May the Fourth Be With You

outfit details – skirt: Xhileration // belt + cardigan: Merona // t-shirt: Super7 // Peter Pan collar necklace: MStyle // Stormtrooper bow: Abby’s BowTique (buy here) // Stormtrooper ring: it was on a cupcake! // shoes: Dirty Laundry // glasses: Derek Cardigan (buy here)

HAPPY STAR WARS DAY!!!

In the nerd world, May 4 is Star Wars Day as it plays a pun on the famous saying, “May the force be with you.” To celebrate Star Wars Day I wore this outfit to work — all clad in my Star Wars gear, complete with Stormtrooper hair bow and ring! It’s not exactly “business casual” (our dress code), but I got tons of compliments from some customers and co-workers! One of them said, “So all I need to do is wear a cardigan and I can wear my nerdy shirts to work too?” Somehow I managed to get away with wearing my Luna Lovegood shirt by Megan Lara a few days before, so yes. Cardigans + nerdy shirt + nice skirt (or whatever fancy bottoms) = work appropriate. Huzzah for loopholes!!!

May the Fourth be with all my fellow geeks and nerds on this joyous  holiday. YUB YUB!!!

Also: Happy Free Comic Book Day and Happy Birthday to Audrey Hepburn

Cheers,
Nina

PS: Here’s a fun little ditty to celebrate the day.

@(*__*)@

All the Pretty Horses

outfit details – dress + belt: Xhileration (buy dress here) // boots: Charles Albert // watch: Timex x Disney // glasses: Brooks Brothers (buy here) // necklace: Authored Adornments (buy here)

Yesterday was a bit of a rarity as I had the ENTIRE day off! Rather than sleeping in and bumming it up at home, I hit the road bright and early to visit Tim at his new casa (which is an hour and 20 minutes away from me)!! We hadn’t seen each other in what feels like months, rather than weeks, since our free time never matches up to allow either one of us to make the drive to visit the other, so yesterday was completely amazing and much needed!

Tim told me there were tons of country roads with lots of places that would look cool for an outfit post, so I dressed for the occasion with my black and white horse dress from Target (damn you, Target and all your adorable clothes). While driving down the road we tried to find horses to be in the background, but all we saw were cows. Also, to change things up I wore my Brooks Brothers glasses that have been M.I.A. since October! I found them a few days ago when I was setting my bed up on bed lifters. And my necklace is from Authored Adornments. Does it look familiar? I had it on my wish list last Christmas (seen here), and I decided to take matters into my own hands and buy it for myself! It contains a line from John Green’s novel The Fault in Our Stars which says, “I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once.” Swoon.

BTW, Krysten of Authored Adornments has shared a code for me and all my lovely readers to use to get 10% off an order! Just use the code BOOKSHOP.

Tim and I did the usual stuff we do when we’re together — eat (we went to Jimboys for lunch and Smashburger for dinner), go to Target (it’s the go-to thing for when we wanna go out but don’t know what to do), do an outfit photo shoot for my blog, watch TV shows and YouTube videos (I brought season 1 of Chuck with me in hopes that I could convert him into a fan), talk about random stuffs, nap, and cuddle. <3

Sorry I’m not sorry for the partial mushiness of this post. I  love my boyfriend a helluva f*ckin’ lot x infinity & beyond then some, and I’m really proud of us for making this whole long distance bidness work. And that’s all I shall say about that since I gotta keep some things private, y’know?

Cheers,
Nina

LeSportsac: It’s a Small World Bag Review

I’ve been holding out on some exciting news from you guys, but I’m ready to share it!

A couple of weeks ago the fine folks of LeSportsac contacted me and asked me if I could write a review AND host a giveaway on my blog for their spring line of It’s a Small World bags! When I first found out about this collaboration last year I flipped out because I’ve been a longtime fan of both Disney and LeSportsac (the very first expensive bag I bought myself was from their collaboration with Gwen Stefani’s L.A.M.B. line and my LeSportsac collection snow balled from there!), plus It’s a Small World has always been one of my favorite attractions at Disneyland since I was a little girl. So when I was approached by them to review a couple of bags for this particular line I did a little happy dance around my room!

I’ll be giving more details about the giveaway tomorrow (and one of them will be filled with a bunch of special goodies in honor of my upcoming 2 year blogaversary!), but for now here’s my review of a couple of their super cute bags!

The Classic Hobo is not too big and not too small — it’s just right. <– that was so Goldilocks of me. Anyhow, I was able to stick my wallet, make-up bag, planner, a pack of gum, hand sanitizer, and a Cliff Bar, and there was still a bit of room to spare for a few other little things. This is the perfect kind of bag to take on the go — whether you’re hanging out with some friends, going to a concert, running errands, or heading to work. And I love the fact that you can adjust the strap, so you can wear it as a crossbody bag or over the shoulder.

The print of the bag is called “Share Your Dreams” and it features a bunch of little embroidered iconic landmarks from different nations and a charm that has the face from the tower of the attraction. I’m a HUGE fan of Mary Blair, the artist who designed It’s a Small World, and I think that LeSportsac did a lovely job at paying homage to her incredibly adorable iconic designs. It also came with a little pouch that can double as a little makeup bag (but I forgot to take a picture of it. D’oh)!

The other bag I really liked was the Carryall Tote. And true to its name, it really can carry all!

I was able to fit all the items I listed above in the Classic Hobo, along with my bulky Canon SX50 and iPad, and there was definitely room for even more! This tote is ideal for the kind of girl that likes to carry tons of things with her. It can also fit my 13 inch laptop, a water bottle, etc. I think this is the kind of bag I’d take along with me for travel purposes or if I find myself leaving the house to work on my blog elsewhere, that way I can take my camera and laptop with me. It’s also PERFECT for a trip to Disneyland! It’ll hold all the bare necesseties (I’m sorry, that was cheesy) and you can even fit snackies and little souvenirs in case you go shopping in between going on rides and eating Pineapple Dole Whips.

Stay tuned to find out how you can win your very own It’s a Small World purse on tomorrow’s post!

Cheers,
Nina

FTC disclosure: LeSportsac sent me these bags to keep and review. All opinions stated are of my own.

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outfit #1 details – cardigan: Mossimo // Lady & the Tramp tank: Disney x Target (buy here) // rose hair pin: The Icing // purse: c/o LeSportsac (buy here) 

outfit #2 details – cardigan + dress: Old Navy (buy here + here) // shoes: Avenue // tote: c/o LeSportsac (buy similar here) //Hyacinth Hippo pin: Walt Disney Family Museum // hot pink belt: Xhileration (came w/a dress) // ring: random boutique fin

Wingardium Leviosa

outfit details – cardigan: Forever 21 // Gryffindor patch: from Comic Con (buy similar here) // shirt: Teefury (buy similar here) // belt: Merona // skirt: Xhileration // ring: from Target // gold bow: H&M // glasses: Derek Cardigan (buy here) // shoes: Blowfish

I can’t help but feel like a bit of a phony when I wear my Gryffindor cardigan since I was sorted into Hufflepuff  on Pottermore (whut whuuut!), but in my defense my sister bought the patch for me when she went to Comic Con for the first time (that was 10 years ago!), and then I sewed it onto my cardigan so I could dress up like a Hogwarts schoolgirl for the last Harry Potter movie (see here) — all that happened waaay before Pottermore! Besides, it totally goes with my hella awesome Hermione Granger shirt that I just bought from Teefury!!!

If the design looks familiar, it’s by Megan Lara who I featured in my Curator’s Corner series not too long ago. Oh, and her Luna Lovegood design is currently available on Teefury as well. Oh my glob, just take all monies, Megan (and Teefury)!

I’m so glad Friday’s payday. ACCIO MONIES!

Cheers,
Nina

GERONIMO!

outfit details – tweed blazer + rings: thrifted // pussy bow blouse: Allen B. by Allen Schwartz // skirt: Xhileration (buy here)  // boots: Dirty Laundry // glasses: Derek Cardigan (buy here) // TARDIS cookie jar: (buy here)// sonic screwdriver: (buy here)

Happy Who Day to my fellow Whovians!!!

Not only does the second half of the 7th season premiere tonight, but it was announced earlier this morning that David Tennant (10th Doctor) and Billie Piper (Rose) will be returning for the 50th Anniversary episode! OMG, my fangirl heart doesn’t know how to take all the excitement!!! Tonight Tim and I will be making fish fingers and custard to celebrate

And since today is Who Day it’s only appropriate to have an outfit post inspired by the 11th Doctor (who happens to be my favorite)! I actually wore this on my first official day at my new job (secret cosplay at work FTW). That was a couple weeks ago, but I didn’t have time to snap any selfies so I had to wait for my photographer (a.k.a. my boyfriend a.k.a. Tim <– in case you’re new to Le Fancy Geek) to get back into town and do a proper shoot.

My outfit inspiration!

Ever since Matt Smith made his debut on the show I’d been thinking of ways to interpret his 11th Doctor’s outfit into an outfit I can wear out and about. The black Dirty Laundry boots were purchased at Ross a couple years ago specifically because they kind of reminded me of the 11th Doctor, and I also thought they would go with my Hogwarts school girl outfit (worn here). Rather than wearing a collared shirt and bow tie, I opted for a pussy bow blouse in the same hue as the burgundy bow tie the 11th Doctor wore for most of his debut season (or series, as the Europeans say). I had been looking for one for awhile and found this one by Allen B. at JCPenney last year. I even did a little happy dance when I stumbled upon it! My tweed blazer was a thrift store find from a couple years ago and, of course, I got it because it reminded me of the Doctor! Why else would I get it, really? And you can’t really tell, but the blazer actually has some gold thread so it gives off a little sparkly sheen like regeneration residue! Sorry to those who have no idea what gibberish I’m talking about. Long-time readers and people who know me in general know that I love me some Doctor Who and am absolutely craycray aboot it and mention the show quite a bit on my blog! >^__^<

Whether or not you’re a fan of Doctor Who, I hope you have a happy Saturday!

Cheers,
Nina

Tale As Old As Time

outfit details - jacket + flowers: H&M // earrings: Once Upon a Smorgasbord (buy here) // dress: Mossimo (buy here) // belt: Merona // boots: Madden Girl 

Last week I FINALLY got to watch the Beauty & the Beast musical in Sacramento! I’ve been wanting to watch it since, oh… I dunno, since it first came out in the 90s? It’s come around my neck of the woods a few times within a 10 year span, but for some reason I’d always miss it. Since my annual pass to Disneyland expired earlier this month, I was in dire need of some Disney magic, so I couldn’t let this pass by once more! I ended up going with Shanice, my mom, her bestie, and my Auntie Clemen. So it was kind of like a mother/daughter + besties + sister/auntie night out! WOO! I really enjoyed it, though I was a bit thrown off by how the Beast came off as “wimpy” and humorous compared to how serious and stoic he is in the movie. But, whatever. I still love that furball either way!

I opted to dress in theme, so I put together an outfit that was inspired by both Belle and the Beast during the “Tale as Old as Time” sequence in the movie with a navy blue military-esque jacket, yellow lace dress, rosey hair clips, and a pair of earrings I made with Belle and the Beast! They’re actually up on my Etsy store, so if you want to check them out you can click here. I really wanted to wear something like this to Dapper Day last month, but I didn’t have a yellow dress that could pass off as Belle’s then, plus the jacket isn’t ideal for sunny SoCal weather. I’d be sweatin’ a storm!

Cheers,
Nina

Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

outfit details – cardigan: Gap // shirt: Converse (Target) // tie: thrifted // jeans: Merona // watch: Timex x Disney // shoes: Converse // glasses: Derek Cardigan

As today would have marked Fred Rogers’ 85th birthday, I think it’s only right for me to do an outfit post dedicated to him as he was one of my childhood favorites and a total fashion inspiration to me. He’s completely responsible for my love of cardigans, I seriously wear one one almost EVERY. DAY. One of my life-long goals was to own just as many cardigans as he did, but I don’t know how many he owned to begin with, so maybe that’s just me wanting to find excuses to keep buying them. Like, I don’t own any awesome zip-up ones like he did anymore. Do they even make those still??? Anyway, I was always fascinated by how in each episode’s intro he’d come into his house while singing “It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” while switching from a snazzy blazer to a casual zip-up cardigan and sneakers. So grandpa chic!

Along with being a total style icon (to me and GQ anyway), he was an amazing human being. Here’s a list of fun facts that I found on Tumblr awhile ago about Mister Rogers:

• He basically saved public television. In 1969 the government wanted to cut public television funds. Mister Rogers then went to Washington where he gave an amazing merely six minute speech. By the end of the speech not only did he charm the hostile Senators, he got them to double the budget they would have initially cut down. The whole thing can be found on youtube, a video called “Mister Rogers defending PBS to the US Senate.”

• “Certain fundamentalist preachers hated him because, apparently not getting the “kindest man who ever lived” memo, they would ask him to denounce homosexuals. Mr. Rogers’s response? He’d pat the target on the shoulder and say, “God loves you just as you are.” Rogers even belonged to a “More Light” congregation in Pittsburgh, a part of the Presbyterian Church dedicated to welcoming LGBT persons to full participation in the church.”

• According to a TV Guide piece on him, Fred Rogers drove a plain old Impala for years. One day, however, the car was stolen from the street near the TV station. When Rogers filed a police report, the story was picked up by every newspaper, radio and media outlet around town. Amazingly, within 48 hours the car was left in the exact spot where it was taken from, with an apology on the dashboard. It read, “If we’d known it was yours, we never would have taken it.”

• Once, on a fancy trip up to a PBS exec’s house, he heard the limo driver was going to wait outside for 2 hours, so he insisted the driver come in and join them (which flustered the host). On the way back, Rogers sat up front, and when he learned that they were passing the driver’s home on the way, he asked if they could stop in to meet his family. According to the driver, it was one of the best nights of his life—the house supposedly lit up when Rogers arrived, and he played jazz piano and bantered with them late into the night. Further, like with the reporters, Rogers sent him notes and kept in touch with the driver for the rest of his life.

Happy Birthday Mister Rogers!!!

Cheers,
Nina

PS: I came across a really lovely article Benjamin Wagner, the director of the documentary Mister Rogers & Me, wrote for Mental_Floss packed with even more facts about the late and absolutely wonderful Mister Rogers. You can read it here.

“Isn’t it pretty to think so.”

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

Da Na Na Na Na Na Na Na BATMAN!

outfit details - dress: Material Girl // cardigan & belt: Merona // earrings: H&M // watch: Disney x Timex // hair bow: upcycled from a broken headband // shoes: Target ballet flats I DIY’d with Batman fabric // glasses: Derek Cardigan (buy here)

Batman’s been my favorite superhero ever since I was an itty bitty thing. I didn’t necessarily read the comics, but I watched the old campy version with Adam West all the time with my grandpa, and of course I loved the Tim Burton movies that came out when I was around 5, and Batman: The Animated Series was an after-school staple! My sister and I even had hair ribbons and shoe laces adorned with Batman’s emblem — I guess I’ve been doing the geeky-girly thing since I was a little lady. Ha! Anywho, I attempted to do some color blocking and pattern mixing with this outfit by mixing my kelly green lace dress with royal blue and hints of yellow to compliment Batman’s logo on my shoes that I DIY’d myself! I made them in August by using acrylic paint, Mod Podge, and Batman fabric on an old pair of ballet flats that I  found a bit boring. They looked really awesome after they were done and I was extremely happy with the way they turned out, but after wearing them twice the paint and bits of fabric started falling off. NOOO! I still need to figure out how to salvage them. Are there any crafty folks that might be able to give me some sage advice? I did manage to salvage the hair bow I’m wearing though — it was originally on a headband that Jen and Shanice picked up for me in Japan Town, but when I found it behind my vanity it was broken! I ripped the bow off and attached it to a clip and voila — insta-accessory! And the polkadots are kind of comic bookish since the illustrations on some of them, particularly the really old ones, were pretty dotty.

 

Cheers,
Nina

Peachy Keen

outfit details – blouse: Perch by Blu Pepper // skirt: Vera Wang Princess (buy here) // belt: Mossimo // ring + bracelet: vintage  // watch: Disney x Timex // boots: Steve Madden // glasses: Derek Cardigan (buy here)

My DSLR has been on the fritz as of late. It just hasn’t been taking super awesome quality photos like it used to! I took it to Best Buy’s Geek Squad after work this morning since it’s under insurance, but they told me that it seems fine and that if I want it to get checked out, I would have to pay $35 for shipping if whoever looks at it says nothing is wrong with it. WTF, right?! Chuck Bartowski and the Nerd Herd would not put me through this! Well, maybe Jeff and Lester would. <– sorry if you’re scratching your head at my Chuck reference. Go watch Chuck. It’s awesome and Zachary Levi (voice of Flynn Rider from Tangled) who plays the titular character is adorkble! Anyway, what is the point of having insurance on something super ‘spensive if they’re going to make me pay for shipping and stuff? RUGH! I’m sorry, I’m just so frustrated because I rely on that camera for this blog and my Etsy store. But thankfully Tim has an even fancier DSLR and was in town yesterday (I helped him pick out glasses at his optometry appointment, weee!!!) so he offered to take pictures with it. I originally asked him if he could use my phone’s camera. Ha!

Some of you may recognize this skirt since this is its third appearance on my blog. Sorry I’m not sorry it’s been on here so many times, I love it too much and it happens to go with lots of things in my wardrobe! Don’t be surprised when it pops up in future posts I wore a burgundy blazer with this ensemble too and we took a picture of me in it, but I looked at it again and thought I looked kinda slouchy, so no blazer pic! Sorry. :/ At first I thought it would look weird with the peach pussy bow blouse (I basically got that blouse for free at TJ Maxx because my aunt gave me her TJ Maxx rewards thingy worth $30), but I tried it anyway and thought it worked. I passed by my BFF Shanice’s sister on my way to work and she said she liked my outfit, so yay! There’s proof that someone thought it looked alright too. I actually got quite a few compliments on this outfit yesterday which made me all kinds of happy

I got my ring with the 18th century looking couple at the flea market two weeks ago. There’s this vendor that my mom’s homies with (she frequents the flea market so much that vendors know her name) had a ziplock bag full of jewelry that was “broken” or “not that good” so I dug through it and found this ring and a bunch of other neat pieces that I deem “good enough.” I don’t know where that bracelet came from, but while trying to clean my room I found it! And my rad gold watch was purchased during my last Disneyland trip. Isn’t it glorious?! It has a bunch of tiny Mickey ears all over <3

Hope you all have a fantastic Friday and a fabulous weekend! Who’s watching the Super Bowl on Sunday? I’m not!

Cheers,
Nina