Tag: rarity

bloop · geek style

Where I’ve Been

Nina Penalosa8 Comments

As some of you may know, I’m also a fashion writer for Wear Your Voice Mag! I started a series called Fashion Faux Pas for the 30-Something where I feature a so-called faux pas and show how you can still rock it even if you’re 30 and over… or in my case, about to be 30! In my latest one I wrote about something near and dear to my to me: My Little Pony! Can you believe some people don’t approve of grown ass women (and men) owning MLP swag?! Check out the article here.

And here’s a list of some of the other articles I’ve done over the last few months that I totally forgot to share here:

✿ Adopting the “Who Gives a F*ck” Attitude for a Body Positive Vacation (in which I write about how to stay positive about your self image whilst on vacation)
✿ Comic-Con Fashionista Creates Her Own Rules (interview with Amanda Jean in which we talk about where she gets her style inspiration from )
✿ Modern Pinup and Rockabilly Fashion at Tatyana (a review on Tatyana’s SF location)
✿ A Cultural Invasion Hits Urban Stitch Boutique (independent designers from the UK featured in a Bay Area boutique)
✿ Bay Area Ladies Brunch it Up With Geeky Flair (the inaugural Bay Area Geek Girl Brunch!)
✿ Style Profile: Adriana Green of Trig & Polished (in which I interview fashion blogger Adriana Green about her personal style and where she seeks inspiration)

cheers

geek style

Bidness Casual

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

Of Little Ponies & Unicorns

Nina Penalosa6 Comments

outfit details – dress: Xhileration // peter pan collar necklace: M Style // my little pony necklace: Once Upon a Smorgasbord (I made it!) // glasses: derek cardigan (buy here)

This is something that I think of almost everyday and it constantly annoys me because I can never think of a good answer for it: If I were a My Little Pony, what would my cutie mark be? No, I’m serious. I think about this a lot. Cutie marks are like tattoos, y’know? Once you have it it’s there FOREVER. I already know that I will eventually get a tattoo of Rory, a carousel horse, and the Gallifreyan symbol for ‘friend,’ but if I were a MLP I wouldn’t want a dog on the side of my ass! I used to think I’d have chocolate chip cookies on the side of my flank (because I love cookies, duh), and later on I thought maybe a book + quill (for my love of reading and writing), and now I’m like maybe a laptop (for my love of the internet?)… or a pile of Swarovski crystals (because I love to make necklaces)? I DON’T KNOW. And let’s not even talk about what color combination I would be. UGH.

It’s normal for a woman that just turned 27 last Saturday to think of things like this, right? o,0

So anywho — why do I keep talking about ponies? Um, because they’re awesome. Duh. And I also started experimenting with my jewelry making skills by using toys as pendents! Specifically My Little Pony toys. I know this isn’t an original idea, but I wasn’t too crazy about some of the ones I’ve seen made, so I wanted to put my own spin on it. I approach my jewelry making the same way I dress myself — how can I incorporate geeky/childish elements without looking like a 12-year-old, but still age appropriate? I think I succeeded in making them simple, yet fun, statement necklaces that anyone anypony can wear! 🙂

After making the Rarity necklace (pictured above) I decided to keep it because… well, she’s my favorite! She’s a unicorn with a purple mane who loves fashion. How could she not be my favorite?

All the ones pictured above are currently listed on Once Upon a Smorgasbord 😉

I’ve been cranking out necklace after necklace for the past two weeks and I’m really excited about them! I have all sorts of things planned for my Etsy store this year and these MLP necklaces are just one of those things. Hope you guys like them!

Cheers,
Nina

PS: If any of you happen to play the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic game on the iPad/iPhone, add me! My Gameloft username is ‘chezfancypants’ 😀

geek style · out & about

Lions, and Tigers, but no Bears. Aww man!

Nina Penalosa2 Comments

outfit details – bomber jacket: Espirit // polar bear pullover: Forever 21 (buy here) // purse: Coach // necklace: Swarovski // glasses: Derek Cardigan (buy here) // jeggings: Vera Wang // boots: Steve Madden

‘ello! Hope you all had a lovely weekend, I know I did (on account of Saturday being the anniversary of my birth)!

To celebrate my entry into my late 20s (oh my god, I was 17 ten years ago?!), Tim and I went to the Sacramento Zoo to hang out with the animals! I had never been there before, plus the thought of being able to feed a giraffe was too exciting. That’s actually something I wrote on a bucket list I created when I was in high school — feed a giraffe. I’m obsessed with tide pools and stingrays at aquariums, I suppose I’m just really enticed by the idea of being able to interact with wild animals. But alas, when feeding time came the giraffes weren’t interested in the food. Apparently during the winter they just don’t care that much about om noms because they’ve already stored enough energy or something like that.

But I WILL feed a giraffe one day! It’s gonna happen, dammit!

Fun fact time: Betty White helped raise money for the zoo’s giraffe exhibit in 2009. BETTY WHITE INTERACTED WITH THE GIRAFFES I SAW WITH MY OWN TWO EYES. <– I’m also obsessed with Betty White. Who isn’t?

I’m trying to get back into the habit of bringing little toys with me to document the places I go, so I brought Rarity and my little Rory Williams action figure that Jennifer got me for my birthday! I also wore my polar bear sweater to go along with the zoo theme of the day, but to my surprise the Sacramento Zoo doesn’t have any sort of bear exhibit. 😦

The lack of bears didn’t ruin my trip though, I saw tons of other interesting animals like the singing gibbons (Google them, they’re all kinds of entertaining), a pensive primate (pictured above), an eastern bongo (pictured above), and some wild kitty cats! I couldn’t get any decent shots of the lions, the tiger, or the snow leopard (it was so small, it looked like it was as big as a Border Collie), but I managed to take a picture of the jaguar. 🙂

The red panda was by far the cutest critter there, it totally reminded me of Rory (my dog, not the action figure)! But my new favorite zoo animal has to be lemurs because they were ridiculous amounts of fun to watch — I think Tim and I spent a good 10 minutes watching them run around and sun bathe. Especially since one of them kept holding their arms out in a way that said both “come at me bro” and “look at me, I’m fabulous!”

And speaking of fabulous, anteaters (Tim’s new favorite animal) look like they’re ready for the red carpet. I don’t know, there’s just something glamourous about them. Oh, and we totally saw some anteater action of the bow-chicka-bow-wow kind… y’know what I’m sayin’? It was so weird.

Overall, it was a good birthday! After the zoo we went to Old Town, ate dinner at Tower Cafe (if you’re in Sac you’ve gotta try the Malaysian Chicken Sandwich, holy crap!), did some shopping, and had a pizookie at BJ’s. Om nom nom.

Cheers,
Nina

geek style

All I Want For Christmas

Nina Penalosa5 Comments

If you want something, you must put it out there so the universe will know. I’m not sure where I heard that from, but if that’s the case, then consider this blog post containing my Christmas Wish List as me putting what I want out in the universe.

My birthday is exactly one month from today too, so I suppose this post could also be called “All I Want For Christmas AND My Birthday, In Case I Don’t Get It For Christmas.” Chances of me getting anything off of this list are slim to none, so… wait, why I am making this list again? Oh right… to put it out in the universe. Alright, so here goes!

* Literary Pullovers & T-Shirts by Out of Print Clothing:

I’m trying to stay away from asking for books since I have more than enough books that I have yet read, so clothing adorned with my favorite pieces of literature should be more than appropriate! I’ve been drooling over all the goodies at Out Of Print Clothing for quite sometime now. Years in fact. The Great Gatsby (unisex small) and Alice in Wonderland (ladies xl) pullovers have caught my fancy and so has the The Sun Also Rises tee (ladies xxl).

Like how I conveniently added what sizes I need? 😉

* The Catcher in the Rye Locket by Sparkle Lab:

The Catcher in the Rye book locket w/ chain (large)

I want literary inspired jewelry too, please! My copy of The Catcher in the Rye is just the plain white cover, but I really want the one with the carousel horse. Rather than getting another copy, why not get this necklace instead? 🙂 It saves space on the bookshelf and would make a good addition to any outfit!

* The Fault In Our Stars Necklace by Authored Adornments

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green Antiqued Bronze Book Page Necklace

A cute little necklace containing words from one of my favorite books that was written by one of my heros? Yes please!

* Doctor Who TARDIS Robe from ThinkGeek:

Okay, so this robe isn’t the cutest thing ever, however it looks super cozy and I really want to wear it so I can spin around the house saying, “vwoomp… vwooomp… vwooomp… eeee oooo … eeee oooo…” Don’t judge me.

BTW, I think I’d need this in a medium. Boyfriend, are you reading this? Mother? Friends?

It’s also a bit cheaper here.

* Chewbacca Lego Earrings by Rockets and Rainbows:

Chewbacca Lego Earrings - Statement Drop Earrings with Beadwork and Gold Chains

Do I have to explain why I want these? They’re fancy AND geeky. And, oh hey, my blog’s name happens to be Le Fancy Geek. Coincidence? Also, they were made by Jennifer Landa. If you don’t know who she is, then you need to Google her IMMEDIATELY because she’s awesome and is one of my interweb heroes.

* Lesportsac Bags:

  1. It’s a Small World – Picture Tote in ‘Midnight Harmony’ print
  2. Manoush – Chou Chou Crossbody bag
  3. It’s a Small World – Deluxe Everyday Bag in the ‘Fancy That’ print

My inner bag hag is hurtin’ for more purses since I’ve been eliminating a lot from my collection. I don’t really have a nice everyday black bag, and I really dig the coin purse closure and little details on this Manoush x Lesportsac purse. And I also really like the fact that it’s an over-the-shoulder kind of bag. No’mo sore shoulders! 🙂 And the It’s A Small World bags… I don’t need to explain why I want those. You all know I love Disney and Mary Blair. Plus I already blogged about how much I those bags not too long ago.

* Longchamp ‘Le Pilage’ Tote:

Longchamp bags are classic, non-fussy, and easy to store (they fold right up!). I got a little navy blue one when I went to Paris 10 years ago in the duty free store at the airport, but I gave it to my mom since I found that it doesn’t store all the things I need on the go. This ‘Le Pilgae’ tote is the perfect size! I really love it in the ‘Fir’ shade (pictured above) or ‘Bordeux.’

It can be found here.

* Membership to D23:

I’m a Disney fan and D23 is the official Disney fan club. It all makes perfect sense!

* Rarity v-neck from RedBubble:

Rarity is one of my many spirit animals. And this shirt by BambooDog is ridiculously adorable!

* Daisy Duck locket by Disney Couture:

Daisy Duck was my favorite as a kid, but I grew very annoyed with the lack of Daisy Duck dolls, shirts, and what-have-you so I switched to Minnie since she was more accessible. This locket would FINALLY allow me to rep my love for Daisy Duck, who seems to always get forgotten. I mean, all the times I’ve gone to Disneyland (and I’ve been there A LOT) she’s NEVER been there. What’s up with that?

* Batman Varsity Hoodie from Hot Topic:

I’ve always liked varsity jackets and Batman, so the two combined make for a seriously awesome combination! How cute would this be with a pleated skirt and boots? AH!

* Mad Men Season 5 DVD:

Mad Men is on of the only TV shows that I’ve been collecting on DVD consistently. Can you imagine how sad I was that all the seasons except for this one were on sale during Black Friday? RAGE!!! And this season was so ridiculously well executed with the storyline. And I love me some Christina Hendricks… and Jon Hamm, of course.

* Gift Cards:

So many people say that gift cards are inpersonal, but I think they’re just as thoughtful as any other gift because it’s like the giver is saying, “I want you to be able to get whatever YOU want!” Gift cards to the following would be greatly appreciated: Amazon.com, Etsy, TJ Maxx/Marshalls, Ross, Disney Store, H&M, Forever 21, Barnes & Noble, and iTunes so I can buy fancy apps for my iPad.

Well, that’s all I can think of off the top of my head. I know there’s a few more things, but I do believe that the contents of this blog are more than enough! Have any of you made wish lists yet?

Cheers,
Nina

bloop

Tag. I’M IT!

Nina Penalosa5 Comments

I’ve been tagged by Megan of Megan’s Beaded Designs to do this questionairre thingy that’s been floating from blog to blog! The premise of it is that one blogger comes up with 8 questions to ask 8 other bloggers, and for each blogger that’s tagged they have to tag 8 bloggers to answer questions and come up with their own. Did that make any sense? I hope it did. o,0

According to the rules, once you’re tagged, here’s what you MUST do:

1. You must post the rules. (Voila! These are THE RULES.)

2. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post.

3. Create eight new questions to ask the people you’ve tagged.

4. Tag eight people with a link to your post.

5. Let them know they’ve been tagged.

(Aren’t 4&5 basically the same thing…?)

Here are the questions Megan asked me (along with my answers):

1. What are you going to dress up as for Halloween this year? (And if you aren’t going to dress up, do you know how lame you are?)
I DON’T KNOW! I may just dress up like Minnie Mouse again since I’ve got the ears and plenty of clothes to play around with. My boyfriend and I talked about being Gonzo and Camilla from The Muppets, but he seems to have teetered off into other costume ideas. I really want to be Han Solo, but I don’t have time (or money) to put that costume together! UGH.  So, I’ll most likely be Minnie Mouse.

2. If you had to choose just one: coffee or tea?
Tea. My favorite is chamomile. I love coffee, but I haven’t been able to drink it for the past 3 years — it gives me migraines and horrible tummy aches now 😦

3. What’s the BEST vacation destination you’ve ever been to?
I really want to say Europe, specifically Venice, Paris, and London, but I went to Venice when I was 10 or 11, and the latter two when I was 16. I didn’t get to spend a whole lot of time in Paris or London — we went on some sort of travel tour. So I’m just going to say DISNEYLAND, because it is magical place and you can act like a kid without anyone looking at you like you’re completely bonkers. And they have the most amazing corn dogs.

4. Which Disney character do you resonate most with, and why?
Oh my goodness. A Disney related question. These are always tough for me to answer! I guess Ariel from The Little Mermaid because I felt like I related to her very much when I was a kid — we love to collect all sorts of crap treasure, we love to swim, our fathers are very loving but overprotective, and we want the impossible. But nowadays I find myself relating to Belle a bit more (and Rex from Toy Story).

5. What’s your favorite piece of life-advice?
“Make good art.” – Neil Gaiman

6. How annoyed with me are you that you’ve been tagged?
Not annoyed at all! I just had issues trying to figure out who to tag. If anything, this was a wake-up call for me to branch out and befriend other bloggers.

7. What’s your favorite season, and why?
Hands down, I love Fall. I love bundling up in layers, wearing boots and cardigans all day long, stomping on crunchy yellow and orange leaves, overcast skies, and drinking tea or hot chocolate. I just adore cold weather.

8. What book do you recommend most often?
I always, always, always recommend Breakfast At Tiffany’s by Truman Capote. But lately John Green’s The Fault In Our Stars is what I’ve been sputtering about the most these days.

Now here are MY questions for the Bloggers I’ve tagged:

1. If you could have one super power, what would it be and why?

2. What are you currently obsessing over (TV show, movie, product, piece of clothing, etc)?

3. What song is currently stuck in your head?

4. If you were told you were adopted, who would you hope your biological parents would be?

5. What 3 items must be inside your purse at all times?

6. What is your favorite Disney movie? If you say you don’t like Disney, I won’t believe you.

7. What fictional character do you relate to the most and why?

8. Where do you seek fashion inspiration from?

Tagged Bloggers:

Uncategorized

The Fruity Detoxification Dilemma

Nina Penalosa11 Comments

I’ve always been curious about detoxing and cleanses, but never bothered to fully look into them. Last month I started to push myself in a healthier direction by frequenting the gym at least 3-4 times a week for an hour and a half, doing Zumba (on my Wii), and doing a few Jillian Michaels DVDs (the latter two will kick your ass). Not too long into my attempt at being healthy, Groupon sent me an email with an offer for a 5-day fruit detox cleanse from A Choice For Life. Five days of eating nothing but fruit? HELL YES! I figured I could totally do that. I punched in my card number and clicked the ‘buy it’ button.

Fast forward to today.

I’m on day 2 and I am SO. F*CKING. MISERABLE.

gif courtesy of iambrony.com

Honestly, today is going a bit better than yesterday though. Yesterday I was a bitchy lethargic forlorn zombie. I went out to buy fruit and juice to consume for the next 5 days and what was my nose greeted with as I walked to the front door? Why, it was the smell of pork chops and chicken! WHAT THE HELL? We didn’t eat like that a week ago. Why is my family suddenly making food I want to eat? As I chomp on a peach I think of fish ‘n chips, cheeseburgers, tacos, cookies, and bacon, and other yummy things that are not healthy but taste so good.

I watched some episodes of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic because that’s all my brain could really take and low and behold, they’re having a picnic. With cookies. COOKIES! Seriously, I never thought a cartoon could make me that upset over food. By that time I had already drunk 32 oz of apple juice. I felt delirious, weak, angry, and obviously I was starving.

My best friend Shanice started a juicing diet on Sunday and plans to do it for 2 months. I texted her to see how she’s doing and tell her I am going crazy. Hoping to hear she’s doing fine, she tells me she wants a pizza. After that, I can’t stop thinking about pizza.

I called Tim around 7:30 for emotional support. Our conversation went like this:

Tim: Hey!

Me: [sounding like I’m on my deathbed] Hi, booyfrieeend.

Tim: Oh my God, are you okay?

Me: [sounding like I’m crying because I’m holding back tears] Noooo.

Tim: What’s the matter?

Me: My cleanse.

Tim: What?

Me: My cleanse! My stupid cleanse. I’m so HUNGRY and I want a Double Double from Inn-N-Out.

I think I probably scared him at first due to my being dramatic.

This is basically what I looked like while I was on the phone with Tim.
photo via Tumblr

Well… 3 more days of this and I’ll be DONE. I’ve already lost 2 lbs, so it’s nice to know it’s working. I plan on writing about my overall experience with more details about the A Choice For Life detox cleanse, so expect a write-up sometime next week!

I guess I’ll go drink some grape juice now. 😦