Happy New Year 2017!

Well, here it is, 2017. I know a lot of people have gone on about how much 2016 was a dumpster fire of a year. It wasn't that bad for me on a personal level (aside from the election, obvs) but it's always nice to have a fresh start. And what better fresh start than a fresh year?

I have a few resolutions, of course. I want to work out more, ideally 4 times a week, along with limiting my alcohol and unhealthy food consumption. Of course, this was also my resolution last year, and it didn't work out so well. But I have good intentions, so whatever. 

I also want to continue to grow my eBay business. That was my goal last year, and it worked like gangbusters. I did really well this year and sold over 800 items, plus I still have nearly 900 more items in my store. I want to get to 1000 listings, and maintain that amount in my inventory, as well as go back through to my old listings and redo old pictures with the equipment I bought (light box and half-mannequin). I'm going to try to list for at least 30 minutes a day as often as I can.

And, I want to write more, and write regularly. Writing always makes me feel happy and glowy inside; that is, when I actually manage to do it. I have to stop worrying about what I write being good, and just focus on simply writing. And I'm going to try to start blogging again. You may or may not have noticed that I haven't blogged in like 6 months. I just kind of got tired of it, but I think trying to post once a week will also help to get into a regular habit of writing.

Here's to a happy and successful 2017! 

July StitchFix Box!

Seeing my StitchFix box at my mailbox always makes me happy because I know I'm about to get some cute new clothes! Here's what was in my box this month!

Gilli Trista Faux Wrap Dress, $68

Ooh, I really liked this dress. I need a couple more dresses to add to my dress collection, and this one would be great for a lot of different occasions. This one was a keeper.

Level 99 Cindie Linen Printed Short, $78

Oh man, I love these shorts. They fit so well and are so beautiful. But that price point! I just can't justify 80 bucks for a pair of shorts; especially white ones that I will inevitably and quickly get dirty. Sigh, oh well.

41Hawthorn Beckett V-Neck Blouse, $48

This top is okay. It's pretty, but not really me. The fabric was that kind of synthetic stuff, not super soft. 

Market & Spruce Sam Hi-Lo Short Sleeve Tee, $44

I did really like this top! It's soft and fit nicely. But... I have like 5 gray tops already. So, I had to decline this one with regrets.

Anamarie Crisscross Flats in Light Purple, $59

Love! My stylist sent me these because I pinned something similar! They fit quite well and are obviously gorgeous! I love a good crisscross.

Anime Expo 2016!

Last weekend, I attended Anime Expo for the... third (I think?) time! As I've probably said in my previous posts, I don't actually watch anime. I do appreciate random Japanese stuff, though, so there's definitely stuff for me at this convention.

This giant... guy greeted us in the entry way to the convention center. This was before Pokemon Go launched, so I was not able to capture him in a Pokeball.

There were a few non-anime things there, like this case of DC heroine figurines!

See, this here, this is right up my alley. Cuteness!

I don't know what this is:

Ninja bunny! Is there a ninja bunny anime? I would watch the crap out of that.

Game of Thrones?! What are you doing here?

An art of Boba Fett dragging Frodo to Mount Doom. I don't know, but I like it.

Cats in bananas were a theme this year, for some reason.

A Kirby and a Pokemon! They actually moved, and it was very strange. I wasn't sure if there was an actual person in there or what.

I finally got to see Kiba, the Cosplaying Corgi! She was signing/pawing her autograph. TOO CUTE.

Squirtle Squad Goals! #squirtlesquadgoals

For some reason, anime cars? Also, it's hard to tell, but the blonde girl behind the bike is a Cyclops. She was wearing a plastic mask with a cyclops eye that blinked. It was terrifying and still haunts my dreams.

As usual, I bought a mystery grab bag from one of the booths. It was a really good one, I got a stuffed cat from some game called Monster Hunter, as well as 2 cat hats from the same game. One of the better grab bags I've gotten!

Like this:

There was a large Neko Atsume set up, which was very exciting for me. They showcased their new kitty figurines. This is the only one out yet, and of course I immediately bought it:

Upcoming sets:

I got so excited when I saw this set up, you don't even know. It's hard to tell, but the fat white pillow I'm laying on is Tubbs! How nice, he left me some gold anchovies. 

Pretty good Anime Expo show this year. Next year, we might stay downtown and make a weekend of it, like we did for WonderCon.

CatCon 2016!

This past weekend, I went to CatCon! Yes, you heard me right, a convention devoted solely to cats and cat accessories and cat products! Held at the Reef in downtown LA, this show saw over 12,000 cat lovers in attendance over the weekend!

CatCon was spread out over 2 different floors with both booths and experiences. Pusheen had a big presence with lots of adorable Pusheen items for sale!

I bought one of these Unicorn Pusheens, because obviously.

For some reason, I didn't buy this Pusheen onesie!

Several Cats of Instagram also made appearances over the weekend, like Lil Bub, Pudge, and Nala!

Yeah, I wore cat ears! Where else can an adult wear cat ears in public and not get shamed for it??

There were so many booths with cute cat items, like this one by Kimchi Kawaii which featured cat-shaped mochis and cat-shaped coffee!

100% Soft, maker of cute emojis and other cute things, had a booth featuring their Kaiju Kitties!

Lil Bub also had his own booth with all his merchandise, as did many, many other famous, semi-famous, and wannabe famous cats.

There was a Cat In A Box escape room, which I'm sure was fun but I had no interest in waiting in line for ever for it. Kat Von D was also there doing makeovers. Not sure if the makeovers made you into a cat, or just gave you a cat-eye.

They also had a cat adoption lounge! These were the only real cats allowed at the show; they advised to leave your own cats at home, probably to avoid catfights or catnapping! I hope lots of cats and kittens got adopted out!

Bonus picture of my shadow where I almost look like Pusheen with my ears on.

CatCon was a great show with lots of cool stuff to do, see, and buy. We didn't spend too much time there, but with the various activities and panels, you could easily spend the whole day there. I definitely want to go again next year!

Top Ten Tuesday: Top 10 YouTube Channels

I remember back in the early days of YouTube when it was all cat videos and everything was 3 minutes or less, or else no one would watch it. The YouTube scene has certainly changed a lot since then. YouTube is now dominated by ambitious vloggers, posting multiple times a week to their own branded channels. I subscribe to more than a few channels that I enjoy watching. Here are my top ten favorite YouTube channels!

1. Practical Folks

This is SUCH an underrated channel. The Practical Folks first gained some fame for their Drunk Disney series, in which a group of twenty-somethings watch Disney movies while getting drunk and making hilarious commentary. They recently revamped their channel to include skits and vlogs, as well as a weekly Game of Thrones discussion. They seem really passionate about what they do, and I hope they can get more recognition.


2. My Drunk Kitchen/Hannah Hart

Hannah Hart has a great series of videos where she gets drunks and makes food, while being hilarious and occasionally philosophical. Her channel has gotten huge since I started watching her videos, and she's branched out into other types of videos now. Her videos are always very entertaining, not to mention a little educational with all the cooking tips!


3. Ingrid Nilsen

Ingrid is a great fashion/makeup/lifestyle vlogger who makes really well-produced videos. About a year ago, her video in which she came out went viral. Her channel is a little bit of everything, and I feel like I always come away with some good tips on whatever topic she's speaking about.


4. Fitness Blender

Fitness Blender is my go-to channel for workout videos. They have a great variety of workouts for every body part, every occasion, every person, and every level of fitness. Their videos are fairly simply produced with little distraction, which I appreciate.


5. Miniature Space

You never see this YouTuber, only their hands, holding teeny tiny cooking utensils while cooking teeny tiny food. There's something sort of zen about it sometimes; I mean, cooking tiny amounts of food over a tea light takes some time commitment. The teeny tiny furniture adds to the ambiance of tiny-ness.


6. Tati/GlamLifeGuru

Makeup tutorials used to be the main thing I watched on YouTube (uh, besides cat videos), but now that I've discovered that there's so much more to YouTube, I find myself watching tutorial videos less. Tati, however, is great! Maybe it's because we're similar in age, unlike a lot of the other 20-something youths (Youths!). She reviews a ton of products, from drugstore (which is what I buy) to super-high-end stuff (which I'll never buy but am curious about), and tries out a lot of different looks.


7. Threadbanger

This YouTube channel is run by husband and wife team Rob and Corinne, who each have individual channels as well. They basically try all kinds of Pinterest, DIY, crafty, trending kind of things and record their honest and hilarious results. They are so engaging and fun and irreverent, and it's a great twist on the Pinterest-life that numerous DIY channels emulate.

8. Jenna Marbles

Jenna Marbles has been around longer than most YouTubers, and she is probably my most favorites. She only posts once a week,and they are typically crazy, troll-y videos that I love. Her boyfriend, Julian, posts daily vlogs about their life together (plus their dogs, bonus!). I don't know if it's because she's one of the first real YouTubers I started watching, or if it's just how crazy hilarious all her videos are, but I love her. Her videos are very unique compared to lot of other channels on YouTube.


9. Grace Helbig

Grace is another lifestyle-type vlogger. I like her because not only is she awkward, but she's honest about how awkward she is. 

10. Traci J. Hines

Traci is Helvetica the Hipster Mermaid, and if that's not enough reason to immediately go check out her channel, then I don't know what to do with you. She's also a very prolific Disney cosplayer, singer, and voiceover artist. 

Weekend Roundup - Flower Crowns, Walks, & Kittens

My weekend was rather eventful! My boyfriend had to work all weekend, so instead of just being lazy and becoming one with the couch (like I typically would) I decided to get outside and do a few things!

First up on Saturday was a flower arranging class at Whole Foods! About 10 of us gathered under some tents outside and watched Diana show us how to properly arrange floral bouquets. It was pretty interesting watching her work as she cut off extraneous leaves, trimmed down tea leaves, and placed each flower just so. While she created several beautiful bouquets, she dropped some knowledge. For example, did you know that roses usually have several 'guard petals' that are used only to protect the rest of the petals?

After making 3 different bouquets, one with hydrangea, one with roses and baby's breath, and one with lilies and pink roses, she showed us how to make a flower crown before sending us off to some tables filled with jars of various kinds of flowers.

 I really liked the crown I made and I had a lot of fun doing it!

From there ('there' being the Runway Playa Vista outdoor mall thing), I decided to walk over to the Playa Vista rummage sale that takes place annualy at Concert Park. It wasn't too far a walk, and it was a lovely area to walk through anyway. 

I didn't find anything good to buy at the rummage sale, so I walked back to my car, went home, and watched Season 2 of the Unbreakable Kimmy Schimdt netflix show for the rest of the night. And that was my Saturday!

On Sunday, I had a shift at the Kitten Foster program at the animal shelter where I volunteer. I cleaned a few cages, did some laundry, mopped, and then I got to do playgroup with the kittens!! One at a time, each cat condo was emptied of it's kittens into a very tall cage, filled with toys, treats, and me!! My job was pretty much just to watch them, pet them, entertain them, and make sure they didn't get out. It was like heaven. The first group of kittens consisted of a mix bag of 5 kittens, plus their mama cat too. 

The next group consisted of 5 black kittens!! How freaking cute is this little black hole with eyes??

You have no idea how challening it is to photograph a bunch of kittens scampering around.

This one was my favorite. I wanted to put her in my purse and take her home with me!

 Look at that photogenic little face!!!

So that was my flowers, walks, and kittens-filled weekend!