Gama What? Gama Sale!

I went to my first Comic Con in 2004, and around this time I was completely obsessed with the contemporary art scene and I found  out that many of the artists I liked were going to be there! Seonna Hong was one of them, and while stalking her work on the interwebz, I came across a t-shirt company with mischievous little critters printed on each tee called Gama-Go (she had a few shirts w/her designs on them). I saw that they were going to be at the Con as well — from there on out, I was a fan. Every year I’d go to Comic-Con or WonderCon, I’d stop by their booth and tell them to just shut up and take my money and proceed to throw a few $20s at them and run away with cool stuff. <– OMG, I’m just kidding. I was totally civil.

First Gama-Go shirt I ever purchased back in 2004. I would’ve taken more pictures of the Gama-Go things I own, but they are all scattered about and have been sucked into the blackhole that is my room! >___<;

It’s been really awesome seeing Gama-Go grow into what it’s become as they were all about t-shirts, hoodies, bags, and toys in the beginning, but the 11-year-old company have added housewares and quirky tech accessories into their delightful arsenal, and even have their own flagship store in San Francisco. And you should totally check that out if you ever happen to be in SOMA.

Anywho, they’re about to have their 9th Annual Sale which is usually held at the Rickshaw Stop in SF (I was lucky enough to go to it a couple years ago), but this time they’re taking the sale online that way err’body can get in on it!

It starts tomorrow (Nov.15) from 12-5 pm PST and everything will be 50% off! Their tees are usually $28, so you can get one for $14. CRAZYNESS!!!

I’ve compiled a list of some of my favorite items in the store so you can all get a good feel of what Gama-Go has to offer.

Shirts for ladies:

1. Art School Bunny
2. Strawberry Thief
3. Squirrel Riot
4. Ninja Kitty Lion Tamer (comes in tan too)

How cute would all of these shirts be tucked into some sort of skirt and paired with a cardigan?! Which is totally what I’m doing right now, but I was too lazy to take a full OOTD picture… o,0

Shirts for dudes:

1. Deathbot vs. Yeti Battle Royale
2. California Uber-ness
3. Roborock
4. Yeti Bunyon (also comes in grey)

Housewares:

1. Bow Tie Bag Clips (because bow ties are cool)
2. Fantastic Unplastic Tray
3. Snow Globe Salt & Pepper Shakers
4. Record Coasters
5. Record Placemats
6. Screwnicorn Corkscrew

Accessories and random cool stuff:

1. Phoney-Owl phone charm (there’s a also a kitty and a fox)
2. Mouse Tails (to keep your chords in check)
3. Accordion File
4. Faux Tails for iPhones
5. Cupcakeys (other designs available too, like poop!)
6. Owl Crew Pocket Journal (other designs available too)

Remember, the sale starts tomorrow (Nov. 15) from 12-5 pm PST. Don’t miss out!!!

Cheers,
Nina

PS: This post was in no way sponsored/affiliated by Gama-Go. I’m just endorsing the hell out of this sale because I truly believe they’re an awesome company

Buy D.I.Y.

With the holidays around the corner, tis the time to start buying presents! Rather than getting something at the mall or Target for your friends and family, consider checking out the interwebs for places like Etsy and Copious that sell handmade goods. Not only are you getting something that’s most likely one-of-a-kind, but you’re supporting a small business. Good times!

Arts & Crafts fairs can be found all over the place during this time of year too, so be sure to see what’s going on around your town. Last week, the school I tutor at held their annual Arts & Gifts Fair so I headed on over to check out what the local vendors had to offer. I found a vast array of crafters selling handmade accessories, knitted/crocheted hats and scarves, and even some Betsey Johnson baubles for super cheapsies! But let’s focus on the stuff folks made with their bare hands, shall we?

Here are some of my favorite finds:

Lin Taylor:

Lin Taylor is a crafter based in the Sacramento area and she makes super cute headbands and pins made out of felt and yarn. I wanted to buy one of her headbands sooo badly, but I’m dumb and forgot to put my wallet into my purse before I left for work. AH! You can find Lin and her beautiful creations on Facebook and Instagram.

Fuss & Feathers:

Fuss & Feathers, also from Sacramento, had some gorgeous headbands with a couple of big flowers, scarves, and other little accessories, but I think the coolest thing they had were the little owl bags. I think they were marked as phone bags, but you could totally put some cash and your chapstick in there and be on your way out (given that you only need to take a few things with you). Darlene Seagraves, the lady behind Fuss & Feathers, was super helpful in letting me know about certain teams and whatnot on Etsy since I’m still pretty much a newb when it comes to selling my things on there. It’s nice to know the folks behind the products are super sweet too.

You can find Fuss & Feathers on Etsy.

Wristy Business:

At every street or arts & crafts fair I’ve gone to, I always see a vendor selling upcycled silverware jewelry. But with Wristy Business, run by Marsha Gonslaves, I think the incorporation of wiring and shiny beads added more oomph than any other vendor I had ever seen with a similar aesthetic. I particularly liked the rings made out of forks and the bracelets made out of the ends of vintage utensils. For more information about Wristy Business, be sure to check out their website.

All Tangled:

I was drawn to All Tangled’s booth, which is run by a very sweet lady named Raquel, because it totally reminded me of all the things my great grandma used to crochet for my family when I was a kid. My great grandma’s name also happens to be Raquel. Coincidence?  All Tangled’s inventory consisted of really cute and cozy looking gloves, scarves, and hats for both adults and babies, and booties (just for babies, not adults).

All Tangled’s site is currently under construction, but you can check out what Raquel has whipped up and also purchase items on their Facebook page.

Are there any small businesses that you particularly love on Etsy or elsewhere? I’d love to hear about it, so feel free to share!

Cheers,
Nina

How to Break In Your Brand New Chucks

Last Monday, Tim and I went on a mission to find him a brand new pair of black Chucks for our Disneyland trip (we’re leaving on Thursday!!!). And, unlike other shoes, Chucks are best when they’re beat up and worn in — like they’ve lived. Y’know what I’m sayin’? I’m a fan of keeping my shoes clean, but there’s always been an exception with Chucks. Before we headed out, Tim put a baseball bat in his car saying that we would need it later. I assumed some Office Space stuff was about to go down,  but I really had no clue as to what we’d actually need it for.

Phase 1 of our mission was to locate a pair of Chucks, the second phase was to buy them, and for Phase 3 Tim found an empty parking lot. He brought his new shoes out and told me about how new Chucks aren’t cool and that they needed to get dirty. We then proceeded to beat the crap out of his brand new shoes. Tim tossed them at me and I hit them as hard as I could with the bat. We ran around the parking lot and threw them in the air, kicked them, and stomped on them in a Sandra D-like manner like it was a cigarette (at least I did). It is seriously the BEST way to break in a new pair of Chucks. And also a good way to relieve stress.

So the next time you find yourself with a new pair of Chuck Taylors and you’re too impatient to break those suckers in, grab a bat and go ape sh!t.

Fluff n’ Stuff

Last weekend Tim and I went to Build-a-Bear Workshop to make a little buddy for Princess Penny (a bear I had made a few years ago at the Build-a-Bear in Downtown Disney). I kind of forgot how overwhelming the experience is because of all the choices of bears/animals and clothes you have to choose from. But we ended up picking a bear that looked similar to Princess Penny.

If you haven’t gone to Build-a-Bear before, you get to pick a heart to stuff inside your creation. Being the nerds that we are, I said we should give it two hearts so he could be a Time Lord bear (Doctor Who reference, in case you don’t know).

I was a bit disappointed in the stuffing process though, because when I made Princess Penny at Disneyland they made me do some stupid silly things — I had to spin in a circle, hold the heart over my head and shake it, and make a wish. At the store we went to, the woman helping us just said to make a wish and then stick the hearts inside our bear. See? Not as exciting. I wanted to put Tim through all of that, but noooo.

One of the things I like about Build-a-Bear is that you get to pick out an ensemble for your cuddly creation. We both agreed that we wanted our bear to be dapper as hell, and ended up finding this GQ-esque pinstripe vest and tie combo. I was bummed that they didn’t have any bowties, but what can you do? We also decided to go for the Pooh Bear look too — no pants, no shoes, just a top. Adding pants and shoes seemed too silly and over the top.

It took Tim and I awhile to pick a name for our bear. I immediately thought of Wilfred, as in Donna’s grandpa from Doctor Who (I ALWAYS manage to find a way to incorporate Doctor Who). We tried to think of other names from nerdy franchises like Harry Potter, and looked up names on our phones, but we ended up going with Wilfred. And at the very last second, I saw a book on the counter when we were waiting in line to pay with a bear wearing glasses. I looked at Wilfred and said he needed some.

Here’s Wilfred and Princess Penny together. I think she’s quite pleased.

Too bad Tim and I tore them apart though — Wilfred currently resides in my room while Princess Penny stays at Tim’s apartment in Sacramento. :/

Things I Bought That I Love: Chocolate Mint Milk and Holiday Disney Thingies

I don’t think I can say this enough: TARGET IS THE SH!T. I love Target. If I could only shop at one store for the rest of my life, it would be Target because they have everything. Hmm… I’m sensing a bit of deja vu. Have I written these exact sentences in another post before? Most likely, I wouldn’t be surprised. <– ramble ramble.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I saw cartons of limited edition holiday milk flavors including egg nogg (eh), red velvet chocolate, and chocolate mint. Naturally, I bought the red velvet and the chocolate mint milk AND a Minnie Mouse sippy cup to drink it out of. Target has pretty swanky Disney Holiday/Christmas swag right now too — mostly housewares like plates, salt & pepper shakers, cups, bowls, and some Mickey and Minnie tees. It’s so AMAZEBALLS!!! Shanice was kind enough to buy a Minnie Mouse shirt for me.

The red velvet chocolate milk is so-so — I mean, it’s tasty and all, but it really just tastes like regular chocolate milk, just slightly sweeter. The mint one, however, tastes like cold melted Andes candies. Have you ever had an Andes mint chocolate candy? Gaah… so good. *drool*

PS: Yes, I totally copied Mindy Kaling’s “Things I Bought That I Love” thing. Whatever. x__x

—

outfit details:

• shirt/shorts/cardigan: Target
• necklace: vintage
• hair clip: Daiso

Walrus of the Sea

Today is my best friend Jen’s birthday! WOOOO!

She would kick my ass if I posted a picture of her on here, so instead, to honor her on her special day, I am shamelessly plugging her fantastically awesome Etsy store Walrus of the Sea where she sells nifty hair bows and knitted goods all handmade by her.

In the picture above I am wearing this bow:

Here are a few of my other favorites from her store:

This one is TARDIS blue and the gold is quite reminiscent of regeneration residue.

When we picked out fabric for Rory’s bow ties (which can be seen here), I REALLY wanted this fabric. But alas, I picked a paisley for him instead.

Bit bigger than the other bows, but just as cute.

Jen also makes fingerless gloves out of bamboo silk yarn. There aren’t any listed currently, but keep an out for those! She made me a pair of purple ones and they are all kinds of cozy.

Happy Birthday Jen!

Dinky Hot Chocolate & Knickknacks

Tiniest cup of hot chocolate that ever existed

It’s been awhile since I actually posted anything huh? I’ve been keeping myself busy by doing homework, making jewelry, goofing around on Tumblr, and somehow I managed to hangout with 3 of my best friends during the week. Tim and I had a burping contest on Wednesday (OH-SO-CLASSY), on Friday I ate lunch with Shanice and helped her find a sweater dress, and yesterday I helped Jen pick out new frames at Walmart. Good times.

This morning I went to the flea market with my mom and got the dinkiest cup of hot chocolate EVER. And it was $1.50. At least it was tasty (unlike a certain popular coffee franchise’s hot chocolate… *cough*Starbucks*cough*). Luckily, we found awesome deals elsewhere. I found a Star Wars calendar from 1981 and I plan on making collages out of the pictures in it, and I got a Leonardo action figure decked out in Indian gear, or Native American (whichever you prefer).

I had to get this because it reminded me of Karen O.

I also got a western-ish belt that I can put my rodeo belt buckle on. I AM SO EXCITED. But I didn’t take a picture of it, and I’m too lazy to. My SD card effing broke so I have to rely on my phone’s camera for awhile. *disgruntled noises* My mom and I also spent 15 minutes untangling a bunch of jewelry and got some nifty things.

Here’s a few other things I found:

Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera! This thing looks nothing like Yul Brynner.

My sister and I had this poster in our room when we were youngins.

The sign on the building says "Jesus is Lord"

Okay, so that’s all from me. I’ll try to make more worthwhile posts in the near future. And speaking of the near future, my Etsy store should be opening REALLY SOON. And that means my first give-away will be happening REALLY SOON too. All capping “really” and “soon” just makes things look more exciting right? RIGHT? <– okay, that’s just obnoxious now.

—

outfit details:

• hat: H&M
• dress: Tucker for Target
• hoodie: Merona
• bomber: Espirit
• belt: Target

Thrifty Thursday

Stockton may be considered a podunk town (we did make it on Forbes‘ worst cities to live in list multiple times), but it has some redeeming qualities — I swear by Podesto’s deli sandwiches, Tiger Yogurt is AMAZING, we’re the only city in California with a Dillard’s and they have awesome sales, Crossroads Trading Co.’s only outlet store is in Stockton, and we have some of the best thrift stores around! My friend Marcos told me that Superior Thirft has 20% discounts for students with IDs every Thursday, so we made plans to go yesterday along with Shanice and Jen.

Superior Thrift is on the side of town I don’t care to venture off to by myself (plus I like avoiding super busy streets), but Marcos told me I had to get over it and made me drive there. And I did okay! *phew*

This purple tie-dye poncho/shirt hybrid was so effing ugly I had to try it on. I just wanted to have an Ugly Betty moment.

Anyway, I managed to find a silver locket, a rodeo belt buckle, a maroon bow tie a la Doctor Who, a copy of Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book, a mustard yellow Mr. Rogers-esque cardigan, a Michael Kors dress, and a purple pave hippo ring for my mom. I found a few other items as well, but they didn’t work out — like the knitted TARDIS blue sweater with gold stitching I found. It was hella itchy and unflattering. I also tried on a Bill Cosby-esque cardigan, and a red dress from the 80s (long sleeve, gold buttons, chain pattern throughout). I thought it was one of those things where it was so ugly, it might be cute. But alas. I was wrong.

Mustard yellow cardigan by Casual Corner. My mom said it's probably from the 80s. And Rory is my blog's unofficial mascot.

v

This Michael Kors mini dress was only $10!

I've been wanting a rodeo belt buckle since May. Better late than never I suppose.

This locket kind of reminds of the one in the film adaptation of The Secret Garden.

Marcos managed to snag some nice button-up shirts (and I picked one out for him!) and a swanky Triple 5 Soul khaki jacket, Jen found an authentic military jacket, and Shanice got a fancy grey sweater. I would’ve taken pictures of their loot too, but I was too busy complaining about being hungry in the midst of shopping. All in all, the four of us got some pretty nice swag.

Lodi Street Faire

Every May and October my mom and I wake up at the ass crack of dawn to head to the Lodi Street Faire. Why so early? To get first dibs on all the goods, of course! In May I wrote a post with 10 tips about shopping at these kinds of things (Tip #10: Get there early).

You can find the aforementioned post here.

We ended up getting there around 7 am (an hour later than we would’ve liked), but I still managed to score a bunch of awesome swag. My first find was a vintage Wicket coin bank (I love Ewoks, and my dog looks like one — I had to have it). The vendor originally asked for $10, then I asked if she’d take $8, and she was like, “Well, I originally wanted $15 for it… blah blah,” but then she went ahead and gave it to me for $8. LE WOOT! <– Tip #2: Don’t be afraid to negotiate.

Seriously, it doesn’t hurt to try and bargain with vendors. I have weird social anxiety issues, so I always had a problem doing this — my mom still has to encourage me to ask if they’ll lower the price. *nervous laughter* I think I’m getting a bit better at it though! And a lot of vendors are usually willing to negotiate the prices of their merchandise with shoppers.

Other items I scored:

• Snake bracelet (marked at $16, I asked for $10, but the lowest they’d go was $12)
• Nefertiti necklace ($5 — it kind of reminds me of my Mona Lisa necklace)
• Enamel horse pendant w/chain (marked at $32.50, I asked the vendor if they’d take it for $25 and I ended up getting it for $27 something because they added tax… weird)
• Japanese lion musical pendant ($10 — it winds up in the back and plays music!)
• Not pictured, but my mom and I also split on a box full of silk bow ties ($20)

It was nice and cold this morning and a cool breeze came in around 8, but by 11 the sun was blaring. Can’t the Central Valley just have real Fall weather already? I’m ready to wear cardigans, scarves, and boots ALL DAY LONG. I’ve been ready since Winter ended! D:

—

outfit details:

• scarf: Missoni for Target
• cardigan: Mossimo (Target)
• camisole: Xhiliration (Target)
• belt: some Target brand… I love Target, okay? Sheesh.
• jeggings: H&M
• boots: Madden Girl
• purse: Cynthia Rowley

Mission Oxfords: COMPLETE

In high school I was taught to never start any piece of writing with a question because it’s a cheap and uncreative way to pull readers in, but who knew searching for the right pair of shoes would be such a bitch? Seriously! Since the beginning of the year, I’ve been looking for a pair of brown oxfords. Not heeled, or two-toned, just simple, flat and brown (sounds boring, but they’re classic). Every time I would find something, they’d never have my size, or they would have my size but it wasn’t the right color. UGH! But my search finally ended when I went to Target last weekend.

My shoe size varies between 9, 9.5, and 10 because my parents blessed me with their wide-set feet. But with oxfords, 9′s were too small, 10′s were too big, and a 9.5 never seemed to exist. But alas, Target once again proved to me why it’s my favorite store when I found the exact pair I had been searching for.

HUZZAH!

—

outfit details:

• dress: Forever 21
• slip: Charlotte Russe
• jacket: LAL
• shoes/belt: Target
• earrings: Wanderlust (gift from Jen)
• ring: ???