May the Fourth Be With You

May 4, 2015 Nina Penalosa3 Comments

It’s May 4, which means it’s Star Wars Day!

My little Wookiee and I would like to wish you all a happy Star Wars Day, and May the fourth be with you, my little ponies! Or shall I call you my little tauntauns today? 😀

I’m actually wearing my Boba Fett dress today and me and my friend (who is also wearing their Boba Fett dress) are getting boba (that pearl drink thingy) after work to celebrate! Also, in honor of today you can save 15% off at Le Fancy Geek Boutique until Sunday, May 10 with code CHEWIE15. A couple of new Star Wars necklaces will be up later today!

Happy Star Wars Day and don’t forget to shoot first!

PS: Happy Audrey Hepburn Day too because today is her birthday! And Lance Bass from *NSYNC. Haha!

5 fandom friday

5 Fandom Friday (or Tuesday): New Years Fandom Resolutions

January 6, 2015 Nina Penalosa11 Comments

It’s obviously not Friday, but I wasn’t able to do the last 5 Fandom Friday post since I was galavanting around Disneyland. Weeee! Since I’m stuck at home with a case of the sniffles (booo) and a noggin that won’t stop pounding (more booing!), it’s the perfect time for me to catch up. The prompt from last week was to share “fandom” resolutions for 2015. I was a little stumped on coming up with 5 different resolutions relating to the fandom world, but I managed to figure out a few!

So without further ado here are my fandom resolutions for this year:

1. Re-read the Harry Potter series/read more in general

I’ve been meaning to re-read the Harry Potter series for quite some time, and I definitely want to buckle down and get it done this year! If only I knew where the hell I put my copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. RUGH. I feel like I read a lot more in 2014 than I did in 2013, but at the same time I don’t think it was enough. This year I’m going to follow this reading challenge guide by Pop Sugar that my sister sent me on Pinterest. I’m going to kick things off with Steve Brezenoff’s Guy in Real Life.

2. Cosplay at a convention

I stepped out in a femme Han Solo cosplay at SDCC last year for about, what? 3 hours? My friends Megan and Jen worked sooo hard helping me realize the design I had in my head, but when it all came together I didn’t feel completely comfortable or confidant with how I looked (it had absolutely nothing to do with the holster Megan made, or the skirt and vest Jen sewed because all those things turned out rad as hell!). My hair flattened in the humid San Diego weather and the bra I wore (the only neutral colored one I had that wouldn’t show underneath my white top) made my boobs look odd. I don’t even have a picture of me wearing the cosplay, so here’s my Mabel Pines Halloween costume! This year I’d like to revisit the femme Han Solo cosplay or maybe do a retro Snow White or Wonder Woman.

3. Go to more conventions

This might be tricky since conventions can be pricey. Sure, some may have a decent fee to buy a badge, but once you hit the floor and see all the booths with all the amazing geeky knick-knacks, all bets are off! I mean, budget? What budget? No, I’m kidding. I always tend to [barely] stick under my budget.

I have a Sunday badge for SDCC and a pass for Anime Expo (not sure how that’s going to work out travel + money wise since SDCC decided to bump their festivities a week after Anime Expo this year (Tina Belcher groan), but I’d definitely like to check out some cons that are closer to me to cut on some expenses like Big Wow ComicFest in San Jose or Wizard World in Sacramento/San Jose. I would love, love, LOVE to go to the Star Wars Celebration in April and Disney’s D23 Expo in August, but I have a feeling that’s probably not going to happen. wha- wha-whaaaa

4. Look into shows people keep telling me to watch

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I don’t remember what show I had just finished binge watching a year or two ago, but I remember lamenting on Twitter about how I didn’t know what to do with my life since there weren’t any new seasons of whatever to look forward to, and Amanda of Prim and Propah suggested that I watch Arrow…. which I have still not gotten around to watching. Sorry, Amanda! Fast forward to last month, my sister kept telling me I needed to watch Arrow ASAP. And apparently our cousin Nicole watches it too, so because of that they’re both telling me I have to get on it. My sister even showed me a montage of gratuitous workout scenes featuring Stephen Amell to encourage me and oh-mah-gawd… fans self. You can watch it here if you’re curious.

I can’t think of any of the other shows that have pretty huge fandoms that have been suggested to me by friends because I feel like Arrow keeps getting shoved down my metaphorical throat. I’ll get to Arrow eventually. It’s on Netflix, so I have no excuse!

5. Get back into toy photography

8 years ago I was really into taking “artistic” pictures of my toys, particularly my Blythe doll Tigerlily — many have said she’s my little doppelgänger. 🙂

I used to be OBSESSED with Blythe dolls, but then I realized that the money I was spending on doll clothes and accessories could’ve been used to buy clothes and accessories for myself! They’re also a bitch to lug around. Anyhow, by no means did I/do I consider myself a great photographer, but I used to have so much fun taking my toys out while I went on little excursions with my family or friends despite the random weird looks I’d get as I’d shoot away. And I thought I took some pretty cool pictures if I do say so myself! I still take pictures of my toys every now and then and tend to have a couple in my purse at all times, but it’s usually just a quick thing to put on Instagram. I want to actually take the time and do photos the way I used to.

Do you have any fandom resolutions for this year? Let me know in the comments section!

To find out the origins of 5 Fandom Friday, go here. And check out The Nerdy Girlie and SuperSpaceChick to catch up with the latest prompts!

Super Kawaii Adventures in La La Land

July 10, 2014 Nina Penalosa8 Comments

Hey my little ponies!

I am completely aware that I still haven’t finished up blogging about New York, and I know in my last post I said the next one would be about my trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This is clearly not a post about a fancy museum. I have like 3 different NYC posts sitting in my little draft box, but I’ve been up to a few things that have kept me away from finishing them (work, random outings, Rory got a foxtail stuck up his paw, closet cleansing, and our new internet service is so slow I can’t even use my laptop — this post is being written on a desktop because it’s the only computer in the house that can get legit internet usage).

Last weekend I headed to LA for AnimeExpo. We just went on Sunday and explored LA the day before, but I had so much fun that I already bought my badge for next year! My knowledge of anime is extremely limited — Sailor Moon, Pokemon, and Studio Ghibli films is how far my knowledge probably goes, but even then I’m still not that savvy. But I was told there’d be other geeky things that I’m into like Doctor Who, Star Wars, My Little Pony, and whatnot. Jen put together a fantastic steampunk Dalek cosplay, and our friend Danielle dressed as a Shadowhunter from Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments series. And while we were there we also headed to Pinup Girl Clothing in Burbank and saw Jay Leno cruise by in one of his fancy classic convertibles (so weird), some used bookstore in Pasadena, Japan LA, Pygmy Hippo Shoppe, and ate at Roscoe’s which is very famous for their fried chicken and waffles (ermergerd, soooo good). I definitely had a grand time, but the drive back was the WORST. We left around 6:30 pm on Sunday and there wasn’t any traffic in LA whatsoever, which is very odd because LA is known for its shittastic traffic. Once we got past the mountains is when the journey back home hit a major snafu — bumper to bumper traffic! It took 2 hours to drive 7 miles at one point because there was a really horrible truck accident. We should’ve been back by midnight since it’s usually a 6 hour drive, 8 at the most, but Jen didn’t pull up to my house until 4:30 am. I still don’t know how I managed to make it to work at 4 hours later.

Cheers,
Nina

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Sac-Con Recap

March 5, 2013 Nina Penalosa17 Comments

On Sunday I went to my very first convention as a vendor! Sac-Con was a pretty amazing and freakishly scary experience for me. Why freakishly scary though? Oh, well I dunno… maybe because a majority of the items I was selling were my handmade necklaces and earrings from my Etsy store, so I had a personal stake in it, y’know? And it’s absolutely nerve wracking having some people check out your table for a few seconds and move along to the next one, or having people ask how much one of my handmade necklaces or earrings were and be completely appalled by the price. Many of my pieces are one of a kind — I have no intention on making another one exactly like it, and I use ‘spensive genuine Swarovski crystals, thus the reason why a My Little Pony necklace is priced at $35. Despite that, quite a few people swung by my table numerous times, so that was pretty cool!

Overall I found the whole thing to be a good learning experience and a step forward with my jewelry thang. 🙂 Plus I met some pretty awesome people and got tons of compliments on my pieces, SO YAAAY!

The pieces left over from the show will be up on Once Upon a Smorgasbord sometime tomorrow or Thursday. I’ll post an update once they go up. But for now, here are some pictures of my booth and a few cosplayers Tim found! 🙂

Cheers,
Nina

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D.I.Y. Minnie Mouse Costume

October 30, 2012 Nina Penalosa7 Comments

Minnie Mouse is by far one of the easiest costumes a lady can put together for Halloween — especially at the last minute (like what I did last year)! All you really need is a good pair of mouse ears, cute accessories, and fancy duds. Or casual duds. Whatever interpretation of Minnie you want to do is fine with me!

Keep in mind that Minnie Mouse doesn’t neccesarily equate to red & white polka dotted dresses and skirts. The girl has other colored dresses and bows, y’know? Earlier this year I bought a pair of Minnie Mouse ears at the Disney Store that came with 4 different detachable bows — a floral print, white with little pink dots, pink with big white dots, and a glittery silver bow. In case you’re wondering I bought it for Disneyland purposes. It’s no longer available there, but they do sell all kinds of mouse ear things on the Disney Store website. Or if you’re super crafty there are tons of tutorials on how to make your own ears, like this one I found on YouTube.

I based my costume around the floral bow and came up with this:

outfit details:

Ears: Disney Store
Cardigan: Target
Peter Pan collar necklace: YesStyle
Dress: H&M
Shoes: American Rag
Ring & Bracelet: I have no idea. o,0

For the costume party I went to on Friday I wore black tights with a long sleeve black shirt underneath my dress just to get the full Minnie Mouse effect, but for this blog’s shoot I ditched the tights and undershirt because I was lazy (at least I’m honest). I got my dress at H&M last year because it makes me feel like a princess. Wee! I think every girl should have something in their closet that makes them feel regal. Anywho, I got the cardigan at Target eons ago, the Peter Pan collar necklace is from YesStyle, and the t-strap heels are by American Rag, which I got last year.

The possibilities are endless when it comes to Minnie Mouse! You can pretty much put any cute outfit together, throw on Minnie-esque accessories (I think Minnie is a pearl kind of girl), some mouse ears, and call it a day! Black nose is optional, but please, please please, do not draw whiskers on your face. I don’t understand why some girls who dress up as Minnie Mouse draw whiskers on their face when Minnie doesn’t even have them. You know she gets that ish waxed!

I hope everyone has a Happy Halloween tomorrow!!!

Cheers,
Nina

PS: To all on the east coast, stay safe!

PPS: This post will be submitted to IFB’s Halloween Project. Keep your fingers crossed for me please!

geek style

Thoroughly Modern Millie-ish

December 12, 2011 Nina Penalosa6 Comments

On Saturday Tim and I had a day-long date in San Francisco where we ate Dynamo Donuts, wandered around Yerba Buena Gradens, Westfield Shopping Centre, Union Square, and ended the day watching Sara Bareilles at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. HELLA EPIC! Technically we ended it by eating In-N-Out.

Anyhow, I wanted to wear something fancy, but I had a hard time putting outfits together. Everything was either too casual looking or it required my pink slip dress that wasn’t anywhere to be found. Half of my closet found its way on my bed. RUGH! But I settled with my modern flapper girl outfit: my maroon felt bucket hat, cardigan, and pink frilly dress. I ditched my t-strap heels for obvious reasons. Ever since I saw that 100 years of London style video back in August, I’ve been wanting to put together a 1920s inspired ensemble. I think I came up with this outfit in October, but couldn’t think of an appropriate place to wear it until Saturday.

Before I headed out, I threw on my furry paw scarf. Fashionable women in the 20’s wore fur stoles, so I thought it made sense.

And now I’m going to finish off this post with tons of pictures of our day!

dynamo donut san francisco — Pumpkin Chocolate Chip, Maple Bacon Apple, Passion Fruit Milk Chocolate, and Vanilla Bean

dynamo park the mission san francisco — We always eat our donuts at Dynamo Park.

zeum creativity store bear masks animal masks — Fancy bear masks at the Zeum store. I ended up getting the horse one pictured in the background.

doctor who ood zeum store san francisco — I'm an Ood!

yerba buena gardens san francisco anime meet up — We stumbled upon an anime meet-up. And there was a dude dressed like the 11th Doctor! I didn't take a picture of him though. His bow tie was all wrong anyway. x__x

yerba buena gardens san francisco dapper couple — When I went to SFSU, I liked going to Yerba Buena Gardens a lot as it was my favorite thinking spot. I showed Tim around since he's never been there.

union square san francisco macy's christmas — Union Square! Tim took a picture with this crazy ass looking street performer.

tiffany's carousel window display — We passed by Tiffany's and I had to stop to take a picture of their window display. I LOVE carousels!

I’ll be putting up my next post later today which will be all about the foul mouthed goddess: Sara Bareilles. 😀

—

outfit details:

hat: ?
cardigan: Mossimo
dress: M
necklace: Grouse and Badger
shoes: Madden Girl
scarf: Lake Tahoe Treasures/Wild Spirit Animal Hoodies

bloop

The Costume Conundrum

October 31, 2011 Nina Penalosa7 Comments

It’s Halloween and I still don’t know what I’m going to dress up as. RUGH. And my plans are still unclear as I was originally going to have a Doctor Who marathon with Jen, Marcos, and Shanice at Shanice’s place, but I haven’t been able to get a hold of Shanice to confirm what time and what we should bring, etc. WHERE ARE YOU WOMAN? CALL ME! As an alternative plan, we’re thinking of going to Dell’Osso Farm’s pumpkin patch to check out the maze. As for my costume, I’m taking the DIY route by just looking through my wardrobe to see what I can put together. It’s been quite frustrating.

My options are…

Minnie Mouse
Diana Prince (Wonder Woman’s alter ego, think Clark Kent/Superman)
Hogwarts school girl
~~11th Doctor~~
Karen O from Yeah Yeah Yeahs

I managed to put an 11th Doctor outfit together, but when I put it on I looked all frumpy because my boobies are too effing big. *shakes fist at the heavens*

I was Diana Prince last year, and Karen O the year before… I don’t really want to do repeats. And I don’t know where my Wonder Woman costume is (and the bustier totally stained my white button-up shirt). So I guess I’m left with Minnie Mouse and Hogwarts school girl (which I wore in July for the last Harry Potter movie, you can see that here).

Well, I hope everyone else has a happy and safe Halloween!!!

Now… I gotta go figure this shit out and see if I still have time to make Rory’s Ewok costume… /headache

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Mischeif Managed

July 16, 2011 Nina Penalosa3 Comments

Watching a movie at 3:30 am in a city an hour and a half away might actually not be the greatest idea ever. I know I did it last year, but I lived a half hour away at the time and managed to slip in a good 5 hour nap before going (I could NOT fall asleep before we left around midnight!), so that made sense. Yesterday, when I got home after we ate breakfast (around 7:30 am), I knocked out for the rest of the day. I even fell asleep wearing my costume thinking I would take pictures for this blog when I woke up (since the ones I took at the theater came out blurry), but I was completely groggy and zombie-like. Rugh. But it was all for Harry Potter! I wouldn’t do that for just any movie, so it was worth it. 🙂

Anyway, to our surprise there were TONS of people at the Metreon for the 3:30 am showing. In fact, it sold out! We moved like cattle as we tried to form a queue to get into the theater. This is what we were hoping to avoid. And I spent $4.50 on a greasy, doughy pretzel. WTF? Movie theater pretzels are usually yummy!

Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I knew I was going to cry buckets since I knew certain things were going to happen with several characters (*CRIES A TRILLION TEARS*), but I forgot to bring tissues with me! Alan Rickman’s performance as Severus Snape made my heart hurt. I could not stop bawling. That man deserves an Oscar nomination. SO AMAZING! And Maggie Smith unleashed Professor McGonagall’s bad-assery-ness.

I even got misty eyed during some parts that weren’t even sad. I was just thinking, “This is it. After this, it’s all over.” I’ve read some things on Tumblr with people complaining about us Potterheads and our whining about how it’s the last movie. Star Wars fans (that apparently don’t like Harry Potter) are like, “When it [Star Wars] came to an end, I was okay. I accepted it. I didn’t cry about it.” And I’m sitting here thinking, “IT’S NOT THE SAME!!!” Star Wars had 6 films, and Star Wars: The Clone Wars is out on Cartoon Network (I think?), and there’s all these books that have been written and are still getting released; something new is always happening with Star Wars. Harry Potter fans don’t have that. I mean, we’re getting Pottermore later, but that’s it as far as we know. So give us some slack and let us mourn the end of a glorious era! Jerks.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I shall continue listening to the Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows audiobook as I clean my room.