Video Game Ladies - ACEO Time!

Okay, so I may be becoming a tad obsessed with making ACEO cards. 

They're such a fun (and quick) way to knock out that urge to create that hits me at the strangest times. Plus they're small and adorable and such a great way to start a mini art collection! So yeah, I'm in love. They also don't take up much ink (which is great, since markers are expensive!). Good stuff all around.

I thought that I'd make my first round some of my favorite ladies in video games. I've got an enormous list of girls I'd still like to draw, but I think this is a decent start!

Can you name the above characters?

Candy Time! Meiji Chocorooms Review

Anything mushroom shaped is good in my book. The only thing that would make these cuter would be little chocolate squirrels mixed in, but I won't get my hopes up. The box opens with a convenient flap, which reveals a brown bag filled with little cookies. 

 

 

The stem of the 'mushroom' is a very plain cracker/cookie with no flavor to speak of. The chocolate top has a semi sweet flavor, but it tastes more milk chocolatey once you finish it. The chocolate is okay, nothing amazing, but it's just creamy enough and melts nicely in the mouth. To be honest, the mushroom gimmick is what drew me in. But they're pretty tasty! Honestly, they taste almost exactly like pocky.

The box cost $1.99 at World Market. I think I would buy them again, but only to share with friends who would appreciate how adorable they are.

Candy Time! Eiffel Bonbons - Strawberry Chewy Candy

 These candies were another world market find. They're by Eiffel, and are apparently popular with French clubs and organizations. I picked the strawberry version (they come in green apple as well), mostly because they are a super great pink color. 

The candies are a dark pink in color, with a white powdery coating that I assume keeps them from sticking together. They have a nice smell, a very artificial strawberry scent but still nice. When you first pop them in your mouth, they're mildly sweet without a strong flavor. The more you chew on them (as they are very chewy, almost starburst like, candies) the stronger the flavor gets, becoming almost tart near the end. The flavor is, I guess, strawberry. It just tastes pink, which I have no problems with. The texture is great, they don't stick to your teeth, and the flavor doesn't linger in your mouth too long after eating them.

I really enjoyed these! They're addicting and the tartness is a nice touch. I like that they're not overwhelmingly sweet. I'd definitely buy them again, and I'd like to try the apple flavor as well. 

The bag was $1.99 at World Market.

Candy Time! Kinder Happy Hippo Biscuits

Okay, so these things are pretty much adorable. It's delicious candy...that is also a hippo. So everybody wins. Of course that leaves you with the dilemma of which end to bite off first (since it's sectioned into 3 little body parts). I always eat the head first, but to each their own.

Hello tasty friend....

I've had these hippo treats before, but only the chocolate version. This little guy is "Milk & Hazelnut". His body is made of a light wafer shell that is very easy to crunch through. His lower half is covered in bits of crunchy sugar (the package says meringue) that have very little taste, except for their sweetness. Once you bite it's head off, you get...

Creamy filling! There are two different flavors here, the top is 'milk' and the bottom is 'hazelnut'. The milk cream doesn't have a lot of flavor, but it does mix well with the hazelnut. All of this makes for an incredibly sweet treat that doesn't have an intense flavor. It's not as rich as it's chocolate counterpart, but I still don't think I'd be able to eat more than a couple at one time.

A package of 5 hippos cost about $5 at World Market.

Outfit Time! - Transitions

We're in that weird place, weather wise, where it's just getting warm enough to forgo the tights and cardigan but we're not quite there yet. Sadness galore, but before you know it I'll be complaining about 90 degree weather and wishing for fall.

Dress - No Boundaries, Goodwill on sale for dead cheap

Cardigan - Nordstrom, Juniors Dept.

Tights - TJ Maxx

Boots - Wanted, Akira Boots

Other - Rainbow Pin - Ebay

Tote - Etsy

Life Lately...

I can't even begin to say how WONDERFUL it was to have a couple days off with 70 degree weather to enjoy. Between taking long walks through the woods and napping on my back porch, I'd say I fully took advantage of the sun making his fabulously warm appearance.

Anyway, here's what I've been up to lately...

- Juicing! I'm really making an effort to do this every day. The juices are (I think) delicious, but there are just so many parts to clean when I'm done! Lately I've been all about my green juice, which is a mix of kale, celery, cucumber, carrots, apples, and pineapple. Oh, and a squeeze of lemon juice. This one is not super delicious, but just remember that you're drinking it so you don't have to eat a huge ass salad later, not because it tastes like rainbows.

- Trying out a bunch of video games that I missed in my youth. Diddy Kong Racing, Brave Fencer Musashi, & Yoshi's Story are all ones that I've tried out recently. I wasn't too impressed with Diddy, in my opinion Mario Kart 64 is the best there ever will be. THE BEST.

- Eating delicious food! Although my effort to eat more consciously and healthfully has been going very well, sometimes you just have to treat yourself to something so delicious it can't be anything but artery clogging goodness. If you live somewhere where there is a Rib Country, freaking go there and buy the pulled pork plate. No regrets. Those beans are masterful.

Other activities include...
- Eagerly anticipation the dvd release of 'The Hobbit'.
- Fun hangout nights with good friends, vanilla vodka, & too many cupcakes
- Taking walks through the forest in unpractical footwear.
- Looking forward to Strawberry Season at work!

My Top 5 - Favorite Beauty Products

Until the past year or so, I was never really into beauty products. Aside from some basic mascara and foundation in high school and such I didn't delve to deeply into the realm of cosmetics and such. I don't know what happened, but that's totally changed. 

Here are my top 5 favorite beauty products of the moment! I use these pretty much every single day and I'm pretty sure they'll always be in my makeup bag.

 1. Smith's Strawberry Lip Balm. This stuff is awesome. Not only does it smell like a strawberry milkshake but it's super creamy and moisturizing. I've had this one for a couple of months already and I've barely made a dent. I'd like to try the original Rosebud flavored one, but for now this stuff is the best.

2. MUFE Full Cover Concealer. I have intense dark circles. I mean...punch me in the eye dark. Combined with my super pale skin, they're terrible. I've never found anything that really make them disappear until this! This is seriously my holy grail concealer. It only takes the tiniest amount of product, which is good because it's thick and it sets fast. I bought the lightest shade available (1) and although it's very ALMOST too dark for my skin, it's otherwise amazing.  <3 br="">

3. "It's a 10" Miracle Leave In Product. This I discovered from my hairdresser. And now I don't think I could live without it. It makes my hair super soft and for someone with very damaged hair it's been such a huge change. This makes such a huge difference it's unreal. UNREAL.

4. Too Faced Shadow Insurance. This is just a great eyeshadow primer. No creasing and my eye product stays put. Simple and it works!

5. Sugarpill Goldilux Loose Pigment. All of Sugarpill's pigments are amazing, but I always come back to this one. It's just too perfect and works with lots of different colors. I mean look at this! Win.

 So that's it! My top favorite products of the moment. Maybe ever. Who knows. 

What are your favorite beauty products?

Thrift Haul - 1/29.13

Today was a really great thrifting day! It was also about 60 degrees outside which was sooo nice. I think I even saw a bee. Anyway, here's what I found!

 Pocahontas resin frame - $6.99

 3 cds - Passion Pit, Phantom Planet, and Shiny Toy Guns - $2.50 each

 

 Simba plush - $1.99

 

 And my favorite! An ENORMOUS Sebastian plush. I mean...holy shit. Why did they even decide to make a crab this big? The cashier was very confused as to why I would purchase this at all. Only because it's AWESOME! And only $2.99. Come on.

A layer of ice

There's nothing like a little freezing rain to get a girl in the mood for Spring. It did give me the day off from work (ice pretty much shuts down our little mountain town) and made for some pretty pictures. 

Vintage Brooches Galore.

Recently, a large amount of super neat vintage brooches happened to find their way into my possession. By "happened to find their way" I mean that I bought them on ebay. I found some really beautiful ones to keep for myself, but I'm forcing myself to sell the ones that probably won't see daily use. 

Because I don't need 50 brooches. 

Right?

They're available here. I'm sure many more will follow as I destash my collection. It's getting ridiculous.

Birthday Thrift Score

Thank you to the wonderful person who decided that they didn't need Final Fantasy VII in their lives anymore. Mine is better for it. I found this great game at Goodwill behind a pile of music cds. Always check the cds!

And complete for $2.50? I am a happy camper.

Things I Love - #2

These bags by SewMuchStyle on Etsy. She uses recycled suit jackets and such to make the neatest purses, messenger bags, and ipad cases. I love the way she combines all the different patterns and positions the pieces. They make me want to start collecting all those neat jackets that I see in thrift stores.

  

  

 The print on this dress from Modcloth is the cutest!

 I'm all about hot air balloons and the cut and color are perfect.

This lemon truffle recipe sounds delicious. Of course, everything from How Sweet Eats sounds like the best thing ever.

 

Crayola nail polish!! And they're mini! Plus the packaging is the most adorable. 

 

Pastel Icing and Vintage Reads

For Christmas, a friend of mine gave me a neat stack of vintage magazines, ranging from 1955 to the early 1960s. I love this kind of thing and they now have a place on my side table, topped with my vintage brass whale. 

As I start to read through these I'll be sure to scan in some of my favorite ads and share them here. :)

Household, American Girl, Good Housekeeping, etc...

 

 Look at that pastel 50s icing! Super cuuuuuuute.

Things I Love - 001

These White Rabbit rings are way too cute. Especially the one in the little heart cup!

The best wooden hedgehog clock. Actually, the only hedgehog clock that I've seen. But still amazing.

This dress from Asos that's covered in ships. I love the color, collar, and print. It's pretty perfect!

I covet this Copic Sketch Marker Anniversaray Set so much. So much coveting. 

Animal ear rings! So much love going on here!!!

Mini Review - Super Paper Mario for Wii

 I have a really bad habit of getting really close to the end of a game and just...stopping.

It's not that I don't want to finish it, I just get distracted really easily. Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy X (which I finished 2 years after I started...seriously...), and Kingdom Hearts 2 have all been victims to my laziness. More recently, however, has been Super Paper Mario for the Nintendo Wii.

A couple of years ago, I rented this game and played through it for a few days until I had to return it. (Seriously, does anyone actually finish a game by the rental deadline?) Fast forward until a couple of months ago when my lovely boyfriend purchased the game for me as a gift! Fortune! Immediately I started it up and began to play it again. I loved it just as much as I did the first time. Of course, I got to the very last part where you're re-fighting all the bosses on your way to Count Bleck...and stopped.

I'm a terrible person. I also got very distracted by Dragon Quest VIII. Which is amazing.

Anyway, I eventually finished the thing and here's what I thought!

image from garethrees.org

Pros

 - It's freaking adorable! Even Bowser is cuddle worthy.

 - The ability to flip dimensions (2D to 3D) to find treasure, secret passageways, and lots of coins.

 - Great humor! From a simulated dating game to obscure Earthbound references, it's lots of fun.

 - The levels are all pretty well designed with just enough puzzle fun to give it some difficulty.  

 - There's a fun horizontal shooter level which was a nice surprise.

 - You can switch between your main characters! They each have their own specialty, from Luigi's
    super jump to Bowser's flame attack. It makes for some fun strategy in battle.

 - There's so much to do! From collecting recipes and enemy cards, to the Pit of 100 Trials, there

    is a lot to do besides the main story.

Cons

 -The only problems that I had with this game were a couple of the levels. The OverThere and Outer Space were just pains. Not particularly difficult, just repetitive and annoying.

Overall, I think this is a fantastic game! Some may think it's childish, but it's well designed and has enough humor to keep you smiling throughout. Especially level 3. So great.

Retro Games and a Newfound Obsession

I'm going to be honest. Nintendo was not a big part of my childhood. Neither was Sega. In fact, my first console was a Playstation 1 when I was in, like, 6th grade. I had my gameboy color and played the shit out of some Pokemon Yellow, but I don't have the fond memories that most people my age do of afternoons after school playing Battle Toads, Sonic the Hedgehog, or The Legend of Zelda.

Thankfully, my boyfriend has always been a video game lover and has an extensive collection. He's introduced me to some great games (Earthbound, I'm looking at you) and I've developed a love for retro games. 

So! To celebrate my new found love, I'd like to start sharing my favorite systems, games, moments, and memorabilia. 

What's your favorite retro video game?

Pretty in Plaid

Pretty in Plaid #1 by wastedwishes


 

Pretty in Plaid #2 by wastedwishes featuring butter london nail polish

I'm head over heels in love with plaid again. It happens every year around this time, but I blame my local thrift stores for this instance. I recently thrifted a bag of vintage wood plaid fabric and it's just making my dizzy with ideas. I have a yellow colorway that would make a great weekender bag if I mixed it with some dark leather...and some purple that would make a cute mini dress. 

Yay for plaid!

Triforce Tote - First Attempt!

So lately I've been playing a lot of retro games. Okay, I mostly play retro games...but one of my more recent plays has been 'The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past'. I never really played video games growing up, so I'm late to this party but I'm starting to become quite fond of the series!

Another thing I'm starting to experiment with is painting fabric. It is so much fun and such a great way to personalize bags, clutches, shirts, etc. You get the picture. This was one of my first attempts at a painted tote! I picked the Triforce because it's iconic and fairly simple for a first attempt. Although I will admit that drawing an equilateral triangle was embarrassing difficult for me.
 

I'm not really a fan of the basic totes that you can buy in bulk. They never seem to be the right size or shape, so I decided to make my own base. I used a heavyweight cotton duck fabric and lined the bag with a green cotton fabric. Cotton webbing was used for the handles.

For the paint, I used a mixture of a basic metallic craft paint and a fabric medium from Martha Stewart's line of craft products. After it sat for 24 hours, I heat set the design and now it can be thrown in the washing machine with (hopefully) fantastic results. 

I can't wait to make more!