A Trip to New England - Day Two

My second, and last, full day in Rhode Island was lovely - and white!

When we woke up in the morning, the world was covered in an inch or two of glorious snow!! It all melted away by the end of the day, but was so pretty while it lasted. :)
The big highlight of this final day, though, was having lobsters for dinner. ;D

This was the first experience my sisters and I had with lobsters, and it was just great! ;D After going to an extremely authentic shack and buying our lobsters, we brought them home and had "lobster fights." Ok, not really - but we did hold them! They kept flinging their [rubber-banded] claws around and snapping their tails back and forth, which enticed a couple shrieks from us girls... ;D

And the big question: how did they taste? Due to my diet (the SCD one that I've mentioned before), I couldn't eat them, (which I was silently thankful for xD) but according to my three sisters, they were pretty nasty. I think I would have agreed.. :P

The next day we headed off to the airport and flew home, concluding our visit to Rhode Island! It was short but sweet. I had so much fun; hopefully I'll be able to go again someday -- I would definitely like to! (:

A Trip to New England - Day One

So after a long day of driving, two flights, and more driving, we (my parents, three sisters and I) made it to our final destination last night: Rhode Island!

I've never been to this state before, so it was a neat opportunity. We have family that lives up there that we haven't seen in ages, so it was great to get up here and see them finally! :)

The highlight of our first [full] day there was visiting a huge mansion, the "summer cottage" of the Vanderbilt family, called "The Breakers." It was incredible!! Our tour guide said it was over 100,000 square feet in all... O_O

They didn't let us take pictures of the inside, but we could take pics of the outside... (These are courtesy of my sister, Crystal. ;)

So, our first day here was super neat. We also drove around a bit afterward, and looked at all the other big houses in the area. After seeing them all, I was *seriously* feeling the need for a mansion... xD

The day ended with watching the sunset on the snow-covered beach.

Tauriel Cosplay - The Photoshoot

As promised. :) I hope you like them! ^_^

You can barely tell in the other pictures, but in this one you can see it... yup, I'm wearing Tauriel's necklace!! :D

PS - Feel free to pin, share, etc, these pics! Just don't, like, take credit for them or anything. ;)

Au revoir 2013...Bonjour 2014

This is the first post in 2014 on my blog.

O_O

WHERE DID YOU GO 2013????

Well, no matter where it went, it's gone and another year is ahead of us. So strap on your seatbelt, and get ready for the ride! I'm pretty sure it'll be crazy for all of us. ;)

But before I say goodbye to 2013, I want to make a list of the best things that happened in this past year...

1. I started this blog! On June 12th, I decided to make this blog for the purpose of logging my journey of making my Tauriel cosplay. And I'm so glad I did!! I have had so much fun doing just that, and even though that adventure is over, there are many to come that I'm extremely excited to share with you all. :)

2. Going along with the last point, I completed my second cosplay! It was literally so much fun -- AND I learned a ton while doing it, and expanded my sewing experience and expertise alot! So it was a win-win. ;)

3. I successfully finished my second dual-enrolled college course, Biblical Worldview. It was a great class, and I learned so much from it.

4. I lived through my 15th year of life. Less than two months until that year is over, and another year of my life begins! And what a great year it's been...

5. And one last thing: I've grown closer to God. My relationship with Him isn't perfect, but that's how every relationship starts. I see it like this: I'm a USB plug, but I'm a little bit deformed. God is the USB port. I, as the USB, am in the port, but sometimes I'm not perfectly connected. My desire is to have that perfect connection - but in the meantime, I will keep striving to follow Jesus and live a God-centered life.

And one last thing. Last night, after midnight, we sang this song...

It's now my "anthem" for the new year. :)

Tauriel Cosplay - Photoshoot Sneak Peek

Hey ya'll!!

Sooooo today was awesome -- I finally did that photoshoot as Tauriel I've been promising you guys!!! It was freezing cold, but oh so worth it. :D

I'm so excited for you all to see the pictures!! I'm currently editing them up and such, buuuuut here's a little sneak peek...

More pics to come soon!!! :)

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Nails and Butter Pecan Cookies

Hullo, my lovely friends and followers!

So, yesterday was the first day of winter, and now Christmas is only 3 days away! :D

Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. I love giving and receiving gifts, getting together with family and friends, and, most importantly, celebrating Jesus' birth. ^_^

Yesterday, to get into the spirit of things, I decided to do some "Christmas baking" -- even though there wasn't technically anything Christmas-y about the recipe... ;) I also did my nails Christmas style... nothing fancy, but I think they're cute. ;)

I made butter pecan cookies (recipe at end of post) -- which I hadn't made in years! I made them with almond flour and honey, instead of wheat flour and sugar, because, as some of you may know, I'm on a special diet, the "specific carbohydrate diet" (SCD), that doesn't allow me to have wheat, sugar, most starches (think rice, potatoes, corn), and a few other random things, because I have celiac disease. It's not life-threatening, but it is chronic and has been a trial for me.

ANYWAY, back to le cookies... :D

And the finished cookies! (They tasted amazing, by the way. :D)

And in case anyone wanted it, here's the recipe!

SCD Butter-Pecan Cookies
Ingredients:

- 2 cups almond flour
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp salt

- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/3 cup honey

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (160 degrees Celsius). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Combine the almond flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and pecans in a bowl.
3. Combine the vanilla, egg, butter, and honey in another bowl.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well.
5. Drop heaping 2-tablespoon-sized portions of the batter about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies are lightly browned.

Makes 18-20 cookies.

The Desolation of Smaug Midnight Premiere

THE NIGHT OF DECEMBER 12TH, 2013.

IT HAPPENED.

THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG.

In Walmart. xD

These are some pictures from the night at the theater, WHICH WAS SO MUCH FUN. :D :D :D There were quite a few other people dressed up, and the feeling of comradery was just great.

And the movie... STINKING AMAZING!!!!! SMAUG BEORN THRANDUIL TAURIEL LEGOLAS BARD LAKETOWN EREBOR MIRKWOOD DWARVES IN BARRELS EPIC FIGHTING TAURIEL/KILI/LOL AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH just everything pretty much. ^_^ So epic and awesome and AMAZING. :D :D :D I actually got to see it again yesterday!! EVEN BETTER the second time around!!! Ahhhhh just...wow. AND I CAN'T BELIEVE WE HAVE TO WAIT A YEAR NOW FOR THE FINAL MOVIE OMG!!!! O_O

SOOOOOOO peeps...what about you guys? Have you seen it yet??? Midnight premiere? Dressed up? Thoughts on the movie? Tell me in le comments! :)

Tauriel Cosplay - The Final Update

Today is a special day.

On June 13, 2013, exactly 173 days ago, I wrote the second post on this blog. It was concerning my latest cosplay idea, Tauriel. I was then on summer vacation, and the first trailer for the Desolation of Smaug had just released.

"The idea began to form when the first official picture of Tauriel was released...I began to think how much fun it might be to recreate that costume and wear it to the midnight premiere of The Desolation of Smaug in theaters...So, I have officially found my next adventure. Becoming an elf of Mirkwood."

Over the course of those almost 6 months, many amazing adventures have occurred.

For one, this blog has grown to 18 posts, 8 followers, and almost 5,000 views. You don't know how happy and proud I am of that; it has been such a dream come true. I have always wanted to write a blog that people actually read. And I have you, all my wonderful friends and followers, to thank for that!!!  Secondly, I have [almost] completed my second dual-enrolled college course. It's been a long, and a lot of times hard, road, but has definitely been a great experience.  Thirdly, I started taking horse riding lessons again, at a nearby stable. I have always loved horses and riding, so it has been tons of fun getting back into that.

And last, but definitely not least, I completed my second cosplay: Tauriel of the Mirkwood Realm, from The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

The creation of this costume has been such a crazy, difficult, long, fun, and, at times, plain maddening adventure. From finding boots to sewing leather, I learned so much and enjoyed every bit of it.  And now, that adventure is finally at an end. But the journey isn't over yet! We've still got NINE DAYS to go until The Desolation of Smaug midnight premiere, and the debut of my costume!!!  (Needless to say, I'm nearly hyperventilating from excitement. :D)

Unfortunately, I don't have any [good] pictures of the cosplay to share - yet! I'm hoping to do a photoshoot soon, and then of course I will post a gazillion pictures. ;)  Until then, here's a shot of the full assembled costume. 100% complete. ^_^

And one last picture, for Grace - the back of the leather bodice. (I'm going to use black lacing, though.)

Until later!

-AnElvenPrincess

Frozen!

Hey all!!

Soooooo I just got back from seeing the new Disney movie that just came out today - Frozen!! First of all, I loved it. It made me laugh, tear up, gasp, and shriek. True story. ;D

Second of all... mkay, you know how I'm kind of obsessed with cosplay? Well, such as it is, I of course had to dress up - in some way or another. ;)

Well, ever since I saw Elsa's, the Snow Queen's dress, (which, btw, is gorgeoussss) I wanted to make it and cosplay her. Buuuut because I'm a little tied up right now with Tauriel's cosplay (WHICH, btw, I will have a post up concerning that SOON!), I wasn't able to make her dress in time for the release. But I'm still planning on cosplaying her sometime! I'm not sure what for, or when, but some time soon I will. :D

However, in the meantime, I decided to do an Elsa-inspired look. Almost a "modern version" of her costume.

So without further ado, here is my Elsa inspired outfit from Disney's Frozen! :D

And yes, I had way too much fun editing that. ;D

P.S. - Thank you so much to everyone who commented on my last post, especially for your thoughts concerning the bracers!! It helped alot. :D As for right now, I think I'm just going to leave them plain. I'll be making a post soon about all that. :)

Questions, Bracers, and a Call for Help

Friends and followers! (which is really the same thing.. ;)

We have less than 3 weeks - 20 days to be exact - until the Desolation of Smaug!!! Who's excited????? (MEMEMEMEME) :D So, I've got a couple things to ask you guys. :D

1) As I'm sure many of you know, tickets for theater showings went on sale yesterday, so some questions regarding that:

   a) Have you bought your tickets yet?? (I got mine yesterday!! :D)
   b) What format are you going to see the movie in? (I'm going to see it in plain 2D, so I can completely focus on the story, then I'll go see it again in 3D high-frame-rate. That's my reasoning, anyway. ;)
   c) Are you going to a midnight showing? (YEESSSSS)
   d) Are you planning on going with a group of friends or fly solo? (I'm going with several friends - and le parentals, of course. ;)

2) I know many of you are making your own Tauriel creations, so a couple questions concerning costumes:

   a) Are you going to dress up for the premiere? (I AM!)
   b) If so, what/who are you dressing up as? (You all know my answer to that. xD)
   c) If you're going with a group, is anyone else planning on dressing up? (All my peeps are going to dress up as well. Actually, the girl who was featured in my last blog post is one of them!)

And one bonus question:

3) I've been trying to decide what I should do about Tauriel's arm bracers. I can leave them plain, or add stitching around the edges, or maybe do something else entirely...?? PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR IDEAS! I NEED HELP!!! :D

So, pleaseeee leave a comment with your answers to my many questions! I would love to read them and see what your plans are for the premiere! :D (And hear your ideas for my bracers, too!)

And one last thing before I head... just because I just have to... a little teaser:

Special Feature: Another Elf of Mirkwood

'Sup, friends and followers! ;)

Sooooo last Sunday, I got together with my wonderful friend Karis to have a little "sewing party." She's been wanting to make a Mirkwood elf costume to wear to the midnight premiere of The Desolation of Smaug as well, (which is only 23 days away!!!! :D :D :D) and since she "says" she's not very creative, I invited her over to my place to see what we could create. (*rubs hands together* mwahahaha!! ;D)

Now, concerning the costume she's making... Karis decided she didn't really want to make any *specific* costume from the films, but rather do a "Mirkwood inspired" costume. She bought this gorgeous olive-colored suede fabric that reminds me SO much of the material used in one of Legolas' costumes, (this one) and with that, we're making a below-the-knee, long sleeved dress, with an eight-paneled split skirt. It'll end up being similar to the elven guard's uniforms.

The bottom left picture is of hers and my dress - which is, btw, completely finished except for a zipper in the back!!! :D I'll try to post another update soon concerning that. So, I just need to put in the zipper, add the grommets and lacing in the leather bodice, and then whip up a pair of armguards and Tauriel's cosplay will be officially complete!! I'm so close, I can almost taste it!! :D

PS - You can find Karis at her blog, The Meanderings of Me. Go check it out! Lots of fun stuff about horses over there. ;) And you can also follow her on Pinterest!

Tauriel Cosplay - Dress Partly Completed

Hullo all my lovely friends!

I have been quite busy as of late. But I better start from the beginning...

So, first of all, I have successfully altered the color of the leather bodice! It is now a gorgeous and pretty much perfect color, darker than the original. How did I achieve this, you might ask?

My secret weapon: black shoe polish. Shhhh... don't tell anyone... ;D But hey, it turned out great! I think it has faded some by now, as I did it almost a week ago... but I could be wrong. If it has indeed faded, that's easily fixed; I'll just touch it up a couple days before the premiere -- which is, by the way, only THIRTY FIVE DAYS AWAY!!! :D :D :D

(And also btw, has anyone checked out my snazzy little countdown over here? <<< :D)

Top right... that was my hair during this process. Like the pencil? xD

Next... do you recall the fabric I mentioned in my previous Tauriel cosplay update? That I didn't think was quite the right color? Well, after much improving the color of the bodice, (which btw now matches my boots almost perfectly!) I decided this fabric doesn't look nearly as bad against it. So, I decided to go ahead and make the dress with this fabric! So far it has turned out lovely -- but you can judge for yourself of course. ;)

Of course I couldn't be wearing it for the picture! Saving that for when it's finished... not to say I haven't tried it on yet of course! ;)

Like I said, the color isn't exactly perfect, but I still think it's very "Mirkwood," and it compliments the bodice color really well.

So, that's how it's going so far!! I'm so excited for you guys to see it all completed... but that's still a little ways to go. I need to hem the skirt, sew it to the bodice, alter the sleeves (they're too big. :p), and then put a zipper in the back. And I still need to make those alterations to the leather bodice... but anyway, I'll save that for another day. ;)