Tag: disney

5 fandom friday

5 Fandom Friday: 5 Fandom Tattoos I Have/Want

Nina Penalosa8 Comments

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It’s been a really long time since I’ve participated in 5 Fandom Friday, but today’s prompt was a fun one that I couldn’t pass up. It’s about fandom tattoos, which is something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately (number 3 on my list in particular). But alas. Tattoos are effing expensive, so I need to put my ink dreams to the side for “adulting” things.

1. Jingles from Disneyland’s King Arthur’s Carrousel

This is my one and only tattoo so far, and I like to call it my obscure hipster Disney tattoo because it’s pretty inconpicuous. It was designed and tattoed by Jen Lee at Tattoo City in San Francisco. I’ve always had a love of all things equine and Disney, and the first piece of writing I ever had published involved carousels, so it made sense to get Jingles, the lead horse on King Arthur’s Carrousel, as my first tattoo.

2. A portrait of Rory

Not quite a fandom tattoo as Rory is my dog furry baby, but I love him so much! His name came from Doctor Who anyway, so I guess it’s fandom-y enough.

3. Hufflepuff badger with a fancy Deathly Hallow

I really, really, really want a tattoo dedicated to my Hufflepuff pride! Ever since I came across a badger tattoo done by Kiki Burghardt on Instagram, I knew that she was the one that had to do it. I already have a good idea of what I want it to look like too; I want it to be surrounded by leaves (kinda like the design above by Veronica Guzzardi) and yellow flowers, and somehow have the Deathly Hallows be incorporated. I’m unable to locate the picture of the badger tattoo I originally saw by her, but you guys should totally check out her Instagram! I want the Deathly Hallows part to be detailed with filigree or something like that. I found a picture on Pinterest a few years ago that would be perfect! But I want mine to be different because I don’t want to straight up copy the person who already has the tattoo.

(Deathly Hallows tattoo found here)

4. “Make Good Art” in Gallifreyan

My friends and I have talked about getting BFF tattoos in Gallifreyan for a few years. At first it was something me and my ex talked about before we started dating. It was brought up again when I got my Jingles tattoo, and my friends said, “F*ck him. We can all get Gallifreyan BFF tattoos instead!” All of ours would have different sayings that means something to us, but the fact that it’s Gallifreyan will help keep in theme with the BFF-yness of it all. I want mine to say “Make good art” which is something Neil Gaiman said in a very inspiration commencement speech about 3 years ago. It’ll be a constant reminder for me to stay creative and make good art, whether it be writing or jewelry making. I found this particular design here.

5. BB-8/R2-D2

After watching The Force Awakens, I couldn’t get the thought of getting BB-8 and R2 tats on my calves! At first I thought about getting them as tattoos on either thigh, but then decided calves would be a better location. How cute would that be?! Star Wars is one of my beloved fandoms and I’ve been trying to think of what character I would want as a tattoo. I’m a Dark Side girl, but I wasn’t really crazy about the idea of a Darth Vader tattoo. I thought about a Storm Trooper in Elizabethan era garb or in Victorian era fashion. But the droids are just so damn cute! I came across this art print of BB-8 by Michelle Coffee and would want it to look something like it.

Do you have any fandom tattoos or are thinking about getting one? Let’s talk about it in the comments section! 😀

cheers le fancy geek fashion blogger

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

out & about · tasty travels

Aulani: a Tropical Wonderland

Nina Penalosa4 Comments

Going though all the snapshots I took while in Hawaii, I realized that I failed to take pictures of my hotel room. EPIC FAIL because that place was sooo nice. Auntie Nelly booked a villa for us that could fit a total of 9 people, but really there were only 6 of us: Auntie Nelly, myself, my sister, her boyfriend, my cousin Brian and his wife. Originally, I had booked us (myself, Auntie Nelly, sister, and Ryan) to stay at the Courtyard Marriott, but Auntie was like, “Babe, there’s no pool. It’s not a resort! I want to be able to relax on my vacation.” She mentioned how she wanted to stay at Aulani for at least 2 or 3 days, and my sister and I were foaming at the mouth about it. We knew that we at least wanted to book a spa appointment and go to a character breakfast if we weren’t going to stay there.

But then bippity-boppity-boo, we were suddenly booked to stay at Aulani for a whole week!!! I couldn’t stop smiling and my sister and I kept texting back and forth about how excited we were! Real talk, Auntie Nelly is my fairy godmother. I wouldn’t have more than half of the things I own, or be able to experience more than half of the things I do without her guidance and support. And my love of Disney comes from Auntie Nelly too. I am so beyond grateful for her (#blesses). I aspire to be an independent baller like her one day, but I’m still trying to figure out how to do that.

Anyhow… upon arrival to Aulani we were greeted with a warm “Aloha” and given leis. Not fake flower ones that you can pick up at any ‘ol gift shop on the island, but a legit one made out of real orchids. I later learned that men were given black kukui nut leis. Fancy schmancy stuff, but I expect no less from Disney. They’re always on their A-game!

Our room was MASSIVE. Here’s a layout of what it looked like:

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I shared the master suite with Auntie Nelly and the bed was SO huge that the middle section of it always looked immaculate and untouched every morning. We also had a shower with an enormous shower head that just rains on you, and huge bathtub with jets!! I was determined to find a Lush store to buy a bubble bar to make use of the bathtub. We also had a nice kitchen and a washer and dryer. It was like living in a super swanky condo for a whole week.

Aulani has a fantastic pool area with a lazy river, a coral reef snorkeling area, pools designated for guests 18+, and a private beach where you can paddle board. I only went to the lazy river and beach, but Auntie Nelly rented a cabana for a day and a bunch of my family just hung out there. There’s also a few food places around the pool area including a place where you can get Dole Whip for $4. For one thing, that’s the price of a churro at Disneyland, but the kicker is that you get a cup and you can fill it up with as much Dole Whip as your heart desires. AND they have a swirl option so you can have a Dole Whip creamsicle.

WHY ISN’T THIS AT DISNEYLAND?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Aulani also has a gym that’s open 24/7. I only got to use it twice, but I mean… twice is pretty good considering that I was on vacation. And their spa, Laniwai, was probably my favorite part of the resort! They have you show up an hour before your appointment so you can enjoy the amenities such as their outdoor hot tubs (there’s one specifically for women, one that has jets, and one that’s just just a small pool filled with water at 105°), multiple shower heads (that poor hot water all over you), and a little pool filled water at 45°… apparently that’s good for circulation and recommended to take a dip in before a massage. I just had a facial done because I’m too ticklish for a full body massage.

The facial was FANTASTIC. The woman was like, “If you put your hair down, I can massage your scalp” and I like, “Awwww yiisssss, mother flippin’ scalp massage!” I didn’t say that out loud, but I think my noggin is the only place where I enjoy getting massaged. She also massaged my shoulders which felt nice too, so I guess I don’t mind that either. For the facial, she asked if I had any concerns with my skin and I mentioned the pesky blackheads on my nose. So she shined a bright light on my face to examine it and proceeded to do an extraction. Have any of you ever had an extraction done? If you haven’t, it feels like someone is digging their fingernail into your skin really, really, hard. That was the least relaxing bit, but I loved everything else about it. Like, getting your face and chest wrapped in a hot towel felt soooo good and my face felt so fresh and so clean. Afterwards, I just hung around until the place closed to get more use of the amenities, like the steam room and sauna. Hanging out in a steam room with a cold towel on your face is something I highly recommend.

I WANT TO GO BACK. Stick around the blog, because I’m not done talking about Hawaii yet!

cheers

geek style · out & about

You’ve Got Me in Stitches

Nina Penalosa3 Comments

I can’t believe how quickly my Hawaiian holiday passed by. And now it’s Monday, which means it’s back to reality. All together now: BLUUUUUGGHHH.

Despite the mosquitos and the endless tummy aches from all the sweets I ate, I really didn’t want my vacation to end. Staying at Disney’s Aulani resort was probably the most luxe experience I’ve had to date! I’ll talk more about that later though. Last Monday, a bunch of my family members got to go to Aulani’s character breakfast at Makahiki! It’s similar to Goofy’s Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel which I went to back in January. We got to take pictures with Mickey, and Goofy and Minnie walked around the restaurant to take pictures with diners. I was hoping Stitch would be there since my sister Disneybounded as Lilo’s doll Scrump and I wore my Stitch ears and Hawaiian Stitch dress that I got at Hot Topic earlier this year specifically for this trip! We did run into him at the wooden Stitch statue though and he was so surprised to see my Stitch ears and started playing with them. But we didn’t get to take pictures with him because a cast member was escorting him to go somewhere else.

— heavy sigh —

Uuuuggghh… I wanna go back! It’s seriously so fantastic and magical over there. And the food at the breakfast… oh my gaaaawwwwd. I love Disneyland food, so naturally the food at the breakfast buffet was all kinds of deloycious! They had Stitch waffles, pulled pork, miso soup, tons of pastries with tropical fruits… I seriously considered smuggling some guava pastries into my purse because they were that good.

I’ll be sharing more of my adventures from my Hawaiian Holiday, so stay tuned!

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dress: Hot Topic (buy similar here) | cardigan: Old Navy (buy here)
Stitch ears: DIY’d by me | flats: deflex Comfort (buy here)

cheers

geek style · out & about

Single Riders Line

Nina Penalosa8 Comments

I was able to go to my home away from home last weekend before my Annual Pass expires next Friday. I had no plans to renew it, but now with all the Star Wars stuff that’s going to be happening at the park, like Season of the Force, I’m definitely reconsidering. I wish I knew how to quit you, Disneyland!

Anyhow, my sister and I got to go on Saturday and for a few hours on Sunday together, but she left after our cousin’s wedding shower so I ended up going to Disneyland solo on Sunday night. I figured I might as well take advantage of the fact that I still had access to both parks (and discounts!).

I realize that walking around Disneyland by yourself sounds a bit depressing. I did it once before when I went with my former boyfriend and his then girlfriend and her little brother — I know that seems weird, but they invited me and who says no to Disneyland? I was the only one that had a Magic Morning pass that allowed me to go to the park an hour early, so I ditched them… actually, I ditched them a few times and walked around by myself. While alone, I went on Space Mountain, the Haunted Mansion, and the Winnie the Pooh ride where the cast member actually let me and the grandpa/grandson duo I shared a beehive shaped vehicle with go on the ride twice in a row! I was fine alone for those few hours because I at least knew I would be hanging out with my friends again later on in the day.

Disneyland is one of those places where you go with family or friends to have fun and create special memories with them. But you know what? I was fine on my own last Sunday knowing that I wouldn’t be accompanied later on. There were a few moments where I’d see a couple walk past me holding hands and I felt a bit sad since I didn’t have anyone to keep me company. And HOLY CRAP, I was literally surrounded by couples hugging each other in the stretching room at the Haunted Mansion. I’m not even exaggerating. And while I was walking around the park, which was oddly humid for a Sunday night, I started thinking, “Why are you all holding hands? Why are you standing so close to each other? IT IS SUPER MUGGY RIGHT NOW. Do you not feel it? Are you not affected?! UGH.” So I might be a bit of a hypocrite, because I once was one of those people you’d see with their boyfriend looking disgustingly sweet. And yeah, sometimes we held hands when it was unbearably hot outside. But I digress…

Just walking around by myself, I started thinking about how great it is to be single. I can be selfish and focus on my wants and needs without having to consider someone else’s (does that sound harsh?). No sharing food (actually, that comes in handy when I’m not that hungry). No compromises. No feeling judged for wanting to buy certain items (like a My Little Pony dress (former boyfriend wasn’t crazy about it) or a Duffy Bear purse… which I totally bought and rocked at the park on Sunday morning), and no feeling bad for talking about how I want certain material possessions.

Yeah, I like material things! I love fashion. I love clothes and accessories and cute geeky toys and books. I’m a fashion blogger and a geek.  I am living in a material world and baby, I am a material girl. DEAL WITH IT.

Whooaaa… okay, got a little carried away and self-righteous there for a minute, but you know what I mean, right? Being single just makes me feel more free. Not that I ever felt constricted in my last relationship, but I’m finding that I can do things that I truly want to do, and I have more time to devote to myself which is very important. Before my last ex, I only ever had one boyfriend and we didn’t last very long. So after that, I spent a good amount of time pining for love. I just wanted to be wanted and also be able to reciprocate those feelings. I never appreciated singledom until now. So although I did truly love my ex more than anything, I’m finally starting to honestly feel good about life as a single lady and learning how to enjoy my own company.

Okay, enough of the sentimental stuff.

In case you’re wondering, “What does one do while they’re on their lonesome at the Happiest Place on Earth?” Well,  I got to hit the Little Mermaid and Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree at California Adventure, and when I got to Disneyland the parade was just ending and they were getting ready for fireworks so I just headed to the Disney Gallery to look at some art and watched Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln, walked to Fantasyland only to find that every ride was closed, and then went on the Haunted Mansion and ended the night with the Jungle Cruise. I wanted my farewell ride to be on King Arthur’s Carrousel, but at that point it was already 11pm and I just wanted to go back to the hotel and eat. So that was my fun solo date at Disneyland.

Do you like taking yourself on solo dates? Where do you take yourself when you go out on the town on your own? Let me know in the comments!

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dress: Field Day Wearables (one of) | cardigan: Old Navy (buy similar here)
belt + undershirt: Xhileration (thrifted/old purchase) | hair flower: Icing (n/a)
shoes: deflex Comfort (buy here) | Duffy purse: Disneyland (buy here)

cheers

PS: Goofy was going in for a hug when I took a picture with him, but then he jumped back with excitement when I saw that he was on my dress! Oh, Goofy. You silly dog.

5 fandom friday

5 Fandom Friday: Fictional Pets I’d Love to Adopt

Nina Penalosa7 Comments

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I’m pretty excited about this Friday’s prompt because it involves something I really, really, really, love: ANIMALS!!! Or to be more specific, pets. The first pet I ever had was a goldfish named Figaro that went belly-up before you could say “Jiminy Cricket.” Then there’s was bird named Cucu, but I consider Rory to be my first legit pet. I think of him more as my furry son, but that’s because I’m a crazy dog lady. So it’s no big surprise that all the fictional pets on my list are all dogs… except one. 🙂

✿ Wishbone

I loved Wishbone sooo much when I was a kid. The show combined two of my favorite things: dogs and books! Wishbone’s love of stories definitely further enhanced my love of reading as a youngin’, plus he’s cute as hell. I think that’s reason enough to want to adopt him.

✿ Dug from Up

Dug is super lovable and I’d be able to have legit conversations with him because he can talk back!

✿ Ghost from Game of Thrones

Jon Snow’s faithful dire wolf would be an ideal pet because he’s extremely loyal and would protect me from all kinds of creeps. And if my friends found themselves in grave peril, he’d come to their rescue too. 🙂

✿ K-9 from Doctor Who

I know he’s a robot, but he’s still a dog. And like Dug, he can talk. Sometimes I need someone to talk to when other human beings aren’t around, okay?

✿ Rajah from Aladdin

Princess Jasmine’s big ‘ol tiger has been one of my favorite Disney pets ever since the movie came out (which was a long ass time ago)! I actually still have the stuffed Rajah I got for Christmas back in ’93 too. Anyway, I think Rajah would be an ideal nap buddy (he’s so big and fluffy!), and help me ward off unwanted male suitors.

What fictional pets would you like to adopt? Let me know in the comments!

cheers

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

giveaway

4 Year Blogaversary Giveaway!

Nina Penalosa8 Comments

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Last Sunday marked Le Fancy Geek’s 4 year blogaversary! To celebrate, I’m giving away some fun Minnie Mouse items to one of my lucky readers. Yes, that means you!!!

The winner will receive:

  • 1 Minnie Mouse x LeSportsac Ryan bag (pictured above)
  • 1 Minnie Mouse x LeSportsac travel cosmetic bag
  • 1 par of Mickey & Minnie earring clings by Nerdy But Still Girly
  • 1 Minnie Mouse Tsumtsum
  • 1 Minnie Mouse brooch by Le Fancy Geek Boutique

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In case you’re wondering the Ryan bag is actually a baby bag, BUT you can most definitely use it for other things like school, work, the gym — the side pockets would be perfect for storing large water bottles to quench your thirst at the gym or wherever you go!

As always, the giveaway is open to all of my old and new readers. Just please don’t follow and then unfollow, because that’s not very nice. US residents only (sorry, international ponies). The giveaway ends next Monday, May 11!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Thanks so much to LeSportsac and Nerdy But Still Girly for sponsoring this giveaway! And thanks to all of you for following along for the past 4 years… or 3 or 2… or however long you’ve been following Le Fancy Geek). 😀

cheers

5 fandom friday · tasty travels

5 Fandom Friday: My Favorite Disneyland Snacks

Nina Penalosa6 Comments

5 fandom 2

I’m feeling very homesick for Disneyland. I often refer to it as my second home, because that’s really how I feel about it! This week’s 5 Fandom Friday is supposed to be about our favorite snacks to eat while we blog, but umm… I don’t really snack when I blog. Is that weird? I mean, sometimes I do, but not enough to warrant a blog post dedicated to it.

Instead, I’m going to share my 5 favorite Disneyland snacks. One of the things I love (and miss) most about Disneyland are the delicious treats they have to offer! I’m omitting a couple of my absolute favorites though, which would be Pineapple Dole Whip and Churros, just because they get enough attention from everyone else. I mean, we all know how great they are!

Anyhow, here are some of my other favorite snacks from Disneyland:

1. Deep Fried Pickles from Carnation Cafe

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I’m not a fan of regular ‘ol pickles, but the deep fried ones from Carnation Cafe on Main Street are soooo good!

2. Fruit tart from Jolly Holiday Cafe

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Jolly Holiday Cafe is my favorite place grab lunch and sweet treats. They have the selection of baked goods too, but my favorite is the fruit tart. The chocolate tart is perfection too, and it’s shaped like Mickey’s head to boot! 🙂

3. Pretzels

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Honestly, anything that looks like Mickey Mouse tastes 10 times better! Now if only they’d make the cream cheese pretzels like this too…

4. Corn Dogs

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I haven’t eaten anything deep fried since I completed my Whole30, and quite frankly I’m frightened to find out how my body would react to it. But corn dogs from the Disneyland Resort are deloycious! I love how they’re freshly made and not frozen garbage you can easily get at the grocery store.

5. Chocolate Mickey Mouse Cookie

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I like to call these the “Rick Ross” cookies because the large chocolate portion resembles Rick Ross’ beard. 😀

What are your favorite Disney snacks? Let me know in the comments!

cheers

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! 

geek style

The Wonderful World of Mary Blair Meets Pinup Couture

Nina PenalosaLeave a comment

A couple weeks ago, Pinup Girl Clothing announced their collaboration with the estate of Mary Blair for a limited edition collection of skirts and dresses featuring Blair’s whimsical art! To say I’m a huge Mary Blair fan would be an understatement — I’ve mentioned my love for her art on numerous posts in the past (here, here, and here) —  so of course I hyperventilated when I came across the announcement on Pinup Girl Clothing’s Instagram account.

All the pieces in the collection are so lovely, but these beauts are my favorites:

♥ Aurora dress in Train Border print ♥

♥ Heidi dress Planes print ♥

♥ Nancy dress in Butterflies print ♥

♥ Ella dress in Lips & Roses print in pink ♥

A date for when the collection will be available to purchase hasn’t been announced yet, but if you want to be alerted, you can join the waitlist on their website! There is also some really great potential to create a few Disneybound outfits with these dresses — the train print could totally be Casey Jr. from Dumbo and the butterfly dress fits perfectly with the butterfly motif that pops up in the live action version of Cinderella. 🙂

Which ones are your favorites from the Mary Blair collection?

cheers

5 fandom friday

5 Fandom Friday: My Favorite Funko Pop! Figures

Nina Penalosa10 Comments

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A friend of mine once asked how many Funko Pop! vinyl figures I own, and I had to stop and think about it for a good 2 minutes. I lost track of all the figures I own, but I know it’s well over 20! With so many choices, how am I supposed to narrow down my top 5 favorite for this week’s 5 Fandom Friday?! I tried my best to not list all my Disney ones to make the list more diverse, but alas. A good majority of my collection are Disney characters (because I’m the biggest Disnerd, duh!).

1. Baymax

My Baymax figure is the biggest figure I own! My friend Jen got him for me for Christmas (he was originally supposed to be my birthday present) and she was super anxious to give it to me because she knew I would most likely buy it for myself. And I nearly did buy him! I put him on hold at Barnes & Noble, and then she had to keep telling me NOT to buy him. It took me a minute to figure out why. Haha!

2. Snow White

Snow White is my favorite princess, and one of the first Disney Pops I ever purchased (my very first Pop! figure would be Batman). I went pretty crazy when they came out the first Disney series — I got Maleficent, Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and Sulley along with Snow White. But Snow’s the fairest Pop! of them all! I found a set with 3 mini Disney princess figures that had a lil’ Snow White, so now I have two. 😀

3. Mary Poppins

I fangirl’d sooo hard when I saw a preview of the Mary Poppins figure a few years ago. I mean, look at her! She’s practically perfect in every way. 😉 Whoever designed her just completely nailed every little detail from her hat to her umbrella. Perfection!

4. Robb Stark & Grey Wind 

Okay, this is technically two, but I’m counting them as one because I feel that I can’t have one without the other. I got Robb at SDCC, and was on a mad hunt to find his dire wolf, Grey Wind. I didn’t know that Grey Wind was a 7-11 exclusive though (I could’ve sworn I saw him at Barnes & Noble when I still worked there), so he proved to be quite a challenge to acquire for a price below $50. I eventually found him at Stockton-Con, and he is the most priciest Pop! vinyl I own (I haggled and got him for $30). I DID IT FOR YOU, ROBB.

5. Loki

I’m sooo happy that Funko came out with another Loki figure with the pointy helmet! I wasn’t really crazy about the one sans helmet, and the first Loki figure they came out with is way too ‘spensive online, and his helmet wasn’t even gold. This one is just fantastic!

What are some of your favorite Pop! vinyls? Have you lost count of your collection like me? Lemme know in the comments!

cheers

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!