The Great CATSby

May 15, 2013 Nina Penalosa6 Comments

outfit details – glasses: Derek Cardigan (buy here) // pullover: Out of Print Clothing (buy here)

Hello, Old Sports!

With the recent release of the film adaptation of The Great Gatsby, I wanted to re-read the novel before seeing the movie… ’cause that’s how I roll. My expectations aren’t too high for it though; I already have a feeling that it’s going to be one of those the-book-is-better-than-the-movie kind of deals. And Christina Hendricks should’ve totally been cast as Myrtle Wilson, am I right?! I mean, Isla Fisher is gorgeous, but Myrtle’s described as having a bit more of a figure. Plus Christina Hendricks and Carey Mulligan are my lady loves, so it would’ve been mind blowing to see them in a movie together! Anyhow, I found my old copy from high school with notes dated from May of 2002 (#hellaold!) hidden within the pages, but both of my part time jobs have kept me busy and so has my Etsy store, so I haven’t really found a whole lot of time to sit down and read. RUGH. But thankfully audiobooks exist ! I just bought the version Jake Gyllenhaal narrates on Audible (it’s $6.95!!!), and I’m listening to it as I type this very blog post!

The glasses I’m wearing might look familiar — I put them on my “Wishful Wednesdays” post awhile ago. I bought them immediately after I wrote the post too. Waste time I do not! The frames are a lot smaller than I’m used to, but I really like them. I’ve always wanted to try out cat eye frames too. And just like my first order from Coastal.com, the glasses came in a nice case and also came with a bottle of glasses cleaner, a cloth to wipe them with, and a screwdriver to tighten/loosen the glasses. I was a little freaked out when I first put them on though because they were really narrow and had the sides of my face in a tight bear hug. I thought, “OMG, NOOO! I don’t want to have to return these!” And then I remembered that I could go to LensCrafters and have them adjust the glasses for me, and for free nonetheless. Crisis averted! I’m over the moon about these glasses, and I loooove the fact that they have semicolons and colons on them. It’s a subtle detail, but as someone who majored in Creative Writing I can’t help but be super excited about it. Haha! If you haven’t checked out Coastal.com, they have smorgasbord of fantastically wonderful frames and first-time customers get their first pair of glasses for free. Well, you pay for shipping, but other than that they’re FREE!

And don’t my new glasses look just dandy with my The Great Gatsby pullover? 😉

Cheers,
Nina

curator's corner

Curator’s Corner #2: Nan Lawson

April 6, 2013 Nina Penalosa2 Comments

I don’t quite remember how I came across the art of Nan Lawson (I think it might’ve been a random Etsy find), but I just remember immediately falling in love with it! She’s very well known for her super quirky/nerdy art style and pop culture pieces from the likes of Harry Potter, Star Wars, Downton Abbey (I used her Lady Mary shirt in my Thoroughly Modern Mary post awhile ago), The Avengers, Doctor Who, Wes Anderson, etc. The Academy Awards also commissioned her earlier this year to create some pieces for their website of iconic cinematic couples for Valentine’s Day that people could send as virtual greetings (The Sound of Music and Gone With the Wind are pictured below). Nan’s work has also appeared in Timeout New York, Zooey Magazine, GadChick, and art galleries such as Gallery 1988.

I hope you all enjoy her work just as much as I do! Be sure to check out where to follow her on the interwebs and buy her prints, t-shirts, and other thing-a-ma-bobs at the end of the post. 🙂

“I’m Not a Hipster, I Just Dress Like One”

The Oscars Love Letters – “The Sound of Music” & “Gone With the Wind”

L-R: “The Rest of Our Lives” & “I Love You, But You Don’t Know What You’re Talking About”

Follow Nan on…

Etsy (prints)
Soceity 6 (prints, t-shirts, tech wear, etc)
Twitter
Facebook
Tumblr
Pinterest
Instagram

Cheers,
Nina

geek style · the biblio files

“Isn’t it pretty to think so.”

February 17, 2013 Nina Penalosa4 Comments

outfit details – shirt: Out of Print Clothing (buy here) // peter pan collar necklace: TJMaxx (doesn’t have a brand label) // cardigan: Kersh // belt: Mossimo // skirt: Xhileration (buy here) //boots: Steve Madden // glasses: Derek Cardigan (buy here)

On Friday I went to San Francisco with Jen and Shanice since I didn’t have to work in the morning. Yay four-day weekend (for me anyway)!!! While Jen went to school, Shanice and I window-shopped around the downtown area and I picked up a Glinda wand at the Disney Store! But all the walking around we did left us ridiculously tired and the burgers we ate for lunch didn’t pack much energy. And I spent effing $3.50 on orange juice because I was too tired and thirsty to find Jamba Juice (gift card yo!), but it just so happened to be right next to Jen’s school. *grumble* By the time we met up with Jen to take pictures in the studio I was feeling pretty loopy from being malnourished and dehydrated. I lept, danced, spun in the spinny chairs, and made stupid faces during and in between test shots. Lots of silliness occurred (see picture below).

I posed for a few photos for Jen’s digital photography class and did some for funsies. I found a beautiful typewriter on the props table and had to incorporate it into my shoot since it went perfectly with my The Sun Also Rises shirt from Out of Print Clothing! This might look familiar to you as it was on my Christmas Wish List post in December. Tim ended up getting it for me for Christmas 😀 I added a glitzy Peter Pan collar necklace to it that I found at TJMaxx last month. Fancy, yah? Ernest Hemingway probably wouldn’t be impressed, but that’s okay. Me likes it! I read The Sun Also Rises for a Modern American Novel class during my first semester as SFSU. It was the only book I thoroughly enjoyed from that course, which is kind of sad considering that we read five books. Well, I find it sad anyway.

You know what else is sad? I sent my camera off to Best Buy to get it checked out — it’s unfixable and the camera I had is no longer sold/available so now I have to go and look for another one! They gave me a list of cameras that are “comparable” to mine, but they were all regular point and shoots whereas mine was a DSLR. I don’t want to do camera homework! I just know that I’m looking to get another Canon. I’m kinda iffy of the G15, which is basically the upgraded version of my camera, just because it doesn’t have a swivel screen and the screen it does have is exposed. I need the swivel screen. I just do, okay? Okay.

If you happen to be into cameras, I’d love to hear your recommendations!

Cheers,
Nina

geek style

All I Want For Christmas

December 12, 2012 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:

It’s a Small World – Picture Tote in ‘Midnight Harmony’ print
Manoush – Chou Chou Crossbody bag
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