New Year- A Fresh Start

I thought 2013 was a bad year, but 2014 was worse. So much misery and death.

I started this blog as a way to concentrate on fun things. Anything from Geeky goodness, to trying out new recipes, failing at crafts and everything in between.

I have used this blog to make myself focus on the good.

I want to continue this into the new year.

It's a cliche because it's true

Something I learned when I was studying Psychology is how important certain days are to setting realistic goals. The biggest day is almost always New Year's, but the first of any month or any Monday can be a start date for beginning something new.

I have quite a few goals this year.

Healthy Eating and Exercising:

This is the go to New Year's goal and this year my mom and I are on board too. In fact we started this Monday. Why does food that is bad for you taste so damn good. Whereas healthy food makes me sad. We are trying to cut out as much processed foods as possible and include a lot of fruit and veggies. All this and staying within a pretty small budget. Three days in and this is already looking like a very long uphill battle.

A skinny broccoli cheddar soup. Not bad, but not good either. Just sad.

Stop Wasting Time:

Sometimes I find myself playing really boring and pointless games online ie Farmville, Angry Birds...anything on Facebook really. Or wasting hours on Tumblr. I don't know how I managed to do that. Why? WHY?!

Blogging Goals:

I want to write interesting posts and create a visually appealing site. I just lack most tech skills. This is just something I am going to have to carve out time and work on.

Life Goals:

There are things I have been held back from doing for years because mundane life gets in the way. I have made so many sacrifices because I keep telling myself that it is the right thing to do. This year I have decided to go for the things I want. I may have to be a bit selfish and say "This is what I want to do."

I don't think any of my goals this year are unattainable. And each one would make me a happier person. So I will try my best because that is all I can do.

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A Brief December Wrap Up

Presents!!!

This year's holiday haul!

PJs, socks and Cheshire cats Yay!

The Bride of Frankenstein is from my cousin. Pretty great choice especially considering that she was overwhelmed by the wall of Funkos at Hottopic. It glows in the dark. : )

And mystery minis

A duplicate Tyrion. That's okay.

Doctor Who's Jackson. Out of all the ones in this series I ended up with this one...I wanted Jack, the Master or Rose. Still want Amy and Rory from another series.

But the highlight is GoT's Arya. This is the one I really wanted.

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Happy New Year!!!!

5 Fandom Friday: New Years Blogger Resolutions

Trying to get out of the December void and hook back into The Nerdy Girlie and Super Space Chick's 5 Fandom Friday posts. This week's post is about Blogging resolutions for the next year. Since I have the over eating hangover and too much to clean up syndrome this will be short.

1. I need to figure out how to make my blog look professional instead of looking like an old Xanga page. Unfortunately I lack the skills to do so at this time. My goal is the figure out the layout and maybe even add some fun graphics. No clue where to begin with that.
2. Get some sort of set schedule for posts. Twice a week. Wednesday and Friday maybe.
3. Branch out on the topics of posts. One of the reasons why I enjoy blogging is that it gives me an excuse to try new things. I really like my "I Wanna Be" food series that I have been trying to do once a month. I would like to work on some new things.
4. Network more with other bloggers
5. Continue with the first resolution because that one will take time 

Loot Crate: Anniversary

Lately I have been in what I like to call the December Void. Where the holidays, cold weather and countdown to the end of the year send me into a procrastination rut in which all I want to do is curl up in an electric blanket and watch Netflix or nap.That is my only explanation for my sporadic or non existing posts. 

Luckily my subscription boxes arrive and remind me to write something.

With that being said... this month's Loot Crate has arrived.

Loot Crate is a monthly subscription box for the geeks and gamers. Each month has theme and for December the theme is Anniversary in honor of a couple of big fandoms having their anniversaries this year. Ghostbusters turned 30, Batman is 75, Marvel turned 75, Simpsons turned 25 and Tetris has been around for 30 years.

Anyone else feel ancient?!

Let's get started with the best of the crate

Loot Crate announced that this crate would include an exclusive Funko Pop. I love this Pop. It is a Joker-Batman hybrid. This is my favorite item this month. Just look at the Joker grin on Batman's body.

My other favorite this month is some Baby Groot socks from Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. I'm going to give these to my mom for Christmas because she will love them. 

Sticking with Batman again is an exclusive variant cover of a Batman Endgame comic. 

For the Tetris anniversary we got a pack of Tetris stickers. I will use these. 

Another Marvel item is the Captain America air freshener in vanilla. It's nice, pity I still don't have a car : P

Since the Simpsons turned 25 this year Loot Crate included a Mighty Wallet with every Simpsons character on it. This will go to my dad for Christmas.

Also included this month is a 30 trial of Crunchyroll for Anime. The monthly button and a candy cane.

I must admit I am disappointed in the Ghostbusters item. I love these films and really hoped for something a bit more than a door hanger.

Loot Crate is keeping up with its box designs reflecting each month's crate. This month they turned it into the Batcave.

The Joker-Batman Pop alone makes this a pretty good crate. I also managed to get a few Christmas gifts out of it too. I would go with a 7/10. I just think they missed out on a great opportunity with the Ghostbusters anniversary. I would have liked a small tub of pink slime or marshmallow goop. 

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Did you get this month's Loot Crate? What did you think?

December Birchbox and Ipsy

I have been a tad bit MIA for over the past week. I have actually been overwhelmed at all the little things I have been needing to do, mostly holiday related. Basically I have been in full procrastination mode and I really should just get my crap together.

Since my Birchbox and Ipsy subscription boxes arrived I figured it would be a good time to write up a blog post review. At least I feel like I am doing something.

 Since I share these subscription boxes with my mom the products in blue are the ones I kept.

Birchbox

• Number 4 Hair Care Hydrating Shampoo and packet of Conditioner- A decent sized sample of shampoo and a packet of condition. I really don't like shampoos or conditioners in packets like you see at the top of the box.
• Embryolisse Lait-creme Concentrate- This is a rather small sample of a French moisturizer. I haven't tried this out yet but I do love getting samples of products like these. I just wish it was bigger.
• Ruffian Nail Lacquer in RUFFIAN red- This is a cute bottle of polish. The color is vibrant. It is my favorite out of this box.
• Beauty Protector Protect and Oil-  A vial of hair oil that is supposed to protect against UV ray, heat and breakage. I like the Beauty Protector brand but neither me or my mom are fans of hail oil.
• Mirenesse iCurl Secret Weapon 24hr Mascara- The design of this mascara is great. The bottle has an attractive shape and the brush is really curved.

Ipsy

Ipsy's glam bag includes a makeup bag every month. This month's bag is shown in the top picture.

• Bumble and Bumble All-style Blow Dry- A good sized sample of hair creme for blow drying. 
• NYX Cosmetics Butter Lip Balm- The lip balm in my bag was Red Velvet. Really pretty color that goes on smooth. Somewhere between a lipstick and a chap-stick. I liked this alot.
• Tarte 4-in-1 Mascara- Even though it is a small sized sample it works great for keeping in your purse for touch ups.
• Crown Brush Shadow/crease brush- I have very little in the way of makeup tools so getting a duel eye shadow brush in this bag was pretty great.
• Nourish Organic- Renewing Eye Creme- A good sized sample of eye creme with avocado oil, Moroccan Argan oil and Shea butter  

Pretty good selection of products this month. Each of these subscription boxes cost $10 a month including shipping. My favorite products for the month are from Birchbox: The Ruffian nail lacquer and from Ipsy: a toss up between the eye shadow brush and the NYX lip balm.

5 Fandom Friday: My Favorite Holiday Songs To Spread Cheer

This week's 5 Fandom Friday is all about Holiday songs. Check out amazing ladies behind Fandom Fridays: The Nerdy Girlie and SuperSpaceChick 

After spending one holiday season as a retail worker, some holiday music can cause physical pain to me. For example; Wham's Last Christmas makes me grind my teeth. I still have horrible flashbacks of my time on the front line of seasonal employment. Bad holiday music on repeat, the stench of too many lotions and candles and the cruelty of customers. There were tears.

Finding five holiday songs that I like takes a bit of effort but here is what I still enjoy.

1. Bing Crosby and David Bowie- The Little Drummer Boy/ Peace on Earth

It's not so much the songs that I like but that it's David Bowie. I have been in love with him since I can remember, literally. Anything he sings I will like. Amazing voice

2. Bobby Helms- Jingle Bell Rock

The reason I like this song is that it is featured in one of my favorite movies from when I was a kid. Casual Sex? Before you gasp and think "you watched a movie called THAT as a child?!" you need to know what a funny and oddly sweet movie it is. Don't let Andrew Dice Clay throw you off, he is rather good in it. 

My mom and I still play the "There's your boyfriend" game.

3. Judy Garland- Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Just so pretty. Her voice is sad but strong. A classic

4. Josh Groban- A Christmas Song

Basically he could sing anything and it would be amazing. I almost went with Believe from The Polar Express but that one is a bit sad after seeing the movie. Also I love his version of Charlie Chaplin's Smile

5. Christmas Is All Around- From Love Actually soundtrack

It was this or the National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation theme. I choose this one because despite my jaded heart this movie makes me have all the feels. And picturing the brilliant Bill Nighy dancing makes me happy.

I Wanna Be French: Easy Pain au Chocolat

I was flipping through my copy of Joy Of Cooking, looking for a simple sweet recipe, when I saw the Pain au Chocolat recipe and I was taken back to my High School French class. I wanted to make these. It called for making croissant dough from scratch. As much as I like made from scratch baked goods and such, time can be a bitch.

Thus I made a few substitutions for Easy Pain au Chocolat.

Ingredients:

About a cup of chocolate chips

Croissant or Crescent rolls

An egg and water for an egg wash

optional: Plain or Vanilla sugar 

First I chopped the chocolate chips into smaller pieces. I used a knife and a cutting board but it would have been a piece of cake with a chopper.

I then rolled out the can of crescent rolls. The can makes 8 rolls but for this I left two crescent rolls together so they formed a rectangle.

At one end sprinkle a line of the chocolate. Then roll it over and add another line of chocolate. Before rolling it all the way to the end I used an egg wash to make sure it would stay together while baking. 

I also brushed the egg wash over the tops after they were rolled up and added a sprinkle of vanilla sugar. Plain sugar would work fine, I just happened to have vanilla sugar.

The result: A flaky pastry with a gooey chocolate center. 

My mom said they were better cold.

The roll itself seemed a tad too buttery for me but the bit of sugar on top helped to cancel it out.

I believe I would try this again. They looked great and didn't need a lot of ingredients. 

The Heart of Black Friday

I am not trying to absolve myself. I know I am guilty of perpetuating this form of consumerism. These are just thoughts I had while talking to strangers during Thanksgiving's Black Friday.

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     For years my mom and I have been Black Friday shopping. It used to be something fun that we would do together the morning after Thanksgiving. As the years progressed we began to rely more and more on Black Friday sales, financially. Money gets tight and family members continue to procreate. 

     The past few years we have needed to endure the increasing horror of this day not only for holiday gifts but for our own essentials. Towels, pillows, clothing etc. Many times we have gone without some luxury like a crock-pot or coffee maker in hopes of a decent deal on Black Friday.  

     The new horror in Black Friday is that it is no longer on FRIDAY. I feel absolutely terrible for the employees that have their national holiday taken away from them by a faceless corporate machine. I do not want to contribute to this, but I am at a conundrum. I know that the only way to stop Black Friday from taking over Thanksgiving is to not shop the so called Black "Friday" sales Period. My problem is that we rely so heavily on these sales. 

     The corporate people say that we, the consumers, want to shop on Thanksgiving. LIES. Everyone I talked to tonight and last year hated shopping on Thanksgiving. They felt guilty for the employees having to work too. They also disliked having their own holiday cut short. 

     Like I said before, the only way to stop this from continuing is to stop shopping. In theory it is a great idea, but in practice I do not see it working out. Too many of us cannot afford not to shop these discounts. 

If this trend continues..."Sorry kids, no trick or treating tonight. The Black Friday sales start Nov. 1st at midnight."  

5 Fandom Friday: Characters I Would Invite To My Thanksgiving Feast

I do not always make a 5 Fandom Friday post but I love having the option of using a fun geeky prompt as a blog topic. It is especially welcomed when I have had a bad week and coming up with a blog post just doesn't happen.

The brilliant ladies behind the idea are The Nerdy Girlie and Super Space Chick.

This week's Fandom Friday is "Characters I Would Invite To My Thanksgiving Feast".

I decided to make this a bit more of a challenge and only include American characters, or at least American based characters. It is a challenge because most of my fandoms are UK related. 

1. Captain Jack Harkness from Doctor Who and Torchwood

I believe he is technically an American character. With the help of the Captain's time vortex manipulator there would be no waiting around for the turkey to cook. Plus he is charming and omnisexy. He will charm the whole family.

2. Daryl Dixon from The Walking Dead

This handsome, brooding hunter is needed for a Thanksgiving feast. Not only will he bring the freshly caught turkey but he will know how to carve it to perfection. There is a chance that he will bring some squirrels for side dishes though.  

3. Max from Two Broke Girls

I will need a drinking buddy and who better than Max. She would totally be up for free food. And maybe even bring some cupcakes for dessert, although they probably had fallen on the diner floor.

  

4. Regina from Once Upon a Time

Someone has to bring the class and sophistication to the table, so who better than the Queen herself. I bet she makes an apple pie to die for.

5. John Crichton from Farscape

To be perfectly honest I just feel that John needs a good old fashioned Thanksgiving meal. After years of food cubes the boy deserves a turkey and cornbread stuffing.

November Ipsy and Birchbox

Since I have been getting both Birchbox and Ipsy for a few months now I thought it would be fun to put up a monthly review. So far I am really enjoying these subscription boxes. I share them with my mom. We open them up and take turns choosing what we want. It has worked out really well for us so far.

Both Ipsy and Birchbox send products based on an initial beauty questionnaire. Which means that not everyone gets the same products in their boxes each month. They both also have a points program which is also great. Freebies!

Since I share these boxes with my mom the products in blue are the ones I received out of the boxes.

Birchbox

• Coola Tinted Matte SPF 30 For Face- A tinted moisturizer. The size of the sample is pretty good. She hasn't used it yet. 
• Juice Beauty Green Apple Peel Sensitive- A facial peel using fruit acids to dissolve dead skin. I tried this and I have pretty sensitive skin and it didn't cause any irritation. Again she hasn't tried it as yet.
• Firecraker ChocoPods- A bonus sampling of some chocolate. We both tried this and we both did not like it. If it had been the orange or the honeycomb sample it may have been different but the chipotle taste was too much. 
• ModelCo Party Proof Lipstick in Get Naked- A great size sample of lipstick, only neither of us wear nude color lipsticks. 
• Gilchrist & Soames Spa Therapy Body Lotion- I really like this sample. Perfect size for my purse. I've been using it to help with my dry cuticles. It is sea fennel and absorbs well.
• Klorane Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk in Natural Tint- This dry shampoo is tinted for brunettes and since my mom has black hair I got it. I have never used dry shampoo before but I tried it and it worked really well. 

Ipsy

Ipsy's glam bag includes a makeup bag each month. This month is was a silver glitter one, see top picture.

• Be A Bombshell Cosmetics Eye Base- The sample I got was Submissive. It is a creamy base that can either be used alone or to build up other eye-shadows on. It is a pretty shimmery color that I will probably use on its own
• TEMPTU S/B Highlighter - This is a sheer, pearly highlighter to use when contouring with makeup. Not really sure how to use this with my regular makeup so I will be experimenting with it. 
• J Cat Beauty Wonder Lip Paint- The sample I got was Red Potion. It is a very dark red but it is lighter on, than in the tube. It is also really messy to use but it looks good with my pale skin tone and dark hair. And it has good staying power. It may be my favorite from this bag.
• Starlooks Gem Eye Pencil- You can't see it in the picture but the eye pencil came in the color Ultra Orchid. A shimmery purple. Not sure about the staying power with so many sparkles in it.
•  Marc Anthony Oil of Morocco Argan Oil Volume Shine Hairspray- A decent sized sample of hair spray perfect for purses. She hasn't tried it yet. 

Truthfully I like both of these subscription boxes. Ipsy has more full sizes in the glam bags and they tend to send out more makeup related products. Birchbox is more of a mixed bag with skin care, lotions, makeup etc. For $10 a month each including shipping I think these are a pretty good deal. A great way to try out new products. 

My favorite products this month are from Ipsy: The Wonder Lip Paint and from BirchBox: The Spa Therapy Body Lotion. 

TV Shows That Should Have Had Another Chance

With current TV shows now facing cancellation it brings to mind the variety of past television shows that I wish had gotten another go.

Pushing Daisies (2007-2009)

I loved this show. It was whimsical, odd and funny. The whole look and feel of the show made it seem like a different world. Bright and cheerful even with the running theme of death. The cast was amazing. This was my introduction to Lee Pace, Thank You Pushing Daisies, Thank You. Plus Anna Friel's Chuck and Kristin Chenoweth's Olive as the women vying for the love of Pace's Pie Maker were perfect. Each episode had a fairy-tale like quality mixed with a whodunit setup. The series had a quick wrap up but it was unsatisfying. So many loose ends especially how did Chuck and the Pie Maker finally get to touch?  On a personnel note: Chenoweth is from Oklahoma and I got to meet her once at a book signing. Stood in line for almost six hours but worth it.

The Unusuals (2009)

I bet ABC regretted cancelling this show once Jeremy Renner's career really took off. This Amber Tamblyn led series was a take on the many cop and investigations shows that crowd the schedules of most networks. How many NCISs and Law and Orders have there been? This was about the oddball cops while still keep some dramatic aspects of being a cop to keep it from being a pure comedy show.

What I remember most about this was Jeremy Renner's character. I am not sure how well this show would have done in the long run but with only ten episodes it doesn't seem like it had a fair shot.

Joan of Aracdia (2003-2005)

Amber Tamblyn has not had a good run with television. This show made it two season before cancellation, just when a potential villain arrived. It managed to be a show with god as a recurring character without making it a religious show. And how cute was young Jason Ritter?! What really gets me is that it was replaced by Ghost Whisperer which lasted 5 season. Really? I could not stand that series, but to each their own...I guess.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008-2009)

Let me just say that I love the first two Terminator films and that I have despised the other films. Which is why this was the perfect series for me. It picks up right where the second movie ends. Lena Headey is great as Sarah Connor and River Glau makes a pretty damn good terminator sent to protect Thomas Dekker's John Connor. Also a featured terminator, Shirley Freakin Manson from Garbage. 

This series was clever, intelligent and had some decent action. A very good follow up to some great movies. So of course when John Connor time times to the future it gets cancelled. 

The Middleman (2008)

I remember liking this series and being bummed out when it was cancelled but it has been so long since I've seen it that it's a little hazy. It was a about a straight laced suit and tie guy whose job is to solve strange problems. It mainly followed his new recruit Wendy as she navigated her life as a artist and as the future Middleman. I need to find this series again and watch it again. 

Firefly (2002)

I still cannot believe that this only lasted one season. This series has such a massive following gained since cancellation that it seems like it could have been a huge hit if FOX had given it more seasons.

 Instead of leaving us with some slapped together end or the dreaded cliff hanger, Firefly got the opportunity to bow out with a film, Serenity, that was fitting for our rag tag group of Browncoats. I would have loved to have had the series continue but I am happy with the film.

Anything With James Van Der Beek That Isn't Dawson's Creek

I was not a Dawson's Creek fan, just wasn't my thing. But I adore James Van Der Beek when he is playing comedic roles. Unfortunately each time he gets a comedy series it gets cancelled.

The B in Apt 2B: He played a funny, possible fictional, version of himself. He was my favorite part of that show. Cancelled

Friends With Better Lives: This show suffered from trying to cash in on current fads such as Hashtags. In fact it was promoted as #FWBL. Never a good sign. But Van Der Beek's newly single gynocologist was funny. Also Majandra Delfino and Zoe Lister-Jones were a joy to watch. This show didn't even make it a full season.

Are there any show that you wish had a reprieve from cancellation?

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After blogging so much last month I am probably only going to post once a week this month and maybe next month too. Unless of course there is something amazing I want to write about. I'll try and post every Friday.

Happy Halloween!!!

I must admit I'm pretty proud of myself for keeping up with my goal of blogging every Mon, Wed and Fri of October. True, some of the posts weren't brilliant but I least I tried.

One of the things that has been a downer this month is being broke. Really broke.

There were so many fun Halloween things to do and to get but it was all out of my means. I managed to snag a few though.

Krispy Kreme Ghostbusters

My mom's birthday was the 3rd so we actually managed to get out some with a little spare cash. So of course we ended up getting Krispy Kreme. 

They are weirdly cute. 

Before we left with our dozen of donuts mom noticed the Ghostbuster Donut Holes bucket. Before we left the parking lot she decided we had to get that and we ended up going through the drive thru to get it. Pity the guy who helped us inside also was at the window. We were really embarrassed by our geeky glutton ways

Halloween Drinks 

I finally found some Halloween Jones Soda. They had Caramel Apple and Blood Orange. I just could not make myself try the Caramel Apple, but the Blood Orange was pretty good. Like a tangy orange soda.

And no Halloween would be complete without Ghoul-Aid. I just wish I could get the powdered kind that you add to sugar and water. Maybe next year. 

Happy Halloween!!!

Halloween Dessert Table

I love desserts

I love Halloween

It was obvious that I had to make some Halloween desserts. So pretty and oddly green

Ghost Meringues

I made these the day before we made everything else because they take time to bake and dry out.

I used my go-to recipe from here. I just like this recipe and it works really well. I always add some vanilla extract to this recipe. I used a baking bag and a large round piping tip to pipe the meringues into a ghostly dollop. For the eyes and mouths I just used some black food coloring gel and painted them on.

I made a bunch of these but not many made it into the top photo mainly because we snacked while making everything else. So good and crunchy.

Witchy Pretzel Fingers

I was at Michael's with my mom when we saw this witch finger mold. There was no doubt we had to try these out. This was the messiest thing we made, at least that day. Microwaving the candy melts and squeezing them into a mold, simple right? Nope!

Candy melt went everywhere. In the end we had to take a knife and pair down all the excess candy around the molded fingers.

They look really good though. 

Scream Egg Cupcakes

If my mom and I try something new, things tend to go a bit wrong. Its always fun though.

There are all of these recipes floating around on how to use Cadbury eggs in different ways. We thought cupcakes would be a pretty easy way to go. We just didn't factor how long to bake a cupcake that was mainly chocolate cover fondant.

When they first came out of the oven we cut one open and it was gooey and looked cool. But the cupcake itself wasn't actually done. So putting them back in for a few minutes more to fully cook the batter caused the fondant to crystallize.

Not horrible but very unexpected texture when biting into one. But hey, you cook, you learn.

In all, a very yummy and green dessert table.

Nightmare Before X-Mas Nail Art

I love nail art.

My problem is that I am not very good at it. It could be because I don't have any nail art tools, I use random objects to see if they will work. It is more likely that I just lack any real skill to do nail art.

It has not stopped me from trying.

I wanted to make some Nightmare Before Christmas nail art for the Halloween season. Here are my attempts.

Jack Skeleton

Only when going through these photos did I realize how badly I needed to clean up around the nails. I am sorry if it looks distractedly awful

The black and white striped nails were pretty easy, I just used some scotch tape. The same with making the initial triangle for the Santa hat. For the Santa hat trim and topper I used a q-tip dipped in white nail polish.

I had problems with the actually drawing parts though. I used a tack, toothpick, needle basically anything that might work in lieu of a dotting tool.

The end result was okay, as long as nobody looked too closely.

Sally

After the difficult time I had drawing Jack Skeleton I opted for something a bit simpler for Sally.

On my thumb and index finger I used a light blue with black "stitches" to represent Sally's skin and I just swooshed some red over those for her hair.

The other nails are supposed to look like fabric from her dress. I stuck with plain colors without patterns mainly because I doubt I could have pulled those off.

I actually like how these came out. Even though I tried something different on the pinkie nail that did not work well in pics. On the overall not terrible.

Oogie Boogie 

This is where the whole idea for trying out Nightmare Before Christmas nail art came from. In the clearance section of Ulta I found OPI's Don't Talk Bach to Me and it just reminded me of Mr. Oogie Boogie.

I free handed Oogie's head the best I could. Kind of looked like I tried to paint a whipped cream dollop shape on my nail. On top of the nail color I put on a few layers of Glow-in-the-dark polish. Then I outlined and detailed in black nail polish with a toothpick. 

I really need to invest in some dotting tools

Of course these pictures barely pick up the glow-in-the-dark polish but believe me, it glowed. That night I was like a small child "Ohh it glows" when I should have gone to sleep.

Spooky Reads

One week until Halloween!!!

I have never really been an avid reader of horror or suspense novels.

When I read I like to submerse myself into the world I am reading about. This is why I typically read classic fiction, historical fiction and sci-fi/fantasy books.

But that isn't to say that I do not enjoy a little horror or suspense once in awhile.

Good Omens 

Not your typical horror novel, because it isn't.

The reason I mention this book is the characters consist of a demon and an angel protagonists, Adam- the Antichrist and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

This is actually a really fun and rather sweet book.

It is a bit difficult to describe this book because there are so many characters and story lines that converge.

Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles

Twilight these are not!

I remember wanting to read these books when I was really young but I had to wait a few years. I can understand why now but at the time I was pretty obsessed with vampires. This was way before the whole Twilight craze.

(I read Twilight but I just didn't care for it)

Anne Rice's vampires are sexy, wild, cruel and ancient.

Lestat is my favorite vampire. He becomes a freakin' rock star!

One of the lesser know of Anne Rice's vampires in Pandora. Her book is so interesting from a historical view. Ms. Rice did her homework on ancient Rome. 

Edgar Allan Poe

I think almost everyone is familiar with "The Raven" .

I would like to suggest his story The Cask of Amontillado. It is creepy and interesting as only Edgar Allan Poe can write.

Also his poem "Annabel Lee" is disturbing pretty.

Do you have any Halloween reading suggestions?

LootCrate: Fear

This month's Loot Crate has arrived. 

Loot Crate is a monthly subscription box for the geeks and gamers. Every month has a theme and this month's theme, in honor of Halloween, is FEAR 

I am going to be perfectly honest and say that I wasn't overly thrilled by this month's crate. I think it is because of this shirt. A bunch of cats in the shape of a skull. The moment I opened the box up I said out loud "I hate that shirt".

I might be biased since I lost my 21 year old cat last month. Regardless I hate this shirt.

On the other hand I love this print. A superemofriends print of sad Daryl and dead Merle from The Walking Dead. Really great details. It is about the size of a postcard. This helps to make up for the shirt, a little. 

I am not a Sharknado fan but I am willing to give this book a read. It is How to Survive a Sharknado and Other Unnatural Disasters. It may be a good read. 

Also in this month's crate a Loot Crate alternative cover of issue 132 of The Walking Dead. I haven't read any of the graphic novels so I don't know how this issue connects with the tv series. From what I know, the graphic novels and the tv show have not really had too much to do with each other. So this may be interesting to read. 

A Loot Crate exclusive Dead Rising sledges saw hammer pen from Capcom. Another thing I am not familiar with. I know its a zombie survival game but I've never played it. The pen looks gnarly though, so I like it.

Rounding out this crate is a sheet of temporary tattoos including: Zombie bite, werewolf bite, vampire bite, scratches and zombie mouth. These look fun. 

The Loot Crate magazine cover was 3D hence the 3D glasses included.

The monthly themed button and the most painful and disgusting candy ever finishes the crate. Not including a smitegame code. 

I tried to condense the pictures this month but it still turned into a photo dump. Sorry about that. I am debating about using jump breaks for my more photo heavy posts. I think I will start that next month.

Since the July Villains crate Loot Crate has been decorating the interior of the crates with custom box art fitting each month's theme. This month it appears to be inside a hardware store during a zombie attack.  

Do you get Loot Crate? If so what did you think of this month's crate?