I have just been terrible at updating this blog regularly. I have a number of exciting things that I’ve been dying to share, but with VidCon and the release of Job Hunters right around the corner, I just can’t seem to find a good balance for all the stuff I’m doing right now. But these wrap-up posts seem to be working just fine for now, so let’s see what’s been happening since the last time I updated.

1. I posted a video I am quite proud of, that people seemed to respond to very well – either they agreed whole-heartedly or they completely disagreed. I feel like that’s the optimal scenario in an opinion piece, so I’ve been enjoying reading through the comments. If you missed this video, it’s called “Tell Them Hi For Me”.

 

 

2. I’ve also been spending a good deal of time on costumes/cosplay lately, which I’m sure you’re probably aware of. I’ve found my forté is scouring the internet (ebay, etsy, google shopping) for that exact pair of shoes or a replica toy rifle you could paint and alter to look like the real one… but I’ve also been trying my hand at sewing. Sewing doesn’t come quite as naturally to me, but I managed my first skirt yesterday! And it hasn’t fallen apart! Well – okay the first one looked terrible so I started over but then the SECOND one… the second one was GREAT. If you want to get regular updates on my sewing and costuming woes and successes (as well as Eia’s!) you should follow our Cosplay Facebook Page.

Our current headache project is a fairy-inspired costume for an event my friends and I are all going to called Faerieworlds, though neither Eia or myself are actually going to be fairies because wings are the worst. Watching our other friend Jenn struggle with bending wire yesterday turned us both off wings maybe forever. It’s been a lot of fun (I say that now – yesterday during our sewing party extravaganza there were a whole lot of expletives coming from my living room) working on costumes for all of this stuff, but we could only handle doing one really involved costume for this event. The rest of the time, we’ll be wearing the stuff in this video:

 

 

3. The final thing I’ve been really trying to work on lately is reading more. It started with comics, which are a nice departure from longer books and something I am so thankful I’ve been learning more about. But funnily enough, it gave me the bug – and now I spend a lot of my time itching to get a book back in my hands. I’ve been doing a bit of lurking in the Booktube community on YouTube and I’m thinking about trying my hand at reviewing a few of the books I’m reading myself. Keep an eye on my channel for potential book reviews this summer. They’re coming.

Okay I couldn’t find a way to expertly make this last video relevant, but I also did a really fun unboxing video of a Ninja Crate, which is my current favorite mystery box subscription service thingy. Everything inside is kawaii and adorable and handmade and I loved it:

Thanks for continuing to read my blog, even when my projects keep me from updating it regularly! There will be a few new posts in the coming days, including where I’ll be at VidCon, so stay tuned! Hope everyone is having a lovely start to their summer!

I’ve been working on so many new things recently – cosplay, getting into comic books, doing more with fashion on YouTube etc. – it’s been somewhat difficult to balance everything I am trying to do all at once. However, I recently attended a “Bloggy Boot Camp” here in Seattle put on by SITS Girls that was hugely motivating and inspiring, so let’s get back on this wagon, shall we?

Here’s what I’ve been up to.

1. COSPLAY! Eia and I have been hard at work planning our cosplays for the summer, which currently include a fantasy costume for Faerieworlds in July, and the overly ambitious prospect of 3 different costumes (each!) for PAX in August. We’ve luckily got a fair amount of time to get started on all of these, and what with ordering wigs and things from China, it’s really never too early to start. If you want to follow our progress this summer, we’ve just created a Facebook page where we’ll be posting updates, photos and musings about the whole process. Be among the first to follow it!

2. READING! Not only have I been inspired to make reading more a part of my daily regimen for Answerly Books, I’ve also made the executive decision to dabble a bit in the BookTubing world on YouTube. I’ll admit, part of this decision was spurred by the jealousy I felt watching people have so much fun at BEA this past weekend, but jealousy is just as valid an emotion to start doing something as any, right? I’ll be starting reviewing YA books, fiction books, and even the sporadic comic book on my channel so make sure you’re subscribed if that sounds interesting to you!

This Comic Book Haul was sort of my first foray into that new direction on my channel, and it seems to have gone over well.

 

3. FASHION! I don’t know when it really clicked for me, but it just did. I think I was looking at old pictures of me from my touring days, and just honestly couldn’t believe anyone ever let me out fo the house (not to mention ON STAGE) wearing the stuff I used to own. Not to say you HAVE to have good fashion sense, or really that I was even doing anything wrong, but let’s be real sometimes I really could have used a little help getting dressed in the morning.

This all leads me to my point which is, lately I’ve found fashion to be extremely fun and rewarding and I’ve loved finding ways to mix geek with chic (I know, so original) but really, it’s still a new concept to so many people and I love being a part of that journey. A good place to follow me if you’re interested in this aspect of what I do is Instagram. I’ve also done a few fashion haul videos already, but here’s my most recent one:

 

That’s all my news for now, though I also put up my standard monthly favorites video if you missed that. Book related favorites have been creeping in more and more to these videos, and if you haven’t noticed, I’ve also recently developed a pretty permanent anime category in these videos. It’s been a year of self discovery, for sure. Revisiting old hobbies I loved from my childhood (anime) and discovering new things about myself I never knew I was passionate about (comic books, costume making, clothes). I’m so happy that it seems my viewers are along for the ride and enjoy whatever I throw their way, and please keep suggesting more things you think I might like! You probably have no idea how often I take your advice.

 

Thanks for keeping up with this blog as well, and be sure to check back soon – it may be getting a total redesign in the near future! Exciting!

Have a lovely day and remember to get outside if you can. Our weather has been beautiful and I have not nearly taken as much advantage of it as I could.

I’ve been sort of bad about only writing blog posts regarding my new videos lately, but I’ve been transitioning to a new upload schedule on my channel (two videos a week now, on Tuesday and Saturday!) so it’s taken a lot of energy to rearrange my work schedule. Once I get that more to a rhythm, I’ll definitely return to writing a bit more diverse things on this blog – I have a lot of ideas just waiting to become a reality but there’s only so many hours in the day.

I wish there were more hours.

Anyway! My newest video went up today and it’s a fun one. I’ve been doing a lot of haul videos and recommendations and adventures and whatnot which have been a lot of fun, but it was also nice to revisit a more vloggy format today. I give you… Imaginary Friends:

 

 

In this video I talk about the idea of imaginary friends, one I invented as a child, and ask viewers to share their own! I’m quite happy with this video and I hope you like it!

I fell a little behind this week in my blogging (it’s really sort of difficult to do anything with as bad of a sunburn as I’ve been nursing) but I’m here today to remind you all about two videos I’ve posted on my channel for the week! I haven’t really “announced” this anywhere but I’ve been trying to post twice a week lately (rather than our usual one) and I’ve been really enjoying it. I’d have to say Patreon is a bit to thank for the rejuvenated creative energy.

 

First up was a video I was quite excited about… my first “official” haul video. I’ve been getting more into fashion lately, but I’ve still been much too timid to really talk about it online. This week, I finally pulled off the bandaid and just did it, and I think it went over pretty well! Basically I went to my favorite clothing staple (Forever21) and I only bought items under $15. You’d be amazed at how nicely you can update your wardrobe on a budget!

If people seem to like this type of video (it’s already looking pretty positive) there will likely be more.

 

The second video was something I was tagged in, a video to promote the awesome book drive being held by the Harry Potter Alliance called Accio Books, was also a fine excuse to talk about books. As this is one of my favorite topics, I gladly obliged.

This is a great video tag for anyone to take part in, as it’s fun and promotes a kick-ass message. If you make videos, please consider it!

Let me know in the comments if you’d like to see more videos about fashion and books (two topics that are relatively knew to my channel) and I’ll be back soon with my ipsy review for the month!

 

This week’s video was a collaboration with a new friend and fellow YouTuber named Josh Jepson. We initially met at a Nintendo event and decided to team up for a few videos for our game channels, but upon finding out he also vlogs, we had to make use of that.

SO! In this new video, my Mad Libs series officially becomes a “thing”. Get ready for more Mad Libs. They’re coming.

 

This is the video I have been so excited to share with you all – this one shows the Anna and Elsa cosplay my friend and roommate Eia and I made in action at Emerald City Comic Con!

We had so, so much fun waltzing around in our coronation dresses all day, and I think our shared favorite aspect of the whole experience was getting to meet so many little kids who thought we really were the characters from Frozen. We managed to capture a lot of that on camera, and it melts my heart every time I watch it.

We’re going to be compiling the best photos from the day on our brand new Deviant Art account, but those aren’t quite ready yet. I’ll keep you posted on when that’s available!

 

I posted a new video today that I am quite excited about – confessing to your embarrassing old usernames! Many of us did it – we signed up for our hotmail accounts and our aol instant messenger screen names and our livejournals with names we’ve long since tried to forget. But come on – why not laugh about them together? In today’s vlog, I encouraged everyone to come clean about the internet personas they used to use.

Leave a comment telling me yours, or make a video! I’m dying to know I wasn’t the only one with a long list of terrible user names.

 

This week marks my 7 year anniversary of making YouTube videos, and I’m sort of in shock thinking about how long that actually is. SEVEN YEARS of getting to interact with you guys on a regular basis, seven years of memories, and seven years of growth as a content creator.

I’m feeling really nostalgic and excited this week, so I’ve made a Subblime list highlighting some of the most pivotal things that have influenced my channel and my personality over these past seven years. You also have a chance at winning the new special edition paperback box set of Harry Potter, with those gorgeous new covers. Don’t miss it!

I also talked a little about Patreon and my future plans for my YouTube channel, which will hopefully include some fun new writing-related projects! Be sure to check out my Patreon page for information about that and how to get involved.

Thanks to EVERYONE who’s ever consumed any of my work, and I truly hope you’ll stick around to see what the future brings.

Hey, blog readers! I just wanted to tell you about something I’m launching today that’s sort of a big addition to the things I already do. I’m kicking off a Patreon page, and I am extremely excited about it.

What is Patreon? Well, the best way to answer that is to just show you the video I made on the topic:

 

Essentially, I’m taking a huge leap of faith for my art. I am inviting anyone who’s ever enjoyed the things I’ve made to become a patron of my work; to help fund my projects so I can focus even more time on creating the type of content YOU like to see, rather than relying on product placement deals to pay my bills. I love giving my honest opinions on the products I love in my videos, and I am tired of having that jeopardized by saying yes to sponsored videos for things I don’t actually care about.

Patreon will hopefully both make that a reality, and open even more new doors for me. Maybe that’ll mean more frequent videos. Maybe more creative writing. Either way, it’s going to be exciting for everyone involved.

All of the content you were getting from me before is still free – my videos, my blog posts, outfit of the day pictures, etc. Patreon is just a way to become more involved with that process as a viewer. At certain levels you can even give me topics to write or vlog about! Patreon will hopefully enable me to do more freelance work – doing what I love rather than just work that pays the bills.

The perk I am most excited about is just at the $5 level – you can take a personality quiz that I wrote myself to find out what kind of Unicorn Warrior you are, and then join a secret Facebook group to meet the others and chat and interact with me on a regular basis. It’s going to be a lot of fun – and that’s just one of the things I am offering!

Please go check out my page if you’ve ever enjoyed anything I’ve created. This new project is scary and fun and exciting all at once but it’ll only be successful with your support. <3

 

Do your legs itch when you run or do other strenuous activity? I just posted this new video about something I recently discovered is a real thing: Being Allergic to Exercise. No, seriously! Watch the video! Let me know in the comments if you’ve ever experienced this.