August Book Reviews: Love of the Sirens and Batgirl Vol 2 Family Business

Hi Friends,

Yet again it's been a while, but this summer has definitely been a long, hot, and sad one in the news.  So I hope you all can understand my absences, as they have honestly been for my own mentally health, not because of you all!  I'm doing ok, but sometimes being online too much when there's bad news almost everywhere is just hard for anyone.  So I took a rather impromptu break....maybe I shouldn't have because I really enjoy writing.  It makes me glad to be back.  But let's get on to what you came here for, the book reviews!

August Book Reviews

I've got two for you today, and I want to keep up with at least two interesting book reviews each month.  I know some of you readers love it, and I'm really glad to share anything interesting I've read with you all.

Love Of The Sirens

The Love of the Sirens by Edith Zack is a little bit off my typical path of fiction and comics, but I really loved the format of small historical biographies of women in music.  If you get to know me well enough you know I enjoy my history and women's studies.  So this book is a fantastic combination of both.  It allows many of the women who were well known in their time to be made known now to modern music and history lovers despite the fact that many history of music textbooks leave these ladies out.

There are twenty different women profiled in the book, all in historical order from 1098 CE to the last who was born in 1931.  There's also a nicely written prologue that gives a bit of an overview of women in the world of music and what has at times kept them from being as popularly known as their contemporaries.

I'll be honest, I haven't read all the stories yet, but none of them are terribly long.  It just right for a lunch break or before bed reading.  The women detailed are all what we might think of as more classical musicians or composers and lived in the western world.  There's nothing too crazy or exotic among them that I've discovered, but the fact that there aren't any women I could name meant I had to read this book to find out more!  I was given a copy of the book for free by the publisher to review, but as always this review is my own thoughts.  If you'd like to check it out you can find out more here through my affiliate link on Amazon.com.

Batgirl Volume 2 Family Business

Some of you may have read my somewhat frustrated review of the first Volume in this series The Batgirl of Burnside.  There was some rather sexist bits in what was otherwise a great story, and it left me conflicted.  It took me a while to get back to it, but I decided I'd add it to my birthday list, and then I did indeed get it for my birthday a couple weeks ago!

It's a much better volume, with a lot more emphasis on character development, and it includes some really fun storylines as well.  Barbara has to deal with family and friends who she wants to protect instinctively, while also learning to allow them to choose their own paths.  There's less drawing for the male gaze too, I really only noted it one or twice, whereas the other volume seemed to include it in every story!  If you're interested you can find this book on Amazon via this affiliate link or in your friendly local comic book store.

But Wait There's More....

I've got a lot of exciting things coming up, including another post about another amazing subscription food box.  It's not really the kind it's easy to just do a video about either, so I'm looking forward to sharing it here on the blog with you later this week.

Thanks for sticking with me.  I'm really excited to get back into the swing of things with you all as summer is finally winding down.  See you again soon!

Geek Week Fashion Challenge

Hi Friends!

Sorry I've been on a bit of a break from writing.  I've been going crazy producing videos on my YouTube channel.  I'm going to create some posts here for them to make them all available for you all very soon though.  I have a ton of things I want to write about too, so I'm excited to get to it.  I'm just trying to find balance between writing and making videos.  This month videos won, but next month should be better.  I'm not going to go into it all too much though, or I'd be here all night.

What I'm really here to write about today is the Geek Week themed challenge I've been doing this week with the Geeks & Beauties Community!  Different people approached this from a bunch of perspectives, and I decided to go with a fashion one.  First because I love making geeky fashion choices and it's been a while since I touched on the subject despite that being the last thing I wrote about technically speaking.  So let's take a peek!

Geek Week Fashion Challenge

Look #1

This book and fairy tale themed look includes a short sleeved shirt from Threadless.com, undershirt from Walmart, jeans from Torrid, and socks from Hot Topic.

Look #2

Day two shows itself in this Ravenclaw inspired outfit featuring a locally made necklace (purchased at the 2014 Boylan Heights Art Walk in Raleigh, NC), Top from Old Navy, Skirt from Charlotte Russe, leggings by LuLaRoe, and flats from American Eagle by Payless.

Look #3

This outfit was a fun one, I wore it for our Pokemon Tabletop RPG to channel trainers from the video game.  Items included are a vest from a boutique in Grandin Village, Roanoke, VA, tee from Hot Topic, wet look ponte pants from Lane Bryant, and flats by Reaction.

Look #4

We couldn't forget a Doctor Who outfit in the mix!  This one features a DIY key necklace, hair pin rose from Forever 21, 9th Doctor Dress by Her Universe◊(Affiliate to main site, dress no longer available), leggings from Modcloth◊(Affiliate), and flats by American Eagle by Payless. 

Look #5

Going with the Thor idea this outfit's a bit of medieval meets modern, Female Thor V Neck Tee by Her Universe◊(Affiliate), shorts by Torrid, Leggings by Bombsheller (This pair's no longer available, but there are hundreds more designs and you can get an affiliate discount with code GEEKMEUP), clutch by Deux Lux, and sneakers by Converse.

Thanks for sticking with me, let me know what you think and feel free to ask questions about sizing or anything else in the comments.  See you again soon.  Please check out my friend's work below if you've got the time!

Other Geeks & Beauties work for Geek Week

Sadie by Design -  http://www.sadiebydesign.com/2016/03/announcing-geek-week/

Lea Graham -  https://www.instagram.com/p/BDO-HuGBjXP/?taken-by=lovehellokittyandmakeup

ZombeeKittyMeow -  https://www.instagram.com/p/BDNS_iBClti/?taken-by=zombeekittymeow

Jasy - https://www.instagram.com/p/BDPjlxIA4IS/?taken-by=jasyuniquelyme
https://www.instagram.com/p/BDRiTpXg4B7/?taken-by=jasyuniquelyme
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwZ_pxTku_E

ZombiieeNinjjaBeauty - http://zombiieeninjjabeauty.weebly.com/blog/geek-week-cult-classic-wants 
https://instagram.com/p/BDPi1DyD5hQ/
http://zombiieeninjjabeauty.weebly.com/blog/my-zombie-obsession

Jennifer Roman - https://www.instagram.com/romanj00/

Dusty Sabot - https://instagram.com/p/BDUr9cRHAAu/

xxBeautifulAliciaxx -  https://www.instagram.com/xxbeautifulaliciaxx/

Lena7623 - https://youtu.be/-s3KbkzqzIk

2015 - My Year in Books

Hi friends,

Today I was thinking I'd write a couple book reviews for you all, but I realized it's been a while since I looked at my reading challenge for 2015.  Last January I challenged myself to read a book every week, 52 in all.  Along the way I also started working on an overlapping list of 52 specific kinds of books as shown further down in this post.  And the results are in:

2015 Reading Challenge!

Books Read:

(Click any link in the list to see my review!)

1. Fables Volume 19 Snow White
2. Fables Volume 20 Camelot
3. Fables Volume 21 Happily Ever After
4. Fables Volume 22 Farewell
5. The Ancient Magus Bride Volume 3
6. Wren's War
7. Wren's Quest
8. Ms Marvel Volume 3
9. Hexomancy
10. Wayward Volume 1
11. Ghosted Volume 1
12. Figment Volume 1
13. A Brides Story Volume 6
14. Dead New World
15. The Torment of Rachel Ames
16. Alice in No-Man's-Land
17. Top 12 Places to Visit in Texas
18. Battling Boy: The Rise of Aurora West
19. The Master of Formalities
20. The Death and Life of Mal Evans
21. Spell or High Water
22. Off to Be The Wizard
23. Princess Ugg Volume 1
24. A Walk in The Woods
25. Velvet Volume 1
26. The Ancient Magus Bride Volume 2
27. Lumberjanes Volume 1
28. Bride of the Water God Volume 2
29. Bride of the Water God Volume 1
30. The Ancient Magus Bride Volume 1
31. Avengers & X-Men - Axis
32. Secret Wars
33. The Two Princesses of Bamarre
34. Wild Magic
35. Wolf Speaker
36. Emperor Mage
37. Wren to the Rescue
38. Captain Marvel Volume 3
39. Captain Marvel Volume 2
40. Captain Marvel Volume 1
41. Ms Marvel Volume 2
42. Batgirl Volume 1
43. Fuse
44. Burn
45. Gifts of the Blood
46. The Swap
47. Cipher
48. Waistcoats and Weaponry
49. Manifest Destiny Volume 1
50. Amulet Volume 2
51. Amulet Volume 1
52. Thor Goddess of Thunder Volume 1
53. The Sculptor
54. Rat Queens Volume 2
55. Rat Queens Volume 1
56. Celebromancy
57. Geekomancy
58. The Long Mars
59. The Long War
60. The Reluctant Midwife
61. Pride and Prejudice
62. Price and Prejudice and Zombies
63. The Weekend Homesteader
64. Call the Nurse
65. Paradise Lot
66. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
67. Injustice Gods Among Us Volume 2
68. Injustice Gods Among Us Volume 1
69. Wildflowers and Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachians Mountains and Piedmont
70. Midnight in Austenland
71. The Permaculture Handbook
72. Unlocked
73. Lock In
74. Ms Marvel Volume 1
75. Landscaping with Fruit
76. The Johnstown Flood

I think this is the full list, I may be a missing a couple more recent books, but this accounts for everything I can remember from a good go of looking at my records.  76 is better than I thought I'd do, so I'm quite happy with how my challenge went.  And I'm only a tiny bit surprised that 35 of the titles are comics, manga, or graphic novels!  Thanks to Fight or Flight Comics for that.  They opened almost a year ago and Bryan and I have found our perfect local comic book store in them!

As for the more complex challenge here's the worksheet all filled out:

I didn't want to double count anything, though I did read some books that would count under more than one of the headings in the checklist.  And I may have even missed something that might count, but I spent a good half hour trying to figure out what I read that could be added, and that's plenty!  I feel pretty good about all I ended up reading and can't wait to see what I read this year.  I'm not following any particular challenge, but I'm excited to read things I've been meaning to for a long time or have been recommended multiple times.  So I've started off the year with Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and have many more to come.  I'll try to get in a good book post at least once a month too keep you all posted about it too!

Favorite Reads

I kind of hate picking favorites, but I have to say that some of the books I enjoyed most from this past year would be Lock In by John Scalzi, a sci fi novel, The Ancient Magus Bride fantasy manga series by Kore Yamazaki, The Ms Marvel series featuring Kamala Khan by Willow G Wilson and a team of very talented artists, and Call the Nurse a memoir of a nurse working on a remote Scottish island in the 1970's by Mary J. MacLeod.  (Links above are affiliate links.)  I recommend all of them very strongly and I'm looking forward to all the great new picks this year will bring as well.

That's all for today.  Sorry I didn't get this post out sooner, but sometimes stomach viruses happen.  Yep....

But I'm ready to tackle a video unboxing for a great new subscription box, so be on the lookout for my review of the new Enchanted Beauty Box, the beauty box for Disney fans!  Have a great week!

16 Knits For Geeks

Hey everyone,

So being sick last week caused me to neglect writing, but I'm excited to be feeling better (finally!)  And to make up for it I'm going to be sharing an extra post with you all this week, in which I'll be doing an unboxing comparison of October's beauty and lifestyle subscription boxes.  My new format for reviewing them will be all together in one post, in a more simplified form.  That way if you like hearing about beauty it'll be together in one place, and if it's not your thing it'll be easier to avoid.

Announcement!

Another more exciting development this week, that you may have already noticed, is that my blog now has it's own domain!  So you can find me just by typing in LydiaDickson.com into your toolbar!  I'm very excited for this development because it will open new doors for partnerships, since it's seen as a signifier of a serious blogger versus someone who blogs as a hobby.  I hope you all will enjoy the journey with me as I make Lydia's Designs, soon to be Love, Lydia Dickson my full time job.  If you're wondering what to expect, know that it will be more of the same great content with graphics and overall quality that I'm dedicating to constantly improving.  Now, on to today's subject:

16 Knits For Geeks

I've picked 8 categories and and am sharing both an easy and a hard pattern in each.  For those of you thinking ahead, you should be able to complete any of these knits in time for Christmas!  There're no blankets or other huge projects in this post, though if you're set on one scroll all the way down.

Hats

1. Jayne Hat

image from Firefly Wiki

Everyone who loves Firefly knows and loves this iconic hat.  And what's great is it's a fairly easy one to knit.  What you need to know: knitting in the round, basic colorwork
Find the pattern here on Ravelry.

2. Lord of the Rings & The Hobbit - Gimli Inspired Dwarven Helmet and Beard

This hearty dwarven covering will make your look battle ready, or just keep your face warm during the winter.  Either way you'll look awesome.  This pattern isn't free, but it's too beautifully detailed for me not to include.  It's a little more complex requiring: knitting in the round, snap closures, tapestry crochet, and what looks like either color work or double knitting.
You can see more information here on Ravelry.

Stuffed Animals Creations

3. Pocket Sized BMO

This guy is adorable.  This pattern only costs $3, or if you feel adventurous you could even try making your own pattern since BMO is essentially a box with noodle limbs.  Techniques required: i-cord, seaming, cutting and gluing felt, and maybe a touch of colorwork.
Found here on Ravelry.

4. Little Cthulhu

This little guy is crocheted, so it's perfect for branching out from knitting to something new.  He's adorably scary and while complex, not that difficult overall.  Making him requires: crocheting in the round, single crochet stitch, increasing single crochet stitch, decreasing single crochet stitch, double crochet stitch, and chain stitch.
Found here on Ravelry.

Scarves

5. Doctor Who

Another great iconic piece of knitwear, and one that's perfect for the beginner with a bit of patience.  The scarf manages to keep a tediously long strip on knitting interesting with changing colors and widths as you work each stripe.  Requires: changing colors, fringe.
Find it here on Ravelry.

6. Katniss' Cowl

I've been eyeballing this beautiful cowl for a long time, but I think I need to practice more before I'm ready to tackle it.  It's not terribly hard though, and could be modified for a beginner fairly easily so long as close attention is paid to the various sections.  Requires: crochet details, learning interesting stitches like herringbone, and seaming.
Here's a link to the Ravelry page.

Cosplay Items

7. Companion Cube

This little companion cube is perfect for cosplay or your desk.  You could easily size it up too.  The pattern is very simple, but does take: some sewing and seaming by hand to finish.
Find it here on Ravelry.

8. Walking Dead Inspired Zombie Head

I know this pattern isn't intended to be specific to The Walking Dead, but is would work great as a decapitated zombie head, just make the skin green and add blood.  There are lots of different versions of this shown on the pattern page including one modeled after Jack Sparrow.  And the head doubles as a bag, so it's perfect for conventions.  To make this you'll want to know: knitting in the round, i-cord, a bit of hand sewing, and felting.
Take a peek at the pictures here on Ravelry.

Bags

9.  D4 Dice Bag

If you play tabletop games or card games like Magic the Gathering having dice is essential.  This bag is the perfect storage solution that's easy to make.  It requires: hand sewing, seaming, and recommends a zipper closure.
Details here on Ravelry.

10.  Space Invaders Tote

This fun bag takes you back to arcade fun.  You could even alter the pattern a bit to make the bag wider so it could be used for groceries.  Requires: colorwork, reading a chart, and stranding.
It's here on Ravelry.

Kids Items

11. Ninja Turtle Mittens

Wear your favorite Ninja Turtles on your hands, or make them for your friend's kids.  Either way they're perfect for cold weather!  Requires: shaping, hand sewing, and knitting in the round.
Pattern found on Ravelry.

12. Star Wars Knitsabers

These lightsabers are perfect for kids (or grownups) who love to swordfight, but don't want to get in trouble for getting too rough about it.  I love how detailed this pattern is, showing you how to make 4 different authentic lightsabers.  The pattern as written makes 10" lightsabers but you could easily make a longer version to suit your tastes.  Requires: knitting in the round, sewn details, and decreasing.
Find it on Ravelry.

Accessories

13. Iron Man Gauntlets

I love these gauntlets, I'm sure if I had a pair I'd be pretending I could fly all the time!  Perfect for a Tony Stark or Pepper Potts cosplay, or just cooler weather.  Requires: stranding, embroidered details, and seaming.
Find it here on Ravelry.

14. Star Trek Socks

These socks are a more complex project, but perfect for keeping your toes toasty.  It looks like the creator has put a lot of love into making sure everyone can understand their pattern too.  Requires: shaping, stranding, and probably working in the round.
Found on Ravelry.

Sweaters

15. Weasley Monogram Sweater

After reading Harry Potter if you were like me you wanted to wake up to one of these sweaters at the foot of your bed Christmas morning.  It may be a bit more work, but if you get started now you can make this dream a reality for someone you love.  It's not too hard either, I promise!  Requires: intarsia, seaming, duplicate stitch, taking body measurements.
Find it on Ravelry.

16. Wonder Woman Sweater

This pattern takes some dedication to chartwork, but the end product is beautiful.  If you want to feel like an Amazonian warrior just put on this sweater.  Requires: taking body measurements, seaming, colorwork, stranding, and reading charts.
Found here on Ravelry.

Honorary Mention

Afghan Squares

So you really want to make a blanket?  Ok then try this Geek-A-Long with science, math, and many more fandom themed squares too.  Requires: seaming and colorwork.
Science patterns can be found through Ravelry, click through for other patterns.

If you read through this post and don't know what Ravelry is, it's a site to keep track of your past, current, and future knitting projects.  It's been around for quite a while and had built up a great database of patterns found on the internet as well as from books.  They also allow you to give feedback if a project was difficult and in some cases you can even get help from a pattern's creator if you get stumped.  It's a great resource for a beginning or advanced knitter.

If you have a hankering for projects that are less involved or need to get rid of some small bits of yarn you may want to check out my post from last year featuring 70 different no knit/crochet yarn crafts.  There are some great little gifts plus ideas for holiday decor!

That's all for this post, I'll see you again soon.

Love,
Lydia

Book Reviews and Geekyloot

Hi folks,

Today I've got two book reviews for you plus a great featured store.  Let's get started!

Book Reviews

Top 12 Places to Visit in Texas by Jody Rookstool

I was given this book to review by the author after seeking some guidance to planning the Texas trip I thought I'd be going on.  I've also been writing a series on travel planning that started around the same time, which you can find here.  Texas is an amazing place that as Rookstool says, has a lot more diversity that people often assume beyond just cowboys.  I loved my last visit as I helped my friend Holly move there a couple years back, and am sad I won't be able to make it there for her wedding.  But, I was excited about all the possibilities the state could offer for a visit.  Rookstool's book highlights some of the best, and while the book is small she gives a great overview of both big name destinations such us the Space Center in Houston to less well known gems like Enchanted Rock.  I'm just sorry I didn't get to explore some of them.  But if you're planning a trip to Texas and want to choose a couple great spots this little guide is a great way to pick a few out.  You can find it here and visit the author's site here.

Battling Boy: The Rise of Aurora West

The Rise of Aurora West◊ by Paul Pope, JT Petty, and David Rubin is a great read that can be approached by kids or adults easily.  It's a graphic novel that follows a coming of age type story, and is a prequel to Battling Boy, though you needn't read them in order.  This is the first book in the series I've picked up, and I just happened to spot it at my local comic books store.  In some ways Aurora's family reminds me of Jonny Quest and the Venture brothers, which I love.  Finally we get a girl adventurer in a similar situation!  She helps her dad fight monsters each night, and is tutored in fighting each day.  She begins to find clues that explain some parts of her past she wondered about for years, and as events unfold she takes initiative to investigating exactly what happened in her past.  This is a great little read, I just wish it had color.  The art is great though, and I look forward to reading other books in the series.

The Master of Formalities

The Master of Formalities◊ by Scott Meyer is a book that came up in my Amazon recommendations a while back and intrigued me.  At the time I hadn't yet read any of Meyer's other books (which you can find some of my reviews of here and here) and I just thought the premise sounded good.  About a week ago it went on sale as a Kindle daily deal and I snapped it up.  I feel like this is where Meyer shines, sure his other books were good, but this one is great.  The characters have of depth, and there are many fantastic females in the cast.  The premise involves a large cast in the home of the royal family of the planet Apios.  They're at war with the Hahn of the Hahn Homeworld and through each step of the way have their master of formalities, Wollard, to smooth everything and keep them from losing face.  He advises them in every situation and when things change in the house he begins losing the respect of the royal family as things don't go as smoothly as usual.  Who knew a grumpy, adopted Hahn teenager would be such a problem?  But even Wollard isn't perfect, and there are surprises in store for him as he performs his job as the master of formalities.

Geekyloot

Now it's time for a bit of a review.  You may remember the guest post from last week (Dean Winchester - A Pumpkin Pie Kinda Guy), which was penned Geekyloot's owner Christina Clawson.  Her site is host to a blog, but it's also a great deal destination site too!  Each week the site has 3 deals that are only good for a week, similar to sites like Groupon and Pick Your Plum.  The great part about Geekyloot is it has all kinds of fandom friendly items that are picked with female geeks in mind!

Geekyloot was kind enough to send me a sampler pack with some of the recent deals they've had when I made my first order from them, so I can share it with you all.

Fun stuff, there's the two Baymax keychains from Disney's Big Hero 6, a Hobbit Locket(!!!!), a Marauder's Map (Harry Potter) necklace, a Mockingjay necklace (Hunger games), plus some Simpsons inspired socks.  Bryan was happy to receive the white Baymax keychain, and honestly who doesn't love Baymax!  The Hobbit locket was what made me order from them, I love things that open up have secret compartments and such.

Here's a closer look at the necklaces fronts, and below a second shot of the ones with more detail to them.  They're all costume quality, which is great for everyday wear and cosplay on a budget.

The socks are super comfy, and though I've personally never been a huge fan of the Simpsons I loooove donuts!  And I collect socks too!  I put them on to take a picture while we had Scarlet out for exercise and she came over and starting investigating them and finally marking them.  (Rabbits mark items similarly to cats by rubbing their face against them.)  So these socks have the bunny seal of approval.

A big thanks goes out to Geekyloot for providing me with some awesome items to review.  If you like these go check out the store at www.geekyloot.com/store!  This week they've got the Simpsons socks, a beautiful little Game of Thrones Pin, and a Black Widow necklace.  But hurry, new items will be up Saturday!  Thanks for reading, I'll see you all again soon.

Love,
Lydia

Update and Geek Tag

Hello everyone,

The week has been crazy and I'm a little behind on everything.  Sorry about that, however, I can say confidently that I've not been dealing with my normal levels if stress for many reasons.  First off I had to make a tough decision about the trip to Texas for one of my best friend's wedding, which I now won't be going at all on.  Then we got some really bad financial news, which isn't our fault, but is going to make our life hard for a while if we can't get it cleared up.  The state is wrongfully claiming we owe them taxes, and after delivering paperwork all summer including filing taxes for a year Bryan was without income besides school funds to prove it, we thought they were finally satisfied.   I suppose they forgot to dismiss the case and sent notice this week that they're garnishing Bryan's wages.  Which really stinks since we just started having to pay double the amount on student loan payments and were stretched thin from that, which resulted in canceling the Texas trip.  Lastly one of Bryan's aunts passed away over the weekend, which was rather unexpected, but due to late stage cancer that we just found out about this week.

But I'm here today for a geek tag from the Geeks and Beauties group I joined recently on Google+.  Questions and answers about fun things in geeky theme.  You can check out some of the videos from the folks who've done it already here and here.

Geek Tag!

1. First Fictional Character Crush.  This is a tough one, but probably Connor from Wren To The Rescue, I've read so many books it's hard to think which might have been first.

2. Dungeons and Dragons or Vampire The Masquerade? I want to simply change this question to "What tabletop role play system do you prefer?" and answer it with Hackmaster New since I've more experiences with alternative systems.

3. Geekiest Item You Own.  LEGOs....I own a bunch of them after working for the Columbus, Ohio store while in college.  It was awesome.  Plus Bryan and I have added to our collection since then.

4. Anne Rice or Stephanie Meyer?  Anne Rice is on my to read list, but hasn't happened yet, so I guess I default to Meyer for now.  *shrugs*

5. First Dr. Who Episode.  Love and Monsters, I caught it the night it was aired in the dorm lounge.  I didn't come back to Doctor Who for a couple more years, possibly partially having to do with the cheesiness of that episode.

6. Star wars or Star Trek?  Both, though Trek wins for being more inclusionary for women and minorities.

7. All Time Favorite Movie.  Amelie, or Pan's Labyrinth, or maybe Hot Fuzz depending on the day.

8. Best Xmas Gift Ever?  Last year hubby and I got a 3DSXL and I love it, so does he.

9. Your Theme Song - Everything by Watashi Wa


10. Name a Perfect Geek Night Out.  For my husband and I this is probably a double date with his brother Davey and fiancee Keri where we go out to dinner and a sci fi movie or to a book trivia program at a local library (we might try a pub trivia thing someday!)


11. If money was no object what would you cosplay?  Bee from Bee and Puppycat


12. Absolute must have book or series?  Harry Potter


13. First Video Game you Played; How old were you?  Well, I know I played Pac Man and Galaga when I was probably 8 on arcade machines with my dad.  As for console games we got an original Nintendo when I was 11 and I started with the classic Duck Hunt/Super Mario Bros.

Image from museumofplay.org

14. Batman Vs Superman - Batman


15. Alien vs predator - *shrugs*  This fandom isn't really my thing


16. Favorite tv show - Favorite that's currently on TV would be Heroes Reborn, my favorite overall is probably Doctor Who (yes I am dissing Moffat here)


17. Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings?  Well, I like the world from Harry Potter better, but Tolkien writes so elegantly.  I still have to go with Harry Potter though.


18. Geekiest Thing to your left.  Take your pick, Japanese candy, the bluetooth shutter remote button (photo nerd!), my "Pokedex" checklist and Pokemon tokens from our tabletop role play game, and the Ravenclaw planner.

19. First video game system you owned?  Well, I shared the Nintendo with my brother, but it wasn't much after that I got a Gameboy Color and Pokemon Blue.


20. Favorite Villain of all time? Loki, though I also really enjoy Harley Quinn.

Feel free to respond with your own geek tag!  I tag you all!

Love,
Lydia

Announcement, 10 Wantables, and Outfits

Hi friends,

I'm so glad the weather here is finally better for wearing jeans, boots and sweaters.  Today I've got a bunch of outfits for you, plus a bit of a fun as I look at items I've seen and loved.  Perhaps some will become part of future capsule wardrobes, but one thing is for sure, they're on my mind today.

ModCloth Announcement!

Also I have a huge announcement that I'm incredibly excited about!  I am now a ModCloth affiliate!!  I love their clothes to death and am thrilled that they trust me to share their wonderful styles with you all.  What this means is when you click a link from here to ModCloth and make a purchase (any item, not just what I may link) you help support me.

Fall Wantables

1. The Intrigue All About It coat in Crimson from ModCloth *Affiliate*

2. This Batgirl shirt from Sons of Gotham!

3. A gorgeous Aaron tulle skirt from Whimsy Luxxe (I'm thinking lavender maybe?)

4. This Lace Front Button Tunic from Torrid

5. These amazing Pink Clove Metallic leggings from ASOS

6. The Coach Tour dress in Teal from ModCloth *Affiliate*

7. An adorable Shooting Star Shoulder Bag from My Lolita Dress

8. A pair of Converse Chuck Taylor All Star Lo Tops in Eggplant Peel

9. This Tee of the amazing new Thor from Her Universe◊

10.  These lovely Plum wash Jeggings from Torrid

Whew....Now for the outfits!

Top - Target , Shorts - Levis/Amazon, Flip Flops - Old Navy

Top - Forever 21, Necklace - Forever 21 (I couldn't find it to photograph, sorry!), Skirt - Target, Leggings Target, Boots Trendsetter/Hushpuppies

Not quite and outfit, but one of the examples of scarf wearing that is finally happening.  Yay fall!  Scarf - Dress Barn, Top -  Ocean Pacific/Walmart

Hoodie - Target, Top - Target, Jeans - Lane Bryant, Boots - Trendsetter/Hushpuppies

I was so nervous about wearing these palazzo pants out the first time.  I really love them, and they're incredibly comfy.  Top - Target, Necklace - Anthropologie, Pants - Dress Barn Woman, Boots - Trendsetter/Hushpuppies

Flannel Shirt - Walmart, Wonder Woman Tee - Torrid, Jeans - Torrid, Ballet Flats - Payless

Tell me folks, if you wear palazzo pants how do you style them to keep people from thinking they're pajamas?  That thought kept sneaking in while I was wearing them, so I made sure I dressed it up a bit (despite only wearing it out to get groceries.)  Also, what are your top wanted items?  Share it all with me in the comments!

Love,
Lydia