The first time I saw Sailor Moon as a kid, Ami (or Amy, as it was in the '90s dub) immediately stole my heart. She was shy like me, she liked reading, and she had blue hair, which just so happened to be my favorite color as a kid.

Solid reasons, in my six-year old mind.

A drink idea for Ami was surprisingly hard to come up with; the first thing that came to mind was vanilla, and I was afraid that it would seem too boring, too predictable of a choice for her character. But genuinely, she just strikes me as someone who would like vanilla over chocolate!

And so, a vanilla frappucino it was.

Easy, mild, but also complex and flavorful. Kind of like Ami herself.


Ami's Vanilla Frappucino

1 frozen banana
1/2 c vanilla creamer (I made some using my own variation of this recipe!)
1/2 c milk of choice
2 tsp vanilla extract or some vanilla bean

Put it all in your blender and whirl it up! Garnish with whipped cream, if desired.

For Mercury's symbol, I melted some white chocolate with a few drops of blue food coloring, and drew it on top with a squeeze bottle, then added ice crystal sprinkles. 


I really loved how this turned out. It had such a nice flavor and creaminess to it, like the kind of thing you could drink every morning and not get tired of it too quickly.

Next up.... It's time for F I R E. ♂

I think it's something that every creative person thinks about a lot, whether all of their ideas will one day just... Dry up. Stop flowing. Gone forever.

Which, y'know, sucks, because it kind of just stifles you more. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I've been going through a lot of ups and downs lately in the creative venue of things, and these are some things that have helped me pull myself out of that rut.

SEEK INSPIRATION //

Accept that there will be times when things aren't flowing as naturally and you may feel "blocked" creatively. It's going to happen. It's just how the creative process works, and you're just adding extra pressure on yourself when you worry about whether you'll never feel inspired again. Take a break, do some things you enjoy. Let it come.

LET GO //

Stop hoarding your ideas for the fear that you will run out. I don't know if anyone else does this, but I am so guilty of it, and I'm steadily realizing that it doesn't help you at all. You get sort of afraid that if you start making or putting out all of this content, all these ideas you've stored up, that the well will dry up and you'll have nothing left, but I'm starting to think maybe it's the opposite. I think when you stop worrying so much about whether that will happen—not even entertaining the idea—they start flowing much more easily.



RUN WITH WHAT YOU HAVE //

Sometimes, you just don't feel inspired and nothing is coming to you, and in that case, take even the smallest grain of an idea you can muster, and engage it. It will probably suck for awhile, but just push through it, and maybe it'll knock some other ideas loose. Even something as simple as writing down your thoughts, or a stream of consciousness, can help get the ideas flowing!

How do you keep the creative waters flowing? Feel free to share in the comments! :)

I've loved the idea of fictional-inspired foods for as far back as I can remember, starting with Disney films as a kid and moving on from there. The idea of combining various forms of media with things like fashion, food, and beauty is something I've always been so enchanted by, and most of the reason I started this blog.

So, I was sitting around one day, and the idea for a drink came to me that would be the perfect embodiment of Rei (coming soon!), and the idea for Sailor Moon inspired drinks just snowballed from there.

I am aware that a Sailor Moon Cafe is a thing that exists, but unfortunately, it's only limited to Japan, and there's little chance I'll be getting to go there any time soon. So, I thought, why not make my own Sailor Moon themed drinks? I tried to embody one of two things: the character's physical design (color scheme/powers) or (as is this particular case) something to do with the character's personality + interests. Usagi has a particular fondness for all things dessert, so naturally, I had to go that route.

I may do another for Usagi at some point that's more inclusive of her color scheme + abilities, but for now, I figured I'd go with something that Usagi herself would very much approve of.

SAME, USAGI. SAME.

Usagi's Chocolate Overload Milkshake

1 frozen banana
1 c milk of choice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp dark chocolate cocoa powder
brownie pieces of choice
chocolate syrup
whipped cream

1.) blend together banana, milk, vanilla + cocoa powder until creamy
2.) add in brownies and blend just slightly
3.) garnish with whipped cream, chocolate sauce and brownie pieces


The nice thing about recipes like this is that it can be easily tweaked to your liking; ice cream instead of frozen banana, regular cocoa instead of dark, cake instead of brownies... Endless possibilities!

If you try it, let me know how you like it!! Stay tuned... Our lovely resident girl genius is up next!

Sometimes, you watch a show and you're like, "I love how [insert character here] dresses!"

Sometimes, you like it so much that you'd wear it, if given the option. Enter, casual cosplaying.


If you've never heard of casual cosplay (or closet cosplay), you're in for a treat. It's basically like covert dress-up for adults. Like, could anything be better?

(This video explains the concept really well, if you're more into listening than reading!)

For me, I don't even remember hearing about regular, full-on cosplay until I was probably about sixteen or seventeen. I didn't know that was a thing people did. What I did know, was that from the time I was six years old, I was doing basically the same thing in a much more lowkey way. I wanted to emulate my favorite characters, so I'd find clothes I already had that had similar shape, if not color, to who I was emulating and I'd wear it around the house and play pretend or I'd try to do my hair like theirs, and as I got older, it extended into playing around with makeup.

I started it back then, and kind of just never stopped.

As weird as it may sound, I can actually bookmark phases of my life by what fictional characters I was most interested in at the time, and how it shaped my style.

When I was a kid, it was all about the animated heroines; the girls from the Final Fantasy games I'd gotten the chance to play, the senshi from Sailor Moon, and Lara Croft. I was constantly pestering my mom to braid my hair as a kid just so it would look like Lara's.



In my early-mid teens, there were too many to count. I was delving into beauty in a big way around this time, and soaking it up like a sponge. I took bits and pieces of style from every character I liked, noticing any trends that popped up a lot—which at this time, apparently, was minimal makeup, effortless waves, and an easy, casual wardrobe that consisted of jeans, pretty tops, and florals.


More recently, especially around Autumn-time, it's been Sally Albright from When Harry Met Sally, and the girls from Sailor Moon... Again. (Hello, serious wardrobe envy!) I've been really into all things '90s, and these are kind of the epitome of that.



All of these things have shaped my overall fashion sense, and currently, most of the things on my fashion wishlist are because of a fictional character.

The appeal of it for me was that it was somehow like putting on armor. If I'm trying to emulate a character that I admire, I feel more confident.

I think my closet represents that; I don't know who I am or who I wanna be, so I flit from person to person. I still love playing pretend. I don't really have one defined style, but since I pull inspiration from everywhere, my closet is kind of whimsical, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

So, have you ever tried casual cosplay? Is it something you'd be interested in? Geek out with me over on tumblr or twitter, I'd love to hear from you!!

It's Summer, which means I'm finding myself drawn to lipstick over eyeshadow. Humidity = oily lids. Not a cute look. I have pretty naturally oily lids anyway, but when it's hot, even primer has a hard time keeping creasing at bay, so I tend to forego shadow.

Only last Summer did I finally—finally—hop on the lipstick wagon, but I've worn it enough that I've picked up a few handy tricks along the way. As many tips as I had read and seen in YouTube videos before I plucked up the nerve to wear it, I didn't really get the tips I needed.

Maybe my trial and error can help someone else who's just starting to venture into lipstick land.

1.) If you're nervous about dabbling into such strong color on your lips, start with sheer lip tints. If you can't quite work up the nerve for dark colors, I promise this helps. I started adjusting to the idea of something other than plain ol' chapstick on my lips by using Baby Lips in "Cherry Me" and later, a nude lipstick. Starting on the milder side helped me work up to reds and berries. (Wearing it at home a few times rather than in public helps get used to it, too!)

Another option? Try a gradient lip. Since you're only working with the inner part of your lips, it's not quite so loud, and a little less intimidating.

2.) Exfoliating is so important. I know, I didn't believe it either, but if you're wearing lipstick, it does matter. You can just use a rag and scrub lightly at your lips, or go as far as buying/making a sugar scrub, but if you don't have smooth lips, application's not gonna be such a breeze.

3.) Lipliner is not necessarily required. It's all personal preference, and it depends on the texture of the lipstick you're using. I find that the kinds of lipstick that I've come across in my journey so far don't feather much, even the really dark ones. If you want to have one on hand, a good option would be a transparent lipliner, so it'll go with every lip color you have.

4.) Q-tips are your friend. Unless you're some kind of inhumanly perfect person, application may be a little sloppy until you get used to it, or if you're like me, forever. It just makes things look a little more crisp if you clean up the edges with a damp q-tip when you're finished.


5.) When you apply it, make sure you blot with a tissue, and stick your finger just on the inside of your lips to wipe off the lipstick there. Ending up with lipstick on my teeth and walking around all day not knowing was one of my biggest lipstick-related insecurities. This trick is a relatively sure-fire way to make sure that you don't have that issue.

What about you long-time lipstick wearers? Any invaluable tips to share with us newbies?

And hey, if you really wanna wear lipstick but have been too nervous to try it out: ease into it. You're probably gonna love it, though. ;)