Introducing – Our Week of Star Wars! A new regular series where we share our Star Wars fun from the past week. Star Wars is a part of our daily lives, and we love to share our Star Wars joy with other fans. Here we share Star Wars events, collectibles, gaming, and anything else that we enjoyed this week.

This week’s episode features new collectibles by Hasbro and Funko, Carrie Fisher’s birthday, SWTOR updates, and of course the latest episode of Andor!

Check out the full video and keep reading for a photo gallery below –

Check out this week’s events –

• Carrie Fisher’s birthday

• Hasbro Black Series Princess Leia lightsaber

• Glitter For Carrie – ROTJ Princess Leia inspired glitter hairstyle

• New Padme’ Amidala inspired outfits in SWTOR

• Micro Galaxy Squadron Razor Crest

• Obi-Wan Kenobi series Droid Factory 4-figure set from Shop Disney

• Star Wars mugs from Kmart NZ

• Micro Galaxy Squadron mystery boxes

• Spoiler chat – Andor episode 7 – SWTOR Tatooine

The post Our Week of Star Wars appeared first on Villa Varykino.

Today is October 21st here in NZ – Carrie Fisher’s birthday. Instead of dwelling on the fact she is no longer with us, I want to celebrate her legacy and the lasting impact Carrie Fisher and Princess Leia has had on my life.

As well as meeting Carrie in person at conventions and collecting Princess Leia merchandise, I also enjoy reading about Carrie – as written by others, and in her own words. I recently read Todd Fisher’s autobiography My Girls, where he shares many memories of his sister Carrie, including her struggles.

I’ve only read one of Carrie’s own books in recent years – The Princess Diarist, which was released just before she died. It was hard to read her words after she passed away. I admit I held off for a while, I finally read it a year later – and it’s the only book of hers that I’ve read since her passing. But of course it was good to hear more of her own stories, particularly of her time filming Star Wars.

So, to celebrate her birthday this year, I decided it was time to continue reading Carrie’s books. Thankfully, she wrote quite a few – both fiction and non-fiction. I’ve read her older autobiographies in the past, but I haven’t read her highly acclaimed novels like Postcards From The Edge.

A trip to the local library, and I came home with an armful of Carrie Fisher’s books. I’ve already started reading Postcards From The Edge, a fictional novel but it’s inspired by people and events in her life (I’m keen to watch the film adaptation soon too).

I’ll be spending as much of my free time in the next few weeks and months catching up on reading her stories. I enjoy Carrie’s writing style, and if the first few chapters are anything to go by, I’ll be curling up on the sofa for hours, unable to put her books down. Of course we all wish Carrie was still here, but her legacy lives on – I know she will be an inspiration to me for the rest of my life.

#CarrieOnForever #ForeverOurPrincess

The post In Carrie’s Words appeared first on Villa Varykino.

This week I finally sat down and read Todd Fisher’s autobiography My Girls – A Lifetime With Carrie And Debbie. Todd’s story follows his life with mother Debbie Reynolds and sister Carrie Fisher – a unique insider perspective on these famous women. From childhood, to a year after their passing, the book follows his life and his close relationship with his family. A loving and honest look at the troubles both women faced, and their incredible strength.

No such word as ‘can’t‘ in our family.

Todd Fisher

I don’t read as much as I want to (as I’m sure many of us find these days), but I knew I had make time to read this book. I settled in and soon found that I’d read for hours. It was an easy read, full of incredible stories – it may sound cliche’ but I highly recommend it to every Carrie Fisher fan. The book also includes wonderful family photos scattered throughout, and in two glossy inserts.

Although the book was first published last year, I wasn’t sure I was emotionally ready to read about Carrie’s last days – now that I have, I am glad I waited. I have read Carrie’s autobiographies, including The Princess Diarist which was published just before her death (and I read afterwards) – but there was an added emotional weight in Todd’s book, an honest behind-the-scenes account of her struggles, which shares his family’s grief with the world.

I’m still not sure why Carrie’s death can still, after several years, easily make me cry when I read or talk about it. Perhaps one day I’ll be better able to articulate what Carrie Fisher and Princess Leia mean to me. In the mean time, she will always always be my hero and inspiration. In the book, Todd shares that Carrie had this quote from the film Heartbreak Ridge painted over her bed –

Adapt! Overcome! Persevere!

As soon as I finished reading the book, I printed out that quote, with a silhouette of Princess Leia underneath, and pinned it to my bedroom wall. A daily reminder of Carrie and her legacy of inspiring me through both her on-screen characters, and her own personal journey.

Thank you Todd, for sharing your story with us.

The post Book Review – My Girls, by Todd Fisher appeared first on Villa Varykino.