Update + Thoughts

Hello there!

I apologise for the late post; the wifi was down last night and the night before, and I couldn't write as when I did the page froze and crashed :( Anyhow, Sunday was one of those days where I struggled to write. I had a DIY post planned but the weather's not up for it yet (there's a clue!) and a tag just seemed meh.

The past week has been quite busy with revision and other things. Christmas break is coming soon, but not quite yet so I still have to function properly for at least four more weeks. Something that has crossed my mind several times is the design of this blog. It is nearing it's first birthday and I intend to change the layout, possibly change the template and name. Truth be told, Love From Icy is not my first pick as a blog name but I went with it at the time. I've upgraded the template from one Blogspot provided to a 'custom' one several months ago, but I do want to fully customise the design to make it more unique and appealing.

Another thing I've been thinking about a lot is dance and where I'm headed with that. This month an opportunity popped up for me to compete with different dancers from other schools. Early on I wanted to join but I didn't plan my time due to school work, and am now left with a week to choreograph a routine. Choreography is not my strongest suit so I'm debating whether or not to audition. All in all, here's a lesson: plan your time correctly and if it's important to you make time for it.

'Stressful' is a strong word to describe what's been going on; I think 'hectic' is a better word. I had been feeling a little overwhelmed with everything when I saw a Sprinkle of Glitter blog post. Every Monday, she posts a 'Motivational Monday' post which I think is a lovely idea to soothe the Monday blues; I know I was feeling down! This week's post related to what I was thinking and reading it cheered me up.

source

Go read her post HERE.

This post has been all over the place but there will always be bumps along the road. 

Have a nice day xx

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Universal Studios Japan

Happy Sunday!

Following up the previous week's post, today I wanted to share my experience of going to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Studios. As a Harry Potter fan, I was beyond excited to go and see how they recreated Hogsmeade and Hogwarts. The series is truly one of the best I've ever read and if you haven't read it yet a. why? and b. make it your top book on your to-read book list!

I hastily snapped some pictures because I wanted to capture the moment, but also see and feel it with my own eyes.

The ever-so-famous Weasley car parked on the path to Hogsmeade

"Please Respect The Spell Limits"

The line outside Honeydukes was insane. We didn't manage to get in but luckily snagged a few chocolate frogs from a shop near the Universal Studios entrance!

Inside The Hog's Head

Butterbeer *heart eyes* 

And finally, the grand Hogwarts castle

The only ride I'm aware of there is the visual-effects-journey ride. There was so much people that day and I either could not see any other ride or did not want to wait in line for three hours. The main attractions were the castle, the butterbeer, and the shops.

The HP section of Universal Studios is not the biggest but is definitely worth visiting, especially if you're a Potterhead. The setups look as if they had come straight out of the movie itself, and I was not disappointed; the only thing the place needed was the characters! 

I'm interested to see the UK version of the WWoHP... one day...

Not much to write about today; the focus is all on the pictures. That's all from me and I'll see you next week xx

Japan Haul

Hey guys :)

Last week I went to Osaka with my family for term break and I went shopping there. We visited a few cool places like Tokyu Hands (up till the trip I had been calling it Tokyo Hands) and Shinsaibashi. The shopping bug struck me and I couldn't help myself because I, like most others, am a hard-core shopper and consumer of... things.

Before I start I would like to say I am in no way showing off about what I have purchased. Just wanted to clear that up!

Starting off with the most exciting purchase: a polaroid printer. I decided to purchase this because the day we went the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the exposure went crazy on all my polaroid pictures due to the sun. With the printer, you can use your phone to take and pick the photos to print. The outcome is a high-def polaroid that maintains the vintage quality of polaroid cameras.

Another exciting purchase: an iPod nano. I really needed an iPod to store my growing music collection and my phone was running out of storage (curse you mysterious Other storage that I can't get rid of!). Space grey seemed like a nice colour for the iPod so I went with that. It's such a funny little electronic, so different to the iPod nanos of the past. Truthfully I prefer the 4th or 5th generation nanos but unfortunately they don't sell that anymore. 

'Midnight Kiss' on repeat!

Japan is basically Stationery Wonderland. In Y5 I was seriously obsessed with stationery. I hauled 3-4 pencil cases to school everyday, filled with gel pens, glitter pens, felt tips and other unnecessary bits and bobs. I do like stationery now but I'm not as crazy about it as I was back then. Still, in Japan I had to fight off the urges to buy pens, lead pencils and notebooks. Japan takes stationery to a whole other level. In Hong Kong you get the basics with a few gems. In Japan you are exposed to the whole treasure chest. I luckily managed to restrain myself and did not buy fifteen pens.

L-R: Pilot Acroball, Zebra Colour Flight, Bic ballpoint pen

The same happens with pencil cases. I found this one in Tokyu Hands, and it was slightly less expensive in HK so I justified buying it.

You all know I am a lip balm hoarder. The selection in Japan was incredible but I narrowed it down to two; of course one of them had to be a Baby Lips lip balm (the berry flavoured one with a limited edition Fashion Week tube), the other a mint-scented Shiseido lip balm. The packaging of these two are one point!

A crystal nail file

In Monki I picked up this set of coloured bobby pins. Coloured bobby pins are in right now, and I really like the rose gold ones. 

missglamorazzi recently came out with a video on how to style coloured bobby pins so check it out!

Near our hotel was a ginormous Forever 21. My brain nearly shut down with excitement when I got there because it really was a shopper's paradise; it was huge. The decor was also really nice and everything was set up well. I picked up several accessories there because they have a wide range for not that expensive. 

These ear cuffs are slightly different to the normal ear cuff. These ones have a part for your standard piercing but than goes up the cartilage. I'm always up for trying new accessory trends because you never know when you'll find one that suits your style. Speaking of accessory trends, I keep seeing the hand band on the internet. Seems pretty cool!

Aside from simple chain necklaces, I have recently started wearing crystal point necklaces. They are so fun and tumblr-y.

I also purchased two sweaters; one a nice, warm rust colour and another one in a grey-tinted mint.

That is all for today's haul! I stayed up late last night to watch 'The First Time' for the first time (heh) so I'm preettyy tired. I'm going to end it here but I'll see you guys next week xx