4-8 February 2016: The Theater

I realized that I had an anthropologie dressing room post from DECEMBER still in drafts. Whoops! I added in some stuff from a visit on Saturday and will try to get that out in the next week or so.

Coldwater Creek dress, Old Navy sash, Mickey necklace, Doctor Who bracelet, leggings, Crown Vintage booties

I have too few dresses with long sleeves. I wish people sold dresses with long sleeves.

sweater, JCrew Jackie cardigan, Old Navy sweetheart skinnies, Merona socks, Doctor Who bracelet, Black Widow necklace, Clarks

Another filming day! Not sure how many more nicely fitted tops I actually own, ha. There’s nothing like a shot of red in a grey winter day, though.

Anthropologie Noon and Night dress, Gap top, tights, vintage choker and brooch, bracelet, Clarks

I saw Beautiful, the Carole King musical, and it was amazing. The book had fantastic one liners and was so full of heart, the singing was infectious and well performed, and it was just a delightful thing. I had a huge grin on my face the whole time. And then I went to get the Official Cast Recording and it was so bad. So devoid of life and emotion. I was so disappointed.

Kohls Captain America Love top, Old Navy sweetheart skinnies, JCrew Jackie cardigan, heart brooch, Bass saddle shoes

It was my day off, but I headed to one of our local retirement homes for an intergenerational craft program for seniors and preschoolers. It was amazing. And this is the only shirt I have with a Valentines theme, ha. I bonded with one of the seniors over how hard it is to break in saddle shoes!

The Beautiful stage:

Loved the great colors, and I had that piano in school all my childhood. So fun.

Also, this week was greatly important because it was Paczki Day! My department ordered a bunch and we all ate way too much, ha. I had quarter pieces of custard, strawberry, lemon and apricot. Yum.

24-30 December 2015: End of the Year Fun

My outfits this week have not been so pretty. Mostly jeans and Disney, to be honest–held two Frozen singalongs on Monday, then am celebrating the scheduling of my next trip (11.5 months!!!) with a castle shirt today. So let’s talk about other pretty things today.  Like Christmas. And a proper snow that fell on the 6th day of Christmas instead of the 1st.

But we can do two outfits.

HerUniverse Black Widow jacket, Old Navy Sweetheart skinnies, Converse

OMG LOOK AT THIS JACKET. I love it so hard–it’s totally stealth fandom. If you don’t know Widow’s symbol, it just looks like an awesome jacket. The back has the same princess-style seaming to give it great shape. Of course once I got it, the temps dipped from the 50s to the 20s and 30s. I find myself hoping for a mild January so I can wear it soon!

Target Ugly Christmas Sweater

Okay, yeah, so the second outfit is Bingo’s. But look how cute he is!!! My mom and I were taking dozens of photos of him and then I went out on the porch with him (60* temps), and used a treat to get him to look the directions I wanted, and voila. He cooperated beautifully. Isn’t he the best??

I had a very fandomy Christmas, actually, and it was a delight. Above are my brand new Besame Cosmetics perfume and lipstick samples. I love 1930 best so far, but 1940 is great. 1950 disappeared a little too quickly. Still haven’t tried the others. I wear Red Velvet (1946) a lot so I know I love it, but American Beauty (1945) goes way more pink than red on me, boo. It’s supposed to be a berry red, but if I want pink, I want to go Portrait Pink (1963) or Dusty Rose (1969).  I’m hoping those two end up in matchsticks so I can try them. I’m also intrigued by Carmine (1930) and Chocolate Kiss (1970).  Anyway, I also got a Hawkeye hoodie for my jogging (sleeves zip off), and Doctor Who blanket, pillow and Monopoly game, so I’m super excited by all of that!

Oh, AND I got a new ice skating rink for my Christmas village! The skaters skate on their own. ❤

Also did some fancy pants nails:

China Glaze Heart of Africa, topped with some OPI gold shimmer. Super pretty, and the China Glaze was opaque in one coat! It was amazing.

I sewed my mom some placemats for Christmas, and she liked them, yay! I’m glad, because I thought the fabrics were both really cute.

I also had a lot of fun making cards for friends this year. I always make a handful, but I doubled my number this year because several of them shared in my Avengers comics and movie spiral and I wanted to commemorate that:

I was really pleased with my stroke of inspiration in Santa-hatting Hawkeye’s symbol, but I think Cap’s shield is my favorite. Once I saw the white snowflake, I knew what to do. (And for those who don’t read comics, one has two Hawkeyes because there are two Hawkeyes, Clint and Kate.) (Kate’s the other, better Hawkeye.)(I love them both madly, but KATE.)

The SHIELD logo made me despair a bit, but then I figured out how to make it seasonally appropriate, too:

Hee!

It was a brown Christmas because of the 50 and 60* temps the week before, but the lights and luminaria were pretty:

And then the snow came on the 6th day of Christmas and it was glorious:

Way better than the 4th day of Christmas’s ice storm. That was a painful walk.

So that’s been my week. Tonight I just plan to hang out and watch some movies and wind down the year restfully. Keep an eye out for my 2015 reading challenge wrap up–I have one book left, so I’m going to stay in and read instead of seeing Star Wars after all, ha.

Hope you all have a super fun NYE and a marvelous start to 2016!

30 June, 1 and 2 July 2015: Nerdy Fun

There was a good reason for last week’s radio silence: m friend Kristine came to visit! We spent most of our time on the couch, watching new and old favorites and chatting, while she knit and I read comics. Well, and she read comics, too – got her hooked on Hawkeye and Squirrel Girl, SCORE.

Maurice’s top, Old Navy Flirt skirt, BombDotComGeek arrow necklace and bracelets, Clark’s heels

Her transportation got totally FUBARed on Monday – after her train went from arriving at 4pm to arriving at midnight, she ended up flying in! We spent Tuesday recovering, and then headed out to our favorite Mexican place for dinner. These are swap shoes – incredibly cute, not very comfortable. Maybe if I added some padding? Or just wore them on short days with no walking, I guess.

The necklace and bracelets are new – the necklace mimics Natasha’s from Winter Soldier, but it’s supposed to be a choker and it’s too big on me! Boo. It’s still cute, it just doesn’t lay right. And the bracelets are a smaller version of what I already had  – it was great sliding it on and off, but it was too big. So I got these, sized to me, in two shades of purple. Yay.

 

Mossimo tunic, Forever 21 leggings, BombDotComGeek arrow necklace and bracelets

A super fun day! I showed off my library, then we walked down to the theater to see Inside Out, then I introduced her to deep dish Chicago pizza and we ended up at a fabulous comic book store.  The movie was so good, you guys. Definitely recommend it.

 

WeLoveFine Hawkeye top, Old Navy Flirt Capris, Keds, Krissy!

Farewell to Krissy. 😦 Isn’t her flower cute? I wish flowers looked like that in my hair!! I drove her out to our big mall, where she could hop a shuttle to the airport, so we ended our trip in nerdy shopping style, which is so very us.

Highlights from the visit:

A Kadyellebee original!! This is her Harmonize design, with a moebius twist, in a very Hawkeye colorway to go with wristers she knit for the start of my summer reading program. ❤ ❤ ❤

 

Toy room in the comic book store! It was so nicely organized, with issues lining the wall and trades in the middle, plus a healthy assortment of Funko bobbleheads. I found the new Natasha, which has her super adorable curly Age of Ultron hair that I covet -I have Winter Soldier Natasha, with straight hair, and it’s hard to not upgrade, ha. I’m really excited about this comic shop, though – I’m definitely going to be buying things there. Comixology is my go to for most issues, because it’s easier to store online than in my apartment, but some things require buying and those will be done here. Like!

 

 

 

Operation SIN and Runaways were mine, Squirrel Girl and SHIELD were Krissy’s. I read her SHIELD before she left, and it was hilarious and awesome. Loved Phil and Kamala Khan trying to outgeek each other! Sadly, it turns out I’d already bought Runaways on Comixology, OOPS. I thought I’d bought Black Canary and a sample of Runaways, but it was the reverse, dang it. I should have checked, I guess. Oh, well. I love Noelle Stevenson, who did Lumberjanes, so it’s worth supporting her anyway.

 

 

 

So, the mall on Thursday. Across from where we checked her luggage, I saw this star necklace at The Limited and thought it was cute. Went in, and while it was on sale for $22 (nope), everything else was also on sale, sometimes for 60% off the sale prices. SOLD.

 

 

 

 

How cute, seriously? I sized down in the dress, to a 4, and bought them both, plus a gorgeous purple striped top. All together, $50 with tax. The dress alone cost twice that before sale. I think the cardi was originally more than that, too! Super super pleased.

Being nerds, we also browsed Hot Top, and Krissy bought us Marvel keychain surprises. We hoped for Hawkeye or Widow, or Cap, of course, but alas, no. She got a super adorbs Hulk, though, her hubby ended up with Nick Fury, and I got a grumpy Vision:

 

 

 

Hee!! Love it.

After her shuttle took off, I went by Disney Store, just in case they had cute tops on sale. They didn’t, though I did buy an Avengers waterbottle on sale because it was the only thing with Natasha on it. Seriously. Check this Avengers toy set:

They put in Captain Marvel over Black Widow! Yeesh. Poor Nat. Poor Hawkeye.

23 May 2015: New Look

I know it’s clear how much I love playing with Heidi braids and other things I can only do with long hair, but I always forget how much happier I am with it short. I love them both, but I think short is more me.

Isn’t it fun?? Almost 3.5 hours at the salon omg – but luckily, I love it. I showed her a picture of Carey Mulligan, with short choppy layers, and asked for some purple. So we bleached a bunch of it, she used razors to cut, and then we went purple:

Squee! I told her that last time, I’d loved the streaks we did, but I’m not big on subtlety. So we went big. Some of it in the back will fade faster, but the streaks and the fringe at the bottom should last awhile.

Also, this super cute top came from my coworker who got it at a clothing swap. I’ve been waiting for warm weather so I could wear it, and I plan to wear it a lot this summer.

Speaking of summer, I got what I think is my last superhero shirt for now:

She needed a hero, so that’s what she became. Agent Carter, Kamala Khan, Hermione Granger, Merida – it’s filled with my favorites. I’m 99% sure that the archer under Merida is Katniss Everdeen, but I’m going to call her Kate Bishop (the other, better Hawkeye) at least half the time, because, yes. ❤ Kate.  It’s from Redbubble, where you can get designs on a variety of styles. This is the women’s cut, and that’s a lie, because it’s an XL so it’s clearly a girl’s cut. Watch the measurements and beware!

2 and 3 May 2015: Get Your Nerd On, part 2

Avengers weekend! Avengers weekend! Perfect follow up weekend to the con.

 

We Love Fine Hawkeye tshirt, Old Navy Flirt capris, Dansko sandals, Marvel party arm

You guys, it was *80.* 80! It was warm! It was miraculous! Super exciting.

The movie was also super exciting. Not my favorite of the Marvel movies, but really fun. I liked new characters and new pairings and new paths. It may be that I’m sick of/madly dislike Jeremy Renner now, but I didn’t like a ton of the Hawkeye scenes – there was one I adored, and some fabulous quips, but otherwise, meh. He’s still my favorite comics character, though.

Marvel Party Arm is what Amy calls my collection of bracelets:

 

The charms (from top to bottom: Agent Carter’s hat, Steve and Sam on your left, Black Widow, Avengers Assemble, Hawkeye) are from Optimysticals at the con, Black Widow and Hawkeye arrow are from BombDotCom Geekery, and the Captain America bracelet is from Amazon.

 

Captain America tee, JCrew button skirt, Avengers charm bracelet, Keds

SO WARM. SO VERY WARM. This skirt has been out of commission for a few months because the bottom button broke off and I needed to repair it. I’ve missed it very badly. And unformately, now I’m missing the button! So I stitched the hole up and then sewed it to the skirt (it had been a nonfunctional button anyway). It’s not perfect, but it works.

I picked up this tee from Target a few weeks ago when I needed retail therapy. There was only one ladies tee left, a large that was far too large, so I investigated the options in the boys section. Much better sizing – I ended up with a boys medium, ha. But since boys are short, I can really only wear it with higher waisted bottoms. I love how this looks, but hopefully I can find other skirts/bottoms to go with it this summer.

Check this awesome pin my coworker got for me at the con:

 

I will wear it all summer, with my new “We Can Save Ourselves” princess tee, ha.

Also, look! Bingo celebrated his one year Gotcha day. Look at his little face last year!!!

I love my Bingo Baby.

25 and 26 April 2015: Get Your Nerd On!

CON FUN! I was sick the end of last week, but luckily, didn’t have to miss out on the fabulousness of my local con. My very dear and awesome friend ames flew in and we nerded out the entire weekend. The whole reason we wanted to go, basically, was to meet Hayley Atwell, who plays Agent Carter in the Captain America movies and her own show, and she did not disappoint. It was marvelous.

Think Geek Doctor Who top, Old Navy sweetheart skinny jeans, Gap boyfriend cardigan, Tardis headband, Keds, Dalek

Dalek!! This was was just hanging out at a booth, but I did see some cosplayed ones with people inside, and they were awesome. Casual and fun for 12 hours of walking and two hours of speed dating. And! Meeting Hayley Atwell:

My friend ames has a writable mug that she brings to cons to get signed – it’s awesome (and in fact is called the Coffee Mug of Awesome) and always gets a reaction. So the first thing we did was get in line to meet Hayley and get autographs. I’ve been a fan of Karen Hallion for a long time (you’ve all seen me wearing her Doctor Who/Disney mashup t-shirts) and she did the Peggy Carter print as a greeting card. So I decided to get one signed to my friend Kristine, since I was meeting Hayley on Kristine’s birthday. ❤

You guys, she was the sweetest. Literally everyone walking away from her table had a huge grin on their face, and we were no exception. Amy noticed her ring was one that she had posted a pic of on twitter, and she showed off both the rings to us – a family heirloom opal, and one that she had gotten engraved with her grandmother’s last words to her. They were lovely. And her nailpolish was amazing – midnight blue with sparkles, with ring finger accents in pale pink with sparkles. Love!

We tried to get into her panel with Ming-Na Wen on the ladies of SHIELD, but were cruelly denied – we got in line 40 minutes early, but weren’t even CLOSE to being let it before the room filled. People waited upwards of 2 hours. Ah, well. We went back down and browsed the floor and saw crazy amazing things and people.

Her Universe Doctor Who dress, Forever 21 leggings, ANA tie cardigan, Captain America necklace, Tardis headband, Keds

Day 2! I’d actually forgotten about this dress when planning what to wear, ha. I might have been better served switching which days I wore which, but I had been looking for conversation starters on day 1. Oh, well. This was super comfortable and let me wear my new shield necklace, because I wanted to wear something Marvel for my photo op with Hayley.

And really, I need to work on knowing my angles better. I think I looked fine in my dress and super cute, and I deliberately wore this cardi to not block my waist. And yet?

I look wide in the photo. Bah. I think it’s partially not having a good idea of what I look like when I’m not looking in a mirror and possibly partially focal length just not being friendly to me. But otherwise it’s a good pic, I think.

Okay, and thus ends the Hayley gushing. I will say that the big cosplay of the weekend was definitely Peggy Carter – you couldn’t turn around without seeing one! My favorites were the two in front of us in the photo op line: a mother/daughter duo dressed alike. They were charming and awesome, and I love the idea of Peggy inspiring young girls. I hope all the love and attention means a better chance of a 2nd season!

The cosplay was amazing, you guys. I saw so many incredible people and I wish I had asked for more pictures. I wasn’t shy with the compliments, and I know that if you’re dressing to That Level you’re pretty down for pics, but I still didn’t want to inconvenience anyone. Still, I did ask for a few and these were my favorites:

Top: Boy MCU!Hawkeye with Dad Fraction!Comics!Hawkeye, Kate Bishop and Clint Barton Hawkeyes

Bottom: WW2 Cap, 2012 Cap and SHIELD Agent

I also saw a kickass Nick Fury, Iron Men who lit up, many Doctors Who, a few Bob’s Burgers families, many other Hawkeyes (Kate and Clint alike), several Captain Marvels and Ms Marvels, a bunch of Mals from Firefly, at least one amazing Flash (Grant Gustin style) leather suit, a tiny adorable preschool girl Captain America and her toddler Iron Man brother, and God, so very very many others that they’ve all blurred. Ames and I are both huge Fraction!Hawkeye fans, and spent pretty much the entire weekend Bro-ing at each other and the Hawkeyes. (Bro, looking good, bro!) We decided we have to dress up next year. She’s going Kate and I might join her (or do Clint) or I might do a girly!Cap. Because, this:

Captain America corset. I was pretty tempted, you guys. I loved how it looked from the back. With my red pencil skirt and a tucked in top? Right? Or I could just do a very hipster girly Cap in a skater dress with red keds? Options. We’ve got a year.

Other cute things: Stuffed Hawkeye and Coulson! And Coulson has Captain America trading cards!!! SO CUTE.

Sparkly Tardis dress! I was super tempted. But the windows are not well placed:

Sigh. I did buy a Tardis headband, which is amazing and I love, and a charm bracelet, and a hoodie. Oh, and a print from Karen Hallion, a Doctor Who/Disney’s Paperman mashup. There was a lot I drooled over, so I think I showed remarkable restraint, ha. The dealer’s hall was incredible huge and incredible overwhelming – the first day, I found a great nail polish pen booth that I never saw again. There were several booths we tried to re-find and never did, and we got lost a few times, ha. But it was a super great amount of fun and I can’t wait to do it again!

21 and 22 December 2014: Christmas Prep

Final days to get things ready!

JCrew snowflake top, H&M cardigan, Old Navy Sweetheart Skinny jeans, vintage tree brooch, bow hairpin, Keds

Still no snow, so I bring my own. Apparently we’re going to get clocked Christmas eve? Not bad timing, really.

I’ve had a few things going with my nails, but this is my favorite:

The green has stuck around for well over a week with very little wear, it’s astounding. The grey is OPI Glee and I love it because it shines green or purple depending on light, and the green shine looks great with the green accent. When that chipped, I left the green and made rose gold be the main color. It looks great.

Gap drape neck top, H&M cardigan, vintage tree brooch, jingle bracelet, Old Navy Sweetheart Skinny jeans, Keds

Last minute errands, done! Everything mailed, check! Christmas movies watched, check and check and check. Yay.

Also:

Rudolf pillow sewn for my brother: check.

I was going to post today’s outfit, but it’s just another red top and jeans, ha. I own a lot of red.
So, instead, I leave you with this holiday post card and wish you all a merry week, whatever you celebrate. Hugs to you all!

24, 25, 26 November 2014: Giving Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving, friends! I am on the couch with the sleeping puppy, watching the Macys parade while my family sleeps in.

Coldwater Creek top, Old Navy sweetheart skinny jeans, Keds

Casual for decorating and running errands. Pattern mixing in odd ways. I like the cuffs and Keds, though.

Gap sweater, JCrew houndstooth skirt, Forever 21 Love necklace, Bass Heritage boots

I love the way this came out!

Gap top, Old Navy sweetheart skinnies, brown necklace, BoC Canty Booties
Comfy and casual for the drive home. I was lucky enough to not hit any traffic, which was amazing. We weren’t even slammed at work, which is further amazing.

I’m grateful for a variety of things this year, not the least of which are the friends I’ve made here and this snugly little guy:

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone, I hope it’s filled with only good things.

10, 11 and 15 September 2014: Sudden Chill

The temperature has hit late October lows. You can imagine my complete and utter delight! Even better, I spent four days up at my parents where it was even chillier. Also, there was nail palming and puppy playing.

Anthropologie Loosened Shelby Blouse, Old Navy Flirt capris, Loft cardigan, Keds Champions

I was so excited with how this came out! This is a swap cardi I got and apparently haven’t worn since November or March (there was an I Voted sticker still on it…) but I think it looked great with the green. Perfect for autumn.

Gap tank, anthropologie skirt, JCrew Jackie cardigan, White Cliff flats, cowl

Again, digging the colors! I love this skirt.

The cowl, I am still debating. I borrowed 35 and 50 needles from my coworkers and sat down with two patterns to replicate Claire’s cowl, as mentioned in my last post. I was really loving how the yarn knit up on the 35s, but I didn’t have enough for comfort. It only took 2 hours to knit, though, so I decided to drop the stitches to extend it, because if I had to buy a second skein, it’d be easy enough to reknit. Dropping it made it the perfect length, but might have loosened the stitches too much. I had some fears that it looked like a plate of spaghetti, but my mother and a coworker assure me that I am crazy for thinking that and it’s cute. And my mother, especially, does not mince words. So I take it to you all: am I wearing spaghetti or a Claire-ish cowl? (It should be noted that I do not have Claire’s very long neck, so a cowl like hers might not actually work for me anyway and the extra drape could work in my favor…)

This is the cowl mid-drop – it knit up like the bottom half  and draped into the top half.

Anthropologie plaid shirt, Claire’s flower, old choker. Not a full outfit shot, because my jeans looked super weird and bunchy to allow for a pedicure, ha.

 

 

 

 

 

I am so, so, so in love with my new nail polishes!! The dusky purple grey is Released and the black glitter is Boundary of Memory, both from China Glaze’s new The Giver line. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I love the book (less so the others in the series, most of which I skipped. The last, Son, is pretty good, though). It feels sort of weird to be wearing a polish color named after the Community’s term for legal killing (people no longer relevant to the Community were released), but I don’t care, it’s gorgeous and I love it so much. The black glitter is also just incredible. Great application and perfect for autumn. Two thumbs up.

PUPPY WEEKEND!!!

 

 

Every time I get on his level or aim a camera at him, he takes it as an invitation to charge. This was right before he threw himself into my lap!

LOOK. When we got him in May, he fit perfectly along the side of this bed. It’s insane how big he’s gotten! Every time I sit on the floor, though, he hops right into my lap. Actually, he usually backs in. It’s hilarious.

 

6 September 2014: D23

I’ve got three posts in drafts. Pictures uploaded, just ready to write. And yet I’ve not written. But there we go! Everything is just going to come out of order. Or I’ll jump and do others before posting this. We’ll see.

Inside top, Old Navy Flirt capris, Forever 21 flower pins, vintage earring as brooch, Keds Champions

Disneybounding is creating a regular looking outfit inspired by a character – in this case, Rapunzel. Not too bad, right? I’m just not crazy about this top and how it fits around my waist. I think it looks better when not photographed dead on, but hmm. I’m debating wearing this to the parks after all. I did get a compliment on the flowers in my hair, which was nice. The purple one got lost in transit, though – it had been slidey. Bummer.

And why did I dress inspired by Rapunzel? My friend Crystal and I met downtown to see the 2014 D23 Fanniversary Special. It was a two hour presentation on all the Disney movies, rides, TV shows, etc that are celebrating a -5 or -0 anniversary this year. Sleeping Beauty (65th) and Mary Poppins (60th) are two big ones, along with It’s A Small World (60), Donald Duck (80), Muppets Take Manhattan (35), Hollywood Studios (25), etc. The presentation included rare video clips and photos, which was super neat. It was led by an archivist with the Disney company, which totally made me dream about his job.

At the end of the show, we had the option of going down to the stage and seeing two items – a Duckster award, given to high performers, and the hat Julie Andrews wore as Mary Poppins:

Fun, right?? If you’re a nerd like me. 🙂

We got free pins as our tickets in and out of the show. It was so hard to choose, but I went It’s a Small World over Mary Poppins. I have a tiny bit of regret, heh. But I love the ride and have since I was little. They were both good choices.

When I was walking (I walked 7 miles yesterday. It was crazy), I walked past this HUGE crowd of people. There was Indian, Bollywood-ish music playing and there was a convertible driving very very very slowly while two people sat on the back and waved to the crowd. A wedding, maybe? Everyone was cheering, it was fun.

I I also walked through the local Turkish festival. Fun dancing, gorgeous jewelry and the food looked so good, but I was on deadline both ways. Total bummer, I wanted to try new things.

I love visiting the city, and the day was perfect for the long walks. Lower 70s and sunny.

And now we come to this week’s project 365:

31/Summer quinoa salad! Inspired by my favorite salad at Starbucks, but it lacked its flair – maybe because I didn’t have the lime chili dressing? Black beans, corn, lettuce, chicken, home grown tomatoes, quinoa.

1/Pussywillows and sunflowers – my walks are starting to feel more autumnal. And not just because being outside makes my allergies go.

2/Super sweet memorial plaque in a park.

3/Gorgeous MG on a walk. I hope it sticks around.

4/A coworker’s daughter, knowing my love of crazy pens, insisted that I have this. I love it. I’ve been on the hunt for a new one, most of mine are inkless, so I’m using it out of season, heh.

5/Autumnal veg at the grocery store!

6/The above Duckster and hat.