Things That Make You Go Oooooo (December 2018)

Just like that another year is over! 2018 has been an amazing year for me and it's crazy to think just how much has changed in my life. I've decided to take a blogging break in January and hopefully return in February just to give me some time to rest and reset for the year ahead, I'm not sure where 2019 will take me but I'm pleased to say I'll be starting the year in a good place. I wish you all the best for 2019 thank you for always supporting me and I hope this year you get everything that you want.

♥ How To Make Your Mornings Brighter

♥ ‘I’m Broke and Mostly Friendless, and I’ve Wasted My Whole Life’

♥ 30 Self-Care Tips: How to Avoid Sickness, Burnout, and Exhaustion

♥ How To Overcome Your Insecurities

♥ Life Is Fragile: Make Time for What Matters and Let Go of What Doesn’t

♥ How to Quiet the Voice In Your Head that Tells You “You Can’t”

♥ Morning Routine Alternatives For Women who Love To Sleep In

♥ 8 Ways To Self-Soothe When Your Anxiety Is Out Of Control 

♥ If You’re Tired All the Time, Read On

♥ 10 Healthy Habits to Adopt by December 30

♥ I Used to Struggle With Self-Love & Acceptance—Until I Learned This

♥ How (and when) To Find Moments To Slow Down When Life Gets Crazy

♥ How To Manage Stress In Today's World

♥ 22 Unique Ways to Continue to Learn Without Going Back to School

♥ 15 Friend Dates That Won’t Cost You a Ton of $$$

♥ This Is What Happens to Your Brain When You Don't Get Enough Sleep

♥ The One Word That Finally Helped Me Get Happier — When Nothing Else Worked

♥ It’s Not Just You — Fall Anxiety is Definitely a Thing

♥ Here's How Buying In To Fast Fashion Affects Our Brains—Not Just Our Budgets

♥ A Life Coach's Step-By-Step Guide To Quitting The Thing You Hate & Creating The Life Of Your Dreams

Love & Gingerbread

Cate

xoxo

End of Year Etsy Sale!!

New year is almost here and I'm hoping for a fresh start so with that in mind I thought I would offer my final handmade items at a discounted price, there are only a few things left now so please be quick if you want anything as there won't be anymore in the future once I'm sold out. So for an extra 10% off everything until the end of the year be sure to enter the coupon code below and your discount will be automatically applied...

LASTCHANCEDEAL

As it's the end of the year I also have a limited quantity of Luck Bags or Fukubukuro for sale where you can get several handmade items for the price of one but what you get will be a complete surprise, so it makes the prefect gift for yourself or for a friend, I guarantee you will get some super cute items and also some exclusive stock I never made available for sale before.

There are only a few scarves left in stock including my Game of Thrones Direwolf scarves which I have also given to the cast at past Comin Cons so if you want one then be sure to check them out, a lot of styles are already sold out but there's still a few left and they will definitely keep your neck nice and warm this winter.

Finally I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported me over the years, it's the end of an era and I've had so much fun creating all these handmade goods for you, it started off as just a fun personal hobby but became my lifeline as so many people wanted to own my designs to and I hope in the future to work on new projects but for now goodbye etsy, thank you so much.

Check out this post to open your own Etsy Shop for FREE!!

Love & Bunnies

Cate

xoxo

Christmas in Seoul : Zapangi Cafe (자판기 카페)

Zapangi is one of Seoul's most popular cafes and also known as the pink vending machine cafe because the entrance to the cafe looks just like a vending machine. I've seen so many photos and videos of this cafe all over the internet but this actually wasn't a planned visit and we accidentally found it on our way to another cafe which was unfortunately shut at the time, luckily Zapangi wasn't too crowded so we decided to stop there instead for some Christmas treats.

I'm writing this almost a year after we visited but the cafe is still there and I'm sure they'll have these Christmas treats on offer again this year, our visit was actually the day after Christmas but seeing all the cute Christmas themed drinks and treats they had on offer we just had to try them out and extend the holiday joy.

What I love most about Korean cafes is the aesthetics, each cafe is so uniquely and intricately decorated and Zapangi was no different, I love the pink almost tropical style, minimalist aesthetic they had happening there although the seating was a little bit uncomfortable but it was a nice warm welcome break from the cold, winter streets of South Korea.

The Christmas cake although huge was almost entirely made of cream, really pretty to look but I struggled to eat it as it was so sweet! I really don't like wasting food but on this occasion I just had to stop as I started to feel a bit queasy so I had to admit defeat. The drinks were super sweet to especially the Christmas latte but luckily they had lots of complimentary water so I could drown the sweetness away and my mouth was totally green after eating all that cake!

If you don't get the chance to visit Zapangi for Christmas then they also have other adorable treats for you to try out like donuts and mermaid cakes, I probably won't be ordering cake there again as it was just too sweet for my tastes but they had lots of other drinks there which I wouldn't mind trying out, prices were a little high but Christmas is the perfect time to treat yourself to something sweet, so if you're in the area it's worth checking out if only for the cute photos!

What are your favourite Christmas treats?

Love & Snowflakes

Cate

xoxo

Psssst if you want to see more awesome cafes from around the world you can click the button below, buy me a coffee, get treats & a shoutout on my next post

Christmas at Tokyo Skytree - Japan

Continuing with the Christmas themed posts I thought this time I would take you on a trip to Japan, last year I visited Tokyo around Christmas time and Japan is always that little bit extra with the Christmas decorations and actually lit up the Skytree to look like a giant Christmas tree! I found a bunch of videos I never shared with you all last year so I thought I would edit together a little video to show you just how cute the Skytree looked last Christmas.

Since moving to Asia and experiencing a whole different way to celebrate Christmas I've really started to fall in love with this holiday again and I feel so blessed that over the past few years I've got to spend my Christmas holidays in South Korea, Japan and Thailand, I hope to experience Christmas in many more countries in the future and share my adventures with all of you.

Where would you like to celebrate Christmas?

Love & Cookies

Cate

xoxo

Remember to Treat Yourself This Christmas!

Christmas is here and the shops are staring to get crazy with everyone buying gifts for friends and family but I think at this time of year it's also important to think about yourself to and remember to treat yourself whether it be to a cute new Christmas sweater or even just to a cute drink while you're out shopping for everyone.

Shopping online is my preferred method of buying presents as I can search for exactly what I want and it saves me so much time, so whilst browsing Rosegal I made sure to pick myself up a little something to and got myself a cute new backpack and hoodie. The holidays can be such a stressful time for some so don't forget to take some time out for you and as an extra treat be sure to check below for a discount code for Rosegal and save yourself some money for Christmas treats.

Is your Christmas shopping done yet?

Love & Candy Canes

Cate

xoxo

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Meena Rice Based Cuisine - Chiang Mai - Thailand

Anyone who is a vegan or vegetarian will have no problem finding food Thailand especially Chiang Mai as it's know for it's wide variety of restaurants serving vegan, vegetarian and organic food, with a lot of the fruits and vegetables being home grown. Meena is a restaurant which has become popular not just because of the colourful, home-cooked, traditional Thai dishes but because of their variety of organic rice which they actually cultivate themselves.

After seeing all the colourful photos on Instagram I just had to go visit there and check out their vegan options. The menu does offer meat dishes in addition to their vegan menu but you can also ask if it's possible to get a vegan version of some meat dishes. The menu also changes depending on what's available each season so even if you visit multiple times they'll still be new things to try. Each dish comes adorned with fresh, organic veggies which are not just for decoration they're really delicious, crisp, fresh and sweet, we literally cleared every plate that we ordered!

The rice is the main attraction though and I know not a lot of people find rice exciting but it's such a staple dish and so good for you to. Meena allows you to customise what rice you want served, they offer several different types and the presentation of them is so beautiful it almost looked too pretty to eat, but not only did we clear our plates, we ordered extra and then bought some rice from their on site shop to take home with us.

Meena also offers some desserts and although I was very full at this point I just had to try their ice cream which was so light and soft and came so cutely presented, I kinda wished I ordered another one of their fruity ice creams but I was about to burst from all the delicious food. The restaurant is in such a beautiful setting to with some small shops outside offering handmade goods, unfortunately they are only open for lunch and it fills up with people quite quickly that some dishes can get sold out, so if you visit come early, I promise you will love it!

What's your favourite food?

Love & Rice

Cate

xoxo

San Kamphaeng Hot Springs - Chiang Mai - Thailand

On a recent weekend trip to Chiang Mai I decided to make a quick stop to see the San Kamphaeng Hot Springs as it wasn't too far away from where we were staying and it was one of the places I had always wanted to see, but didn't have the chance to when I was living in Chiang Mai. Unfortunately it was the beginning of rainy season so we weren't there too long before the heavens opened up and it started pouring with rain but we were there long enough to cook ourselves some hot spring eggs which is the highlight of any visit there.

Admittedly I'm not the biggest fan of eggs but this was something I had to try out as I'd seen so many people do it on vacations in Japan, I'm still kinda in shock that Thailand has onsen to because I've always wanted to visit one and although I didn't get the chance to dip my toes into the water, there's a very high chance that'll I'll be back there again one day...

Have you ever visited a hot spring?

Love & Eggs

Cate

xoxo

HANDMADE FOX SCARF GIVEAWAY (EXTENDED!!!)

October turned out to be another crazy month for me so I wasn't able to organise a brand new giveaway for November so instead of not having one at all this month I decided to extend my Fox Scarf giveaway until the end of this month instead so that way you'll get it in just in time for the winter holidays. There's only a few scarves left for sale in my Etsy Shop so be sure to check it out, especially if you want anything for the holidays as once everything is gone, it's gone and my shop will close indefinitely....

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you want to be in with the chance of winning this scarf, handmade by myself, my final scarf in this design then follow the instructions given in the widget above.

Good Luck

Cate

xoxo

Things That Make You Go Oooooo (October 2018)

October is over and there's just 2 months left of 2018 and my crazy year is not over yet because there's even more adventures coming which I can't wait for, I just want to make the most of life as I can as I'm not getting any younger haha! It's Halloween today and I haven't had a moment to think how I'm going to celebrate tonight, so I think ice cream and a scary movie it is, enjoy this month's links.....

♥ How to Save Money While Living in the City

♥ Move Your Body, Calm Your Mind: 5 Practices That Help Ease Anxiety

♥ The One Trick You Need To Try For A Stress-Free Morning

♥ How To Be a Better Listener in 6 Steps

♥ Love in Translation

♥ How I Do My Nails

♥ 31 Things to Do When You're Having a Bad Day

♥ 25 Ways To Eliminate Toxins From Your System

♥ Getting Out Of Your Bad Mood

♥ I Tested 6 Bedtime Hacks Successful People Swear By

♥ How To Deal With Feeling Stuck

♥ Six Ways To Wake Up In A Better Mood

♥ An Open Letter to All the People Pleasers

♥ How To Bounce Back from Adrenal Burnout

♥ Is Your Anxiety Triggered By Hormonal Imbalance? Here's Exactly What To Do About It

♥ 5 Lies I've Stopped Telling Myself

♥ Step into Your Power and Manifest Your Dreams

♥ How I Learned to Make Friends With My Anxiety

♥ Plot Twist: Sleeping In on the Weekends Makes You Live Longer

♥ 3 Quick Tips For Staying Positive Even On A Terrible Day

Love & Matcha

Cate

xoxo

The Big Buddha & Po Lin Monastery - Lantau Island - Hong Kong

The Big Buddha is probably one of Hong Kong's most famous sights, on my first trip to Hong Kong we unfortunately couldn't visit due to bad weather so I was hoping on this trip I could finally take my mum there to see it and kept a close watch on the weather, the night before there was a storm so we were worried it be another trip we'd miss out seeing it but luckily the weather cleared up in the morning and we were able to take a cable car up there.

The cable care to the summit was a longer ride than I thought but a really enjoyable ride which gives you a great view of Hong Kong from above, some cable cars also have a glass bottom so you can see the view below but we just took a regular car, but when you reach the summit the journey doesn't end there it's still a walk to reach the Buddha through shops and restaurants and a tiring climb up 268 steps to reach the base, I was sweating by the time I reached the top but it was great exercise and totally worth seeing this massive creation up close.

Next door to the Big Buddha is Po Lin Monastery, a temple where the monks live. The atmosphere was very calm and peaceful there in complete contrast to the craziness of Hong Kong city, mostly tourists come visit pay their respects there and buy good luck charms.

I always enjoy visiting temples and shrines as they have a whole different atmosphere and beauty. In the past I've only had the chance to see the city areas of Hong Kong and not much of it's natural beauty so this was a whole new experience for me and it was nice to have a few quiet moments before returning to the hustle and bustle.

Po Lin Monastery also has a vegetarian cafeteria where you can buy all sorts or Chinese foods and desserts, I had already eaten a large breakfast so didn't try the food on offer but I just couldn't say no to trying some desserts, Chinese desserts are one of my absolute favourite things so I picked up a few dumplings to try and I had the best mango mochi of my life, seriously mangoes in Hong Kong always taste really good and this dumpling has fresh ones inside, I was almost tempted to buy a box to bring back to Thailand with me for everyone to try.

After exploring the religious area, we walked back to the cable car station and visited some of the shops to buy souvenirs to bring home for the family. Our first visit to Hong Kong we really wanted to take my grandmother to see the Buddha but unfortunately due to bad weather we couldn't go and now due to ill health she can no longer travel so didn't make this trip with us but we still made sure to pay our respects for her and buy her a good luck charm so she was there with us in spirit.

There's just so much of Hong Kong to see and my time there never seems to be long enough so I'm so happy after all these years we finally got the chance to visit and see The Big Buddha, it was definitely worth the wait and I would love to explore more of the area if I ever get the chance to go back to Hong Kong.

What places would you like to see in Hong Kong?

Love & Dumplings

Cate

xoxo

Rosegal Halloween Sale - Spooky Hoodie Wishlist

// Plus Size Halloween Theme Hoodie (Red Wine) //  Plus Size Spider Web Halloween Hoodie (Orange) //

// Halloween Galaxy Wolf Print Drawstring Hoodie //

Halloween is my favourite time of year and to celebrate I checked out the Rosegal Halloween Sale for some spooky hoodies and picked out a few of my favourites to share with you which I'm sure would not only be perfect to wear for Halloween but all year round whenever you're feeling in a spooky mood.

Be sure to take a look at the Rosegal Halloween Sale & let me know your fave items!

Love & Pumpkins

Cate

xoxo

When The Wendigo Met Hannibal - MCM Birmigham 2018 (Mads Mikkelsen)

Back in May when I visited the UK just a few days after my arrival I noticed that Mads Mikkelsen would be attending Comic Con and as a huge Fannibal I had to go meet him in person, he's such a great actor and Hannibal is one of my favourite series ever and I really enjoyed his recent appearances in the Marvel and Star wars Universe so this was an opportunity not to be missed. I'm writing this months later but my brain still can't process that I met him in person, it was all so quick but he was so charming and cool.

I had just a week to prepare for this con and nothing to wear, I knew that I wanted to dress "Hannibal Style" but had left most of my wardrobe back in Thailand, seriously I only had one pair of jeans and one skirt packed in my suitcase and a few jumpers I had left behind after my winter trip so I rushed out to H&M to check out the sale section and luckily found a few things I could use for a Wendigo outfit. I also rush ordered some black lenses which I ended up not being able to see properly out of but they really added to the look I was going for so I persisted. Luckily my antlers I made many years ago were still in tact and I found a Hannibal style tie I used as a belt to keep the jacket in place. Finally I added my rosary beads I got from my trip to Palermo (where Hannibal was filmed) to complete the look and although it wasn't perfect I was quite pleased at what I managed to put together and received some nice compliments from my fellow Fannibals.

Meeting Mads was just a complete blur, I was so nervous but it was very calm and so charming and signed my poster I got from Hannibal's first panel at San Diego Comic Con which he mentioned he was sad not to have been able to go to then afterwards I went to get a photo with him and completely forgot to take my flower crown out of my bag for him to wear, the picture is really embarrassing to you can see just how nervous I was but he of course looks dashing as ever!

After the blur of meeting Mads we decided to check out the rest of the con and it was surprisingly quiet compared to all the cons I've been to in the past and I ended up not buying anything which is really unusual for me but finally seeing Mads in person was just so amazing and brought back all my Fannibal feels, it was definitely one of the biggest highlights of my visit back to the UK and I'll never forget it.

Who would you love to meet from your favourite series?

Love & Antlers

Cate

xoxo

Vivienne Westwood Cafe - Hong Kong

Vivienne Westwood is one of my all time favourite designers, I just love her style and everything she stands for so when I found out there was a Vivienne Westwood cafe in Hong Kong I had to go and check it out for myself. Fashion and food are my two most favourite things so this was the perfect marriage of the things I love most.

The Vivienne Westwood Cafe is situated in Harbour City, Tsim Tsa Tsui next to the Vivienne Westwood store, it's only a small place but full of charm with the walls, cutlery and dinnerware all decorated in her signature prints. The menu offers a wide selection of teas and other drinks and some desserts, you can also enjoy a traditinal afternoon tea there, very British and very Westwood style!

If you've been following me for a while you might have seen my Vivienne Westwood bag which I actually received as a gift for my 20th birthday so it's very precious to me, the day we visited also happened to be my birthday and thus the birthday of my bag to so you could say it was a special visit for the both of us.

With it being my birthday I of course had to order myself a cake and I loved that this cake came adored in her signature orb made of white chocolate, the cake was really nice to strawberry and passionfruit flavoured on a bed of chocolate cripsies totally to my taste and I ate every crumb. I also ordered myself a rose, lychee soy milk tea as I wanted to try something different and it was really good to, maybe a little sweet for my liking but still delicious.

I'd love to come back and try the Afternoon Tea one day, but this was just a quick visit before going to watch the nightly light show and my trips to Hong Kong are always over so quickly but I know I'll come back one day as it's a great city! All in all it was the perfect way to celebrate my birthday and yes while it was a little pricey, birthdays only come once a year so it was totally worth it.

Who is your favourite fashion designer?

Love & Oolong

Cate

xoxo

Psssst if you want to see more awesome cafes from around the world you can click the button below, buy me a coffee, get treats & a shoutout on my next post

OCTOBER DOUBLE GIVEAWAY: Fox Scarf & GOT7 Postcards

October is here and because I got so busy last month and wasn't able to do all the giveaways I planned I thought I would do a double giveaway this month instead and hopefully offer a little something for everyone. You can enter both giveaways if both takes your interest however you can only win one so if you're lucky enough to get picked for both I will contact you asking which prize you prefer then select an addition winner for the other prize, so check out all the details below on how you can enter...

As autumn is here I wanted to giveaway a little something I made to celebrate the season, these fox scarves are the most popular design in my Etsy Shop and this particular design is already SOLD OUT and as they'll be no more re-stocks in my Etsy you'll be getting the absolute last one I'll ever make to keep you warm during these colder months.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

To win this scarf just follow the instructions in the widget above for details on how to enter.

GOT7 is back with their new album Present:You and I celebrated by ordering 6.... So I have quite a few extras and duplicates, whilst I'm still waiting for some albums to arrive and organising trades, I wanted to giveaway this absolutely beautiful postcard set I had extras of which was exclusive to album pre-orders and if you win I'll also send you an exclusive code you can use on VLive to listen to one of the members thanks message.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you're a GOT7 fan be sure to check out the details in the widget above and enter!

Good Luck

Cate

xoxo