Litjoy Magical Crate: Year 4

Earlier this month, I received my Litjoy Magical Crate, which is a special one time box that focuses on a different Harry Potter book. This is the fourth crate in the series and the items in the crate are all inspired by the fourth book. When I first read the series, the fourth book was my favorite (now a days, I can't pick a favorite), and it is the book I've read the most in the series, so I was extremely looking forward to seeing what this box would include. I've shared the previous three crates already, and as soon as I received this one, I couldn't wait to share it's contents. This crate was jam packed with 14 items, and here are some of my favorites...

The gillyweed inspired candle from Whiskey Diamond Company smells exactly like how I imagined gillyweed to smell in the books. I also loved how the dark mark tattoo and the Potter Stinks button tied directly into the book. 

The coin was another item directly inspired by the books. Each box included a mystery coin in a pouch, much like the pouch that contained the four types of dragons for the fourth task. I received the Hungarian Horntail, with artwork by Maggie Rose. The S.P.E.W. enamel pin was one of my all time favorites in this box. 

Litjoy does a fantastic job of featuring amazing artists for their boxes. Gabriella Bujdoso designed the artwork for the trading cards and I think she perfectly captured the characters. And I like how NerdyGrlDesigns brought her own style on the bookmarks.

These socks inspired by Dobby are my favorite item in this box. I'm one of those people who likes wearing crazy socks, and these are just my style. And those are some of the contents of the box, and now I can't wait for the fifth installment. - Jessica

Harry Potter Studio Tours

It is finally time to share the last of my Europe pictures. While in London, I had the absolute pleasure of visiting the Warner Brother's Studio Tours. It has been a dream of mine to visit the place where they filmed all the Harry Potter films. It's a place that I've seen so much content from, both the films and tourist photos from the tour, but nothing could compare to seeing the scale model of Hogwarts in real life, with "Harry in Winter" playing on the overhead speakers. It was truly a magical experience, and it is definitely a place that I would love to revisit in the future. Here are some of my favorite shots from the tour...

I absolutely love the level of detail that went into putting everything together. The tour really highlighted how much work went into the making of each movie. - Jessica 

HP Haul

I decided that a good use of my time would be to take photos of all the Harry Potter stuff that I got while in Europe, instead of go through and edit all three thousand photos I took while I was there. As soon as I knew that I would be going to Europe, I knew that there would be a ton of Harry Potter merch that I would want to buy. And in all honesty, I could have brought back way more stuff, but I was able to exhibit restraint and here's what I got...

Buying tickets to see The Cursed Child was one of the first things that I did after I booked my flight. When I first read the script, I recognized that the plot had a lot of problems, but I loved how the script captured the environment of the wizarding world, and I knew that I would have to see how the play comes together live. I highly recommend seeing the play live, because the magic of the series is so well transferred on stage. I also love the art direction and I had to get some merch featuring the reimagined Gryffindor crest. I was so surprised that they still hand out the #keepthesecrets pin (especially since the script has been out for so long), and it was an excellent addition to my growing pin collection. UK links to merch (US store): program (not sold online), patch, Gryffindor pin, Cursed Child pin, postcard, Gryffindor shirt (not pictured).

House of MinaLima was another place that I knew that I needed to go to. MinaLima is the duo that created all of the art in the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films. The store was originally a popup store in London, but it is now a permanent fixture and it is a block away from the Palace Theater, where the Cursed Child plays. I was able to pick up a few cards and postcards from the shop, which I'm hoping to add to my Harry Potter wall soon. One day, I would like to own one of their limited edition prints, which I loved seeing in person because they are stunning. Even the quality of the cards is stunning, the foiled detail is beautiful, and the postcards are extremely sturdy. Links to merch: Hogwarts a History card, Hogwarts crest card, Fantastic Beasts card, Gryffindor button, Hogwarts series postcards.

Pro tip: if you're planning a trip to the Harry Potter studios, I suggest booking tickets early. Due to sell outs, I ended up having to buy tickets through a third party company, which was fine and ended up being a good experience, but we were only allotted three hours at the tour and being the massive fan that I am, I could have benefited from spending more time there. Because of this, I only spent 15 minutes in the gift shop and I didn't get to look at everything, which was probably a good thing for my wallet. Plus I didn't want to go too crazy, since the studio tours sells most of the same merch as the Wizarding World does, and I'm itching to take a trip to Orlando in the near future. I did cave by getting the sweater (which is so soft and I'm sad that it's too hot in TX to wear), and I knew I wanted to get a new lanyard since mine broke a while ago. UK links to merch (US link): Gryffindor sweater, time turner keychain, lanyard, Hogwarts express ticket ornament (only at US shop). 

Another place that I really wanted to visit was the Platform 9 3/4 store at King's Cross Station, but unfortunately we weren't able to make it. I was able to go to the store at Heathrow Airport, and I picked up a couple of things there. Links to merch: magnet, chocolate frog keychain, philosopher's stone keychain (not online). 

Definitely one of the worst things about being a US Harry Potter fan is that so much good, affordable merch comes from Primark, which doesn't ship online and third parties will sell some stuff online but at inflated rates. So I was happy that I got to visit 4 different Primarks and raid some of their Harry Potter displays. I definitely had to restrain myself, because they sell so much stuff, but I already have so much Harry Potter clothing that I limited myself to other merch. A lot of what I got was merch that I'd previously seen on instagram posts, and the candle and the satchel were two of the items I wanted most. 

And here are the two items that I definitely did not need to buy, because they are my 9th and 10th copy of the first book. I had previously ordered the 20th edition hardback, but I caved when I saw the paperback edition at Waterstone's. I also picked up a French edition at this small bookstore called La Librairie des Abbesses. I loved that this particular edition features the ebook covers, because I love that artwork and they currently do not sell those covers on any physical editions. I also really wanted to get a Dutch copy while I was in Amsterdam, but I wasn't able to search for one. So that is all the stuff I got, I know it's a lot, but I saw so much stuff that I wanted to buy and because I have little self control when it comes to Harry Potter, I treated myself. - Jessica 

Novelly Yours' Wizarding Women Unboxing

I shared in my last snapshots post that I got the Novelly Yours box for April, which was themed, Wizarding Women. I immediately fell in love with this theme when it was announced, because I have a weakness for Harry Potter related stuff and because I love the focus on the female characters of the series. I've purchased 2 of the 4 boxes that Novelly Yours has released this year, and I really like the balance between the candles and the extra items (buttons, stickers, prints, and bookmarks). Here's some of the shots I took during the unboxing...

I also really like how each item is a character themed, and I'm hoping to get some more of these boxes in the future. - Jessica