I told myself when I left the house yesterday that I was moving - I couldn't spend money!

Then I went to Georgetown. And Forever21. And my budget hit the trashcan. The only good thing I can say is that I didn't buy everything and at least you get to benefit with some (slightly blurry) pics of what's happening in-store :)

P.S. - Excuse the socks. I was wearing boots and there was no way I was standing on F21's floor barefoot. Ick. 


My outfit for the day. I wasn't wearing makeup, which is why you're not seeing my face, but that actually turned out to be a good thing because after this I had a simply FANTASTIC time playing at Sephora and picking a new foundation.

Collared Lace Shirt (Forever21+, XL, $23?) : I can't find the link for this online, but it almost had me. I don't love that it's sleeveless and it was a little baggy at the sides, but I'm almost sure it would be great for tucking in. Ultimately I didn't want to pay for something that was so-so.

Color Block Lace Skirt (Forever21+, XL, $22.80): Stretchy, this skirt was just another ok. I was hoping it would be longer and act more like a lace pencil skirt, but it was a no go.

Letherette Pencil Skirt (Forever21+, 12, $19.80): Another almost. Problem 1? It fit in the waist and mostly in the hips, but because it's letherette I could barely walk, let alone sit down. I might have been able to size up but I'm pretty sure it would have been big everywhere else.

Tiered Daytime Dress (Forever21+, XL, $22.80): I actually wish this wasn't tiered, but it's such a comfy dress I couldn't pass it up at $23. There's now this will only be a day dress on me though, as I'm already planning belts, shoes, tights - the options abound for this blank canvas!

Tonal Stitch Fleece Jacket (Forever21+, XL, $34.80): This one almost got to me. If I hadn't gotten the next item I would have taken this coat home, and it's debatable whether I'll go back later and get it, lol. I love the color and fit, and it's surprisingly warm. It's not like I need another jacket (at all) but hey it's not black or white - that's different right?

Double Knit Poncho (Forever21, L, $34.80): Isn't it fantastic?!?! I have been obsessing over a cape/coat/jacket thing for what seems like forever and I could never find one that I liked until now. I think what I've learned from this is that I can't have a big blousey cape. It has to be somewhat fitted and shorter for it to work on my frame. It's a little thin for this suddenly snow-filled weather but I can't wait to layer and wear it out!

Awkward:
-Moving. I hate it more than anything and it hasn't even happened yet. How do people move around the country on a semi-regular basis? I can't even manage across the city without a meltdown :-/
-People who make it hard for you to volunteer and give back to your community
-Skin troubles. Oy the skin troubles. I hate that I spend the time (and money) that should hypothetically give me good results and it just never really works out.

Awesome:
-Acting as the MUA at my friend's wedding - so honored and such a great learning experience.
-GETTING A ROOM FOR DRAGON*CON 2012!
-Cesar Salads w/ chicken
-Already having boxes lined up to move.
-Great results from an ASOS order, though they did process one item as a return and not an exchange - money in my pocket but I had wanted the blouse....
-Planning to be a faerie queen for Halloween
-GAP Jeans! Booyah GAP I got exactly what I wanted at the price I was willing to pay!
-It is both awkward and awesome that everyone's thoughts seem to be turning to the Christmas holiday - time for some great holiday activities!
-Fall would be fantastic if it would just stop raining!

*It's been awhile since I've done one of these posts so I'm SURE there's something I'm forgetting, but I'll just add them in as I go!

Trying to be crafty, this year for Halloween I'm going to be a Faerie Queen. Or princess. Or anything really that's in a long purple ballgown with faerie wings. I wanted some fantasy appropriate makeup to go along with that and unsurprisingly headed to the internet for inspiration. The black designs on the pink side aren't perfect, I started getting confused about where I wanted lines to go. Still I think it's a pretty good representation, though I'm already considering possibly going for broke, covering my brows and doing this on an even larger scale.

I'll you know!




The reason that that I've split up the product list like this is because for the blue and pink I used the eyeshadows lightest to darkest from the outside in so I could have a really subtle gradient. It wasn't super complicated but I just kept going in there with a blending brush and starting from the outside swept it in circles over the NYX Jumbo Pencil until it had the color I wanted.

I'm not sure if my Saturday Dragon*Con post included stuff about the podcast our Rainbow Brite crew hijacked, but let me tell you - we hijacked a podcast. The Star Wars Report innocently came up to the four of us (our Buddy Blue was off at a panel) to ask about our costumes and why we came to Dragon*Con and it was a hilarious sh*tshow. I used the word 'minutiae', Dixie brought conundrum and homunculus and it just dissolved into chaos.

Entertaining chaos, but I'm not sure anyone's going to want to know our opinions ever again. Don't believe me? Well I just found it on their website! Click play at the bottom of the page (past the picture of us) and fast forward to minute 27 and witness the ridiculousness.

1. OMG it's a makeup look! I bet you forgot I ever did those it's been so long. Sadly the saga of Dana's skin has been an up and down one, and who wants to post pics of the face when there are BUMPS everywhere?

Vanity thy name is me.

2. Yes I wore this to work yesterday. No I do not do this everyday. Some days folks I am tired and cannot imagine doing more than lid color and mascara, but when I have a good day this has been my favorite go-to look. Nothing too complicated or requiring of many brushes. Hope you enjoy!

As I slowly try and coax my skin back to some semblance of clarity I've been trying a lot of products. Acne treatments, face washes, moisturizers - all of them. And I'm trying to do all this slowly, using the gentlest products I can find, to make sure that my skin doesn't breakout worse. It's so hit and miss that sometimes I want to throw myself out a window.

Luckily most places are great about making you samples of things you're interested in so a few weeks I went back around to The Body Shop in Union Station to give them a try. I'd loved some of their products before but gradually they'd cycled out of my routine as time went on. Lately though I've been focusing on moisturizers and they've got some great ones to try. My favorite right now? The Aloe Soothing Night Cream. It's fantastic!
This stuff literally smells like nothing. It not only doesn't smell like perfume, it doesn't smell like a random amalgamation of ingredients either. It's an orderless thick cream that goes on smoothly and moisturizes like a dream. I have to admit that I love it, especially since I haven't broken out from it either. Currently I'm giving their reformulated tea tree night lotion a try, but if you have dry skin or patches and you're looking for a soothing moisturizer then I highly recommend the aloe one - in addition to working great I think it'll last you forever!

GAP totally thought they were going to win this battle over jeans but I won the war!

If you follow me on Twitter or are friends with me on Facebook you probably heard this complaint:


A while ago I tried on the 1969 super lightweight pintucked trouser jeans  in-store and loved them. They were wide legged and dark and great to wear with platforms or any other high heel. But they were $80! I just couldn't! It was waaay out of my budget, especially for one pair of jeans. Even if hey did look like this:



So I waited. I stalked them online, looked for coupons, the whole nine-yards waiting for them to be at a price I liked. But what happened? They were the price I wanted online only! All of a sudden they were $39.97, but in an example of one of the world's great tragedies, they were out of my size. I searched and called around, found a pair to try on in-store and then found out the worst: in-store the jeans were still full price. I was so bitter. My bitterness was so bitter I can't even explain it to you.

Luckily the friend I was with at the time has a devious mind and told me I should just buy them online and exchange them in store. Which is exactly what I did! I bought the size 16 in long (which was amazonian in length in case anyone was interested) and exchanged them in store for the right ones :). They tried to give me a song and dance about how they were making an exception to the rule because the price difference was so much, but you know what? Totally don't care. I got exactly what I wanted for exactly what I was willing to pay.

When Summer's over but Fall hasn't quite picked up the slack choosing an outfit gets SO much harder than necessary.

A few weeks ago on FB I posted pictures of some particularly delicious fried rice I made at home. At home in my very own wok even! Due to the positive response and the feeling of 'ooh yummy' that I received, I figured a little at home (totally without measurements) tutorial was in order.


The onion I cut myself, but every other veggie you see here is from a broccoli stir fry bag that I found in the salad section of Safeway. Probably not as cost effective, but I was going for easy and this certainly ease.

Place your wok over medium high/high heat and add vegetable oil to the pan. Once the oil is kind of scorching hot add in the veggies and stir sparingly, allowing everything to get a bit of color.


(L-R: Chili Garlic Sauce ~ Low Sodium Soy Sauce ~ Hot Sesame Seed Oil ~ Honey ~ Garlic ~ Ground Ginger)

While the veggies are cooking put whatever amount of the products you like into a bowl and stir. I recommend a good bit of the sriracha chili garlic stuff  and soy sauce and light on everything else.


Add rice to the veggies and stir gently, warming everything up and starting the combining process. Once that's done take your small bowl of sauce and pour it evenly over the top - continue to stir and make sure that everything's evenly coated.


At this point I have to admit I'm not spiffy enough to do this all together, because I take the fried rice out of the pan. Turn down the heat (maybe to about medium) and add in 2 beaten eggs. Scramble as usual.


Turn off the heat. Add back in the fried rice and stir gently, incorporating the egg into everything else and VOILA! Fried rice just as if you bought it from your favorite 24/7 place.

*RAWR!*

BWAHAHAHA!

Yeah right - no one's going to believe I can pull that off. Sadly I am also lacking in diverse animal print options for this Bloggers Do It Better challenge, but at least I can show off my new Salvation Army find. This skirt was a whopping $6 and I love it. It's made from a weirdly soft (and completely unidentifiable) fabric and not only is it the only piece of snakeskin-esque that I own, it also helps me channel my current Sea of Shoes obsession.

I can't wait to see what everyone else comes up with!

(sorry for the 'eh' pictures - nothing was working for me today and I just couldn't do it anymore)

Let's just pretend I was actually able to get outfit pictures with these for you. The unexpectedly gloomy, cloudy, rainy even when there *was* a hint of sun weather over this past weekend killed my plans. They're sadly both knows and it leads me to believe that I'm always going to be an 'in person' shoe buyer. I need to see them, touch them, feel them on and walk around, before I can really decide if I want them. It's apparently more of an emotional decision, lol, even if I've already decided I like them or that they fill a hole in my collection.


There was nothing I'd really say were 'wrong' with these booties but they weren't right either. They rated a strict 'ok' and while they looked fine with tights and a skirt, I just wasn't motivated to keep 'ok' shoes.



These shoes though, they hurt me a little. I thought they were so cute when from the side but whenever I looked down all I could see were fat feet! No matter the height, who's going to wear shoes that make them worry about fat feet? Not me.

Time for a short (but sweet) post filled with geeky goodies!

1) I WANT THIS SO BAD. Sadly it's not a purchase-able item at the moment but I'm keeping my fingers crossed!


2) After all the talk I've read this week about Starfire and the horrible things they've done to her with the DC Universe reboot, it's always heartening to see someone realize how important costume design is to the effect of a character. Even if it's some as well known as Superman.


3) This might be a little serious for Geek of the Week, but it's important -  Kevin Sorbo (of Hercules fame) suffered multiple strokes while filming the iconic television series. Suffering a stroke, let alone multiple, is no small thing so let's remember to listen to our bodies people! Even when one doctor tells you it's nothing never underestimate the power of a second opinion.

4) We gotta end on a happier note though right?! Here's a FANTASTIC fan video of the cosplay from Dragon*Con!

Ok so here we go (or continue) - on to Day 2! Day 2 for me is Saturday and for most people it includes the parade first thing in the morning, but somehow I have yet to see it. I like sleep! Or more accurately, I like sleep and the leisure time to do complicated makeup without feeling pressured by a panel.

To-ma-to, to-mah-to.

According to my phone app, which is such a badass because it STILL shows me the events from Labor Day weekend, I had 23 events that I tentatively wanted to go to. A completely ridiculous goal, especially considering that at least half of them were happening at the same time. I started with the panel 'Hunting Monsters for Fun and Profit' which had both LKH and Sherrilyn Kenyon (with some other authors) there to speak on their worlds and characters.


It was great as usual, especially since Kenyon has SO MANY BOOKS that any one question takes forever for her to answer or she can't answer at all because each character has their own motivation. Plus I thought it was hilarious that Larry Correia's main character physically takes after himself because he didn't feel like readers saw enough 'big & tall' men representing. And Correia's walked into a spinning ceiling fan. Cause this is apparently something that tall people need to worry about.

I didn't go to any readings, though I had some written down for Rachel Caine and Carole Nelson Douglas. I think I decided that sustenance was more important, which I don't regret because if you don't make time for it you can seriously never eat at Dragon*Con. You'll always find yourself in line, in a panel, or gawking at freaking amazing costumes. Oh and the only reason I didn't go to the Stargate SG-1 panel was because it was out in the freaking WESTIN which not only is hard to get to because it's so far away, the rooms are small! How do I know this you ask? Because they turned people away from Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog's sing-a-long! Which has never happened to me! They turned people away because they didn't empty the room after the Buffy the Musical sing-a-long and then wouldn't even let anyone stick around to see if people left. It was infuriating! And then I found out later that there were empty seats!!! My butt could have been in one of those empty seats! I hate you Westin!

But my very favorite thing of the day was the Star Trek Next Generation panel which had not only Wil Wheaton but Gates McFadden AND Brent Spiner! Dr. Crusher and Data in the house!! Dr. Crusher by the way seems to have not aged a bit, which is both cruel and unfair because we all know I'm not going to be as lucky. I always get unbelievable geek glee when I see a bunch of TNG actors together because you can just see how much they know and like each other. They joke and kid, not only with themselves mind you, but also with the audience, and it makes you like them. And I guess I feel like liking the actors somehow makes it better that I love the show. Which I realize makes no sense but I'm trying to explain a feeling and who makes sense explaining a feeling? No one that's who.




After that the Rainbow Brite group got together for some general debauchery and it was fantastic. Not only were all of us different modern interpretations of our character's costumes, but even though we all did it our own way we still fit together. And were way hotter than another Rainbow Brite group we randomly ran into (I think about these things ok? I already know I'm a bad person you don't have to tell me :P). What was the best were all the parents who made their kids take pictures with us. The kids would have no idea who we were but to the parents we were a part of their childhood and THEY wanted to memorialize it, even if the kids ended up crying about it later. Plus can you imagine being a little kid at Dragon*Con? Everyone's huge and dressed up and often very scary and here we were, a co-ed group of younger people in brightly colored costumes with big smiles. We were the most non-threatening thing ever.


And in a case of 'WTF?' for the con, after our original Buddy Blue went off to some kind of panel on polymath decision making (don't ask) we ran into ANOTHER Buddy Blue! With a Canary Yellow! All of a sudden were and even more impressive group of Rainbow Brite cosplayers and we didn't even have to do anything! Even better was the fact that these two were looking for their own group and thought we were them. No one knew anyone else and once they found us people started taking pictures and that was just the end of it. None of us were willing to break up the group and halt the madness so we all just stuck around and had fun.


This post is starting to get epic again so I'm just going to stop here and say that after pictures Jessica and I went to a Nightmare Before Christmas Panel and it was epic. And if Rogue from Curxshadows would teach a class on almost anything almost anywhere I'd probably attend because he's that badass.



PS - I also got a moment with my girl crush Yaya Han and not gonna lie - there was definitely some internal squealing going on!



PPS - Oh and Jennie Breeden (The Devil's Panties) got engaged at the Kilt Blowing Saturday night! Love was in the air folks.