Things That Make You Go Oooooo (December 2017)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I'll be celebrating my first day of 2018 in one of my favourite cities in the world, Seoul. This year has been full of adventures and I really hope it continues into the new year as I've had a blast visiting all these amazing places and making new discoveries. I'm starting the year in a great frame of mind and really want to make this the best year ever! I hope you're all well and even if this year wasn't your best there's a new one on the horizon so make as much of it as you can and keep believing!

♥ 5 Practices to Help You Live a Happier, More Present Life

♥ How To Break Out of a Negative Mindset for Good

♥ The Six-Step Week Plan That’ll Help You Get Your Life Together

♥ How Blogging Helped Me Become Who I Am Today

♥ Finding Peace When the Future Overwhelms You

♥ 6 Secrets for Getting Out of a Rut

♥ 7 Ways to Start a Relationship with Yourself

♥ 8 Things That Make You Feel Rich That Have Nothing To Do With Money

♥ 9 Fears You Will Regret Never Facing

♥ 10 Things I Wish Someone Would Have Told Me When I Was 18

♥ How I Afford To Live In Paradise & Travel The World (Without A 9-to-5 Job)

♥ Chic Pixel’s Ultimate Guide to Blogging Part 2: The Nuts and Bolts

♥ Surround Yourself With Friends Who Want You To Be Happy

♥ When a geek goes full IRL

♥ How to Encourage Diversity in the Blogging Community

♥ 10 Ways That I Practice Self Care

♥ Fancy Believing in the Goblin King

♥ 6 Ways to Benefit From Alone Time

♥ Following People You Don't Like

♥ 4 Ways to Stay Healthy Even When You're Not in the Mood

Love & Cinnamon Buns

Cate

xoxo

Unboxing Presents from my BFF!!

My dear friend Cally sent me a huge package full of goodies which I was so happy and excited about I decided to make a video of me unboxing them for her to see. Living alone and being so far away from friends and family can be super hard sometimes so getting such thoughtful care packages like this is an amazing way to show you still care. Although this was filmed a while back I forgot to share my excitement on the blog but as it's the season of giving I thought I would share it now in the hopes that it will inspire you to reach out to friends and family near and far and make their day all the much brighter.

You can find Cally on Instagram and Twitter so be sure to check her out, give her a follow and spread the love. I'm honestly so grateful to have the friends that I do, I may not have many and I may be far apart from them but they bring so much joy and inspiration to my life and while I'm super flaky at keeping in touch with everyone I promise I'll make an extra effort and make 2018 our best year ever!

What ways do you like to show your friends that you care?

Love & Cuddles

Cate

xoxo

Christmas in Bangkok

Christmas isn't a big celebration in Asia but ever since spending Christmas in Japan and seeing how they celebrate I have wanted to see how other Asian countries celebrate it to, this year I'll be spending it in Seoul, and last year I was lucky enough to spend my first ever Christmas in Bangkok.

What I love most about Christmas in Asia is that everything is open so you can go out and celebrate the occasion rather than staying in the house, being bored, sleeping and watching bad TV, and even though Christmas isn't traditionally celebrated there's still lots of places you can go to get that festive feeling. I was determined to find an epic Christmas tree somewhere as I'd gone almost the whole of December with out seeing one, so after doing some research and seeing some beautiful photos on Instagram, I took my family to Central World to see all the decorations and it was honestly one of the most beautiful displays I'd ever seen.

That Christmas Day was one of the best days I've ever had and I'm so happy I got to spend it with my Thai family after all these years of being apart because we all had such a fun day. We started off by getting som tam which is my favourite Thai dish, then did karaoke where I sang and danced awfully to KPop, and in the evening we ventured over to Central World to go see the concert and decorations, and if that wasn't enough the day ended with some pretty damn amazing vegan waffles at one of my favourite vegan restaurants in Bangkok, Veganerie, before we headed home for some much needed sleep.

I was shocked to see so many people out on Christmas Day as I've grown so used to seeing the empty streets in the UK but the atmosphere was amazing, everyone was so happy and spirited that it gave me such a festive feeling and even though it was hot and humid outside it felt more like Christmas to me than if it had been snowing. The memories of that day I will treasure forever and although there were no presents, crackers, snow, silly jumpers or traditional Christmas dinners because I was with the people I love in such an amazing beautiful place, doing fun things it felt more special and more like a real Christmas should be, because more than anything Christmas should be about making happy memories with the people you treasure, no matter what you do or where you are in the world.

How will you be spending your Christmas Day?

Love & Reindeers

Cate

xoxo

Getting Lost at The Forbidden City - Beijing - China

The Forbidden City is probably one of the most famous sights in China and a place you must see if you travel to Beijing. Several years ago when I visited I was shocked at the amount of tourist at this site but I think on my second visit there were even more! It was a hot summers day when we visited The Forbidden City or Palace Museum as it's also know by and it's called a city for a reason, it's absolutely humongous! I'm not quite sure how we walked through it all so quickly last time but I recommend at least half a day to experience it and to bring lots of water if it's sunny!

As I was there with my parents who are a little less energetic than me we decided not to walk through the whole city as it was far too hot that day however we got lost trying to find an exit as you can't exit the way you came in. None of the signs weren't really helpful in out quest to find an exit and none of us could speak Chinese but eventually after a lot of walking and a shuttle bus trip we finally made our way out.

I was glad to get the chance to re-visit The Forbidden City again in the summer as they colours of all the buildings were so vibrant, one of the things I love most about Asian architecture is just how bold and colourful it can be, of course a lot of the buildings have been renovated as you could see just how faded some of the older buildings are, there was also a lot of construction happening inside and with the size of this place I can imagine the upkeep on all the buildings is pretty much constant.

Looking back on the photos taken on my last trip it's strange to think how much I've changed in both appearance and personally. China was the first trip I had taken abroad on my own and it helped me learn so much about myself and my capabilities and I also learned so much about other cultures and how to be more understanding and less ignorant.

Visiting here a second time I felt more relaxed and prepared as I had a better understanding of how things worked like queuing for example, people in China sometimes just barge in and push you aside so you just have to go with the flow, don't let it get to you and be a bit more pushy yourself or you'll never get in anywhere! What you may view as rude may be common place in another culture so it's important to travel with an open mind, be observant and be kind.

What's the biggest lesson that you've learnt from travelling?

Love & Luck

Cate

xoxo

Christmas Food in Thailand: Starbucks & Mister Donut

Christmas may not be a big celebration here in Thailand but you can still find a lot of festive cheer and one of my favourite things about the season is all the cute, yummy food available. On a recent trip to the mall I spotted some Christmas Hello Kitty themed donuts and could not resist so I thought I would treat myself to a box and no donut binge is complete without a coffee to go with it so I also popped into Starbucks to get myself one of their Christmas lattes.

The donuts were so good! I'm a sucker for the Mister Donut collabs, they always have the cutest food and Starbucks always has some interesting seasonal drinks and while it was kinda pricey it was extremely cute and sometimes you just gotta treat yourself, I mean Christmas only comes once a year so make the most of it!

What's your favourite Starbucks Christmas drink?

Love & Matcha

Cate

xoxo

The Christmas Tag!

Can you believe it's almost Christmas? So Sarah over at Raiin Monkey tagged me to do a Christmas tag and I thought it would a fun way to get into the festive sprit. I have to admit now I'm living in the tropics I've not really been feeling that festive vibe although there are some pretty awesome trees around town but I'm kinda loving being in Asia for Christmas again. This is actually my 3rd year spending Christmas in Asia, the first year I spent in Japan, last year I was in Bangkok and this year I'll be in Seoul and hopefully I'll be able to continue the tradition and spend Christmas in another Asian country next year as I'm loving seeing how other cultures celebrate the day. So anyway on to the tag....

 Do you start your Christmas shopping on Black Friday or wait until last minute?

I used to start shopping around September but as I've been travelling these past few years I tend to go shopping whilst I'm away and look for cool souvenirs and things I think my family and friends might like there which inevitably means everyone ends up getting their presents some time in the new year, but I mean as long as they get something awesome it's all good right?

If you could be in any Christmas movie, what would it be?

Batman Returns... is that a weird one? I guess so but it was the first one that came into my mind because I just love that gothic aesthetic and I mean who doesn't want to be Catwoman in that movie? But a more traditional pick would be Home Alone 2 because I have always dreamed of spending Christmas in New York I mean there's just so many Christmas movies based in New York it just makes it seem so beautiful and romantic.

Which do you like better: Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?

Christmas Day for sure because we've never really done anything special to celebrate Christmas Eve

When does your family (or you) put up your Christmas tree and who decorates it?

So it's been a while since I had a tree but usually I would put up all the decorations in our house around the second week of December. Funnily enough the first Christmas I was away in Japan my Dad kept asking me who's going to put up all the decorations if I'm not here haha bless!

White lights or coloured lights?

It depends on the tree, I think the traditional green ones look better with while lights but our current tree is black and has LED lights built in that changes colours which is pretty cool.

Are you guilty of peeking at your presents or do you like the surprise?

I don't even get a chance to peek because they're normally hidden away until Christmas morning and any other gifts I exchange with my friends we normally open when we're together so there's no waiting or temptation to peek, but I do love surprises.

Would you rather live in a gingerbread house or in Santa's workshop?

Oh man a gingerbread house for sure but it would smell AMAZING but I can't imagine it lasting long as I would probably just keep nibbling at it.

Tell us your Christmas Eve traditions!

I don't really have any... sometimes we used to go to my Nanna's house for a buffet and then just come home and watch Christmas TV and movies but other than that we don't really have any Christmas Eve traditions, maybe I should make some?

If you could be under the mistletoe with anyone who would it be? 

Well I think that one is pretty obvious...

What tops your Christmas tree? 

It's always been an angel and after the last one broke, which we had had since I was a baby, I decided to put a Funko Pop of Castiel from Supernatural at the top instead because he's an angel afterall... MERRY NERDMAS!

Can you name the 12 days of Christmas? 

Maybe... I guess I would have to sing it to find out, its the one about all the gifts right?

Have you ever gone Christmas carolling? 

YES! When I was a kid I was part of the school choir, I still have no idea why as I couldn't sing then and I definitely can't now, so we used to go to retirement homes at Christmas and sing for all the old people there which was pretty sweet, I kinda wish I could do it again but I'll spare people having to listen to my terrible singing although I did do karaoke last Christmas...

Do you countdown to Christmas? If so, how many days left?

 The only thing I'm counting down to at the moment is my vacation in 7 DAYS!!

What are some foods and treats you can count on having every holiday season?

I guess lots of cakes, biscuits and pies although I haven't really had the chance to eat much festive food for the past few years but I'm trying I mean Asia has a lot of kawaii Christmas themed food which I really should make the most of while I'm here.

How has Christmas kept its magic for you as you've grown older?

Definitely since I've been travelling and spending Christmas in Asia doing new and different things to celebrate the magic of the day has been restored for me and these past few years have been the best I've had in a looong time! I really hope to keep this new tradition up and keep travelling during the holidays and having as many different festive experiences in as many different countries and cultures as I can.

I'm tagging my friends Hilde, Angie and Cally and anyone else who wants to get in that festive spirit!

Love & Cookies

Cate

xoxo

7 TV Shows That Will Make You Fall in Love with GOT7

I've been listening to GOT7 ever since they released 'A' but as with most KPop I tend to just listen to a few songs and never really look into the groups (I mean there's so many groups and so many members it's overwhelming) but that was until I moved to Thailand. THAILAND LOVES GOT7!! So after looking into the reason why GOT7 is so popular in Thailand (BAMBAM!!) I started to get to know them as people and I just fell in love with these boys, they're so sweet, hardworking, caring and so funny and I wanted to share the love and the hype so here are a few TV shows they've done which are definitely worth checking out and even if you're not a KPop fan I'm sure there's something on this list you'll enjoy.

Dream Knight

드림나이트

When I found out GOT7 had their own drama of course I had to watch it. There are 12 episodes in total, each only 10 minutes long and is about this girl who's leading a pitiful life after the death of her mother when these handsome boys randomly enter her life and help her out. Honestly the drama is mostly an excuse to show off the gorgeous GOT7's singing and dancing skills which I'm fine with because heck they're the only reason I watched it and I actually found the part where the girl is learning the dances quite amusing especially as I quite often practice GOT7's dance routines as part of my workout (haha did I really just admit that? #KPopTrash) but cheesy/tragic plot aside it's worth a watch for all the cuteness also I need to get me some GOT7 plushies already!

Roomate

룸메이트 

Roomate is a reality show that follows the lives of 12 Korean celebrities living together in a share house, kinda like Celebrity Big Brother but so SO much better and funnier! When I first watched it I only really knew of Jackson (GOT7), Sunny (Girl's Generation) and Young-ji (Kara), Lee Dong-Wook is in this to but I watched this before I watched Goblin but he's just a awesome to, in fact all the celebrities in the house are awesome, interesting, and funny and I loved seeing their interactions and how close they grew, it was so sweet. I also loved the outings they had as I learned a lot about Korean culture and food, they're almost always eating in this show and it makes me so hungry, Korean food is SO good! After watching this Jackson became my bias I just loved how much energy he had, how random he was and how adorable he is especially when he got a donkey for his birthday... no joke that is one thing you definitely need to see!

IGOT7

So the concept of IGOT7 is that it's a variety show where GOT7 take on different challenges in order to become the perfect multi-talented idols and I love that even with the silly challenges and harsh punishments that these boys can still just goof around, have fun, and laugh with each other. I don't think I have ever laughed so much watching a TV show before and it definitely made my days much brighter, also loved seeing the early days of angry screaming JB he's definitely my bias wrecker!

Real GOT7 / GOT7ing / Hard Carry TV

First thing you have to do is download the V Live app then just binge watch everything that GOT7 have ever posted, then head on over to their YouTube and binge watch everything there! These shows are kinda like a day in the life/behind the scenes look at GOT7 whether it be dance practices, eating, pranking, touring or just chilling but there's guaranteed fun times and lots of laughter I swear I can happily watch these boys just eating ramen all day!

Dream High 2

드림하이 2

Before GOT7 existed there was JJ Project and this was the drama series that started it all AKA another excuse to show off their awesome singing and dancing skills. There are quite a few KPop idols staring in this including the big chief JYP and although I will admit the lead female characters are slightly annoying I loved JB and Jinwoon (2am) even though JB cringes when he sees it now. The actor of the group Jinyoung isn't featured in this as much as I thought he would be but his character is so sweet and I loved the dancing, I just can't believe how smol everyone looks in this, they've grown up so much!

After School Club/Markson Show

I'm kinda addicted to Arirang TV after randomly discovering it on my TV, most shows are in English or subbed which is pretty sweet for a Korean network and they even invite international fans to take part in their shows which is great as I've loved KPop for so long but sometimes it's hard to find things about your fave groups outside of Korea let alone interact with them especially when you don't know the language. One of the things I love most about GOT7 which I didn't know when I first found them was that they are a multi-national group and can speak many different languages so can communicate with fans all around the world and ASC gives them a great opportunity to do this. GOT7 are so sweet to their fans and although they may be so hyped they give the MC's headaches that's exactly why we love them.

Real Men

진짜 사나

GOT7's foreign members Jackson (Hong Kong) and BamBam (Thailand) join the Korean army and experience life as a soldier. These two are probably the craziest members of the group so seeing them in the army was just so funny but they definitely pulled it off despite some amusing cultural/language misunderstandings. There were some moments that just broke my heart though and I cried a couple times watching it but don't worry the sadness never lasts too long when these two are around and it's a really interesting look into Korean army training and what life is like for the soldiers.

Are you a GOT7 fan? What's your favourite Kpop group?

Love & Cuddles

Cate

xoxo

7 more shows to check out...
♥ Legend of the Blue Sea  - Jinyoung plays young Lee Min Ho.
♥ Law of the Jungle - Jackson in Costa Rica, Mark in New Zealand and most recently JB in Cook Island spend a week trying to survive life in the jungle.
♥ Hitmaker - Listen to their hilarious debut song then watch the series to find out how this amazing group was formed.
♥ Where Is My Friends Home - BamBam and Jackson take a trip to Thailand and explore my home in the north as well as spending some time in Bangkok eating all the delicious foods with BamBam's mother.
♥ A Look At Myself - A day in the life with Jackson.
♥ Celebrity Bromance - Jackson and JB go on "dates" with their idol friends for a day.
♥ Magic School - Jinyoung stars in this web drama about you guessed it a Magic School.

Kawaii Mini Anime Lucky Bag Giveaway

It's December, it's Christmas time so what better way to celebrate than with another super awesome cute giveaway! I'll actually be spending Christmas travelling again and as Japan is on the list and it's fukubukuro season I thought I would put together another little surprise anime lucky bag for you to try your chance at winning.

I won't tell you exactly what's in this goodie bag as that's all part of the fukubukuro fun but there's a nice diverse selection of charms, jewellery and gashapon toys included which should please all tastes. So if you want to be in with a chance to win this month check out the widget below for details on how to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What's your favourite anime?

Good Luck

Cate

xoxo