Review - Musclefood Slimming Hamper #AD #GIFTED

Prize Unboxings April - June 2018

#Unboxing - Wizarding World of Harry Potter Loot Crate #3 - Mar 2017

I didn't do an unboxing for the January box - oops! It was a pretty good box! There was a t-shirt with Snape on it, a Funko Pop that I already had (Yule Ball Ron) which is getting taken to Angie when I go to visit her, a prophecy pin, a really neat pair of Platform 9 3/4 socks, a time turner necklace, and a Deathly Hallows pocket watch. The pocket watch is my favourite thing from the box. I am obsessed with pocket watches! I resolved to do better and NOT forget to do a post for March's box when it arrives and it arrived last week. So without further ado, let's see what was in the March box:

Graze Box Number 2 Unboxing

So here I am with another Graze box.  This is a bit late as I received the box late.  I should have received this last Saturday (4th) but it only arrived Wednesday, and then for some reason I procrastinated with writing this blog post.

However here it is now with a run down of all the snacks I received and my thoughts on them.

The snacks I received were a mixed bag.  Two of them look absolutely delicious and I tucked into those pretty early on.  The other two I'm not so sure about and have yet to try them.

1. Chia Coconut Cookie with Afternoon Infusion Tea.  This is one of the ones I'm not so sure about.  I'm not a lover of coconut and thought I had binned any snacks with coconut in it.  I do love the Graze tea though.  It's an Assam and Kenyan leaf blend and it's the most delicious tea I have ever tasted.

2. Belgian Speculoos.  This is a new product which I hadn't had before but it is definitely now on my LOVE list.   The pretzel dipping sticks are cinnamon flavoured and the dip itself is cookie but it's more of a caramel/toffee flavour.  This snack is simply heavenly and I really hope I get this again very soon.  It was one of the higher end snacks calorie wise but still AMAZING!!

3. Smokehouse Barbecue Crunch.  Again I've not had this before and this is the other snack I am unsure of, mainly because it contains chilli corn.  I had definitely binned anything off with chilli in the title or contents as I don't like it but I think this is also a new product and therefore found its way onto the try list.  I will give it a go and see but I'm not holding out much hope on this one.

4. Sour Cream & Garlic Crostini.  I have tried this before and love it so I was pleased to see it again and it didn't last long.  This has sour cream and onion cashew nuts (my favourite type of nut) and little crostini bites with garlic flavouring.  This always pleases me when I see it.


So to sum up the box, I was 50% pleased, 25% unsure and 25% not happy.  I will give snacks 1 & 3 a try nevertheless and see what they are like but the other two have already gone and were delicious.

If anyone wishes to try a Graze box subscription, I have a referral code which enables you to get your first box free.  You aren't tied into any length of subscription but if you decide to continue with the boxes, this code means you will also get your 5th and 10th boxes for free as well.

The code is 7PZV1P2WB 

Follow the link here

Musing Mondays - Kelley Armstrong Mystery Box & most anticipated books of 2017

Musing Monday January 30, 2017

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

• I’m currently reading…

• Up next I think I’ll read…

• I bought the following book(s) in the past week…

• I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…

• I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…

• I can’t wait to get a copy of…

• I wish I could read ___, but…

• I blogged about ____ this past week…

 I’m super excited to tell you about...

The box of books I received today! So earlier this month on Facebook Kelley Armstrong (who I know I have mentioned is one of my favourite authors) announced that she had mystery boxes to give away. Each mystery box was going to contain a random selection of 9-11 of her excess books and they would all be autographed as well (for $40 all in). I thought what the heck and threw my name in thinking there is no way in heck I was going to be selected because there'd be hundreds of people wanting one. BUT I WAS! And they arrived today! And I only already owned 3 of them! Another 2 I own different versions of, 1 book I got I own as an ebook, and I got an auidobook which I already own a hardcover of. One of the 3 books that I already own was autographed and the other wasn't (oops?). So I figure I'll keep the autographed one and either sell/donate/gift my old copy. I was thinking about giving the other one to my Aunt who is the one who got me into Armstrong's Otherworld series, but that was when I discovered that that one wasn't autographed, but the 3rd one, also from that series is autographed so I'll give her that one. All in I got 10 novels and 1 audiobook and also some bookmarks. So which books did I get?

Let's go top to bottom:

1. Thirteen - audiobook, this is the one I own a hardcover of. Book 13 of Women of the Otherworld.

2. Dime Store Magic - I already own this exact edition, and this is the one that isn't autographed :(. Book 3 of Women of the Otherworld.

3. The Rising - this one one I own and am going to switch out the non-autographed version for. Book 3 of Darkness Rising.

4. Men of the Otherworld - this is the one I am thinking about giving to my aunt. I own a copy of the edition that matches Dime Store Magic. Book 1 of Otherworld Stories.

5. Thor's Serpents - this one was on my Amazon wishlist cause I bought Loki's Wolves late in 2016 and it's still on my to be read pile. Book 3 in The Blackwell Pages.

6. Enthralled - I'd not heard of this one before! So this one is very exciting for me. It's part of the Morganville Vampire series apparently.

7. Forsaken - Another one that's been on my wishlist forever. Book 13.5 of Otherworld Stories.

8. Living with the dead - it's a good thing I am not one of those people who cares overmuchly about having all of my books in the same series match each other. Book 9 of Women of the Otherworld.

9. Visions - I just finished reading this at the tail end of 2016 haha. This is one I own as an ebook, because I bought the first book as an ebook and thus just kept going with that. It's nice to have a hardcopy, because I do love it. And it's autographed :). Book 2 in the Cainsville series.

10. Waking the Witch - I've had this one on my wishlist for ages because I want to read the entire series it is a part of. Book 11 of Women of the Otherworld.

11. The Unquiet Past - Another one I'd not heard of, most exciting! This one is the first in a series of 7 linked novels by 7 different authors called Secrets.

        THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: Are there any books you are really eagerly waiting for in 2017?

Hahahaha. Yes, yes there are. There are at least 10. Or these are the 10 that most immediately jump to mind anyway. I'm a series hound, so all of these books are part of ongoing series that I am enjoying and want more of. Here they are in order of release date:

1. Winter of the Gods (Olympus Bound #2) by Jordanna Max Brodsky - coming February 14 2017
2. Saga, Vol. 7 (Saga) by Brian K. Vaughan - coming March 28 2017
3. The Dark Prophecy (The Trials of Apollo #2) by Rick Riordan - coming May 2 2017
4. The Darkest Promise (Lords of the Underworld #13) by Gena Showalter - coming June 13 2017 [OMG WE'RE FINALLY GETTING CAMEO! YES!]
5. Our Dark Duet (Monsters of Verity #2) by Victoria Schwab - coming June 13 2017
6. Faith, Volume 3: Superstar (Faith #3) by Jody Houser - coming June June 27 2017 [I didn't realise vol. 2 was already out! Must acquire ASAP!]
7. Rituals (Cainsville #5) by Kelley Armstrong - coming August 19 2017
8. Bring the Heat (Dragon Kin #9) by G.A. Aiken - coming August 29 2017
9. One Dark Throne (Three Dark Crowns #2) by Kendare Blake - coming September 19 2017
10. The Ship of the Dead (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #3) by Rick Riordan - coming October 3 2017

So much for my plan of buying fewer books this year! Hah! What books are you looking forward to this year?

Graze Box Number 1 Unboxing

A couple of years ago I used to have a regular subscription to Graze Box, a weekly or bi-weekly box containing four snacks.  There are several types of box to choose from.  Variety box is the main box and will contain a selection from the full range of graze snacks available.  There are also Graze Light (all snacks below 150 calories), chocolate, kids and lots of others to suit all different palates.  You can also browse the snacks on offer and choose to 'bin' anything you wouldn't like to receive, for example I don't like anything with coconut so I chose to bin any snacks containing coconut so I will never get these in my box.  Likewise if you try a snack and don't like it, you can mark it as binned so you will never receive it again.

On the flip side if you try a snack that you particularly love, you can mark it as 'Love' and you will receive it more often.

I stopped my subscription a while back now for a few reasons. I wasn't eating as many of the snacks so they tended to stockpile and I felt it silly to get more and more boxes when I wasn't eating the snacks I already had.  Also money was a factor and I had to cut back on any non essential items and unfortunately this was one of them.

However I recently decided to renew my subscription and I received my first box today.  I opted for the Graze Light box to keep the calorie content down in line with my Slimming World plan.  I always work out all the syn values for the snacks when I receive them using the nutritional information leaflet provided.

The snacks I received are all ones I have tried before so I know I'm going to like all of them.

1. Slightly Sweet Popping Corn.   I love popping my own popcorn, there's just something about hearing it popping in the microwave that's slightly more satisfying than just opening a bag.  Graze do 3 different flavours which are Sweet, Salted and Black Pepper.  The sweet is the only one I like so I can't wait to munch on this, probably tonight.

2. Eleanor's Apple Crumble.  Apart from loving the name (because my niece is called Eleanor), this is especially tasty thanks to the cinnamon honeyed almonds in it.  The dried apple pieces I can take them or leave them but it's the nuts that really make this snack for me.  It also contains raisins as well.

3. Chocolate Pretzel Dippers.  This snack is a little indulgent and is the highest calorie value in the box (but still under the 150 as it's a light box).  It's a few pretzel sticks and a chocolate dip to dunk them in, it really feels like a naughty treat when you have this one.

4. Lightly Toasted Pistachios.  I had never tried pistachios until I got them in a Graze box the first time I subscribed and I quickly discovered how tasty they are.  This time I got the lightly toasted ones which are nice but they also do a BBQ flavour version which are amazing, I hope I get them soon.

All in all I was very pleased with my first box.  I've chosen to get the boxes fortnightly so I don't end up with a huge pile of them again, so I will ration them out to 2 per week, probably at weekends as a treat.   

If anyone wishes to try a Graze box subscription, I have a referral code which enables you to get your first box free.  You aren't tied into any length of subscription but if you decide to continue with the boxes, this code means you will also get your 5th and 10th boxes for free as well.

The code is 7PZV1P2WB 

Follow the link here

Unboxing - Marvel #collectorcorps - December 2016 - X-Men box

As with the Owl Crate post from Wednesday this one is also a procrastination. My Collector Corps box for December arrived some time last week but I was too into all the books I was reading and the pokémon game I got for Christmas to get around to writing these unboxing posts. This will be my last MCC unboxing for awhile. I've decided to put my subscription to this service on hiatus for 2017 in an effort to save money. I enjoy these boxes, but not nearly as much as I am enjoying Owl Crate and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter boxes and I don't have the room or the budget to keep three subscriptions going. So this is the one I decided to get rid of. I will say that they unknowingly ended on a high note for me! I loved all the items in this months box and I was worried because for me X-Men can be a really hit or miss fandom.

So what are all these items and how do I feel about them?

1. Pin and Patch

This month's pin features Magneto's helmet, just his helmet though, no Magneto face to go with it, which I feel is an odd choice. The patch features Storm and it's a really nice rendition of her I think. I mean the pins and patches are a neat feature of the service, but honestly they're just in piles on my shelves because I can't figure out what to do with them. Aside from the fact that I've cannibalized the backs off of half of the pins for use with my other pins (the ones I was trying to showcase on my bag) because they were better quality backs than the ones my other pins came with.

2. T-shirt

I love the t-shirts because I love geeky t-shirts but it's got to the point where I have WAAAY more than I need because I can't wear most of the ones I have to work. I need more directly literary/library related ones for that purpose haha. Anyway this shirt is really great as far as the shirts from this box go. It's a ringer tee, a style which I love, and it's a play on a varsity shirt for Xavier's school for gifted youngsters. It's giving me all sorts of ideas for a cosplay to do for Halloween. I wonder if I can convince my co-workers that our 2017 theme should be X-Men...hmmmm....

3. Comic

The best part about the comics is the adorable Funko styled variant covers. In my opinion they're always really well done (I especially loved the Doctor Strange one). I only just noticed you can't see this month's properly. It's an issue of Champions with a Funko Cyclops on the cover. One of these days I will actually get around to reading all of the various single issues I've received from my subscription boxes.

4. Funko!Rock Candy

AH!!! I have been wanting a Rock Candy since I first heard about the line!!! They remind me of old school pin up art which is a style I've always thought interesting. I was 100% thrilled to see this in the box! And equally thrilled that they chose Mystique. I know that's expected because she's one of the most recognisable and popular female mutants, but I think she has a great colour scheme and her styling lends itself well to this medium!

5. Funko!Pop

This is the second coolest MCC exclusive Funko!Pop they've ever included. Nothing can take the best title from the Hulkbuster Pop in the first box. But for me this one comes pretty close. As with Mystique I'm not surprised that they went for Wolverine because he's easily the most iconic mutant from the X-Men universe now-a-days. You can't argue with how well they did this Pop though. It's so badass and the detailing on the bike is just amazing.

Overall I really couldn't have been happier with this box than I am! Mystique now lives on the same shelf as the Hulkbuster and Wolvie's gracing the top of my pile of books on my coffee table.

Unboxing - #owlcrate December 2016 - Epic

December's #owlcrate arrived last week and as usual I procrastinated on posting the unboxing until this week. The theme for this box was all things EPIC.

I was figuring there'd be an HP item, a LoTR item and a GoT item for sure but I wasn't sure what else and as always I had no idea what book to expect because I don't follow YA publishing enough to know what's on the horizon in terms of releases.

1. Harry Potter mystery mini from Funko!

I love Funko figurines, I have a lot of them, so many that I don't know the exact amount. I especially love the Harry Potter ones. I actually have the Hermione and Crookshanks mystery minis sitting on my desk. The best part about the blind box ones is hoping you'll get one of the rare ones. Angie bought me a blind box Vinylmation at Disney World for my birthday gift and I got the rarest option which was super exciting for me! So I ripped into this one's box right away with my fingers crossed for a rare one. I got Harry himself as you can see. He's the most common option, but he's adorable so I forgive him! Now he lives on one of my book shelves hanging out with the Sirius Funko!Pop I got for Christmas.

2. Game of Thrones coasters from Dark Horse Comics/HBO

These are awesome, they're really gorgeous and vibrant. I don't need more coasters. I have as many as I actually need. So I've decided I am going to follow the advice of my interior design idol, Sarah Richardson, and get a shadowbox or shadowboxes to frame them because I think they would look really good framed. I LOVE the GoT books - not such a big fan of the show though.

3. Lord of the Rings book pin from Jane Mount at Ideal Bookshelf

At one point I was starting to showcase my pins on my messenger bag. But they kept falling off, specifically the Mockingjay pin I got as a gift from Angie, so I thought better to be safe than sorry so I took them off even though that made me sad. I'll have to figure out how to showcase them now and then add this one to the showcase. Maybe these could be mounted in a shadowbox too, hmmmmm.

4. Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe card from Susanne Draws

Narnia is <3, and LWW is my favourite of the Narnia books. I've been saying/thinking to myself that I didn't have enough Narnia prints on my geeky gallery walls (Just 1, of the lamppost) so this was a great and timely addition! It's actually a greeting card and not a print, but that didn't stop me from framing it as you can see. It JUST fits into that 4x6 frame, like the edges of the card are pressed right against the inner edges of the mat. It now lives on my wall as part of a fourseome with a photo of me and Angie in front of Cinderella's Castle, a Star Wars print, and a photo of my coworkers and I in our 2016 comic book Halloween costumes. And coincidentally the entire foursome hangs right next to the Harry Potter print from a previous Owl Crate.

5. Darker Shade of Magic quote sticker from Miss Phi

The author's YA novel This Savage Song was one of my favourite reads of 2016. I absolutely adored it. That being said I haven't read V.E. Schweb's original series which is quoted on this sticker yet. But I plan to! I have the audible editions of both books. This sticker has a great quote on it and it's really well designed. I'm trying to figure out what to do with it. Maybe I'll continue the trend of almost everything else in this box and frame it! How novel! haha.

6. Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst

What a gorgeous cover! As is pretty much par for the course with my Owl Crate books, I've never heard of this one before. But honestly that's one of the best parts about Owl Crate to me. They're introducing me to new things that I might not always pick up on my own. I read the authors letter before reading the book's blurb and that was actually enough to hook me. I'm really excited to get around to this one. It's about unconventional princesses. I LOVE unconventional princesses. Cimorene from the Enchanted Forest Chronicles was one and she is one of my favourite literary heroines to this day.

"Betrothed since childhood to the prince of Mynaria, Princess Dennaleia has always known what her future holds. Her marriage will seal the alliance between Mynaria and her homeland, protecting her people from other hostile lands. But Denna has a secret. She possesses an Affinity for fire—a dangerous gift for the future queen of a kingdom where magic is forbidden.
Now, Denna must learn the ways of her new home while trying to hide her growing magic. To make matters worse, she must learn to ride Mynaria’s formidable warhorses—and her teacher is the person who intimidates her most, the prickly and unconventional Princess Amaranthine—called Mare—the sister of her betrothed.
When a shocking assassination leaves the kingdom reeling, Mare and Denna reluctantly join forces to search for the culprit. As the two become closer, Mare is surprised by Denna’s intelligence and bravery, while Denna is drawn to Mare’s independent streak. And soon their friendship is threatening to blossom into something more.
But with dangerous conflict brewing that makes the alliance more important than ever, acting on their feelings could be deadly. Forced to choose between their duty and their hearts, Mare and Denna must find a way to save their kingdoms—and each other." -- via Goodreads

Hey, if you're ever thinking about subscribing to Owl Crate - why not use my referral link and help me earn a free box?

Unboxing - Wizarding World of Harry Potter Loot Crate #1 - Nov 2016

That's right! I got in on the ground floor of Loot Crate's newest subscription box, the Wizarding World box. What is it? It's a bi-monthly subscription box filled to the brim with HP related goodies. It's on the more expensive end of subscription blocks in my experience, which is why I'd never tried Loot Crate before, but how could I not with an HP box? So I cancelled my Nerd Block, and I might stop the Marvel Collector Corps come the new year, that will definitely make up for the cost of this one. This month was the first of the WWHP blocks, and oh goodness it did not disappoint, I've honestly never been more pleased with the contents of one of my subscription boxes before. Let's get into looking at what I got then shall we, welcome to:

This is going to be a rather image heavy post so I thought I'd give a jump cut a go...

Unboxing - #owlcrate November 2016 - Wonderland

November's #owlcrate arrived on Monday, but I didn't get the chance to sit down and write this unboxing post until today, because last Friday my pre-ordered copy of Pokémon Sun arrived so I have been obsessively playing that instead of writing or doing my copyright course work. This month's theme was Wonderland and here's the spoiler card:

As I have mentioned many times over, I am a HUGE Alice in Wonderland fan, I love adaptations, re-tellings and just anything to do with and Alice. My desktop lock screen is the 45th anniversary wallpaper of the Mad Tea Party ride at Walt Disney World, a ride which I also have another illustration of (that I bought while I was there this year) framed and hung on my wall. I've even had an Alice in Wonderland tattoo, although it was temporary, it was part of a project done by Litographs. I'd link to it but the website is down, so just look at one of my photos from it.

Anyways, being as big of an Alice fan as I am, obviously I was extremely excited for this month's box. I believe I said as much at the end of my post for the October box. I spent the entire month wondering what new Alice adaptation/re-telling I was going to receive because I haven't been following new books very closely lately so I had no idea what was on the horizon. I was also curious to see what other tidbits there would be and I was secretly hopeful that there would be a Funko Pop, because I love them so much.

And on that note, now it's time for what I thought of each of this month's items, with my 8-bit Alice shirt as a backdrop, I totally wore that to work today:

1. Mad Hatter's Wonderland Elixir exclusive tea blend from Riddle's Tea Shoppe and Adagio Teas

This tea smells SOOOOOOO good that it's actually making me consider trying tea. I don't drink hot beverages, I am much more a cold beverage girl, but I really am tempted to give this a try because of how good it smells and because it's Wonderland themed. The tin it comes in is AWESOME, look at the inside of the lid!!

2. the fancy Alice in Wonderland bookmark from Authored Adornments

I'm not sure if every single one given out was unique but the one I got happened to have one of my favourite bits on it, where Alice says curiouser and curiouser. Here's a close up because you really can't see it well in the big shop up top:

3. Alice in Wonderland  magnet from Evie Bookish

I love magnets. I show off most of my magnets on my desk at work because my above the desk hutch is metal! So currently I have a magnetized photo of me and Angie on there, Figment from Walt Disney World, the 10th Doctor, and Star Lord, Alice will definitely be a good addition. I really love this magnet in particular because of the artwork and colours but most especially because of the quote: "Imagination is the only weapon in the the war against reality." it's a great quote, I love quotes about imagination. I have a few framed quotes above my desk as well including the one from Alice about doing 6 impossible things before breakfast, so this will definitely fit the theme I seem to be going with at work.

4. The custom illustrated edition of the original Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & bookmark from Rock Paper Books

I was not expecting 2 books in this box! I was absolutely over the moon to see they'd also sent us a copy of the original Alice stories in addition to the pick of the month. I have at least 2 editions currently, but it never hurts to have another, especially one with such fun, whimsical artwork on the cover!

6. Heartless by Marissa Meyer + quote card

I had heard about this book! But not enough to know it was an Alice adaptation! I am so damn excited to have it! I know a lot of bloggers were trying to get ARCs for it. There's been a lot of hype about this book if I remember correctly? I love seeing the classic stories told from the villains point of view, and I've always like the mad Queen of Hearts. One of my favourite Alice adaptations to date was actually another one from the Queen's POV, Colleen Oakes's Queen of Hearts. I can't wait to get to this book now. I think as soon as I finish the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them screenplay, and the Kelley Armstrong trilogy I just started, that I will read this one!

Overall I really enjoyed this box, everything was as promised 100% Alice so I really couldn't have asked for more. I was disappointed that there was no Alice funko pop but given that out of the ones that exist I have the 2 I really wanted I am okay with that. I'm already looking forward to December's Epic box.

Unboxing - #nerdblock October 2016

So as I mentioned last month, Nerd Block is the very first subscription service I ever subscribed to, and this month's block marks the last one I will receive from them. My subscription was up fore renewal again (the last time it came up I bought a 6 month one), and since for the most part I've been less and less happy with the boxes over time I decided that I would cancel it this time. And fate must have agreed that was the right decision because right after I cancelled it LootCrate announced a Wizarding World of Harry Potter subscription block for the same price that my Nerd Block renewal fee was going to be -  so even though I originally complained that it was super expensive (because for the same price you only get half as many boxes because it's bimonthly instead of monthly) I caved and subscribed because I figured, it's Harry Potter there's really a very miniscule chance that I'll be unhappy with the contents, plus I can share anything Angie really wants out of them with her.

All that being said, for my last block it was a pretty good one. Have a look at what I got and then I'll tell you about the items clockwise from the bottom left again:

1. the Beetlejuice inspired Handbook for the Recently Deceased notebook

My coworkers and I were just discussing our mutual love of the ghost with the most last week so they're going to be jealous of this notebook, which even has striped pages to match Beetlejuice's iconic suit! So I know I said the Oz notebook from my Owlcrate was going to go to work but I think this notebook might instead. I grew up in the 90s and the Beetlejuice cartoon was one of my favourites, I also loved the 1988 movie starring Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder which of course inspired the cartoon.

2. Scream print

Scream and the Scream franchise are my absolute favourite horror movies. I saw Scream on VHS in 1997. We watched it for the very first time at my 11th birthday party - a sleepover, and I have a vivid memory of my parents scaring the crap out of us - to this day my mother maintains that it wasn't on purpose but I still don't believe her. We were in the middle of the opening sequence with Drew Barrymore when we hear a knock on the family room window (which was 6 feet off the ground mind you) which caused us all to scream in fright. I jumped up on the couch and looked out and couldn't see any one. When I looked away there was another knock which caused us all to panic and scatter into the kitchen looking for my parents who were laughing their butts off at us. Turns out my mum, who'd gone out for a smoke had knocked on the window trying to get our attention. That's the origin story of my love for Scream I've at this point probably seem all of them about 500 times. So this print of Sidney and Ghostface is most definitely getting framed and hung, I already have a spot on the wall picked out for it.

3. Simpsons Tree House of Horror tshirt

The Simpsons is another series that I've loved since I was young and I always get a kick out of the Halloween specials. This tshirt will definitely see some use - I may wear it to work on the Friday before Halloween this year.

4. Ghostbusters Vinylmates action figure

This an exclusive item made for Nerd Block and it's awesome. I've never heard of the Vinylmates line before but I do love vinyl figurines I have god knows how many floating around here. This one is really neat it kind of looks like a giant LEGO minifig. This one is Ray from the original films and he's covered in Slimer slime! Love it, it's already found a home on my shelves next to my Funko!Dumbledore and last month's Joker action figure,

5. Walking Dead ear wallet

I am a zombie fan but I am not a Walking Dead fan, and even if I were I am not sure I would ever have the desire to use a wallet shaped like a fallen off zombie ear. I think I know a student assistant at work who is a Walking Dead fan so I think I will see if they wants it.

6. Alien salt and pepper shakers

Until now (literally at the time of writing this) I had never seen Alien, I knew about it from pop culture obviously but I'd never watched it before. That being said these salt and pepper shakers are really grossing me out. I have a coworker who loves Alien so I offered them to her and she was all for it until I said they were shaped like alien eggs at which point she then got grossed out too haha.

Overall feelings for this box? I love 4/6 of the items so that's not a bad haul at all. Now if I could just find someone to give these salt and pepper shakers to...

Unboxing - #owlcrate October 2016 - Once Upon a Dream Box

October's #owlcrate arrived on Wednesday, but I didn't get the chance to sit down and write this unboxing post until this weekend. This month's theme was Once Upon a Dream and here's the spoiler card:

The theme being what it is I was totally and completely expecting anything and everything related to fairytales and classic children's stories and I was not at all disappointed. They included items inspired by/based upon a few of my fondly remembered and well loved classical children's tale franchises.

Time for what I thought of each of this month's items, this time I'm following the order the items appeared on the spoiler card:

1. Fabric button bookmark from My Heart My Tribe

Bookmarks seem to be almost standard fare for an Owl Crate and I am not complaining because so far they have all been lovely! Although I can't find my Queen of Hearts one from the darkness box at the moment so I will need to go hunting for it. This bookmark is basically a giant paper clip with a really lovely button on it. The fabric my bookmark is made of is a light, powder blue base and then blue; red; and blue and white flowers. It really is very love - I am currently undecided on if I am keeping it for myself or if it's going to be gifted.

2. the Oz passport from from The Unemployed Philosophers Guild

This is a cute little 60 page note book designed to look like a passport. Go here to see better pictures of it. I love little notebooks I have them all over the place to write down all of the various thoughts, ideas, and plottings that have been known to pop into my head at random. I think this little one will go and live on my desk at work because that's about the one place I don't have a notebook right now.

3. Sleeping Beauty charm bracelet from The Geeky Cauldron

First and foremost I must say how much I absolutely LOVE the name of this shop and I really wish I'd thought of it myself years ago for a blog name it's a fantastic name! Such wordplay! I love it. Anyway now onto the bracelet, it's a lovely little bangle with a spinning wheel charm, and a charm that says once upon a dream. I don't tend to wear jewelry, but I have a tweenage cousin who loves princesses who I think will adore it so it's just become part of her Christmas gift.

4. Slouchy Peter Pan beanie from Whosits & Whatsits

So this was the item that they announced was going to be in the box last time, they said in October we would get a clothing item from Whosits and Whatsits. I can't help but start singing Ariel's song from The Little Mermaid every time I have to say or think that store name!! Its' fantastic. And so of course is the beanie! Who wouldn't want to wear a Peter Pan themed beanie! I've been jealously coveting the slouchy beanie my coworker made for herself but now I have one of my own, so yay for that! I can cosplay as Pan himself every day this winter if I so desire now! Although I might have to alternate between this and the Stormtrooper toque I got in a sci-fi block earlier this year.

6. Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter + signed bookplate, and temporary tattoo

I feel like I've heard of this book - or at least I've seen the cover before because it looked and sounded familiar, maybe one of the blogs I follow reviewed an ARC at some point. Who knows either way I have it now and based on the summary it sounds like it has the potential to either be something I could really enjoy like City of Dark Magic or be something I really wanted to enjoy but ended up being disappointed with and not enjoying at all, like The Night Circus. It's a retelling of a traditional Russian folktale so it's got me very curious because I've always been fascinated by folktales and I love retellings. Now, without further ado here is the aforementioned summary of the book from Goodreads:

In the enchanted kingdom of Brooklyn, the fashionable people put on cute shoes, go to parties in warehouses, drink on rooftops at sunset, and tell themselves they’ve arrived. A whole lot of Brooklyn is like that now—but not Vassa’s working-class neighborhood.
In Vassa’s neighborhood, where she lives with her stepmother and bickering stepsisters, one might stumble onto magic, but stumbling out again could become an issue. Babs Yagg, the owner of the local convenience store, has a policy of beheading shoplifters—and sometimes innocent shoppers as well. So when Vassa’s stepsister sends her out for light bulbs in the middle of night, she knows it could easily become a suicide mission.
But Vassa has a bit of luck hidden in her pocket, a gift from her dead mother. Erg is a tough-talking wooden doll with sticky fingers, a bottomless stomach, and a ferocious cunning. With Erg’s help, Vassa just might be able to break the witch’s curse and free her Brooklyn neighborhood. But Babs won’t be playing fair… 

Overall I am pretty pleased with this month's box there weren't any items that I didn't like. Obviously there were also a few items which I loved. I am SUPER PUMPED for next month's theme though, like so, so hyped for it - the November theme is going to be Wonderland and anyone who knows me knows how much I LOVE Alice in Wonderland. So an Alice retelling is right up my alley for a book choice next month!

Unboxing - #owlcrate September 2016 - Darkness Box

On the last day of September my September #owlcrate finally arrived.

This month's theme as you can see from the spoiler card above, was darkness. I was super excited for it hoping it would have some similar notes to the evil box from July which I absolutely loved. The guaranteed item for this box was an item from Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children which I must confess I have not read; but I really, really want to and it's on my TBR pile because I managed to get a copy for $7.50, which I think I remember mentioning a few weeks back in one of my Musing Monday posts.

Time for what I thought of each of this month's items:

1. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children canvas pouch from Out of Print

I'm loving this, it's the perfect size for my markers and I have been thinking to myself recently that I really, really needed to get a pencil case for my markers because they're still in the box. Once the washi tape I ordered yesterday for labeling my markers arrives they will move to their new home in this pouch. The pouch incidentally also contained a coupon for a discount at Out of Print which makes me happy because I've been wanting to buy a tshirt from them so yay discount. I just realized I should have flipped it over though so you could see the quote on the other side which is "Strange, I thought, how you can be living your dreams and your nightmares at the very same time." from Hollow City.

2. Celaena's Cake scented candle from The Melting Library

It smells absolutely scrumptious, and it's inspired by a book series I really want to read, Throne of Glass. That being said I don't allow myself to have candles because I have been known to pull a Seamus Finnigan with them. Angie however loves scented candles so this will get bundled off for her to enjoy.

3. Fortune telling bath fizzer from Da Bomb

Another item inspired by another series that I want to read, this time it's The Raven Cycle series. This is another item that'll get sent to Angie because I don't take baths, I only take showers.

4. Six of Crows bookmark from Evie Bookish

My coworker Matt read this book a few months back and that was how I became aware of it's existence, I've been saying since then that I would like to read it so now when I do I have an appropriate book mark. A bookmark which also happens to be really gorgeous.

5. Print edition of Episode one of ReMade

This wasn't included on the spoiler card . When I first saw it I was kind of hopeful/assuming that it would be a graphic novel, but it's not. It's the print version of a the first episode of a serialized story called ReMade which according to the review on the page I linked above there James Dashner is a fan of, so I may just end up having to subscribe so I can listen to the whole season. First I'll read this though to see if I'll even like the story!

6. Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake + signed bookplate, author letter/map, and DIY fortune teller

As always the book comes with a signed bookplate which is the closest you can get to an autographed book with a subscription block so I think that's a really cool thing for them to arrange. I also love the author letters! This time on the back of the author letter there's a map of the world the novel takes place in. I love those kinds of maps. The last thing that was wrapped up with the book was a DIY fortune teller themed to the book. The book definitely sounds interesting and like it's right up my alley so I've eagerly added it to my TBR pile, I'll get to it ASAP because I have books for my 2016 reading challenges to read first. Here's the summary from Goodreads:

Every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born: three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.
But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose…it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins. The last queen standing gets the crown.
If only it was that simple. Katharine is unable to tolerate the weakest poison, and Arsinoe, no matter how hard she tries, can’t make even a weed grow. The two queens have been shamefully faking their powers, taking care to keep each other, the island, and their powerful sister Mirabella none the wiser. But with alliances being formed, betrayals taking shape, and ruthless revenge haunting the queens’ every move, one thing is certain: the last queen standing might not be the strongest…but she may be the darkest.

I'm very pleased with this month's box on the whole. Yes there are 2 things that I won't use, but I know Angie will make use of them so that's 100% okay with me! I wasn't disappointed by any of the items so that to me is always the mark of a good box. I look forward to October's and I hope it doesn't take as long as September's did to arrive.

Unboxing - #nerdblock September 2016

Nerd Block is the very first subscription service I ever subscribed to. Since first joining up I've done stints with Classic!Nerd Block, Comic Block and most recently Sci-Fi Block. This month I switch back to classic though. The first 2 months of my 6 month Sci-Fi Block subscription were pretty good but then after that they started repeating the same franchises over and over and just generally giving me things I was unimpressed with. So when I saw that the September classic block was going to have an exclusive HP item I knew that was the sign I needed to switch my subscription over.

What have we got in this month's box then? Let's go through it the same way I do with my #owlcrate unboxings, item by item. We'll start at the top left and go clockwise:

1. Ghostbusters screen cleaning cloth

I am a big Ghostbusters fan I've watched the DVDs of the originals so many times I've had to replace them twice. I know both off by heart and The Real Ghostbusters cartoon series is one of my most coveted wish list items on Amazon. I was definitely excited for the reboot, a group of coworkers from the library and I went to see it and I thought it was awesome. So all that said I am pretty pleased with this - I think it's going to go to work to keep our scanner bed clean haha.

2. Fun with Kirk and Spock book

So this book is a parody of the old grammar books Fun with Dick and Jane obviously with a Star Trek theme. They put this together in honour of the 50th anniversary of the original air date of the very first episode of the original series. I look forward to reading it at some point. I suspect it will end up making its way around among my friends and family as well because I have a fair few Trekkies in my social circle, myself included.

3. Attack on Titan scarf/costume

So all I know about Attack on Titan I know from the internet, I know it's some sort of anime/manga but I've never cared enough to actually find out if it was a show, book, movie or video game. This will probably get offered to my friends on Facebook haha. I really need to figure out how to go about selling all the stuff from these boxes that I don't actually want.

4. Batman the Animated Series action figure

There was 3 different options for this one - Penguin, Batman and the Joke. I have to say I'm pretty pleased that I got the Joker. This incarnation of the joker is voice by Mark Hamill and he just does such an awesome job at it. I've unboxed him, he has far too many little bits and accessories though, but he and his swag are now living on one of my bookcases right beside my Dumbledore Funko!Pop and at the opposite end of the shelf from my C3PO Pop and Mr. Bean and his bear from a previous Nerd Block.

5. Star Wars pin back buttons

2 buttons for the rebels and 2 for the Empire. I'm a big Star Wars fan too so I enjoyed seeing these in the box, I have no real use for them though so they might get attached to my cousins' christmas gifts in place of bows this year.

And last but certainly not least, in fact BEST ITEM IN THE BOX, this month's tshirt was the exclusive HP item: