Welcome to A-Z, a mini series at Daisybutter, a fortnightly series that takes a letter from the alphabet and where I aim to introduce the many facets of myself to the blog.
The A-Z of Michelle is a 26-part series on Daisybutter. Once a fortnight, I'll be introducing a new 'thing' about myself or an opinion that I'd like to share or a short story snippet. You get the gist. And each will hail from a respective letter of the alphabet. I've become quite enamoured with the alphabet as of late, even renaming my magazine to A for Aesthetic (oh so creatively from its former Aesthetic Magazine), heh.
I remember the very first time I ever learned of the boy named Harry Potter. Accompanying my Mama, then aged 7, to the bi-weekly food shop in Tesco, I wandered in the kiddies’ book section while Mama shopped for supermarket clothes, stood on my very tip-toes to reach the New In shelf and prised Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets down from its prized place atop. I have a crystal clear memory of feeling like a grown-up as soon as I plopped down in the little plasticky tub chair and saw lines and lines of printed copy, no pictures, just small text. In fact, it might have been one of the first non-picture books I ever read! Twice a week, each week, for almost a month, I’d pick up a copy and slyly continue to read, until Mama announced that I’d saved enough from my 50p weekly pocket money to own it for myself. I was OBSESSED.
I slept with it under my pillow and I'd even sneakily sit on my windowsill behind the curtain after my parents turned out the lights so I could continue to read it. Nothing fascinated me more than this illusionary, elusive, magical world so beautifully captured in mere words. My mind would run wild by day and even wilder by night in dream land. Of course, by Mish standards, I then borrowed the first book from my auntie and proceeded to become one of the many fans who’d queue up at midnight for a new release and eagerly devour every page until their eyes could take no more.
I’m very proudly part of the generation that grew up with Harry Potter. My very last day at school in Year 11 was spent signing T-shirts in the playground before picking up my pre-ordered Deathly Hallows book and reading it in a circle by the lake with my friends until there was simply no more.
For this fortnight’s A-Z, I wanted to share some of my favorite Harry Potter memorabilia, a little tour of the finer details of my bedroom...
If you don't own a wand, what kind of wizard could you possibly be, eh? On my second of four visits to the Harry Potter Studio Tour in Leavesden, my brother, sister and I happily went home as the proud owners of our own wands. Of course, an obligatory duel happened that evening. Fleur Delacour's wand was my choice, so beautifully swirly. 9½" long, made of rosewood with a Veela hair core.
An empty Chocolate Frog box makes a sweet little decor trinket in my room! (Can't wait to get some shelving put up in this place...) Also from the Studio Tour, and it came with a sweet holographic Dumbledore card.
These handmade trinkets were gifts from the ever-sweet Skye and amazing Erin. Seriously, such excellent eggs. They're beautifully made and I feel forever thankful to have made such genuine friends from this blogging wonderland ♥
Unconventional gifting continues with this Golden Egg money box from my blogging girl gang. The girls even popped that infamous Triwizard Tournament clue poem inside for me! Good for: saving for my many handbags.
I made these apothecary jars by simply affixing some Harry Potter stickers I had (they came with my Film Wizardry book!) to mismatched mason jars that I bought very cheaply at Wilkinson's or somewhere similar. Filled with hand-wrapped paper stars, they're a pretty little decor idea! And I also made hundreds of wishes in the process.
Obligatory book collection shot. All first editions!
I have literally no idea how Elodie found this but it was part of a HUGE Harry Potter memorabilia gift that she gave me for a Secret Santa a few years ago. Love it. Fun fact: the library shuttle service at Southampton Solent University is also called the Knight Bus!
Heh, why not have a Yule Ball programme, eh?
Finally, my last favorite trinket is my Platform 9¾ ticket! I have a terrible habit of missing my train home by mere moments (did you know? My train home from London hand-on-heart departs from Platform 9B at King's Cross!) and so weekly visits to the Platform 9¾ are a thing in my world. This ticket was from there along with plenty of other niknaks that are scattered around my room.
What are your favorite Harry Potter trinkets?
