Month: June 2013

geek style · the biblio files

Once Upon a Fable

Nina Penalosa4 Comments

outfit details – dress: Fun & Flirt // necklace: Once Upon a Smorgasbord // belt: Xhileration // watch: Timex x Disney // glasses: Brooks Brothers (buy here) // boots: Rampage (buy similar here) // purse: Kate Spade (buy here) // keychain: Arpakasso

Hello kitties! I didn’t realize it’s been well over a week since my last blog post. Whoops! The the blog negligence is unintentional — as I’ve mentioned before,  posts may be sparse as I’m balancing out two parttime jobs, but I’ve been finding myself getting reaquainted with a pastime that I feel I have been neglecting for far too long: reading.

I love reading and despite the fact that I’m a reading tutor,  I’ve been having difficulty focusing on the written word as a recreational act and I find that rather bothersome. To ease back into it, I binge read volumes 15-18 of Fables, a graphic novel series I got into 3 or 4 years ago. Of course it’s easy to breeze through a graphic novel in an hour or two, but it still counts as reading! And if you haven’t heard of Fables, you MUST look into it if you’re into fairytales, folklore, mythology, and Once Upon a Time. It’s about a group of  characters from all walks of literature, particularly fairytales and folklore, who seek refuge in New York City and build their own community called Fabeltown after a force known as the Adversary  exiles them from their homeland. READ IT. IT’S AWESOME.

And I just finished reading Neil Gaiman’s latest novel The Ocean at the End of the Lane. It is absolutely beautiful and magical and dark and just simply amazing! I don’t want to get too into though since I feel like it’d be more appropriate to  blog abou it after I go to his singing in Santa Rosa next Saturday. That’s right. I’MMA MEET MR. NEIL GAIMAN!!!! ERMERGERD. ERMERGERD. /fangirling

Shall I talk about my outfit though, since this is a personal style blog? Okay, cool. After putting it together I realized it paid a teeny tiny nod to Fables with my Snow White necklace (one of my favorite characters in the series), my beloved Kate Spade typewriter bag with the little Arpakasso keychain, and my red cowboy boots. There’s a particular extension of Fabletown known as The Farm where all the furry fairytale characters live and at one point in the series a scribe comes to investigate. I won’t say much more about that because you need to read it!

Next up on the reading list might be Stardust by Neil Gaiman. I don’t think I’m quite ready to leave the world of science fiction and fantasy just yet. What’s on your reading list this summer?

Cheers,
Nina

Uncategorized

Happy Daddy’s Day!

Nina PenalosaLeave a comment

I just wanted to wish all the daddies out there a Happy Father’s Day!!! Whether your child be young, old, unborn, or fluffy, I hope you have an amazing day with your loved ones 🙂 <– I think I said the same thing on Mother’s Day, but all the same, I do mean it!

In honor of Father’s Day here are some pictures with my own dad, grandpa (who I call Papang), and Tim — because he’s the father of my fluffy child!

Cheers,
Nina

geek style · pup life

Huckleberry Blues

Nina Penalosa1 Comment

outfit details – skirt/shirt/belt: Mossimo (buy skirt here) // horse brooch: vintage // straw hat: H&M // backpack: don’t recall, but it’s actually for kids! // shoes: Blowfish // glasses: Derek Cardigan // Duffy Bear keychain: Disneyland (buy here)

Hello kitties!

Summer school started up at the junior college I tutor at, so I’ve been adjusting to waking up at the ass crack of dawn to make sure I get there by 8 am Monday-Thursday. So far my body has taken a liking to passing out as soon as possible once it realizes it’s at home. I forgot how amazing naps are! Except I hate when I doze off well after the sunset because I feel all kinds of discombobulated. Like, “OMG, it’s 8:15! Am I late for work?” Also, where the hell did June come from? Wasn’t it just January? What is happening? How are we at the halfpoint of 2013 already? I haven’t accomplished many the of the goals I set out for myself to achieve this year, but I figure I still have 6 more months to change a few things.

Anywho, let’s talk about my outfit! I wore this last week when I hung out with my bestest friend, Shanice. We went out for a long walk with Rory by a levy, had ice cream, and did some shopping (at Target of course. Where else would we go?). And speaking of Shanice, she’s graduating today! YAAAY!!! Unfortunately I have to work during the ceremony, so I can’t witness her workin’ the cap and gown, but we shall meet up later for ice cream. We love ice cream, okay?

I was in a bit of a Mumford & Sons mood when I threw this outfit together. Not sure if you can tell considering the fact that my backpack has Hello Kitty buttons representing my initials on them. And yes, N.P.H. are my actual initials. That’s not there for Neil Patrick Harris (even though I do love him). When I think of Mumford & Sons, I think of old, rustic, antique items. Not really sure why. So I put this newish-but-old-looking straw hat on my noggin to protect me from the sun, but it was crazy windy that day and kept flying off my head. And my skirt has engineer stripes on them, which says “old timey” and “Mumford & Sons-y” to me. I think my outfit would’ve looked cuter with a pair of brown cowboy boots, but since we were going on a walk I opted for something more practical.

The horse pin I’m wearing on my shirt is a flea market find. I remember digging through a bag full of vintage costume jewelry and had to stop myself from doing a happy dance when I found it. Gotta keep it cool at the flea market, y’know? If a seller can see you like it, they’ll most likely try to get top dollar from you! I don’t remember how much I paid for it, but I recall it was a pretty good deal considering that I got a few other things from the seller too.

Alright, enough blabbering from me. I gotta go get ready for work! I hope you kitties have a lovely weekend ahead of you >^__^<

Cheers,
Nina

PS: Here’s some Mumford & Sons for your listening and viewing pleasure 🙂

geek style

Wishful Wednesdays #2: Galactic Edition

Nina Penalosa4 Comments

Princess Leia Art Nouveau iPhone case // “Having a Blast Off” necklace // “Heart and Solar System” dress // AT-AT necklace by Unpossible Cuts // Lightsaber sunglasses // Felt Dalek purse by Kru Kru Studio

Last week I stumbled upon the most fuggingly epic dress I have ever laid my eyes on! Of course I found it on ModCloth so of course I can barely can’t really afford it. I mean I could, but at the same time I’m like, “Girl, save yo monies!” Watch me buy it later. I’m usually all about floral dresses, but how could I not fall in love with this gorgeous dress that has the solar system dispersed all over it? How, I ask you. HOW?! It immediately made me think of all spacey things I’m uber geeky about like Doctor Who and Star Wars, thus I based this edition of Wishful Wednesdays with galactic geeky items!

Karen Hallion is one of my favorite artists and I really dig this Princess Leia art nouveau print she did entitled “La Dauphine Aux Alderaan.” You can find it on her Society6 store as an iPhone case [pictured above], t-shirt, hoodie, pillow, etc, etc, etc. Perhaps I should feature her on Curator’s Corner one of these days. I seriously need to start that series up again! Maybe this weekend. No promises though. 0_0

I spotted the Lightsaber sunglasses at Hot Topic last week when I hung out with Shanice. I just remember being in the middle of a sentence and stopping when I saw them and immediately picked them up and said, “These sunglasses are f*cking Lightsabers!” AMAZING. They light up too! And how precious is the wooden AT-AT necklace by Unpossible Cuts? It comes in a bunch of different colors, including a soft pink shade that reminds me of strawberry ice cream. I love the little heart cutout on it too. It makes the dark side look so sweet 🙂

Another item I spotted on ModCloth is this golden rocket necklace. It reminds me of Buzz Lightyear ❤

And last but not least, my geeky galactic wish list wouldn’t be complete without something representing my love for Doctor Who! This felt Dalek purse is by Kru Kru Studio. They have tons of quirky shaped purses that are insanely detailed including the Beatles’ yellow submarine, film reels, a chess board, the TARDIS, jars of jam, and soooo much more!

What’s on your wish list as of late?

Cheers,
Nina

geek style

IT’S A [FLORAL] TRAP!

Nina Penalosa17 Comments

outfit details – dress + ring: ModCloth (buy here and here // shoes: American Rag // glasses: Derek Cardigan (buy here) // hair flower: Icing (buy here) // necklace: Rockets and Rainbows (buy here)

Hello kitties!

I’m going to start calling you guys kitties now, is that okay? Yeah? Okay, cool. I knew you’d dig it! >^__^<

It’s weird how having a part time job manages to keep you away from certain things. For example: this blog ‘o mine! I’ve also been working on a special project for my supervisor’s daughter’s birthday party t00, but I managed to sneak in a little photo shoot before I went to work the other day. And I damn near had a panic attack when my tripod broke on me AGAIN. But I managed to fix it once more, so let’s hope it stays that way. *crosses fingers — only on one hand though because apparently it’s bad luck to cross them on both and I’m superstitious like that*

Anyhow, for years I have drooled over the beautiful dresses on ModCloth, and now that I have a steady paycheck coming in every Friday I found that I was finally able to [barely] afford one! I purchased this pretty mint and pinkie peachy floral number for my cousin’s wedding which took place a couple weeks ago. This also happens to be the dress I put on my Wishful Wednesdays post last month. Look at me, making all my wishes come true! I’m super excited that I was able to get this dress in my possession because it keeps selling out pretty quickly! *happy dance* ModCloth literally has one more left in stock (at the time of this post anyhow)!  I paired the dress with my purple t-strap heels from American Rag and this incredibly fabulous Admiral Ackbar locket created by the uber geektastic Jennifer Landa! 🙂 I brought a vintage cameo necklace with me as another option, but when I asked what necklace to wear Admiral Ackbar was the unanimous victor. Florals + SciFi is always a winning combination!

I also wore this outfit to work and it took everything in me to not spin around in circles while standing around waiting to greet customers because this dress seriously has some crazy amazing flow to it! And it also makes me feel like a princess since it kind of reminds me of the dress Giselle made out of curtains in Enchanted.

Posts here may be sparse during June and July since I picked up a lot of hours for my other part time job as a tutor. I’m gonna have so much fun balancing everything out. Yaaaay adulthood! /sarcasm

I’m going to do my very best on updating Le Fancy Geek though! I hope you kitties stick with me 🙂

Cheers,
Nina