Mad Men [in a Blue Box]

August 15, 2013 Nina Penalosa8 Comments

outfit details – dress: ModCloth (buy here) // cardigan: Merona // belt: Xhileration // necklace: Once Upon a Smorgasbord // purse: H&M // Adipose keychain (buy here) // glasses: Derek Cardigan (buy similar here) // shoes: Seychelles // ring: Zales (21st birthday present from parents)

Ever since I started watching Mad Men back in 2009 I’ve been utterly obsessed with Joan Holloway’s iconic pen necklace. My mom procured a silver necklace similar to it for me a few birthdays ago, but since I’ve become a full-fledged Whovian I couldn’t help but think of how rad it would be to have a Sonic Screwdriver necklace that’s reminiscent of Joan’s gold pen necklace. I came across a keychain that I could use as a pendent last year, and I finally got around to making it last month. Now I have a fancy Sonic Screwdriver necklace a la Joanie! I like to call it my “Mad Men [in a Blue Box]” necklace. And it looks perfect with my solar system dress (which was on the galactic Wishful Wednesdays post)! 🙂

This has quickly become one of my favorite outfits — I’m pretty sure I’ve worn it at least four times already. The dress is not only fantastic because of its stellar (ha… see what I did there?) print and cut, but its pockets. I HAS POCKETS! Pockets on dresses and skirts is seriously one of the best things ever, like chocolate chip cookies that are crunchy and chewy at the same time. Yes, those kinds of cookies do exist. You can find them at Cafe Rosso at SFSU. Anyhow, the pockets are convenient for holding my phone and chapstick, or for me to place my hands in when I don’t know what to do with them.

I love all the endless possibilities of incorporating my geeky fandoms with it too. With my necklace and TARDIS blue cardigan, this outfit is clearly a nod to Doctor Who. I also added my cute little Adipose keychain onto my purse for maximum Whoness! But I could also fix this up with some of my Star Wars accessories too. 😀

I have one extra Sonic Screwdriver to make another “Mad Men [in a Blue Box]” necklace, but I have a couple of custom orders to fulfill before I go on and make it. I’ll put up a listing for it on my Etsy store in the [maybe] nearby future though!

How do you incorporate your fandom into your everyday wardrobe?

Cheers,
Nina

Once Upon a Fable

June 29, 2013 Nina Penalosa4 Comments

outfit details – dress: Fun & Flirt // necklace: Once Upon a Smorgasbord // belt: Xhileration // watch: Timex x Disney // glasses: Brooks Brothers (buy here) // boots: Rampage (buy similar here) // purse: Kate Spade (buy here) // keychain: Arpakasso

Hello kitties! I didn’t realize it’s been well over a week since my last blog post. Whoops! The the blog negligence is unintentional — as I’ve mentioned before, posts may be sparse as I’m balancing out two parttime jobs, but I’ve been finding myself getting reaquainted with a pastime that I feel I have been neglecting for far too long: reading.

I love reading and despite the fact that I’m a reading tutor, I’ve been having difficulty focusing on the written word as a recreational act and I find that rather bothersome. To ease back into it, I binge read volumes 15-18 of Fables, a graphic novel series I got into 3 or 4 years ago. Of course it’s easy to breeze through a graphic novel in an hour or two, but it still counts as reading! And if you haven’t heard of Fables, you MUST look into it if you’re into fairytales, folklore, mythology, and Once Upon a Time. It’s about a group of characters from all walks of literature, particularly fairytales and folklore, who seek refuge in New York City and build their own community called Fabeltown after a force known as the Adversary exiles them from their homeland. READ IT. IT’S AWESOME.

And I just finished reading Neil Gaiman’s latest novel The Ocean at the End of the Lane. It is absolutely beautiful and magical and dark and just simply amazing! I don’t want to get too into though since I feel like it’d be more appropriate to blog abou it after I go to his singing in Santa Rosa next Saturday. That’s right. I’MMA MEET MR. NEIL GAIMAN!!!! ERMERGERD. ERMERGERD. /fangirling

Shall I talk about my outfit though, since this is a personal style blog? Okay, cool. After putting it together I realized it paid a teeny tiny nod to Fables with my Snow White necklace (one of my favorite characters in the series), my beloved Kate Spade typewriter bag with the little Arpakasso keychain, and my red cowboy boots. There’s a particular extension of Fabletown known as The Farm where all the furry fairytale characters live and at one point in the series a scribe comes to investigate. I won’t say much more about that because you need to read it!

Next up on the reading list might be Stardust by Neil Gaiman. I don’t think I’m quite ready to leave the world of science fiction and fantasy just yet. What’s on your reading list this summer?

Cheers,
Nina

geek style

Coral Corral

May 20, 2013 Nina Penalosa16 Comments

outfit details – dress: American Rag // boots: Charles Albert // belt: Xhileration (came with another dress) // bolero: I have no idea! // glasses: Derek Cardigan (buy here) // purse: street faire find // cocktail ring:vintage // necklace: Once Upon a Smorgasbord

I forgot how terribly irksome it is to take your own outfit shots via self-timer and tripod. I’ve been very spoiled by having Tim take my pictures whenever he’s in town (he’s oh-so very patient and even gives me directions on where to look or how to pose), but since he’s in Ohio for a week I need to go back to the way I started. And damn, it’s been a bitch!

In the process of trying to take shots of this outfit I wore last week (it’s been a busy weekend full of wedding festivities so I haven’t been able to do a write-up until now– mah bad), my tripod got knocked over by a sudden gust of wind while my 3-month old camera was still mounted to it! Thankfully, the camera only has a bit of a scratch. *PHEW* But the little removable part that the camera screws onto totes broke. I superglued it back on, but now I don’t have the convenience of taking it off and whatnot. Oh well!

But enough of my moaning, check out my purse! It’s a friggin horse saddle!!! I found it at the Lodi Street Faire earlier this month and fell in love immediately. Whenever my mom and I go to flea markets or street faires, I usually have a certain thing I’m looking for. A quirky bag wasn’t on my agenda (now that I think about it, I didn’t really have anything on my agenda), but once I laid eyes on it I knew I had to bring it home with me. I’d be a fool to pass it up, right? It was originally marked at $55, but mom (a total haggling pro), asked the vendor what her best price was and she said $45. SCORE!

Tip: When bargaining with vendors at street fairs and whatnot, throw out phrases like “What’s your best price?” or “What’s the best you can do on this?” if you’re interested in an item because then it sounds like you’ve been doing this haggling thing forever and have it down pat. Plus it sounds a lot better than, “Can you go any lower?”

I made the necklace I’m wearing with a little horse toy that I adorned with pink ribbon and some flatback Swarovski crystals. I dubbed it my “Neapolitan Pony” since the colors go along with the ice cream flavor. ERMERGERD, doesn’t a bowl of that sound super tasty right now?! I actually made quite a few of these necklaces with other animal toys, but have yet to put them on my Etsy store ’cause I’m lame like that. But if you’re interested in ordering a custom one, don’t hesitate to ask me! I’ve actually done three custom orders for these little animal necklaces already via Instagram; four if you count my mom’s birthday request for a hippo 🙂

Cheers,
Nina

geek style

Once Upon a Smorgasbord Update & Sale!

May 14, 2013 Nina Penalosa6 Comments

Hey all! Like I mentioned in my last post, I started a post Mother’s Day sale on my Etsy store Once Upon a Smorgasbord since I wasn’t able to do one in time for the actual holiday itself. Oops.

From now until May 20, use code OOPS10 to get 10% off your purchase 🙂

Here are some of the latest additions to the store:

A vintage illustration of a mother and child on a French chandelier crystal pendent

Cheers,
Nina

geek style

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes

May 9, 2013 Nina Penalosa7 Comments

outfit details – pullover: Forever 21 // dress: BCX (buy here) // ring + earrings: Once Upon a Smorgasbord (buy here and here) // glasses: Derek Cardigan (buy here) // shoes: Mossimo

I was looking through my wallet the other day and noticed that I never took out my Annual Pass to Disneyland despite the fact that it expired two months ago. *cries* A key to happiness with an expiration date is the saddest thing ever! Wah wah wah. #firstworldproblems

So today’s outfit is a “what I’d wear to Disneyland” kind of a thing, but really — I’d wear Disney related clothing ANYWHERE. 😀

I actually wore this lacey navy blue dress on my last trip to Disneyland (seen here). Annnd, this is the dress’ third appearance in an outfit post (seen here). Sorry I’m not sorry for recycling! I got my lavender Cinderella pullover a couple years ago when Forever 21 first started selling them. Naturally, I went ape sh!t and bought almost every friggin’ one they had, except for yellow Lion King pullover which they never had in my size every time I stumbled upon it. RUGH!

The jewelry I’m wearing is made by yours truly and I just put them up on Once Upon a Smorgasbord! Don’t worry, I’m just wearing them for show in this outfit. I didn’t actually go out and about wearing them! And with Mother’s Day coming closer and closer, it’s too late for me to have a sale like I originally intended. Mah bad.

So bad news: if you want to buy something for your mama from Once Upon a Smorgasbord, it won’t ship out on time.

Good news: I’m going to start a sale ON Mother’s Day! I’ll be adding more things to the store, so be on the lookout for more info on that and a code to use at checkout 😀

Cheers,
Nina

geek style · giveaway

LeSportsac x Disney – It’s a Small World Giveaway!!!

April 18, 2013 Nina Penalosa195 Comments

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED. Thanks to all who entered!

Like I mentioned in my last blog post, I’m throwing my very first GINORMOUS giveaway!!! A BIG thank you goes out to the lovely people over at LeSportsac for making this giveaway possible 😀 My awesomely fantastic readers have a chance to win THREE different purses from LeSportsac’s It’s a Small World line in their “Share Your Dreams” print.

The Third Place winner will be receiving the Small EveryGirl Tote! However, I’m sorry to say that this didn’t come with the face charm — I will find something to make up for it though! 🙂

The Second Place winner will be receiving the Deluxe Shoulder Satchel!

And finally, the Grand Prize winner will be receiving the Molly bag! Don’t let its small size fool you, this over-the-shoulder purse has room FOR DAYS! But that’s not all the Grand Prize winner will be getting! In honor of my blog’s 2 year anniversary, I decided to throw in some fun extra goodies!

Along with the Molly bag, the Grand Prize winner will be getting:

My favorite beauty staple – Dr. Pepper Lip Smackers
A cute little tissue pack featuring Woody and Buzz (Buzz is on the back) from Toy Story
Rose clip for your hair (just like the one I have in this post!)
A book by my favorite author, John Green!
A little Doctor Who toy (it’s a Dalek — no, I didn’t open. I just know!)
A pair of Princess Jasmine earrings from my Etsy store, Once Upon a Smorgasbord
Tiny Rapunzel pen
Princess Ariel notepad

Sounds good?

Here’s how to enter:

Leave a comment with your email address (so I know how to contact you if you win!)
Subscribe to the blog and leave a comment saying that you did. You can do so by either following me via WordPress or by entering your email address on the right side of the blog where it says “subscribe”
Follow me on Bloglovin’ and leave a comment letting me know you did.
“Like” the Le Fancy Geek page on Facebook and leave a comment with your name (on this post, not on the FB page).
“Like” the LeSportsac page on Facebook and leave a comment with your name (on this post, not on their FB page).
Follow me on Twitter and leave a comment with your Twitter name.
Tweet “I just entered @pink_apple’s It’s a Small World @lesportsac bag giveaway on LeFancyGeek!!!” <– must be that exact same wording.
Follow me on Instagram and leave a comment with your Instagram name.
Re-gram the “Le Fancy Geek Giveaway” pic above with “I entered @chezfancypant’s It’s a Small World @lesportsac giveaway! #lefancygeeklesportsacgiveaway”
Follow me on Tumblr and leave a comment with your username.
Follow me on Chictopia and leave a comment with your username.
Follow me on Pinterest and leave a comment letting me know you did with your username.
Pin one of my outfits on Pinterest and leave a comment letting me know you did (and your Pinterest username so I can see if you’re telling the truth!).
Follow me on Favery and leave a comment with your username.

And there you have it – FIFTEEN different ways to enter the contest!

Contest is only open to residents of the United States. Sorry, international folks 😦

Please leave ONE comment per each thing you do on the post, don’t clump them all together like, “I followed you on Twitter, Facebook, Chictopia, etc and these are my usernames: -insert usernames-” — otherwise that only counts as one entry! And please, please, please, none of this unfollowing after the contest is over bidness. That is hella rude!

For people who already follow me on any of the aforementioned sites, you can enter the contest too! Please be sure to follow the guidelines as well 🙂

Winners will be picked at random.

EDIT: You have until ~~May 2~~ Saturday, May 4 @ midnight (PST) to enter. Good luck!!!

Cheers,
Nina

geek style

Bidness Casual

April 8, 2013 Nina Penalosa6 Comments

outfit details – dress: BCX (buy here) // cardigan: Gap // necklace: Once Upon a Smorgasbord (similar here) // watch: Timex x Disney // bracelet: Coach // belt: made by me in 7th grade! // shoes: Big Buddha // glasses: Derek Cardigan (buy here)

Now that I’m working in a retail environment where employees are supposed to be dressed in “business casual” attire, I’m finding myself struggling to find outfits to wear to work! I have tons of dresses, but y’know me — I like fun dresses and a lot of them have short hemlines that are more appropriate for the likes of H&M or Forever 21 (or maybe just my outfit posts?). Last week I nearly wore this outfit to work, but I brought a pair of black nylons and my Dirty Laundry boots to change into at Tim’s house just in case!

This blue BCX dress I got for Dapper Day at Disneyland (seen here) has become an instant favorite of mine since I’m finding that it’s sooo versatile and ideal for remixing! I’ve worn it at least five other times since Disneyland, so don’t be surprised if you see it pop up every now and then on any future outfit posts. 🙂

The belt I’m wearing is actually something I made in a leather working class I took as an elective course in 7th grade… which was 15 years ago (HOLY CRAP)! I’ll admit, my sister took that same class a couple years before me and made a black belt with stars and crescent moons and I totally bit her style when I made mine. If I were to take that class again, I’d probably make a belt with unicorns and flowers on it!

So I know I mentioned that I wore this outfit to work and that I’m supposed to wear “business casual” clothes, and clearly I’m kind of pushing it with my accessories — like who wears a chunky My Little Pony necklace to work? I don’t want to look like some boring sales clerk though! Until one of my managers say something, I’m gonna keep it “bidness casual” with flair!

Cheers,
Nina

geek style

The Snow Show

April 3, 2013 Nina Penalosa14 Comments

outfit details – skirt + hairbow: H&M // blazer: Living Doll (Crossroads Trading Co. find) // dress: BeBop // belt: Xhileration // boots: Steve Madden // necklace: Once Upon a Smorgasbord (buy similar here) // glasses: Derek Cardigan (buy here)

Since Tim and I both had Monday off, we headed to the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco to check out the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Creation of a Classic exhibit. The show consisted of original concept art from the film and I’m such a nerd for that kind of stuff! Well, I’m a nerd for pretty much anything Disney, but I digress. Concept art from Disney movies are absolutely stunning, so it was an amazing experience to be able to see some of these sketches up close and personal. The details on some of them are incredible — if you look close enough you can see each pencil stroke the artist did and see just how hard they pressed their pencil against the paper.

I also got to learn a few things about the film that I never even knew about (and I know a lot about Disney)! Though Snow White is a beloved classic family film, Walt Disney originally intended that the movie be for adults. He told a journalist, “Before seven or eight, a child shouldn’t be in a theater at all. But I didn’t make the picture for children. I made it for adults — for the child that exists in all adults.”

Upon learning that Snow White was originally created for adults, I now understand why it scared me sh!tless as a child! I still like to refer to Snow White as my favorite “scary movie” or “horror film.” Hell, even the ride at Disneyland scares me! In my defense, it is called Snow White’s Scary Adventure, so… yeah. I think the Evil Queen is absolutely terrifying. Her transformation scene still gives me the heebie-jeebies, and during the exhibit I learned that artists studied the the transformation of Dr. Jekyll in order to truly get the Evil Queen’s done just right.

And of course, I had to dress accordingly to our trip to the museum by wearing the Snow White necklace I made featuring concept art by Gustaf Tenggren, whose art was shown and used on the banners and posters to promote the exhibit (up-close shot of necklace pictured below). I still have a similar one available in my Etsy store 🙂

If you find yourself in San Francisco before the 14th this month, definitely make a trip down to the museum. The show is insanely gorgeous, so definitely check it out if you can!

Cheers,
Nina

geek style

Tale As Old As Time

March 24, 2013 Nina Penalosa4 Comments

outfit details – jacket + flowers: H&M // earrings: Once Upon a Smorgasbord (buy here) // dress: Mossimo (buy here) // belt: Merona // boots: Madden Girl

Last week I FINALLY got to watch the Beauty & the Beast musical in Sacramento! I’ve been wanting to watch it since, oh… I dunno, since it first came out in the 90s? It’s come around my neck of the woods a few times within a 10 year span, but for some reason I’d always miss it. Since my annual pass to Disneyland expired earlier this month, I was in dire need of some Disney magic, so I couldn’t let this pass by once more! I ended up going with Shanice, my mom, her bestie, and my Auntie Clemen. So it was kind of like a mother/daughter + besties + sister/auntie night out! WOO! I really enjoyed it, though I was a bit thrown off by how the Beast came off as “wimpy” and humorous compared to how serious and stoic he is in the movie. But, whatever. I still love that furball either way!

I opted to dress in theme, so I put together an outfit that was inspired by both Belle and the Beast during the “Tale as Old as Time” sequence in the movie with a navy blue military-esque jacket, yellow lace dress, rosey hair clips, and a pair of earrings I made with Belle and the Beast! They’re actually up on my Etsy store, so if you want to check them out you can click here. I really wanted to wear something like this to Dapper Day last month, but I didn’t have a yellow dress that could pass off as Belle’s then, plus the jacket isn’t ideal for sunny SoCal weather. I’d be sweatin’ a storm!

Cheers,
Nina

geek style

Etsy Update!

March 10, 2013 Nina PenalosaLeave a comment

Sooo… I was supposed to do an update on my Etsy store on Thursday, but it’s Sunday now. Mah bad, y’all.

I’ve been super busy since I just started my new job last Wednesday, but that’s no excuse! But I just added a few new earrings to Once Upon a Smorgasbord last night including some Disney and Hello Kitty ones made out of Squinkies, and a couple Adventure Time ones that I debuted at Sac-Con last week (and were also pictured in my recap of the con too)!

Beauty and the Beast: Belle + Philippe earrings

Adventure Time: Jake the Dog spikey earrings

I’m hoping to post more earrings and the rest of my necklaces up by Wednesday, but I’m not making any promises. Either way, I’ll let you all know when I post them!

Cheers,
Nina