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.

School Shopping + New Artwork

Back to school shopping...done! I'm all stocked up and ready to begin anew the learning process...sort of. The best tip I can offer when shopping for school is stock up on the basics. You can buy wonderful, unnecessary things later when you have the money, but if you're going to be putting together a different outfit everyday stick to the basics. Things like band shirts, plain black shirts, black jeans, skirts, dresses, tights and fishnets...etc, etc, etc. Whatever you tend to pick up when you throw on a typical outfit. Of course, if you dress in full uber-goth mode every day more power to you. Or if you refuse to wear jeans just hunt down a lot of versatile skirts. But for school I've always found the basics with a few well placed accessories and a pair of stompy boots can go a long way.

Old fuzzy pic of me. Without the accessories and boots this would be pretty plain.

From personal experience, I tend to find good things at Target, Kohls, and Bealls. If you want even cheaper things and don't mind sorting through hideous neon colors try Marshalls. I found my favorite black lace dress there. I also will admit to unashamedly stopping in by Hot Topic to stock up on studded and spiked bracelets. They're cheap. They're real leather. I've never had one break. End of discussion. Of course, online shopping is your best friend. You can search exactly what you're looking for. I found a new bullet belt for roughly $12 on eBay the other day.

Other than a bunch of black basics and that belt, here's what I've gotten for school. As usual, I'll buy more as the year progresses, but what I currently have in my closet will easily last me a long time so there's no rush.

Band shirts are a must for my casual days.
I'm so happy, my David Bowie and Bauhaus shirts have arrived!
Now I'm just waiting for my The Damned one to show up.

It's unfortunate how popular converse are now.
However, I find a good canvas shoe really useful for school so I buy them anyway ^^
Not to mention, stripes!

I've been getting back into drawing lately. My sketchbook tends to gather dust during the summer and then I 'rediscover' it as the school year begins. (Because I do most of my artwork during my classes ^^) The funny thing with my drawings is that they always end up being done in groups. I have some original art, but mostly I enjoy doing fanart. That means when I get inspired I always end up with five to seven drawings all pertaining to the same theme.

Recently I re-watched The Dark Knight, which reminded me just how much I love The Joker. Heath Ledger's version scared the crap out of me and his performance was captivating, however I've always had a soft spot for the dapper and charming comic/animated joker. (Mark Hamil's voice? It's perfect!) 

Which led to two days of reading comics and watching Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures.

Which led to this.

I need to fix the top right Joker's hair and color the bottom ones.

TNBA Joker is my absolute favorite <3

Now to wrap this post up. Just in case no one has seen this wonderful, fantastic, extraordinary, amazing, awesome Joker cosplay by the genius who is Anthony Misiano...brace yourself.

 

I'm in love <3

Etsy Feature~ Bats

I've been Etsy hunting again! This time the theme is bats because I honestly can't get enough of the adorable things. It's also been brought on because I'm celebrating the return of the bats to our house. They disappeared for a while, but now they're back. I think they're living in the bat houses like they used to and already the mosquito population is back down. And it's so much fun to watch them swoop over the lake and drink the water ^^

I love the intricate designs within the wings.

For a change of pace from just black or stripey tights and fishnets.

I'm secretly hoping my junior prom will be a masquerade so I can buy this.

I like the contrast between the black and white.

If you're really enthusiastic...there's always bat specimens.
Though I'm not sure I would want to sleep with this in my room ^^

On a side note, I just bought my tickets for Halloween Horror Nights 2012! So far, the only themes that have been released are ABC's The Walking Dead and Silent Hill, but I'm definitely excited.

Antique Store and Double Outfit Post

There's a cute little old fashioned town nearby, and while walking around a few weeks ago we found an antique store hidden away. We walked in and I wanted to buy just about everything in there. There were necklaces, rings, brooches, books, records, clothes, furniture and dolls.

I didn't have much money so I didn't buy anything this time, but I took some pictures of the doll collection. I wouldn't want to own any of these simply because dolls creep me out. (The eyes....they just follow you...) However they are awfully pretty.

I can't wait to go back and buy some things. I saw a really gorgeous picture frame in there.
Here's the outfit I wore while out. Something simple and flowy.

In current news, today we visited Liseberg near/in Gothenburg (Goteborg). It's a moderately large theme park with some pretty fun rides. I've always like Baldor and I'm not even a fan of wooden roller coasters. And I believe the AtmosFear is the largest free-fall in Europe. If anyone ever gets to visit I would definitely pay extra for the "haunted house".  It doesn't cost very much and the decor is incredibly well done. I was only scared once (much to my disappointment) but you go in groups and we were in the back. I think it was worth it just to go in and see the work they put into the atmosphere of the place.

Bonus Pic: How I went dressed to the theme park. It was extraordinarily hot, but it's never fun to simply throw on a t-shirt and shorts is it? My solution? Vests! I'm so happy I bought that one in Stockholm and I plan on adding many to my collection for summer.

Oops, I look petrified. Actually, that's concentration ^^

Some weird maneuvering to show you the back

Another tip for theme parks? Sunscreen. I used half a bottle and still have the worst sunburn lines imaginable... And if you plan on riding anything don't expect your hair to defy gravity. I don't care what hairspray you use. It won't work ^^

So now that summer is in full swing (even this far north) anyone have any tips to share on how to beat the heat?

In the Land of the Swedes~ Mini Haul

Taking a break in the midst of my trip to bring you some pics of things I've found here. We went into Stockholm and ohhh boy could I spend a long time shopping here. I love being in cities so much because there's more of a chance to see other spookily-inclined people. The girl with the electric blue dreads nearly got herself a compliment from me, but I'm too self-conscious about my American accented Swedish. I saw a few metal heads, a possible punk, and a girl who's style was a mix of visual kei and cybergoth.

The first place we went shopping was literally the coolest shoe store I have ever been to. (I live an alternative fashion deprived life.)

There were so many stompy boots...

My dad nearly bought this hat. I'm working on convincing him.

I need a pair of Dr. Martens so badly.

That's a little much even for me XD

 
The place was a Goth's shoe wonderland. *sigh* If only I had more money. Here's the link to the shop. Unfortunately they don't have nearly as many on the website as in the actual store.

Next, we went to a place called Shock. It had your typical brand name alternative clothing lining the walls. (Except jeans were $100 instead of $30. Eek...) It never ceases to amaze me how much more expensive clothes are in Sweden. Or how much more expensive everything is. It's a bit of a culture shock. (Just like the fact you have to pay for public toilets)

However I do enough thrifting that I have no qualms about buying brand name stuff. I ended up getting a few things I had never seen before. The first one is a little vest from Too Fast.

Enhanced so you can actually see the pattern. Which is why the floor is yellow ^^

About $30

I've been looking for some sort of bag. it's really annoying to never have any place to put your phone or money when you go out. So when I saw this little cutie from Poizon Industries I snatched it up. It's small enough not to bother me and just plain adorable.

$20 I think?

 On the way out I spotted a display with a few "Luv Bunnies" by Dead Cute Plush Co. I freaked out and refused to let go of the red one. And so, I bought a dead bunny.

I couldn't leave it behind! It was $30 or so.

The hair bows, necklace, and bracelet on it's shoulder all come off if I want to wear them ^^

We were due to have dinner at my uncle's apartment so we had to leave, but on the way we spotted this.

I couldn't resist. I've never seen a vintage clothes store that big. I could have spent a day in there. We were pressed for time so I only got five minutes, but it was worth it and we'll definitely be going back.

Here's a bonus pic of me in a top hat. 

If I only could have fit this in a suitcase...it was $35!

Well, that's it for now. Until next time~