Geekchic OOTD: Fly Casual

Is it just me or does each year seem to go by faster and faster? I can't believe we're already a quarter of the way through 2019!

This is an exciting week for 2 reason: I'm going on a short trip, and Star Wars Celebration is happening! Unfortunately, I am NOT going to Celebration, though I came close. I will be jet-setting on a different geeky adventure, but given how much I love Star Wars and the many closet cosplay/ geekbound outfits I've styled in that fandom, I wanted to give you an outfit post.

Maybe this will inspire a closet cosplay of your own, or if you're freaking out over what to wear to Celebration, maybe this is a last minute look that will work for you.

Hope you like this very casual X-Wing pilot-inspired outfit I wore to San Diego Comic Con 2018. It was by far the most comfortable outfit I wore all con, and everything was super easy to find!

Even though orange is not the easiest color to pull off, there is just something about those Rebel Pilot flight suits that is so iconic. Thanks to the current resurgence of jumpsuits and overalls in fashion, it's actually not that hard to find cute ones to wear casually. And that's where the idea for this outfit was born, or shall I say, refined?

Outfit details: Mock-Neck Top (Forever 21) // Overalls (Forever 21) // SUNGLASSES (Ray-Ban) // Fake Fangirl pin (Utinni Bikini) // Sandals (Miista)

At Comic Con 2016, my friends did a version of this Rebel Pilot geekbound with orange dresses and white tops. So the general idea of this pilot-bound outfit had been in my head since then.

While at the mall, I saw these orange overalls and it popped into my head that I could do an updated version of the pilot outfit that was slightly closer to the flight suits. Plus, the shade of orange on these overalls was way more forgiving for regular wear. I found a white mock-neck top to wear underneath that would be a call-back to the white flak vests the Rebel pilots wear over their orange flight suits.

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A post shared by Alice (@girlontheroam) on Aug 5, 2018 at 8:47pm PDT

The Sister re-used the white crop top she used in 2016 and put it over an orange jumpsuit she already had. We both topped our outfits off with Rebel Starbirds. I used the one we made previously out of the craft foam, and she used an enamel pin from Utinni Bikini.

My accessories were the finishing touches to tie it all together. Besides the Rebel Starbird, I included Utinni Bikini's brilliant "Fake Fangirl" enamel pin; it's written in Aurebesh, the written language seen in Star Wars. The kangaroo pocket in the front of my overalls were the perfect place to hide my co-pilot BB-8. It's sunny in San Diego, so when it came to choosing sunglasses, I went with aviators to tie into the whole pilot theme.

So there it is! My "Casual Friday" Rebel pilot outfit. Just remember for a simple geekbound like this, think in color blocks and themes. Accessories can also really pull the look together.

If you're headed to Star Wars Celebration, have so much fun. I'm so excited for all the news that's very likely going to be dropped this week! May the Force be with you!

Fangirl Moment: The Last Unicorn

With San Diego Comic Con month upon us, I thought it'd be nice to revisit some of the magic of past cons in preparation for this year. This was one of the first unexpectedly wonderful moments for me at SDCC 2014, only our second year going.

While trying to figure out how to get into the Funko booth line (which is always badly managed and perpetually capped), I wandered through the neighboring Artists' Alley area of the Exhibit Hall floor. A The Last Unicorn poster caught my eye, and since that was my favorite movie from childhood and one of my favorite books ever, I went over to see what it was.

And then I freaked out because Peter S. Beagle, the author of The Last Unicorn was sitting right there at the table.

I flailed at the Sister, who was still keeping an eye on the Funko booth, and she encouraged me to go over there and talk to him. So I made my way over. He was speaking to someone browsing the book selection at the time, so I talked to the man at the table about the books and whether I could get stuff signed. I obviously did *not* have my copy of The Last Unicorn on me, so I did what any self-respecting fangirl would do; I bought a new one. There was no way I was not going to get my favorite book signed by the author. I also picked up one of his other unicorn books.

I'm going to pause here because I need to talk about The Last Unicorn. As a kid, this was my favorite animated movie - even above all the Disney princess films. I watched it so much, the VHS cover is wrinkled and crumbling at the edges and the tape itself has warped sound during the opening credits. I found the unicorn again in college when I finally read the book, and that deepened my love for the story so much more. My childhood love for the story was based on the gorgeous animation, my fascination with unicorns, the princes and romance and magic. It was just another fairy tale to love, albeit one that gave me nightmares in the form of fiery red bulls and witches who kept vengeful harpies. But the book...


The book moved me in deeper ways - partly because I was now old enough to understand the themes that were present in the movie, but also because as is often the case, the book had more. It was wistful and nostalgic, romantic and world-weary, tragic and hopeful all at once. I love this story so much, I wrote about the unicorn for my "hero story" for the geeky menswear brand Hero Within.

And can we talk about the prose? It's the lyrical but not purple style I adore, effortlessly evocative. Beagle can do so much with so little; he makes words sing. It's the kind of poetic prose that has you believing in unicorns. I still look at the world hoping to catch a glimpse of one.

Anyway, despite my word-vomit tendencies, I think I tend to keep it cool enough when I've had the opportunity to meet people I admire. I am definitely not a burst-into-tears-from-the-feels type of person (though I'm moving towards that in my older age). But I will confess to you now that I found myself inexplicably tearing up when I met Peter S. Beagle and told him how much his book meant and continues to mean to me.

He was so gracious and kind, and he took the time to have a little chat with me. Since there was no one else in line, he told me an entire story, which essentially turned out to be a fantastical explanation for the Lizzie Borden murders, over the table after he was done signing my books.

The whole experience was so delightful and unexpected. Meeting Peter S. Beagle is not something that had even crossed my mind, and to sort of just stumble upon him in the chaos of Comic Con was magical in and of itself. This year will be my 5th year at the convention, and this experience is still one of my favorite things that has happened to me.

Q4U: What or who have you freaked out about? What's a favorite convention memory?

Currently... (21)

"Currently..." updates will be every 2 weeks or so. Going to try to update on Tuesdays when Katy Upperman posts hers.

I found the Currently post at Kate Hart's blog, who got the idea from Amy Lukavics, who found it here. Please join in and link me in the comments if you do!


This is going to be a long one because I missed all of June and July!! Yikes!


LOVING

My girl gang. If you follow me on Instagram, you know it's been a whirlwind since the end of May. I've gone on a few adventures with my best gal pals - namely, New Orleans and Comic-Con!

• NOLA - my first time in New Orleans and in the South. This was also a really spontaneous girls trip. We got caught in thundershowers, visited a gorgeous swamp and plantation, had my fortune told, ate our weight in delicious food, met up with one of my oldest blogging friends, and beignet every day.

Ok ladies, now let's get in formation. • Beyoncé did in fact shoot a music video here (but not Formation). #wanderlust #NewOrleans #NOLA #travelgram #consquad #friends #squad #plantation #girlgang #OakAlleyPlantation #aliceadventures #latergram

A photo posted by alice (@akangaru) on Jun 6, 2016 at 5:06pm PDT

• SDCC 2016 - met up with so many friends at the con this year. Did 2 days of cosplay, one of which was a group one with my gals. Did the Hall H thing with relatively little drama, got donuts from Bryan Fuller while in land, and got a new wand (Newt Scamanader's!) for swag. OMG, and there were Hamilton coplayers!!

ConSquad the sequel

A photo posted by alice (@akangaru) on Jul 22, 2016 at 1:48pm PDT

A photo posted by Nicole Mojan Pirshafiey (@nicolemojan) on Jul 22, 2016 at 1:52am PDT

Adventures at home - 4th of July fireworks! Outlander costume exhibit! Movies at the beach! Loki swimming!!

A video posted by Loki (@dogdaysofloki) on Jul 10, 2016 at 7:38pm PDT

READING

• The Cursed Child (just finished) - I don't know how I feel about it being the next bit of HP canon, but I enjoyed it for what it was. Wish the plot hadn't been so grand because the quieter, character thematic parts of the play were probably what I liked best.
• Jellicoe Road - I'm finally reading this!!
• This Savage Song
• Various Tarot Books

WATCHING

• The Olympics!
• Suicide Squad (recently) - I wanted this to be good so badly. Was I entertained? Sometimes, but honestly, I can't say because I left this movie feeling so much frustration that I can't honestly say my experience was good.
• Mr. Robot - so good. Seeing their presence in SD was one of the highlights of this Comic-Con.

A photo posted by Catherine (@catherine) on Jul 24, 2016 at 2:05pm PDT

• UnReal - the season finale was last night and OH. MY. GOD. I love this show. Seriously, if you haven't tried this show, do it.
• The Night Of - we just started this, and it is so stressful. It's about a guy who may or may not have committed a crime & the workings of the justice system starting from the night of the crime.

LISTENING

The Black Tapes podcast - to give me another creepy/intriguing thing to listen to other than LORE, I started The Black Tapes podcast in June and basically binge-listening to the entire first season. I'm all caught up with Season 2, and I am so obsessed! It's like Serial + LORE + supernatural mystery.


ANTICIPATING

• My birthday! Starting today, it is the last week of my 20s. HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE??!
• 2017 when a bunch of my writer-Twitter friends are going to have books out!!

WISHING

Teleportation was real so I can hang out with people who don't live near me! This desire is worse now because I've been spoiled by being able to meet up with online friends pretty often recently thanks to mutual traveling and things like Comic Con.



THINKING ABOUT

How much has changed in just this last year - like Hamilton! It is such a huge deal now. They've won 11 Tonys. They just celebrated their 1-year anniversary of their debut on Broadway, and so many of the original main Broadway cast has departed the show. This all blows my mind because it has only been a little over a year since this thing came into my life and changed it.

A photo posted by alice (@akangaru) on Jun 12, 2016 at 9:08pm PDT

There have been some other life things happening personally and with friends and family too. I've been to spin class (who am I?), had my tarot read, built my first major costume prop (Rey's staff), and inadvertently cosplayed at SDCC.

Poe Squadron reporting for Hall H line duty earlier this morning! Han Yolo (& Chewbacca), x-wing pilots, Rey (& BB8)! . . #poesquadron #consquad #friends #sdcc2016 #sdcc #StarWars #hansolo #xwingpilots #rey #casualcosplay #cosplay #geekbound #ootd #wiw #geekchic #geekstyle #geekfashion #whatiwore #linecon #girlgang #geekgirls

A photo posted by alice (@akangaru) on Jul 22, 2016 at 8:43pm PDT

MAKING ME HAPPY

• Summer! Ice cream, sunshine, bright colors, and unicorn floaties.

A photo posted by alice (@threadedpages) on Aug 7, 2016 at 4:34pm PDT

• Flight of the Conchords concert
• Learning the tarot - basically, a psychic in New Orleans was convinced I have untapped spiritual powers. So I'm trying to unlock them. Wish me luck. ;)
• Hammer + Sarah time!
• Celebrating nerdy things in nerdy ways - like all of Comic Con and midnight book release parties for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

A photo posted by alice (@akangaru) on Jul 31, 2016 at 3:30pm PDT

What's up with you?

5 Fandom Friday (21)

(New Graphic by Darling Stewie)

5 Fandom Friday is a geek-blogger community building project started and hosted by The Nerdy Girlie and SuperSpaceChick. Every Friday, post a top 5 list based on a predetermined topic that can be found on this master post - you can also find more info on the project there. Participate as frequently or infrequently as you like, and if a topic doesn't especially appeal to you, feel free to put your own twist on it.

Also, tweet at @superspacechick or @thenerdygirlie on Friday with your post (and they'll RT) and use the #Fandom5 hashtag so we can all connect!


This week's theme: Five Things You Own That You Got At Cons

I changed this week's theme a tiny bit to include anything I've gotten at a con - even if it was free. I won't be including *memories* though because obviously, that's the best thing you take away from a convention. ;) Perfect timing for this topic because Comic Con was just last week!

1) Signed Hannibal DVD sleeve

This was my first signing, and how wonderful it was with the cast of a show I absolutely love. Bryan Fuller is such an inspiration and delight!


2) Tiny Ant-Man / The Force Awakens Stormtrooper

This is kind of a 2-fer, but I had to suffer through the same crazy HASBRO line for this, and I love them both. These are pretty sweet buys from SDCC this year, and I treasure them.


3) Wattpad Cards against Fanfiction

There's a lot of cool, free stuff you can get at Comic Con, but I think this fandom-themed set of Cards Against Humanity from Wattpad that I got at Geeks Go Glam might take the cake. These are so unique and hilarious.


4) Books signed by Peter S. Beagle

Last year, one of the highlights of my SDCC was finding Peter S. Beagle's booth in the Artists' Alley. The Last Unicorn is one of my forever favorite books, and being able to talk with him and get signed books was such an incredible experience for me.


5) Lightsaber + Star Wars guest lanyard

I was lucky enough to get into Hall H this year for the Star Wars panel, and so I was also able to go to the Star Wars fan concert. The lanyard they gave us plus the lightsabers will forever remind me of this magical time. :)

Of course, I also really love the free photo booths at cons and all the memories I make with my new and old friends.

What are you favorite things you've gotten from conventions?


P.S. ANT-MAN is out today, and Tony (aka Crazy4ComicCon) was kind enough to invite me to podcast review the movie last night with the boys of TOTL podcast. Would love if you checked it out! ANT-MAN REVIEW.

P.P.S. I need to post this to the Female Geek Bloggers group still, but I have a new blog: GIRL ON THE ROAM! This one will still be active, but the other one will be more geek and travel focused (e.g. longer SDCC recaps will be over there). Hope you'll take a look!

What's Up Wednesday (42)

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme geared toward readers and writers, so we can check in with each other. To join, just check out Jaime Morrow or Erin Funk's blogs for the link widget and sign up!


WHAT I'M READING

Lucky me, I'm currently reading 2 ARCS: Sarah Maas' HEIR OF FIRE and Kendare Blake's MORTAL GODS (Goddess Wars #2). Back in March, we were part of Kendare's Mortal Gods Cover Reveal blog tour for this book. Both of these books will be out in September in US.

I also finally finished LONG LANKIN. It was sometimes terrifying and all around creepy. Apparently, there's a sequel on the way!


WHAT I'M WRITING

The verse story and dabbling with an old WIP. Check my RSW update for my progress + small excerpt.


WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW

It's been a tough few days in the world, and that makes looking on the bright side hard. But I've been inspired by the outpouring of support, grief, and love that recent events have garnered.

On a happier, I'm also inspired by the amazing and incredible things friends are doing. For example, one is working on a project for NPR!

Similarly, Twitter friend Sarah Enni has road-tripped across the country to do a podcast series with YA authors about writing, books, creativity, and life. (If you're interested in checking that out, go here: First Draft with Sarah Enni.

In book news, Twitter/blog friend Lori M. Lee had her debut GATES OF THREAD AND STONE release last week. Congrats! Also released last week was another Twitter/blog friend's book, Sarah Fine's OF METAL AND WISHES. This week, I have April Tucholke's BETWEEN THE SPARK & THE BURN (sequel to Between the Devil & the Deep Blue Sea) to look forward to!



WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO

Since the last time I updated, not too much besides trying to catch up on sleep and whatever TV I missed while Comic Con-ing. Speaking of SDCC, I have uploaded all of my pictures, so there will be recaps beginning this Friday soon! (I've also finally started uploading all of my London/Paris pics from February this year...)

Other things I've done:

1. Mini Liam Neeson movie-fest. We watched Non-Stop, which was kind of disappointing. So we watched Taken and then Taken 2. All in an evening.
2. Upon hearing that The Mighty Ducks movies were up on Netflix, I marathoned those this past Saturday. They actually didn't have D3, but whatever, the 1st 2 were better anyway. The Sis realized that she hates Coach Bombay; I mean, get it together! Little!Pacey is so over your BS.
3. I saw Guardians of the Galaxy when it came out and loved it! Such a fun and funny adventure with great music, and certain pop culture references had the Sister in tears. We're going to see it again with friends this Friday!
4. Speaking of Guardians, though he is covered in blue and black make-up and barely recognizable, I needed more Lee Pace after seeing GotG. So I finally watched Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day on Netflix - in which LP is utterly charming. I also introduced the Sister's friend to Pushing Daisies and am fairly certain I've made a new Lee Pace convert.
5. I watched Spice World this weekend (it's been on the DVR). Girl power will always be cool.
6. Loki (as in our puppy) killed another mouse. He's a mighty hunter.
7. It's going to be my birthday this week. Ahhhhh!
8. Outlander - so far, we like it! We also have some amusing stories regarding the Outlander promo-guys-in-kilts and castle booth at SDCC. Will be sharing those in the recaps!

And on that note, separate from the actual SDCC recaps. Here's a look at our geek fashion this year at Comic Con!

Pre-Comic Con Day outfit: galaxy skirt + THOR muscle tank

Day 1 Outfit: Catwoman-themed (the Sister) and Hannibal fannibal-themed (me).

Catwoman shirt, cat ears headband, cat-eye sunglasses, Slytherin TOMs.

DIY flower crown, plaid shirt, (nightmare) stag & dining set necklaces.
Plus, an owl ring and Blackmilk Hamlet leggings to round things off.

Day 1 Night for the Nerd HQ party: Star Wars themed

Blackmilk Death Star dress, cosmic necklace, starburst & druzy rings, silver cuff. Hard to see,
but Sis is wearing her Blackmilk AT-AT dress & AT-AT necklace made by Alz.

(The AT-AT dress and necklace look like this...

The Sis on May 4th aka Star Wars Day this year.

Day 2 Outfit: Casual Cosplay Wonder Woman (me) and Aquaman (the Sister)

Star-spangled skirt, Blackmilk mermaid leggings, silver & gold accessories - including lucky
find WW-looking necklace,  DIY starfish headband, and very appropriate POW ring.

(More details on this casual cosplay in a later post!)

Oh, and our friend Jenn had an ADORABLE Doctor Who-themed outfit.

Her Universe TARDIS skirt, 11's red bow tie, 10's sonic
screwdriver, and Converses! [Photo courtesy of: Jenn]

Day 3 Outfit: Sherlock-themed outfit (me)
-Including sleeping-in-Hall-H-line outfit (bottom left: Bang! sweatshirt, Bored leggings, galaxy scarf)
-For day time, accessories I was supposed to use but didn't because it was too hot (top left box: deerstalker hat and Sherlock Holmes silhouette pin from the Holmes museum in London!)

Goldbubble Sherlock-inspired BORED leggings and Loki-inspired necklace. Was supposed to
have accessories: deerstalker hat, blue scarf, Holmes silhouette pin, question mark ring.

Day 4 Outfit: Loki-themed (me)
- I actually bought this dress on Day 3 at the Her Universe booth in the Exhibit Hall.

Her Universe Loki dress, silver cuff, Loki armor-inspired necklace made by Alz.

Come back Friday next week for more geeky goodness and story time! Until then, have a great week!

What's up with you?