My FanMail Subscription Box Review: October

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This month's box theme was Yay for YA, as in young adult books! Super cute and super fun. The items include a Hunger Games lightbulb, Percy Jackson and The Olympians necklace, adorable bookmarks, comic books, a poster, and a t-shirt! My favorite item, of course, is the Ollivander's Wand Shop t-shirt! EEP! I also adore the Luna Lovegood bookmark, too. I really wish I were familiar with Six of Crows, because that's what is featured in the poster, but I haven't read it yet. Maybe I will check it out, though! I looked into it and it seems wonderful. That's something I love about these boxes. They get me interested and open up my world to new and amazing things I otherwise might've never known about! This box was definitely worth the 25$ price. You can always sign up right here if you want geeky lady stuff on your doorstep every month!

New Comic Book Wednesday: 10/28/16

comic books

Pick of the week: The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #1 - Written by Ryan North, illustrated by Erica Henderson, and published by Marvel.
Yay, the return of Squirrel Girl aka Doreen Green, is finally here! Unbeatable Squirrel Girl began in January and they were on issue #8, which came out in August, when suddenly they decided to reboot it for no explainable reason. I'm just happy it's back, although we have no idea why it abruptly stopped in the first place. Doreen is also part of the New Avengers now, so maybe that's why...? This new #1 kind of dives right into things, instead of going through the motions of explaining who Squirrel Girl is, or her origin. They do have handy dandy little "trading cards" at the bottom of the first page who explains who she and all her friends are in cute little summaries. Nancy Whitehead, Chipmunk Hunk, and Koi Boi are all back! In this first issue, Nancy and Doreen are moving into an apartment together, so Doreen's mom comes to visit. No surprise here, but her moms name is Maureen! And she's awesome. They go to lunch and Maureen explains that Doreen isn't quite a mutant, but there's something just completely unique about her DNA or RNA, she's not quite sure. She also tells some cute stories about Doreen as a little girl, like when she tried to put her tail in the washing machine! They go back to the girl's new apartment but are suddenly attacked a weird robot brain dude, known as Brain Drain. They fight him and take him down, but Maureen provides them with some motherly insight and they realize maybe he's just misunderstood! It's a pretty great (second) 1st issue. I guess it explains everything we need to know about Doreen and her friends, but if you want to know more, definitely check out the first run. They just re-released the previous #1 for one dollar a week or two ago, so you can easily find that in stores! If you love quirky-ness, adorable squirrel sidekicks, and hilarious books that are super fun to read, then Unbeatable Squirrel Girl is for you. Eat nuts and kick butts.

New Comic Book Wednesday: 10/21/15

comic books

Pick of the week: Tokyo Ghost #2 - Written by Rick Remender, illustrated by Sean Murphy, and published by Image.
AGH, I'm obsessed. The first issue of this book was a little overwhelming because they are setting up such a complex world right off the bat and jump directly into the action. In this second issue, we get a more intimate look at the characters and it's totally mind blowing. I cried upon multiple occasions. The issue begins with Led and Debbie returning to Flak Industries to tell Flak that they completed their final mission and want their contracts ended, as they were promised. Unsurprisingly, Flak doesn't want to let them go but swears that he will once they complete one more mission for him. A very important one. He tells them about the Garden of Tokyo, the last tech free and green paradise in the world. According to him, there is a terrible warlord who has taken control of Tokyo and refused to share their crops or resources. Tokyo has an emp field that won't allow any tech in, so Debbie is really the only one that can enter the city undetected. They agree to the mission, without telling Flak that they were already planning to go to Tokyo and never come back. In order for Led to go with Debbie, he has to detox and get all the tech removed from his body. It isn't easy, so she sedates him during their journey to Tokyo. That's when Debbie starts thinking about what it was like before Led ever had tech inside his mind and the person he used to be. Once they arrive in Tokyo, things aren't really as Flak had described and I have a feeling there are some lies being spun. This scene reminds me a lot of Princess Mononoke, which I adore. The world that Remender and Murphy have created is absolutely captivating and I'm so in love with Led and Debbie already. Everyone needs to be reading this book.

My FanMail Subscription Box Review: September

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This post is a tad late, but I really wanted to make it! I absolutely love FanMail and the concept and goal behind their boxes. It's a super fun community of lady geeks, and I love looking at other peoples reviews and unboxings on instagram and such! This month's theme was Legends Of The CW. Supernatural and Arrow are some of my favorite shows right now and this box included items from both!



My absolute favorite items are the two necklaces they sent. The gold one at the bottom is a replica Felicity Smoak necklace, from the episode "Left Behind" of Arrow! Here's a photo of her wearing it in the show! The other one is a Supernatural necklace, and is the license plate number of Dean's Impala with a demon-warding charm attached. Some other Supernatural items were the awesome t-shirt, which is beautifully designed in a way I've never seen Supernatural apparel look before, stickers, trading cards, and a little toy solider just like the one Sam jammed in the door of the Impala when they were kids. I also love the CC Jitters coffee cozy from Flash! Items that can show off your love for something in such a subtle way are my jam. There's also a figure of Cordelia from a show called Angel, which I'm actually unfamiliar with but it's really well painted and nice quality! There were also some stickers and trading cards of other shows such as Arrow, Vampire Diaries, and Buffy. A really cool Buffy art print on some cardstock was also included, but I forgot to take a photo of it! And lastly, they sent some fake plastic fangs which is really cute because a lot of the CW's shows are centered around Vampires and Halloween is also coming up. They're not in the picture because I was wearing them! Oops.
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This month was pretty dang awesome. I think the necklaces are beautiful and really unique items to get in a subscription box! I'm always looking for cute ways to incorporate the fandoms I love into my every day wear, and these are perfect. This box was also definitely worth the price of $25 (if not more) which is about how much this box costs per month. You can sign up right here if you're interested! Their theme for October is Yay for YA, and November is Wars Beyond The Stars (um, HECK yessss). October is closed for now, and I should be getting my next box any day now but spots for November are still wide open! This post is of course un-sponsored, I just love this box and want to tell you guys all about it. Do you have a favorite subscription box? Tell me below!

New Comic Book Wednesday: 10/14

comic books

Since it's such a big week, I have two favorites!

Pick of the week: Star Wars: Chewbacca #1 - Written by Gerry Duggan, illustrated by Phil Noto, and published by Marvel.
This series is also set around the same time as Shattered Empire; after the destruction of the second Death Star. Chewie has set forth on a secret, personal mission. The likes of which have yet to be explained! He finds himself on Andelm 4. Also on Andelm 4, we meet Zarro and her father Arrax. An ugly green thug by the name of Jaum has them cornered, threatening Arrax to pay the debts he owes. When Arrax can't pay, he and Zarro are captured by Jaum and his gang and taken to work in the Andelm beetle caverns. Nearly everyone on Andelm 4 has shared the same fate. Jaum is rising to power, and the Empire is sure to be involved. Arrax won't stand for his child being a slave, so he helps her escape that night in a mine cart. Zarro runs and steals a speeder and makes a hasty get away! When she runs into trouble, guess who intervenes? Chewie steps in to save her, and the two become an unlikely team, keen on taking out the evils at work on Andelm 4 and rescuing everyone in the mines. Phil Noto's art is absolutely beautiful and perfect for this book. His colors and textures convey so much emotion, and Chewie has never looked so soft and huggable. This is going to be a 5 issue series, and I'm so glad I picked it up! I was a bit hesitant at first, but it's funny with an excellent storyline. Can't wait for #2!

AND

Pick of the week: I Hate Fairyland #1 - Written by Skottie Young, illustrated by Skottie Young, colored by Jean-Francois Beaulieu, and published by Image.
As some of you may know, Skottie Young's work is not always adorable little kid versions of Marvel characters. He's an amazing illustrator and storyteller, with quite a dark streak! This is his first entirely self written and self illustrated title, and it's freakin' awesome. The weirdness, violence, and gore is a total juxtaposition with the adorable main character Gertrude and the fantastical world she finds herself in. Gertrude wishes to go to a magical land, and suddenly the carpet in her room opens up and sucks her into a portal as she tries desperately to get away, drops her through the sky and smack dab into the middle of Fairyland. All the adorable residents of Fairyland gather to meet their new guest, who is now covered in blood from the fall with several bones protruding! Gertrude cries that she just wants to go home, and the Queen Cloudia of Fairyland descends and hands her a map. She also designates her a little cricket companion named Larry to help her find her way across the land and back home. Easy peasy adorable adventure, right? 27 years later and Gertrude is still stuck in Fairyland with no sign of her finding her way home. She hasn't aged, but has become a perpetual terror to Fairyland. Robbing banks, blowing things up, killing people, defying the law! Queen Cloudia is not allowed to harm a guest of Fairyland, so she hires an assassin, Brud The Brutal, to hunt Gertrude the menace down! I can't wait to see where this totally chaotic and hilarious story goes. I Hate Fairyland is clearly his love letter to the wacky and whimsical, and you should most definitely pick it up!

New Comic Book Wednesday: 10/7/15

comic books

Pick of the week: Paper Girls #1 - Written by Brian K Vaughan, illustrated by Cliff Chang, colors by Matt Wilson, and published by Image.
I have been waiting for this book for what feels like an ETERNITY! The story is set in a small town by the name of Stony Stream Ohio on the morning of November 1st 1988, the day after Halloween. Erin is a paper girl and she's one of the first of her kind. Up until now, all the routes in town had been run by boys but Erin and the equally badass other paper girls in town have changed that. The character development is almost instantaneous, because it's clear after just a few panels that these girls are all complex characters with strong personalities, and you quickly care for them and their cause. They're tough, wear awesome studded jackets, smoke cigarettes, and don't take any shit! As they meet up and bike around town at 4am, they encounter some obnoxious teenage guys, and telling them to f-ck off was easy compared to what they'd face next. One of the girls is pushed off her bike and gets her walkie-talkie stolen by four giant men that appear to be wrapped in black gauze. The other girls, pissed off and wanting to make them pay, track them down and follow them into a desolate house. What they find in the basement looks like something out of a sci-fi film, and the girls assume that it's some sort of nerdy replica. As it turns out, it's more than it appears. When they reach out and touch it, their world is turned upside down. What happens next can't be explained and it's Brian K Vaughan's typical fantastic story telling. The art and colors in this book are also completely ethereal and intricate. The layouts are creative and the character design is unique. This is going to be an incredibly popular book, so jump in at the start! It's amazing.

Let's Decorate For Halloween!

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Happy October first! Yay for the best month of the year! I absolutely LOVE decorating for holidays. It gives me little space an extra bit of magic and makes me feel slightly less crappy about not being able to move for a few more months still. Halloween has always been my absolute favorite holiday, or just day in general! Give me all the monsters and pumpkins. I keep some of these things up all year, but most of them I put out for the occasion.

Both of the little signs are from Target and the bat garland is from the dollar store last year. The Always Halloween print is from one of my favorite artists, Rhode Montijo!

My monster book is from Wizarding World of Harry Potter and it's one of my favorite things in my room! It actually bites you and runs around until you stroke it's spine again. The skull in the jar is from Target and is available again this year. It talks and it's eyes light up! The creepy cat is from Hobby Lobby this year, and the Pet Ghost Jar is from CVS!

The pumpkin glitter garland is from the dollar store and so is the stuffed felt pumpkin on the desk and the orange pumpkin flowers! The Trick or Treat sign is from Target. The skeleton man countdown blocks and the Boo sign are from Michaels last year!

The BOO bunting ghost is from Target and those glitter bats are from the dollar store.

This lenticular image of Master Gracey is from the new Haunted Mansion giftshop, Memento Mori, at Disney World and the frame is from Home Goods! My cauldron mug is from Target this year and came with a cake mix.

This is my favorite part! My ghost Mickey lantern is from Disney World as well. We went to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party last year and they always have amazing exclusive spooky merchandise. You can't see the whole thing, but I have a stretching portrait from the Haunted Mansion handing above too, which I printed and framed myself! The little dolls and the black cat candle holder are from the dollar store. My candy jar is from Michaels. The light up Jack O Lantern and the skeleton cat are from Spirit Halloween. I have even more decorations in storage but I'm going to save those for next year once we have a bigger space to work with! Do you decorate every year? Where is your favorite place to shop for decorations!? Tell me in the comments! Stay spooky and enjoy the best month of the year!