Comic Con 2014

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We went to Comic Con on Thursday and Sunday. My brain still feels split. Into a million pieces and stamped on. So does my back. And my feet. And my heart.

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Comic Com is a jolt on all of your senses. It can be pretty much whatever you make of it, but it will always be hot, smelly and crowded. There are panels to go to to hear your favorite authors, actors or actresses speak or to preview a new show coming out. Even the latest movies. Because we always go with our children, we never get to see that side of it. But in a few years we are anxiously awaiting those scenarios.

Everyone associates Comic Con with costumes. There are amazing ones and ones that make you question the wearer. I saw a girl on Sunday wearing a “dress” (more like a tank top) with no underwear. Half of her bare bottom was hanging out of her skirt. I saw a professional photographer actually get onto the floor and take a picture up her skirt (with her permission!!!!!). But I did not take a picture of that. I took ones of the tamer costumes. People spend all year making some of these:

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I ended up wearing a “normal” outfit with Harry Potter jewelry. I wore my Harry Potter earrings and Harry Potter bracelet. I did not have it in me this year to go full on. I did however, pose for my favorite video game, “Monster Hunter.”

The funny thing about that is, wait. We have to rewind to thirty minutes earlier when we had lunch:

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Let’s pause again (if you are feeling disoriented from this disjointed story, welcome to Comic Con!). We have to rewind one more time, because before we even sat down for lunch, there was a group of beautiful singing vampires outside of the restaurant. They all broke into song and there were about thirty of them. It was really cool.

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And they were all gorgeous. With glowing red eyes. And capes.

I need a cape.

And to be twenty again. Is there a costume for that?

Back to the story:

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I ordered a carafe of wine. I had about two and a half glasses.

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Evidenced here.

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So, when I got in line to take my Monster Hunter picture, I was lovin’ on Comic Con pretty hard. There was a group of four girls ahead of me waiting to pose with the fake monster. I was taking it very seriously. I said to the closest girl, “Are you ready for the fight?!”

And she turned around confused. Because what fight? We were about to pose with a foam sword and pretend to hit a plastic dragon.

But I spotted her warrior costume so before she could respond, I said to her, “Yea y’re.” But it was said like Ernest’s cousin in a long mountain droll.

The poor girls left the line.

They were obviously not ready for the fight. Or Comic Con Jenni.

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By the way, I was ready.

And, I won.

I met Patrick Rothfuss again later that day. He had no idea I had defeated a monster. It was an embarrassing encounter. I wish I could blame the wine but it was six hours later, so no wine effects were to be had. I will recap that one separately. He was lovely. I was a mess.

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This is how I feel after the end of a day spent at Comic Con, too, Dude.

Tomorrow I will recap the fun products, what I purchased, and some more costumes (there were just too many pictures I wanted to share for one post). Have you ever been to Comic Con? Would you go? But most importantly, “Are you ready for the fight?”

When Pigs Fly Cry

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The last time we went to the fair was when my daughter was eight and the moment we got there was the first and only time a child of ours has slammed their finger in the car door. She swears that this is why her thumb on her right hand is slightly larger than the other. I say it is the best souvenir ever. She doesn’t quite agree. Well, we went to the fair again this summer. I told her maybe she could get a souvenir for her other hand this time and then they would be even. The kid was not amused. I’m not sure why. I am very helpful.

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When we got there, they had Monster Trucks that were tearing around the dirt arena one at a time. We made it through watching one truck. They are loud. And, well, how many times can you watch a truck go over a dirt hill?

That is a serious question.

My limit is seven. For life.

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Have you ever heard a pig cry? I mean really heard a pig scream? Because we had not before the trip to the fair this summer. It is the most horrifying sound we had ever heard. The pig was ginormous. In fact, in searching for this picture on my camera, I had to do a double take. In my memory, the pig had been coal black with raised tufts of fur and gleaming red eyes. I was shocked to see a plain pink pig instead. Funny how the crazy mind works.

The pig was bellowing in a way that only monsters in my dreams do. Or kids slamming their fingers in car doors, but we won’t go there.

And then after terrifying everyone in its vicinity, the pig let out a torrential flow of urine that I thought was never, ever going to stop.

It was madness.

None of us will ever be the same.

The fair. It changes a person.

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So, we decided to go eat some food. As one does after watching an animal relieve itself. Doesn’t that always make you hungry? In fact, I am sure you are thrilled just to be reading this right now.

We ate.

And we ate.

And then we could not eat any more. The best thing we had were the Tasty Chips. They were, well… I think you can guess.

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We had fifty ride tokens to use from our Costco package. None of us wanted to do any rides. But we persevered. The kids went into The House of Mirrors. I stayed outside. I still find it terrifying. I am not the most space oriented person, and as a child I got helplessly lost in The House Of Mirrors. Then I watched “Watcher In The Woods” and I never went in the contraption again.

But sending my innocent children into The House of Mirrors?

Priceless.

They made it out in less than three minutes. They obviously take after their father.

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And we played some games and lost $30. Or rather, we paid $30 for a small stuffed zebra that I do not think has migrated himself from the jungle of my car. Poor guy.

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We rode on the carousel two times and my son went down the giant slide twice. He loved it. Times sure have changed since I was a kid. We used to fly down on burlap sacks. Now the kids have these fabric bags with straps. So fancy. It still looks frightening to me.

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The kids had their sculptures made. That post can be found here.

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We found a gnome hidden in the bonsai trees. So, he, of course, must be included in this post. He did not cry. Nor did he create any bodily fluids, but I still like him the best.

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I had to take an outfit picture with my pink $10 H&M dress against the pink ride.

It was a pink day.

Pink ride.

Pink dress.

Pink pig.

Later that day I saw a pink elephant and I was tickled…

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Have you been to a fair this summer? What memories and souvenirs do you bring home? Some folks go home with large stuffed animals. Some folks go home with full bellies. As for us, we go home with longer appendages and nightmares of screaming pigs.

I think we must be doing it wrong.

Keepin’ It Real: May 2014

Every month, I try to do a summary of that month with outfit outtakes and a quick wrap up of things I might have missed blogging about in that month. May had some doozies in terms of outtakes. And it was a doozy of a month for a lot of people I know, my family included. When I told my friend we had to endure one more day of May, she exclaimed, “NO-O-O!”

I hear ya, sister.

If you missed last month’s “Keepin’ It Real”, you can find it here.

On to this recap. May, I will not miss you:

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Recipe fail. My mom asked me the other day, “Do you post everything you make?” Oh my gosh, no! When you are experimenting with a new recipe there are going to be some misses. I have even made some recipes from very acclaimed chefs and have had to throw the whole dish away. So, no, I do not post about every recipe. Only the ones I would absolutely make again. And again.

The other day, I made this dessert. So bad. Tip: Do not add raspberries to Strawberry Shortcake. It sounds good. It is not good.

Outfit Outtakes:

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As promised. A glimpse of Holy Holey Girdle. It is such a small glimpse. We saved over the other original pictures with the revised ones, so this is what we have left. Here is the actual outfit post.

It really is more like an extra pair of skin colored shorts than anything else. And to be even more forthright, the only reason I wore them on this day was to hide my colored underwear. The dress is so flowy, it hides a lot of flaws. The girdle is not the typical spanx. It does not offer much support, but it makes me feel more confident.

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And I could not resist adding this picture because of the unfortunate placement of my hand.

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So, I fell in a cactus (picture of my cactus hand is in “Keepin’ It Real: April 2014. Link above). And my twirling has never been the same. The outfit post for this photo shoot is here.

This picture makes me laugh.

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“True Detective”, anyone? Just a bit of an odd thing to find around town.

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Peonies! Everywhere?! Yes, please! Tip: Trader Joe’s will let you take the plastic bucket if you ask nicely. : )

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Does this alert ever make anyone’s day better?

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At San Diego Children’s Hospital, the ceiling tiles are randomly painted overhead. Isn’t that just a nice unexpected thing? That way, when a child is being wheeled through the halls and into various rooms, they have something to look at and look forward to.

I could hug whoever thought of this.

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My mom gifted me a gift card to Anthropologie and these for Mother’s Day. Isn’t that the sweetest?!

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Father’s Day idea. My kids each made my dad and my husband some of these hammers a few years ago. We just painted a wooden hammer and then shellacked it. I found the idea on Pinterest. Easy peasy.

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And my most exciting purchase of the month. Seriously. These barf bags. I have a post about them ready. If you ever get car sick or have children that get sick, these are priceless.

With that in mind, May, you can be on your way.

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Oh my gosh! Last night my husband and I were dancing with the dogs in the kitchen to “I like to move it.” When we sing it to the dogs they dance with us. It is actually quite cute and comical.

The dogs are funny, too.

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Well, Ollie got too rambunctious and did a back flip! He hit his head so hard. We immediately stopped dancing, but I felt so bad for him. You can see the beginning of it in this picture. Who knew he had it in him?

Coming up in June:

Maui posts! We are heading back to Maui next week and I cannot wait to blog about it!
My Husband’s Secret Part II… She had to find out sometime. ; )
Honey Ice Cream! My favorite treat in the summer.
Whirlin’ Twirlin’ (Free People Mixed Print Tunic).

What did you think of May? Will you be happy or sad to see it end?

My Valentine’s Day

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I love a theme. It’s not that I love Valentine’s Day. Or really, that I even like it. But there is just something wonderful about a day devoted to love. And I absolutely adore when people give into a day and support the theme. In this case, pink or red. I purchased this Free People bright pink caftan and I knew I wanted to wear it specifically for Valentine’s Day. I loved wearing it. It made me feel, oh, so feminine.

I also purchased my husband a tie (clearanced to $10) that matched my dress perfectly. Remember, I love when we match, too.

Double theme. Check. Double nauseating. Check.

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I was asked what I wore under this dress. It is extremely low cut, so I paired it with my eyelet bralette. It looks like a pretty supportive tank top.

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My honey brought me roses. It is kind of an inside joke. Red roses. I will write about it some time.

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My husband and I went out to lunch at our favorite restaurant. They have these fries. These fries. You guys, you have not had fries until you have had these fries. They take three days to make. It is a secret process. I have never had anything like them. You know what I’m craving now.

It was fun to see how different people interpreted Valentine’ Day through their clothing. My favorite was a little old woman in a pink shirt, red pants and flashing lit-up heart pins covering her bodice. It was awesome!

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It was a beautiful day.

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I had planned on making homemade chicken noodle soup for dinner, but my sweet mom dropped off a homemade chicken pot pie. It was so good. And much appreciated.

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And I made these macadamia nut individual brown sugar cakes for dessert.

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Did you have a good Valentine’s Day? A good weekend? What did you end up doing? Wearing?

If it wasn’t good, I hope this week is much better for you.

* P.S. I shared this on The Pleated Poppy!