Out & About In Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland has become one of my favourite places to visit in the U.K. it's such a beautiful place full natural wonders and some man made ones to that it's no wonder than HBO chose to film Game of Thrones here. I have to admit I was a little sad the Game of Thrones Exhibit wasn't going to be hosted there this year but it just means I'll have to think of another excuse to visit sometime soon.

If you've been following me on Instagram for a while you'll notice this little unicorn toy pop up in a few of  my adventures. I bought this toy for my niece when she came to stay with us in Thailand but she forgot to take it home with her so I decided to bring it back to the UK with us and we've been sending her daily photos of its adventures with us. Since Christmas however Unicorn is back in Thailand with my niece but we had a great time on our adventures together and it was a fun way of showing her what our life in the UK is like.

A trip to St George's Market is a must in Belfast I had some of the nicest food ever there including these  cupcakes made by my blogger friend Claire you should all go check out her Instagram ASAP for some serious cake porn, her cupcakes were so delicious I may just have to visit her again soon!

Have you ever visited Belfast? Be sure to share your favourite places to visit in the comments

Love & Cupcakes

Cate

xoxo

The Giant's Causeway

The Giant's Causeway has been on my list of must see sights for the longest time so when I was in Belfast for Comic Con I made it a priority to go see it. Nature is kinda amazing and weird and I love it and although it was a bit of a miserable day it was still a worthwhile trip to see this amazing creation in person. Unfortunately my shoes weren't the best and after slipping on lord knows what on the walk down the hill (yep I always that one person who falls over) I didn't want to risk climbing the columns so note to self next time bring trekking boots!

What natural wonders would you love to visit? Be sure to let me know in the comments

Love & Rainbows

Cate

xoxo

Belfast Film & Comic Con 2014

Over the past few years cons in the U.K. have got a lot bigger and a lot more frequent with new cons popping up in new places all the time. It's become more difficult (and expensive) for me to attend all of them but as Belfast Film & Comic Con was close to The Dad's birthday and on our half term break it came as the perfect excuse for a weekend trip there.

Being its first year it was a small con with only a few guests attending and unfortunately a few of them had to cancel but there were still awesome people such as Billy Boyd and Billie Piper in attendance. I only visited the con on Saturday and as Art Parkinson (Rickon Stark) was there that day I just had to make him his own Shaggydog so he could join the "Direscarf Club".

All the Stark (and Snow) boys now own their own Direwolf scarf made by me how cool is that? Now there's just Nymeria & Lady left to make. Art was such a sweet kid to and as the con wasn't too busy we actually had time to have a little chat to each other about our love for Arrow and other TV Superheroes.

Ser Barristan (Ian McElhinney) signed my Game of Thrones map and as I was dressed as Daenerys that day I couldn't resist getting a photoshoot done with him.

Then I met Game of Thrones artist Will Simpson and talked all things Game of Thrones, comics and places we should visit around Northern Ireland which I'll totally keep in mind for next time as I definitely want to do a Game of Thrones tour next time I'm over there.

He had some great prints for sale and I was tempted to get a Daenerys one seeing as I was dressed as her but of course I went for Jon Snow because you all know I'm a Stark at heart and I have a soft spot for the big white wolf.

There were some great photo ops around the con including this life-sized Jabba display which was awesome, a Gollum statue and a Jurassic Park set-up which I was hella tempted by but as you had to pay for photos I didn't bother and instead spent my money on comics...as usual! As this was its first year it wasn't too busy and I enjoyed getting the extra time to talk to the guests rather than being rushed though the queue, I was only there for a day but I had fun being Daenerys and who knows maybe I'll go back there next year.

Love & Dragon Hugs

Cate

xoxo

#OOTD: Mother of Dragons

I am Daenerys Stormborn of the House Targaryen, the First of Her Name, the Unburnt, Queen of Meereen, Queen of the Andals and the Rhoynar and the First Men, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Breaker of Chains, and Mother of Dragons and this is the most last minute, unplanned but fun cosplay I've done!

Daenerys wasn't really a character that I wanted to cosplay as but I absolutely adore her outfits in the show so much so I got this blue dress made in Thailand although I didn't really intend to wear it as cosplay but as our trip to Belfast Film & Comic Con was a late decision and I didn't have time to finish my current cosplay project I'd thought it was the perfect excuse to order myself a wig, make a necklace and go as the Mother of Dragons.

click for fullsize

The dragon tooth for my necklace is actually a Sabre-Tooth Tiger claw replica I bought from a museum a while back all I needed to do was I paint it gold and add a chain to make it look like Dany's necklace from the show, the only other little thing I would've done to the necklace if I had some more time is dry brush it to make it look a bit more aged.

There were loads of awesome cosplayers at Belfast Film & Comic Con and I loved that there were so many families doing group cosplays there, my favourite being Penguin and little Catwoman. I got lots of compliments on my outfit that I think I may have to wear this one again!

They'll be more photos & a full report of Belfast Film & Comic Con coming soon

Love & Dragons

Cate

xoxo

Game of Thrones: The Exhibition

The Game of Thrones exhibition reached its climax in Belfast earlier this month and I was lucky enough to get tickets. I've never been to Belfast before and the exhibition was hosted in the new Titanic building on the site where the actual Titanic was built so I was very excited see it as its one epic building!

One of my absolute favourite things about Game of Thrones is the attention to detail that they pay to each costume and prop so I was super excited to get to see them in person especially after reading Inside: Game of Thrones.

I loved seeing those costumes up close and seeing all the tiny details in the embroidery and armour and it was interesting to see the contrast between the simple Stark outfits and the more extravagant Lannisters. There are so many little details you don't get to see and even miss on the show like bones being used as crampons on the Wildling's shoes or the Tully pin Catelyn wears.

Emilia Clarke is tiny, she has such a big presence on screen I never realised how small she was in real life, I don't think I could even fit one of my legs into her dresses! I'll always be House Stark but I do have a soft spot for those Dragons they looked absolutely amazing, I definitely need one for my Game of Thrones collection.

Speaking of my Game of Thrones collection, I love these "battle pieces" from the show and think they should definitely start making a Game of Thrones chess board with them... even though I don't play chess, but it would look pretty awesome right!? And that Stark shield is definitely next on my shopping list from Valyrian Steel

I've seen some pretty amazing Game of Thrones fan art so I loved that they included a few pieces in their exhibition as it's been a great source of inspiration for me to. The Blackwater Bay experience was also a pretty fun addition although I absolutely sucked at it and didn't sink a single ship....

But I do look pretty good on a throne!

Swords & Crowns

Cate

xoxo

More photos of the exhibition here [link]