Happy Mama’s Day!

I just wanted to wish a Happy Mother’s Day to all the mamas in the world!

Whether your baby be human, fluffy, or still in your tummy, I hope you have a stupendous day with your loved ones!

Cheers,
Nina

11 Questions, 11 Answers

Hey all! Kristin at My Life as a Teacup tagged me to answer 11 questions a loooooong time ago, so since I actually have time to sit and breathe I thought now would be the perfect time to FINALLY answer her questions

Kristin’s Questions:

1. If you were given a one-way plane ticket, where would you go?:
I want to say Paris just because… y’know it’s Paris AND they have a super fancy Disneyland there, but I think I’d want a one-way ticket to Portland, OR. I haven’t been there since I was in diapers, but soooooo many people have told me that I’d totally love it there and from what I’ve heard I think I would.

2. What’s the first thing you do once you wake up in the morning?:
I check my emails and Instagram feed on my phone. x__x

3. If you could go back to live in any time period or era, which would you choose?:
I’m totally content with living in the 21st century with all our advanced technologies and plumbing systems and the fact that most of the population are tolerant towards interracial relationships (people would be looking at me funny in the 60s with my white beau, can you imagine?!). But if I could travel back via the TARDIS I’d love the visit the late 70s/early 80s and watch a Queen concert. Freddie Mercury FOREVER! I’d also love to see The Police <3

4. Who’s your literary character crush?
I liked Edward Cullen for a minute, but then I realized he’s a super creepy possessive stalker douchebag that would be terrible at spooning on account of the fact that his body is supposed to be as hard as marble. Seriously WTF, Bella? I had a bit of a thing for Robert Langdon from Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code since I pictured him as an Indiana Jones type, but then Tom Hanks kind of ruined it for me. Sorry, Hanx. I love you! You are my favorite actor, but you just weren’t what I pictured for my dreamy professor! But as far as fictional characters in the realm of TV and movies go, I love me some Ned the Pie Maker from Pushing Daisies. He’s adorable, sweet, and he can bake pies for you. What. Is. Up.

5. What is one challenge that initially terrified you, but you persevered through to overcome?
I landed my very first retail gig about a month ago, and for the sake of anonymity and not getting in trouble with the company I won’t say what store I work at, but the thought of being a cashier has ALWAYS freaked me out. By now I’ve been at the register so many times and I’m pretty used to it. There are moments where I have brain farts with counting change and then I feel terrible about it, but it’s really not as horrible as I thought it would be. Plus some customers have told me I’m a good salesperson, so YAY!

6. Tell me a story about the most cherished of your senses (a particular memory tied to the scent of baking gingerbread, a sound that strikes fear into your heart, be creative!)

I don’t think I have an exact memory of a certain sense, but I do find the smell of chlorine quite pleasant. It can be an obnoxious scent at times, but it reminds me of all the times I spent swimming in the pool as a kid and it also reminds me of Disneyland! It’s just a scent that I connect with good times from days gone by.

7. What is one movie/show/book/video game that you’re looking forward to seeing/reading/playing in 2013?
Doctor Who‘s 50th anniversary special!!! I can’t wait to see how Rose Tyler and the 10th Doctor will be incorporated. David Tennant was a fantastic Doctor, so it’s definitely going to be a treat for all Whovians to see him don his striped suit and white Chucks once more

8. Favorite pancake flavor? (I’m partial to blueberry!)
I’m more of a waffle person, they’re like pancakes but with more depth (literally!). Belgian waffles with strawberries and whipped cream has been a tried and true favorite since I was a kid!

9. What is the last book you read?
I honestly can’t even remember — possibly An Abundance of Katherines or The Catcher in the Rye (which was eons ago a.k.a. sometime last year). I’ve started a few books, but have yet to pick them back up. My mind keeps wandering whenever I attempt to read. I don’t know why it’s so hard for me to focus now, and I REALLY hate it! Perhaps I should look into audiobooks…?

10. Who would you choose to play you in a movie of your life?
I don’t know what actress looks like me. My friend Shanice said she’d cast Lindsay Price to play me in a movie. But maybe America Ferrera? The make-up people would have to do her eye makeup to make her look Asian though. And Tom Hiddleston would play my boyfriend because my boyfriend quasi resembles him.

11. If you had to choose a single word to serve as a focus or goal for 2013, which would it be?
“Forward,” because I need to keep moving in that direction.

My questions:

1. Who is your favorite Disney princess and why? We all have one, so don’t dare say you don’t!
2. What song must you play at full blast and sing along to in the car?
3. What’s your poison? (I stick to water for the most part, but I do love me some Root Beer)
4. What’s your favorite kind of dessert?
5. If Ben & Jerry made a namesake ice cream for you like 30 Rock‘s Liz Lemon, what ingredients would you want them to include in it?
6. If you knew you were dying tomorrow what would be your last meal? (I’m so hungry, can you tell by my questions?)
7. What is your most prized possession?
8. What are you currently obsessed with? (movie, tv show, book, music etc)
9. What movie can you recite word for word (or at least 85% of)?
10. Are there any fashion trends you fell victim to that you immensely regret? (I rocked a vinyl mini backpack and short sleeve velvet turtlenecks, but it was the 90s and I was 10 so I guess it’s okay…?)
11. Say we’re living in the realm of Harry Potter and you are a witch — what would your patronus be and why? If you’re not into Harry Potter (but seriously, why wouldn’t you be?!) what/who would your spirit animal be and why?

I tag:

• Nami of Nami M. Scott: Life Enthusiast 
• Amanda of Prim and Propah
• Vanessa of Nessbow

Cheers,
Nina

EDIT: The Princess Leia shirt I’m wearing was designed by Captain RibMan and purchased from ShirtPunch, but it’s available on RedBubble!

Happy Easter!

 

I just wanted to wish all my readers a Happy Easter! And if you don’t celebrate Easter, I wish you a splendid Sunday!

Cheers,
Nina

Happy New Year and Whatnot

The end of 2012 is nigh! Or at least for folks on my side of the world. To those who are already celebrating the new year, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Tim and I are having a Star Wars marathon to welcome 2013.

Anyhow, while thinking of things to list in my annual ‘Year-in-Review’ post I thought that maybe I shouldn’t focus on the past, but look ahead and think of what I hope to accomplish during the upcoming year. As Albus Dumbledore once said to a young Harry Potter, “It does not do well to dwell on dreams and forget to live.” Um… that’s pretty similar to not looking back on the past and living in the now and all that good stuff, right? No? Okay. I just really wanted to make a Harry Potter reference.

Here’s a list of some of the things I hope to accomplish in 2013 (in no particular order):

• Get back into writing fiction and non-fiction.
• Read at least 12 books. That’s one book a month — I should be able to manage that!
• Find a legit job, preferably one that is not in Stockton.
• Move out of Stockton. This is a MUST!
• Experiment in new jewelry making mediums — I’m looking into paper clay and upcycling toys to be used as pendents
• Get more serious with my Etsy store and blog — more jewelry, more posts! And networking like cray-cray.
• Sell my jewelry at a nerdy convention or arts & crafts faire. I’m on the waiting list for a show in March, but I don’t want to give too many details about it because I’m afraid I might jinx it.
• Start vlogging.
• Get rid of things I don’t need in my room so I’ll actually have a place to vlog and have less anxiety over all my crap.
• Go on holiday outside of California. Portland, I’ve got my eye on you!
• Lose 30+ lbs. I lost a lot of weight early last year and gained it all back (and thensome) at the end. AH! I’d be lying if I said this isn’t for vanity reasons, but I want to be healthy too! And it’d be nice to be able to run just in case the Doctor happens to pop by. Gotta do lots of running with that man! <– sorry I’m not sorry for talking about Doctor Who.

2012 was full of great things, but I’m ready to see what’s in store for 2013!

Happy New Year, y’all!!!

Cheers,
Nina

11 Facts of Randomness

Sweater: Skip ‘N Whistle // Glasses: Derek Cardigan // Rory’s Sweater: Martha Stewart for Petsmart

‘ello there!

Sooo… a few days ago I had a post that said I was nominated for the Liebster Award, and there are certain things that nominees are supposed to do when… er, nominated. One thing is to state 11 random facts about yourself. I totally forgot to do that in my little Liebster Award post, so I’m gonna list them here!

But before I get into that, check out my unicorn holiday pullover! Isn’t it all kinds of adorbz?! My mom got herself, my dad, and my sister matching sweaters too from Fab.com (they’re by this company based in New Orleans called Skip N’ Whistle) so we could wear them on Christmas. My sister and I will be wearing unicorns while my parents will rock snowmen. Our Christmas pictures are gonna be HELLA EPIC.

Okay, back to bidness. Random facts about moi in 3…2…1…

1. I don’t wear pink on my birthday. Nothing on me can be pink. NOTHING. Even the tags of my clothes or my chonies (TMI?) can be pink. It’s a superstitious thing that started when I was 17.
2. I’m obsessed with Disney. ALL THINGS DISNEY!
3. I was in the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers official fan club when I was in 3rd grade. SABERTOOTH TIGER!
4. Hanson stole my concert virginity at the tender age of 11.
5. I don’t like odd numbers unless they’re divisible by 5. I only make exceptions for 1 and 21 because 21 is 12 the other way around (12 is my lucky number) and 1 equates to my birthday month.
6. I’m not crazy about my last name, so I tend to use my middle name (Penalosa) in its place.
7. I have an affinity for carousel horses. Or I guess I have an affinity for anything horse-related (thank you, My Little Pony!), but I love carousels. And the first piece of writing I ever had published was an essay in which I compared life to a carousel ride. In case you’re curious, it can be read here.
8. If I don’t like the way a store display looks I will change it until I am satisfied. O.C.D. much?
9. I originally wanted to study and major in graphic design because I wanted to start my own line of tees and accessories with characters I used to doodle — kind of like Paul Frank or Gama-Go.
10. My parents thought I would become a dentist because I loved yanking my loose teeth out when I was little. I think I was just anxious to get my monies from my mom the tooth fairy.
11. I hate horror movies not just because I’m chicken poop, but when something scary happens my automatic reaction is to cover my face, but I do it so fast that I end up bitch slapping myself.

Oh, Rory. He was not having any of this picture taking bull sh!t.

And in case you’re wondering: yes, that is a Yoda tree topper. And yes, that is a Nagel print hanging in the back. SO 80s! Don’tcha just love how random our decor is?

Cheers,
Nina

You like me! You really like me!

While I was away at Disneyland, I was informed by Caroline of Girl in the Yellow Dress that she nominated me for a Liebster Award! I feel very honored to be recognized and thought of to be nominated for a bloggy award thing, so thank you very much, Caroline!

The Liebster Award, from what I understand, is an award that fellow bloggers grant amongst new blogs with less than 200 followers that deserve recognition and encouragement from the community. I started my blog last April, so while I’m technically not super new, I do have less than 200 followers (because I really suck at networking, but I’m getting more serious about it) sooo… yeah. Do I still count? How old does your blog have to be in order to be considered “new?” Whatever, I’m going with it! The rules of the Liebster Award is that when nominated, you’re supposed to answer the 11 questions provided by the blogger who nominated you, and in turn nominate 11 other blogs and create a set of questions for them to answer.

EDIT: I just found out that when you’re nominated, you’re also supposed to write 11 random facts about yourself. ACK! I think I’ll just put that in another post so this one won’t look like crazy word vomit.

Here are the questions Caroline came up with:

What do you like to do when you aren’t blogging?

When I’m not blogging I like to do crafty things like make jewelry for my Etsy store, lurk the interwebs on sites like Tumblr and Reddit, hang out with my friends, “window shop” a.k.a. torture myself by going to stores when I know I can’t afford to buy anything, cuddle with my fluffy love Rory and zee boyfriend, and watch movies and tv shows on my laptop (because I don’t have a TV anymore).

Where do you dream of visiting?

Disneyland in Paris. That place looks all kinds of magical! I’ve been to Paris before, but I feel like my trip there was way too short. I’d love to spend a month or two traveling around Europe.

If you could move anywhere in the world where would it be?

I haven’t been to Portland since I was in diapers, but from what I’ve heard it sounds like my kind of town, so I’d totally move there!

What was your favourite childhood toy?

A stuffed brown bunny that I named Bunny (so creative, right?). I was very fond of her as a kid and I actually still have her! My Little Pony figures, stuffed Rajah from Aladdin, and my Disney princess dolls were some of my favorites as well.

Who inspires you?

I’m inspired by many people, but for different things. For writing and all around awesomeness, I’m inspired by John Green, Walt Disney, Neil Gaiman, and my boyfriend <– because he constantly encourages me to be creative. The former also inspire me to keep my inner child intact, because being an adult, for lack of a better word, sucks. For style I’m inspired by Audrey Hepburn (who isn’t?), Rachel Bilson, and Minnie Mouse. There are tons of other people I could list, but then this would turn into a long ass paragraph.

If you could take anyone out for dinner (dead or alive) who would it be?

Mark Twain. I’ll be honest, I’ve never read any of his books (*gasp* I know, I’m horrible), but I love his quotes and he just seems like a witty and superbly intelligent man, and I just want to eat filet mignon and sip on hard apple cider while listening to him talk about whatever.

Favorite Mark Twain quote: “Don’t part with your illusions. When they are gone, you may still exist, but you have ceased to live.”

What do you see yourself doing in 5 years?

Being happy and not living in Stockton.

What quote do you live by?

“Make good art.” – Neil Gaiman

What’s your favourite book?

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

What’s your favourite memory?

I don’t know, I have so many to choose from. AH! Just so I feel like I’m not excluding friends or family, I’m gonna go with my favorite nerdy memory: That time at Comic Con I stalked Nathan Fillion and when I finally got to meet him he said, “Hi angel, how’re you doing today?” NATHAN FILLION CALLED ME AN ANGEL. And then he told me to turn my camera on so we could take a picture together and then he took my camera from me and took the picture himself. We both look weird in it, but OMG IT WAS SO FUGGIN GLORIOUS!

What did you want to be growing up? Are you doing it?

I wanted to be a few things: a can can dancer, high wire girl at the circus, and an artist. I’m rhythmically challenged, not flexible, and afraid of heights, so the former two professions listed I am definitely not doing. I guess I can say I’m bit of the latter as I write, create jewelry, and enjoy crafty projects. I actually feel very weird calling myself an artist though. o__0

Here are my nominees:

• Nami M. Scott: Life Enthusiast
• Living Simplistically
• Vintage Owl Boutique
• Hale Nicole
• The Collegiate Style Enthusiast
• Lazy Obsession
• Eclectic Kitten
• CrystalCosmicChic
• The Goode Style
• El Cat’s Meow
• Fashion Tumblweed

And here are my questions for them:

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 is the first album you ever owned?
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. Which do you prefer: coffee or tea?
7. What is the last book you read?
8. Where do you seek fashion inspiration from?
9. If your life were a TV show, what would be the theme song?
10. Which celebrity would you want as your BFF?
11. How did you come up with your blog’s name?

Thanks again for the nomination, Caroline! And be sure to check out the blogs I nominated

Cheers,
Nina

DFTVA: Don’t Forget To Vote America!

My fellow Americans, it’s Election Day!

Don’t forget to get yo booties on out to your local polling place and vote, vote, vote!

I’m not one for getting into politics on my blog and I shall not go into detail about my views here (even though you can totally tell who I voted for thanks to my super awesome Gama-Go shirt), but even if you don’t like my candidate and our views are radically different, it’s important to vote. It’s our civil duty — like jury duty, but better since it only takes a little itty bitty piece out of your day rather than your whole morning/afternoon. Elections also only come every four years whereas jury duty comes whenever the hell it wants. Blugh.

Also, you don’t get a fun sticker after jury duty.

DON’T FORGET TO VOTE!

Farewell, Summer!

Today marks the first official day of Autumn. FINALLY!

If only the weather in California would match the season already — I am so over this 80-90 degree sunny weather. Give me overcast skies and breezy afternoons! I just want to be able to wear cardigans and dresses with nylons and boots again everyday like I used to when I lived in Daly City. It’s ALWAYS Fall/Winter there (except in September — it’s like Central Valley hot in Daly City during September).

Anyway, HAPPY FIRST DAY OF FALL!!!

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer

October is just around the corner, and no… that doesn’t just mean an abundance of tasty pumpkin flavored treats and beautiful overcast days that call for scarves and layers upon layers of clothing, but it means that National Breast Cancer Awareness Month has arrived!

Auntie Ashie & I, circa 2010. She was diagnosed with breast cancer a little over a year ago and has since kicked it to the curb.

This is something I find extremely important, not just because I’m obviously vulnerable to it (hello, big boobs!), but my Auntie Clemen, Auntie Ashie, and Auntie Reggie are all breast cancer survivors. Breast cancer is SCARY thing. It’s scary knowing that its taken the lives of many women, but it becomes an even more frightening thing when you know and love someone who is diagnosed with it. I want to take part and help out in any way I can to help put an end to it.

On October 21, I will participating in the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in Sacramento in honor of them, and also for all my the women in my family and lady friends.

My goal is to raise $450 to go the cause. So far I’ve made $175! If you have a dollar or two, please consider making a donation to help me reach my goal. It goes to a noble cause and I would appreciate it immensely! To donate, go here.

Tag. I’M IT!

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.

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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?

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Tagged Bloggers:

• selfishjean <– my internet bff <3
• Trig & Polished
• Timidly Confident
• Our City Lights
• Shellyish
• Big Hips, Red Lips
• Chocolate & Cream Cake
• {Blending Beautiful}