Dark Side of the Garden

February 29, 2016 Nina Penalosa6 Comments

Hey my little, ponies! I archived these outfit pics I took a few months ago and think now is a good time to bust them out. It is Leap Day, after all! This is the outfit I was supposed to wear to my cousin’s wedding in Hawaii back in September, but the material of my dress and shoes didn’t mesh very well with the tropical climate. Thank goodness I packed another dress that worked out well! And how perfect does my little Darth Vader purse go with it? 🙂

Tomorrow I’m supposed to start another Whole 30 again. Either that or I might start during the weekend so I have more time to prep for it. Either way, I’m going to be doing a more modified version because you’re not supposed to have breath mints or gum since it contains added sugar. I refuse to walk around with travel sized mouth wash or just suffer with stinky breath. I’m gonna keep on poppin’ my Altoids, thank you very much! I’m going to continue to drink all my teas too. I got some new ones from Riddles Tea Shoppe that are absolutely delicious, but they contain some ingredients that are Whole30 no-nos. Nothing too crazy though, so I think I should be okay.

Happy Leap Day, y’all! Hope you found yourself making the most of the extra day we got this year. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to try and figure out what book I want to read next!

dress: Heart of Haute (buy here) | glasses: Firmoo (n/a)
purse: Loungefly (buy here) | ring: from a cupcake!
shoes: Deflex Comfort (buy here)

PS: Jennifer told me I should start including bloopers from our photo shoots, so here’s me making a stupid face. 😛

photo credit: Jennifer Khut

geek style

Nerdy 30 Birthday Wish List

January 10, 2016 Nina Penalosa7 Comments

My 30th birthday is in 2 days! AAAHHHH!!! Some people call it the “dirty 30.” Others call it the “flirty 30.” Since I am neither (well, maybe more dirty than flirty regarding my sense of humor), I am calling this birthday my “nerdy 30” because it makes so much more sense. And I’ll be at Disneyland to celebrate, because what better place to kick off 30th anniversary of life? 🙂

I threw a little birthday wish list together and as you can see, all I want are Star Wars, Marvel, and Harry Potter things (mainly books)! I’m not expecting to get any of these things, but y’know… it’s just a wish list.

Who else has a birthday in January that’s coming up or has passed? Lemme know what’s on your wish list or what you’ve gotten for your birthday in the comments section!

geek style

Nerdvember: The Final Week!

December 4, 2015 Nina Penalosa6 Comments

Whoooops, I’ve been so busy with work and trying to finish up inventory for Whimsic Alley’s Geeky Faire (which is happening TOMORROW!) that I totally forgot to make a post about my outfits for the final week of Set to Stunning’s Nerdvember challenge/contest! Mah bad.

Day 22: Winter is Coming

My sister and I headed to San Francisco so she could check out the ModCloth Fit Shop and meet up with our friend Brooke. I decided to wear my Lulu Tops Westeros Map dress (I do believe it’s a faux version of the Black Milk Clothing one, but whatever), a pair of earrings by Nerdy Buy Still Girly with Jon Snow and Ghost, and my Robb Stark necklace. We found the perfect snowflake backdrop at the mall to take pictures in front of too! 😀

Day 23: You Can’t Sith With Us

I layered my favorite Darth Vader pullover over my black and white tartan dress and paired it with my faux leather pink motorcycle jacket, Darth Vader brooch, and plushie Vader backpack. Kind of felt very Mean Girls x Clueless.

Day 24: Where the Wild Things Are

I layered my Where the Wild Things Are pullover by Out of Print Clothing over the Old Navy dress I wore for my cousin’s wedding, but totally didn’t realize how wrinkled it was until my friend Norma took my picture after we got out of class. Whoops!

Day 25: BB-8

You guys, I seriously love Utinni Bikini. I have a problem. I bought this BB-8 dress when they were having a special sale during Halloween, so I immediately placed an order. Haha! Even though I love the Dark Side, I do love some of the “good guys” too. And y’all know BB-8 has stolen my heart. ♥

Day 26: Happy Sithsgiving!

Basically a variation of Day 23’s outfit. Haha! My mom also happened to wear a Star Wars sweater for Thanksgiving too. We didn’t even plan to match, it just happened. The Force must be strong in my family! 🙂

Day 27: Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey

The folks at Level Up sent me a package full of some timey-wimey goodness! I paired the TARDIS belt and pendant that came in the package with my Her Universe dress featuring all the baddies from Doctor Who, along with a pendant I made with my companion, Rory, and a hair bow by my friend Jen (Walrus of the Sea). GERONIMO!

I’ll be making a special, more detailed post about the goodies I got, so be on the lookout for that!

Day 28: You Can’t Sith With Us: Part Deux

In case you’re wondering, yes. That is ANOTHER dress by Utinni Bikini. It has AT-ATs and Stormtroopers all over it! After I placed my order for the BB-8 dress, I got a message saying that I could get another dress for a super cheap price plus free shipping, soooo I caved in. Also, I’m feelin’ this bowler hat, you guys. Not sure if you can tell since it’s popped up in quite a few of my Nerdvember photos. 😛

Day 29: BB-8: Part Deux

BB-8 FOREVER AND EVER!! I ordered this BB-8 bomber by Her Universe while my sister drove us to Disneyland for Season of the Force a few weeks ago, and it finally came in on the 25th (unbeknowst to be since my email notification was buried in my inbox). I was also feeling particularly lazy this day and couldn’t be bothered to brush my hair. But I took a picture anyway because I was very determined to get all 30 days of November documented. 😛

Day 30: Girly Looking Nerfherder

For my final outfit of Nerdvember I paired this velvet black dress with Han and Leia pins I got at Disneyland, my Millennium Falcon belt, and Darth Vader purse. On my Instagram my description was:

Han Solo vibes today because sometimes I need a reminder to be a scruffy looking badass nerfherder. And self rescuing princess, and sometimes Sith Lord… I’m complicated.

So that’s a wrap on Nerdvember! I hope you all enjoyed my geek inspired outfits throughout the month. 😀

geek style

Wookiee Wednesday: You Can’t Sith With Us

October 7, 2015 Nina Penalosa4 Comments

On Wednesdays my friend Brianna and I always wear something Star Wars related to work and have dubbed the day “Wookiee Wednesday.” We used to dress up in Star Wars duds on Tuesdays, but since we don’t see each other on Tuesdays this semester anymore, we settled for Wednesdays. Technically, I wore this outfit on Monday, but whatever! And in case you’re wondering, yes, I am wearing something Star Wars related today (my Rescuers/Star Wars mash-up tee by James Hance and some Rebellion earrings!).

I’m going to attempt to bring Wookiee Wednesday to Le Fancy Geek too! Maybe it’ll be an outfit post, or maybe it’ll be a toy review… who knows?! But don’t be surprised if I blog about Star Wars on a day other than Wednesday. It cannot be helped; the Fandom is strong with me.

This Darth Vader pullover was one of my Force Friday finds from when I went to Target at midnight. It’s super cozy and goes with everything! And if you saw last night’s post, you might recognize the Wanderlust + Co bib necklace I get to borrow thanks to Rocksbox. When I first opened up my package from them and saw this necklace, it immediately just made me think of how great it would look with my Darth Vader pullover. Nothing says “Darth Vader” like a fancy sparkly necklace, am I right?

BTW, 71 MORE DAYS UNTIL STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS COMES OUT!!!! Are any of you flipping the hell out too?!

It is seriously an amazing time to be a Star Wars fan right now! And also kind of terrible because all the amazing new merch hasn’t been to kind on my wallet. I mean… I know I don’t NEED to buy all these things, but I’m a terrible shopaholic and have a hard time saying “no.” Although, I am pretty proud of myself for putting down a BB-8 and Captain Phasma watch at Kohl’s last week because I told myself that I really didn’t need them. Baby steps, guys. Baby steps. Or BB-steps? HA! See what I did there. I’m so punny.

pullover: Fifth Sun (buy here) | skirt: Old Navy
bib necklace: Wanderlust + Co. c/o Rocksbox | shoes: deflex Comfort (buy here)

PS: If you dig the necklace I’m wearing, you can use the code CHEZFANCYPANTSXOXO to receive 1 free month of Rocksbox. Check out my review of it here to find out more.

geek style · out & about

Punch It, Chewie!

September 15, 2015 Nina Penalosa7 Comments

Aloha, my little ponies! Hawaii has been pretty damn amazing… except for the millions of mosquito bites I have acquired. Ugh! The mosquitos here can go to hell and die. Other than that, I’ve been having lots of fun with my family! Last weekend I got to attend my cousin Amanda’s wedding to her longtime boyfriend Nick. I’ve never cried or gotten emotional at a wedding, but something about their’s made me ruin my makeup a little bit. I’m so happy for the two of them since this wedding was a long time coming! I jokingly refer to Nick as the big brother I never wanted because he likes to annoy me on purpose and I him. Now all the pressure is on my sister’s boyfriend of nearly 13 years. She even caught the bouquet, so the pressure is even more real. Haha! Sorry, Ryan!

I originally was going to wear this really pretty dress from Heart of Haute with hydrangeas all over it with a black pair of ballet flats, but the weather here has been pouring rain on and off AND it’s also been freakin’ hot and humid. I actually wore this outfit the day before exploring the North Shore and thought it might be better to wear, and it was. –Phew–

And you might have noticed that I threw in some Star Wars accessories with this ensemble too. ☺

The teals and blues of the Millennium Falcon belt I got at Hot Topic matched the teal dress I got from the Old Navy outlet in Livermore, and floral things + sci-fi is mah thang, so pairing it with this cover up I originally got to wear poolside was a no-brainer. I didn’t even mean to pack my Chewbacca ring, but I found him in my carryon as I was unpacking at the hotel. If that’s not kismet, I don’t know what is. The Darth Vader purse by Loungefly was also going to be used with the outfit I intended to wear, but it works with this one too! It looks like it’s small, but it actually holds quite a few things! I was able to stuff my lipstick, chapstick, battery charger + chord, little wallet, my phone, and BB-8 Funko and Stitch Tsum Tsum into it. It’s easily become my new favorite accessory!

Now that I think about it, nearly everything I wore to the wedding was purchased at the outlet in Livermore just a few days before I flew to Hawaii. Hooray for last minute shopping!

I head back to California on Thursday, so for now I’m just going to enjoy the rest of my vacation. More blog posts about Hawaii to come sometime after! But you can follow my Hawaiian Holiday on Instagram if you’d like to see what I’m up to. ☺

dress: Old Navy (buy similar here) | cover up: Seafolly
shoes: Crocs (buy similar here) | belt: BioWorld (buy here)
sunglasses: Kate Spade | ring: n/a (buy similar here)
purse: Loungefly (buy here) | hair flower: DIY’d by me

geek style

I Sense a Disturbance in My Wallet

September 3, 2015 Nina Penalosa5 Comments

Happy Force Friday to all my little tauntauns!!! I know I usually call you all my little ponies, but for Star Wars related things I will refer to you as my little tauntauns. ☺

It’s not quite Force Friday in California yet, but I know it’s happening for some of you already! I AM SO EXCITED FOR ALL THE NEW MERCH. Jen and I are heading over to Target in either Elk Grove or Modesto in hopes of picking up a few pieces from the new Cover Girl Star Wars collection (I mainly just want a couple lipsticks), and I also want a BB-8 and Captain Phasma action figure. If there’s any General Hux stuff I will want that too because Domhnall Gleeson. ♡♥♡

— fingers crosses —

I’m really anxious to see what Her Universe and Hot Topic come out with, but at the same time I’ve been sensing a great disturbance in my wallet. Uurrrrgggghhh. I can’t go spending all my monies on Star Wars stuff, especially since I’m going to be in Hawaii from the 10th t0 the 17th! Oh, and Fifth Sun (who is sponsoring a giveaway for 2 of you guys to win a geeky tank which ends tomorrow @ 11:59pm PST BTW) is having a labor day sale AND they’re coming out with new Star Wars tees and tanks. We Love Fine and Lounge Fly also showed a few new things they’re releasing including a cowl neck Sith dress (my sister got the Jedi one at SDCC and it’s super cute!), and BB-8 and Captain Phasma bowler bags. Whhhhhyyyy?!

— crying because I can’t get ALL THE THINGS —

Anyhow, in honor of Force Friday here’s a Darth Vader inspired outfit I threw together! On Wednesdays my friend Brianna and I decided to start wearing Star Wars themed outfits and are calling it “Wookiee Wednesday.” We used to do it on Tuesdays, but since we don’t see each other at work on Tuesdays anymore we had to settle for a different day. Neither of us discussed nor reminded each other to wear a Star Wars outfit yesterday and low and behold, we both ended up wearing Darth Vader tops (technically my top is a dress, but whatever), cardigans, flared black skirts, and a braided metallic leather belt. Like… WTF? When I walked into work and saw her outfit I just looked at her and said, “Are you f*cking serious?” Her and I come to work dressing in similar outfits 95.5% of the time, it’s not even funny. It’s scary. We’re 85% sure that an experiment was done on babies born in the late ’80s that somehow made their brainwaves in sync like Lance Bass and Joey Fatone.

I hope you all have a magical Force Friday and that you get all the cool stuff that you want! Speaking of which, what’s on your must-have list? Geek out with me and tell me in the comments section!

Darth Vader dress [used as a top]: Her Universe (buy similar here)
skirt: Moon (buy here) | shoes: deflex Comfort (buy here)
belt: A|X Exchange (no longer available)
cardigan: Old Navy (buy here) | earrings: Hot Topic (buy here)
button: Ninjabot (freebie from SDCC) | hair flower: Icing (n/a)
purse: thrifted and decoupaged by me

PS: Here’s a pic of Brianna and I being twinsies.

geek style

A Shiny Wish List for SDCC

July 8, 2015 Nina Penalosa4 Comments

Brace yourselves, COMIC-CON IS COMING.

In the past years I haven’t been a wise shopper. Just because something is “exclusive” doesn’t necessarily mean I must own it, right? I’m going to attempt to be a bit more strict on what I spend my precious monies on this time around, but there are some exclusives that have me doing the heart-eye emoji BIG TIME.

– Sparkly Darth Vader coin purse by Loungefly

How fabulous is this sparkly Darth Vader coin purse?! I have a ton of coin purses at home, and I actually just took all my coins to the bank to cash them, buuut… I mean… this would be a practical purchase. <— it’s DARTH VADER. Of course I’m trying to justify my want for it!

– Firefly necklace by Quantum Mechanix

OMG SO SHINY. I don’t think I need to explain why I want this. I mean… look at it!

Unmasked Captain America Pop! Figure by Funko

This little unmasked version of Captain America is too cute for words! It would be perfect to put alongside the Peggy Carter figure that’s coming out later this year too. Since Barnes & Noble will have a few Funko SDCC Exclusives, I’m asking my friend Jennifer to go and take a look to see if they have this little Cap figure so I won’t have to stand in that crazy long-ass line during the convention.

– Doctor Who: 11th Doctor Pop! figure by Funko

The 11th Doctor is my favorite Doctor and purple is my favorite color, so that’s a completely justifiable reason to want this adorable rendition of him, right?

– Direwolves plush set by Factory Entertainment

Last year I was on a mad hunt for a Grey Wind plushie, except the only ones that were in the exhibit hall were all prototypes. UGH. This year Factory Entertainment has an exclusive set featuring little 6 inch versions of Grey Wind, Ghost, and Nymeria. AHH!! I just might cave, you guys. I just might. O__O

– pretty much EVERYTHING at the Her Universe booth

So none of these are officially exclusive, at least not that I know of, but HOLY. CRAP! Her Universe just released images of a few new items making their debut at SDCC and everything looks AMAZING!!! I’m particularly stoked for the Peter Pan collar Avengers top and Agent Carter t-shirt. I saw on Instagram that there won’t be any plus size Agent Carter tees available since they didn’t have enough shirts, but I’m hoping I’ll be able to squeeze into an XL. – crosses fingers –

What swag are you most looking forward to getting your hands on?

out & about

Star Wars @ the Tech Museum

February 17, 2014 Nina Penalosa9 Comments

Last month for my birthday, my friends and I went to the Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination exhibit at San Jose’s Tech Museum! It was so fun seeing some of the props and costumes from the Star Wars saga. I feel like there could’ve been more things on display (no ewoks, tauntauns, Lando Calrissian, Boba Fett (he made an appearance there only recently), or Queen Amidala’s ornate ensemble from The Phantom Menace), but I still really loved seeing what was there, like Chewbacca! There was a sign that said he’d be leaving for the Smithsonian on January 16, so I’m really glad that I was able to see Chewy before he left. 🙂 And there was also a wampa, and jawas, a model of the Millenium Falcon, and Darth Vader and a Stormtrooper AND OTHER REALLY AMAZING AWESOME THINGS!

Here are some of the pictures I took while I was there:

This is the only Northern California stop for the Star Wars exhibit and its stay has been extended until the 23rd of March, so if you’re a huge Star Wars fan, you should definitely stop by! Who knows what else they might add to it!

Cheers,
Nina

geek style

Happy Hothidays!

December 25, 2013 Nina Penalosa6 Comments

Greetings my little ponies! I just wanted to wish you all a very happy “hothiday” 😀

Today Rory and I wore our matching Darth Vader sweaters to celebrate. I think the dark side may have gotten to him a bit though… he was a wittle emo earlier today. BUT he’s all better now!

I hope you all had an amazing day celebrating with your loved ones (if you celebrate Christmas anyhow).

Cheers,
Nina

geek style · pup life

A Fancy Geek Your Pooch Will Be

August 2, 2013 Nina Penalosa5 Comments

Geeky pet owners rejoice! Petco debuted their special line of Star Wars threads and toys for pooches and kittens at Comic-Con a few weeks ago!

When I first got Rory a couple years ago I was really bummed by the lack of geeky dog apparel out there, so there are really no words for me to express how ecstatic I am over this crazy awesome line! And the Petco booth also gave out Yoda ears for pets as con exclusive freebies!!! They ran out when I went on Sunday, but my sister was able to grab a pair for Rory when she went on Thursday 😀

The collection hits stores on September 1 and will include an array of hoodies inspired by your favorite Star Wars characters (the Chewbacca and Boba Fett ones… shut up. Just. Shut. Up.), leashes and collars, fluffy dog beds shaped like Yoda and Darth Vader, chewy squeaky toys, and there’s also little mice dressed like characters for your kitty to play with!

One piece I can’t wait to get my hands on is the Darth Vader knitted nordic sweater. Rory is going to be the baddest ball of fluff on the block. Is it weird that I’m extremely happy that my dog and I will have matching knitted Vader sweaters and that I can’t wait to take pictures of the two of us so I can turn them into holiday greeting cards? Actually, I don’t care if it’s weird. I’M TOO EXCITED TO CARE.

While I was perusing the booth, another con goer looked at me and said, “Oh man. I’m going to have to buy all this stuff for my dog.” Me too, dude. Me. Too.