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I know it’s cheesy & clichéd to go shopping at a mall or department store when you’re on vacation, but London has some of the most well-known, iconic, & oldest department stores in all the lands. So, it was an obvious choice to put these touristy famous shopping destinations on my list of must visit places. I wasn’t necessarily planning on buying anything, but I at the very least wanted to step inside & take a look around & to be able to say that I’ve been there.
Fortnum and Mason is one of those department stores where you know there’s going to be a lot of old, stuffy history, & where you know you’re going to look severely underdressed (& undertitled) compared to all of the high-society ladies who stop there for some exclusive afternoon tea. Jian is not in the least bit interested in shopping malls or department stores, so it was a bit of a task to convince him to go with me to Forntum and Mason.
When we got there, the place was packed to the gills with other tourist shoppers, all with the same intentions as we had…to buy semi non-kitschy souvenirs for friends & family. Of course Fortnum and Mason is well-known for their teas, but they also carried a massive variety of confectioneries & cookies/biscuits. We bought a few small tins of cookies/biscuits for Jian’s parents & a small box of marzipan for my mom. However, there was one item I kept passing by while we were browsing. It was a box of milk chocolates, but it wasn’t the chocolates that got me hooked. It was the absolutely adorable & clever packaging that caught my eye.
I am always a sucker for product packaging like cute gift wrapping, or souvenir boxes/tins. This chocolate box packaging was no exception. I 100 percent fell in love with the packaging as soon as I saw it. Also, I love chocolate, so it was a no-brainer that I had to pick this up as a souvenir for myself. Check out the packaging below.
Please excuse my crappy photo-taking & editing. These were all shot on an iPhone SE.
- The box cover says “Cute as a button”. That got me hook, line, & sinker. Also, I loved the pink & blue pastel color scheme of the box.
- The back of the box has all of the nutritional information, blah, blah, blah…
- Inside, the chocolates are wrapped in tissue paper with a gold foil bumble bee sticker.
- I love the clever sewing theme of the box. The bottom side of the box lid has an adorable sewing lablel graphic that says “100% Delicious Made in England”.
- The side of the box lid has a super cute graphic of a pincushion with a thread & stitching graphic wrapping around the box lid.
- Inside is the real prize. The chocolates are shaped like actual antique buttons. That is just incredible attention to detail.
I can’t wait to sample these chocolates for myself. They almost look too delicious to eat, but who can pass up a piece of yummy chocolate? I know I can’t. Until then, cheers to chocolate mates!
Today’s song of the day:
“Can I Kick It?” by A Tribe Called Quest
So, remember that one time when I said I got a head cold? Well, guess what? Immediately after that happened, I seriously pulled a muscle in my left shoulder. My mom says that I pulled a rotator-thing-a-ma-jiggy because she pulled the exact same muscle in her right shoulder several months ago. However, I’m neither a doctor nor am I a physical therapist, so I’m just going to say that I pulled a generic muscle in my shoulder. The left one. Oh man, if you’ve never pulled a muscle in your body before, & this was my first time pulling a major muscle, you should feel so lucky, & grateful , & all that good stuff because it is definitely no picnic in the park…I’ll tell you that for sure.
Can you ever imagine, not being able to lift your arm even 45 degrees? Or not be able to put on a shirt or a bra? Or not be able to pull up your pants after you’ve finished peeing? Unless you are physically disabled, or have had a major accident or an outdoor/sports injury, I don’t think it’s imaginable. The struggle was real, guys. My shoulder was throbbing so bad from the pinch & the pain that it even hurt to keep my arm straight at my side. Ok, so maybe I’m exaggerating slightly, but this was my very first experience pulling a muscle in my body, so of course I’m going to throw in a little over-the-top whining.
I’m just so thankful for my slight compulsive disorder to stockpile my medicine cabinet at all times, & for having tons of Salonpas pain relieving patches on-hand. Those sticky little mentholated, medicated pain relieving patches saved my aching shoulder. I slapped on several patches all over my shoulder, twice daily (once in the morning & another time at night), & after three days of having a non-working arm, I’m all patched up & well on my way to a full recovery.
So, that was my sort of depressing start to the month of December. I was very much looking forward to decorating our Christmas tree, but since I couldn’t lift my arm more than 20 degrees, my mom helped me with the decorations, & now our house looks festive & ready for Christmas!
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!
I thought I was being so clever by ordering some of my Christmas gifts online. Geez, I was wrong. I ordered two special gifts for my two older nieces online, & when the shipment arrived in the mail, the company got the entire order wrong & only sent me half of the items I paid for. I then made a special trip to the shopping mall to have my order corrected, only to be turned away by the store manager with her standard spiel about not being able to fulfill or correct website purchases, & that I would have to call their customer service hotline to rectify this glaring error. I was a little upset having to deal with this stupid mistake (which is entirely the fault of the company & its website staff), especially when Christmas is not so far away. I mean, nobody likes to have missing gifts at Christmastime. Well, I ended up canceling my entire order, sending back the half items that were sent to me, & bought my nieces something else entirely.
I’m rather relieved that most of my other online purchases arrived in a timely manner, & were the actual correct items. My Christmas shopping list is nearly complete, & I’m waiting for two more items to arrive in the mail. I’m ready to snuggle up beside the fireplace & watch some trashy reality TV shows. Until then, cheers!
Today’s song of the day:
Well, I just finished up celebrating he Thanksgiving holiday, & I’m so pooped, but that’s probably because I got a severe sinus & head cold right after returning from a fabulous trip to Disneyland (yet again, on both, being sick after a vacation & going to Disneyland after Thanksgiving). My body is still trying to push out the last bit of phlegm & mucous still lingering in my chest & sinus, but otherwise, I feel like I’m almost recovered. Boy, oh boy! I had a migraine during my cold so severe that it made me couch-ridden for nearly two days.
Ugh, being sick right at the start of Christmas season is such a bummer. I wanted to decorate my tree early, so that our house would have decorations up throughout the entire month from start to end, but I ended up getting so sick that I had to put off my crazy decorating until just yesterday. Now I’m so excited that my beautiful Christmas tree is up, & it’s really getting me into the mood of this holiday season. I haven’t gotten any present shopping done yet, but I’ve got ideas swirling around in my head, & once I put my mind to it, I can get my Christmas shopping done in no time. Until then, I’m going to drink some more hot tea & rest up some more, so I don’t aggravate my annoying cough. Cheers!
Today’s song of the day:
Rabbits & Foxes 
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