February 10

A Blind Date With A Book

A blind date sounds like a mystery right? Because that’s exactly what it is, another mystery box from my big haul xD This time I found it on Etsy and actually got two boxes from the shop CoffeeAcademia one for my husband and one for me. They are both very similar but the books are the main actor in it. In my husbands’ version, there are 3 books randomly picked from the 80-anniversary Black Classics collection from Penguin. And in my version, I could only choose the genre of my book and I choose magical realism. I knew that we would get some stuff with the books, but tried not to spoiler ourselves too much, and that’ what it looked like:

Picture of the inside of box one (mostly still wrapped) withe one book wrapped in brown paper and string, a bookmark, a postcard, a candle a white mug and a letter sealed with golden wax.
Picture of the inside of box two(mostly still wrapped) with three books wrapped in brown paper and srting, multiple postcards, a vinatge letter sealed with golden wax, a white candle and a light blue mug.

Everything we got was beautifully packaged and individually wrapped so that every single piece could be enjoyed as a surprise. I did unwrap the candles and cups for the photos already, but they were well-secured too^^ I really loved how much detail got into putting everything together, with the wax seals on most of the paper and I also loved the strings <3 It really added to the whole feel of the box!
In my box, I got the book “In an absent dream” by Seanan McGuire, which is said to be very similar to Alice in Wonderland, so it seems to be the perfect match for me! I also got a vintage style bookmark, that looks really awesome and a postcard in a matching style. I also got a scented candle, a withe porcelain cup, hot chocolate mix to go with it, and some sweets 😉

Picture of the inside of box one (unwrapped) with some sweets, two hot chocolate packages, one vintage style bookmark, a white mug, a candle with decorative rope round it, a postcard with a leaf and the book "in an absent dream".

My husband got his three black classics each wrapped individually with small bookmarks that were bird-themed. The black classics consisted of a poetry book, a letter novel, and a normal novel. He too got three postcards, which did not match the bird theme and his taste in general with different botanical drawings on it, but I guess I will just steal them 😉 He got a light blue porcelain cup and a white candle in a glass bowl, which seems to be scented too but there was no label on it. Because he was not able to choose a beverage to go with his books, he just got a bit of everything: one hot chocolate mix, two tea bags, and a coffee mix too^^ He drinks everything, so he liked them and the bag of sweets very much.

Picture of the inside of box two(unpwrapped) with 3 diffrent books from penguin, sweets, 3 postcards, a hot chcoloate and a instant coffee package, a white candle, two tea bags, 3 small bookmars and a light blue mug.

What I did not mention up till now is that those books were described as “well-loved” meaning they were used before. But it’s hardly noticeable at all! My book had some light scratches on the cover and a little rip on the first page. My husbands’ books had nothing we could see at first glance. So even though they were read before, the readers must have been really gentle with them and I really aprreachiate that^^ I am a bit of a cautious reader myself and I really hate it when the back of the book breaks and if the books we got would have had flaws like that, it would have been more of a problem 😉

Zoomed in picture of the wax seals from the shop, which are golden, have an open book in the middles and text going around it saying "Coffee Academia".

I did not get to read any of the books yet, but I am sure they will be good 🙂 Because I do think both me and my husband got really lucky, that we got books we liked so much. I was able to choose a genre, but I could have gotten anything like a book I already own, or a story I would not have been interested in, but I got something that felt perfectly suited for me. My husband had to gamble a bit more because he could not choose a genre but he got three different kinds of books and loved all of them! The experience we had while opening the package was better than I had imagined when ordering, so much love and thought went into preparing it! It was one of the best mystery boxes I got so far and I really recommend^^

Greetings and good wishes
The Mad Hattress

Category: Mystery Box, Review | 2 Comments on A Blind Date With A Book
February 4

The Funny Mystery Box

Mystery Boxes are a tricky thing. Are they just a clever way for shops to get rid of their unwanted products, none wants to buy? Or are they a cool gift idea for others or even for yourself to get really surprised once in a while? The “Funny Mystery Box” was being sold on the website OhDeer and it was the first of its kind I’ve ever tried. Let’s see how it went 😉

Image of the artsy cover the box came in with diffrent doodles of hands doing creative things like sticking washitape, cutting paper, drawing lines and so on.

I actually bought the mystery box without knowing anything about it. I was scrolling through the website in search of something completely different and the funny box appeared. It was even on sale and because I was always interested in trying something like that out, of course, I had to buy it! But the only thing I knew about it was the fact that “contents will make me giggle” and that it was normally priced around 80€, but I got it for around 20€. Because it was sold by OhDeer and I spend quite some time on their website, I was prepared for anything from a sock, greetings cards with funny quotes on them up to even a cactus. And here is what I’ve got:

Inside look of the box, with two prints(one is not really visible) one is of a fortune chookie with a paper that says "Don't be a dick", tweo sets of diffrently colored graphite pencils, a read soaps that says "Dirty Bitch", two pins, a note book that says "Awake-ish" and a mystery looking bottle.

I was actually a bit surprised that for a mystery box for about 80€ I would get only get about 10 items. Of course the questions is how much would the things cost if I would buy them each on its own, so I went back in the site and tried to find them.
The B**B enamel pin was nowhere to be found on the site as a normal pin, but I did find it combined with a greeting card for 4,48€. I had the same problem and the same result for the NERD pin, so 4,48€ each.
The pencils are normal pencils but they have different quotes written onto them. For the wizard pencils, you would get spells like “Expelliarmus” or sentences like “Dobby is free!” and the Crackin’ pens had quotes like “I have had some wines” and “Alright, sugar t*ts?”. Again I was not able to find the exact ones but other pencils sets like this in the shop cost 5,61€.
The dirty b*tch soap was the first item I actually found on the website and it costs exactly 4,48€. It’s a Fight Club inspired soap bar smelling like roses with some glitter in it. But I kinda like the idea and what they wrote on the back of the box: “You dirty b*tch; time to wash away those naughty actions […] Clean yourself up and your act! “
Total Eclipse of the Fart Lavatory Mist seems to be the priciest item I got at 10,14€. It sounds kinda epic and seems to be a fragrance spray to chase away bad smells like a fart. I have not tried it yet, but I have high hopes for it xD
The Awake-ish A4 Notebook was 5,61€ again and it’s basically what you would expect. It has some preprinted columns for the date, things to remember, and some columns to reflect your day. It’s not the kind of notebook I like to use, but there is nothing wrong with it.
I was not able to find the exact prints but on their site prints like those vary in price between 8-20€ and let’s face it those are not that great. One is even just some not very motivational text, at least I can kinda laugh about the fortune cookie. But I still don’t know if I would pay 10€ for any of them o_O
The last item I got is a DIY photo frame for 4,25€, which makes your pictures look like a comic strip. Basically, it just aligns them properly and gives you the option of putting some speech bubbles on them, making it look kinda authentic. There are two strips in that package and they are both magnetic, so you could technically put them on your fridge if you want. That’s at least pretty handy.

Image of the product "my comic life" that consists of a comicstrip with 3 example pictures and unfilled speechbubbles in diffrent shapes and a marker on the side.

If I am generous and grand the prints 16€(which I would not pay for them) and count everything together I end up at a price of 60,66€, which I am actually pretty surprised about. I would not have counted the items to be over 30€ maybe 40€. That’s why I am a bit disappointed to be honest, I was just looking forward to more stuff or at least more interesting stuff? But there is something I have to praise OhDeer for, which is how they dealt with the other things being inside the package. Instead of taking old newspapers, or even buying new stuff like bubblewrap, they just shredded an old cardboard box that might have been used for shipping stuff to them. I really appreciate the reclyling^^

Just a picture of the packacking from the inside, which seems to be an old package that has gone through a shredder.

My final verdict on this box is not as great as I would have hoped. With mystery boxes, you always have the risk of getting stuff you don’t need or don’t want. At least some of the items in here are things to keep and they did manage to make me giggle a bit like promised! So I don’t want to say the items are bad in general, have bad quality, or are not fitting the theme, they are, but I just would not have paid the 80€ for it, if I would not have seen it in the sale. I just don’t see the price as justified. Just look at the other boxes OhDeer puts out, where I would pay about 15€ for one box and would get so much more for the price. I just don’t get why this box gives me the exact opposite feeling, it’s not made for the customer to enjoy, but for the shop to dispose of unwanted stuff. Maybe it was just this box and other ones are better, maybe I will try one of their boxes again in the future. But this one just did not really live up to the hype.

Greetings and good wishes
The Mad Hattress

Category: Mystery Box, Review | LEAVE A COMMENT
January 30

Papergang Box January

For all of you who don’t know what Papergang is, it’s a monthly subscription service that ships from the UK by OhDeer. They work together with a different artist every month to create exclusive stationery items like pens, notebooks, greetings cards, and so on. Because it’s shipping from the UK and I live in Germany, with COVID-19 and the Brexit going on, the box took a while to get to me. But I don’t think it’s the company’s fault, it’s just something to keep in mind when you want to begin a subscription too, while not living in the UK yourself. The Januarys box took about a month to get to me and that’s what it looks like:

Cover of the Papergang Box from January 2021 with diffrent cutre animals such a bird, grasshopers and a cat together with some simply drawn flowers, leafes and fruits.

It was hard not to get spoilered for the contents because I follow the Papergang on Instagram and when the first boxes arrive at the customers’ houses they will most likely repost their stories. So it was not so much of a mystery box this month for me, but I will try to keep it a mystery as much as I can for February. This time they collaborated with the artist Lenja Lorkowski to make five different items: 3 pencils with quotes on them in foil paper, a golden sharpener, a block of sticky notes in the form of a sliced apple, a planner, and a print. They also include a little info sheet every time, about what’s inside and who designed it. This time on the back of the sheet there was a big picture with the illustrations used on the planner, to color in^^ Also a sheet and a QR-Code for Origami 🙂

A look at what's inside the Papergang box: an art print of a simple flower with the text "where flowers bloom, so does hope", three graphite pencils in diffrent colors, a golden sharpener, a planner with the design from the box cover and a sticky not block that looks like a sliced apple.

I was mostly looking forward to the box because of the planner, which hopefully helps me to get a bit more organized this year xD I really like how it’s designed on the inside with a for a to-do list, a timetable, notes and you even have some space for doodling 😉 The pencils feel like good quality, but also rather normal pencils which were probably put into the package so that you could start writing in your planer ASAP. I don’t really get why they would give me a pencil for that, I never write with them because they smudge so much. I would have liked some kind of pen better, but all in all, there is nothing wrong with the pencils and I appreciate the sharpener because I always lose though for some reason o_O

The inside of the planner with lines and checkmarks for a to-do list, key tasks some free lines and space for doodles.

The print was something that really divided the community, at least that’s what I gathered from the Instagram posts about it xD The problem is, that most people were expecting more stationary items in their box and can’t really use the print for anything. They would have liked a pen better or even a small notebook, something to really use not to only hang on their walls. But I also read about some people repurposing the print as some kind of big postcard, writing something on the back and gifting it to friends. I don’t really mind the print so much and really like the idea of writing something on it, but if I could choose between having another print in the next box or having more stationery in it, I would choose the stationery. But I guess that’s a personal preference, if it would have been a print with say galaxy stuff on it, I would love it and certainly hung it somewhere, which is what some people actually did with it 😉

My final verdict on my first ever Papergang box is maybe a bit compromised by me already knowing what was inside xD But aside from that fact, I really appreciate that they put everything into the box so that you could use it right away. There were pencils to write in the planner and even a sharpener for them. I really love the exclusiveness of the items, knowing that an artist sat down to create them. It’s just a different feeling compared to other mystery boxes, which use stuff everyone else could get to. I really appreciate the effort that has gone into it and even if the theme was not 100% for me, I am really looking forward to the next boxes, hoping to really get surprised by the contents this time xD

Greetings and good wishes
The Mad Hattress

Category: Mystery Box, Papergang, Review | LEAVE A COMMENT
January 25

A Review About DARK

The following will be a mostly spoiler free Review of the show DARK, to give you an idea what’s it like and if it’s a series for you. DARK is streaming on Netflix.

Offical DARK Promo Picture that shows a boy in a yellow coat looking into a dark cave and it looks to be mirrored above.

Where to watch: Only Netflix (because it’s a Netflix Original)
Published: 1 December 2017 – 27 June 2020
Length: 3 seasons (concluded), 26 Episodes with a running time between 44-73 minutes
Genre: Mystery, Sci-Fi
Main place of action: Winden (A made-up town in Germany)

What is it about?
Winden is a small town, quiet and boring for most of its inhabitants. Especially the teens feel trapped there, knowing everyone and every place. But things change when in late autumn 2019 children starting to get missing. They are not killed, no bodies can be found, but there is also no trace of them whatsoever. Things are getting worse when adults are disappearing too. But finding them reveals secrets that change everything forever.

Was it good?
DARK is very different and not what I had expected at all! It’s a Netflix Original but produced in Germany with german actors. But it’s not like all the german productions I have seen up till now, it’s better, to say the least. You should be all up for mysteries and solving them because without the will to do that DARK is not for you. It’s one of those series where you understand what’s going on, in later episodes, fully understanding everything at the end.

The story is told through 3 seasons because symbolism is a big thing in DARK. It’s not a show where there is a small story every episode, like say a murder that has to be solved and it’s not exactly concluded at the season finales. You can only connect the dots to what’s exactly going on when finishing the last episode. It has some more sci-fi elements than the description might show, but I don’t want to spoil the details. It gets more and more complicated with every hour you watch. Every answer gives the viewer even more questions.

Those questions are mostly solved at the end, but I still had to watch some videos on youtube, explaining everything. I don’t think that’s because I did not pay enough attention while watching, I would say it’s pretty normal after watching DARK for the first time. Just because much is happening in a short amount of time and you can’t explain everything in detail, without cutting on the story part. It’s not that there is no explanation at all, I would just say watching the whole thing once or twice would best for getting to the root of everything.

The characters are all very interesting and have their unique life stories which you get to see told onscreen. There is even a deaf girl using german sign language with her family which I found pleasantly surprising! Of course there are either subtitles or people speaking while signing, so you will understand everything.

Final Verdict
DARK is a complex mystery series with very competent actors and writers that accomplishes its goal of keeping the viewer invested in what’s going on, while also confusing him with almost every bit of information that he gets. If you are into that, DARK is a series that provides enough things to think about, to use post it’s to write down important information, even tracing back whole family trees. Some say it’s a masterpiece, I would say there is at least one paradox at the end, worth taking half a point of the finals score. But 4 1/2 out of 5 popcorn bags is more than a german production ever scored for me, so I highly recommend it!

Greetings and good wishes
The Mad Hattress

Category: Review, TV/Web-Series | LEAVE A COMMENT
January 23

Mad Hattress and Music

I wanted the first few posts to be about me, about stuff I like to do, things I like to watch and music I like to listen to. So that you will get to know me better 😉 Music is the next thing on the list for me. I grew up mostly listening to pop songs on the radio, but I only liked the english ones, german music is not for me most of the time xD But I also really liked Indie stuff, Bastille, Imagine Dragons, and The Score, some of which were just not played on the radio at that time. I guess you all know “Pompeii” and “Radioactive” by now, because they have been played so often, but do you also know “Anchor” or “Friction”?

My husband listens to… other music xD He is a fan of metal songs, but also listens to folklore a lot, even bands that are clothed and choose their song topics fitting to a medieval setting. And some of the songs he likes, I got to like to. For example, I like to listen to old folklore songs by Santiano (even in german sometimes xD), elvish songs by Oonagh(really recommending her) and I even have some songs by Heilung I listen to from time to time. So his special taste has rubbed off on me at least a bit 😉 But there are also songs I really like and he does not really enjoy listing to!

I was always a fan of nightcore music, even though I can’t tell you how I got to listen to it for the first time. I guess it just popped up on my YouTube start screen and I clicked 😛 For all of you who don’t know what Nightcore is, it’s basically a remix style in which the song is speed up and the vocals are pitched. That oftentimes makes the songs sound like anime girls could have sung them, which is why it’s popular to have some kind of anime-style picture in the background of a nightcore music video. It’s not as high pitched as you might think now, if you are interested you should just type nightcore in your YouTube search bar and listen to some of the recommended songs^^

I can’t tell you what’s so fascinating about that style of music to me, but in most cases, when I find a song I like, I will go look for the nightcore version of it ASAP. And most of the time, I will find the nightcore version even better than the original! But sometimes it also happened that I just could not found a nightcore version or the ones available did not sound that good to me. Back in the day that would only leave me disappointed, but nowadays it is actually an opportunity because I have an own nightcore channel on YouTube now! It’s called “Mad Hattress Nightcore” if you want to take a look 😉

It’s hard to keep uploading on a frequent basis because of spending most of my time with university stuff lately. But it also can be hard to find a new song to do, when most songs are already been made into nightcore… Still, when I find new songs and get to do my thing, I always enjoy it and I am really proud. I actually started it while finding more time staying at home during corona times, but I plan to keep it up after too.

If you’d like you can tell me what music you like to listen to. Please tell me if you have known about nightcore before and if not, how it sounds to you^^

Greetings and good wishes
The Mad Hattress

Category: Music | LEAVE A COMMENT
January 19

Sign Language Myths

I thought about what to write on my blog, about my experiences on Slowly maybe or maybe about writing in general… but then I thought about something else: Sign Language. I actually study sign languages at University for about 2 years now and there is much that I have learned. First and foremost, I have learned, that there are many myths surrounding sign languages and deaf culture, because it’s not taught in schools at all o_O So I wanted to give a brief look into the first things that I have learned in my 4 semesters.

1. Sign Language is not international

There is not one sign language that all deaf people learn, there are actually as many sign languages as there are spoken ones. I live in Germany so I am learning german sign language called DGS(Deutsche Gebärdensprache), in America, they sign in ASL(American Sign Language) and in the UK they sign in BSL(British Sign Language) just to name a few. There are also dialects, like in spoken languages, but that’s another topic 😉

2. Not all deaf people can lip read

Of course, deaf people have to face many issues in their lives, such as having to communicate with hearing people who can’t sign. They try to adapt to them and they also do that by lip-reading, but that can’t help them to understand everything. Actually, you can only understand about 20% of a conversation by only looking at the lips. That’s because most of our vowels look the same because the sound is often created inside of our mouth with the teeth, the tongue, and other organs. There are some people who have a talent for lip reading, fun fact there is even a deaf football fan who can understand what swearwords german football coaches are using and twitters about it xD But just keep in mind, that not everybody can have such a talent and if you can’t sign, try to write your words down, when communicating with a deaf person.

3. Deaf People CAN drive

That’s a very strange thing to talk about because it was never a thought that came to my mind, but I remember that it was being asked about a lot in the first semester. People wanted to know how deaf people drive or if they are even allowed to do it at all! Maybe that comes from the fact that as a driver, you know how important sound can be. I don’t have a license myself, but I do see my husband turning down the radio every time he sees warning lights, so he can concentrate better. However deaf people have no problem driving and can get a license as everyone else does. The only problem one of our professors told us about, is hearing sirens. But thank god warning lights exist so, most of the time it not a big deal 😉

4. Sign Language not only uses hands for communication

The first thing you think about when you hear sign language might be interpreters on TV. You think about seeing them in the little boxes when live speeches air, but what you remember about them later is just the movement of the hands, right? But sign language is not only about that. To communicate deaf people use a lot of facial expressions, storytelling techniques, and in some sign languages(like the german DGS) the oral image that the lips form is important too. Combining them is one of the reasons why sign languages are so complex and my husband wanted me to include that 😉

I think that’s enough for today^^
If you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments!
Greetings and good wishes
The Mad Hattress

Category: Sign Language | LEAVE A COMMENT
January 19

My Slowly Story

The following text was written by me and published in the Slowly Story Tab 😉 It’s about my experience in the nearly 3 years I was a member at Slowly and I think it’s a great way to introduce myself to all of you. For those of you who don’t know: Slowly is a really great App where you can write letters and find penpals from all over the world digitally. And now enjoy!

You could say Slowly led me down a rabbit hole, which ended in an emotional Rollercoaster xD

I am using the app for almost over two years now and I have met so many different people and learned about so many different cultures. I would have never had the courage to just speak to someone on the street, form a friendship and talk about so many things.

You could say I am kind of a hermit person, I am not living in a cave, but I am mostly not leaving my home. I feel safe here like I am in control and like I could do anything. But that perspective changes a lot when I have to leave my apartment. So I am not going out that often, which makes finding new friends very hard. But Slowly gave me the chance to “come out of my shell” without leaving my save space, which is just a great opportunity for me.

And I took the chance to talk to people from all over the world! It was a great experience for me, sharing thoughts, talking about the daily lives of people and just getting so many letters from so many friends : ) I have even formed bounds outside of Slowly, I have started a “real” PenPalship with a girl from Italy, we have sent each other written letters and postcards. It was very nice^^
But I also have met some downs while staying on this App. Some people just don’t seem as invested as I am or maybe I just take it too personally sometimes… But remember that girl from Italy? She was going on a vacation almost a year ago and has never talked to me since :/ There are multiple people, which I have exchanged letters with, who just vanished without any explanation. Like they just deleted their account or even stayed on Slowly but kinda didn’t answer to me at all anymore. So I have experienced a lot of ghosting on this App too…

Why am I still on here then? Well because I think sometimes good things can outway bad things. And even if some friendships don’t last long here, I am always happy to meet new people : ) I am grateful for every letter I get and even if I am feeling down because of a lost friendship, there is always a new one coming shortly after. So I just want to say thank you, for making this app and connecting me to the rest world through digital letters^^ It really means a lot to me and I guess I am not the only one thinking like that ; )

Greetings and good wishes from Germany
The Mad Hattress

Category: Slowly | LEAVE A COMMENT