My 22nd Birthday Haul!

I don't plan on doing my post on my two week hiatus until  tomorrow, so instead I'll settle for telling you all about the Birthday bits that I received both on my Birthday and today when my parents came to visit and drop the rest off. I of course took a picture to give you all a taste of my haul, and I'll explain in more detail after!

I trust that most of you will probably have looked straight at the books, but I'll list everything in case you're interested! So obviously my first presents came from my wonderful partner Mat who as you all know, took me to Paris as a Birthday treat. While we were there however, he surprised me on my actual Birthday with something I didn't expect. A trip to Disneyland! Most of you might not know how special this is to me, but I have never been in my life and have always adored Disney/wished to go. My wish finally came true! The tickets came with a little toy Lady whom I adore. Just before we left Paris, Mat also took me shopping and bought me a few cosmetic/beauty bits and a beautiful Michael Kors rose gold watch, which is something I have been wanting for a very long time. My whole time in Paris was one of the best things I could have asked for and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Upon returning home, I had a lovely box of 'Happy Birthday' chocolates waiting for me from my two lovely flat mates, Meg & Tash. Chocolate is actually the love of my life so they definitely made a good choice there! The rest of the presents I received when my parents came up. Most of my family outside my parents and sister gave me money. The books however, came from my close family. Book-wise, I received:

• 'The Sin Eater's Daughter' by Melinda Salisbury
• 'Bitter Greens' by Kate Forsyth
• 'More Than This' by Patrick Ness
• 'The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure For Writers' by Christopher Vogler

The first three are fiction books I have been after for a very long time (or at least, as soon as I heard of them, and I am so pleased to finally receive them! Thy all look so good and I look forward to hopefully finding three new authors to love! As for the last one,it is a non-fiction book I have been interested in reading for quite a while. Mythology has always fascinated me and it's influence on writing is sure to be an intriguing topic that I would like to know more on.

My sister, as well as two of the books, bought me whole host of 'Frozen' related bits (Top Trumps cards, a poster, a tumbler, a mug, a notebook and pens, stickers, key rings, etc.) because I absolutely adore that movie. It ended up having a bit of a Disney theme all in all and I was ultra pleased with all of my presents.

Life Of A Blogger: 'Family'.

This is one of those topics that I obviously know a lot about but am struggling to think of what to write. I'll start with talking a little about my immediate family. It consists of my Mum, my Dad and my younger sister Beverley. I don't have any other siblings. I still live with them (though not for too much longer).

On my Dad's side of the family, I have one Aunt named Karen and one cousin, Philip, who is a lot older than I am and has four children of his own with his lovely wife Cath. Sadly, both my Grandparents on his side of the family have died and I don't get to see my Step-Grandad all that much. I always look forward to seeing my Aunt because she has two gorgeous dogs and my cousin because I've loved watching the children grow up (seriously, they have grown so quickly)!

My Mum's side of the family is a lot bigger. My Nan and Grandad live fairly nearby (about half an hour's drive away) and we go to see them pretty often! My Mum also has two sisters (my Aunts, Pam and Jenny). Pam has three children, all of which are girls, and Jenny has two boys. My Aunts and Cousins I see on family occasions but not an awful lot apart from that. One of my Auntie Pam's children, Louise, has a little girl of her own who is pretty new to the family and adorable! I always look forward to seeing her!

Daily Shenanigans, 13/05/2014: My 21st Birthday!

Well this post is coming a little late, but that's because I've been quite busy today! It's my birthday! I'm home now and have had a lovely day with Mat and my family, and I'm blown away by some of the gifts I've received! I'll do a quick haul because some of you might be interested and there are a few books scattered in there which I'm desperate to fan-girl about! I must apologise for very poor picture quality!

These are the presents I received from Mat and I'm so taken aback! I'll mention these first because I have already spoken about most of them but I was so happy with them! I mentioned that he got me a cute Eevee toy and Totoro toy yesterday while shopping. I probably also mentioned the Chocolate egg which I got yesterday as an early present! Well the one I received today was so unexpected and I still can't believe he got me one but it's a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3! I knew he was planning something bigger for my 21st, but this? I did not see it coming! I'm so grateful for everything he got me, as well as the lovely four days in London he treated me to. I've been spoilt rotten!

Next up are some of the presents I received from extended family. My Nan and Grandad bought me a gorgeous necklace which I adore. they let me look at it when I visited them a couple of weeks ago to make sure I liked it, which of course I did! It's beautiful! They also got me one of the two big keys, all wrapped up in pink as a bit of a joke. The second key is personalised and from one of my Aunts! speaking of Aunts, I have two more. One of them bought be a lovely bracelet and key-ring, while I received lip make-up from the other. I loved all of these presents!

This is actually a really terrible photo but pictured are the lovely and exciting presents that my Mum and Dad got me! A book on the Stage Show 'Les Misérables' (which I watched and adored). The 'Sherlock' series 3 DVD (which I am so happy about, it was on one of my Wish Lists). Tickets to see 'Let The Right One In' in the West End which I knew I was getting but I'm so looking forward to the show. The Swedish film is great! And last but certainly not least, the entire Harry Potter book collection! This present was entirely unexpected too and I actually almost cried! These covers are my favourite too so I was really happy!

Now for some reason this picture came out really well but there's a lot to cover here so I'll list them all anyway! These are the presents from my Sister, Bev who also has a blog at Tutus And Ballet Shoes and I love them all. She got me the 'Frozen' DVD which made me actually squeal when I saw it! She bought a couple of Owl-themed notebooks because I need some for general blog planning etc. There was also a lot of chocolate because it's probably my biggest addiction! And one of my favourite presents from her was a beautiful Snitch pocket-watch that actually opens and has pretty wings and tells the time and it's gorgeous (I love my Harry Potter themed bits and bobs).Now for the books which I'm sure you're all dying to hear about! First, 'Scarlet' by Marissa Meyer. The second in the Lunar Chronicles, I now have extra incentive to read them! The first three books of the 'Peter Grant' series, 'Rivers Of London', 'Moon Over Soho' and 'Whispers Underground'. Man I want to read these books so bad but simply thought I'd never get round to owning them! And last but not least, the entire 'Game Of Thrones' series! Wow I want to read these so badly but I must resist and get through my other reads first. 

And that about sums up my collection of Birthday bits! This is probably the longest Daily Shenanigans post I have ever written but it has been quite a day. I spent the evening with Mat and my Family, watching 'Harry Potter and the Order Of The Phoenix' which happened to be on. I've really had such a nice day, though it's back to reality with work tomorrow!

Daily Shenanigans, 04/05/2014: The 'From Bard To Bookshelf' Event!

I'll start, as I always do, with my rather busy day! I spent most of it with my family visiting my Grandparents (and inadvertently, my Aunt, Uncle and Cousin too)! I haven't seen them for a pretty long time, so it was really nice to get away from the stresses of life and spend some of the day doing that instead! I had a lovely time there and I was allowed to open one of my Birthday presents early, which was a beautiful necklace. It put me in a really good mood for the rest of the afternoon! As soon as I returned home, I wrote my Weekly Wishlist post and then finished 'Hereafter' by Terri Bruce. I posted the review this evening too, so check that out if you're interested! Next up is 'Deep Blue' by Jennifer Donnelly. I know I was originally going straight onto 'Thereafter' but I want a bit of a break from that series and I'm pretty desperate to read 'Deep Blue' before it is released in two days time (eek!)

Onto the main agenda of this post (and the reason behind the title), I have signed up to a rather exciting event! The 'From Bard To Bookshelf' involves me writing a post relating to Shakespeare, particularly on his influence on YA Fiction. My two favourite things combined? Impossible! It is being hosted by Nina at Death, Books And Tea and having read about what it involves, I'm very much looking forward to it. The event itself will be held in August so that gives me plenty of time to get Uni out of the way, and the opportunity to sign up ends in mid-July so get joining if you're a big Shakespeare fan like me. If you are interested, you can find more details here. I would highly recommend it and would love to see some of your thoughts on the idea!

Tomorrow is a Bank Holiday so no Uni for me! Instead I'll be at home, probably working on the essays that I have in for this week. Then some reading and a minute amount of blog posting!

Daily Shenanigans, 06/04/2014: A day with the Sister!

Well the day did not bode well for me in the beginning. I woke up with a splitting headache and feeling a bit sick. But, after taking something for it, I soon felt better. The rest of the day involved me doing a lot of blog commenting, internet browsing, writing my 'Weekly Wishlist' and reading (I'm halfway through this amazing book and I really don't want to stop)! I have really enjoyed this lovely day off, because it felt like the first day off that I've had to myself in ages despite the fact that it's the holidays now!

I actually spent quite a bit of time with my sister today which was really nice. We played a lot of games on her iPhone (including a rather hilarious rendition of Charades), watched the end of 'Hairspray' on TV and just generally chilled together quite a lot chatting and having fun. This to me was quite important, I feel like recently we haven't spent a lot of time together because we have such different schedules now! She started and finished 'The Fault In Our Stars' today, and has told me that after my next read, I need to read it. Therefore it has gone up the list and put my neatly devised schedule out of order but my impatience to read this book and talk about it with her is just too great!

Tomorrow I'm back to Uni, and then at work so a long and slightly less relaxing day ahead for me! Still, it needs to be done, and then I'll spend the rest of the time doing some bits and bobs. No car for me, so I'll be taking the train. Extra reading time, hooray!

Daily Shenanigans, 30/03/2014: Mother's Day!

I had a really lovely, family-oriented day today folks! It was really nice! There's a lot to talk about today so prepare yourselves. The clocks went forward an hour, and so I lost an hour's sleep! I wasn't too upset though, despite being tired because I woke up in an inexplicably good mood (this is what Marvel films do to me). For Mother's Day, we got Mum a gift voucher for a clothes store and some puzzle books (she's Sudoku mad). I was then left for the rest of the morning to have a bath and be productive, which I was. I finally finished 'The Telling Error'. I'm really not sure why it took me so long to read, it wasn't a particularly long book.

I posted my Weekly Wishlist, which took quite a while to compile today, and my review for the previously mentioned book! I also have made a pretty good start on 'Tithe' by Holly Black, my next chosen read so I'm quite a happy bunny on the reading front at the moment. Now here comes the long bit. I went a bit Kindle barmy this morning and found an absolute ton of books (most of them free) to download, and have done:

• 'Evanescent' by Gabriella Lepore
• 'Silence' ('Silence' Series, Book 1) by Natasha Preston
• 'Covert' by Natasha Preston
• 'Twenty-Eight And A Half Wishes' ('Rose Gardner Mystery' Series, Book 1) by Denise Grover Swank
• 'A Field Of Red' by Greg Enslen
• 'Ravenstone' ('The Ravenstone Chronicles' Series, Book 1) by Louise Franklin
• 'Dark Promise' ('Between Worlds' Series, Book 1) by Julia Crane & Talia Jager
• 'Descension' ('Mystic' Series, Book 1) by B.C.Burgess
• 'Return To The Aegean' ('The Aegean Mystery' Series, Book 1) by E.J.Russell & Iain Chaffey
• 'Ill Wind' (Valkyrie Series, Book 1) by Karen Perkins
• 'Shadow And Bone' ('The Grisha' Series, Book 1) by Leigh Bardugo

As well as these, I also downloaded a set of Prequel stories to 'The Grimm Diaries' series (Volumes 1-6) by Cameron Jace, Jami Hampson & Danielle Littig. Whew! That's a lot of books. I only paid £0.99 to buy 'Shadow And Bone', because that is a ridiculously good offer that I just couldn't refuse!

I also went out on a little shopping trip with the family today, and my naughty sister persuaded me to come and look at the books with her. She knew I wouldn't be able to resist and I entirely blame on her on my subsequent purchases:

• 'The Shock Of The Fall' by Nathan Filer
• 'Life After Life' by Kate Atkinson

As much as I love paperback books, this needs to stop. Seriously I have an addiction! So all in all, a good book turnout today! I took some time to help Bev, my sister, with her Photography coursework as well which was a lot of fun! I spent the rest of the evening eating a lovely curry with the family, drafting my Wrap-Up post for this month in preparation for tomorrow, and watching a few videos while reading. Oh and desperately hunting down the 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' soundtrack, which I can't find to listen to anywhere. I'm devastated!

I told you this would be a long one! Tomorrow I will probably be going to Uni to do some work (even though it's Easter Break, I still have a lot to do for Multimedia) and I have an actual Work Shift too!