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

Pink Wash Conundrum

October 24, 2015 Nina Penalosa3 Comments

I don’t believe in washing my lighter clothes separately from my darker clothes. I ain’t got time for that! Throwing everything into the wash and putting it on cold has never ever been a problem for me. Why the hell am I talking about this? It’s all relevant to the outfit I’m wearing in this post, I swear! Now, you see that white t-shirt I’m wearing with an uber fancy pants Cyberman on it? Well, it is no longer white. It is pink because I accidentally didn’t switch the wash from warm/cold water to cold/cold water. UUUUGGGGHHHH!!! Such a rookie mistake! Wanna know what turned it pink too? If you guessed the skirt I’m wearing in these picture, you’d be correct. /facepalm

In a way it’s kind of funny since –SPOILER ALERT– Danny Pink from series 8 of Doctor Who turns into a Cyberman… and my shirt’s got a Cyberman and now it’s suddenly pink. Get it? Get it??? Haaaa… okay, I’m the only one who finds it amusing. 😛

It’s not drastically pink. I don’ think so, anyway. But another casualty that the red skirt hit was my mint green cropped cardigan. RUGH. – insert angry face emoji here –

Lesson learned? Always triple check the water temperature before I wash my clothes!

13932753164_59cedb28ab cardigan: Old Navy | t-shirt: Teefury (buy similar here)
skirt: ModCloth (buy here) | belt: Pinup Girl Clothing
hair flower: Icing | purse: LeSportsac (buy here)
flats: Blowfish Shoes (buy similar here)

photo credit: Amanda Jean

5 fandom friday

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

July 31, 2015 Nina Penalosa7 Comments

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!

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!

5 fandom friday

5 Fandom Friday: Fictional Vehicles I’d Love to Travel In

July 24, 2015 Nina Penalosa16 Comments

It’s Friday, which means it’s time for another installment of 5 Fandom Friday! Today I’m going to be sharing what 5 fictional vehicles I’d love to travel in, so let’s get started!

✿ The TARDIS

DUH! This has got to be on everyone’s list, right?! I want to travel in the TARDIS because it can go anywhere in space and time! I’d ask the Doctor to take me back in time to see Queen and The Police in concert because how cool would it be to see Freddie Mercury, the greatest vocalist of all time, perform live?!

✿ The Batmobile

I feel like I need to be specific with what model of the Batmobile I’d prefer to travel in, because the one from the Christopher Nolan movies is just… a baby tank. I’m gonna go with the 1960s a la Adam West because it’s the first form of the Batmobile I was ever introduced to. Plus I like the bubbly windshield. 🙂

✿ The Bus (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)

When it’s not under attack, the Bus looks like a fun place to be. And Agent May could just put it on auto-pilot and teach me how to kick ass in the Bus’ gym. I wanna be Agent May when I grow up! Is it too late for that?

✿ The Millennium Falcon

Because it’s the mother effin’ Millennium Falcon, that’s why!

✿ The back of Steve Rogers’ motorcycle

To be specific, I would like to ride on the back of Steve Roger’s motorcycle while Steve Rogers himself (Chris Evans version) is in control of the vehicle. Hehehehehe – insert heart eye emojis –

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!

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?

5 fandom friday

5 Fandom Friday: Favorite Aliens

July 3, 2015 Nina Penalosa6 Comments

Holy crap, I haven’t participated in 5 Fandom Friday since April! – insert shocked emoji here –

I have no excuse as to why I stopped doing it for so long, but it’s a brand new month filled with a bunch of new prompts, so why not start again today? For this prompt, I’ll be sharing who my favorite extraterrestrials are! I thought this list was going to be easy, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized I actually don’t have that many. x__x

So here we go. My favorite aliens are…

1. The 11th Doctor

This is a no brainer. The 11th Doctor is my absolute favorite incarnation of the Doctor because he’s very bumbly and just so childlike and serious all at once. That automatically lands him a spot on my list. 🙂

2. Stitch a.k.a. Experiment 626

Sure, Stitch causes chaos and destruction wherever he goes (since that was what he was originally created for), but how can you not love that cute French Bulldog-ish face of his? And his perfect impression of Elvis?

3. Lumpy Space Princess

OH MY GLOB, YOU GUYS. While brainstorming for possible favorite aliens, Lumpy Space Princess came to mind. I mean, she’s from SPACE. She counts as an alien… right?

4. Admiral Ackbar

I’ve been trying to think of why I like Admiral Ackbar so much, and I believe I have finally figured it out. One of my worst fears is to be trapped somewhere, or to just be stuck in general without a way of getting out. Admiral Ackbar would warn me if something is a trap or not. I don’t care if he’s fictional, he has my back!

5. Marvin the Martian

This cantankerous Martian has been one of my favorites for the longest time, so I had to give him a spot for nostalgia’s sake. 🙂

Who are your favorite aliens? Lemme 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!

5 fandom friday · out & about

5 Fandom Friday: Conventions I Wish To Attend

January 16, 2015 Nina Penalosa7 Comments

This week’s 5 Fandom Friday prompt is about one of my favorite things: CONVENTIONS!!! I’ve been lucky to go to a few — some big, some small, and some multiple times — such as San Diego Comic-Con International, WonderCon (but only when it was in San Francisco), Anime Expo, Stockton Con, Sac-Con, and BookCon. One of my favorite things about going to conventions are all the artists and small brands. I remember when the Tokidoki booth wasn’t always flooded, and you could actually just go up to Simone Legno and say, “Hey!” Gone are those days. But still, I think it’s so cool to watch these companies and artists grow more and more each year I go! 🙂

SDCC circa 2008 when I was hella into Tokidoki

There’s a plethora of different conventions going on all year, and so little time (and definitely little money) for me to get to them! But here are the top 5 I’d love to go to one day:

1. D23 Expo

This is a definitive DUH. A convention dedicated to all things Disney? YES PLEASE AND THANK YOU. No need to further explain my extreme desire to go.

2. Star Wars Celebration

See explanation for D23 Expo, but replace Disney with Star Wars.

3. Gallifrey One

A convention dedicated solely to Doctor Who! Same explanation as #2, but this time replace Disney with Doctor Who. 😉

4. New York Comic Con

I’ve heard really great things about NYCC, and a lot of the people I follow on social media always post pictures every year and it just looks like so much fun!

5. Geek Girl Con

A convention that celebrates my tribe! I don’t remember how I heard about Geek Girl Con, but I remember looking into being a vendor a couple years ago, then deemed that would be a bit much since it’s all the way in Seattle. I’d love to just go as an attendee though and be amongst all my fellow lady geeks. 🙂

What conventions are you aching to go to? Lemme know in the comments!

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!

5 fandom friday

5 Fandom Friday: Characters I Would Invite To My Thanksgiving Feast

November 21, 2014 Nina Penalosa6 Comments

Happy Friday, my little ponies! Today’s 5 Fandom Friday post is about which fictional characters I’d like to invite to my Thanksgiving feast. When I first saw the theme I thought it would be extremely difficult narrowing it down to just 5 characters, but once I got the metaphorical ball rolling it was actually quite easy! And just for funsies I’m also adding what dish I would have each character bring to my Thanksgiving feast because let’s face it: I can’t cook for shit and if I were to ever host Thanksgiving, you bet your sweet ass it would be a potluck.

1. Liz Lemon from 30 Rock

Liz loves food. I love food. Inviting her to my Thanksgiving feast is a no-brainer! We would talk about food and the kinds that we love most, bond over Star Wars, and talk about how people in general are very annoying. Especially youths.

Om Nom Contribution: Cheese dishes! Mac & Cheese, a cheese platter, and mozzarella sticks because clearly we’re going to have a sleepover afterwards and we’re going to work on our night cheese. I will have lactaid pills in case any of us need them, of course.

2. Leslie Knope from Parks & Recreation

Leslie Knope may be very intense, but she’s super friendly and eager to please. If she were to come to my Thanksgiving feast, we’d probably have great conversation about Harry Potter, women we look up to, and the importance of breakfast food. Plus, she’d help keep the conversation stay positive because Liz and I might go off in negative tangents. And I hope that I will say something that makes her respond with, “Oh, Nina. You beautiful land mermaid.”

Om Nom Contribution: Waffles, syrup, whipped cream, fresh fruit, and chocolate chips.

3. Tina Belcher from Bob’s Burgers

Tina Belcher would be so much fun to have as a guest for Thanksgiving! We would all talk about writing and where we get our inspiration from (she would then go off on a tangent about Jimmy Pesto Jr.’s butt, and then Leslie would argue that her husband has cutest butt in the world, and then I would argue that Welsh Corgis hold the award for Cutest Butt in the World and then they’d all agree with me because I’m totally right), books, and boys (duh). Tina would most likely talk about her latest erotic friend fiction story, and we’d all probably be slightly uncomfortable yet highly amused.

Om Nom Contribution: A huge platter full of burgers from her dad’s restaurant and fries, naturally.

4. Mia Thermopolis from The Princess Diaires

Princess Mia! How could I not invite her? She would be extremely lovely and then let loose a bit after a glass of champagne that her Grandmère had her body guard (who is watching the football game in the other room) bring with him. She would talk about school and princess lessons and Michael Moscovitz, and tell us how hard it is to balance it all, and we’d all be like “Amen, sister!” Then we’d all talk about our favorite “Top 5” things (movies, Star Wars characters (Liz Lemon would be so amused that Princess Mia owns Queen Amidala underwear), places to get sandwiches, and whatnot because Mia likes making lists in her journal, and I like making lists in my head.

Om Nom Contribution: The turkey and pies made with Genovian pears, because Grandmère would insist that because she is a princess and a guest, she should not be subjected to contributing. But Mia will explain that it’s rude to NOT bring something to a potluck, so Grandmère tells her to go ahead and bring the turkey and dessert to show just how great and accomodating Genovians truly are. <– I’m basing this all off the way Grandmère is portrayed in the books, not the movie where she’s sweet and lovely and played by the ever beautiful Julie Andrews.

5. The 11th Doctor from Doctor Who

Despite the fact that the Doctor spends most of his time in modern-day London when he’s not off exploring far-off lands in the distant past or future, I think he’d be a lovely Thanksgiving guest — particularly the 11th Doctor because of his boyish charm and old man tendencies. Plus I want to see Tina attempt to flirt with him because he would totally be oblivious to her advances. 😀

Om Nom Contribution: Fish Fingers & Custard, of course! And Jammy Dodgers for pre-dinner snackies.

My Thanksgiving feast actually sounds more like a slumber party, but I think that’s okay! Who would you invite to your Thanksgiving feast? Let me know in the comments section!

Cheers,
Nina

geek style · giveaway

Unicorn Crafts

August 18, 2014 Nina Penalosa2 Comments

Hey ponies! The Unicorn Crafts giveaway I’m hosting was supposed to end tonight at midnight, but I decided to extend it until this Saturday, the 23rd at midnight PST to give you all a bit more time to enter for a chance to win it. Yaaaay!

Be sure to go –> here <– in order to enter the giveaway.

Anywho, I want to showcase some of the other cute little trinkets that can be found at Unicorn Crafts as well so you can all get a sense of just how awesome Faheema’s shop is! Though it may be called Unicorn Crafts, there is certainly more to it than just adorable little unicorns — you can also find necklaces, rings, earrings, and pins with narwhals (technically the unicorn of the sea… oops), Totoro, Doctor Who, R2-D2, kawaii looking snacks like bacon, donuts, cookies, avocados, macarons, (etc) with little smiley faces, and many, many, MANY more things!

Besides the necklace I got at AnimeExpo, I also picked up a Game of Thrones pin with House Stark’s sigil of a dire wolf and motto “Winter is coming” for my sister since she’s a huge GoT fan. This was a few weeks before I started watching the show, so now I’m bummed that I didn’t watch it any sooner. * le sigh *

Your teeth are totally throbbing from all the sweetness that is Unicorn Crafts now, aren’t they? Sorry I’m not sorry about that. ☺

Be sure to check out Unicorn Craft’s online shop for more goodies, and, of course, don’t forget to enter the giveaway!

Cheers,
Nina

out & about · shoppin'

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