While I was away at VidCon, my roommate texted me saying a large ominous black box had arrived in the mail for me… from Taco Bell. This box; we’re talking big. It’s big enough to hold at least six puppies comfortably, or thirty pairs of shoes, or at least two hundred soft tacos.

Being that I was gone for almost a week though, I really desperately hoped two hundred soft tacos hadn’t been rotting in my swelteringly hot bedroom. Here’s the unboxing video I filmed as soon as I got home:

I’m not exactly sure how or when it happened, but Taco Bell has sort of become that super weird best friend you can’t quite remember how you met but are glad you get to hang out with on a regular basis anyway. I met their head marketing guy at VidCon (he was incredibly nice), and was super impressed with their t-shirt printing booth. Did anyone see my friends walking around with those stupid tees with my face on them? Thanks a lot for that, Taco Bell.  -_-

Photo courtesy of Kassie King. <3

Anyway, the last thought I want to end on is that… sometimes I forget how weird my life is. Being a YouTuber for as long as I have starts to desensitize you to it – and the weirdness starts to become normal. For instance, Liz came home to this Doritos photo shoot happening in my room last night and she didn’t even bat an eye. “Oh course Justin is taking pictures of Kristina while she’s covered in bags of Doritos,” Liz thought as she arrived home from work. “Can’t wait to help her eat all of those Doritos,” was her only reaction.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever received in the mail? One time a friend of mine sent me a postcard from a road trip she was on that was entirely made out of tree bark, but I think ten bags of chips has stolen first place for me. Leave a comment and let me know!

The first day of VidCon (Industry Day) was surprisingly low-key. I wasn’t speaking on any Industry panels this year, so I got to wander around, eat pastries and actually sit in on a couple of panels.

My first outfit was a casual one; I paired my brand new shark attack shirt with a yellow bandeau, denim shorts and red sandals. This outfit was inspired by both my love of Sharknado, and the rapidly approaching SHARK WEEK! In fact, it’s currently Shark Week right now as I write this, and I can’t wait to get home and get my Discovery Channel on. Overhyped or no, I’m not gonna pretend I don’t love Shark Week just as much as everyone else.

What were we talking about again? Oh yeah. VidCon.

So Industry Day was a mix of panels, running into friends, and generally soaking in the feeling of finally being at the event you’ve waited all summer for. Also free snacks. Seriously, I ate this cheese danish they had on a tray outside the panel rooms that I swore was the most delicious thing I’d ever eaten.

In the evening a handful of my friends and I donned our party outfits (I sported this super cute new top I picked up at another favorite clothing store of mine called Papaya along with another bandeau in gray) and hiked our way to Downtown Disney for the Nintendo Brand Ambassador’s party.

Before we got there, however, something AMAZING happened. I’m sure not all of you follow the Sephora Disney Collection news as closely as I do, but some drama went down recently that made it very difficult to get the new Ariel Palette. I was devastated, naturally. But! On our way through Downtown Disney I saw a Sephora and realized it couldn’t hurt to try. Sure enough, there were two palettes, looking lonely in a giant, empty display case. I snatched them up immediately (one for myself and one for my friend Eia) but only found out later that local Sephora locations send their extra Disney stock to this store (because they sell better near Disneyland, obvs) and even then, I got the last two. And they’d only been put out hours prior. BOOM. So pleased.

Anyway. VidCon. Stop letting me get so off track!

The Nintendo party started small, so I grabbed Joe and Liz and we took up residence outside on the empty outdoor deck (after snagging some surprisingly large glasses of wine). Eventually we ran into more friends (I had invited Tara and Alexander Theoharis as my guests; we also saw Meghan Camarena, Alex Carpenter, Jason Munday, Maxwell Glick, etc.) and it became a genuine party. Also there were these vanilla macarons on the hors d’oeuvres table that I swore were the most delicious I’d ever eaten… clearly I am fickle with my superlatives.

My favorite part of the night was the fact that because it was a Nintendo sponsored party, there was a DIRECT correlation between the amount of fun we were having (read: the more free drinks we consumed) and the amount of giant green Luigi hats that ended up on people’s heads. It was a beautiful evening. And so typical.

All in all, a great first day of VidCon.

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Hello, blog readers! I started this trip to LA exhausted, so really, it’s only fitting we’ve come full circle here right before I leave for the airport to head home. Between very little sleep, dance parties, signings and a full day at Disneyland… VidCon 2013 was a fantastic success, but oh my gosh am I ready for some quality time in my bed with Netflix and a box of wheat thins.

Honestly, when people ask me what I’ve been up to lately, a genuinely fitting way to sum up the entirety of my time this past week (month, year, etc.) is by saying I’ve been “cramming more into my hours than should be humanly possible” – but that’s depressing, so here’s a picture of me in a ball pit:

So anyway, here we are; another VidCon come and gone. The reality of the situation is that no matter how you decide to spend your time, which panels you go to, which parties you check out, you’re likely going to be surrounded by familiar YouTube friends, people with cameras and more booze than can even be consumed in a single weekend.

No matter how much fun you have, how little sleep you accept yourself to deserve, how much you party hop – you’ll never see everyone or do everything, but that’s totally okay! That’s the beauty of the Internet, of social media, and of knowing that VidCon isn’t truly over until everyone has sufficiently documented it online.

So over the next few days I’ll be posting my VidCon wrap-up here, complete with photos, my outfits from the event as well as my thoughts on the goings-on that happened there. Did we meet at VidCon? Let me know in the comments so I can match usernames to faces!

Ah. The airport look. The look that screams “this was the heaviest stuff that didn’t fit in my suitcase, so I’m wearing all of it!” The one day of your trip that it’s not required to look fabulous, because you’ll likely change the second you arrive at your destination. Let’s break it down.

I’m wearing:

• The only pair of jeans I packed
• The only sweater I packed
• A watch, so I don’t have to keep pulling out my cell phone to make sure I haven’t missed my flight while browsing the airport bookstore
• Boots, because they didn’t fit in my suitcase
• Hair in braids, because it’s early and my hairdryer was already packed
• Bright under eyeliner to mask the giant dark circles hiding underneath

I’m currently sitting at my gate in SeaTac airport armed with a bagel breakfast sandwich, a bottle of water, and an eagerness for airplane naps I can’t even describe. VidCon is going to be a whirlwind of excitement, of friends, of parties, of events and laughter and memories – but right now, this 2 1/2 hour flight is beckoning me with a soft caress and promise of upright eye-resting, and that is the greatest thing I can imagine.

It’s been a long week, and it’s only Wednesday.

I can’t wait to see everyone this week! VIDCON, HERE I COME!

That is a tweet from Sunday; one that perfectly encapsulates the weekend I’ve had. Weekends include Mondays when we’re filming. We’ve now completed 18 full days of shooting for Season 2 of my web series Job Hunters (wow!), and I both can’t believe 1. how far we’ve come and 2. how much there is left to do. This was actually our last weekend at the house for this season, and it’s a little bittersweet. I’m going to miss this view.

This past weekend was a LOT of fun, and we shot one of my favorite scenes in all of Season 2. That’s the good news… the bad news is that I am exhausted and bruised and ready for a good long week of sleeping and watching anime – right in time for VidCon!

On that note, rather than slippers, I’ve got my party shoes packed – because I know how crazy VidCon is going to be. I know I will be much too tired and busy to put together outfits while I am there, so I actually packed pre-planned outfits, which is something I very rarely do.

Knowing how many industry parties there are, I realized I needed a couple of fancier outfits, which brought me to packing phase two as I swapped out denim shorts for dresses. I also grudgingly took one of my three pairs of comfortable sandals out of my suitcase and replaced them with heels in packing phase three, and today consists of making sure the recent clothing swaps even make sense. We’ll call that phase four. Oh, and I’ll probably need things other than clothes while I’m down there, right?

Other VidCon essentials:

• Pajamas you’re comfortable running around a hotel in
• Business cards
• Bathing suit, just in case (Modcloth.com is having a great sale right now, 25% off swimwear if you use the code “SWIM25”!
• Makeup, hair stuff, jewelry (somehow condensed to fit in your suitcase)
• SUNSCREEN
• Camera equipment, laptop or iPad
• Two phone chargers, seriously. One to keep in purse at all times
• Sharpies for signing or getting things signed
• Making sure tp leave extra room in you bag to bring new things home

I’ve also got good walking shoes for DISNEYLAND DAY, and a special outfit I’ve been working on for Disneybounding. That will be a blog post in itself, so keep an eye out for that. 😀 Any guesses on who I might dress up as? Is anyone else doing Disneybound while at VidCon?

There’s less than 24 hours now before I leave, so this will likely be my last post before leaving for California. Look out for outfit of the day posts from VidCon, wrap ups of the best events, and if you’re attending as well – please come say hi!

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When your best friend is a choreographer, you see a lot of opening nights for various musicals. You also spend a lot of time getting your fingers crushed during big dance numbers, in anticipation that every lift, every turn, every step goes off without a hitch. This was the case on Saturday when I attended the opening for Legally Blonde, the kidstage performance that’s kept me from seeing Eia for most of the last month.

The show was so much fun, though. If you’ve never gotten to see the musical version of Legally Blonde, you’re seriously missing out. It has all the cleverness and heart of the movie, but with show stopping dance numbers, hilarious songs and amazing sparkly costumes around every corner.

My only regret about the whole experience is that I didn’t think to wear pink. Who am I?

What I’m wearing:

• Turquoise floral dress from Herberger’s
• Medium brown cowboy boots from Forever21
• Funky pink and cream satchel from Wholesale-Dress.net
• Tortoiseshell sunglasses from Forever21
• Unicorn necklace sent to me from a fan

What’s your current favorite new musical? Let me know in the comments!

Last night, Joe and I went to see Chicago at Village Theatre here in Seattle. I first fell in love with this show back in middle school when the movie came out, but in all that time (um, let’s actually not talk about how much time has passed since middle school) I never managed to see a live production of the show.

Joe surprised me with tickets this week however, so I threw on my (literal) dancing shoes and away we went. It was a lot of fun; the costumes and choreography were phenomenal and I can guarantee I’m going to have these songs in my head for weeks. If you see me Bob Fosse-ing around at VidCon, you’ll know why.

Anyway, here’s what I was wearing:

• Funky galaxy dress, thrifted. It has glitter on it!
• “The Best of Times” heels from ModCloth.com in “Noir”.
• Black & White purse from Forever21

Note: This post may contain affiliate or referral links.

I recently received a vague email from Nordstrom. I have to say, one of the strangest things about being an online content creator lately is adjusting to the concept of conversing with companies as if they are sentient beings on our level of internet-dom. If you follow @TacoBell on twitter, you know what I’m talking about. Anyway, I got this email in my inbox, and it informed me that Nordstrom likes what I do online and wants to send me a gift in honor of their Anniversary Sale!

I figured hey, I can totally live in a world where people send ME presents for THEIR anniversary. So of course, I accepted.

A mere couple of days later, a box full of goodies appeared at my door:

In the box was:

• Bright pink Nike Free 5.0 running shoes
• Nail polish in “Mint condition”
• Hanky panky low rise undies
• Clear plastic beverage tumbler
• Canvas beach bag
• Cutesy magnets

Thanks, Nordstrom! Good luck with the #NSale, and I can’t wait to take these fierce new shoes out on the street! Good thing I’ve been putting off investing in good running shoes! 😉

This weekend is more Job Hunters filming; we’re actually finishing up one of my favorite episodes of the season this Sunday. Only a few more shoot weekends left… so crazy!

I’m curious, since this blog is so new… what kinds of posts are you more looking forward to or hoping to see? I’ve been out of the blogging world for so long that I’m really interested in your opinions!

VidCon is just around the corner, so I figured now would be a good time to give you all the low-down on what I will be doing there! I’m on a couple of panels – but I’ll mostly be hanging out, frequenting a couple of relevant booths, and saying hello to friends and fans alike! Just a warning… I’ve heard there will be something like 10,000 people attending this year – so please, feel free to say hi if you see but, but if I seem tired or in a hurry, just know I am doing my best to meet everyone and do everything!

These are my official panels/events:

1. Job Hunters Sneak Peek + Talkback / Friday, 11am-12pm
We’ll be showing some ACTUAL FOOTAGE of Season 2 (this will be the first time anything from the new season will be shown publicly) as well as doing a Q&A/talkback with all of the main cast. There also might be some other fun surprises or giveaways, so don’t miss it!

2. Fiveawesomegirls Reunion Panel / Friday 2-3pm
Seriously. Myself along with Lauren, Kayley, Hayley and Liane will ALL be in the same place for the first time since 2009, rolling dice and talking about 5AG! For those diehard fans out there who always wanted us to bring back 5AG.. this panel is for you. Bring your friends and your cameras, because YOU’LL be interacting with us at this panel as well as watching us speak!

3. italktosnakes Signing Line Appearance / Saturday 10am-12pm
I’m not sure exactly what this will look like, but I’m they’ll have me sitting at a table, and people will be able to line up to come say hi, chat, and have me sign things? If you definitely want to make sure we meet at VidCon, this is probably your best bet. Please stop by!

I will also be hanging around the Wyrd Games booth (#617) in some of my down time, both to help promote my new game Jetpack Unicorn, and because that’s where Job Hunters merch will be. Speaking of Job Hunters merch, we miiight have badge ribbons this year, so be on the lookout for myself or other actors from the show if you want to wear your Job Hunters pride right on your VidCon badge!

We’ll ALSO have some sweet Safe House and Maewin themed postcards on hand at the Job Hunters/Wyrd booth… for just $2, you’ll be able to write to a friend at home and we’ll do the sending of the postcard for you! It’ll be like you’ve joined the hunt!

And now, I’ll just leave you with this adorable graphic Lauren Fairweather made to promote the 5AG reunion. It’s going to be a BLAST.

I can’t wait to get down to Anaheim, but there’s so much to do before then! Are you going to VidCon? If so, what are you most excited to do there?

Today I posted my monthly favorites/recommendation video over on my YouTube channel.

This video features a couple of games I’ve been playing, a slew of movie reviews and a few of my beauty/fashion favorites for the month. I also linked to a couple of the Subblime lists I’ve created this month – including my standard monthly favorites list, as well as a special Favorite Geek Items of the Moment list, which includes a giveaway for this super nerdtastic Tetris desk lamp. Go leave a comment – you could win it!

I hope you enjoy the video, and moreover, I hope you enjoy this blog/site! I launched it to the general public with today’s video, so if you’re new – welcome! We’re going to have fun here. 🙂