Giveaway: Doctor Who Prize Pack from A Little Loka

Hello lovelies!  Today I want to introduce you to the lovely and geektacular Jessica from A Little Loka and Living La Vida Holoka.  I've known this girl a while now and not only does she have a fantastic blog, but her shop is wonderful also!  Not to forget she also sells wonderfully geeky items like Doctor Who inspired goods.  So today, she wants to give one lucky winner a big Doctor Who prize pack!

Use code DOCTORWHO20 for 20% off in the shop! 

Before we get to the giveaway, I want you to get to know Jessica a little better, so I asked some questions!

How did you first get started watching Doctor Who? 
Honestly, I don’t even remember! I think there was a marathon on BBC about a year or two ago. It began with Christopher Eccleston as the 9th Doctor and I became instantly hooked!

What is the thing you love most about Doctor Who? 
I really admire a show that can have such an ongoing legacy and huge fanbase. It’s always exciting to keep up with the new companions and Doctor regenerations. It’s wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey...FUN!

Which is your favorite doctor and why? 
Each Doctor has been appealing to me in their own way, but the 10th Doctor (David Tennant) is probably my favorite. He’s quirky, funny, gets down to business and I had all the feels during his good-bye with Rose.

Which is your favorite companion and why? 
Rose Tyler. She was the companion that started it all for me! I also really enjoyed watched Amy and Rory and seeing how their story tied in with the Doctor and River Song.

Besides Doctor Who, what other things do you geek out for? 
I am a HUGE fan of The Hunger Games series and I’m beginning to get into the Divergent series as well. I’m also a total geek for Harry Potter.

How did you first conceptualize your shop, A Little Loka? 
I was looking for new artwork to display in our house. I love inspirational quotes so I created a simple art print using a Princess Diana quote. From there, I created some custom art prints for friends and decided to open a shop. I expanded on my handmade items and now sell art prints, jewelry, candles and other home decor.

What is one of your favorite items you create? 
I love working with geode stones and agate slices. My geode rings have been popular sellers. They’re always fun to create since each stone is so unique and pretty!

What's one piece of advice you'd give a new blogger? 
Don’t compare yourself to other bloggers and don’t beat yourself up if your numbers aren’t too impressive. Also, if you’re going to blog for profit, be prepared to work! And most of all, remember why you began blogging in the first place and why you wanted to share your words with the world. Keep true to your voice and enjoy the friendships you’ll make through your blog!

Check out these posts from Jessica's blog:

• From Damage to Dinosaurs: An Etsy Seller Experience
• Dear Jessica
• The Great Divide

Check out these other items from Jessica's shop, click on the image to see the listing:

Jessica is offering one lucky winner a Doctor Who Prize Pack including prints of both her Bow Ties are Cool and her It Takes One to Snow One prints; plus two red Dalex wax melts and one blue Tardis wax melt in either jellybean, pineapple cake, or bubblegum scents.  Giveaway is open to USA & Canada and ends at 12AM on 4/28/15.  Entering below agrees to all terms and conditions within the rafflecopter.

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Loot Crate Play Box Review

The theme for the February 2015 Loot Crate Box was "Play" and here's a picture of the box upon opening:

The Box included the following:

• A Hex Bug
• A Set of Dice
• A Card Game
• A Pacman Poster
• Munny
• The book Ready Player One

The games look kind of interesting, and at least they're unique.  I love games, so they'll be going in my game closet and one of these days when I have a little time, I'll figure out what to do with them.

The book Ready Player One by Ernest Cline looks kind of interesting.  The back of the book says "The grown-up's Harry Potter!" and the front says "Willy Wonka meets The Matrix!" So I have to say that I'm a little interested in reading this.  Shawn says it's not good enough to be the grown-up's Harry Potter, but that it's an easy read and that he enjoyed it, even if some of the references were over his head.  

Then there was Munny.  A little vinyl figure that comes with "wipe off" markers so you can create your own.

There are pictures on his box that show people creating amazing works of art with paint and other mediums.  I doodled.

I'm saying "wipe off" markers because they don't exactly wipe off.  They just kind of smear...

But I'm happy to report that a clorox wipe took it off nice and cleanly and put him back to his normal self.  The hex bug is of little interest to me, and the poster is "meh".

I'm going to be totally honest and admit that this box kind of bored me... I've been thinking maybe I should cancel my subscription (to save money) and I think I've decided after this box to go ahead.  Next months theme is something to do with secret agents or covert affairs and I feel pretty blah about that too.  Maybe I'll cancel but keep an eye on their themes going forward to see if maybe I am interested in a future box.

What subscription box is your favorite? 

Giveaway: Feburary 2015 Fandom of the Month Club Divergent Box

You may have seen my review last month of the January 2015 Fandom of the Month Club package.  I loved it so much that I continued my subscription.  I love receiving quality nerd jewelry each month, and it's pretty inexpensive too-which definitely feels like a steal when you get at least three pieces of jewelry for the month.

The only downfall I can see to this subscription is the months when you don't care for the theme or the fandom at all.  Feburary was one of those months for me, as the theme was Divergent and I really don't have any love for it, nor desire to get into it, so this box felt pretty "meh" to me aside from the fact that the jewelry is beautiful and well-crafted as usual.  The only thing I felt particularly interested in was the birds necklace.

Well, my loss is your gain, because I have decided to give my entire package away!  So, if you're a divergent and pretty jewelry fan, you should totally enter to win all of this! It is lovely after all.  If you want to sign-up for Fandom of the Month Club to get in on next month's box-you can do so HERE.

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Guest Post & Giveaway: Kimi Talks My Little Pony

Hello my lovely readers! Today I'm leaving you in the very capable hands of Kimi Who? who has a guest post and a giveaway dedicated to My Little Ponies.  Do you like My Little Pony?  It's like my childhood is stopping by to say hello-here you go!

I show up to my day time job with a small, bright pink My Little Pony purse clutched in my hand. It's my every day purse and I carry it around proudly despite the fact that I am an adult woman pushing 30. You may shake your head and think I'm crazy - especially if you don't have a fandom or universe you enjoy yourself. You might even think I look stupid. To me, my love of My Little Pony is completely normal.

Hi. My name is Kimi and I am what some refer to as a "Brony" or "Pegasister" - an adult who loves what is considered to be a children's television show featuring animated ponies and the magic of their friendship.


Like so many young women my age, I grew up watching the first generation of My Little Pony back in the late 80's and early 90's. I don't really remember it, but I must have really liked it to have numerous My Little Pony themed birthday cakes growing up. Regardless, clearly my adoration for cute animated ponies has somehow stuck with me through to my adult life without my realizing.

A couple of years ago, my best friend (who is male by the way) re-introduced me to this majestical world of ponies. I wrote it all off as silly on numerous occasions until I finally let down my guard and gave the show a real shot. Much to my surprise, I found that the characters were well designed with strong personalities, the plots were interesting and entertaining, the voices were quality and well suited to each pony, and overall I found the show a pleasure to watch.

Unlike a lot of cartoons designed for girls, this generation of ponies known as My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (MLP:FiM) isn't just a bunch of pastel pink ponies sitting around sipping tea and eating biscuits. There are real adventures to be had, dangers to face and even some life lessons to be learned through difficult situations.

Children are taught the values of Honesty, Loyalty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity and the Magic that happens when you bring those traits together. It's surprisingly not at all lame and because of the strong personalities the ponies each posses, it's entertaining and mostly groan-free for adults.

But what makes this show so special? What is it that's so intriguing?


      
MLP:FiM A Dog and Pony Show is an episode with a perfect example. The main character of the episode, Rarity is what I would describe as prissy. She abhors dirt and hard labor, but will do whatever it takes to help out her friends - including getting down and dirty if need be. Thus, she is the pony that represents Generosity.

In one of my favorite episodes, she is captured by a band of wild dogs who want her to use her powers to find gems, dig them up and do the dirty work of lugging the collection of gems around in a cart. She makes complaints about the harness being too tight and that she is getting dirty. The wild dogs tell her to stop whining and Rarity being the smart pony that she is, teaches them the difference between complaining and whining.



At the cut of the scene, Rarity has convinced the wild dogs to do whatever it takes to get her to stop whining. What you miss is that after the cut, Rarity has the dogs decorating the cave and doing all of the work of digging and lugging the gems around.

We're accustomed to Rarity being so dainty and she uses that to her advantage, using her quick thinking to transform herself from the typical damsel in distress, to tricking her pony-nappers into doing the work for her. It's all very clever, impressive and it teaches children that people (and ponies) aren't always what they seem. Sometimes the one that looks most weak, is the strongest of the bunch.
What Makes Bronies Stay 
We arrived at the show because someone thought we'd like it. We stayed for strongly voiced characters like lead pony Princess Twilight Sparkle - voiced by Tara Strong who is known for her work as Dil Pickles on Rugrats, Bubbles on The Powerpuff Girls and Timmy Turner on The Fairly OddParents... among other characters.

We stayed for the beautiful artwork and animation in addition to the quick and witty writing that caters to the child in us as much as our adult sense of humor. We stayed because we found a way to identify with the ponies and see ourselves in their predicaments and hard life choices. We stayed because we learned to hate ourselves a little bit less.

Of course there is the fan fiction, art, official and third party merchandise to go crazy over as with any other fandom out there. Personally, I collect Funko Pop and the clear variant of Funko My Little Pony figurines. A couple of months ago, I got my hands on a couple of Princess Luna figurines by Funko through a negative encounter between Hot Topic and myself.  

Giveaway Time!
I am pleased to be able to offer up one of those figurines in this giveaway! I hope that this post has given you insight to the world of Bronies and that perhaps we seem a little less strange to you. May this be the first of many My Little Pony figurines or perhaps add to your already ever-growing collection.

Giveaway is open worldwide and ends on 2/24/15 at 12AM.  Entering below agrees to all the Terms and Conditions within.

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Salt Lake FanX 2015 #FanX15

This year, Salt Lake ComicCon changed their FanX event to January this year, and seeing as it's so soon after the holidays and I have a vacation coming up, it was shaping up to be the first event I'd miss.  Luckily my friend Jan won a bunch of free tickets and got me in free on Saturday!

We showed up at 9AM which was two hours before it even opened.  This is because the first panel starting at 11AM was Billie Piper and we wanted to make sure we could get in and get good seats.  She was so charming, and her interviewer was one of my favorite radio personalities-Kerry Jackson.

I confess... She was worth the long wait, even if waiting that long is super boring and frustrating.  lol

Ken waited in line to ask her a question.  He wanted to ask her about her about her career as a pop star before Doctor Who.  He was sure he'd be the only one to, but Kerry Jackson brought it up before they even started questions-bummer!  Did you know she was a pop star?  It's terrible 90's brit pop.  Seriously.  He asked her which her favorite song was, and it's this one:

I confess... I kind of love it.

I confess... Kristina and I were both bummed that not a single person asked about her in

Luckily since we got good seats we could just stay in them for the next few panels that we wanted to see.  After Billie Piper went off, they brought out Carrie Fisher. Yes. Princess. Freaking. Leia. Let me tell you, she is a HAM.  She was upset that no one had gotten her a Coca Cola so she asked the audience if anyone had one.  She declined the diet coke someone brought up, but when a guy brought her a regular one she leaned down and french kissed him, then said "You give me what I want, I'll give you what you want!"

  

A little bit later she brought out her dog Gary.  He is missing teeth and his tongue is too big for his mouth, but man he's cute.  She called him her "familiar" which I think is adorable.

After Carrie Fisher's panel they brought out their Lannister panel with Lena Headey and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.  That's Cersei and Jaime from Game of Thrones, but I've loved Lena for years.  I loved her in Imagine Me & You, and I enjoyed Nikolaj in Mama.  They were interviewed by Bill Allred.

Turns out, Lena is a little awkward in real life, and Nikolaj is a big-hearted charmer!

I confess... After this panel I may have a new man crush on Nikolaj.  He's just so damned handsome and charming-and boy he was just kind-hearted and sweet.  He never said one negative thing about anyone!

Right after that we all rushed to get in line to see Felicia Day.  She was lovely and charming, and it pretty much made it worth the two our wait... Even though that sucked a lot.  Unfortunately the volunteer who took the photo got it blurry, sad day-I should have just handed it to Jan, but oh well.

I confess... I only took one photo of a person's costume at FanX this year and this was it.  I found the cross over pretty funny.

If you want to see photos from the last few Salt Lake ComicCon events I went to, have a look here:

Salt Lake ComicCon 2014 Day 1
Salt Lake ComicCon 2014 Day 2
Salt Lake ComicCon 2014 Day 3
Salt Lake FanX 2014
Salt Lake ComicCon 2013

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