[Self-Rescuing] Birthday Princess

January 17, 2016 Nina Penalosa6 Comments

A long time ago (30 years exactly) in galaxy far, far away, I was born on the 12th of January.

OH MY GOD, YOU GUYS. I’M 30 NOW.

Like I mentioned in previous posts, I kicked off this brand new decade of life at the Happiest Place on Earth! I went from the 10th-12th, so I also got to celebrate my last day as a 20-something there too. When one celebrates their birthday, they should dress for the occasion — at least that’s what I believe. Since I knew I was heading to Disney, it only felt right to channel some princess vibes. Princess Leia was the obvious choice for my birthday outfit inspiration because Star Wars has taken over my life for the past few months. Duuuuh. How perfect is Her Universe‘s Leia inspired dress?! I also accessorized with a Han Solo necklace I made, a Chewbacca ring, a heart shaped pin with Darth Vader, and bracelets that say mine and Rory’s name in Aurebesh (which you can get made in Tomorrowland).

I got to meet Darth Vader when I went to Disneyland in November, but this time around I also got to meet Chewbacca too! And Boba Fett… who is a dick… so I shall not speak of him. We went to the Star Wars Launchbay where Darth and Chewie are the day before my birthday too, but I wanted to go back because I couldn’t miss the opportunity to take pictures with them in my Leia outfit! Meeting Darth Vader is scary as hell, you guys. When I went in he paced in front of me and sized me up, and then said that he sensed my allegiance to the Empire was very strong (because he saw my heart shaped Vader pin), but said to not let my judgement misguide me as he gestured towards the Han Solo necklace I was wearing. AH!! He’s so intimidating. As I was walking away the cast member said, “Congratulations, you have officially joined the Empire.” Weee! But then I got to go see Chewie and he gives hugs! He probably wouldn’t have hugged me if I wore my Vader pin, so I took it off. And the cast members on the Rebels side are much cheerier — they wished me a happy sun cycle while the Empire congratulated me on my anniversary of life and asked what my serial number was. Anyhow, wookiee hugs are fantastic because it’s like you’re hugging a really big dog on its hind legs. Chewie was also super stoked when I showed him my big ring with his face one it 😀 At first he gestured for me to stand on his right side, but I asked if I could stand on his left since that’s my good side (gotta know your good angles!), and the cast member told him that I want to show off my flower and then he looked at me and patted the flower on my head. HE’S SO CUTE OMG. ♥♥♥

I’ll be posting a few more things from my birthday trip to Disneyland, so stay tuned for more Vader awkwardness! 🙂

dress: Her Universe (buy here) | cardigan: Old Navy
shoes: Vans (buy here) | necklace: made by me (buy here)

(photos by my seester & Disneyland cast members)

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Birthday Wishes

January 7, 2013 Nina Penalosa6 Comments

My birthday is this Saturday! AHHH!!! My original plans to go to the Happiest Place on Earth fell through, so I won’t be dining with Minnie Mouse for a birthday brunch or scream to my heart’s content on the Tower of Terror *cries tears of sadness* But I do believe that the boyfriend and I will do some exploring out of town, possibly Sacramento. I’m not sure yet. I have a few days to figure it out. I just know that I want the consumption of cupcakes and/or macaroons to be involved!

Anywho, I thought it’d be fun to create a wish list for things I hope to get for my birthday. Just like the Christmas wish list I made last month, I don’t expect to get anything off this list. This is all for funsies 😀

1. Can’t Wait to Be Queen dress from ModCloth

You can’t really see from the picture above, but this dress has horse drawn carriages, horse shoes, and castles all over it! Isn’t it magical? Isn’t it stupendous?! I wanted to wear this dress so badly when I went to Disneyland for my 1yr anniversary in November, but it was either be cute-and-broke or have money to spend around the park. *sigh* Needless to say, I’ve been eyeing this dress for months. Oh, and it’s FINALLY on sale!

2. Gift cards

Who doesn’t love a gift card? I’d specifically like one or two from Joann and/or Michaels since I really need more craft supplies. I have all sorts of things planned out in my head for pieces I’d love to make for my Etsy store and myself!

3. Doctor Who: Adipose stress toy

I get stressed very easily and I love Doctor Who, so this a no brainer, right? Annnd… I think this would be a super awesome thing to have in hand when I attempt to make Adipose pendents out of clay!

These can be found at Think Geek and Hot Topic

4. Doctor Who: TARDIS socks

Tim got me the Doctor Who ankle sock set as an early birthday present and they are ridiculously fantastic! But the weather is still cold, so these knee-length TARDIS socks would be an ideal way to keep my feet and calves warm and wave my nerd flag all at the same time. 🙂

These lovely socks can be found at Hot Topic

5. Little Black Bag

I think Little Black Bag is a pretty awesome concept — you get to pick out 3-4 designer accessories (bags, jewelry, beauty products, etc), but first you take this quiz to see what your style is and then a “stylist” shows you some things you might like, and then you pick what you like, and if you’re not crazy about something you can swap an item with another member online! I think I explained that correctly…? There’s a video on the site that explains it all better than I can.

6. Lady & the Tramp pullover from H&M

If you follow me on Instagram, then you know how desperate I am to get my paws on this beautiful knitted pullover (sweater, jumper,whatever you wanna call it)! I bugged Tim about it during the holiday season by dropping plenty unsubtle hints about how much I wanted it for Christmas. I thought it would be perfect because I love Lady & the Tramp and Tim calls me Pidge just like Tramp. So perfect, right?! But he couldn’t find it! He did his damnedest to find it too — called the ones around him, asked if they could special order it (they can’t), looked online. I ended up calling thirteen H&Ms that were at least an hour and a half away from me to see if they still had any in stock. Every store I called was COMPLETELY sold out, and it’s nowhere to be found on the interwebs. Well, there’s like one eBay listing, but it’s not even the right size. UGH.

Soo… if any of you happen to stumble upon this in a size 10 or 12 LET ME KNOW IMMEDIATELY.

And I know Forever 21 currently has a Lady & the Tramp pullover in stock, but I honestly think it’s on the fugly side, soo… yeah.

Alright, well that just about sums up my list. I hope you all have a happy Monday (if that’s possible)! 🙂

Cheers,
Nina

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Things that I want for my birthday, but will probably not get

January 5, 2012 Nina Penalosa9 Comments

My birthday is in exactly one week! AHH!!! I know some people that aren’t really into birthdays and don’t make a big deal out of them. I, on the other hand, am the complete opposite. Shanice and I share the same philosophy about our birthdays being all about “Me, me, me!” — you have to do whatever the hell I want to do and when I want to do it! I AM THE QUEEN, GENUFLECT! My mom shares the same sentiment as well — this is where my birthday obsession stems from. 🙂

One thing that sucks about having a birthday a few weeks after Christmas is that everyone is broke from all the present shopping and after-Christmas sales. *sigh*

I decided to compile a list of things I wish I could unwrap from fancy wrapping paper (or take out of pretty gift bags hidden with tissue paper) on my birthday, but most likely will not since I’m sure no one will get any of the following for me…

Doctor Who DVDs

Specifically the complete series 6 DVD set and the David Tennant collection. I saw the latter at Best Buy for $130, which is actually a REALLY REALLY good deal because each series (or season as us yanks call them) are over $60. But I just checked Best Buy’s website and now it’s $180. WTF? Did I misread the one at the store? *confuzzled*

The 6th series was the sole thing I asked for last Christmas, but I was told that it was too expensive.

Hamm piggy bank (from Toy Story)

Why not? And it’s on sale for $12.99 at the Disney Store!

Disney Couture Dumbo carousel necklace

I’ve been wanting this necklace for ages. And I absolutely adore carousels. The first piece of writing I ever had published was an essay called “Hop on the Horse” in which I compared life to riding a carousel. Also, the necklace is Disney… Disney + carousel = big effing deal to me!

Mulling Spice Dress from ModCloth

I’m actually debating on buying this with some money I got for Christmas. Tim and I are planning on going to Dapper Day at Disneyland next month and this dress would be PERFECT. I’ve also been searching for a burgundy pussy bow top since October and though, this is a dress, I think I prefer it better than any ‘ol shirt.

Looking for Alaska by John Green

I want this or any other book by John Green. I haven’t read any of his works yet, but I’ve read quotes by him on Tumblr and seen videos of him on YouTube. From what little exposure I’ve had of John Green, I have come to the conclusion that he needs to be my male bestie. FOR SERIOUS. This dude is hilarious and intelligent. Check out this video of him listing the 5 worst typos:

Joan Holloway v-neck shirt

Look at how sick this shirt is! I want to wear this with my black vest and silver pen necklace like the one Joan wears in Mad Men. This tee can be found on RebBubble.

Star Wars headphones

I am in dire need of new headphones, and I disdain earbuds. They hurt my ears. I need something nice and cushiony, and why not nerdy too? These Star Wars headphones are perfect for me! I saw the Boba Fett ones when I went to Sacramento last week and they were on sale for a really decent price. I’m kicking myself for not buying them! 😦

Kurt Halsey poster

It’s a bit ridiculous how long I’ve been wanting this poster (4 years!). It’s been on sale at Art Star Gallery for a really long time too.

Soo, yeah. That’s all the stuff I can think of at the top of my head that I’d like for me birthday. I’m pretty sure that I’ll think of other things that could’ve been on this list, but oh well!

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Happy Birthday Mama!

November 1, 2011 Nina Penalosa5 Comments

I just wanted to do a little post about my beautiful and super stylish grandmother who turned 83 today! I got to see her right before she went off to play Bingo, and I wore my elephant necklace today because she thinks they’re lucky (so long as their trunks are up).

Happy Birthday, Mama! I love you. 🙂