Ooh this necklace. I love it so much but I have almost no idea how to wear it. If I could sport it everyday without it sinking unceremoniously into my cleavage I would, but I think this outfit did a not so bad job of showing it off.

(Sorry for the gritty photos - I think it was the cloud day. I hope it was anyway because if it wasn't I have absolutely no explanation.)

Here's the deal - I'm working on a Dragon*Con day 2 post and just realized I haven't made the video thingy I wanted to go with it. I've decided to kill two birds with one stone and avoid putting too many cosplay pictures in the other post by putting them here! Enjoy!

(PS - these and more all came from my Flickr album. Enjoy the much higher quality images thanks to very helpful info from Epbot.)

I know that MYHABIT is just Amazon's answer to the Hautelook's of the world but they've officially just gotten 10 TIMES cooler in my book. Today MYHABIT is featuring REAL a "regularly occurring event offering stylish extended and plus-size brands for women". Did you get that? Regularly occurring! With the average woman wearing a size 14 I think it's phenomenal that MYHABIT is doing their part to make sure we're not all stuck wearing mumus. And I am blown away by how once you click on the clothing you can actually see the models turn in a circle and move wearing the clothes. I've never seen anything like it but you're able to get a much better idea of how the clothes fit and move with this addition.

Just in case anyone was concerned (though I know you weren't) I'm not dead. I'm dealing with some definite life stress though, so if I'd done an Awkward and Awesome post yesterday it would have been useless because it just would have been filled with me going 'AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH' at the screen. But longer. Cause the way I'm feeling right now it would have been necessary.

Still I'm off to Duke's homecoming this weekend - GO DUKE! - so I'm hoping that by the time I get back things will be in slightly more perspective and I'll be off again, taking pictures & posting geekery.

Thanks for understanding!

If you were ever sad that you couldn't find a pair of the Steven Madden boots I wore all last Fall/Winter (and that I just pulled out of the closet today) have I got a deal for you!


One of my clients came in rocking the exact same pair of boots but she got hers are at Target! For a whopping $35 all the girls out there with larger calves can get a great pair of boots built in with their own customization.


The shaft of the boot has a triangle of stretch material on both sides and the snap detail around the back has three different size options for you.

A late OOTD is better than none right? Right.

So here's the deal about Dragon*Con:: for me it's this huge almagum of ridiculous greatness - every fantastic holiday rolled into one and a place where I can just say f*ck it and be me. Which means talking about it always sounds much less cool than experiencing it, whether I'm talking to you in person or talking to you through my blog. I'm going to give it a go anyway, but I think by the end of it you're all just going to wish I'd gone with the haiku idea.


First the initial great things: 1) Dave arrived in Atlanta safe and sound, albeit a day before we had any type of hotel room to put him in 2) the room we did eventually get had 2 beds! Not one bed - 2! (That's cool folks. I know you don't believe me, but when you're expecting a hopefully roomy king for 3 people walking into a room with two beds is pretty fantastic.)

Since Jessica the most wonderfullest driver in the history of history had been driving since 3am we were very happy to get to Atlanta safe and sound, check into our room with little to no hiccup (except for strange valet parking guy) and head over to the Sheraton to pick up our badges. Which took all of FIVE MINUTES. This is a huuuge improvement over last year guys, when I had to take pictures and video from the epic line of death I found myself stuck in.


And after all that preliminary stuff? PANELS and COSTUMES! Those two are the bread and butter of any good D*C and let me tell you something that took us almost 2 years to learn - don't wait hours in line. Most of the time you can show up right before a panel starts and get decent seats in the back where you can still see everything from the big screens. I'm not saying never wait in line - I did for the Buffy panel on Sunday and definitely consider it worth it - but taking the time to see more and wait less makes the whole experience better.

This year my first panel had 3 actors from the Guild including the wonderful Wil Wheaton (who unlike a lot of other people I didn't hate on Star Trek: TNG but maybe that's because I stopped watching most of the later episodes with him and stuck to the ones where he was a kid in funny sweaters or kissing Ashley Judd)! I've only recently begun to understand the depths of his nerdy hilarity, but he's rapidly becoming one of my favorites and I'm so glad I got to hear him speak. While Felicia Day wasn't there Wheaton and two of his other cast mates were interesting and funny and make me even more determined to sit down and watch this show.


I went right from this to the Star Trek: Voyage panel because DUH I'm a nerd and Kate Mulgrew (Captain Janeway) and Robert Duncan McNeill (Lt. Paris) were there and Voyager was and always will be my favorite Trek. Yes I said it - my favorite Trek. Mulgrew and McNeill were great and since Garret Wang (Ensign Kim) was also there as head of the Trek Track and a part of the Voyager family, the whole thing blew my mind. I always love when actors suprise you with just how cool they are. As a viewer you can never really tell if the actors you like are playing a character completely different from themselves or if they're bringing some of their own personality to a part; hearing them speak about what made a role meaningful to them or why something worked (or didn't work) is just incredibly interesting.

At least to me.

But ok that's a LOT of words right there, and ya'll probably only care about some of it, so here's a little of what really matters - PICTURES!!! (yes that needed to be in all caps).





Oh and for everyone who asked about a masquerade update. Yes I was uber stoked to go but here an example of when my time was more valuable than the event. The masquerade was very popular and the line was long. Looooonnnnnnggg I tell you, long enough that when they finished getting everyone in it the party was full and they had to turn people away - which I head about later because as soon as I saw the line I was done. But did I quibble or cry? No because it's f*cking D*C and I just wore my dress around everywhere like a Boss.



I love this dress and if I could wear it everyday I would. Or I wish I could at least where it once to work, just for shock value :)

More pics and a day 2 summary post coming soon!

It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone out there who knows me in real life or reads this blog that I want a Totoro plushie.

REALLY want one.

Want one to the effect that every time there's an Asian themed festival or event I go out and try to find one at a price I'm willing to pay. Sadly this hasn't resulted in me owning a Totoro plushie yet, and so after examining (& loving) the $60 one at Dragon*Con (which I refused to buy - $60?! Yeah right. I say hell no to that on principal.) I've done some Ebaying to make my dream come true. These are the ones I've mostly narrowed it down to. 





Edit: For the deprived individuals who have no knowledge of the Hayao Miyazaki film 'My Neighbor Totoro' please see below :D

Here's the deal - I took a total of 3 pictures at FNO. The monsoon like conditions of the evening made me hesitant to bring out my camera. And really, is anyone interested in people walking around, faces hidden under umbrellas? No. Especially if I can't even create some kind of cool artisticy shot of the whole thing.

ANYway, let's get on with those 3 little ol' photos, shall we?


Sorry I don't have anything amazing and cool to show you, but at least I tried. Hope you're having a wonderful Friday!

Awkward
-My right foot! It was so awkward the entire weekend because it hurt (kind of a lot actually) and it affected my ability to wear heels. Which messed with my outfits! Hmph. 
-anyone starting Q&A mic time with 'this is more of a comment than a question...'
-having a girl during mic time cry and explain how after having such and such different family members pass away your movie about getting revenge and killing people gave her a reason to live.
-Never finding Jen of Epbot! Danggit! I always seemed to be in line when she tweeted hints to her location - like on Sunday when I was waiting for the Buffy panel and was ONE FLOOR UP from where she was.
-Rain
-People asking your friend the entire con: 'is the hammer your penis?'. I was very uncomfortable.
-Waiting for elevators. The 16th floor is a double edge sword because while you're far enough away from the noise to sleep elevators take FOREVER.
-Not knowing who Andrew Lee Potts was while watching a billion fan music videos about him. Oops!



Awesome
-Wil Wheaton
-Would anyone mind if I just put Wil Wheaton again? Cause he's really awesome enough to deserve it.
-LKH in response to a moderator's ridiculously long winded quote that made absolutely no sense but was supposed to start the panel: 'I'm sorry - was there a question there?'
-Kate Mulgrew, Patrick Duncan McNeill, & Garret Wang on the Star Trek: Voyager panel. Hilarious and wonderful to listen to.
-How Kate Mulgrew and Gates McFadden (who in my head I keep calling Dr. Beverly) don't age. Seriously. They showed up at their respective panels looking almost exactly like they did on their shows (but with better hair).
-Rainbow Brite group - times 2! Only at Dragon*Con can you have one set of Rainbow Brite themed people meet up with a second set of Rainbow Brite themed people (with no duplicates) and stop and take pictures!
-NEW DRESS!
-Bob & Carl Sci-Fi Janitors (check out their awesomeness here)
-People asking to take pictures of my outfits/makeup! That never gets old :D
-Eliza Dushku and James Marsters. Oh and Nicholas Brendon too! The Buffy panel was epic in its fantasticness.
-Oh and finally - two videos from the anime/fan music video awards:

Time for a ghost post! I've decided to call it that because I'm actually writing this before I leave at D*C - where of course I will probably not be posting (though I'm going to bring my laptop just in case). Maybe I should start calling all my scheduled posts 'ghost posts'; I think we can all agree that that name is much cooler and spooky sounding. And who doesn't want their blog to sound spooky?!

Ok maybe I've been spending too much time reading The Bloggess.

Either way I have a couple geeky tidbits to share with you guys, with hopes for more when I get back!

1) I was going to link, possibly for the second time as I can't remember if I linked to it on Facebook, to the YouTube breakdown of the behind the scenes documentary of Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal. But. The world is not working with me and copyright issues has forced its removal. Sadness in the world of Dana.

2) Fabric glue, insta-tac, whatever the heck you want to call it, is my new best friend. I pretty much made my costume with this stuff and immediately went on to hemming shorts, pants, skirts, dress sleeves...really I just did too much. As usual.

3) To go back to Jim Henson for a minute, while I can't show you behind the scenes to The Dark Crystal I can, thanks to Epbot, link you to some pretty cool pics and info from the Labyrinth. I do what I can with the help of the internets.


4) Oh right - if you missed it, I joined Twitter (@goodredherring). I'm still not completely convinced that it's worth it, but I'm trying to withhold judgement.

5) If you're into hot girl cosplay (and really, no matter your orientation, who isn't?) then you should appreciate my new find: Vampy. She's even more of a geek girl than I am, with the kind of costuming skills I could dream of and fail miserably at attempting. Enjoy!

6) And finally I give to you, especially if you're not able to go this year, the Dragon*Con documentary. Thank you PBS for being once again the source of some really cool stuff!



Geek of the Week Bonus! The outfits of Cher Horowitz in Clueless. In under 60 seconds. Because she's awesome.