The Supreme is Back in Salem

Dress: Asos, Tights: Marshall's, Shoes: Dolce Vita (Thrifted), Hat: Forever 21, Necklace: Flea Market, Jacket: Flea Market

Continuing my super late blogging...second day in Boston and my friend and I decided to go to Salem. Before I begin my recap, if you decide to go to Salem, go early in the day! That's where we messed up; we waited too long to leave Boston and didn't leave ourselves enough time to really enjoy Salem. There is so much to see in Salem that not giving it a full day is really a crime.

However, we were able to go the House of the Seven Gables and Hawthorne's birth place, and a historical tour of Salem. It was amazing how difficult it was to find a historical tour, because all the tours were about witchcraft and Wicca. While a tour solely about witchcraft might be interesting, I really wanted to know the history of Salem. And the history of Salem and the witchcraft hysteria are so interesting that they don't need the gimmicks of witchcraft for me to want to learn more. If you are in Salem make sure to take the Hocus Pocus tour, the tour guide is amazing and so informative!

While wandering Salem, I couldn't help but take some pictures in front of this old abandon house/station. And couldn't help reference American Horror Story: Coven (even though it was the second worst season of AHS). Also, can you believe it was so cold in May that I needed to wear tights and a leather jacket! This Californian is not used to the cold.

I ended the night in Salem with a visit the statue of Bewitched and some DELICIOUS hot chocolate. Overall, Salem was amazing and I actually really want to return to Boston soon! Almost done with my East Coast blog posts! Until the next one, TTFN ta ta for now.

Minnie Mouse at D23

So, D23 was over a week ago and wow. But it was a fun unique experience! I have been quite a few cons at this point and I have never seen so many lines! I think I will do a post about tips for surviving D23 Expo...but for now here is a review of my first day!

The first day was a whirlwind of trying to get places, seeing amazing cosplay, and getting into panels. On the first day, I was able to get into the Animation Disney and Pixar Panel, which was amazing! Well, the Disney portion was amazing, gotta say I was disappointed in the Pixar portion of the panel. BUT I got to see Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson! He is even more massive in real life, and just as wonderful...sorry, back to D23...

But before seeing the Rock I had time to enjoy the con and all it had to offer! I went to the Uniqlo station and get some serious swag! I made sure to visit on the first day because I did not want them to run out of my size (like they did at Anime Expo). Uniqlo is doing a partnership with several artists across the world letting them redesign the classic Mickey logo in their own creative way. The  "Mickey 100 Project" will be in stores soon, but the lucky people at D23 got to it early (and a discount!). I even got my picture taken by someone at Uniqlo! Don't know where the picture is, but if you see it, let me know!

After seeing the Rock, it was actually pretty late, but I was determined to get pictures of my cosplay. This was actually the first dress I have sewn from scratch, and I am quite proud of how it turned out! It was nice to hear other people compliment my dress, and feel so very "Minnie"! After doing my cosplay photos, I looked in the schedule and saw there was a Minnie bar. I was able to get to the bar before they closed the floor, and took a few photos with the giant Minnie. It was just too perfect! I even got to walk the floor of the convention hall when it was practically empty, and got a few pics before being kicked out. My first day at D23 was magical (and full of lines) but overall wonderful.

Well, that was day 1, expect day 2 post soon (and even more pictures of my cosplay). I think I will start a cosplay gallery? What do you think? TTFN, ta ta for now.

Welcome to Boston

 

Dress: Forever 21, Leather Jacket: Vintage, Tights: Marshall's, Boots: Dolce Vita (Thrifted), Backpack: Amazon, Watch: Vintage, Bracelet: GAP, Earrings: Jeweliq

So, these pictures are from my first full day in Boston. And man, was it a tiring day! I had not done that much walking in a long time. Looking back at these pictures just reminded me of the day my friend and I had; walking around the city, trying to find historical sites, delicious food, and standing behind tour groups to a little history without paying for the actual tour (this is bad, don't do what I did). And of course, I had to stop at the first comic book store my friend and I found. It's just a right of passage for any city I go to. After wandering the city, my friend and I were starving and we stopped to try Shake Shack for the first time, and my final opinion is...pretty good. Not as good as an In-N-Out burger but good (so expensive though!). Actually before we even got burgers, we got a cupcake from Georgetown Cupcakes, and it was delicious! And after burgers we got ice cream! It was a very fatty day. After all this exploring it was time to drank, Boston has very interesting pubs and nice bars but is not really popping on a Wednesday night.

I never realized what a beautiful city Boston was until this visit, and man do I want to go back. I feel like I only got a small sampling of the city, and would have loved to have another day or two to just explore random places. I have a ton more pictures I took from this day, but decided I didn't want to bore you (including cemeteries, libraries, parks, swan boats, etc.).

Our next stop on my East Coast adventure was Salem, which was not what I expected. Expect to see that soon. TTFN, ta ta for now.

Lauren

Two Months Later...

Dress: GAP, Shoes: Zara, Watch: Vintage, Bracelet: GAP

So...it's been two months since I actually took these pictures. This was from my vacation on the East Coast, while I was visiting Yale. Right before one of my sister's many graduations (seriously there were like 5 graduations), I saw an opportunity to take some pictures on Yale's beautiful campus. I loved this dress from the moment I saw it, but couldn't justify buying it at full price, so I waited, patiently. I waited two months before this beauty went on sale, and then got it on a further mark down! GAP has some great sales, totally worth the wait too.

Anyways, I am super behind in posting these pictures because right when I got back from my vacation I started working on my last cosplay (see it here) and I got super lazy after finishing that cosplay (had lots of issues with that cosplay). I will be posting more from this trip soon. Stay tuned. TTFN, ta ta for now.

Lauren

MegaMan Sailor Pluto Mashup at Anime Expo!!!

 

Again...SO MANY PICTURES!!! But wow! I am so proud of this cosplay, mostly becuase I actually finished it! First, this cosplay was inspired by artist ShadowMaster23 on deviantart, please check out her art, it's amazing. This cosplay seemed cursed, everything that could go wrong went wrong. My staff heart broke...twice! I had issues with getting everything to work together and a wig that didn't want to not tangle. But! It all worked out in the end and I am so proud! This cosplay took up so much time and effort and to see it come together in these pictures only encourages me to do more cosplay (plus encouragement from other cosplayers-keep reading)! Before moving on, I would like to thank my friend who was an absolutely amazing human being who helped me get everything on, and helped me throughout the day to keep everything on. You know who you are, and you are amazing.

So, Anime Expo 2015 was so much fun! I havent' been to Anime Expo since it moved to the LA Convention Center, and wow...so many....people. This convention has really grown in recent years, and it warms my heart to see more people embracing nerd culture, and not being ashamed! I know so many people used be ashamed for liking anime, so it's nice to know I'm not the only one binge watching Moribito and reading Tokyo Ghoul (don't watch the second season of the anime, so bad). Plus the swag at Anime Expo was bomb! I got some super cute Luna stockings (expect to see them on the blog soon!), some artwork (one was free because I was dressed as a Sailor Moon character), and a picture of my coslay. Plus I saw a super cute Luna purse (that Sailor Moon is actually holding in one of my pictures) and ordered it on Ebay, expect that soon too. Anime Expo also had a whole section where you could do small drawings and write nice messages-as you can see one girl went all out. My drawing looked like nothing in comparisons to hers (I drew my friend and myself as Kiki). There was also a section at Anime Expo just for Cosplayers! They had set up backdrops for photos, a cosplay repair station, and a place you could get a 360 view of your cosplay (here's mine: http://qlqlexpo.com/frame/T5TC-7YE7)

Anyways, being Sailor Pluto was so fun! I ran into so many Sailor Moon groups, and it just made me wish I had a group to cosplay with! All the Sailor Moons were super sweet, and the other Sailor Pluto I met was incredible (follow her on instagram at _bambie.b). I also met the amazingly talented and kind Vividvivka, dressed as Vincent, who walked up to me and asked "Did you make your cosplay? Is this your first one?" "Yes, I made this. And this is my first big cosplay." I said. "Wow! You did an amazing job! If you have any questions on cosplaying, you can message me on Facebook or Instagram. I love helping others with their cosplay." I know this be lame, but I was so touched by someone as talented as Vividvivka coming up to me to compliment me, really encouraged me and made feel so much better about my cosplay (I was having major issues with keeping the thigh boot portion on my actual thigh).

I'm sorry, I've started to ramble. But I just wanted to express the love the cosplay community has for each other and how a little compliment can really lift your spirits. Cosplayers unite!

TTFN, ta ta for now.

Lauren

Spring Into Action

Top: Forever 21, Skirt: Forever 21, Shoes: Vince Camuto (via DSW), Purse: Amazon Recently I was on the east coast celebrating my sister's graduation, and I had an absolute blast. I also took about 2000 pictures. These pictures are from my first full day at Yale, and in case you can't tell I had a lot of fun wandering the campus. It was a little awkward taking pictures while my family watched, but a bloggers got a do what a bloggers got to do.

While I was wearing this little number, someone asked me where I got it from and asked "Topshop?" and I said "No, Forever 21". Don't knock Forever 21, it sometimes has really good stuff you just sift through the piles of teeny-booper clothing. It feels good when your cheaper clothes are mistaken for clasier clothes. Prepare yourself for many more outfit posts from the East Coast! TTFN, ta ta for now.

Lauren