Runs on Coffee and Cream

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Clockwise from top right:
1. Poke Ball Leggings
2. Snorlax Bean Bag Chair
3. Pokemon Tattoo Flash Duffel Bag
4. Pokemon Starters Dress
5. Pokemon As Cats Print

Have a happy #PokemonDay!

xo Jen

The London Toy Fair happened about a month ago and New York Toy Fair was this past weekend. That means Funko, along with other toy companies, announced new toys (either finished products, prototypes, or photos) for the upcoming year. I love seeing what's been revealed and find myself getting lost on Instagram while I look at photos from the events.

1. First up, we'll go over the Funko toys that I'm most excited for:

Parks and Recreation Pop! Figures - I'm most excited to get a Leslie Knope figure for my shelf. She's such an amazing character and I love everything she embodies.


DC Bombshells Pop! Figures - I absolutely adore the Bombshells comics and the recreation of the iconic characters. I'm really hoping they release a Batwoman figure in Series 2 since she's my favourite from the comics.



Wonder Woman Pop! Figures - I haven't seen the movie but I feel like I'm going to want everything Wonder Woman after it comes out.


Disney Pint Size Heroes - I've held off on collecting all the Disney Pop! figures, Dorbz, and other Mystery Mini blind boxes. But these figures are so unbelievably cute. I will have to practice self control to keep myself from buying all of of them!


2. I love that Gund has the rights to the Pusheen line. In the past, I've come across Pusheen products at conventions and they've always been ridiculously priced. Once Gund got their hands on Pusheen, the products have been easier to find and much more reasonably priced. I've purchased a couple of the plush blind boxes from previous series but they released the Series 4 blind boxes for 2017 and I'm so excited to buy them! I so want a Pusheen Candy Corn plushie!

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3. Nendoroid figures are something I've admired from afar for years now. They're so unbelievably cute and detailed. However, they're very expensive. At the NY Toy Fair they had a poster up for some upcoming Disney/Pixar figures coming out. I have a feeling I'm going to be squeeing when I see them in person at a convention.

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4. I was introduced to Kotobukiya figures years ago. Talk about detailed and gorgeous figures! I've spent a lot of time looking at the Bishoujo figures whenever we go to comic book stores. They announced the Squirrel Girl figure a little while ago but revealed the Ms Marvel figure at NY Toy Fair. Oh, how I wish I could afford all their figures!

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Seeing all the new figures has been super excited for my upcoming comic conventions this year. I can't wait to look at all the booths and vendors.

xo Jen

My first comic convention of the year is less than a month away and I'm feeling the stress right now. I have a million ideas and plans but realistically I only have enough time for like a quarter of my ideas. These are the first of my finished projects:

I've started making my hobo bags with a bit of a deeper bag and longer straps. I've been listening to people who come by my table and that seems to be the two most common suggestions/complaints. So my first batch of hobo bags for this show are bigger and with longer straps.





I also finished a few extra large zipper pouches. They're the perfect size for all your markers or makeup. I'm actually going to make one for myself to hold my planner stickers since the bags are large enough for the sticker pages.



Next up on my to-do list are tote bags and more kitty kickers! I'll be posting more photo over on my Instagram feed.

xo Jen

Since we moved into our house a couple of years ago I've found myself wanting to get into gardening; both indoors and out. Having a cat that absolutely loves to eat plants and dig in dirt makes it hard to have plants inside the house. We found out, however, that small succulents and cactus that fit on the window sill don't interest Seymore. Maybe because of the lack of big leaves to chew on?

Either way, I've accumulated a few little plants for my window sill in the kitchen. But I want more! This year I'm hoping to add more plants to the house. Both in small planters for the windows, air plants, and hopefully some terrariums.

So air plants, have you heard of them? I was beyond intrigued when I read about them. They don't need soil to survive. They absorb their nutrients through their leaves. This means you can put them anywhere that gets sunlight and where there's good airflow! How cool do they look?!

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I'm still completely obsessed with adorable cacti and succulents. There are a few types that I desperately want to find (like the bunny ears cactus!). And eventually I'd like to make a terrarium with a bunch of them too. They're so incredible to look at.

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We know of two greenhouses near us that I plan to hit up as soon as they open this spring to check out their selection of succulents. I've always visited the greenhouse too late in the season and they're picked over. This is just another reason why I'm itching for spring to show up!

xo Jen

Leading up to Valentine's Day I made a couple of Valentine treats for Adam. First up was his request, butter spritz cookies. They always turn out adorable and the recipe I use makes a ton of them (close to 100 little cookies) but it's incredibly time consuming and a bit of a pain to load the cookie press. So I had Adam help me with them. We ended up using the last bit of dough to make some heart cookie cutter cookies too.



Next up was a recipe I wanted to make. After having so much success with the donut recipe I used recently, I wanted to make some glazed donuts with sprinkles. On Sally's Baking Addiction she recommends double dipping the donuts into the glaze which gave a good thick coating to the donuts. I followed her recipe here.

Glaze Ingredients

1/4 cup milk
2 cups icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
sprinkles

Directions:

1. Combine glaze ingredients in a small pot over low heat.

2. Whisk until the glaze is smooth.

3. Drop each donut into glaze and place on wire rack. Once you've dipped all the donuts, dip them again starting from the first one.

4. Add sprinkles!

I absolutely love how they turned out. And they didn't last too long either since donuts for breakfast or dessert are hard to pass up.



With Valentine's Day over, I have my mind set on spring baking which definitely includes some Easter ideas. So get ready for Mini Eggs treats!

xo Jen

Happy Galentine's Day! And if you're asking yourself, "what is Galentine's Day?", let's let Leslie answer this one:



Clockwise from top right:

1. Valentine's/Galentine's Day Planner stickers
2. Best Friend Card
3. Galentine's Day Waffle card
4. Galentine's Day Mug
5. Treat Yo Self Cross Stitch

So here's to ladies celebrating ladies!!


xo Jen

An absolute must right now since my skin is so dry!

See? Kitty snuggles. He keeps me on the couch longer than I should be.

Typical outfit on days I'm off work. Lots of layers and warm socks.

 

We tried a new bakery here in the city and I'm so in love! It was adorable inside and the food was amazing.

I shared a raspberry crumble bar and a slice of chocolate pecan pie with Adam. He's lucky I shared.

Kitty tights + kitty.

He has a box problem.

I'm finally at a stage where I like my hair most days. It's grown to a great length and I'm loving the blonde.

I hope February is treating you well!
xo Jen

I'm not going to lie, I'm starting to freak out a bit about convention season starting. I feel like it snuck up on me. My first show is in about a month and I have sew (heh, see what I did there?) much to do!

This is my tentative convention schedule for 2017:

March 17-19 - Toronto ComiCon

This is a great comic convention to do because it's a bit smaller, but still in the heart of Toronto so talented artists and amazing people show up for the event. It's the perfect show to start the season with. It gets me pumped up for the rest of the convention season.

August 31 - September 3 - Fan Expo Canada

This is THE comic convention of the year. It's busy and crazy and so full of awesome! I go crazy prepping for this convention and need a small break afterwards. It's such a great show to be apart of though. I look forward to it every year.



October 15 - Northern Game Expo

This is another local show that focuses on video games and comics. It's a fun show to attend and it could easily be one of Adam's favourite shows because there's video games every where!

I've been focusing on self care a lot over the last couple of months. I can easily become stressed, exhausted and scatterbrained lately so I've been making time for me. During these times I've found a few new things I like.

Beauty Products

After some lengthy conversations with beauty product-obsessed friends I decided to try out a couple of new products from Sephora. I've been stuck in a rut with certain beauty products that I've been using since high school. But guess what? My skin has changed (and shh... I'm seeing fine lines!). Anyways, these two products have become life savers and confidence boosters:

Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Concealer

This concealer lasts all day, doesn't melt off my face or settle into my lines, and it dries a lovely matte finish.

Benefit Cosmetics ka-BROW! Cream-Gel Eyebrow Colour

This cream gel is incredibly easy to use but my favourite thing is the colour. Their blonde is really blonde! It's such a perfect match for my fair eyebrows.

Foot Masks

I've been addicted to face masks for a while now so it wasn't a surprise to find myself looking at hand and foot masks. This one particular foot mask claimed to give you super soft skin because it helped peel away all the dead skin. I spent just under 2 hours one night with these mask booties on my feet which was pretty relaxing and a little weird. After washing my feet I didn't notice any difference, but a few days later I started to notice skin peeling. Well, it's been over a week and my feet are so soft! All the dead skin has come off and has left me with smooth feet. I cannot recommend this product enough! I'm also happy I bought 2 so I can do this again in a couple of months.

Tony Moly Changing You Magic Foot Peeling Shoes

Next up on my self care to do list is a charcoal face mask while I watch Bridget Jones's Baby!

xo Jen

Clockwise from top right:
1. Guava Pink Gold Hearts Nordic Mug
2. Oversized Teacup
3. Heart & Dots Mini Pillow
4. Kate Spade Roses bag
5. Coffee Love Tee

I have a few baking plans for this month that involve hearts and some chocolate recipes too. I'll be sure to share the finished pictures!

xo Jen

Over the last few months I've been reading a lot of the same comic book titles which has been enjoyable since there are some really great comics out there right now. Recently I decided to check out a couple of new-to-me comics that I ended up really liking.

Archie
"Change is coming to Riverdale in this all-new reimagining of an American icon! Familiar faces return in new and unexpected ways. As the new school year approaches, you'd think Archie Andrews would be looking forward to classes and fun -- but nothing is as it seems in the little town of Riverdale. But is this a one-off or a sign of bigger changes awaiting for America's favorite teens -- and the entire town?"

Archie is definitely not new to comics. He's easily one of the longest running comic titles. But when they decided to bring out a new fresh look for Archie, I was intrigued. Not until recently did I actually pick up the first trade to read. The updated story and art style is fun and I'm really enjoying it. I plan on sticking with this series and catching up, as well as checking out the new Jughead and Betty and Veronica titles too.

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Spell on Wheels
"Three young witches are robbed of their magical items, and they'll have to hit the road to track down the mysterious thief before he does any damage to, or with, their possessions. Supernatural meets Buffy and The Craft!"

When I heard of this series I knew I had to read it. The fact that it was being compared to Supernatural, Buffy, and The Craft, plus Kate Leth is part of the team behind it, makes it an instant read for me. I've read the first 3 issues and it does not disappoint. The 3 main characters are awesome and I want to be friends with them. I'd love to see this series continue on.

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