Author: Courtney Shek

New Style Boutique 2: Fashion Forward First Impressions!

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

Hey guys!
Today I am going to be giving you my first impressions of the game New Style Boutique 2: Fashion Forward.

I am a huge fan of this game series for the Nintendo DS. Mainly because it is something I have always wanted in a game. I love shopping, I love fashion and this game series combines those things and allows you to run your own fashion boutique.
I picked up the first Style Boutique game on a whim one day and I don’t regret it. Since then Nintendo has released New Style Boutique for the 3DS and now New Style Boutique 2.
One thing I will say about the series is that Nintendo wasn’t that great with naming it. I know in Japan the game is called something like “Girls Mode” which I suppose isn’t much better. But having the word “new” in the title is really confusing. Mainly because the previous game was also called “New Style Boutique”.
Either way this game definitely steps up from it’s prequels. In this game you can be so much more than a boutique owner, you can also be a hairdresser, model, designer and a makeup artist. This really excited me because it meant we were getting a lot more features to play around with.
This game also has a different storyline from the others. This time you are transported into a doll’s world? And it is there that you take the fashion world by storm. I have to admit I found this really strange but I went along with it anyway. I was just excited to be able to play a new game.
One thing I really appreciate about this game is that it takes a long time to unlock features of the game. I found that with the previous two games that things were unlocked far too quickly and you would have completed the game within a number of days. With this one I have found it takes a while for everything to be unlocked. I have been playing since November and I still haven’t unlocked all of the brands in the exhibition hall.
That being said, I don’t actually play the game as often as I would like. So maybe I just need to keep working on it to unlock everything haha.
Now let’s talk about the actual professions you can take on in this game:

My character in the rose garden

Boutique Owner: This is the role that we have taken on in the last two Style Boutique games and it is a role that I enjoy a lot. I love creating outfits for people and seeing them enjoy what I style for them. I also love the styles of clothes that Style Boutique has.
It’s definitely one of my favourite parts of the game to buy the clothes from the exhibition hall and dress my character up in the many different styles. It allows me to explore fashion styles I would never try in real life.

Applying makeup like a pro

Makeup Artist: I am not the biggest fan of this career in the game. Mainly because the makeup styles some of the customers ask for aren’t that glamorous. Sometimes, they will ask you to copy the makeup of a photo and it can be quite difficult.
I like that they do add this challenge to the game but at the same time I would like if the makeup complimented the skin tone of the character because sometimes it doesn’t.
Although that’s just a small thing on my part.
This career also gives you the opportunity to unlock more colours for your makeup palette by giving photos to a character in the game. She will look at your in-game photos and pick out new colours for your makeup which I find quite interesting. It also encourages you to take more in-game photos to see if you can unlock the colours.

Ready to style your hair to perfection

Hair Stylist: Another new career for the game. I do enjoy this one a bit more than the makeup artist career but again it’s not perfect. The main critique I would have about this one is that when you are asking a customer about the hairstyle they want they sometimes don’t give you enough information and so it can be hard to decide what hairstyle they want.
On the bright side, even if the customer is not fully happy with the hairstyle you have chosen they will usually go along with it anyway.

The design studio

Fashion Designer: I don’t have a lot of experience with this career in the game yet. Mainly because I just unlocked it. However it seems to follow a similar format to the design feature in the first Style Boutique game.
A brand from the exhibition hall will call you and ask if you will design a type of clothing for their brand. Once you create it then you will be able to wear it and sell it in your shop.
I like this idea because it allows you to create the clothes you want in the game. However it can be a little bit restrictive with the options that the game provides. But it’s still a fun feature to the game.

Say cheese!

Model: Again, I don’t have a lot of experience with this career either. I actually just unlocked this one in the game. I really like the idea of this one though, especially if you like taking in-game photos.
From what I can tell, you go to the photo studio and they will have a list of modelling jobs and the type of clothes they want you to wear for it. You dress your character up and take the photos and then they will be shown around the town.
I think it’s a really fun way to show off your style in the game. I don’t really know if this career has anything else to it but so far I enjoy it. I also like that they let you choose your character’s pose for photos. In previous games you didn’t have that option, so it’s nice to have a little more freedom with that.

My first fashion show

On top of that you are also asked to take part in fashion shows. I assume this is in place of fashion contests which were in the previous two games. For fashion shows you sell tickets by serving customers in the boutique, hair salon or makeup studio. Then you take part in the fashion show by dressing up to match the theme and working the runway.
Other features of the game include online miiverse competitions which I haven’t really explored and designing your own little room in the ski chalet. I’m not really sure what the whole miniature room thing is about but when you get a streetpass you get a copy of that person’s room too. I think it’s cute but it’s not a feature I use a lot in the game.
Another thing I enjoy about the game is that you don’t have to do all these jobs if you don’t want to. For example, I spend way more time selling clothes at the boutique and don’t really like to do people’s make up or hair. And the game gives you the freedom to do each of these things as much or as little as you want. Although it is recommended you do all the careers to fully experience the game.
I don’t really have that many problems with the game other than maybe the design of the menu, I preferred the style of map in the other games. And I guess I only have problems with some of the things I mentioned above but otherwise it’s a really good game.
I know I still have a lot more to unlock in the game though. I still have to unlock all the brands in the exhibition hall, I also have to explore more with the model and fashion designer careers to see where they go.
But like I said I like that all of these things weren’t unlocked right away. In the other games it didn’t take too long before you were winning all the contests and unlocking all the exhibition hall brands. So I like that you get more play time out of this game than the others. And like I said, there’s so much more to do in this game than the previous ones so there will always be something to do in it.
I would definitely recommend this game to anyone who loves fashion. It’s super cute and girly and I’m so glad that Nintendo released this game. I just wish they put a little more love into this series because I know it could also be so much better too. They definitely don’t promote this series as much as many of their other games and I think it’s a shame because I think it’s a really great series.
Anyway, those were all my thoughts on New Style Boutique 2: Fashion Forward! I hope that you enjoyed this blog post. If you guys want to check out more of my New Style Boutique in-game photos I sometimes post them to my Tumblr blog: cullengleekvonvanity.tumblr.com. Again, thanks so much for reading and I hope you will come back for my next blog post!
~ Courtney x

2015!

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

Well guys, it’s the end of another year. And that means it’s time for a reflective blog post.
I used to make these blog posts all the time back when I had Bebo. I used to blog about all the big things that happened that year and talk about what I hoped for the next year. I actually think it’s a really good thing to do because I like looking back and seeing how far I’ve come.
This year in particular has been insane. So much has happened and I have no idea where to start with it.
I think I’m going to start chronologically and work my way from there because it seems like it makes the most sense.
So according to my Twitter, 2015 started off quite boring. I was pretty lazy. Which tends to happen when you are off school for Christmas. And even though you have a ton of work to do that’s due for when you go back, you always leave it to the last minute. Luckily the work didn’t seem to weigh me down too much as I still had time to tweet about it.

On top of trying to get through my a levels, I was also very distracted fandom-wise. Four words. Fifty Shades of Grey. For the first two months of the year I was busy trying to get as much information about the movie as possible. And I was freaking out at every glimpse of Jamie Dornan in a grey suit.
Unfortunately the movie was not all that I had hoped it would be. Yet I still enjoyed it for what it was. And I am still excited for the sequels, even though we will be waiting until 2017 to see Mr Grey again.

The start of 2015 is also when I started this blog! I have had many a blog in my life and I decided that this would be the one that I stuck with, for better or for worse. This would be the one I stuck with. I have taken many different directions with blogs before but I feel good about this one.
The only other blogs that I have had for more than a year are my Tumblr blogs, and while they are great I wanted a more serious blog to post to. One that I could look back on and read like a journal. And so this fabulous blog was born. Here’s hoping we make it through another year here and I don’t randomly change my mind and start a new one. *Fingers crossed*

2015 also saw the start of my love for Tanner Patrick. His cover of Love Me Like You Do was a related video on my YouTube and I clicked on it on a whim. Best decision I ever made. Since then I have been loving Tanner’s music and have been an active part of his fandom since around March maybe the end of February. He’s a talented musician and I would definitely recommend that everyone check him out.

In April, I was introduced to the show RuPaul’s Drag Race and that opened me up to the world of drag queens. I have to say that I love it. I find it so fascinating and I enjoy the show a lot. Everything about it is just fabulous. From the drag queens themselves, to their amazing costumes, to the challenges, to the shady drama. It’s all very entertaining and so much fun to watch. I also think it’s interesting to learn about drag culture and how much people give up to do something that they love like drag. It’s an amazing commitment, and I commend anyone who does it because it’s amazing.
After that, school was stressful as we headed towards exam time and the end of an era. Officially leaving secondary school was a huge accomplishment this year. I didn’t think I would make it haha. It’s crazy to think I left school seven months ago. I don’t even feel as if I really left. It just felt like the natural next step which was good.
If I had to say anything about my time at school I would say it was good. I know that it wasn’t always that great. There were always stressful times and you didn’t always get along with everybody in your class but overall I had a good school experience. I worked hard, got the grades I needed and made some amazing friends I know I’ll have for life. And some really great memories but also some not so great ones. Like I said, it wasn’t perfect but I had a good time there.

Once exams were over and I hung up uniform for good summer had officially started.
Over summer, I decided to put my focus on YouTube and begin posting videos on a regular basis. I aimed to post five videos a week, one for every weekday. It was a challenge, but I did enjoy posting regular content to my channel. I felt like I was being productive with my time rather than just sitting around playing Animal Crossing.

During the summer I also started watching two new TV shows, Orange is the New Black and Young and Hungry. Both really enjoyable shows. Both completely different. I’m really excited to see where they go with the new seasons.
Another big event that happened in June was that marriage equality was brought to the US as gay marriage was legalised in all fifty states. That was a really big step for the world and I couldn’t be happier about it.

June was also the month where I turned 18. However, I don’t feel any different than I did when I was any other age haha. Are we supposed to feel really different when we hit a big milestone age? I never have. I just feel the same, it’s just that now I say I’m 18 when people ask me my age hahaha.

I also went on holiday with my friends in the summer. We rented a house for the week in Portrush and it was a lot of fun. I did manage to vlog a little bit when I was there and I got to spend some quality time with all of my friends before we went to university. It was very memorable and I’m sure we will be planning many more group holidays in the future.

The rest of the summer was spent playing Sims or working on YouTube. I still made the occasional plans with friends to keep in touch too. All of this was just a distraction from the approach of results day.
Results day was pretty nerve wracking. It’s the moment when you find out if you are going to university or not. I tried to remain pretty calm about the whole thing but there was a tiny part of me that was worried that I didn’t do as well as I thought I did.

Luckily I didn’t have to worry much because I was able to get the results I needed to go to university.
That’s when the real nerves started to kick in.
I was about to start the next chapter in my life. I was going to be in a new place with new people…I didn’t even know if I would like my course.
Something else I knew that would really suck would be my friends leaving to go to university. I had went from spending everyday with them to never seeing them. It was an adjustment to say the least.
I was so happy that my transition from school to university was pretty smooth. Like I said, it felt like the next natural step for my life to go in. And I am so grateful for that. I know a lot of people that go to university because they were told to rather than that they wanted to and it doesn’t always end up going so well. So if you are thinking about further education then it has to be your choice, someone else shouldn’t be making the decision for you.

So for the past few months my life has been all about getting used to university and trying to make sure that I balance everything in my life again. Since starting university, my everyday life has changed dramatically and so I need to establish a new routine.
I have really enjoyed everything that university has been able to offer me so far. I have made some new friends, while still being able to keep in touch with my old ones. I find my course interesting and I am enjoying what I am learning. And I have been enjoying university nightlife.

Also during this time I was also trying to keep up with my TV shows. Most of them return after summer break in the autumn and so I always had to make time for them. In particular I have really been enjoying Nashville and The Vampire Diaries. I also decided to start watching Scream Queens this year as there is no more Glee to look forward to.
This year, my TV shows have really been on point. They have been so good lately that I really can’t get enough of them. And I haven’t even mentioned Pretty Little Liars in this post yet. Y’all know about how much I have been freaking out about Pretty Little Liars this year. It’s been insane.

The latest TV show that I have gotten hooked on is 90210. I started to watch it just before Christmas and am almost finished with season 2. I wasn’t sure what to think of it at the start but I have really gotten into it and am really enjoying it so I’m excited to see where that goes. I know the show is over now but I prefer to watch shows like that so I can binge-watch it all in one go. Waiting for new episodes of TV shows sucks.

And finally, the last big thing I can really think of that I have done this year is Vlogmas. If you don’t know what Vlogmas is, it is when YouTubers vlog for 24 days leading up to Christmas from the 1st of December to Christmas Eve. It’s actually not as easy as it looks to produce daily content like that. I was always staying up ridiculously late at night to make sure my vlogs were edited and uploaded for the appropriate times.
But I have to say it was definitely worth it. I really like vlogs because it’s just another way to capture memories and look back on them. So I felt really accomplished about that because I thought that I was going to get through the first few days of Vlogmas and then quit.

So overall, it has been a successful and productive year for me. It’s probably been one of the years in my life where I have experienced the most change. It hasn’t always been plain sailing though, like everyone I have my ups and downs, good days and bad days. But I would say that the good definitely outweighed the bad this year.
I am definitely looking forward to next year and all that it will bring. I have no expectations at all other than I just need to keep doing my best and see what happens. And of course I will keep you all filled in on anything big that happens.
So thank you so much for reading, I hope you all had a wonderful 2015 and that 2016 will be equally as wonderful. Or if your 2015 wasn’t so great that 2016 is your year and that it is so much better to you than last year. At the end of the day, I think the year is only as good as you can make it. Things might not always go your way but I think if you keep trying and don’t give up then life can be amazing.
Happy New Year guys! Make it count!

~ Courtney x

Merry Christmas!

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment
❄️ Merry Christmas Everyone! ❄️
I hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas and that you get everything that you want from Santa!
If you don’t celebrate Christmas, then I still hope that you have a great day and are able to spend it doing something you love.
My Christmas gift to you all is first of all, that photo of me above. That is indeed a snapchat filter thing. Looking fabulous.
Secondly, I wanted to let you guys know I have officially completed vlogmas 2015! Yes, that’s right I vlogged for 24 days straight. I’m very proud of myself for doing so because I could have just given up and been lazy but no I stuck it out.
So if you are interested in seeing what December was like for a first year uni student who is not so festive then please feel free to look at the following playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLS-A2-2r_dIQxI2tDqUg0HXwZIjW4yyve
Once again Merry Christmas guys! And I hope you have a fabulous day!
~ Courtney x

Attempting Vlogmas!

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

Hey guys,
So I just wanted to make a quick little blog post to tell you that I am attempting Vlogmas this year!
If you don’t know what Vlogmas is, it is the name that YouTubers give to their daily vlogs in December as they vlog from the 1st to the 24th December. And this year I have decided to try and take part.
I did attempt Vlogmas last year too, however it was not very exciting. I was so bogged down with school work that 99% of my vlog was me complaining about all the school work I had to do which is not fun.
Vlogmas vlogs are supposed to be festive and happy and so this year I really want to try and make my vlogs festive. So I hope that you guys will join me and get into the Christmas spirit because I really believe that this year I can pull off a really festive Vlogmas!
Earlier I uploaded Vlogmas day 1 to my YouTube channel so check it out below! (And don’t forget to subscribe so you know when I post a new vlog!)

~ Courtney x

Finding Balance

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

Hey guys,
So today I wanted to talk about balance. Mainly trying to find a way to balance your life so you aren’t spending too much time on one thing.
I have always had a problem when it came to balancing in my life. Specifically when it came to balancing school work and slacking off and having fun. I either do too much school work and nothing else or I just do nothing for ages and then feel super lazy.
And since I have been at uni this hasn’t gotten any easier. In fact, it’s a lot harder than ever to maintain some sort of balance.
I’m sure you guys have all seen the photo of student life and all the things we have to balance:

It’s kind of insane.
Lately, I have definitely spent a lot of time going out with friends and enjoying myself. Which is definitely a huge part of student life. You are finally old enough to drink and go to clubs and so it’s exciting and new so you go out a lot.
Yet, on the other hand, you also have a lot more work to be doing and deadlines and assignments and it can be a lot sometimes.
And of course, there is budgeting money if you are living away from home and trying to manage adult responsibilities like cooking and cleaning and the problems that come with living with roommates.
It’s such a crazy time in your life.
And so yes it has definitely been a huge adjustment for me. I definitely feel as though I am doing so much more than I was at secondary school. Especially in going out with friends but also with university work.
It’s kind of crazy how exhausted you can be from just a couple of hours of class a day. Meanwhile when you were in secondary school you were doing six hours of school, five days a week but now it seems next to impossible to turn up to a 9 a.m lecture.
If anything I know that you will never find the perfect balance of life. You are always bound to spend too much time focusing on one aspect of your life to let the other parts of your life suffer. It happens. There’s no stopping that.
But what you can do is realise there is an imbalance and work on trying to even things out again. And not to beat yourself up about it too much.
Lately for me I would say I have taken the time to overindulge in sleeping and socialising and have not paid as much attention to uni work as I know I should  have been doing. So since then I have been working hard to keep up the workload of uni. But at the same time I will still find time to go out and see my friends and spend time with them because that’s an important part of life too.
You just have to find a happy medium that works for you and it might take a while to achieve but I think you can do it if you really try.
Unless it’s about getting enough sleep because that’s just something I have never been able to achieve haha. I sleep too much or I sleep too little there’s never usually an in between. But again, I just need to work on that.
But other than that I’d say I have a good balance going on. I go out with friends about once a week and I attend all my classes and work on things when I need to. I also remember that is important not to overwork yourself. You can take a break from life every so often and not do anything.
I fully support those days that you just decide to take off and do nothing. It’s a really nice way to spend the day, especially when you have been working really hard. So I definitely think it’s important to have that time to yourself too.
I think that’s all I really have to say on the topic. It’s just been something I have been thinking about lately because I have really been struggling to find a good balance. Which is to be expected when going through big changes but I think I have found my happy medium again. And I hope that you guys reading find your balance. It just means you are living a more well-rounded life and that your life isn’t always focused on one thing because there’s so much more to life than that.
So yeah, I hope that you enjoyed reading this blog post. I wasn’t really expecting to talk about it in a serious way but I guess I did. I mean it is important to have balance in your life rather than focus too much on one thing. Because life’s too short for that.
Anyway, like I said I hope you enjoyed reading and I hope that you are able to find your “happy medium” in life 🙂
~ Courtney x

Happy Halloween!

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment
🎃 Happy Halloween guys! 🎃

I just wanted to make a quick little blog post to celebrate the night. I hope you’re all having a fun and spooky night. And I hope you all stay safe!
I have never really understood the fun of Halloween after you are told you are too old to trick-or-treat but lately I have. It’s so much fun to get dressed up and go out with friends, I went on a pub crawl the other night and it was really cool to see everyone that dressed up for the occasion. I particularly enjoy seeing people who have put a lot of effort into their Halloween costumes, to me it’s not enough to put some fake blood on, you gotta go all out.
That being said, there is also nothing wrong with staying in and having a scary movie marathon. Sometimes it’s also good just to stay in and enjoy not freezing outside in a costume made of thin material.
I don’t usually have Halloween plans, but this year I did go out and celebrate so that meant I got to buy a costume! Yay! It’s really hard to find costumes for girls that aren’t revealing though I think mine is pretty fab.

So what do you guys think? I think I made an awesome crayon. And no one else was dressed up as one so I felt special. 😛
What did you guys do for Halloween? Were you dressed up, if so what as?
~ Courtney x

Student Life…So Far

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

Hey guys,
So today I thought I would give you an insight into my student life so far. I wouldn’t say it’s the most exciting thing in the world, but it’s definitely a huge change from school.
After the whirlwind that was Fresher’s Week, classes began and I had to develop a new routine for myself. Which I have to say, was harder than expected.
With university, the timetabling for classes can be very awkward. Especially for me. My timetable goes something like this:

Monday 9-6
Tuesday 11-6
Wednesday 9-11
Thursday 3-4
Friday 1-4

Doesn’t sound like the nicest timetable in the world does it? One thing I will say though is that even though I am in all day on Monday and Tuesday, I am not constantly in class. I get breaks!
Even though my timetable sounds horrible it’s not as bad as it seems. I mean over the past month I have been adjusting quite well and have established some sort of routine for myself.
Mainly for me, if I’m not in class I am in the Student’s Union. If you don’t know what that is, it is a place with shops and areas for students and extracurricular clubs to meet. It is also a source of information for student’s and holds events from time to time. I spend a lot of time there because I don’t live on campus and can’t go home between classes. But the Student’s Union has quickly become a second home. I know some people prefer to go to the library between classes to work but for me, I can’t work in that silence. And the Student’s Union has just the right level of noise that is enough you can still work there.
Other than that, I do spend a lot of time in classes. Which was to be expected for my course. I knew going into it that I was going to have to work hard and so far I have. Overall the course hasn’t been so bad. I find the pace easy enough to keep up with and I haven’t been having too many difficulties.
I have had a few problems with programming (which if you follow me on Twitter, you know all about) but I have been working on it a lot and I understand things better now. Considering I have never coded before in my life, I think I’m doing well. Which is a great because I wouldn’t want to be failing out of uni in the first year.
We are also learning about databases right now and since I studied that at a level it’s nothing to worry about. We are also doing another module which is also new to me but is easy to understand.
As for homework…I don’t get any.
I know, it sounds great, but we always have work to do even if it’s not set homework. If, like me, you have never programmed before it is best to practice programming at home and do the recommended reading. Otherwise, it can be hard to keep up with class. So I always have something to do even when it seems like I have nothing to do.
 Even though we don’t have set homework, we do have assessments. These are things that count towards are final grades so we have to work for those. But like I said, so far everything is fine. No major problems so far.
Moving away from school and talking about the other half of student life….socializing!
If you guys read my Fresher’s Week blog post then you know I met a lot of new people on the first week of university and luckily for me, I have made friends with them. I am so glad that we had to do team building on the first day because otherwise I would find it so hard to talk to people. Especially because I am staying at home for university, I don’t have the advantage of meeting new people in university accommodation.
So I now have a small group of people in my lectures that I know and we all sit in our little area in the lecture hall which is fab. It also means that I have friends that understand the ups and downs of my course and that I can talk to about it. Which I appreciate because my other friends don’t understand anything I say about computing haha.
It is so great to be around new people. Especially when you have been going to school with the same people for seven years. It is also amazing to find new friends who have similar interests to you. One of the first people that I became friends with also loves RuPaul’s Drag Race and that’s when I knew we were going to be great friends.
It’s things like that that make me really happy.
As for going out and partying…I haven’t been out much since Fresher’s Week. I mean I am not one for going out a lot anyway but as a student it’s a rite of passage to go out and party. Which isn’t for everyone. But for the vast majority of student’s it is.
For me, I feel I am somewhere in the middle. I can appreciate a good night out, but I can also appreciate a night in a whole lot more. So I have enjoyed the occasional night out since Fresher’s and it’s been a well-needed break from class and coming home every night.
When I am not at university I do prefer to stay home rather than go out most of the time anyway. Mainly because after spending so much time at university I just want to sleep! Haha. One of the downsides to being a student is that sleep can sometimes be lacking. And I know it’s no one else’s fault but my own. Especially when I don’t live with noisy roommates and I’m in my quiet house haha. But oh well…you can’t be a student without sacrificing something.
On a whole, university so far has been amazing. At first I was a little bit unsure about the choice of studying Software Engineering in case I didn’t like it but honestly, I don’t regret it at all. We have been getting so many talks and emails about the opportunities that are available to us and it makes me super excited for the future. Which is something I thought I would never say.
So if I’ve learnt anything from being at university so far, it’s that you need to follow your passion. Because if you don’t you won’t enjoy it. You study what you want and it will motivate you to do the rest. It sounds really cheesy, but it’s true. If you make choices for you and not for others you will be happier. Because I don’t think I would be fine with studying anything else and I don’t think I’ve made a huge mistake either.
I’m content with how things are going and I’m just excited to see where they go next. 🙂 Thanks so much for reading, and I will keep you updated as the school year progresses.
~ Courtney x

Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer First Impressions

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

Hey guys!
So today I am going to be giving you my first impressions on Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer. For those of you who don’t know, Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer is a spin-off game in the Animal Crossing series. And being super obsessed with Animal Crossing meant, I needed to get this game right away.

It has currently been in my possession for three days and I am already obsessed. I tend to get hooked on Animal Crossing games right from the get-go. There’s something about them that I can’t resist, they are just so adorable and easy to play so I just get sucked in. And this was no exception.
Since this is a spin-off game is has a lot less content than a main Animal Crossing game. I mean the main goal of this game is to design houses. That’s really it. Nothing else to it. You can also design the shops/facilities in the town area which is known as Main Street. But other than designing this game doesn’t have a lot else going for it. So if you are considering getting an Animal Crossing game that’s something worth noting.
At first I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this game. If I’m honest I kind of thought I would get bored of it right away. But that’s not the case. I mean I play a lot of Sims and so I do like designing houses and things but something about this game gave me the impression I would play it for two days and get bored. I actually find this game really satisfying to play. Which is kind of the feeling I get with every Animal Crossing game.
There’s just something really peaceful about designing animals’ homes. It’s really cute and I love seeing the villagers’ interact with their new surroundings. It is definitely a different approach to the Animal Crossing series. But I love it.
For one thing, it is so much easier to create houses in the way you want to in this game. Which is obviously one of it’s major selling points. If you have ever decorated a house in Animal Crossing then you know the pain of putting something out and dragging it around the room trying to get it into the right position. With this game, you are able to place furniture with a touch of a stylus.
Another thing I really love is the new additions to furniture. We can now place rugs, hang lights from the ceilings, and even change our curtains and windows. I like these little touches because they can add so much more to a room than before.
On top of these new additions I have noticed there has been a whole load of new items added to the catalogue which is to be expected for a home designer game.
Something I was most excited about when I heard about the game was the addition of designing the exterior of the house as well as the interior. In past Animal Crossing games we haven’t been able to place furniture outside with the exception of Animal Crossing: New leaf public works projects. So this was something I was really excited about. I like having that extra bit of freedom.

A house I designed by the sea

One thing that is annoying with exterior design is that you can’t rotate the houses. They are always facing forward which isn’t great when you want the villager to live on the beach and their house looks like it’s going to be whisked away by the sea. You also can’t rotate the camera outside to see things from different angles which again is quite limiting.

A school classroom

I have also really enjoyed building the facilities in Main Street. Mainly because you are given so much space to create these rooms. In previous games, if you wanted to create a school themed room you would have to do it in your tiny house. Now, we can create them in an appropriately sized room and make them look any way we want to.
While I enjoy this overall game concept as a whole, it does have it’s flaws.
For example, I am not a huge fan of the item catalogue interface. I find it really tedious to swipe to each new page of items. I wish we had a scroll bar at the bottom to make it faster to find items. I know you can search with the search feature, but I like to look through all my items to make sure I have used everything I want to when designing a house.
I also don’t like that this game doesn’t run in real-time like all other Animal Crossing games. We now have to save every time we are done creating a house. Which wouldn’t bother me but it’s the fact you have to keep going all the way to your desk. I know in past Animal Crossing games we would have to go to the attic to save, but even then we had the option of pressing start to save from wherever we were. Once we save it turns into a new day in the Happy Home Designer game, which to me just wastes a lot more time. Although it does teach younger children the importance of saving your game. But Animal Crossing has always stressed the importance of saving your game with the character Resetti.
Oh and I also dislike how we have to wear the red Happy Home blazer all the time. You can change your clothes if you are visiting a house or facility but any other time you have to wear the blazer. You can however accessorise your uniform with other clothing items and accessories.
As for the amiibo cards…I did end up buying a couple of packets of them as well as an amiibo card reader as I will use them in the future but so far I have only used one. I can see the appeal of them as many people will want to collect their favourite villagers and I believe it’s the only way you are able to design a house for a special character such as Isabelle. However, I do feel like if you are on the fence about getting amiibo then don’t. It isn’t worth it if you are not up to the challenge of collecting all of the cards. Amiibo cards aren’t essential to the game either so you can still enjoy the game without having them.
I also can see how having an amiibo card reader can be a hassle if you are travelling and want to bring your amiibo cards. It’s just an extra thing to carry around. And you do need to get an amiibo card reader if you don’t have a new 3DS but want to use the amiibo. So there’s that to think about too.
But overall I am really enjoying this game. I have already created half of the facilities on Main Street and am well on my way to designing homes for every villager in town. So despite the few little issues I have with the game I definitely recommend it if you enjoy designing things. Plus, the cuteness of Animal Crossing is definitely a major selling point for me.
So those were all my thoughts on Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer! I hope that you guys enjoyed this post. If you guys want to see more of my Happy Home Designs then follow my Animal Crossing Tumblr: antrim-in-animal-crossing.tumblr.com
And if you are interested in seeing the unboxing of Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer with the amiibo card reader and some amiibo cards then check out my video below:

~ Courtney xx

Meet the Allgoods

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

Hey guys!
So today I thought I would introduce you to my Sims 4 family. This is the sim family that I have been playing with when I am not playing my Legacy Challenge save file.
These are the Allgoods.

I originally started with two sims, but their family grew pretty quickly. I have decided that I will talk about each sim individually and then talk about my experience with playing with such a big household of Sims. I have never played with eight sims at one time before, so this was kind of new to me.
Before we even get into talking about my sims, let me give you a peek at the family tree.

The Allgood Family Tree

So there is Jen, who is the mother, Tanner the father, Alice and Amber who are twins and both married, Elle who is the second youngest and Patrick the very youngest of the family.
Now I can introduce you to my sims! Let’s start with Jen.

Jen was the first sim that I created. She is basically the same as my Aria Montgomery sim however I changed her name, her clothes, and her makeup. She started young adult and originally had the Painter Extraordinaire lifetime aspiration.

Since then, Jen has completed the Painter Extraordinaire lifetime aspiration and is now pursuing the Bestselling Author lifetime aspiration. She is in the painter career, is reaching the elder stage of life and has gained quite a lot of traits.
One of my friends reminded me of the lifetime rewards panel and since then all my sims have been racking up the traits haha.

Next we have Tanner, Tanner is just my Tanner Patrick sim. He started as a young adult and had the Musical Genius lifetime aspiration. As you can see in the photo, he has aged quite a bit.

Since we started, Tanner as aged up twice to become an elder, I find it weird that he ages up slightly faster than Jen because they started at the same time. And he has completed the Musical Genius lifetime aspiration and is now working towards the Successful Linage lifetime aspiration. He works in the entertainer career and, like Jen, has accumulated quite a lot of traits.

Jen and Tanner soon became pregnant with a set of twins. Which was surprising, I was definitely not prepared. The oldest one (or the one I’m going to talk about first) is Alice. She is a young adult and has the Master Chef lifetime aspiration.

Alice currently has a culinary career, and is married to Johnny Zest.

I won’t say a lot about my sims’ significant others. Mainly because they haven’t been part of the family for long. Johnny is one of the premade sims in the game and is an adult, he has the Joke Star lifetime aspiration and is an adult.


Next we have Amber, who is Alice’s twin sister. She is a young adult and is following in her father’s footsteps and pursuing the Musical Genius lifetime aspiration.

Amber is currently in the entertainer career and is married to Alison DiLaurentis.

Alison is a sim I created and added to the neighbourhood in this save game, as well as the other Pretty Little Liars. She is an adult, has the Party Animal lifetime aspiration.

Then we have Elle. She is a young adult and is, unfortunately, the awkward middle child.

Elle has the Friend of the World lifetime aspiration and is pursuing a business career. Elle is also looking for love, but unfortunately due to the size of our family it’ll be a while before she gets married.

And finally we have the youngest of the Allgood children and the only boy, Patrick.

Patrick has the Serial Romantic lifetime aspiration and is currently a high school student. I have tried my teenage sims with a job and school, but that was next to impossible because their needs always dropped so rapidly so, until Patrick graduates he will remain unemployed.

And so they are the Allgoods! Now to talk about how I have been playing the game.
I don’t really have a challenge I have set myself with this household, I’ve kind of just been playing and trying not to cheat. Which has been going pretty well.
The only times I have cheated were to one, get a better bed for Jen and Tanner and two, reduce the ages of Alison and Johnny because they were elders when they married Amber and Alice.
As for the house they live in, it’s not great.

The Outside
The Inside
The house started with three rooms, the bedroom at the back, a bathroom and the living room. As the family expanded, the house also had to expand. It looks pretty basic right now and that’s because my sims didn’t have a lot of money while I have been making renovations to their house. Now that there are mainly adults in the house and they are all working, we can bring in more money and I may be able to design them a better house.
As for the bedrooms, all my sims have their own and I have found the easiest way to identify everyone’s was to add selfies to their respective bedrooms.

Although everyone’s bedrooms are essentially the same, mainly because like I said, we have been low on funds and so it’s not easy to give them everything they should have so as long as there is a place to sleep it’s fine.
As for playing with eight sims on a whole, it’s a lot. I find myself pausing the game a lot to make sure all my sims are doing actions to further their lifetime aspirations. I know I could make the household smaller by having older sims move out on their own but I don’t like the idea of getting rid of sims. I like to have them all in the same place, otherwise I’m not going to play as them again.
The only downside is that now as the younger sims get older, they can’t have anymore children to expand the family. So I don’t know what I am going to do about that.
One thing I will also say about playing as a large household, or just because I’m a lazy sim player is that I never travel outside my lot when I play. I feel like there are too many sims for that and if I just leave with one of them something will happen to the others. Also I can’t be bothered to sit through the loading screens that come with leaving a lot.
But overall I think it’s great to play with so many sims, there is never a dull moment. And it’s great to explore all different types of aspirations and traits at the same time.

The Allgoods pursuing their passions

Another thing I have become obsessed with in the sims 4 is the photography skill. I decided to add all the other sims I had created into the neighbourhood so that the Allgoods could be friends with them and take photos with them…and I think I’ve gone overboard.

All the photos in my sims house

As for exploring the Get To Work careers and the Outdoor Retreat game pack in this save game, I haven’t really been using them. I think it’s because one, when doing the Get to Work careers it takes you away from all your other sims and two, I think my sim family is too big for an Outdoor Retreat. But I will have to get back to using the features of them, mainly because I paid for them so should really use them.
And so I think this is a good place to end this blog post. I know it’s a lot longer than normal but I just love to share my photos. I hope that you guys enjoyed reading, and getting to know a little bit more about how I play Sims 4. Obviously everyone plays their game differently so I’d love to know how you like to play Sims.
Also if you are wondering where I get all of my custom content from (i.e all the clothes my sims wear and the fancy hair) I get it from the Sims Resource website. It is a wonderful place and I love everyone who makes pretty sim clothes. I love them so much.
Again thanks so much for reading and if you want to check out my other Sims 4 save file that I use to do a Legacy Challenge on my YouTube channel you can find it here.
~ Courtney x

Cinema Tickets and Selfies | Pages 169, 178 & 183 | The Pointless Book 2

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

Hey guys!
Today I am bringing you another Pointless Book 2 blog post, this time we are rating movies and taking selfies. Productive.
As always if you guys wanna check out the video it will be below:

The first page I did was page 163, which asks us to stick in cinema tickets and rate the movie. Luckily for me, I’m a huge cinema ticket hoarder. I started my cinema ticket collection in 2011. I just love movies. So for this page I decided to choose movies that I had seen more than once, because then it would be okay to part with the cinema ticket. This is what my page looked like below:

So the cinema tickets are bigger than the page in the book, so I have to fold them when I close the book but that’s okay. The movies I chose were Breaking Dawn Part 1, New Year’s Eve, Fifty Shades of Grey, Jurassic World and Fantastic Four. I haven’t actually seen Fantastic Four more than once but it was my most recent cinema ticket so I added that too.
My ratings were:
  • Breaking Dawn – 5 stars – I love Twilight with a passion and saw this movie four times in the cinema. I’m a Twihard through and through.
  • New Year’s Eve – 4 stars – I thought this was cute. I mean it had a lot of actors in it that I liked and the story was fun and I liked Valentine’s Day so this was similar.
  • Fifty Shades of Grey – 3 stars – Y’all know all my thoughts about Fifty Shades, if you wanna check out the blog post where I talked about it, it’s here
  • Jurassic World – 4 stars – Surprisingly thought it was good even though it was about dinosaurs. However Chris Pratt totally swayed me.
  • Fantastic Four – 2 stars – Definitely not one of my favourites. Plus it was a remake and the last half of the movie was cliche and boring.

So those were my movie reviews, as you guys can see I’m easily impressed at the cinema haha. As long as I don’t fall asleep during the movie I usually consider the movie fine.
The next page that I did was page 178 which was basically just to take a selfie with the Pointless Book and the Pointless Book 2 so here are some of my fabulous selfies:

And finally the last page I did was page 183, which was basically just colouring in but I still wanted to do it because who doesn’t love colouring in?
And so that brings us to the end of another Pointless Book 2 blog post. I hope that you guys liked it, and if you guys wanna check out more of my Pointless Book 2 videos you can click the link to the playlist here.
~ Courtney x