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The Snozzberries taste like Snozzberries!

June 18, 2011 Nina PenalosaLeave a comment

This afternoon I went to my nieces Isabelle and Lily’s dance recital which was based on Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. THEY WERE SO ADORABLE! I took tons of pictures, but I was using my cousin’s SD card so I can’t share all the cute shots I took of them. *le sigh*

They both did such a great job, and I’m not being biased because I’m their aunt. 😛

The kids were split into two different groups — preschoolers and beginners (or something like that). The preschoolers were Oompa Loompas — Lily showed off her mad dance moves during those numbers. She even improvised a few twirls.

I wish I could’ve done stuff like that when I was a kid. I do recall going to a few dance classes when I was in preschool (I had a super rad The Land Before Time leotard and Capezio shoes), but we never put on shows. Actually, I don’t even know if I went to a ton of classes or just a couple, or if the classes I went to even did recitals. Oh well! My dreams of becoming a ballerina were dashed when I saw a documentary on PBS about ballet, and they showed a dancer take off her shoes, and she had all kinds of ouchies on her feet. Ewwww.

Well, that’s all for now. I’m still uber groggy from my ridiculously long nap and still need to wrap my dad’s father’s day present!

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outfit details:

shirt: Target
bag: Tokidoki for LeSportsac
belt: garage sale
skirt: Old Navy
boots: Charles Albert

geek style

Mona Lisa Smile

June 9, 2011 Nina Penalosa8 Comments

I’ve been watching a lot of Doctor Who lately, especially because of the mid-series finale that aired last Saturday — it hasn’t aired in the US yet, but I found a stream online. I couldn’t wait until this weekend! The end was so MIND BLOWING. It had one of those twists that you should’ve seen coming because the clues were there all along, but then when the thing happened, I was like “HOLY SH!T, NO WAY!” I don’t really want to go into it… spoilers, y’know? If you haven’t watched Doctor Who, please give it a try! The premise of the show follows a man called the Doctor and he travels throughout space and time. Sometimes the show can be really silly, it can also be very scary (just watch “Blink”), it can be dark, and serious. It covers a wide range of emotions, and there’s aliens and monsters and historical figures… oh my! One of my favorite episodes from last season was “Vincent and the Doctor” which had Vincent Van Gogh in it.

Trying to get into Doctor Who is sort of daunting since the show has been around for over 40 years. I started with season 1 of the show’s reboot which aired in 2005 and starred Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor and worked my way through David Tennant and Matt Smith’s run. While I did love Eccleston as the Doctor, those first few episodes were a bit boring, so I’d suggest starting with season 5 which stars Matt Smith. I haven’t quite dived into classic Who stuff, except for an episode called “City of Death” which stars Tom Baker.

The Doctor said that the Mona Lisa is one of the greatest treasures in the universe. I like it too, but perhaps I’m not as enthusiatic as he is about it. I do have a Mona Lisa necklace though, and whenever I wear it, I think of that episode now. 🙂

Romana: Why hasn’t she got any eyebrows?

Doctor: What? Is that all you can say, no eyebrows? We’re talking about the Mona Lisa…

Doctor: Heavens, you’re right. She hasn’t got any eyebrows!

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outfit details:

cardigan: from Ross
dress: Be Bop
belt: Target
shoes: Charles Albert
necklace: purchased at a school event years ago
hair clip: H&M

Chateau Cronie

May 11, 2011 Nina Penalosa2 Comments

Yesterday was quite eventful as I FINALLY got to see Agent Ribbons live at Harlow’s in Sacramento! I even dolled up a bit for the occasion; I usually like doing the jeans-n-cardigan thing for shows, but not for this one! I totally forgot to put nylons on though, so my legs were like fleshy popsicles by the end of the night. Also, the photo above marks my first legit self-portrait. Huzzah for tripods and my mother’s fancy SLR with the self-timer button! They make life so much easier.

In case you’re wondering who the frak Agent Ribbons are, I shall give you a primer: they’re an indie duo-turned trio-turned duo again from Sacramento, but are now based in Austin, TX ,whose sound has been described as [from what I’ve read in random reviews] a mix of vaudeville, baroque, 60’s garage rock, and cabaret. One of the songs off their album Chateau Crone was featured on The Vampire Diaries not too long ago, and it’s actually available on Amazon for FREE. Mod Cloth even sells a dress that’s named after them.

About 4 years ago, my late friend Jim told me about them because he had recorded and mixed most of the songs on On Time Travel and Romance, which is brilliant by the way. “Call Me Margaret” was the default song on his MySpace page and he said to check it out. So I did, and I fell in love. Whenever I make mix CDs for friends, I include at least one or two of their songs on them. Just trying to spread the gospel of Agent Ribbons, y’know? I actually got to talk to Natalie (lead singer/guitarist) for a bit before the show and she was so effing sweet despite the fact that I was awkward. I hate meeting people I admire, any sort of social skills I have (and I don’t have a whole lot to begin with) completely go away. Other people who have experienced my awkwardness: Sara Bareilles, Greg Laswell, and Nathan Fillion. I hope I never meet John Krasinski.

I shall leave you all with a video I took at last night’s show: