Harry Potter Loot Crate Unboxing (November 2016)

If you know me, you know I am HUGE Harry Potter fan - so huge that I have the Deathly Hallows tattooed on my wrist. Yes, a big enough fan that I will eternally be marked as such. I. LOVE. HARRY. POTTER. So, the moment someone on Facebook tagged me in a post about the newly revealed Harry Potter official Loot Crate box, I WAS IN. I was on www.lootcrate.com faster than you can say "Accio wallet!".

       Fortunately, I was there early enough that I was able to snag one of the box subscriptions - apparently, they sold out pretty darn fast (not surprising). I usually don't like to make large purchases, but I had been perusing for a subscription box to try out for quite some time. It was October (my birthday month), and I figured why not get myself the gift that keeps on giving (every other month... for a year.). After ordering this subscription box, I was very impatient. I scoured the internet looking for dates they would ship, and when I would be able to tear into this lovely, magical box! It looked like they would ship mid-November for those who were within the first batch purchased - THAT WAS ME!  When I finally received the "shipped" email notification, I went off the chain tracking my little box of wonder's journey to me.

There was a mild freak-out moment when my Post Office held onto the box for a whole day instead of dispersing it with the mail the day it was receivied - I was afraid either someone had stolen my goodies or they had found some sort of magical creature and had it detained. Fortunately, neither was the case, and the very next day, I had this waiting on me when I got home from work:

It was even "Muggle Worthy", which is probably what saved it from being discovered!

Upon opening it, my face was aglow from the magic inside. 

I do! I want to be a wizard (or in my case witch). This box gets me - things are starting out excellent already! As you might be able to tell, on top was a lovely folded t-shirt with a New York newspaper printed on it. It detailed all of the disturbances that were apparently being caused by wizarding exposure, fantastic beasts, etc. I was VERY pleased.

Next there was a scroll! The scroll was shipped wrapped in a small rectangular box to keep it's shape and prevent crushing. It was really fun to see it, and I particularly enjoyed the "wax seal" (it was a sticker, but I'm going to pretend it was wax). It unrolled to tell you a little more about the goodies within the box itself, however I didn't unroll it until the end (I like to be surprised with every treasure I find).

My first find was this adorable Bowtruckle Lapel Pin. If you haven't seen Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, you should. These little guys steal a part of your heart, so now that I have my very own bowtruckle friend, I'm never truly alone.

The next item I happened upon in the box was a POP! Vinyl figure of Tina Goldstein. Again, if you haven't seen Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them - GET ON IT A.S.A.P.! Before this box, I only had 1 POP! Vinyl figure - Garrus Vakarian - but I might try and snag all of these Fantastic Beasts one's!

The next thing in the box was this BE-A-UTIFUL Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA)leather journal. On the front it is embossed with MACUSA's crest and has gold flake, and the back is just as beautifully embossed. I love journals, I love to write. I have meant to pick back up journaling more often, and I think this will help start me off wonderfully!

The next two things stashed away were a Pigwidgeon plushie and this awesome Hedwig//Owl Post key chain. The Pigwidgeon plush is right up my alley. I love pig, I love Ron, and I love the Weasleys. If I had an owl, Pigwidgeon would be him! As for the key chain, I was SUPER stoked for that. I had been looking for a new key chain for my work keys - I had migrated my key chain from my old job to my new job and the old key chain was stretchy and had gotten all stretched out and floppy and unmanageable. This is sturdy, snaps perfectly onto my purse, and holds my keys in style! 

So, basically Loot Crate knocked this one out of the park. THIS Potterhead is very pleased with every single thing she received in her box (and even with the box itself). I can't wait to see what comes in the next Wizarding World crate - ACCIO JANUARY!

Fallen Series: Rapture book review.

Rapture by Lauren Kate

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Fallen

Some of Kate's descriptions are lovely, and this book definitely takes some unexpected turns. The way in which the story of Daniel and Luce plays out is really rather poetic, and left me with a warm feeling in my heart. Young Adult fans should definitely cap off the Fallen series with this final installment of Daniel and Luce's story. Romance, danger, violence, and ethereal mysticism fill this book to the brim. It left me wanting it not to end.



View all my reviews

Creating an Entry Way Where There Isn't One.

We've all seen these GORGEOUS houses that have large, expansive foyers with mud rooms, chandeliers, etc. However, how do you deal when your front door literally opens into your living room? I've spent the last month devouring every article, blog post, and pinterest pin trying to research ways to do this. Most lead me to sites with examples of houses that claim to have "no entry way" where in fact the entry way is huge, or opens up into a room big enough to create an entry way.

I pride myself on a livable house. I try to make it as beautiful as possible while still being able to function with two fur babies in tow. However, when I say I have no entry way, I mean it. Exhibits A and B:

The view from the "entry way" looking into the living room and down the hallway.

The view from the hallway looking into the living room and at the entry way.

To give you an idea of the amount of furniture that fills this living space: One of my favorite past times is gaming/television so I have a mega entertainment center. I am also an avid reader, so add on two large bookshelves. I kennel my dogs, so that makes two kennels (one medium, one large) a coffee table, a love seat, a sofa, and a really nice flip-flop couch (a.k.a fancy futon) that all fit into this room. Things were getting a bit tight to say the least.

I always felt horrible when guests would enter, as there would be a dog kennel close to the door opening, not to mention the girls running and tackling the guests in excitement. It felt stifling to watch. With furniture, my entry way looked a bit like this:

I'd had enough with making the guests squeeze through, and decided to do something about it. 

First, I rearranged the furniture. Basically, I moved the kennels into the kitchen (they fit perfectly into the two corners behind the table, and that freed up a ton of room at the door. I wanted to create a nice entryway that would be worthy of guests and actually feel like a foyer/welcome area to the home. 

Anyone who knows me knows I spend as little as I can when decorating, and was able to stay under $150 for this project. 

My first stop was a chest or table to put at the doorway to put some doodads on/in to be very pretty and welcoming. I ended up using a coupon I had alonside a sale Target was running and was able to pick up a chest for $100. 

You can check this out here.

Next was to fill that huge empty space behind the door. I contemplated mirrors and shelves, but found that the likeliness they would be knocked off, broken, or would impede entry made me rethink that.  I've done a lot with wall decals in the past, and haven't incorporated them into the new house yet, so I though this was the PERFECT opportunity. I toyed around with a couple of ideas until I settled on this gorgeous set birch trees and birds I found on Etsy for $40.

I know they are placed in a nursery in the photo, but I like to bend and break the rules!
You can check these out here.

I literally JUST finished putting these up today. So, without further ado, I give you how I created an entry way where there was none:

I now feel the room is more open and guests will really feel welcomed by the space and decor of my little "entry way." If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them in the comments sections below!

Avoidance

Do we spend most of our lives avoiding? Avoiding work, avoiding uncomfortable conversations, avoiding happiness, avoiding LIFE? Today's world makes it far too easy to retreat into ourselves, our phones/computers/tablets, our self-created safe zone. When did we stop living and start avoiding?

Worse yet is avoiding by prolonging. We prolong our dreams and goals by saying "when I do _____ then I can really focus on doing something I love". What happens if you never pass the roadblock to your dreams? We are missing life by focusing solely on our pathway to that dream life. Your life is NOW. Yes, it is important to have measurable goals, to plan and make a pathway to your dream, but it is important not to avoid living life while you're in it.

I'm not one of these schmucks who thinks you should live every day as your last, but I do think that when we start avoiding uncomfortable or unpleasant everyday situations we miss out on what makes life life - misery.

Hear me out - I'm not trying to say life is miserable, nor am I trying to sound like a brooding goth kid who wants to sit in the corner of the local shopping mall, donning 50 shades of black and despairing in the hopelessness of mankind. What I'm trying to say is without suffering and unpleasantness, we can't truly enjoy the good days when they come. Without the work week, the weekend wouldn't be as sweet. Without all of the hard work and sacrifices to reach your goal and/or dream life, would it still be worth it?

Ultimately, I'm trying to stop avoiding and start living. I want to be able to look back at all of the "suffering" and know I could have things worse. I want be able to stand in awe my crepuscular ray, and realize the dark clouds are still there. I want to be able to realize when things are good, know when they aren't, and realize that good things will peek through all of the bad eventually. I want to LIVE.

Writing Prompt 2: "Write Facebook status updates for the year 2017."

This was a fun exercise! I think that this helped build stories and characters by adding days/times and comments, likes and friends for the people posting. What do YOU think the statuses of 2017 will look like? What would you hope they would look like? Leave your ideas in the comments!

Writing Prompt 1: "what can happen in a second."

Since I was a kid, I have always enjoyed writing. I figure there might be something to my enjoyment, and why shouldn't I build my skill. I'm going to be using this really awesome book, 642 Things to Write About, by the San Francisco Writers' Grotto to do just that. This book is full of writing prompts to help with writers block and to help expand creative thinking.

Who hasn't felt like getting older has sucked all of the childlike wonder from your imagination? I know I sure have felt this way a lot recently. Thus, I will be trying to do a promo every day. Some may be longer or better than others, but I'm re-awakening a hobby that I've kept dormant for quite some time. Please, feel free to join me on this journey and leave your comments and/or own responses to the prompts in the comments section.

TODAY'S PROMPT: WHAT CAN HAPPEN IN A SECOND

The drive to work was like any other. That is, until it ran into the road. Swerving was not an option, and as it hit the hood, tumbling onto the windshield, I could tell it was not human. Time seemed to slow, making every sense heightened; I could feel the pull of the seatbelt against my chest as the car tried to screech to a stop. I could hear my body bruising, and I could see from the corner of my eye that there was another. In this suspended moment, I felt its gaze melt into mine, I felt my pulse slow to a stop.

3 Step Cheap Tea Party Bird Feeders

This was, yet again, a very inexpensive craft. I went to the local thrift store, and found some cute teacups and saucers (about $0.30 each.) I had the epoxy at home. It took about 30 minutes to clean and ready the plates and saucers, and an hour of waiting for the epoxy to dry.

You will need:
saucer(s)
cup(s)
epoxy*/glue
weight to help the cup and saucer set
bird seed

* you will also need something to mix epoxy in if you decide to do it the way I did.

Step 1: Clean the saucer(s) and cup(s)

Step 2: Mix and apply epoxy/glue             

I keep lids from jars and Yoohoo bottles to mix this stuff in. 

Step 3: Wait for the glue/epoxy to dry

I weighed mine down with some books, because I was worried the glossy finish of the cup and saucers wouldn't hold. Later research told me that sanding the bottom of the cup would have been sufficient, BUT I had no problems with it staying after doing it this way.

Step 4: Fill with bird seed, and enjoy!

            

I also picked up a cheap bonsai tree and a tea-kettle for about $1.50.

And that, my dear friends, is a cheap craft that you can do in an afternoon if you want to charm the birdies into visiting your place. You can also attach these to poles and posts, but since I live in an apartment complex, there is no yard for me to place the poles in.