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.
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! 😀
Hey my little ponies! I’m back with a bit more of my trip to Disneyland.
A trip to Disney isn’t complete without seeing my favorite equine, Jingles. And I finally got to take a side-by-side picture with my tattoo of her (pictured below)! I had it done last year by Jen Lee at Tattoo City in San Francisco. She did such a great job capturing all the details, didn’t she?
I remember when Disneyland celebrated its 50th anniversary, Jingles was gold from head to hoof! Many of the rides had at least one gold vessel, so I was a little surprised to see that Disney didn’t encrust diamonds on any of the rides in similar fashion to what they did for their 50th. Oh well! Sleeping Beauty Castle itself provides enough sparkle as is, so I guess it’s okay that none of the other attractions throughout the park got a fancy updo. 😀
For the 24 hour event, I knew that comfort would obviously be key. I wasn’t sure how long we’d last for the event beforehand, but I knew I would be freezing while we waited in line to get into the park. Unfortunately for me, freezing meant that pants would be the practical choice over my usual dress or skirt. You all know how I feel about pants… I HATE ‘EM! When I went to school in San Francisco I constantly wore dresses even though it was always super chilly, but the cold never bothered me anyway (ha!) so I didn’t really care. But I knew I was going to be sleeping on the ground outside. A dress/skirt would’ve been all kinds of impractical!
It feels slightlyreally silly how stressed out I got over figuring out what to wear. My sister said, “I don’t care what I look like, I’m just trying to be comfortable.” And I’m thinking, “But I’m a fashion blogger, I feel like I need to look cute AND be comfortable!” UGH. So I settled on a floral skirt (because I thought it’d be hot in the afternoon but I was wrong), denim vest, a light knit pullover, and the comfiest sneakers in all the land. Seriously, these black Vans I got a few days before I left for Anaheim are probably the comfiest shoes I’ve ever worn to the park. Sure, my feet ached for a bit, but I never had to do what I call my horse-foot-stomp t0 make my feet feel better. And most importantly: NO BLISTERS! Bless you, Vans. BLESS. YOU.
I’ll be back soon with more Disney! And next time it’ll be all about food. SPOILER ALERT: An Iron Man waffle will be involved. 😀
I was supposed to post this yesterday, but I was out and about and didn’t have a computer handy. Sooo, here it is, part 2!
For our second full day at Disneyland, we headed to Tomorrowland to watch the Jedi Training Academy show. I’ve seen it in bits and pieces from previous visits as I passed by, but it’s actually a lot of fun to watch. Jedi masters pick kids out from the crowd and teach them how to battle with lightsabers. They call the kids up by what they’re wearing — some kid had R2-D2 Mickey ears on and the Jedi said, “You, with the r2 unit on his head.” 🙂
The way he talked reminded me of the Old Spice guy — very charismatic with tons of machismo. I think this is probably the raddest job a person can have at Disneyland — you get paid to be a Jedi and play with lightsabers!
Darth Vader, a couple of Stormtroopers, and Darth Maul (not pictured because I couldn’t get a decent shot of him) came out, and the little padawans got to duke it out with them. My nephew Jacob NEEDS to do this the next time he goes to Disneyland. He would go to town with a lightsaber and kick Darth Vader’s ass. I’m sure of it.
Force push!Darth Vader!Even if you don’t have kids, any Star Wars fan should watch this.
After the Jedi Training Academy, Tim and I picked up Fast Passes for Space Mountain, and then the four of us watched Captain EO. What’s a trip to Disneyland without some Michael Jackson in space?
“Oh boy, my first 3D movie!”
Since my sister had to go back to work the next day (booo), her and Ryan left after we took pictures with Eeyore, Tigger, and Pooh.
Tim’s favorite!The one and only T-I-DOUBLE-GA-ER!
It didn’t occur to us until afterwards that we could’ve taken a group picture with one of the characters. So here we are by Splash Mountain:
Basically the one and only decent group shot of us.
After they left, Tim and I headed back to Space Mountain and looked around the gift store near the exit with all the arcade games. In there, I saw a claw machine full of Beanie Babies! Tim was determined to get one, so he got enough tokens for each of us to have a go at it. He went for a little non-Beanie Baby black bear, but missed. For my turn I decided to go for the little black bear as well, since he seemed attainable and was really the only cute thing in there. And I GOT IT! I’ve won a toy from a claw machine once, I was probably 6 when it happened. As I saw the claw scoop it up (this claw machine had a nice scoopy-thing going on, which is way better than the traditional claw because it makes it feel like you have a chance), I tried really hard not to jump up and down out of excitement for fear of possibly shaking the bear out of the claw’s grasp. And when it landed in the slot, I did my little happy dance. “I got it! I got it!” I think I was more excited about this win than the first time I actually won one when I was 6. Tim said there was some girl behind us that said in a somber voice, “She got the one that I wanted.” Is it bad that that made me even more excited? o,0
So where’s the bear? You’ll see him in a bit.
We watched The Muppets 3D show. It’s nice way to escape the SoCal heat.GONZO!
Decorations for the Mad T Party are already in place near the Monsters Inc. ride. Unlike elecTRONica, the Mad T Party doesn’t take up most of the Hollywood Backlot, which is nice because I hated how it overpowered the area… not that I don’t like TRON or anything. It just took away from the rest of the place!
Don’t worry, White Rabbit. You’re too early.House of Cards.Mickey Mouse pretzel!!!Tim’s Mickey ears.
I didn’t know that some changes were made to The Little Mermaid ride recently, but it was a pleasant surprise to spot them. There are two bits of an animated Ariel that were originally CGI, so they looked nothing like the Ariel that we know and love from the movie. Those were changed to look more like the hand drawn animated version of her, so she looks more familiar to riders. And more bubbles were added to the part of the ride that stimulates a decent under water.
The biggest change I noticed was Ariel’s hair during the “Under the Sea” part. Before, her hair looked like a big giant red tornado, or a Treasure Troll. Take a look here. It was just all kinds of awkward. And apparently John Lasseter thought so too, hence why all the changes were made to the ride.
Ariel’s new ‘do. Less Treasure Troll, more mermaid-y.Kissy kissy.
After visting Ariel and co. we went to the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail so I could find out what my spirit animal is! I’m kind of obsessed with spirit animals. I keep trying to find places that will tell me what my legit spirit animal is, but I always wind up with funky online quizzes.
Redwood Creek Challenge used to be themed around ‘Brother Bear’
Tim and I didn’t see Kenai’s Spirit Cave the last time we went, so we went exploring and eventually found it. Yeah, we could’ve used the map, but what’s the fun in that?
Tim’s spirit animal is a wolf.
I got confuzzled when I went to go see what my spirit animal was. At first a skunk appeared, but then a moose quickly showed up after. Thus, I have decided my spirit animal is both a skunk and a moose. 😛
What, no deer?Remember that bear I won in the claw machine? Well, here he is! Griswald Spaceman (spa-che-men, like Dr. Spaceman on 30 Rock).
Peter Pan’s Flight was our last ride of the night, but they had some crazy technical difficulties going on about a half hour into our wait period. But we stayed anyway!
Best ride in Fantasyland, hands down.I love carousel horses! They are pretty much one of my favorite things.Jingles, the lead horse, was dedicated to Julie Andrews in 2005. I love her. I wish she were my grandmother.
The next day we checked out of our hotel and before heading back up north, we decided to go to the park for a bit. On our way to Toy Story Midway Mania, we saw this Doctor Who and Mad Men art! Crystal Webb, the artist of the DW stuff, talked to us for a bit and we basically nerded out about the Doctor and what companions we liked, and some other random stuff. I think we talked to her for a good 15 minutes. Maybe even 30. I don’t know. Always nice to chat with a fellow Whovian though. You can check her out her art here.
Doctor Who art by Crystal Webb, Don Draper by Orlando de la Paz
As usual, the line for the Toy Story ride was a 45 minute wait, but it’s pretty much the best ride at California Adventure. I’m usually really good at kicking Tim’s bum on this ride, (and Astroblasters, Wii bowling, and Wii tennis too), but when we went in March, HE TOTALLY SCHOOLED ME. I had to redeem myself. We made a bet that the loser has to buy lunch.
Rex & Potato HeadRex fits right in!
There came a point where we were neck and neck, but Tim won in the end. Hot dogs were on me.
DAMMIT.
After lunch we learned how to draw Phineas and Ferb. I don’t have our doodles, so I couldn’t take pictures of them to share with you all. Sorry! They didn’t turn out too shabby though. And since you can’t see them, you’ll just have to take my word for it. Or don’t. Whichever. I don’t care.
Concept art from Pocahontas, Mulan, and Tarzan
Before we embarked on our 7 hour drive back home, we hit Disneyland one last time to grab snacks at the Jolly Holiday Cafe. I think that’s my new favorite eating spot at the park. They have soooo many tasty pastries and soup and sammiches. And the decor!
Stained glass penguin.
And that was my trip! Hope you guys enjoyed the pictures. 😀
I got back from my super amazingly fantastical 4-day Disneyland adventure last night around 2:30 am! Or technically, earlier this morning. My back is killing me (Tim had to put Icy Hot patches on me, and I’ve been downing Aleve like there’s no tomorrow), my feet are sore, and there’s slight chaffage between my thighs, but I already miss Disneyland oh-so-terribly. 😦 And despite the fact that we were there for 4 days, we still didn’t do everything we wanted to do. BUT, we also got annual passes, so we have a whole year to go back as many times as we can!!!
Some pretty interesting things happened during our stay — the cast of Modern Family were shooting on location for an upcoming episode. We spotted them on Main Street! And on Saturday, we used our Magic Morning passes to get into the park an hour early, and around 9:30 we headed over to California Adventure to get Fast Passes for World of Color, but we noticed that the park was damn near empty — a rarity for a Saturday at Disneyland. We were stopped by some cast members at the entrance/exit and they told us that there’s a “situation” going on outside of the park, so they weren’t letting anyone in OR out. Basically, we were trapped inside Disneyland which is probably the greatest place anyone could be trapped at. We got to enjoy 3 hours of short lines! But I do feel bad for the folks who had to wait inside the parking lot to get in. Oh yeah, Disneyland closed at 2 am that night too. CRAZYNESS.
I got to see my sister and her boyfriend briefly since they were at the park for the One More Disney Day event a few days before we got there.We asked a cast member to take our photo — he ended up making us do 3 poses.I saw someone wearing the SAME EXACT Hello Kitty cardigan and leaf print dress as me. WHAT ARE THE ODDS???Meeko wears a bow tie now. Bow ties are cool.These are not the droids you are looking for.Disneyland was a ghost town on Saturday morning. It was amazing!Eric Stonestreet (Cameron!) from Modern Family.This looks like an engagement photo. Hehe. 🙂The World of Color show is by far one of my favorite things about California Adventure.At elecTRONica with Sam and Aaron.Aladdin and Jasmine on It’s a Small World.Tim and I with the ultimate couple: Mickey and Minnie.Another one of my favorite things at California Adventure is the sketch class.Prince Eric & Ariel.Matchy-matchy with the Sleeping Beauty duds.In case you haven’t thrown up over the cute couply pictures we took.Captain EO is so delightfully 80s. ❤
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