Lolita Blog Carnival: Three Prints You Would Like To See

Welcome back to Candy Coated Life! Life being not so "candy coated" recently meant that I just didn't ahve the time or impetus to write regularly. All excuses aside, hopefully you noticed the new layout in honor of the best holiday all year: Halloween! Things have been shaken up over on my Tumblr as well with tons of inspiring Halloween images queued up for the entire month, so please check it out!



In an effort to start writing more regularly, I joined up for the Lolita Blog Carnival. Each week there will be a new prompt that all the blogs participating will be writing about. New posts go up each Friday and at the bottom of each post will be links to the other blogs participating that week as well as the Lolita Blog Carnival itself.

This week's topic is: "Three Prints You Would Like To See"

Prints are something that I really love, but I don't have very many in my wardrobe. The recent trend towards border prints was creative and fun at first, but has become a bit played out as far as I'm concerned. I would love to see more all over prints done in new and creative ways. Bolder colors and larger sale designs as opposed to just the small scale floral or polka dots. A great example of this would be Metamorphose's kimono print or camouflage print.

Yum-Yums, Cake, and Babby

I am so guilty of being Arapakasso obsessed and I would love to see them wander on to some fabric. Like the "derpy pony" series of designs on Spoonflower, think of all the things that Arapakasso could be doing!

I am a horrible mom who can't find ANY pictures of her sons.
Have a TommyPom, official Pom of Tumblr instead (from TommyPom.com).

For my last choice, I would definitely have to say: Pomeranians. As the biased mom of two beautiful Pomeranian boys, of course I want to see cute fluffy puppies worked into a design. When Husband and I were first looking for a dog and I was still making my way into Lolita, I ran across this image that was just about the epitome of everything I wanted to be. I thought that one day I would be that girl, in her beautiful dress, having a fun picnic with her Pom (and now I have two to picnic with)!

Check out all the other posts from the Lolita Blog Carnival here:
Puppenschloss
Leather Lace & Arsenic
Parfait Doll
Pop Princess
F Yeah Lolita
Lolita Poupée
Rainbow Star Candy
Secret Window
A Lace Jail
Commercially Alternative
Sidhe Ban Shee
La Petite Princesse
Darlky Darling
SweetLolitaDoll
Good Morning Lovely
Fashion Fairytales & Sewing Secrets

A Girl Gamer Recommends: Portable Games

Last of my “Girl Gamer Recommends” series, the portable games! The only portable game systems I have are the Nintendo DS and 3DS so sorry for any PSP players out there! I can't say enough about how much I LOVE my 3DS. I love the extremely wide range of games that are available, from just about every genre imaginable. I really love the way Nintendo incorporated Miis into the 3DS, and the Street Pass feature and mini-games are awesome! The 3D feature isn't at all distracting because you can adjust it for yourself, or turn it off entirely. I've never had a problem with their webstore, and (again) they offer a seriously large selection of down-loadable games there too! I might have to get a new one though because I recently saw this on Tumblr!! Being the Nintendo, hardcore Mario fan that I am, I am REALLY tempted!!!

Also, I don't think many people know this, but Nintendo has a really fun loyalty program. In almost all of the Nintendo games you buy, inside is a flyer about Club Nintendo. By registering your game and filling out a short survey about it, you not only get to give your feedback directly where it matters, but you also earn points that you can redeem for some amazing official Nintendo merchandise. So far Husband and I have scored a cute messenger bag and a 3DS case that looks like Mario's hat.

I actually have a ton of DS games, so many that it took quite a long time for me to find the perfect case for them. I kept having these guys in specialty game stores telling me that I “only really need to take like three games with me.” Um, no. I like to have as many as possible!! The case I have now is from Hori and it holds up to 24 DS games (or 23 and one SD memory card). 

Since I do have so many games though, I'm only going to talk about a couple... All of the ones I regularly play, and some that deserve a special shoutout.

New Super Mario Bros.: Seriously, did you think I wasn't going to start with this one? Love it love it love it. Nintendo has really recaptured the feeling of the original game with these latest incarnations and they just get better and better. As long as they keep doing it right, I'm going to keep giving them my money. The nice thing about this portable version are the different options for save points. Once you've beaten the game fully through you can save anywhere you like, but before that you have to get to certain save points (which can be a drag if you're an adult with places to be) but never fear, simply closing your DS will put it into sleep mode and automatically save your place. Man I love this system so much.

Super Mario Bros.: Downloaded for free as a loyalty perk for buying the 3DS before the price drop, this is the game that I play the most. Almost constantly. Of course I would. With the exception of a few bugs that are not present in the original game, this is the real deal. It even controls the same way. So if you're looking to play the classic and don't happen to have a spare Nintendo around, this is the next best thing.

MarioKart DS: This game actually came with Husband's special edition red DS, but I've since stolen it. It plays really faithfully like the other editions of MarioKart and it's fun on the go. I also love racing against Husband over the Wi-Fi connection!

The Legendary Starfy: Husband actually bought the Japanese version of this game at an anime convention, and proceeded to become VERY popular with the ladies. Lots of, “Oh, that's so cute, what are you playing?” “The little star has costumes!!” “*Squeeee!*” I have to admit though, it IS really cute and Husband eventually bought me my own US/English copy. It's a basic platformer, with the exception that as a starfish, you spend most of the time in the water. The controls are spot on though, just different, and even out of the water Starfy controls just as well. And yes, you do collect silly costumes for the little star to wear. I like when he's dressed like a shrimp.

 Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove 3D: This is my latest pick-up after Husband learned about it on GayGamer. Gabrielle's is a rhythm game that's simple and easy to pick up, but the real fun is in collecting all of the different outfits, badges, and accessories. The story and characters are really adorable too.

Tetris DS: This was initially Husband's game, but I eventually adopted it and play it more now than he does. If you like Tetris, this is fun to play on the go and there are a lot of different variations on the classic game to try out.

 PuzzleQuest: Again, this was Husband's game first. He would play it endlessly, but he would ask me for help with some of the skill puzzles. When I found myself not giving it back to him once I was done with that specific puzzle... well I think that's a good sign that I should just play it for myself. It combines a role playing game and essentially another version of Bejeweled, but that really doesn't describe how fun the game really is. <a href="http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/03/28">(Though this comic from Penny Arcade does.)</a>

Princess Debut: This was the first “dating sim” I ever played and it was really fun. I did spend a lot of time on the phone with Husband at work yelling, “But what should I choose!! I don't want to be alone!!” Luckily, I don't think you CAN end up alone. It's very fanciful and a wonderful escape. I've been thinking about starting a new game again. The only reason I didn't start a new game right away was because I got the ending that I had really wanted the first time! 

Style Savvy: Get ready... This was Husband's game first. Actually we have two copies now. This is a sim game where you run a fashion retail store. It's totally addictive. You design your character, your store, what types of clothes to carry, go shopping to stock your store, help customers, compete in fashion shows.... endlessly fun to play. The very best part is that you can connect over the Wi-Fi with other players and shop in their stores to get limited edition or out of stock items. Husband and I have a ball playing this! Also, once I was on a plane and was really sad I didn't have my copy with me because a little girl was playing in the aisle across from me and I wanted to shout, “OMG STYLE SAVVY! WE SHOULD CONNECT!” which, you know, as a grown woman isn't weird at all and totally wouldn't have weirded out her mom or anything.... ha ha... At least it wasn't Husband, he would have REALLY freaked out that poor lady. 

 My Japanese Coach: I bought this to continue to brush up on my language studies. I really love the way that this game lets you take a placement test before dropping you in to something that's either too easy or too hard. The interface is also really fun, you move geographically through Japan as you complete lessons and features my favorite place on Earth: Puroland! There are also helpful tools included such as a dictionary for both words and phrases. I've actually found it really useful!

Special Mentions:

BrainAge: Husband got this for me when I first got my DS and I liked playing the brain teasers, but mostly I used it to play Sudoku. Now that I have Sudoku on my phone and my iPad and in books, I don't use it as much.

 

Professor Layton Series (The Curious Village, The Diabolical Box): I really want to like these games. I love mystery games, but if Professor Layton is so smart, then why do I have to solve all these stupid puzzles? And what is wrong with these people that they can't even be remotely helpful? I think I really just need to sit down and watch the Professor Layton movie and let someone else play the games.

 Phoenix Wright: I had the first of these games and I really liked it, but again I was bogged down trying to find just the right thing in just the right spot in scenes. It was also frustrating when I would know the answer and would still struggle to find the exact way that the game wanted it presented. Despite that the characters were awesome, as were the stories, and mysteries.

And that's that! Hopefully someone out there has found something new to try our or maybe reminded of an old favorite. Happy gaming everyone, I have a Princess to save in another castle!!

A Girl Gamer Recommends: Wife Games!

Today I'd like to talk about “Wife Games”! Wife games are games that Husband plays and I either watch or help along with in one way or another. I think these are fun to recommend because I know many couples where either both play video games, or one games and the other isn't quite as into it. These are a great way to share the TV in a new way without necessarily having to play co-op.

Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2 (Wii): Super Mario Galaxy is a great one to start off with. I've talked with so many women who are the official “Star Catcher” of the relationship. The game plays much like any other 3D Mario game, but in this one a second player can affect the game in limited ways. Mainly you can catch star bits that can add up for extra lives, but you can also throw said star bits at enemies, pause enemies and also if you're really crazy, make Mario jump whenever you like (I had way too much fun annoying Husband with that). I've never liked the 3D Mario games, so this was a fun way for me to “play along” without actually having to do any of the real work.

For the rest of these games, I mostly took on the role of “Oracle”. I was the one with the computer looking up the walk-through, finding all the bits, and solving problems on the fly. As a team, Husband and I have had so much fun going through these together.

(Almost) Every Final Fantasy Ever, Grand Theft Auto 4, Skyrim, and Fallout 3 & Fallout New Vegas

Uncharted 1, 2, & 3: The Uncharted Series has a special place here because I just liked watching Husband play it. Watching this game is a lot like watching a movie, until your player dies and you think “We've already watched this scene, why did it rewind?”





Turns out, I'm not the only one...

Also I have a huge nerd crush on Nathan Drake. A very nice guy at a Subway gave me one of their promotional posters that featured Uncharted so now Nathan Drake hangs out in my craft room with me.

Next up I'll finish up my game recommendations with portable games, mostly on the Nintendo DS/3DS!

A Girl Gamer Recommends: Home Systems

It's been so long! What have I been doing?
This:

Dream Dresses from Breaktime Studios, available on the App Store And This:

Sweet Shop from Breaktime Studios, available on the App Store

And This:

 Pocket Potions from Breaktime Studios, available on the App Store

Before I realized it, I had become the equivalent of a Diablo addict. Husband has dubbed this “Cute Diablo” and I have to agree. There is no real goal to these games except to click on things and watch bars fill up. At least because these games are on my iPad, I'm not chained to a computer desk and can take my addiction with me to bed and dinner, and... wait I don't think that's really a great thing after all.

As much as I would love to recommend these games, I just can't do it in good conscience. Yes, they're fun, but I can't say to other people “Oh yeah, throw away your free time by clicking on things almost constantly with no end in sight”. Don't make my mistake.

There are other games that I enjoy though and would happily recommend! The nice thing about having a super gamer husband (and being a very indulgent wife) is that we have just about every system worth having so I'll be sharing my favorite games to play! Today we'll do the home systems. Most of these games are multi-platform so I'll just note when they're exclusive to a certain system.

Lips (Xbox360): This isn't so much a game as it is a way to turn your 360 into a karaoke machine. Included was one mic and a general list of songs with the official videos as background. There are/were more songs that could be downloaded via the online store, but the best part was that you can plug in your MP3 player and sing along with any song that you have stored there! It really is fun, I just wish I wasn't so shy so I could sing with all of my friends karaoke box style!

Rock Band 1, 2, 3: This is pretty much the reason why I really love my 360. Husband and I haven't really played with it since we moved because we lost our usual drummer! (Now accepting auditions?) In addition to all the extra components that you need to play (drums, two guitars, keyboard... I still really really want a mic stand) we also have the ottoman that nicely holds everything... except for the keyboard. Well you can't win them all I guess. Maybe I'll convince Husband to find someone to drum for us here!

Mini Ninjas: I just recently got this after playing the demo when it first came out. This is an ADORABLE game that's really easy to pick up. You play as a mini ninja who has the power to become one with different animals. There are some evil people who are trying to capture all the cute little animals for nefarious purposes so it's your job to save them! Each different animal (and there are a ton) have their own little special abilities or attacks. It's half level-based, half open world... and there's certainly replay value because there are plenty of things to look for and find in each level in order to get a full complete on the game.

Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2 (Playstation2 or 3): I actually got into this series because of my mom. Secretly my mom is a crazy gamer, as long as she has one game that she really likes. Seriously though, has anyone not at least heard of this game? If you haven't at least given it a chance then you should. Once you get through (or are at least prepared for) the SquareEnix overuse of cut scenes the games moves along at a nice pace. Mom and I played with the official guides so we wouldn't miss anything, but it's just as easy to figure out on your own or use an online walk-through if you get stuck anywhere. I didn't play any of the other follow up games because the plot gets so unbelievably complicated and involves having to have played games that are only available if you have a Japanese cell phone, which I don't.

Bayonetta: I really wanted to play this game because it looked really cool, however I'm usually not very good at picking up games that require you to learn a bunch of combos and whatnot. I don't like to be on the bottom of the learning curve when I'm trying to play a game for fun. Enter Bayonetta and what I dubbed the “OMG Baby Easy Mode” Playing on this mode meant that I got to button mash my way through a beautiful and fun game with a really interesting plot. I seriously wish that more games would do this. I would buy so many more popular titles that way (like the Assassin’s Creed series).

Super Mario Bros Wii (Wii): I am a seriously hardcore Super Mario Bros fanatic. When they announced this game I was so excited, and also a little wary. I actually have an old school Nintendo so that I can play the original Super Mario Bros the right way. This game did not disappoint though. It updated the classic so so well and I have come to love it almost as much as the original. This game features up to four person multi-player, but there is a warning. There's a reason why multi-player on this game has been dubbed “divorce mode”. In order to get a full complete, and sometimes even beat some of the levels, you NEED a second player. Having said that though, playing this game together is going to definitely test your relationship, communication skills, and patience. You can kill the second player if you're not paying attention, working together, and know what the other person is trying to do. I think in it's own way, Super Mario Bros Wii managed to make our marriage stronger in the end.

Super Paper Mario (Wii): This was originally Husband's game but I think I ended up liking it way more than him. I'd watched him play the other Paper Mario games where the fighting was all turn-based, but this one is mostly side scrolling levels (with a twist) so I gave it a go for myself. The plot is really fun and there are tons of things to do in the “town” between levels which makes for a game that you can make as long or as short as you want. I'm really looking forward to the next Paper Mario installment on the 3DS, even though it will be going back to turn-based fighting.

Mario Kart Wii (Wii): I had the original Super Mario Kart for my Super Nintendo and it was my game of choice growing up. When we first got the Wii, this was one of the titles we really wanted to have. I really like the way that the races are very unpredictable. Yes you have to have some “skillz” but even if you find yourself in last place, there are power-ups in the game that can very quickly turn things upside down. The courses are all really inventive and a nice touch is that any Miis that you have made on your Wii will show up in the crowds randomly to cheer you on. I love little things like that! A note on the steering wheel accessory: it's junk.

 Kirby's Epic Yarn (Wii): Husband got this game because he's been on a mission to find me more side scrolling platformers (which is my genre of choice). When he saw an adorable bear in the game (which I can now not find a picture of) he knew that I would love it. And I did! This newest Kirby game is a simple side scrolling platformer that features Kirby using yarn power now. It was really adorable and easy to pick up and play. I never did get the full complete on the game because I was starting to get really angry and frustrated. If that full complete wouldn't have been still haunting me, I'd probably pop it in every now and then and still play it.


And those are my at-home games of choice! Wow I didn't realize how many I actually have played and enjoyed! If you decide to try any of these games or already have, let me know what you thought! Next up are going to be the games that I like, but don't actually play... they've affectionately become known as “wife games”.

Happy Easter Everyone!

Husband and I aren't really religious, but we LOVE Easter! Husband loves the bunnies and all the pastel, fruit flavored candies and I just love to indulge him! Of course I love to decorate the house as well.


Every year I make him an Easter basket and also hide eggs for him to search for in the morning. This year's basket was especially fun because I've been preparing for Easter ever since my trip to Canada almost a month ago!


While I was in Canada, my mother-in-law and I hit the monster load of Kinder Surprise Eggs. Not only did we bring back two 24-packs, but also this GIANT Kinder Egg for my husband. Kinder Eggs are hard to come by in the US and I only know about them because my family used to live in Europe before I was born, and all my brothers and sisters loved them. For those of you who aren't in the know, Kinder Eggs are hollow eggs with a plastic "yolk" inside. Inside the "yolk" is a small toy, often times with little parts that you get to put together.


Since this was a GIANT Kinder Egg I thought that we would record our putting together of the toy that was inside!



I also decided that Easter was a great time to make a Pope hat. It's the newest trend along with a jacket you stole from your Husband. Trust me.


Since I know everyone will want to make their own, here's how I made mine. I started off with these instructions HERE. Since I'm not a small child though, I cut my piece of paper 24 inches by 22 inches. When you fold the paper in half the first time you'll want to fold it so that the two shorter halves are together. (In my case making a piece of paper that was now 12 inches by 22 inches). I used paper that I usually draft sewing patterns on, but you could just as easily use wrapping paper (white side out if you want to decorate it yourself). I decided to go with a traditional Papal design, but in modern colors.

I hope everyone else had a great holiday however you celebrate (or don't)!

Home Again Home Again!

I feel so bad that I've become a once a month blogger! I finally did make it home from Cheyenne, Wyoming only to almost immediately have to leave for Victoria, B.C. with my mother-in-law. Of course, keeping up with my title of "worst blogger ever" I took no pictures while I was there. Obviously I need to go back again so I can get those pictures!

To be honest though, I've been so burned out on traveling, I've become a complete homebody. That means I've been able to catch up on all my wife-chorse as well as get started on some projects around the house. I've started some seeds for a vegetable garden, and they should be ready to be planted outside soon! I'm looking forward to homegrown veggies to go along with the raspberies we already have. I'm also in the middle of replacing our pocket doors in the kitchen (which I had no idea would be so complicated).

Of course being a homebody means also spending a bit too much time online... So here's my list of "Distracting Things On The Internet"!

First of all, I'm in love with this series on YouTube, Gatonovela. Cats + Hispanic soap operas = LOVE!



I also spent the better part of today searching for the original source for this photo collection:

(which is HERE by the way! Let's all have beautiful crazy hime hair!) Sometimes I get really upset when people don't meticulously source things, but then I realized I would be spending way too much money shopping.

I've also been putting together care packages! Birthday presents, things to be returned to Maryland and a very very special package for Violet from VioletLeBeaux.com! I am so in love with the video she did of opening it!


If you don't already subscribe to her blog and her YouTube channel, you should! She's a much better blogger than me. T_T

Also a note about my shop on Etsy, it's on hold while I wait for my sewing machine to be serviced. If you have any questions in the meantime though, please feel free to ask in the comments!

When Trips Go REALLY Wrong

It all started back on Halloween when Husband and I totaled our car in a collision with a very large military vehicle. Since then we've been borrowing a co-workers car while we made arrangements to get a new vehicle. It was finally decided that my mother wanted to give us her current vehicle... the only hiccup being that it was still in Maryland.

After getting the run around from transportation companies we finally decided that it would be best if I just flew home and drove the car back across country. My dad was nice enough to go along with me so I wouldn't have to do it myself. The trip started out wonderfully with amazingly mild weather for January on the East Coast. We took the same route that Husband and I did when we made the trek out when we moved.

Then the blizzard hit. Dad and I got stuck in Kansas for at least a day while the interstate was closed due to bad weather conditions. When it finally did reopen it was still pretty disastrous and we managed to slide off the road once. No damage was done to either us or the car, just a bit shaken, and we got back on the road and headed forward. We were planning to drive through Denver, CO and up into Wyoming before stopping for the evening. Of course, my "new" car had other plans. We got just out of Cheyenne, Wyoming when we started hearing this terrible knocking from the engine. We pulled over and when Dad checked the oil... we had none. We called for service hoping that some fresh oil would be all we needed before we got back on our way... a long story short (too late!) was that new oil did not fix the problem, we needed a whole new engine.

That was last Saturday evening and since then Dad and I have been holed up in Cheyenne while they find a new engine to put into the car. The latest update is that the rebuilt engine should be arriving sometime this morning and they'll do their best to get us back on the road this weekend.

In the meantime we've been discovering Cheyenne in a rental car... which I suppose neither of us would have ever done had we not been stuck here. So far we've been to the Old West Museum, a railroad museum, and the museum on Warren Air Force Base. I also managed to turn a sweatshirt into a cardigan in our hotel room, and I'm currently in the middle of a cross stitch pattern.

I think the most fun I've had so far though was getting to photograph these antelope. They were about 10 feet away from us and were obviously very used to people. We didn't get out of the car to try and bother them, just drove very slowly up to them and got some great shots.




Hopefully we'll be on our way soon and I can get back to my regularly scheduled life in Yakima. Until then, I guess I'll just have to continue to look for the fun in our adventure.