Seattle: Visit to MoPOP! part two: Marvel Exhibit

Marvel's extended Cinematic Universe is a wide, expansive thing, and there are a lot of moving parts and pieces involved that means a lot of things to a lot of different people across the globe. It's also a massive creative undertaking that has spanned multiple decades, from the original pencil sketches of an artist's desk to the multi-million (or is it billions now?) media darling it's become. Marvel is nothing to sniff at and has become one of the most influential movie series in recent years. Initially, I have to admit that I was hesitant to get too involved and didn't see many of the early films in the theater, as most of the early movies revolved around some stereotypical white male protagonist and didn't feel particularly exciting or original to me.  Spider-man always held a special place in my heart, since I grew up watching the animated series, but rich Tony Stark? Uninteresting. Of course, some rich tech guy can invent or invest his way out of his problems... It took a couple of movies for Thor to evolve into the loveable oaf that he's become, and as the movies have rolled out the universe has expanded and evolved, bringing a richer, more varied tapestry along with ample humor and a modicum of self-awareness to the table. I've gotten much more invested in recent years if you haven't noticed, and while Marvel still has some work to do if it truly intends to be inclusive, they've made some progress over their many years now. I'm not gonna lie, Thor: Ragnarok and the more recent Spider-Man movies have been a blast, so while it may have taken me a minute to get on board I'm definitely one of the fans lining theaters for the newest releases.  

At the time of viewing this exhibition at Seattle's Museum of Pop Culture, we were in the interim between Infinity War and the as-of-yet unnamed Endgame. Seeing some of our heroes (and anti-heroes) again, or at least their armor (or weaponry) was bittersweet. One thing I especially enjoyed, though, and consider to be of note is that they were kind enough to label the materials used in the various costumes on display, so the ardent at-home-cosplayer may better attempt their own recreations with a bit of knowledge. Knowledge is power, after all!

The entire exhibit itself was massive, with areas dedicated to each Avenger and their associates, and we could have spent even more time exploring all the different installations if we'd had the time available. As it were, we spent hours in the museum wandering around, looping back and trying to take in as much as we could in the time allotted. No easy task with so much to see! 

  

There are a whole lot of photos ahead, so prepare yourselves!

Beauty: Purple hair 2018

By this stage in the game, it should come as absolutely no surprise to anyone that I'm a big fan of changing up my hair. I've had accidentally green hair thanks to Lime Crime's Charcoal dye, neon orange-red with Lime Crime's Leeloo dye, outright buzzed my hair off when I got sick of the bleach blonde, had purple-pink pigtails, tried Manic Panic's Electric Lizard Green (with bangs!), rocked faded turquoise and minty-green strands, channeled multiple Sailor Moon characters with both pastel pink and bright turquoise, gone bright blonde, and even rocked the ombre thing way back when, so changing my hair is a common occurrence. These days, I've been trying to avoid bleaching all the way up to my scalp because it's just not a fun or enjoyable situation. Have you ever bleached your roots? It's tingly stinging weirdness that feels very much like the chemical burn it is, so if I don't have to go to my scalp to rock the colors I love, I won't. Also, I'm lazy, guys. Do you know how much work it is to try to maintain platinum blonde when your natural hair color is a dark brown? Hair grows, a lot, and you've got to stay on top of your touch-ups or you're going to have a very visible situation in no time. 

So, lately, I've been making the best of my bleached ends and faded ombre to throw darker colors over top. I've been alternating between different shades of purples and pinks, whether it's Lime Crime's Pony or Special Effects Wildflower, they all play well together after a little fading. There's less upkeep, too, as these shades seem to stick around more on my hair than the pastel tones, though there's also the much better quality of water in Washington compared to Vegas to consider here. Antho helped, which, naturally, stained his hands a bit.  

I've really enjoyed rocking the purple shades! While I know that purple will no longer be the color of the year going into 2019 (it's coral), it's still a favorite of mine. I'll keep rocking it when it feels right!

Thanks for popping in!

💘

XOXO,

NAU

Korea: Christmas at Yonie's

While it's a bit early for Christmas yet, as we haven't even had Halloween yet, the nostalgia of winter holidays seems fitting enough to roll out this post celebrating the last (and only!) Christmas I spent in Seoul, living with Yonie. It had been quite a ride! I lived in Korea for six months, the entirety of which I spent living in her apartment, which I shared with a rotating roster of various other guests (who booked on AirBnB) along with other artists who would sometimes stop through to visit. The caricature community is a small one, after all, so most of us end up knowing eachother, especially when we tend to spend extended stays in the same countries. Sometimes this rotating company meant letting a small, quiet Japanese girl in some evening after 11pm, when the creepypasta I'd been reading had thoroughly tainted the tone with spoopies and I was disproportionately spooked by the doorbell, others it meant an impromptu evening of shopping and Doctor Strange with Yonie and Sam. Yonie always takes pride in her hostess skills and as such, she arranged quite a lot of activities for everyone throughout my time there- including this Christmas eve celebration, replete with caricature-themed (or named) wine, red velvet cake, candles and company. It was a lovely evening, and while I had a nice time with everyone, I was more wrapped up with my preparations for leaving Korea in the next 24 hours or so. This was the final stretch of my time living in Seoul, and it was a nice gathering to top it off. While at times I may not have always agreed with Yonie, like when it comes to leaving an oscillating fan on overnight (there's a Korean superstition that leaving a fan on overnight can lead to death) or the scent of cooked fish, I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity she allowed me to have and the incredible adventure I was able to embark upon thanks to her kindness, openness, and hospitality. While nothing is ever perfect, it was pretty fun overall and was absolutely a learning experience. 

Vegas: Top Golf

I've got to admit, I've never been much for golfing. I've always associated the sport with rich old men,  Adam Sandler, and day drinking, so it's just never really spoken to me as an accessible or especially enjoyable sport for a young, female starving artist. Top Golf is here to help change that perception, kind of. The venue is located right off the Las Vegas strip, behind some of the major casinos, making it extremely convenient to visit, and it has so much neon and glossy linoleum and glass that you feel like you're in a club, almost. 

If you're not big on golf, there's more to do here than just swinging your putter so don't worry. There's a pool, a sports bar, several actual alcohol bars, and lots of surprisingly good food. I was surprised, at least, though I was getting lots of e-mails (I'm looking at you, Thrillist) about their "chef-inspired" menu for a week or two prior to actually going. The food was good. Was it worth going for, on it's own merit? Depends how much you like the food, I guess. I had the fish tacos with poke and enjoyed them, though they were a bit small and overpriced you kind of have to expect as much. Similar to going to any venue here in Vegas, you're going to be paying an entertainment/tourist tax with higher prices than would otherwise be justifiable. 

There's a lot of food options, though, from sweets like the tasty little donuts that you inject a sweet syrupy filling into before popping into your mouth,  to meaty sliders, to a fruit cup, so there's something for everyone, for sure. There's also an extensive drink menu, as one would hope and expect from the large, well-stocked bars available. This is Vegas, after all, and if you can't get ridiculously drunk and risk toppling off the ledge onto the safety net here then you're not living your best #VegasLife, right? Pro-tip: staff members told us that they're not actually allowed to go over and pull you out of the net, due to safety concerns (like trying to save a drowning person and ending up drowning yourself), so if you do topple into the safety net you'll need to be capable of climbing back out, alright? 

And if golfing actually IS your bag, this is definitely the place to get your fix! There are so many different games to play, and the menu is really easy to use. It's set up similar to a bowling alley's menu, so if you're familiar with that you'll be good to go. The staff will explain everything to you when you get set up, though, so don't worry. The pay structure is such that you rent out a booth for a pre-selected block of time, and the rates vary wildly depending on the time of day you go... Personally, I'd shoot for a brunch session as it's much cheaper and I don't need much of an excuse to enjoy a bloody mary, but if you want to get more of a nightlife vibe then the evening is the time to be here. There's a lot of shuttles, buses and rideshares coming and going frequently so you won't have any trouble finding the place.  

And the view?

So worth it.

Vegas: Making tortoise friends at the Springs Preserve

The Springs Preserve, as I've written about several times before, is one of my favorite spots here in Vegas to get away. It's an extremely convenient place to get to, not far off from two of the major arterial freeways and right in the heart of the city, but the expansive grounds are so beautiful and lush that it doesn't feel like the city anymore. A true oasis! You can lounge among the trees and flowers at your leisure, or say hello to friendly tortoises, who on this trip actually turned around and came hurtling over to the glass to greet us when he heard us calling out to him. I'm not the only one who talks to animals, right? This little dude was preparing to retire to the burrow for the night, but I was so happy when I saw him that I couldn't help but say something, and to my surprise, he reacted! He pivoted on his little stumpy dinosaur legs and stomped over to give us some fist-bumps through the glass before deciding that if we had no food to offer we were boring and heading back to bed. We were quite honored by his cordial greeting and appreciated the exchange. Cheers, little tortoise gent. These little creatures are really pretty cool if you think about it; they live for about as long as your modern human (50-80 years) and stomp around in the desert where temperatures can get up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit! They're pretty threatened due to human activity, which is such a shame, as these gentle giants pose no danger to us in any way. They're vegetarians, too, chomping down on tough desert foliage to get their fill, so they don't pose much of a threat to other species, either.  They've got big claws on their little feeties, but those intimidating looking appendages are used for digging those burrows they use to escape from the harsh temperatures of the environment they live in. They're troopers! There are efforts to help conserve and rebuild their populations in the wild, which I'm so, SO happy exist! These little dinosaurs were here long before people were, and I'd like for them to be here long after, too. Is that morbid?  

10 Things to do in Vegas this summer (part one)

If you're in Vegas this summer (you lucky thing) you'll surely be in need of some forms of recreational fun between benders at the buffets and endless rounds at the tables. Our summer months here are especially toasty and the sun shines bright with little obstruction throughout most of the season. Given our sunny disposition, you might want to get outside and soak up some of that free-flowing vitamin D that proliferates here! 

1. Dive-in movies at the Cosmopolitan 

Like movies? Like swimming? How about floating in the cool, crisp water while classic films play at the Cosmopolitan hotel? Win-win, guys! There's a range of movies playing throughout the summer months, from a Star Wars triple feature (heck yes) to Ferris Bueller, Forrest Gump and other sentimental or cult classics. There will invariably be movie-themed beverages at the ready for your boozing up, along with lots of cool water to dip in should you find yourself growing warm. Isn't this what summer nights were made for?

2. Intergalactic Art Car festival

If you're into fancy vehicles and fantastic creations, but don't want to deal with the crowds, travel or cost of Burning man to see their freaky art cars, you're in luck! The giant flame-throwing Preying Mantis (doesn't every city have one?) at Downtown Container Park is teaming up with Lyft for this psychedelic festival. They'll do a parade down Las Vegas boulevard (aka the Strip) to show off for everyone, before returning to downtown for the festivities at 8pm. 

3. Stop in at the Springs Preserve

Get away from all the hedonism and debauchery of the strip and breathe in some fresh air and floral scents at this lovely oasis of natural beauty in the city. Only a short drive from Las Vegas boulevard, all the major casinos AND downtown, there's no reason to miss out! Much more open and less crowded than the Bellagio's conservatory gardens, you can check out their butterfly habitat (for a limited time) or check out the rotating exhibits in their museum! 

4. Catch a 51's game during their last season at Cashman field

After this season wraps up, Las Vegas's own minor-league baseball team will be moving to new grounds for their games, retiring the historic Cashman field. While all good things do have to come to an end, you'd definitely be missing out if you didn't try to catch one last game at this classic field before they move on to newer grounds. You can find their schedule here. Get you a helmet full of nachos while you're there, because you deserve it.

5. Ditch the city for the mountains, like Mount Charleston

If you enjoyed getting away from the tourist centers of the Strip by going to the Springs Preserve and are willing to go a little further out of the way, hop into your car (or rental, Uber, Lyft, or even a bus) and head out for the mountains. There's a lot of them to choose from, and while snow may be a rare sight during the summer months it'll still be many degrees cooler than the city itself. There are log cabins you can rent for an extra-special get away. They're only about a 40 minute drive from the heart of the city, and well worth the journey if you enjoy the outdoors!

Stay tuned for the second half of the list, dolls.

Thanks for stopping by!

💕

XOXO,

NAU

Homemade Sushi Party April 2018

If you've followed my blog for any length of time, you might have noticed that Antho and I are both big fans of sushi and seafood in general. I'll eat it while it's still squirming when I can get it, even if that means having to chase my meal down the alleyway (yes, it's happened). 

Here in Vegas we're fortunate enough to have access to a wide array of fresh seafood from a variety of markets, which helps to keep the prices more reasonable (competition, baby). Fresh shipments come in often from all over the globe, so we can find an incredible selection not far from our abode. Many of the markets sell sushi grade fish ready to take home and devour, which is fabulous! As much as we love to eat sushi, our wallets and our budgets can't always swing the cost. The base components, however, aren't that expensive! To make your own sushi at home you'll need:

Sushi rice

Rice vinegar

Sugar

Toasted seaweed

Sushi grade fish (or smoked salmon, imitation crab, whatever floats your boat!)

Bamboo mat

We've made batches with cream cheese and without. Avocado and cucumber are staples for our simple rolls, though, as they add richness and crispness which help to compliment the fish. Salmon is my absolute favorite, while tuna is a classic. We can buy the sushi fish at a nearby market for under $10 for the two, which is a whole lot cheaper than going to a restaurant and ordering a few small pieces of nigiri! We can never just order ala cart and end up spending upwards of $50 for a sushi meal out, while making it at home I can buy several kinds of fish and groceries for the week with the same money. I'll be making bossam (Korean style boiled pork belly) with one of the slabs of pork belly I picked up ($7.50 for a 6" by 10" by 2" hunk cut into thirds, which will make at least 3 meals), pork and shrimp dumplings to make a wonton noodle soup using the shrimp broth (from when I poached the shrimp for sushi, then reserved the shells and boiled again to increase the shrimpy-goodness in the broth), and several other meals. Once you cook up your rice (which I do in my electric pressure cooker by Farberware), you season it with the rice vinegar and sugar (google for the ratios for the amount of rice you're making). Wet your hands before touching the rice (to keep it from sticking) and roll away! If you have a hard time trying to get the pressure right on your rolls, you can always opt to make handrolls or sushi bowls instead! There are so many recipes and videos out there to help guide you on your way, whatever your favorite sushi rolls are! Don't feel intimidated, try giving it a roll!

Vegas: Van-Camping at Valley of Fire

Valley of Fire is a beautiful national park area that is a relatively short drive outside of Vegas. We've gone and done the drive before but couldn't stay overnight on that particular outing, so we made a point of it to venture out when we had the time and check out their camping.

After making our usual stop at the little convenience store at the turn off, we made our way towards the campsite. We knew we were off to a good start when we saw this purple haired young lady biking about near the turn for the campsite road. There are two distinct pay stations in the park when you're planning to stay overnight- there's the initial entrance where you should pay your $10 entry fee, then once you enter the camping area there's a separate pay station where you should pay your $10 overnight camping fee, or more if you're staying in an RV as there are separate stations for RV campers with electrical and other hook-ups needed for the long-haul traveler. There is the option to get an annual park pass for about $200 if you intend to camp more than 10 times throughout the year and it's really worth it for the savings. We've gone twice now, which is $40 or one-fifth of the annual pass...we could easily make the trip another 8 times, so we'll probably be getting that pass here soon. It applies to multiple parks, not just Valley of Fire, so there's more practicality to it than you might initially think.. 

This trip went really well and we had a great time, though we didn't get to fully utilise our campsite because we were a little under-prepared. There are fire pits at every campsite so you can easily set up your own little toasty s'more station and tell spooky stories under the stars, though we didn't have any firewood this time... We made sure to bring some next time through, though! We spent most of the evening star-gazing and talking, which was really nice. There's no cell phone reception in the park so even if my work had tried to get ahold of me they wouldn't have been able to. We listened to a lot of the Lord of the Rings trilogy audio-books on CD while driving which was fun. Antho hadn't really ever delved into the series much prior to our dating, but I made sure to watch the Trilogy together when we had the chance. The books have a lot more detail and some additional characters, and the CDs Antho found were a bit older so they had a fun charm to them. Overall we had an excellent trip and a great time! We went back at the first available opportunity and will be back again soon enough.

More photos below!

Vegas: Harry Potter Party at Mae's

Have you ever dreamt of being a wizard, and sat eagerly by the door or the mailbox awaiting your Hogwarts letter only to be disappointed by cruel muggle reality? Never fear, my dears, because you, too, can live out your dreams of being a wizard, Harry! While you might not be doing it with our close friend Mae at her amazing party, you can recreate the experience in your own home with enough time and dedication.  😉 For weeks leading up to this party Mae dedicated hours to creating hand-made wands for each party goer to select upon their arrival and sorting into their appropriate house with the help of any friends willing to lend their time and efforts to the project. Both Antho and I put in some time making wands! It was a lot of fun and definitely something we'd like to do again. We were also both sorted into Ravenclaw on Pottermore, the official hub of all things Harry Potter on the internet. Ravenclaw is a house associated with cleverness, wit, creativity, talent and originality. Ravenclaws are smart and capable individuals who go about life to the beat of their own quirky drum, characterised by Luna Lovegood, Rowena Ravenclaw, Cho Chang, Sybill Trelawney, and unfortunately Gilderoy Lockhart (who used his wits and talent to rise to  his ill-begotten success).  While Gryffindor tends to get all the glory, Slytherin are known sassy sneaky snakes, Ravenclaws are working diligently behind the scenes pursuing our own, often times odd, passions. We don't need all the aplomb and praise so long as we can go after the things we're fervent about. 

I'm definitely a Ravenclaw. How about you? Have you ever been sorted? We happened to find an official Harry Potter Sorting hat while out at the Linq promenade and snagged it up for Mae's party as we wanted our beloved friend to have the best of the best available for her special birthday shindig, ya dig? When fate smiles upon you and bestows the appropriate gift at the appropriate time, you really should listen to your intuition and just roll with it. Is that a rather Sybill Trelawney sort of thing to say? Perhaps. Maybe I would have done well in fortune telling...

Now, gaze into the flames and tell me what you see, students.

What does your future portend? 

Vegas: Marvel Avenger's Station

Do you have a favorite superhero? I always have a hard time deciding and it often depends on which movie I've watched most recently and enjoyed, though I must admit I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Thor (maybe because he looks kind of like Antho) and Ragnarok was some of the most fun I've had at a movie in quite a while. We went and saw it in "D-box", which is an interactive chair that moves and helps immerse you even deeper into the action going on in the screen! It was a lot of fun and during the flight scenes, fight scenes, and rest of the movie our chairs would angle and thump, recreating the sensation of flight or the vibrations from sitting in the bleachers while a serious injury occurs on the screen ahead. We actually made it a double feature and caught Justice League in D-box, too, but since this post is about Marvel's Avengers Station I won't dawdle with any further talk of D.C. related shenanigans.

Tickets are required for entry into the Avenger's Station, so this isn't necessarily a super-budget-friendly option if you've got a large tribe. Since it was just the two of us it wasn't too bad and we had a lot of fun! Once you find your way to it the experience begins in the gift shop, where you'll find all sorts of fun goodies for your favorite in the fandom. There's also life-size Iron Man suits, statues of the Avengers, Funko Pops for the collectors, and so much more- there's even fancy luggage for those who want to be low-key while they take their fandom on the road. I believe the experience has determined start points, which might have to do with the size of the party as we were joined by several others who began the tour at the same time. Before the tour starts you get to wander the store freely, giving you plenty of time to ponder any potential souvenirs or must-get items for when you return. 

There are plenty of photo opportunities both inside and before the tour, and photographs were welcomed! This is great fun because inside the exhibit you'll find awesome things like Captain America's shield and his bike, both of which are intended for you to interact with. Smart folks optimising photo opportunities to spread the #hashtag and location tagging awareness. Free promotion, right? Here's my contribution to further that end and share some of the awesomeness of the experience with those of you who might not be fortunate enough to be able to visit! We had a lot of fun and enjoyed our visit. I've recommended it to multiple people now when asked about things to do in town, too. It's packed full of fun and informative exhibits teaching you more about the histories and science behind your favorite Avengers and lets you get up close and personal with some of their tools!

More photos below!

Vegas: the Springs Preserve Sustainability Gallery

Have I made it clear yet how much I love the Springs Preserve? Whether we're talking about their seasonally-limited but wonderful butterfly exhibit, their live animal exhibits, the Nevada State Museum, seeing where the city and our water came/comes from in Boomtown & Waterworks, hiking the trails along the expansive grounds, wandering the gardens in summer or late fall, getting spooky during the Haunted Harvest event for Halloween, or scoping out one of their limited exhibits like the Space Exhibit in the OriGen museum last September we always have a blast when we visit the Preserve! Antho and I are both members and have been since shortly after our very first visit. It's been well worth it- even though the cost of admission is quite reasonable, we've gone so many times that the memberships have more than paid for themselves. 

During this visit it was a cool, crisp December day and the Springs had gotten themselves gussied up for the winter Holidays. There were very few other visitors on this day, probably because it was pretty chilly out. We found our way to the Sustainability gallery, which we had walked by several times but never ventured into- a shame because we had a lot of fun! It was a wonderful surprise and we enjoyed exploring the exhibits. Upon exiting the Sustainability Gallery we found our way to the actual food gardens where we were pleased to find tomatillos, peppers and broccoli all going strong- though the broccoli was covered in aphids. Creepy little buggers...we didn't realize they were even bugs until we got closer and inspected the broccoli, at which point we were both a bit skeeved out. Antho went in for more photos trying to capture a good close-up of the little crawlies, though! I kept a safe distance and looked at the other plants while he did that... it's not that I'm terrible with bugs, if need be I can catch a spider, I would just rather not interact with them unless I really have to. I've handled tarantulas and various roaches in museums and biology classes, things of that nature, but I'm good with that being the end of it. Luckily there were plenty of other plants to enjoy! 

Yuck!

More photos below!