Tagged Again!

I was tagged for another challenge by the fantastic OddGhoulOut over at Bats in the Belfry, Cats in the Attic. Everyone go check out her blog!

Rules

• Link back to the person who tagged you.
• Tag 5 blogs with less than 200 followers
• Get them to tag more bloggers and keep this thing going!

5 Things You Need Everyday

1. To read something. Anything. It's practically an addiction. Preferably a book, but fanfics and blogs, among other things, are wonderful substitutes ;)
2. Some alone time. I'm fine with socializing to a certain extent and I have lots of fun with people, but I'm also someone who finds more pleasure in solitude. I like some time to myself, to sort out my thoughts or even just rot my brain on the computer.
3. The internet! How could I survive without the internet? It's where I listen to music, check my blogs, browse Tumblr, watch movies, read lovely fanfics, etc.
4. Speaking of Tumblr, I suppose I need to check that every day. For various reasons ranging from recent political developments I can get righteously angry over or simply fun fandom things.
5. Food. If I don't eat three meals a day and snack a bit between I tend to get very testy. I'm blessed (Cursed?) with an extremely fast metabolism.

 5 Books You Would Reccomend

1. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
2. Good Omens by Neil Geiman and Terry Pratchett
3. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
4. The Alienist by Caleb Carr
5. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

 5 Materialistic Wishes For Christmas Presents

1. A parasol for icky summer weather.
2. Comics! Batman and Deadpool please. 
3. My own copy of Dark Souls or Demons Souls so I can stop mooching off of my friend.
4. A pair of creepers instead of converse for casual days.
5. Some colored contacts, preferably purple. 

5 Places You Wish To Visit

1.  Japan. As a kid I always loved the history, then I discovered manga/anime, and then I discovered marvelous styles like Lolita, Gothic Aristocrat, and Visual Kei. Not to mention, it's beautiful.
2. Sweden. I've been there countless time, but I'll always want to go back. Most of our family is there, and it's a lovely country. I'd much rather live there than here.
3. Istanbul. History is a great love of mine, and I love the history surrounding the city. What with the Byzantine Empire, and it's successors, the culture and architecture there is fantastic. 
4. Italy. Again for things like art and culture.
5. Egypt. See above.

 5 Adjectives That Describe You  

1. Intellectual
2. Quirky
3. Introverted
4. Stubborn
5. Focused

5 Things You'd Say To People About Life

1. Stand up for the things that are important to you.
2. You've only got one life, have some fun and make the most of it.
3. Don't let people walk all over you.
4. If you can't blind them with your brilliance, baffle them with your bullshit.
5. Words are your best weapon, use them when necessary.

 People Tagged

1. An Honest Drug
2. Underground For Tea
3. N. Finsternis
4. Salieria
5. Bazinga

DIY Vest~ Work in Progress

Hello! It's been a while hasn't it? Partly because with summer here I've been fairly busy. Apparently 'vacation' is my cue to do lots of work around the house because my brain is no longer being crushed by math and the like. Also partly because my little brother managed to get our 'screen privileges' taken away from us for a fair amount of time. Granted, I spend a lot of time in front of my computer or ps3, but I never instigate these things! He does! *huffs*

Anyway, I have all of these patches that I've made lying around and I can never make up my mind as far as which item of clothing they should be attached to. I think it's because I've been holding out for a new leather jacket or blazer to customize, but since the thrift stores have been woefully empty I've begun to look at some of the pieces I already own. Considering how much I wear this black vest I'm sure you've all realized how much I love it. I was looking at it the other day and decided that if I were to customize it a little, a whole bunch of my go-to outfits would be a million times more fun. As a result, my vest is going to become very decorative, very soon.

You can't really tell, but there's a bat right in the middle of that coffin.
He's very cute, and I'm rather proud of that patch.

This is the layout I'm most fond of at the moment, though I'd consider changing the bat patch on the back with a Bauhaus one I recently made. I'm not really sure yet. Either way, I think I'll be hand sewing these on. I cannot for the life of me work the sewing machine and trust me, I've tried multiple times. I don't really know how to hand sew, but as long as my mom shows me the basics I'll be fine. Slow and steady wins the race, and I'm pretty handy as long as machines aren't involved. Technology is surprisingly not my area, unless it's my ps3 or perhaps something on the computer I'm interested in. Anyway, this way I can turn on the TV. Wish me luck!

On another note, I've been eying this coat from Fanplusfriend for a while, and it's appearance in one of my Red and Black Week posts has made my desire to buy it even greater. I'm going to work a bit next week at my parents' business in order to earn the money, but I'd also like to know what everyone thinks of Fanplusfriend. The coats in particular obviously. I've heard both good and bad things about the site, and I don't want to be unhappy with my purchase, especially since it's so expensive (And the shipping *shudders*). It's made of wool and I would probably fit very nicely into one of their non-custom sizes, but I can't seem to find many reviews on their coats. Help me out? Is it worth it? If not, then I'll probably end up purchasing a lovely skirt from Gloomth. But my heart is set on that coat.

The back-up plan~

It's already going to be difficult convincing my parents to let me buy the coat since Fanplusfriend is situated in China. They don't use child labor from what I can tell, but my family is very against buying things from places such as China as long as there's that chance. *sighs* Which makes it even more important that the coat is worth the money. Therefore, I defer to your judgement, lovely readers of mine ^^

Outfit Dump + Greetings from Jupiter

Well I'm still chillin' over here in West Palm (Jupiter to be more specific. Florida, not the planet.) with nothing much to do. The remnants of the passing tropical storm finally blew over, so that's a relief. I've mostly been lazing about in my PJs and when we've gone out I've just rehashed old things you've seen before, so no new outfits to share this week. On the other hand, I can't seem to stop buying things when I'm out! My parents are going to regret leaving me with money, but there are just so many lovely things over here. I did spend some of the money on my mom and best friend, which eases the guilt a bit. And I managed to separate myself from two lovely scarves at Macy's and a million things at H & M, which I think shows a small degree of self-restraint. *coughs*

Food by the way, has been fantastic. Especially the Seafood. At this one restaurant alone we received Tuna, Duck, Mussels, Goat cheese torritzo(?), and Hog Fish. Suffice to say I was in heaven. And squid ink pasta! I'd never tried that before, but it was lovely.

The pasta was black!

Gelato anyone?

We were at the mall the other day and stumbled across Teavana, where they were giving out free samples. Well I'm not one to say no to fresh, steaming hot tea, no matter how small the sample cup, and wow was it good. They're based in Atlanta so if you reside in the southern states I'd seriously advise checking out their website and seeing if there's something near you. It was so nice to actually purchase a loose leaf brew as well, instead of cheap tea bags from the grocery store. Of course, it's a bit expensive, and I'm sure there's better, cheaper tea to buy, but it was readily accessible so it was worth it to me. I liked the Youthberry a lot, but ended up walking out with Dragonfruit Devotion. Though that may have been a result of the absolutely gorgeous employee in there. No seriously, this guy was smokin' hot. *fans self* And Teavana obviously doesn't care about self-expression on the job considering he had stretched ears and I spotted another Goth working the counter. If she hadn't been busy I would have complimented her ankh ;)

Anyway, I have a few outfits here from right before school ended that I thought I'd share with you guys. I got caught up in Red and Black Week and didn't have a chance to post them.

This shirt is flowy so it's perfect for summer
Bejeweled skulls? Of course I can be cheesy~

I don't own much white, but I love this jacket
I could only wear it because the air-conditioning at school was so cold

New dress! New dress! New dress!

So how about that new Star Trek movie? I can say it certainly made me happy. I'm a pretty big Trekkie/Trekker/Whatever (That debate is so pointless). I've seen all of The Original Series and will defend it to the death, and I catch The Next Generation reruns on TV sometimes. Personally, I think they're doing a pretty decent job with the new movies. Yeah, yeah, "The old stuff will always be the better" and all that jazz, but I'm whole-heartedly enjoying these films as well. I smiled all the way through Into Darkness.

 *SPOILERS*

A lot of people have been complaining about the whitewashing of Khan. Does Hollywood suck for it? Of course. Should they have cast a person of color to play him as the North Indian he's supposed to be? Obviously. I'm irked too. However, I'm also getting slightly annoyed at the people who are so angry that Benedict is white, that they downplay his performance. (Also, I'd like the be able to go on the Into Darkness tag on Tumblr without seeing only text posts and hate spewed left and right. I want GIFS dammit) He got the role because he was a good actor as well, and I think he did a marvelous job.

Point in fact, the new movie was a lot of fun and you should go watch it. There wasn't a boring moment, and sassy Spock is fabulous. Not to mention, there are a lot of parallels with The Wrath of Khan and little Easter eggs in this film. Tribbles anyone? 

They know you haven't seen it yet. They're judging you ;)

Red and Black Week Day 6~ Hell Bunny Dress

I've been waiting all week to use this outfit. I wore it last week when I was feeling particularly dressy and wanted to post it right away, but the logical side of me reminded me that Red and Black Week was just around the corner. And now I can it show off!

This dress was one of the more expensive things I've purchased lately. I love Hell Bunny dresses for their 50s feel, especially the ones that draw from pin up styles. I'm really in love with the neckline of this one. It was definitely worth the money. The red belt that came with it was too big, so I had to improvise with one of mine.

I tried so hard to fix the light on these photos to no avail >.<

Winged eyeliner, nice eyebrows, and red lipstick completed the look and I ended up curling my hair to match the vintage vibe. People kept telling me I looked like someone from a movie, so I was extraordinarily happy throughout the day~

As for today's movie, I'm watching a thriller called Red Eye. I've seen this movie once before and really liked it. The main reason I saw it in the first place was because Cillian Murphy was in it, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked the film in the end. It's a good character-driven,  psychological thriller.

Red and Black Week Day 5~ Wishlist

Well my summer vacation has finally started. My brother and I are staying with our 'adoptive aunt' down in West Palm Beach for about a week while my parents take a trip. Of course, it's the first day of vacation and we're already dealing with a huge tropical storm, so I'm barricaded inside for the next day or two. I suppose I'll be spending a lot of time with my electronics ;)

I did a wishlist for the event last year where I showcased all of the red and black things I had been craving, and I'm going to do it again this year. There are just so many pretty things that I don't have money to spend on. I can't help bookmarking them and lamenting over my lack of money at least once a week. It's become a habit~

So now I simply need to find a way to pay for all of this...hm. I hear the words 'summer job' reverberating through my mind. We'll see. As for the movie today, I picked another favorite of mine. The Devil's Advocate is a fantastic movie that I'd gladly watch over and over again.

Red and Black Week Day 4~ Skirt and Tie

 Today I actually managed to pull together an outfit with some red in it. Actually, I first looked for another pair of pants to show off, but apparently I've misplaced them, so I'm having a big pant-hunt later. My house just eats things when I look away... Today was my last day of school, so there was a little more reason to dress nicely instead of in a T-shirt and jeans like I've been doing these past couple of days. Exams... *shudders* So I decided to wear one of my ties.

I have a little bit of red lipstick on as well.
Though it doesn't show up very well here.

I curled my hair because it's not something I do very often, and I really liked the result. What I really want to do is learn how to do proper pin curls, but I haven't had the time or patience. I think I might begin curling my hair a little more often though. The red in this outfit is actually hidden in the tie. There are little red diamonds in the pattern.

I also painted my nails for the event after I got home. I had a new sparkly red nail polish to try and I think it was a good buy. It looks even better in person. Of course, I already managed to chip one of them on my fridge...

As for today's movie, I chose Red Riding Hood. We bought it on sale on a whim, and I haven't watched it yet, so I'll withhold judgement until I've seen it. Now to grab some popcorn and get started. If it's not great, I've always got old Star Trek episodes ;)

Black and Red Week Day 3~ Album Art

I told you I'd have to get creative this year! I've been digging around in my closet and have only found one other "red" object to use for tomorrow, save for the dress I'm wearing on the last day. I have to go out with a bang after all ;)

So today, I'm focusing on music! Here are some albums whose artwork center around red and black. The good thing about most types of alternative music? The alternative people who create it are often very fond of those two colors, and album art that fits the pattern is found in abundance. I went hunting through my music and voila! Prepare yourself for a wall of pictures.

I'd readily recommend all of these albums to people, though I could recommend better ones if only the artists had caved and used red and black in their album art...hmph. When I started my little challenge within a challenge I did mention TV as well as movies, so I think today's viewing will be an attempt to catch up on Hannibal. I'm a few episodes behind and I need to know what's happened since.

Hannibal would like to join in on the event~