[Cos]Playin' it Up

Ok... as previous posts show... I really like costumes.
Alice, Hobbits, Sherlock, Moonrise Kingdom, Lizzie Bennet Diaries.

 But I thought I should give you an update of some costumes and cosplay lately.

For Halloween, some friends and I decided on going as Fantastic Mr. Fox characters.
Even despite the "What does the fox say?" craze, this Wes Anderson inspired look was a fun one to pull together. 

[Foxy - mask, tie, vest, blazer, tail]

[Mr. Fox, Mrs. Fox, Ash Fox]

[Inspiration: Foxes on the right]

A few weeks later was the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special (extensive post here).
For the house party with friends, I went as Amy Pond from "The Impossible Astronaut"

[Amy: plaid, denim, sharpie necklace]

[inspiration]

The next night, Rebekah and I went to a showing in Seattle.
She rocked it as Rose from "The Idiot's Lantern" (1950's ;) and I went as the 11th Doctor.

[11 & Rose]

 I even found myself an Amy from "The Impossible Astronaut" episode - perfect!

[11 & Amy]

December brought with it the Hobbit and, being that Bob wanted to see my costume, I threw an "Unexpected Party" at work.

[Hobbit: ears, vest, green blazer, cloak, Lothlorien Leaf, handkerchief.]

[The ears :]

And then, this past Sunday, Sherlock returned to PBS.  So, my flatmate and I hosted a costumed premiere party.
I knew right away, I wanted to go as "The Woman."  And no, not because of that.

[Irene Adler - dress: black, eyeliner: blue, lips: blood, earrings: diamond, hair: classic twist.]

[Irene Inspiration]

Somewhat last minute, not only did my brothers come, they brought their A-game as Moriarty and Sherlock - the gents in Irene's life.

[Moriarty: Westwood, Irene: Azagury, Sherlock: Belstaff]

So... those have been my costume adventures the last few months.
I'm looking forward to more soon.  Any reason for a costume. :)

Which are some of your favorite characters or costumes?  Who do you like to dress up as?

Oh, Brothers.

[Josiah as Moriarty, Me as Irene, and Jeremiah as Sherlock]

 So... I just really like these gents a lot.

And, last night, we got to cosplay as some of my favorite characters.

It was **such** a blast!

Birth-order wise, I'm sandwiched between these two and I feel pretty lucky.

Some girls with brothers talk about how they toughened them up

or wrestled a lot or whatever.

Well, I stayed out of their wrestling.

[Instead, we spent a lot more time playing playmobile -

I always got to be the princess to their knight, soldier, pirate, etc.]

But we did grow up arguing discussing a lot

and I felt like I got toughened up mentally because of them.

And though they made me fight the hardest,

they also made me laugh the longest.

Now that we're all adults, pursuing different dreams and paths...

it makes me really grateful for all those heated debates, N64 games,

playmobile-filled Saturday mornings, nerdy jokes, 

YouTube marathons of HISHE and good music,

and lots and lots of laughter.

Plus, I think they are smashingly dapper!

Thank God for brothers.

Est. 1963

This weekend marked 50 years of Doctor Who!!

Some friends and I got together to celebrate the Time Lord and, of course, watch "The Day of the Doctor" together :)

[Kayla made fish-fingers and custard from scratch!]

[Jammie-dodger assembly - lovely designs by Ashley]

[The Shrine - TARDIS, bowties, Matt, and Melody Malone from "Angels Take Manhattan."]

[Fish-fingers and custard, jammie-dodgers, tea, and bananas - perfect Whovian fare :]

[Ash: 11 on top, Amy on the bottom - adorable all the way around]

[Ash & Kayla trying fish-fingers and custard.  Let's just say they tasted better separate]

[Counter-clockwise: a pair of 11's saving the world with a jammie-dodger and banana,
Donna Noble with her TARDIS purse,
and Amy Pond fending off the Silence - complete with Sharpie necklace]

 And then it was time for the show!!

[Title and theme from the original episode - Oooeeeoooooooh...]

[Nice to see 10 + 11 working together]

 

[The Doctor - many faces, one man]

 Happy 50th Doctor Who!

 Many happy returns!!

First thing at the office this morning, Bob excitedly asks me, "Are you a Hobbit?!?"

Always, Bob.  Always.  With or without the ears :)

31 Days of Books: The Scarlet Pimpernel

Title:  The Scarlet Pimpernel

Author:  Baroness Emmuska Orczy

Published:  1905

Year I read it:  2004

One sentence summary:  Dazzling, French, former-actress Marguerite St. Just seems to be enjoying her socialite life but is privately distant and bored with her aristocrat English husband, Percy Blakeney, until one day she is threatened by a French investigator and pulled into the hunt for the elusive "Scarlet Pimpernel" - an agent smuggling French aristocrats to safety during the reign of terror.

Interesting fact:  While the "Scarlet Pimpernel" seems to be inspired by the Sherlock Holmes-type of costume and out-witting people, his character in turn inspired the "secret identities" of many of our recognized heroes, like Bruce Wayne's alter-ego, Batman.

Three reasons to read it:

• Mystery - Baroness Orczy does a good job of weaving and then unraveling the mystery of what's going on and who's who.
• Action - with high stakes, both socially and personally, these characters cut some close calls, and it makes for some wonderful action.
• Romance - at it's heart, this is really a beautiful romance story!

One reason you maybe shouldn't:

• Being one herself,  it is very apparent that Orczy deeply sympathizes with the aristocracy.  Some authors do a better job of keeping a balanced approach, acknowledging the fact that there were gross injustices leading up to the French Revolution.

Great quotes:

“She said nothing, and Sir Andrew, too, was silent, yet those two young people understood one another, as young people have a way of doing all the world over, and have done since the world began.” 

"Her love for him had been paltry and weak, easily crushed by her own pride”  

“Had she but turned back then, and looked out once more on to the rose-lit garden, she would have seen that which would have made her own sufferings seem but light and easy to bear--a strong man, overwhelmed with his own passion and despair. Pride had given way at last, obstinacy was gone: the will was powerless. He was but a man madly, blindly, passionately in love and as soon as her light footstep had died away within the house, he knelt down upon the terrace steps, and in the very madness of his love he kissed one by one the places where her small foot had trodden, and the stone balustrade, where her tiny hand had rested last.”  [ah! one of the most romantic passages ever!!]

costume dilemma

You guys... I'm so ready to throw myself into choosing a costume, piecing it together... but I just cannot decide!

Star Wars?  Super heroes?  Disney?  Doctor Who? They're done every year.

Sherlock?  Always an option.  A friend and I had talked about doing a Femlock cosplay (fandom translator: she and I were going as male Sherlock characters).  But I will be doing a costume for the premiere party (just waiting on a date, Moffat!) - so I'm not sure that's "it."

Alice in wonderland?  Done it.

Lord of the Rings?  Did it last year.

Grumpy Cat?  Seriously tempting

A different Lizzie Bennet Diaries character would be "totes supes adorbs" ...but I have done it twice already this year.

Perfecting my Suzie Bishop look (from Moonrise Kingdom) would be a blast for sure... but I kinda want to tackle something new.

Would it be considered cheating to dress up like Zooey Deschanel?  [I was afraid people might stop commenting both when I went red and especially after I chopped my hair off... there has been no letting up, which is fine with me]

So then I look at books I've read or re-read this year.

Half of the are from the Enderverse.  Not really any impressive or indicative costumes from the enderverse.

Gatsby?  Everyone's going to do Gatsby this year.  [I'm afraid I've turned into a hipster cosplayer... sorry]

Hazel Grace?  Augustus Waters?  I think Augustus would actually be more fun... but with TFioS film coming out next year... 

Name of the Wind character?  Could be super fun, but very few people would recognize it.

TV shows?  

One of my coworkers seriously suggested I dress up as Jesse Pinkman from Breaking Bad.  That would be... intriguing.

I guess there are a bunch of Once Upon a Time costumes... comme ci comme ça.

I might be perusing classic Hollywood next.  Hmmm...

Pretty much... I need a man in my life so we can go as a couple :)

Got suggestions for me?  Leave a comment ;)

"I love you... but you don't know what you're talking about."

So the costume I went with...  Suzy Bishop from Moonrise Kingdom!

I didn't have much time, but whipped this together - including cardboard/ducttape binoculars. 

Because they're her secret power! 
Oh... and I had a library book in my bag - not overdue.

And I left my lefty-scissors at home ;)

"These are my books. I like stories with magic powers in them. Either in kingdoms on Earth or on foreign planets. Usually I prefer a girl hero, but not always."

"Why do you always use binoculars?"

"It helps me see things closer. Even if they're not very far away. I pretend it's my magic power."

Costume guess

Got invited to a costume party tonight. Only have 1 hr to pull my costume together.

Your guesses on who I'm going as:

:)