♡ London Day 1 | Arrival, Gardens, and Platform 9 3⁄4 ♡

Hello my lovelies!

I have finally returned from my vacation hiatus, and am now back and ready to blog about my small adventures!

I was in London for about 3.5 days, and I thought it would be fun to write about what I did through a series of blog posts~ It will help me both relive the experience, and will hopefully give you something interesting to read! ♡

There will be four posts to this series, since I did a lot of things and figured it would make sense to do a post for each day ^^"

And so we begin with day 1... arrival!

My flight was late Saturday evening, and I arrived Sunday afternoon to London! It was a fairly long flight but I luckily fell asleep for six hours of it, so it was much more bearable that way ^^" After getting through customs at the airport, we got onto the train and headed to the place we were staying! 

By the time we arrived and dropped our things off, it was already around 3 pm, and we were quite hungry and tired. I changed into something more presentable than my travel clothes, and we headed out in search of food and something fun to do!

The place we were staying was right across the street from Costa, so we popped into there for something to eat! Costa is a fairly large coffee/cafe chain, I saw them everywhere while in London~

They had a lot of yummy looking things, and my mum and I ended up choosing two sandwiches to split.

The top one was some sort of whole grain bread with goat cheese and red pepper chutney (it was really tasty), and the bottom one was a mushroom and cheese toastie (also really tasty!)

I also got a coconut flat white to go along with it-- flat whites are probably my favourite coffee beverage, and it was really yummy with the coconut milk!

With our stomachs full and bodies caffeinated, it was time to go do something interesting! However, we were all quite tired so we didn't want to do anything really big. I found a small garden about a twenty minute walk away, and saw that they had a smaller Japanese garden within it, so we chose that as our next destination!

On the way there I passed by so many pretty houses-- the streets in London all just look so magical, with the old buildings, the tall trees, and all the flowers! So many people had beautiful flowers blooming outside their houses, it was so whimsical looking and pretty ;v;

Loved these two pastel houses!

The park we went to was really beautiful! It wasn't very large (in comparison to some of the other parks I saw in London), but it was still so lovely ;v; In Florida there aren't very many tall trees (or really any diversity of plants...) so it was very welcoming seeing all the flowers and other plants.

~Photo Spam Time~

From the Japanese garden bit:

bonsai on a tree trunk! I thought this looked so magical ♡

They also had a really pretty rose garden-- it was quite small, but it had a beautiful variety of sweet-smelling blossoms! I got a chance to take a photo of my outfit while here~

A Tired But Happy Rose

Jumperskirt: Liz Lisa

Cardigan: Nile Perch

Cutsew: Ank Rouge

Shoes: Melissa

Earrings: Rose Pink Delights

Tights: AliExpress

After wandering around the garden for a little bit longer, we headed to our next destination: King's Cross!

My younger sister is a huge Harry Potter fan, so seeing Platform 9 3/4 was a must for her. I actually used to be really into HP when I was younger too, now not so much though... ^^" 

On the way to the station, we passed by many pretty buildings! All the architecture in London was so pretty, I was always looking around my surroundings because it was all so captivating ;v;

This was a library! (Behind it was some hotel, if I remember correctly..?)

The King's Cross station was very big, full of shops, places to eat, and of course, very many people. (The ceiling was also very pretty here *^* )

Platform 9 3/4 was actually a very small bit of the station, it was just a wall with a suitcase half-embedded in it, with a long line of people waiting to take photos ^^" We didn't wait in line for the photos, thankfully... There was also a little shop, selling lots of HP merch!

While my sister was looking around for something to buy, I also had a look around~ It was a very cute shop (though quite crowded), and they had a lot of really pretty looking character wands!

By the time we finished with King's Cross, it was already evening, and we were quite tired, so we slowly started making our way back to the area we were staying in. For dinner, we looked around a bit, and ultimately settled on Nando's! They're a chain of "peri-peri chicken" restaurants, and of course, their main focus was chicken. I wasn't really feeling like having meat, so I got some sort of spicy rice bowl with roasted veg on top ^^

It was quite tasty! We also got roasted sweet potato that came with some sort of dipping sauce, but it also had a small bowl of roasted pepitas/other seeds/nuts that you dipped it in after the dipping sauce, and that was really really good *^* I also tried a bit of the chicken, it was quite yummy! But I was content with my rice bowl hehe~

And that was pretty much the end of the first day! We didn't do very much, because we were quite tired from the traveling, but I'm glad I got to see the pretty gardens~ We went to bed early, in preparation for the whole day of adventures awaiting us the next day! 

I hope you enjoyed reading about my first day in London! 

Day 2 will feature my Natural History and V&A Design museum trips, more gardens, and more yummy food!

Bye-bye!

♡ Things I'm Waiting for in the Mail | Spring 2018 ♡

Hello hello~

Once again I neglect my blog for too long-- I have no proper excuse, I've just been lazy and focusing my efforts more towards my Instagram and YouTube.

But, I have been shopping a lot lately, and thought I might at least show the things I'm currently waiting for in the mail! This is for the most part, one big package that's going to DeJapan (my current favorite shopping service)-- so I'll definitely have an interesting package to unbox!

I think I went slightly overboard... but I was able to find a lot of dream items of mine, plus Liz Lisa was having an amazing sale, so things slowly piled up :')

I guess I'll begin with clothing items, and then make my way down to the smaller items!

The thing that kick-started my whole haul was this Liz Lisa skirt!

Now this is a skirt that I have been looking for for ages, however it sold out practically immediately in the colour-way that I wanted (the white x navy one pictured above). I've never seen it being sold second-hand, but a sweet girl on Instagram found it on Fril (maybe Mercari?) and sent me the link! Of course I eagerly bought it, especially since it was being sold for the amazing price of only 1,200 yen (Less than $12 USD)!

I just think this is such a darling skirt-- and I adore anything with lace-up detailing on the side!

This skirt is actually still available on the Liz Lisa site, although not in this colourway. It's on a very good sale right now too, if you're interested! You can find it here. I think it's just such a pretty design, and it seems perfect for the summertime!

The next item I got is another one that I've wanted for a while, and it's the Ballet OP from Liz Lisa in the Bordeaux colour!

I think this is just such a pretty dress! I fell in love with it when I saw how Annalena (burrito_princess on Instagram) wore it! It has so many beautiful details-- I really like the frills on the shoulders, and I think the red sleeves are such a unique detail! This piece has a really autumnal/wintery feel to me, but hopefully I'll be able to wear it a lot in the warmer months too!

Both of those pieces were from older Liz Lisa collections, and as such I got them second hand.

Here are the items I bought new from Liz Lisa, because of the amazing sales they were having! Everything was 70% off, which was a discount I couldn't pass up, especially since there were a lot of items that I had been wanting for a while being sold!

I ended up ordering twice from the sales-- once from the Japanese website using my SS, and once from the International site!

From the Japanese shop:

1. Pink Blouse: I always seem to buy skirts/dresses but I never really have enough tops, so I'm trying to remedy that! I actually wanted to get this top in white but it was sold out in that colour-way, but perhaps that was a blessing in disguise, since I don't actually own any pink blouses! I'm not sure how the fit will look on me, but luckily this wasn't too pricey, so I decided it was worth the risk.
2. Strawberry Charm Tank Top: I think Liz Lisa tank tops are so pretty! They're all the same basic design but then they have the decorated chain at the back, which I think is such a cute detail! I got this one in the white colour-way, and the chain has strawberries hanging from it! I really love strawberry motifs in clothing, so this seemed like a perfect choice.
3. Batwing Cardigan: I got a somewhat similar cardigan to this one second hand a little while ago, and I adore it! I think it's such a versatile and comfortable design, I just had to get this one too! It's from their winter collection and as such I believe it's a bit thicker material, so I'm not sure how much I'll be able to use it here in Florida ^^" However, I had been eyeing this design for a while (and was actually considering getting it back when it was $50), so I bought it without hesitation once I saw that it was on sale!
4. Ruffle Shorts: I think LL shorts are so cute, but I don't really like how I look in shorts most of the time, so I was hesitant to spend a lot of money on something that I might not like ^^" But, with the sale these ended up being very reasonably priced, and so I thought I would try them out! I love the design of these, I think the ruffles are just so cute! I really hope they will suit me ;-;



I thought that would be it for my LL purchases... but then I went on their international site and saw that they had some things that they didn't have on the Japanese site, so I ended up making another order...

1. Royal Sweets Labyrinth Bomber Jacket: I contemplated getting this jacket in my order from the Japanese site, but then changed my mind. Ultimately I couldn't resist getting it, since I think it's such a beautiful design! I got this in the pink colour-way (the photo of the white-colour-way is there to show off how pretty the details on the back are!) I hope I will have may chances to wear it, since it's so cute!
2. Bunny Phone Case: I've always wanted a cute phone case, but since most cute phone cases are for iPhones, and I have an Android, I can never seem to find any ;^; This one is a "one size fits all" sort of case where you just stick your phone on-- I'm not too sure how it will work and whether my phone will actually fit in it (since it's quite large), but it's worth a try! If it doesn't work, I figure I can just resell it ^^"
3. Fur Trim Shorts: Whoops, another pair of shorts! I actually really loved this design and would have bought them from the JP site, but they didn't have them in stock for some reason ^^" I actually preferred the blue colour-way of these, but that was no longer available, so I went with the pink! Honestly I think these will match my wardrobe better than the blue ones did, so perhaps that's for the best?

Finally, that's it with the Liz Lisa items! I also ordered several other things from Ank Rouge, Bubbles, and Amavel, but those were second-hand finds and I don't have the photos of the item so I guess you'll just have to wait and see! ♡

Another place that I am always eager to shop from is the Sanrio website! The Japanese store has a much larger variety of products than the US one (although I guess that's not too surprising?)

I mostly just got some small things, but the main reason I ordered was this mug and tea set!

I remember last year Sanrio also did a collaboration with Lupicia, which is a tea brand I had never heard of before I saw the collab (they do seem like a very nice tea brand though, and I actually plan on ordering from them soon!) They had the cutest sets but unfortunately by the time I saw them they were sold out-- so I was happy to see them being sold again this year! Naturally I gravitated towards the Little Twin Stars set! I adore the star-shaped handle on the mug (although I wonder how comfortable it will be to hold..?) The mug comes with a little lid, which must be convenient for keeping your drink warm!

The tea that comes with this set is a Strawberry and Chocolate tea, which I imagine must be quite tasty (especially with a bit of milk!). I think the tin the tea comes in it quite adorable as well!

The rest of the items I got from Sanrio are quite small, but I thought I would share them regardless~

I've been wanting a new hand cream, since the ones I currently have are a bit old and don't smell as nice anymore... 

This one has Cinnamoroll on it, and is strawberry-scented!

I also couldn't resist this adorable pen! Sanrio had a big collection of pens and mechanical pencils that were sweets themed, and it was difficult to choose which one I wanted! In the end I went with the Lala macaron one-- I think she just looks so adorable!

This was a bit of a random purchase, but I got this assortment of instant beverages! If I remember correctly, it's an assortment of coffee lattes (but there might be one tea latte?) I'm looking forward to trying them out!

The last item I got was this really darling looking letter set! I admit I don't have much use for this... but I hope to get back into penpal-writing someday, so this stationary will eagerly await the day it can be used!



I also got a lot more small things, but I think this post is getting a bit long, and since they are fairly small items, I won't show them on this post. I hope you liked seeing the few things I bought in the mail though! I'm thinking of doing a try-on haul of the Liz Lisa items for my YouTube channel, so please look forward to that! ♡
Thank you so much for reading, and I'll see you in my next post! ♡