Shopping Haul!

As I probably have mentioned before, I love shopping.  It's kind of therapeutic/recreational for me, which is sad considering the town I live (and grew up) in isn't even big enough to warrant a Hot Topic, and that's saying something.  So when I had an opportunity earlier in August to travel to Spokane to visit my BFF and do some shopping in a real mall, of course I took it.

I took that opportunity and ran with it, and ending up spending 9 hours in the Northtown Mall.  9 hours of glorious shopping.  I was pretty thrilled, but ran my friend and mom into the ground. I am so sorry (you know who you are.)  Also, I was in super otaku/fangirl mode at that time okay when am I not , so made two or three trips into the Comic Book Shop.

Fairy Tail's Happy! OMG you have no idea how hard we tried to find one of these in the Exhibitor's Hall at Sakura-Con-- it would've been great for our Fairy Tail group.  They all sold out at the convention, but couldn't resist getting one now.  

This necklace is awesome! Not functional, but awesome all the same.  It's pretty simple, a little bottle covered with lace on a silver chain.  It's worked great with any outfit I've worn it with, and has garnered quite a few compliments.  

Honestly this is the purchase I've worn the most.  It's a full finger-length armor ring.  I have a couple smaller armor rings, but this is my first large one and I'm totally in love with it. Most of the time it only earns me weird looks or comments, but I enjoy wearing it.  Aside from hampering the use of my hand, its a quick way to spice up an outfit.

Rosario+Vampire playing cards! There is a nice variety of images, and they are fun to play with.

Pocky needs no explanation. It was delicious.

I was super excited to find some Black Cat merchandise.  It's difficulty to find any merch for this awesome series.  Personally, I haven't watched the anime.  How does it compare to the manga?

SPIKES! I'm not usually into flats, but these are pretty awesome (plus on clearance, who could resist that??) I'd also been trying to find some shoes with spikes on them, so I was pretty excited about these.

Had to get my manga fix in. 

I purchased this waist belt for two specific reasons.  One, I needed a black one to complete my set, as I already owned a brown one and white one.  Two, it really evoked images of Final Fantasy VII in my head--mainly from the leather (okay fake leather but it has the same texture) and the multiple straps and silver buckle.  It might be a stretch in some people's minds, but hey I'm the one wearing it and it makes me happy.

A shirt with cool front and back detail.  It fits really nice, also.

A really sharp dress plus it was on sale OMG.  Its longer in the back than in the front, and form-fitted in the bust area, and more relaxed through the hips.  I like the feather belt that came with it, but will probably wear it with my "Final Fantasy VII" belt also.

Haha I was also in a FFVII mindset when I came upon these pants.  It was the semblance to leather that sold me on these skinny jeans.  They aren't pleather; they are a cloth material but there is enough plastic or shiny material that they have a nice sheen and texture to them.  I've worn these with the spiky flats and detailed white tank top and it came together quite nicely.

So what do you think of all my purchases?  Questions, comments, or concerns? Leave me a comment!

Upcoming post:  How I Made my Gatomon Gloves.  Coming soon!

Sakura-Con 2012 Day 3!

Hello all! The following photos are from the last day of the Sakura-Con 2012, held in Seattle, Washington.  We didn't actually do much at the convention this day except hang out in the exhibitor hall and do a lot of people watching as they came in and out of the exhibitor hall.  I saw the cutest cosplays-- a baby Godzilla and toddler Mothra.  It was utterly adorable.

I used my Winry Rockbell outfit today.  It's a very comfortable cosplay, and I dont need any heavy make-up or hair styling for it.  Enjoy the photos!

Windy day as Winry.  Okay lame caption I know haha.

The adorable Aleisha.  She picked up the wig, dress, and stockings from the con!

Here are the rest of the other cosplayers we took photos of.  These shots span both Saturday and Sunday of the convention. 

Trolls! They were actually extremely hard to get a photo of.  But that shouldn't surprise anyone,

Gah! So cute >.<

We left the con about 1:00 and made our way out of the city, through the mountains, and stayed in Leavenworth, the quaint little Bavarian town (not the prison lol.)  It's one of my favorite places to visit.  The inn we stayed at, Icicle Inn, was awesome! We played a great game of mini-golf and got to experience my husband be a sore winner.
 I had a great time all three days of the convention.  I miss the adventures and being in the crowd of thousands of like-minded people.  But, I will definitely be going back to Sakura-Con again and again, and will also expand my horizons by going to different anime conventions.  

As usual, let me know if you have any photos you particularly liked! Questions are welcome too.  See you later!

Sakura-Con 2012 Day 2

I don't even know where to start in explaining my thoughts and feelings.  The reaction to my Erza Scarlet "Heaven's Wheel" cosplay was nothing like I anticipated, and it was so gratifying to have the hours and months of work that went into the costume pay off like it did.  No joke, I couldn't walk five steps without someone wanting a photo.  That was an experience that was  totally new to me, and a little overwhelming at first, but with the support from my family that was with me, I became adjusted to it.  Time for photos now, but I will discuss the day more after the photos.

I feel like I should mention these photos are in no particular order :) But please enjoy anyways!

Walking to the convention!

In all our Fairy Tail glory!!

A wild Loke appeared! 

Our Loke got some fangs.

Ouch!

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Beginning of Fairy Tail group shots! Let the madness begin.  Good thing the magic counsel wasn't around.

Another Erza in Heaven's Wheel.  Loved her wings! And her gloves and boots!

Cute Juvia, Cana, and Mira! <3

Poor Loke! Is he doomed to eternal rejection from Lucy?

Random creeper is creeping,

Gajeel my sword is not your food >.<

Man what a day this was! After the group photos ended I could barely stand because I had been on my feet for approximately 10 hours, plus what-with lifting/posing with my swords and the wings on my back! Construction notes will come later, but the wings had a metal infrastructure, thus were a little heavy, and needless to say my shoulders were super sore for the next day or so! I really do want to thank everyone who helped me get into costume, and cleared a path for me as I tried to make my way through the convention (and to anyone who got smacked with my wings, sorry!).  And thank you to everyone who wanted my photo! I even made it into a couple YouTube videos here and here.  So, thank you so much for giving me a con experience I will never forget!

I changed into street clothes afterwards, and later that evening went to the Kanon Wakeshima and Moi Dix Mois concert! Both were unbelievably awesome! And I got a poster signed by Kanon! Wheeee! The girl in front of me in the autograph line brought her violin in to be signed, and Kanon had such an adorable reaction.  And the energy that the crowd had for both concerts was amazing! Another awesome part of the con experience.  I don't remember much after the concert, but I'm pretty sure it involved dragging my butt back to the hotel, a shower, and crashing on the bed.

What did you think? Do you have any favorite photos? Let me know in the comments.  Day Three of Sakura-Con will be up soon.  Ja mata!