Monday, July 22, 2013

Nintendo Brat 4 Lyfe

On July 12, 2013 I became the proud owner of a 3DS XL and it was a very momentous occasion. I had been wanting a 3DS since they came out but always felt guilty about spending such a large amount of money on myself (and on something strictly for play). Well, after much deliberation I decided that Mama had waited long enough and Mama was getting a new toy, goddammit. I had wanted the Arctic White version but since that one isn't available in North America at this time, I decided to go with the girly pink/white model. I christened her, Ms. Kitty, and she is my 5th bebe (my first born was my beloved N64). Since Target didn't have Animal Crossing: New Leaf in stock--the reason I HAD to have a 3DS--I had to shuffle over to Toys R' Us, which I hadn't been to in ages. It's weird how it still smelt the same as it did when I was a child (it's the same store I've been visiting since I was 3 years old). Scent memories are pretty powerful!

It's only been 11 days since my new baby came into my life and I can already say that I completely got my money's worth. The 3DS XL is beautiful and amazing! The screen is ginormous and totally worth the extra $30. In a way I'm glad I held out as long as I did to get a 3DS because I would've been bummed when the XL came out. Another cool thing about the 3DS are the apps that you can install on it! I've already installed Netflix (although I've yet to watch anything on my 3DS) and I guess once you buy new games you can download them so you don't have to carry the cartridges around. After doing some browsing, I'd also like to say that the 3DS has some VERY strong games available (much better than the current titles available for the Wii U). These are the games currently on my wish list:

*Ocarina of Time
*Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask
*Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon
*Mario Kart 7
*Super Mario 3D World
*The New Super Mario Bros. 2
*Donkey Kong Country Returns
*The Legend of Zelda: a Link Between Worlds

So, yeah, I'm basically going to be putting old man Amazon's kids through college this year. 

Back to Animal Crossing: New Leaf!! I am totally lovin's this game! I've been a massive AC fan since it first came out on GameCube so many years ago (I got a little crazy with that game and played it everyday for like, 3 years) and have been very much looking forward to playing this new version. What's new about this title is that now you're the mayor of  your town so you're in charge of building new public projects and enacting ordinances. Also, there's a main street in your town that is at first pretty run-down and only houses a few shops but as your town grows and becomes more prosperous, more shops will open. Another thing that's new is that you can pay to take a trip to a near island that the previous mayor, Tortimer, resides on and play fun little games. I've only been there once and it was pretty neat! Other than that, the game play is the same as in the previous Animal Crossing games, you can fish, catch bugs, design clothes, plant flowers, go shopping, visit friend's towns, and help out your fellow citizens. I've been playing AC every frikkin' day and I can't wait to watch my town grow! I'd highly recommend this game to anyone ^_____^

Besides playing a lotsa video games, I've been busy making new embroideries too! Here's my newest custom orders:


Both were requested from a super cool lady in Sweden so I'm really excited to be sending my work to Scandinavia (that's a new country for me). I've also had a lot of sales in Canada this past week and that was a new country for me too! 

Welp, I'm off to the post office to send some embroideries off to their new homes. Hope you have a great week!

Friday, July 12, 2013

Adventure Time!



Yesterday was a really fun day. I went on a photo adventure in downtown Phoenix and had a swell time.

I've mentioned it in a previous post, but I've been working on a photo project called "Camera Swap" with my three very cool pen pals, Melissa, Adam and Nikolaus. I bought some cheap disposable cameras and have been taking random, kookie pictures of events and places I encounter in my day-to-day life. 

I've lived in Phoenix for most of my life but I'd never really taken the time to explore the downtown area so I thought that this photo project would provide a perfect opportunity to really look around for unique/cool spots in the city. Also, the weather was nicer than it's been all summer (it was overcast and only about 98 degrees instead of 118 degrees we had last week).  It was kind of challenging juggling the three disposable cameras and also remembering to take a few with my personal camera but I think I did okay. I had never really noticed/appreciated how colorful and lively downtown Phoenix is since I'd only really hung out there at night.




 In retrospect, I wish I would've taken a duplicate photo of all of the things I photographed with the disposables since I'll be shipping them off soon and won't get to see the printed pictures (that's the point of the swap, to take pictures of your life, then to give those moments to someone else). However, I'll most likely be doing this project again since it was so much fun and now I know to take backup pictures so I'll know what pictures I took. At least I got some photos, though.

 After I took most of the photos on the cameras, I stopped for snax at Treehouse Bakery. It's a vegan bakery that's right around the corner from Trunk Space and Bikini Lounge. I got a Spicy Hot Chocolate cupcake and an Iced Tea and it was HEAVEN. I had no idea vegan pastry could be so good! And the store is owned by two girls, so next time you're in that area and find yourself with a sweet tooth, pay them a visit! (I should've taken a picture of our cupcakes!)



Anywho, I'm really looking forward to seeing the pictures my friends take, especially since they all live in cities I've never been to. Melissa is from Glasgow, Adam from Plano, TX and Nikolaus lives in Cologne, Germany. As an added bonus, all of these peeps are talented at photography so I'm pretty much guaranteed to get some rad photos. I need to make a friend in France now, haha!

In other news, I've also recently become OBSESSED with the show, Adventure Time! In less than two weeks I've watched all 5 seasons and made 3 embroidery hoops of characters from the show (and I have a list of more characters I'd like to make into hoops too). Here's some pics, they're pretty math if I do say so myself!



All of these hoops are currently up for grabs in my Etsy shop, so take a gander at www.iggystarpup.etsy.com

I'm so happy I finally gave this show a chance because I absolutely love it. The writing and voice acting is brilliant! I'm even thinking about going as Marceline the Vampire Queen for Halloween now.

Okies, well, I better get some biz done before I have to go to work. 

I'll see you in the Nightosphere, you sick freaks!