Fantastic Friday #6: Funko POPs!

Fantastic Friday is a semi-regular feature here on Ramblings of a Daydreamer where I showcase fantastic things - could be things I've done recently, places I've gone, a new song I like, a movie I've seen, books I've read, blog posts from around the blogosphere - anything at all!

It's been ages since I did a Fantastic Friday. In fact, the last one was at the end of May - oops! I was inspired by a post Wendy at A Cupcake and a Latte did a few weeks ago where she shared her POP collection.

I didn't have much interest in POPs when they first started coming out. I saw them here and there and thought a few were cute, but I didn't pay much attention to them until the Harry Potter ones released...and then a new obsession was born. 

I ordered Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Hagrid first...

Then saw that HMV had an exclusive Dean and Sam Winchester set, which was cheaper than buying them separately...

Then discovered there was a Robin Hood POP. Robin Hood has been one of my favourite movies for as long as I can remember, and it's hard to find memorabilia, apparently because it's one of the less popular Disney movies (which I don't understand). I had trouble finding him, but then Amazon finally got it back in stock and I had to have him!

Then when I went to visit my friend Krista in Kingston, I was telling her about the Loki POP and how I wanted to get it for her (she's obsessed with Loki - and Tom Hiddleston - and was the one who got me into superhero movies), but was having trouble finding one. We went shopping and guess what we found? Loki! So we each got one....

 

And finally I found Anna for half price at Carlton Cards one day (she's got a few little imperfections, but HALF PRICE, I'm not going to complain). Then I needed to have Elsa (for obvious reasons, plus my 5-year-old nephew was upset thinking about Anna being lonely)...

A little POP photography fun...

Krista's cat Loki meets Bobblehead POP Loki...

POP Wishlist:

All images taken from Funko.com

 

 

 

POPs I'd like to See:

• Anne Shirley, Diana Berry, and Gilbert Blythe from Anne of Green Gables
• Lorelai and Rory Gilmore from Gilmore Girls  (I actually had a dream about these one night; Lorelai had a coffee cup and Rory had a book - so cute!)
  
• Jareth, Sarah, Hoggle, and Ludo from Labyrinth
• Maid Marian and Little John from Robin Hood
• Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter

 

Do you collect Funko POPs? How many do you have? Which ones are high on your wishlist? What characters do you wish they'd turn into POPs? Do you collect anything else? Let's talk here or on Twitter!

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Fantastic Friday #5: Ripper Street

Fantastic Friday is a new feature here on Ramblings of a Daydreamer. Each Friday I'll showcase fantastic things from the past week - could be things I've done, places I've gone, a new song I like, a movie I've seen, books I've read, blog posts from around the blogosphere - anything at all!

What I'm finding fantastic lately: Ripper Street.

I am so obsessed with this show. I was browsing the DVDs at my library weekend before last and these caught my attention. Like many other people, I have a bizarre fascination with Jack the Ripper, so the title piqued my interest and I grabbed both seasons. 

While the show doesn't actually have to do with Jack the Ripper, the first season is set shortly after the Ripper's reign of terror in Whitechapel, and features the police force (division H) who tried to hunt him down. The main characters are Inspector Edmund Reid (Matthew MacFadyen), Sargeant Bennet Drake (Jerome Flynn), and American doctor/ex-Pinkerton Captain Homer Jackson (Adam Rothenberg). These three make a dynamic trio and have such great chemistry on screen. The characters are very different, but they have several core values in common: they're passionate about their jobs, want to help people, and are protective of those they love. Plus they're easy on the eyes, especially Mr. MacFadyen. ;-)

I love historic fiction, and Ripper Street is fascinating to me because it shows the seedier side of London in the late 1800s - dirty streets, poor people, prostitutes, mob mentality regarding several issues. While I've seen plenty of movies and TV shows set during the late Victorian era, part of what's so interesting to me is how this show doesn't hold back. A good portion of the show deals with prostitution - Captain Jackson lives in a brothel, and there are a few regular characters who are prostitutes - and they deal with issues surrounding religion, politics, homosexuality, and infidelity. Another fascinating aspect to me is that they don't just focus on the police work; we see a lot of Captain Jackson at work, examining dead bodies, performing autopsies, and doing a fair bit of scientific work. He's basically a one-man CSI unit using 19th century methods, and the work he does is really interesting. 

There's a lot of violence and quite a bit of gore in Ripper Street, but there's also a mixture of everything else you can imagine - romance, intrigue, drama, humour, heartache. I've been recommending the show to all my friends over the last couple of weeks. I'm almost done the second season and I'll be sad because I know it'll be awhile before I'm able to get my hands on season 3!

  

Do you watch Ripper Street? What shows are you currently obsessed with? Tell  me in the comments below or chat with me on Twitter. Also, feel free to link me to blog posts, articles, pictures, songs, videos, or whatever you thought was fantastic this week that you want to share!

   

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Fantastic Friday #4

Fantastic Friday is a new feature here on Ramblings of a Daydreamer. Each Friday I'll showcase fantastic things from the past week - could be things I've done, places I've gone, a new song I like, a movie I've seen, books I've read, blog posts from around the blogosphere - anything at all!

Last week was crazy, busy, and stressful, so I didn't have a chance to put together a Fantastic Friday. Because of that, this one is two weeks' worth of fantastic stuff, mostly in picture form. 

I got to see Avengers: Age of Ultron the day after it came out. My friend Krista drove an hour just to see it with me - isn't she awesome? It was SO good. Action-packed, hilarious, emotional. I can't wait to see it again!

Spring has arrived in my city and it's absolutely gorgeous. The grass is green, trees and flowers are blooming, and everything looks fresh and new. The weather has been weird, though. Last week it got so hot we beat records two days in a row, but this week it's been so chilly I've had to keep the windows closed most of the time. That's spring for you though I guess! I'm enjoying the cooler weather while it lasts, and even more than that I'm enjoying all the beautiful blossoms everywhere since they don't last very long.

We had Mother's Day dinner here at my place last Sunday. The picture on the left is a family selfie (sister-in-law, almost 2-year-old niece, almost 13-year-old nephew, Mum, 5-year-old nephew, and me). My brother had already left by then so he missed the family pic, but I got one of him and our mum before he left.

This week I got to meet an online friend, Tammy, in person for the first time. My sister-in-law, niece, Tammy, and I went to the outskirts of town and hung out in the gorgeous area pictured above, then went out for lunch. It was so much fun.

And finally, my weekly Europe countdown: 5 WEEKS!!!

What did you find fantastic this week? Tell  me in the comments below, chat with me on Twitter, or feel free to link me to blog posts, articles, pictures, songs, videos, or whatever you thought was fantastic that you want to share!

   

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Fantastic Friday #3

Fantastic Friday is a new feature here on Ramblings of a Daydreamer. Each Friday I'll showcase fantastic things from the past week - could be things I've done, places I've gone, a new song I like, a movie I've seen, books I've read, blog posts from around the blogosphere - anything at all!

Happy May!

Here's how the last week of April went for me...

I went shoe shopping this week, which is normally a huge ordeal for me, for several reasons: I'm cheap (lol) and I have really big, wide feet, so it's almost impossible to find shoes that a) fit, b) don't look like shit, and c) don't cost a fortune. The last time I bought shoes was about two years ago and I settled for a fairly ugly but comfortable and cheap pair of men's sneakers. I would have just made do with them plus my sandals and flip flops for the summer, but I need something decent-looking and comfortable for my trip in June. I know footwear can be one huge way that tourists stand out, plus we'll be walking all day every day for two weeks, so I needed something comfy. I tried on a bunch of flats that actually fit and were semi-comfortable, but not comfortable enough for hours and hours of walking. Then I found flats that had memory foam inside and a sole with good grip, AND THEY FIT. They were so cute and so comfortable I ended up buying two pair. They were on sale, plus there was a buy one get one half price promo, so I ended up spending less than I'd hoped! I'd still like a pair of comfortable, pretty sandals, but I'm not too worried about it. I've been wearing these all week to break them in and they're just so damn comfortable, plus not clunky and awkward and a giant eyesore like my shoes usually are. I posted the picture below on Instagram and had a bunch of people say they were going to look for them, so if you're interested, they're Champion Sport, and I'd highly recommend them. ;-)

One of my current obsession songs is I Really Like You by Carly Rae Jepsen. Her songs are ridiculously catchy, and this one is no exception. Every time I hear it, I just want to get up and dance. The other day I made a YouTube playlist on my phone for my workouts. I don't have Pandora or any other music streaming/downloading service, so sometimes I listen to music on YouTube, and I figured that'd be a good way to make a playlist. I hit play and set my phone down and after a few seconds I glanced down and thought I saw Tom Hanks. I was like ummm...okay...then after a minute figured I'd accidentally added a fan-made video where people piece together bits of their favourite actors, you know? But then I realized he was mouthing along to the words of the song and I had to stop and watch the video. It's hilarious! I can't imagine how exciting it must have been for Carly Rae Jepsen (a fellow Canadian!) to have TOM FREAKING HANKS in her music video. 

I had two girls' days with my favourite girls this week - first Tuesday with my mum, sister, and my almost-2-year-old niece (which was mostly errands and lunch out), then yesterday with just my mum and sister. I ADORE my niece, but it's nice to be do stuff kid-free once in awhile, especially since she's a demon handful. We ran a bunch of errands, then went for a long drive around the reserve, then went to a cake shop my sister has been promising to take us to forever (it was so beautiful inside, you guys...a really classy Paris theme, so I was in love, plus all the goodies - NOM!) and I got a mini cherry cheesecake and a chocolate mint bar. After that we went to Pizza Hut for lunch. We talked a lot, laughed a lot, plus the weather was gorgeous, so it was an all around fantastic day.

And, finally, my weekly Europe countdown: SEVEN WEEKS!!!! I know I keep saying this, but time is flying. I have no idea where April went. I feel like I blinked and it was gone. I can't believe there's just a month and a half left before one of my greatest dreams comes true!

So that's my fantastic week. What did you find fantastic this week? Tell  me in the comments below, chat with me on Twitter, or feel free to link me to blog posts, articles, pictures, songs, videos, or whatever you thought was fantastic that you want to share!

   
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Fantastic Friday #2

Fantastic Friday is a new feature here on Ramblings of a Daydreamer. Each Friday I'll showcase fantastic things from the past week - could be things I've done, places I've gone, a new song I like, a movie I've seen, books I've read, blog posts from around the blogosphere - anything at all!

• I hit 60,000 words in my current WIP, Something in the Air! I've been writing this book on and off for almost two years now and there are times when I feel like I'll never finish, but after hitting that milestone, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

• Tuesday was my mum's birthday. One of our favourite restaurants does a promo for a free meal on your birthday, so Mum, my sister-in-law, and I went for a girls' lunch. The restaurant is right by the bay, and we usually sit outside, but it was too cold, so the waitress took us to the back where we had a great view of the water from two sides. Mum ordered escargot for us to share (before you get grossed out, yes, they're snails, but no, it's not a big deal, at least not to me. My dad was French, so I grew up eating them and they're delicious) and we all got the restaurant's specialty, fish and chips. YUM. We usually have my almost-2-year-old niece with us, which makes meals out loud, chaotic, and rushed, so it was nice to relax, talk, laugh, and take our time. We had a great time. That night, my brother, sister-in-law, nephews, and niece came for dinner and cake (the birthday girl is so special, she got two cakes). It was a great day, and my mum felt really special and loved, which she is!

• Weekly Europe Countdown: 8 more weeks! Time is going so fast, it's unreal. I had a bunch of banking to do this week and the Euro was down a bit, so I got a bit of cash for the trip. The British pound is still a bit higher than I'd like (well, a lot higher, at $1.90), so I'm going to continue to keep an eye on it and hope it goes down even a few more cents before I get some pounds.

• I finally joined Pottermore and got sorted, and I'm in Ravenclaw! I guess I always thought I'd be Gryffindor, but really only because Harry, Ron, and Hermione were. Ravenclaw actually makes more sense since they're known for being clever and quirky, which is accurate for me. I wanted to know before I go to London, because when you visit Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross, you can wear a scarf to have your picture taken, plus there's a gift shop and I'd like to buy something with my house emblem, so now I know! I told my friend Krista (who I'm going to Europe with) to join and get sorted and she was Ravenclaw too, which didn't surprise either of us since we're pretty much brain twins.

• I saw my first spring flowers this week! Last week was gorgeous - sunny and warm - but this week has been cold and windy, and it even snowed a bit yesterday. *gag* Spring is taking her sweet time coming, so when I saw these lovely, sunny daffodils I squealed and got unreasonably excited. I'm so ready for buds and blossoms and blooms.

So that's my fantastic week. What did you find fantastic this week? Tell  me in the comments below, chat with me on Twitter, or feel free to link me to blog posts, articles, pictures, songs, videos, or whatever you thought was fantastic that you want to share! Don't forget to enter to win a personalized 16x20" canvas from CanvasPop! I love my canvas, and I'm excited to share the love to one other lucky person.

   
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Fantastic Friday #1

Fantastic Friday is a new feature here on Ramblings of a Daydreamer. Each Friday I'll showcase fantastic things from the past week - could be things I've done, places I've gone, a new song I like, a movie I've seen, books I've read, blog posts from around the blogosphere - anything at all!

• On Monday I posted my first ever product review! It was really exciting to be contacted by a company and asked to review something, especially considering that something was a gorgeous canvas with a picture of my nephews. Be sure to check out my 5-star review, plus  find out how to get 35% off your purchase at CanvasPop before April 30th, AND enter to win a free 16x20 canvas of your own.

• As of Tuesday, I'm into single digit weeks for my Europe trip - 9 WEEKS, 9 WEEKS, 9 WEEKS (2 months as of yesterday, the 16th)! I can't believe how fast the time is going. I should be getting all my travel documents in the next 6 weeks or so, which I know will make it seem really real.
• We had beautiful spring weather this week. On Tuesday, my mum, sister-in-law, niece, and I went down by the bay. The last time we went, there was still a ton of snow and the bay was frozen (here's a picture of me from that day, with the snowbanks half as tall as I am and the frozen bay). We played at the park for a bit, had a picnic lunch, and walked around. We saw a mama swan sitting on her nest, which was pretty cool. I can't wait to see her out with the babies in another few weeks. 

~Fantastic Celebrities~

• I watched the MTV Movie Awards this week. I feel so out of the loop because I haven't seen a single one of those movies, even though there are a lot I want to see. I was super happy to see Robert Downey Jr. win the Generation Award. I've loved him since I was a teenager, and I get all giggly and fangirly whenever I see him. Plus his speech...brilliant. "Dream big, work hard, keep your nose clean, be of service, and yes, because you can, define your generation." Love him!
• Speaking of Robert Downey Jr., I loved seeing the Avengers at the awards with Robert, and then on Jimmy Kimmel. I missed it when it was on, but luckily The Mary Sue posted highlight videos. They look like they have so much fun together and really love each other. 
• I loved Pink's response to haters about her weight gain. What is wrong with people, seriously? She looks fantastic and healthy and happy. Does it really matter if she's gained a bit of weight? Similarly, I love how Amy Shumer (who I'd never heard of until the MTV Movie Awards, and who I thought did a meh job of hosting, but looked great) shut down some misogynistic asshat about her size and how she wouldn't be believable as a leading lady in a romantic comedy. Um, really? Because she's a size 6 (!) and I'm...well, a whole lot of sizes bigger than that, and I want to see curvy girls on the big screen. I want to see a man go wild over a beautiful girl with curves, because we rarely see that on TV or in movies. That's a big part of the reason the Bridget Jones movies are among my favourites - I want to believe a man as smart and charming and good-looking as Mark Darcy could fall in love with me - curves, insecurities, flaws, and all. 

That's what I found fantastic this week. What did you find fantastic? Feel free to link me to blog posts, articles, pictures, songs, videos, or whatever you thought was fantastic that you want to share!

   
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