The Best Candy Collaborations & New Flavours of 2021 (So Far!)

As we all know, 2021 has been rough. So much has been happening behind the scenes here at The Small Adventurer – hence the lack in posts 😢 – and with my latest update post now being out of date/incorrect with certain things going in life, I’ve decided to just keep my blog for mostly content and for things that have already happened so I don’t feel like I’m lying to you guys when things fall through.

Anyway, even with all the bad things that 2021 has brought with it (I even went through my first earthquake! Which is crazy considering I live in Australia – so of course it was small – but it was so bizarre! I’ve now been through fires, floods and an earthquake!), it’s also brought some cool things as well, such as a few really awesome food company collaborations and some really unique confectionery releases too – which is what today’s post is all about!

I’ve tested and reviewed some really fun and strange company collaborations and just unique flavoured iconic treats and am going to share my thoughts with you all! I had a lot of fun preparing this post because it meant I got to eat a lot of sweets 😋 and the year’s not over yet so hopefully even more fun, delicious things get released before 2021 is over!

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Marshmallow Flavoured Maltesers

The initial taste was just a plain Malteaser, but afterwards you are left with a sweet hint of a marshmallow in your mouth, which is what lead me to believe that it was the inside that was flavoured (I think most people would guess that, right?) – but I was wrong.

It actually states on the bag that the CHOCOLATE on the outside is marshmallow flavoured, which I think is a very interesting take, and certainly thinking outside the box, but I think made them have the same issues as the bubblegum M&Ms that I review below: chocolate is a powerful taste, and can overpower any over flavour you’re trying to add, unless you add a lot of it.

You could definitely taste more of the marshmallow with these guys than you could with the bubblegum M&Ms, but still I think these would have been more successful if the middle had been flavoured, or would have had a marshmallow-y, gooey centre. So, a fun idea, but not a very overwhelming end product. 4/10.

Iced Coffee Milk Bottles from Allen x Oak

Allen’s Milk Bottles can’t go wrong in my eyes. I will always love the originals, and last year I was buying their chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla malt versions WEEKLY, and this year they have brought me even more joy: iced coffee flavoured milk bottles! It’s clear that Oak and Allen’s are two companies that are destined to collaborate, and I hope they never stop, as these lollies are just as delicious as Oak’s iced coffee – without keeping you up all night! (Unless you get easily hopped up on sugar, that is.) 8/10.

Update, Update, Update

Yes, I am still alive! I do apologise for the severe lack of content on this lack over the last few months. You’d think with my state being in constant lockdown, I’d have all the time in the world to create things and write posts for you, but I’ve been taking some time for myself lately to live my life and make decisions that some people find confusing, but that make ME really happy, so ☺️☺️☺️

I do really miss making things for the blog, and I still have a huge list of projects to create, and even some half-made things at home, I’ve just got to go there to finish them… I might/am hopefully moving in with my best friend and her boyfriend at the end of this month/next month, but with lockdown and no chances to look at any places, and already being rejected by one place that we liked, who knows when that will actually happen 😔 Once I move, though, I hope to get posts going more regularly, as we’ll be moving into a nicer, more brightly lit place with better backgrounds and backdrops, which will be heavennnnn for photos!

Until then, we’re 11 days into August, which means we’ve missed some fun days that you could celebrate with some of my older posts: Fool-Proof Ways to Bring Happiness Into Your Life for Happiness Happen Month, DIY Ice Cream Sandwich Pincushion for Ice Cream Sandwich Day, Mini “Watermelon” No-Bake Cheesecakes for Two for Watermelon Day, my entire Sailor Moon category for International Sailor Moon Day, DIY Lighthouse Money Box for Lighthouse Day, How Not to Hate Your Job for Happiness Happens Day, my books category for Book Lovers Day, and Homemade Bubblegum Gummy Bears for Bubblegum Day.

LATELY I HAVE:

♡ WATCHED: A Kid Like Jake (love, love, LOVE seeing Jim Parsons in more serious roles! Such an important movie too), Always Be My Maybe (so good and funny, I can see why everyone loved it. Randall Park is always fantastic), Gifted (interesting to see both Chris Evans and Jenny Slate in serious roles, but I thought they did great. Mckenna Grace really stole the show though), Invincible (loved it, very shocking, did not expect a lot of it, can’t wait to see more), Seinfeld (FINALLY started watching it and am liking SO much more than I thought I would! Already up to season 6!), watched all 3 seasons of Stranger Things and cried my eyes out the whole time because I loved it, watched Sword Art Online season one and really liked it but decided that I liked that ending and am going to stop there, Loki (the ending really shocked me – well, the Sylvie part), Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (I loved the original as a kid and adored the re-make too!), and I’ve also re-started Friends because I’m watching it with someone who hasn’t seen it before, which is ALWAYS the best!

In April…

We’re in the fifth month of the year, guys. The FIFTH. That means we’re almost halfway through! That’s insane! I’m almost 25 😨 People still mistake for a teenager, for crying out loud.

Time is just a terrifying thing, and writing these posts will always make me more aware of how fast it moves, but they also are the only thing that helps me reflect on the month that has passed, and all the things that I was able to do within that month, and I did quite a lot in April!

Before I dive into the post though, I made a quick note that I forgot to include in last month’s post that at the end of March, a really nice customer told me after I served him that he loved my attitude. He said that he was a chef and knows many people who have bad attitudes and who can get very angry but that I was great, so that was awesome ☺️

Now, enough bragging about how good at my job I am, let me tell you about April! 👇

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TIDBITS FROM THE MONTH:

♡ Seizures are going awfully, as usual. I had 10 this month, which is three more than last month. I mentioned last month that my neurologist thinks that my new medication is worsening my seizures, and then decided to increase my dosage – and now I had more. Still, 7-10 a month is average for me, so it might not be the medication, it might just be me. I still had my commonly occurring 3 seizures in one day as well, so that was fun 🙄 Increasing my dosage also made me really nauseous for a few days, but luckily that passed. Other than that, nothing new to report.

♡ Went to an Emo Nite at a club with a group of friends on the second of the month, which was super fun! It was the second time I’ve been to one of them, and it definitely won’t be the last. Whilst I listen to a huuuuuge range of music, some of my favourite artists fit under the “emo” umbrella, such as Bring Me The Horizon, My Chemical Romance, Sleeping With Sirens, Pierce the Veil, A Day to Remember, Escape the Fate, etc. We even saw Kim Dracula there which was awesome, but we didn’t go say hi 😅

♡ I was lucky enough to get out of the house quite a bit this month! Lots of lunch and shopping dates with Amelia (which means bye bye money 💸). I also went to the Lastlings concent in Melbourne with Amelia and a few other friends which was AMAZING – Amy is just *breathtaking*, and SO talented! Afterwards, I went to another bar/club with two others which was a lot of fun ☺️

♡ Because I had SO many shopping trips with Amelia, I knew I had to do some de-clutters – and boy did I! I’ve donated, I think, at least 10 bags of belongings to Savers, and have more to go. I’ve also moved into a smaller bedroom in our unit, so some of my furniture will be going too.

♡ I actually got to visit Sovereign Hill this month, but due to my seizures, I cannot remember much of my trip at all 🙃 I remember the candy being super expensive and not that good 😅 BUT I did get to see a gold pour demonstration – which I actually remember – and that was pretty cool!

♡ Dollar Sweets sent along a package of their latest products for me to try! I’ll eventually share them on my Instagram, and hopefully incorporate a few of them into some recipes, but for now I’ll just link them for those who live in Australia. Their new products are available at Woolworths. I got sent a pack of their food colours, vanilla extract (which will ALWAYS be my favourite flavour, despite my extensive collection), lemon baking filling, raspberry baking filling, edible birthday cake icing sheet, and some black fondant – but there’s even MORE new, fun goodies to play around with! Just go check out the baking aisle at your local Woolworths store!

♡ I also went bouldering for the first time this month, and then multiple times after that! It’s super hard, and whilst I’m not scared of heights, and I AM scared of falling and smashing my teeth on the rocks 😂 I have zeeeeero strength in my arms, so pulling myself up is quite difficult, and some of the levels are super difficult for super short people like me, but it’s fun to hang out with the people who go. It’s part of tradition for everyone to go to McDonald’s afterwards too, which is also super fun. It’s been very enjoyable.