swhisted - Tumblr blog

[swhisted]

Nendoroid Elsa (475) by Good Smile Company

(aka: THE COOLEST TOY I GOT FOR CHRISTMAS!!!)

One of the toy photographers I follow posted pictures of this figure a while back and being the lover of Elsa that I am, I just knew I needed it. I had no idea what a Nendoroid even was then or how absolutely cool and intricately crafted it’d be, but now that I do, I can’t get enough! 

The figure comes with multiple expressions and arms that are very easily changeable and just the overall construction and design of her is perfect. Where other vinyl figures have minor paint flaws, this if literally flawless. And for such a tiny little figure, the detail is stunning and the articulation and potential for posing with the interchangeable parts, makes her SO fun to photograph! 

There are approximately a zillion other Nendoroids in existence, all of which I’m intrigued by, but of characters I’m completely unfamiliar with. I could absolutely see myself collecting these, but is it weird to collect a bunch of characters I don’t know just because they’re cute? I suppose in the meantime I can make it my mission to find Anna’s figure so I’ll at least have the Frozen set. 

[swhisted]

New Books!

Because my current TBR pile is so ridiculously huge still, I tried to limit myself to only adding sequels to books I really loved in 2016 to my Christmas wishlist this year. The only exceptions to that were things I got super obsessed with in 2016, like Star vs. the Forces of Evil & Wonder Woman, and the 1st Chi collection because CATS. 

I also got 2 new coloring books, because this too is something I got pretty obsessed with in 2016. And some new Copic markers, because they’re currently my favorite tool to color with. :)

[swhisted]

Music Friday: Joseph - “Eyes to the Sky”

I discovered this band during Christmastime with their cover of “Sister Winter” for the Amazon Indie Christmas album and just couldn’t get enough of how chilling their perfect harmonies are and how much powerful sound comes from just three voices, a guitar, and a few heel taps. It’s so moving I struggled to even pick a favorite song. If your soul needs a few more, check out “Hundred Ways” and “Wind.” So, so satisfying. 

[swhisted]

Other New Toys...

I mentioned in a previous post how my collecting is going to get refined in 2017 and this post is an example of things you might not see in it anymore. 

I’ll be honest, I just don’t love the reboot for Monster High (and especially not Ever After High). I feel like they’ve really cheaped out on the construction and creativity of the dolls and no matter how hard I try to get into them, I just can’t. Of the newer dolls, the only two I had any interest in having were this Draculaura (which is oddly the only Draculaura doll I have) and the Frankie doll from the same line. I’m not saying there won’t be a release sometime down the road that finally draws me back into the franchise, but right now I’m not the least bit tempted to splurge on these dolls at the moment. Or waste display space for them either. Almost all of them are currently in storage where they’ll likely stay until I actually have a house with enough space to display all of my toys. 

The same will likely go for little's, not just the Tokidoki ones I got for Christmas shown above. The thing with mystery minis is that you throw so much money into the frenzy of collecting them all, but then they take up so much space and I just don’t have it. And to date, for all the minis I have and love, the only two series that I’m still super glad I attempted to collect all of are the GPK Really Big Minis and the Horror Minis from Funko. While I love these Tokidoki minis and will likely still want any newer series coming out, I can really only see myself continuing to buy 1 of each so there’s no room for duplicates and then I can at least find room to display 1 or my favorite from every series I have.

[swhisted]

New Momiji Dolls!

This years Christmas LE dolls included Parker & Scrumptious and even though I’d put myself on a toy buying ban a while ago, I had already told myself when Momiji released their holiday dolls, I’d let myself crack for them. And thank God I did because they sell out so darn fast. Heck, even their basic releases like Little Starlight Girl sell out nowadays within the first 24 hours sometimes. I don’t even think she took that long! I was super bummed when she sold out in the middle of a splurging ban. I thought I’d behave and just put her on my Christmas list and keep my fingers crossed. When they released a second batch I didn’t even consider taking that same chance. I just HAD TO HAVE THAT UNICORN. It’s understandable, right? 

I have 19 Momiji dolls now and Lucky is only the 2nd one I’ve ever been gifted and even though it arrived in a sad sort of way, I’m grateful to have a second gifted doll, since that’s the whole point of message dolls!  Also, being nearly 100% Irish, I’ve always had a thing for clovers and luck. ;)

[swhisted]

Latest Funko Pop! Figures

I didn’t get nearly as many toys for Christmas this year as I might have thought I would, but that’s okay because I’m going to be refining my toy collecting in 2017 anyway. One thing that will stick around in my collections, though, are definitely Funko figures. I can’t decide whether I’m the most excited about Jareth or Strawberry Shortcake out of this bunch. I loved the Labyrinth growing up and being that Bowie passed away in 2016, it seemed fitting to receive that figure for Christmas. I loved Strawberry Shortcake as a kid, too, though and I LOVE that Funko even made this figure smell like the original dolls. Favorites aside, I’m loving how much more attention to detail Funko seems to be paying towards their figures these days. Makes them feel so much more collectible this way. 

[swhisted]

Winter 2016 Pusheen Box

Over and over again, Pusheen Box shocks me with it’s greatness. The only thing I wish about this box was that it’d arrived closer to the beginning of December rather than the end of it, so I could have enjoyed the Christmas-specific items a little longer. Otherwise, there’s just SO MUCH CUTE in this season’s box. 

I’m particularly fond of the finger-less gloves, the vinyl figure, and the tea infuser (to go perfectly with the adorable tea cup/saucer set we got in the Fall box). And I’m pretty excited to have a reason to use the gift wrapping materials. Anyone that really knows me, knows I’m a cat lady, so they won’t be even the least bit surprised to receive a present from me in this paper - lol. 

Also, I’m just sneaking it into this post because it fits, but I received two of the Christmas Series 2 Pusheen Mini Plush for Christmas and while it’s unfortunate I got Stormy both times, it was probably the plush I wanted the most anyway so I’m not mad about it. It just gives me one to display and one my cat can steal without me getting mad at her for it - lol. 

Pusheen Box, please never stop being so perfect!

[swhisted]

A Whole Lot of TEA!

For the most part, my Christmas gifts from everyone had a theme this year, and TEA was one of them. ;) I’m not mad about this of course, as I LOVE tea. And I’m guilty of contributing to this latest haul of tea myself! 

David’s Tea has been recommended to me several times and I found their Christmas selection so appealing I finally splurged. The mug is now one of my favorite mugs, perfect for drinking loose tea (which I’ve struggled to do and get into in the past) and the flavors so far have been SUPER rich and bold. They’re even PRETTY (see the Candy Cane Crush pic above). I also love that their sachets come in a really high quality bag, so you’re not getting a lot of debris in the cup and they’re not using just the remains of tea for them, so they’re equally as flavorful as a loose leaf cup. I received the snowflake infuser/stirring stick as a gift and am enjoying having the ability to have loose leaf tea easily at work now, too!

Tea Forte is a company I’d never even heard of, but one I was gifted and have also been enjoying for similar reasons as David’s. The mug is spectacular for having loose leaf tea with ease. And the flavors in this set are super rich and fragrant. Like “make your whole room smell good” fragrant. Another awesome perk to these teas is their portion sized packaging. Each flavor comes separated in Single Steep packages so there’s no measuring necessary. This is particularly great for me to carry off to work. 

I received a few Christmas flavors of loose leaf by our local tea house Tea by Two from the friend who first took me there and some pumpkin spiced Tazo tea as well from her sistger, but forgot to snap a picture of them. So far, though, all of them have been delicious! :D

[swhisted]

Recent Loot Crates....

In November and December I found myself, for way too many times this year, disappointed in that month’s crate. I’ve been considering it for a long time now, but I finally decided to cancel my subscription. I’ll receive my last crate this month. After more than 2 years with Loot Crate, I’m sad to go, but it’s just not for me anymore. 

I was pretty excited to see the Sanrio Crate option pop up right as I was considering canceling, and while I did enjoy it far more than the regular crates, it’s still not something I feel like I NEED on a regular basis, so for now it was a one time thing.

At this point, the only subscription service I’m keeping active in 2017 is Pusheen Box and I’ll just keep my fingers crossed that Loot4Fangirls becomes a regular occurrence from Loot Crate. For that, I’d definitely re-subscribe!

[swhisted]

Music Friday Christmas Edition #13: Echosmith – “I heard the Bells on Christmas Day”

[swhisted]

Music Friday Christmas Edition #12: Train – “Merry Christmas Everybody”

[swhisted]

Music Friday Christmas Edition #11: The Wombats – “Is This Christmas?”

[swhisted]

Music Friday Christmas Editions #10: Joseph - "Sister Winter"

[swhisted]

Music Friday Christmas Editions #9: Boys II Men - "The Snowy Day"

[swhisted]

Music Friday Christmas Edition #8: Pentatonix - "Carol of the Bells"

[swhisted]

Music Friday Christmas Editions #7: Kacey Musgraves - "Ribbons & Bows"

[swhisted]

Music Friday Christmas Edition #6: Christmas Dubstep – “ Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy”