want to have kids just so I can justify buying this' Like a bookcase shaped like a tree. More of that in the future.

In which I think about the rain

So today it has rained all day with a little bit of drizzling here and there for variation. Rain is kind of rubbish for a superhero who has paper based powers. I won't say there is nothing I can do but it does dampen my speed a little bit. Also as my affinity is with crisp dry paper the rain makes me feel sad. However I do like one thing about rain -the joy of being cosy inside. I made this treasury in honour of looking out the window and feeling smug that I am warm and dry.

'Rainy Days and Cozy Warmth' by EccentricAccessories

Trying to show in a collection of items that lovely feeling when you are inside and cosy, maybe with chocolate and a good book and outside it is raining. I love that!

SALE Vintage Square Ornate G... Sharingbliss $7.00	monday, a fine art photograp... ORphotography $23.00	Long Rain Cloud Necklace in ... CupOfSea $15.00
Womens Crochet Mary Janes Sl... Sweetbriers $16.00	Stacked Carnelian Earrings. ... CalioJewelry $15.00	PHOTOGRAPH - PUDDLE REFLECTI... sunnydayrain $25.00
Whimsical Wellie in Green - ... sloeginfizz $32.00	Turquoise Magnesite Tear dro... BeachCoveJewel... $18.00	ladybug and four leaf clover... breadandbutton... $3.50
Umbrella Necklace in Turquoi... gleefulpeacock $23.00	Felt Cupcake Christmas Vanil... ViviansKitchen $48.00	Dollhouse Miniature 1/12 Sca... miniaturepatis... $29.90
Red Umbrella Necklace mydogandi $7.50	Tulips and Puddles, a limite... HabitatPrints $75.00	Gorgeous Retro Teal Glazed C... DustyCatVintag... $26.00
Red Maple Buds in Ice - 8x10... MommyMakes $20.00

Treasury tool is sponsored by Lazzia.com A/B image testing.