A Nod to BatFit = Mountain Biking?

                                     
How is everyone today? I'm slowly dragging myself through the last days of school and oh boy I cannot wait for summer. The above picture represents my current state of mind, what with the frantic scurrying to finish end-of-the-year projects and studying for finals.

How do I solve that math problem??

Anyway! Monday was Memorial day and we went mountain biking. Yes, you heard that right. Mountain Biking in Florida. It's actually a really long drive, but the place is built in an old quarry and there's lots of trails. So here's my little nod to Le Professeur Gothique's BatFit Challenge #8. In other words, get your butt outside!

These make pretty fun swings :D

The Pump Course

All geared up and makeup-free. My socks have skulls!

None of these showcase the immense number of hills and rocks here. (I kid not. It's just hard to take pictures when you're hurtling down something steep.) It does show how pretty Florida is this time of year and that it hasn't yet reached the stage where the summer sun has burnt away the plants (and possibly the people).

The only problem? Deerflies.

I hate them.

But aside from some bug bites we had a great time and got in a good workout. About 12 miles I believe :)

The Cake is a Lie

Anyone like my little Portal reference there? :3

I haven't had much time to be on here this weekend between downloading new music, working on a little DIY project and well...this.

This cake is my baby. It was ridiculously complicated (from my inexperienced perspective) and even with the help of my friend and brother it took like 3 hours...but it was worth it! I'm really sick of chocolate right now (Having licked about every spoon I came into contact with) so I won't get to enjoy it until tomorrow.

We try to bake every other weekend or so, just to keep us from wasting our time in front of a screen, but normally it's small stuff like coffee cake or cookies. I'm really proud of us for even attempting this :)

I don't know if anyone wants to take this cake up as a fun challenge but here's the recipe. I would have taken pictures to help, but my brain wasn't fully operational today...


Ingredients

Cake:
Cooking spray
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (sift, then measure), plus more for dusting
2 cups hot strong coffee
1 1/2 cups natural unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
4 teaspoons vanilla extract

Ganache:
1 1/2 pounds bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3 1/3 cups heavy cream

Bark:
4 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped
4 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped
8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Directions
Prep the pans: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Fold a large sheet of parchment paper in half; put a 10-inch-round cake pan on top. Trace the cake pan, then cut out the circle to make two rounds of parchment. Spray two 10-inch cake pans with cooking spray; fit a parchment round into each. Spray the pans again, then dust with flour and tap out the excess.

Make the batter: Pour the coffee into a liquid measuring cup or bowl; whisk in the cocoa powder. Put the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer; mix with the paddle attachment on low speed, 1 minute. Add the eggs, vegetable oil, vanilla and 2 cups water; beat on medium speed, 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low; beat in the coffee-cocoa mixture in a slow stream until combined. The batter will be thin.

Bake the cakes: Divide the batter between the prepared pans. Bake until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Let cool in the pans on a rack, 10 minutes, then turn the cakes out onto the rack to cool completely. Place each cake on a 10-inch cardboard cake circle (this helps stabilize the layers as you move them around), wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

Make the ganache: Pulverize the bittersweet chocolate in a large food processor. Bring the cream just to a boil. With the motor running, pour the hot cream through the feed tube; process until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl and set in a bowl of ice water. Chill, stirring often, until the ganache is cool but not stiff, about 20 minutes.

Make the bark: Microwave the white chocolate in 15-second intervals until two-thirds melted; stir to fully melt. Scrape into a zip-top bag and seal. Put a plastic sheet protector on each of 2 baking sheets. Snip a corner of the bag; pipe thin lines of white chocolate over the sheets.

Refrigerate the baking sheets until the white chocolate is set, about 10 minutes, then repeat the process with the milk chocolate, piping thin lines over the white chocolate. Refrigerate until the milk chocolate is set.

Melt the bittersweet chocolate in the same way, then spread over the white and milk chocolate lines using an offset spatula. Refrigerate until hard, about 30 minutes.

Peel the sheet protectors off the chocolate and break the chocolate sheets into shards of various sizes.

Slice the layers: Put one cake on a cake turntable. Position a long serrated knife against the side of the cake, about halfway down. Slowly rotate the turntable so the knife slices the cake in half horizontally. Don't move the knife much-let the rotation of the turntable do the work. Repeat with the other cake to make 4 layers; transfer each to a cardboard circle. (If you don't have a turntable, carefully slice the cakes in half on a cutting board.)

Frost the cake: Transfer half of the ganache to a bowl and whisk until light brown and fluffy. Place one cake layer (still on a cardboard circle) on the turntable; spoon one-third of the whipped ganache on top. Rotate the turntable to smooth the ganache with a long spatula (or just assemble and frost on a cake plate). Repeat to sandwich all 4 cake layers with whipped ganache. Spread all but about 1/2 cup of the unwhipped ganache over the top and sides of the cake. Decorate the cake: Press the chocolate bark against the sides of the cake, using small dollops of the remaining ganache to help the pieces stick, if necessary.


 And now you have a cake!

Gothic Nail Care

 Ok, so Gothic nail care isn't much different from normal nail care. Granted, most people don't file their nails into points and seem strangely adverse to black nail polish, but there are some nice general rules for keeping your nails healthy.

My nails are particularly prone to peeling when they're unhappy so I try to follow all of these basic guidelines to keep them from turning cringe-worthy.

•  First of all, STOP BITING THEM. I've never had that problem so I can't relate to how difficult it is to break that habit, but really, please try. Pretty please? Try chewing gum or something else to release your stress and you'll have one more thing to spend goth maintenance time on ;) SO STOP BITING OR I WILL COME AND MAKE YOU DAMMIT.

•  Don't use nail polish too often. I know, I know. The thought makes me groan too, but have the white parts of your nail every turned a sickly yellow color after wearing nail polish for a long time? It's not necessarily damaging, but it looks horrendous for a few weeks as the discolored nail grows out. Darker colors tend to make this occur faster so try giving your nails a break every couple of weeks.

•  Use a top coat to protect the tips of your nails. Your nails bump into so many things during the day. You'd be surprised at how much of the top coat can be gone by the time your day's over. A little extra protection never hurt anyone.

• This one will sound a little silly. Try not to use your nails. It's harder than it sounds! But if you consciously try to use your fingers more than the actual nails then they'll last much longer. I'm at the point where I ask whoever is closest to me to do things that I can't manage without my nails. You really learn to adapt. For example, my long nails prevent me from picking up flat things like coins from surfaces. I used to chase the stupid things around until I realized I could just slide them off the table. *facepalm*

• Water, soap, and nail polish remover quickly dry out your nails. Occasionally apply some hand lotion to your nails and rub it in to moisturize. Especially do this after using polish remover. That stuff, while useful, is evil.

•  Nail hardener has actually been proven to make nails less flexible, which means they're easier to break. I wouldn't really advise using it unless you have to.

• Sometimes you just have to face the fact that your nails look like crap. That means its time to cut them and start over. It pains me every time but sometimes it's necessary.

•  As a rule of thumb its advised for the white part of the nail to be no more than half the length of the nail bed. Feel free to ignore that, just know that you'll need to get creative when it comes to practical things.

And perhaps this is a bit too long.

A last piece of advice. Sharp nails are much more delicate then 'normal' nails. I break mine constantly. Which is usually followed by a curse, quick temper tantrum, and small sulk before I just accept that one of my babies is gone and move on.

I don't think there's any possible way to have all of my pointy nails perfect for more than a day. (I broke one on the fridge yesterday and since I always keep my thumbs short for practicality only six of my ten fingernails are long now. It looks pretty funny. Once, i broke FOUR playing spoons.) 

I learned lot of the helpful information here on this website. It's much more in-depth than this quick explanation and full of helpful tips for taking care of your nails

Short, long, pointy, square, round, it doesn't matter. Just take the time to look after your poor nails once in a while. It'll be worth your time :)

Goth Music for Beginners

For people already involved in the subculture this is going to be a little superfluous. (You'll have seen this post a million times. I'm just helping to spread the knowledge.)

This post is for anyone who's begun to show interest in Goth and need somewhere to start music-wise. All of these bands are widely acknowledged as some of the pioneers of goth, whether the artists themselves have excepted the term or not. Every babybat needs somewhere to start and I personally think you should have some knowledge of your roots if you're going to immerse yourself in a subculture.

One of the biggest mistakes people make when it come to goth is assuming that Marilyn Manson, Evanescance, Slipknot, Nightwish, HIM, My Chemical Romance, etc. are Goth. They're NOT. There's absolutely nothing wrong with liking any of those bands as long as you know that they aren't actually Goth. (I'm especially fond of My Chemical Romance and Gerard Way is one of my idols. Stand up for your music,  just know your genres.)

Here are some typical Goth basics to get you started.

The Cure

Fronted by Robert Smith the Cure was formed in 1976. Their dark, melancholy sound helped to front the start of the goth movement and more than one person went around sporting Smith's iconic teased hair and messy makeup. Of course with 13 albums to date there's been lots of room for experimentation and the Cure haven't always stuck to their Gothic roots, but their later songs are indicative of the fact that they really can make anything sound good can't they? (My totally biased opinion ^^)

Bauhaus

The almighty Gothfather. They formed in 1978 with the legendary Peter Murphy fronting them and the music world was changed forever. Their debut single "Bela Lugosi's Dead" is infamous in the Goth scene and deserves every bit of credit given to it. When the band broke up Murphy started a solo career and the other members started Tones on Tail and Love and Rockets. They joined up again for a brief tour in 1998 and formed again in 2005 before breaking up in 2008.

Siouxsie and the Banshees

Starting off in 1976 as a product of the punk rock scene their style quickly became their own. Siouxsie Sioux and Steven Severin searched for a record label that would allow them full creative rights and thankfully that wish was granted. They broke up in 1996 and Siouxsie continued with her side project, The Creatures before starting a solo career.

The Sisters of Mercy 

The Sisters are an unusual case. Mostly because Andrew Eldritch is an ass. There are some Goths that probably won't even talk to you if you don't worship the Sisters (Some inner scene snarkery right there, which is ridiculous.) and yet Eldritch has spoken out against goths numerous times. We're a huge part of the fanbase and yet he alienates us? That makes perfect sense. The Sisters were formed in 1980 and have released three albums. A side project called The Sisterhood was formed at a point where Eldritch was having issues with other members (go figure) and later, when the other original members left, they formed Ghost Dance and The Mission.

Specimen

A true Batcave band formed in the 80s. Specimen has been described as many things, someone even going so far as to call them a sort of "Death Bowie" (I'm not actually sure how to respond to that). Their mix of punk, glam, and goth made them one of the first ever Deathrock bands. An unusual fact about the band: The keyboardist, Jonny Slut, became the face of the band because of his sense of style. Unofficially he's sometimes credited with inventing the deathhawk.

Of course there's so much more. Christian Death, Fields of the Nephilim,  Joy Division...all of those bands helped front the goth scene.

Don't like any of those bands? Fret not! First of all, you might not like them now but who's to say you won't rediscover them later on. I despised The Cure when I first heard them a few years ago. People and tastes change. (And to be honest I've never gotten into the Banshees) Knowledge of your past is more important than actually listening to the music 24/7. It would probably help to have a fondness for Bahaus but it's hardly necessary.

There's all sort of other to listen to. The umbrella of music around the subcuture is enormous. Some more artists that are at the very least goth-friendly include Voltaire, The Cruxshadows, Emilie Autumn, Creature Feature, Rasputina, The Birthday Massacre, Johnny Hollow, Hannah Fury, Diva Destruction, Stolen Babies, Switchblade Symphony, Alien Sex Fiend, Clan of Xymox and 45 Grave. (Hopefully the hodge-podge of styles there will reveal something appealing to you.)

Try punk bands like The Misfits (despite the fact that hipsters  seem to have latched on to them) or the Damned.

Or maybe Steampunk is your thing? Bands like Vernian Process, The Cog is Dead, Abney Park and Dr. Steel might be to your liking.

What about electronic music? Try to get into EBM or Industrial. ( I confess I'm not very knowledable here so I won't be much help.) Clubs lately seem to play nothing but this, so you'll be in luck. (I've seen the lineups at the clubs nearest me and its depressing. I would like some "old" goth music, though I don't mind Industrial.)

I hope this helped anyone out there who's just starting out :)

Happy World Goth Day!

It's World Goth Day! Can I get a round of applause?

 Well I'm not going to do much special, unfortunately. I'm not old enough to go to clubs and the only one around here doesn't excite me much anyway. *tear* HOWEVER I WILL TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO PAMPER MYSELF.

I need to refile my nails for starters. They're less pointy and more shovel-like at the moment. *shudder* Goth maintenance time! I need to pluck my eyebrows, paint my nails, trim my bangs, etc. Then I'll throw on some music, get to ripping the fishnets I've been meaning to, and paint those skeleton shorts. I've got a new book called Bloodline to devour (If you haven't already guessed, it's about vampires. I'll put up a mini-review when I'm done) and I suppose I'll either have a little Dark Shadows marathon later or watch a new horror movie.

Here was my outfit for the day. Nothing too extravagant.

Derrrp  >.<

Striped tank top: $5 Marshalls
Bolero: $5 Bealls
Skirt: Thrift. It was white and when I tried to dye it black it came out purple-grey. I still like it though.
Shoes: $10 Marshalls
Necklace and gloves: Hot Topic. $5 each.

 And to top it all off here's a little song to do a celebratory World Goth Day dance to. It's fun :3

I hope you all have a marvelous day!

Quick Dark Shadows Review

Eeeeeep!

I could really just leave it at that, but you deserve a bit more elaboration. ^^

It's been getting average reviews but don't let that put you off, I thought it was pretty good. Was it new? Revolutionary? No, but it was another psychotic trip into the craziness that is Burton's mind. A lot of people are sick of Johnny Depp playing the pasty-faced, quirky character, (Do I even remember what Johnny Depp looks like without makeup..?) but I think he brought new life and character to Barnabas Collins. No, its nothing like the original. At all. However if you keep an open mind I think you'll find the film enjoyable.

The movie had me cracking up in that whole "This is so awkward I can't help but laugh and hide my face in my hands" kind of way. And they kept the best parts out of the previews that's for sure. It just goes to show you can't judge a movie by what they advertize. I especially loved the Alice Cooper shtick. And how many of you honestly kept a straight face when Barnabas hypnotized someone? Seriously, the fingers! (I CAN'T believe I couldn't find a gif for that...)

There were a few parts they could have left out. Like Carolyn's "problem". I didn't think that added anything to the movie really. And sometimes instead of going for campy humor they could have given a scene a darker undertone.  They never really found the right balance and it frustrated me because this didn't quite live up to its amazing potential. But they really were pulling out all the stops with fun cliches.

I also really liked the wardrobe choices.

This dress. I want this dress. While we're at it I'll take the necklace too.

How many people searched for Barnabas' cane after watching the old series or movie? I fell prey to the urge and frantically googled only to find that replicas are $400. Oops. Dream crushed. Brb, crying. T.T

All in all, it isn't particularly creative for Tim Burton, and the second half is a bit disjointed and pales compared to the first, but if you have some time to kill I suggest you pop on down to the closest theater and give it a go.  I think its worth seeing and Depp is a riot.

Gay Marriage Mini-rant

Well I'm about half a month late with this but no one else had brought it up so I figured why not? North Carolina recently placed a ban on same-sex marriages, making 30 states in total that will not recognize it. I honestly consider this an outrage. I have several gay friends and if any if them wanted to get married to the person they love then why the hell not?

It bothers me how narrow minded people are as much as I've come to expect it. Love is love and gender should be of absolutely no consequence to marriage. The surprising thing about the vote was that when a poll was taken on peoples' opinions on same-sex relationships, two-thirds of them supported some sort of legal recognition for the couples. And yet, the ban passed.

This is one instance in which I really dislike organized religion. I have absolutely nothing against people's beliefs and I think religion can be a beautiful thing, but when people begin to interpret things to suit themselves it pisses me off. The bible does not have to be against gay relationships, it doesn't have to be interpreted that way. People assume that it should be, and that makes it rather unfortunate that there are so many Christians of the close-minded variety living there.

It made my day when Obama stepped up to publicly say he supports same-sex marriages. Go Mr. President! Be controversial! (I really do hope he gets re-elected. I think he's good for the country.)

Of course everything I just said is entirely my opinion and everyone is entitled to their own. I just had to get that off my chest ^^

New Books

I got new books! This is always an occasion for sharing :3

We'll start with the most known one. Cassandra Clare's books have been spreading with widespread popularity lately. This is the second book in her Infernal Devices series. I've been meaning to get this for a while actually and I devoured it in one sitting. While I think The Infernal Devices series is a bit too similar to The Mortal Instruments I actually prefer it.

Reasons to read this:

• Tessa and Will seem to spout literary references left and right
• There are little snippets of poetry at the start of each chapter
• 18th century London. Need I go on?
• Tessa's two love interests (Of course...) are both charming in their own ways (though my heart goes out to Will)
• There are nods to steampunk EVERYWHERE.

If you haven't read the Vampire Chronicles then shame on you!  I'm taking your goth card right now. Hand it over. ;)
No but seriously, Anne Rice is a genius. When I first read Interview with the Vampire way back when, (that means I can't actually remember when) I fell in love. Poor younger me was scarred for life when she read The Vampire Armand and learned a few things.

Reasons to read this:

• Lestat is charming as usual .
•  Listening to him describe his outfits makes you want to start desperately searching the interwebz for said items. (The Lady of the Manners said something like this on her livejournal and I just spazzed out in agreement...)
• We get to see a *ahem* different side of Lestat. I find the time spent in his predicament awkward every single time I read it but I do love it.
• Beautiful writing. I'll admit sometimes I scrunch up my nose at some of the things described (Ahhh I would elaborate, but I don't want to give anything away just in case...), but her style is captivating.

 

After rereading Silence of the Lambs I remembered just how much I love these books and bought Hannibal. It's...this is one of those books that really sucks me in. I think its a million times better than the first and will stand by that no matter what other people think. Its just...I don't even know...

I have a confession to make. As amazing the acting was by Anthony Hopkins in these movies I hate him in the role. I'm not putting down his performance, its just that my fixed image of Lecter (Lithe, sleek black hair, etc.) just clashes so much with Hopkins. He was really 15 years too old for the part when he played him, thus exaggerating the age difference between Lecter and Starling more than it was, and causing them to change the end of the movie from the book. I'm sorry, I want the Cannibal and FBI agent together. I can't help that I'm twisted.

Reasons to read:

•  Hannibal Lecter. That's it really. That's all you need to read this. 
•  Its far more disturbing than the first book I think. It gave me chills, in a very good way.
•  Not everything is black and white in the whole good vs. evil struggle.
•  The conversations, psychoanalyzing, and banter between Clarice and Lecter bring up some thought-provoking points.

World Goth Day is coming up! What's everyone doing? 

Ah...The Sweet Smell of Formaldehyde in the Morning

Yes, you did read that right. I'll get to the explaining later. First...

New Hair!!

I was running around the house frantically a few minutes ago, trying to find the place with the best light for my laptop. It ended up being my kitchen...XD So its not quite white, but it is really really light. I could get it white if I bleached it, but I'd prefer not to damage my hair so I'm fine with this for now. We'll see about later on.

Not my most attractive angle...

What do you think? Love it? Hate it? I can say its nice to have the hair off the back of my neck now that its summer. (It gets shorter in the back) I won't be dying in the heat and I have a lot of hair so cutting it off of lifted some of the weight off my shoulders. Literally.

I should probably elaborate on the formaldehyde now shouldn't I? Well when my Biology teacher said we weren't dissecting anything this year I was semi-depressed. I find stuff like that fascinating and still consider Medical Examiner as a possible job option.

So when my friend said that her class was dissecting pigs I had a little spazz moment and then dragged her off to ask my teacher if I could help.

He was like this.

But then he decided it was best to let the strange girl be on her way. (Actually he's the coolest teacher I've ever had in my life, and waved me off imperiously.)


I'll spare you the pictures because I'm not sure if anyone wants to see a pig's brain...however it was certainly a learning experience. Unfortunately, the smell of the formaldehyde and other chemicals used to preserve the pigs still hasn't come out of my skin and clothes. *shudder* I hate that smell. The actual dissection process doesn't bother me one bit but I can never get used to the awful odor.


There's an intense vlogging movement going on right now isn't there? I've enjoyed being able to place voices to many of my favorite bloggers. I don't think I'll be joining...I'm too awkward to talk to you guys in person (Well, recording. Same thing.) Not to mention I wouldn't really have time to do it with the family running around the house all the time.

But who knows? Maybe in a few months I'll gather up the courage and jump on the bandwagon :)

Thrifting Haul + Vampire Diaries Finale

I still don't have a picture of my new hair. Yes, I know, I know! It'll be up next time. Sorry about that :3

But I went thrift shopping with a friend and got a few new amazing things! If anyone out there doesn't thrift, do it. Trust me. You can find so many lovely things out there that no one else will have and it barely costs you anything.

Goodwill

I liked Pretties enough when I read it to add it to my shelf. I mean, what's 99 cents really? And that thing takes plastic surgery to a whole new level.

Through Violet Eyes is something I've never read before. The summary states that there are people with violet eyes (Ok, who saw that coming?) who can expose the face of a murderer and someone is killing them off. Oh, what the hell. *Throws in cart*

Unwind was also pretty enjoyable. Abortion has been outlawed, but when teens turn a certain age their parents can have them "unwound" (taken apart for your organs) and it's not considered murder because the organs "live on" through the people that need them. Yeah, that makes sense.

I also found The Silence of the Lambs which is one of my all time favorite books, but I already lent it out to someone so no picture.

This bow tie belt was $1.99! and it's got SPIKES. :D

This bracelet was actually hidden deep in the purse bin. Alexis and I had ransacked everything else and decided to dig around. Normally I would be all like "The pink! The pink! It BURNS!" but it was really cute and only $1.99.

I don't actually know what this is supposed to be...but I saw polka dots and snatched it up for 99 cents. I need another blazer, one with a chest pocket, preferably red or black. Once I locate one I think I'll stick this in the pocket.

Plato's Closet

Crappy picture. Sorry :/

This dress. is. AMAZING. I nearly left it on the rack but Alexis forced persuaded me to try it on and I grabbed it because it was only $10.


Dots

Ok, Dots isn't really a thrift store, but we raided it so it's going on the list. This pretty scarf was $5.

 I left behind a red blazer and now I'm beating myself up over it. I thought I should put the money to another scarf, tie, and necklace, but now that I have that polka dot thing...*sigh* I'm a miser and it was $20...but....WHY DIDN'T I BUY IT?? It made me feel like a ringmaster. <3

 I'm going to jump onto the "popular vampires" bandwagon and admit that I absolutely loooove the Vampire Diaries. It's one of my guilty pleasures. The finale was beyond what I would have expected and here are some of my thoughts. Warning: spoilers and possible fangirling ahead.

• Elena is a complete bitch to Damon. The poor guy loves her and is obviously the superior choice...

• Stefan should crawl in a hold and die. He's seriously pathetic. GET AWAY FROM ELENA. SHE DOESN'T NEED MORE ANGST.

• Didn't we just get rid of Klaus last episode? Is he seriously back already?

• Oops, Elena's a vampire. Well, that sucks.

• Elijah is back! Oh how I've missed him and his fancy clothes. I miss his old, oddly endearing haircut...

I loved that floppy hair...

It's Ok, we forgive you. You still look good ;)

Anyone else notice how much they LOVE to kill characters off in that show?

Outfit post~ Rips and Checkers

First, Big news! So big that I bolded, underlined and italicized it.

I dyed my hair.

And all of you are thinking 'what?'  Why is that so important?

Well, let me explain. I was sick of my blonde, so I decided to go blonder. Obviously. Actually, right now it looks really, really, really blonde, but once I tone the rest of the yellow out it should be white. *hopes* And then my life will be complete. I love white hair <3

I have no pictures for you guys and there will be none until it's actually white. And because I'm a derp. So, we'll move on to the outfit!

I blinked. Damn. I'm too lazy to take a new one.

 This is obviously from before I dyed and cut my hair. (I cut it too. Did  I mention that already? A little past my chin.) Actually, I have a bunch of pics saved from outfits I've liked that will keep popping up with my old hair color. Just a warning.

Black jeans~  $30 Hot Topic. (strangely enough around here it's the cheapest place for pants.) I actually wear pants a lot. More out of necessity than choice. I don't own many skirts or dresses unfortunately and I have no money.
Bullet belt~ $30 some alt. store online.
Spiked bracelet~ $5 Ebay
Silver bracelet~ $5 Macy's
Tank top~ $4 Kohls
Ripped Top~ You can't really see it in this picture but its just an old shirt I took scissors to.
Jacket~ I don't actually remember. Some nicer store. Sorry :3

You can see my necklace in this one! My friend made it for me. It's the Japanese symbol for 'princess' or at least as close as she could get.

The ripped shirt was actually made into a tank top and I cut the neckline too. It's fairly easy to make this...its really just what, two fold and some cuts? They run down the front, back, and both sides and its a great thing to do to old/tight shirts that you're going to throw away. My policy: It's boring? Rip it.

I'm leaving a tutorial for the shirt if anyone doesn't know how to do it. Even I, with my inadequate DIY skills can slice up fabric so this is a great project for someone who's never done anything with their clothes before.

Go cut to your heart's content!

That sounded bad didn't it? Oops.. oh well.

Farewell Darklings ;)

The Walking Dead

I'm sick. Lovely. If you were hoping for a post on Zombies I'm sorry ^^ The title actually represents how I feel right now. When you've got chills in 85 degree weather you know you're sick. Not to mention in that little bit I just wrote, there were a million typos I had to go fix because of my tired, clumsy fingers.

I really hope I can go to school tomorrow. Normally, I wouldn't really care either way, but we have EOC testing this week. Just my luck right? However, the good thing about being sick means I sit on the computer all day and have time to find all of you amusing things!

Like this wonderful classification of vampires :3

Amazing isn't it? I figured I should at least give one nod to the little undead theme I mislead you about. Hehehe.  I was going to do an educated post on trad goth bands or Deathrock or something of the kind for those new to the subculture, but right now my brain is mush, so that post will be coming sometime in the future when I can actually think again. As for today, I just have more entertaining pictures for you.

This unfortunately made me laugh, causing an immense coughing fit.
Brain~ Note to self: When sick, do not laugh. Ever.
Self~ But, but...
Brain~ NO LAUGHING.

I feel compelled to inform you that I have have a GIANT slight, minor, tiny obsession with the Cure. If I had my way they would rule the world and eliminate the inferior musicians from the face of the earth. (Doesn't that sound fun?) So really this was all it took to cheer me up. From now on I will bookmark this picture and look at it whenever I'm having a bad day. It has magical healing properties.

*Blinks. Squees. Falls over*

I'm going to retreat to my bed now, and hopefully sleep off the plague.

May the Fourth be With You

I had to pop in and say HAPPY STAR WARS DAY EVERYONE! (My childhood obsessions refuse to be ignored)

So here's a tribute to the always overlooked stormtroopers for being well...not very bright...bless their hearts.

And another one for Sidious, who was a poor pathetic creature, but was still completely badass while managing to look like Pope Benedict XVI.

 

The inner nerd that dwells within me also implores that I post this. Anyone sick of hearing YOLO left and right? (That's "you only live once" for people who don't spend half their lives on social networking sites.) Well Yoda mixes it up a bit at least.

Very true.

If this over-exuberant nerdy spazzing has offended anyone, (And it better not have *death glare*) then I apologize... But who doesn't like Star Wars? <3

May the fourth be with you ;)

DeviantArtist feature~ CountANDRA

I went for a run earlier (with Ms. Emelie Autumn for support) and it's just too hot. I believe we've hit the 90+ weather now, and I just happened to forget to take off my makeup before I left. Yep, that's a melted mess. But listening to me complain about the heat almost every post must be getting a little old, so I'll spare you, and move on.

I've decided to start featuring some of my favorite DeviantArt artists on here once in a while because some of these people have SERIOUS talent. I love art (especially the ooky spooky type) so today's artist is CountANDRA, otherwise known as Andi Spyral. *cue enthusiastic applause*

When I first saw her work I thought it was extremely Burton-esque, but once you get deeper her art has a very distinct signature. As she says on her profile, 99.99% of the characters are her own work and nearly all have elaborate backgrounds. Many of them are part of original stories she's come up with and they're very imaginative. (unfortunately, I belive only Decembersville has been put up on the interwebz, while the rest of her writings have only been hinted at in bits and chunks for now.)

There's the sweet and spooky regular inhabitants of Decembersville, the  mischievous ghost Sourtongue, the evil Von Pyre bros, and the somehow hilarious but horrifying Doctor Dandy, to name but a few. (Personally, I love Doctor Dandy. What is it with me and crazy scientists?)


Some of her drawings are creepy-cute.

A chibi version of the Child Stealer.

While others catch your attention with the devilish glint in their eye.

The twisted ghost Sourtongue.

I remember the first picture that caught my eye was this one, and its still one of my absolute favorites.

Chimabell, the evil mayor of Decembersville.

Some facts about Andi~

• She claims to have had "an intense anime obsession in middle school followed by an adoration of Tim Burton" which ended up influencing her wonderful style. 

• Most of her drawings are done in ink using micron pens.

• She's a freshman in college studying for an animation degree right now. Maybe one day she'll be bringing her creations to life. I really hope so.
  

I ought to be working on my book project right now, the sensible half of my mind is nagging at me to at least start it, so I'll just spam you with some more pics before I'm off.

As much as I love Chimabell he really is mean...

This one makes me want to go 'awww'

Doctor Dandy, my favorite <3 His goggles are very steampunky

Here's the link to her DeviantArt if you're interested
http://countandra.deviantart.com/
And also, her Tumblr
http://andispyralgoesmad.tumblr.com/tagged/art