Fitness Update//Future Purchases

Get the Starbucks birthday cake frappuccino for the next few days only! It's so yummy!

Hello everyone~! The past few days have been very mentally exhausting for me, but not in all bad ways. 

To update on my entry where I said I was going to tackle my eating habits and starting working out - I have lost weight! How much exactly? I'm, um, not sure. Weight normally fluctuates from day to day, and even in the same day. But my weight is fluctuating 15+ pounds, which is odd! Oh well. At least something is happening!

So I was talking with a friend and we've decided to work out at the gym together! She's actually going to pay to get herself a premium membership so she has a guest pass; I'm so overwhelmed by her kindness! Gotta keep filling out those job applications so I can help pay! But, I'm very excited to go to a real gym again, and regularly. What's going to be interesting is that she works night shift, so we're going to be working out pretty early in the morning. I'm excited and a little nervous!!

Also, I've been doing a good bit of art lately.

It looks like I'm going to be spending part of my tax refund on the New 3DS XL. My 3DS XL isn't broken...quite. I notice hat occasionally the bottom screen's brightness will flicker slightly, and sometimes when it's closed, it thinks it's open, which isn't good. So I guess I'll be getting a new one! I'll probably get black so I can paint glitter over it.

I'm also aybe going to be getting some of the YRU platform high-top shoes in black because I found them on sale. I love platform shoes! I haven't really had any proper ones since high school. My best friend actually has these and let me try hers on and they're super comfortable!

One thing for sure I'm going to spending money on is sending a package to my best friend in the UK!

But, as I discovered after I began writing this, my money is going to come in before I attend MTAC, my local anime convention, next weekend! I've been reasoning with myself to not spend all of my money on ridiculous things, so if I do spend money there, it will probably mostly be in the artist alley, or if I happen to see a cute Chikorita!

I'm going to be dressing up both days I'm attending, so hopefully I can do a quick ootd post? I'm twinning with my best friend the first day!

I hope you all are having a great day~!

Nintendo eshop Game Haul!!

For some reason, buying games on the Nintendo eshop is magical for me. I think it's just the concept of being able to have all these games on you at once while only carrying one thing. My fiance has quite the digital game collection, both on his Wii U and 3DS XL. I want to build up my collection, too!

We traded in a bunch of stuff the other day, and I got a $35 eshop card! I was originally planning to get one big 3DS game and one smaller Virtual Console one, but then I thought about it and I was able to get four Virtual Console titles, one indie game, and one 3DS title! And I still have a little over a dollar left over! I'm going to need to get a bigger SD card for my 3DS soon!

So I'm going to talk about what I got briefly...I'm not really going to get too in-depth into the games, but moreso my personal first impressions of them. (I haven't had too much time to play through them all, yet!)

I am going to go ahead and say, I do recommend all of the games listed! Some moreso then others, and of course it al depends on what sorts of games you personally like to play, but they are all worth trying and all under $8!

Megaman 

(CURRENTLY ON SALE)

The original. The first. My fiance's favorite franchise. Too bad it's dead. Every time he plays it, it seems really fun and I really want to play it. So I finally bought one! I decided to start with the first for a few reasons...because it's the first, obviously (though fiance called it the hardest, oh nooo), secondly because it was on sale. And it is a lot of fun! It's also really hard! I love platformers but gosh am I terrible at them! But even though I'm constantly dying and I'm stuck at one part, I'm having a lot of fun trying, and I am improving! I also love the simplicity of it and how it's really stood the test of time and is still relevant and fun today!

Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse

Castlevania is another one of those franchises that I've heard about forever but never tried out. Just hearing about it from friends, I knew it was hard. But I love vampires and all things spooky, so I decided to try it out. Much like Megaman, I'm not very good at it, but I am having a lot of fun! Unlike Megaman, the images are so complex and detailed; it's absolutely gorgeous. I love how much work was put into the character and background design. I also think it's perfect to play now since Halloween is coming! 

Color Zen

I rarely find anything that strikes my fancy in the "Indie Game" section of the eshop, so I was very surprised to see something so wonderfully lovely. Color Zen calls itself a puzzle game with no real right answer, a game where you should just plug in your headphones and relax. While I have to disagree a bit with that statement (there are right answers to the puzzles, just many ways to get there), it is indeed quite the relaxing game. I haven't tried all the modes in the game yet, but the main mode is very fun. You are presented with colored shapes on a black background and you must get the main color to be that of the border color. Most of the puzzles so far have been pretty easy, but it's still very fun and satisfying to slide one color into another. The sounds that go with this game are also very lovely and ambient. I know I've already said that I recommend all the games here, but I really, really do recommend this one.

Pokemon Battle Trozei

I'm usually skeptical of Pokemon side games. Mostly because I was so let down by Mystery Dungeon, and I've heard bad things about a lot of the newer side games. But my fiance has this and it looked a lot like Puzzle Challenge to me. And this really is a lot of fun! It is like Puzzle Challenge or Puzzle League in that it is a line-them-up game, but it's also so much deeper. It's providing me with both ease and challenge, and it's really loads of fun. Also...the Pokemon are drawn really cute!! 

Super Mario Bros. 2

I'm sure a lot of people know this, but the American Mario 2 was actually a completely different game in Japan retooled to be a Mario game, while the Japanese Mario 2 is known as "Lost Levels." Because of this, this game does indeed play different then all of the other games in the main Mario franchise. But it still works as a Mario game, and it's still a lot of fun. I mentioned I was kind of bad at platformers, and I am not the best at this, but I'm not terrible. This game also introduces one of my favorite Mario characters, Birdo! This game is one of the classics, so there's really not much I can say here. I've really been in a Mario mood recently; I also bought Super Mario Bros. 3 recently, and that plus this game has sated my needs.

Legend of Zelda

The original. The classic. And I've never played it before! My first Zelda game was Link to the Past, which I loved. However, after a while, I had to print out a walkthrough because it was so hard. I might have to be constantly looking a walkthrough for this game as well! There's no map, no real objective. But that's the fun of it, you get to be a real adventurer; a real explorer. I think this is the game I've played the least of out of the six, so I can't say too much of it, but...it's Zelda. It's the first. 

June 2014 Favorites!!

June went by super quickly for me. And you know, not a lot got done either. Kind of a blah month, to be honest. But in June, the fiance and I purchased lots of games and I did lots of thinking and sketching, so there's that. Here's hoping July will be a better month! I'm going to start working out again, so that will be fun.

Also, this isn't the official post about it, but I just hit 575 (well, 576) followers on my tumblr, melty-bunny! It's not a lot compared to others, but it's a lot to me, and 575 just happens to be my favorite number. So, I'm going to be hosting a giveaway!! It's not up yet, so I can't say exactly what's going to be in it, but it's going to be a lot of things that are special to me, or that I think are cool. I can already tell you Sailor Moon, Pokemon, and lolita fashion are going to be involved, so stay tuned ^_^ GIVEAWAY CAN BE FOUND HERE

Random OOTD from today? Okay. Also, before we get started, let me tell you about my hair trauma (because I don't want to dedicate a whole entry to it). I wanted the blue and pink out of my hair and wanted just a nice, normal lighter brown in my hair...and it was an ordeal. First I used a color stripper/remover product to remove the colors...but it barely worked. Then I thought, maybe the dye could cover it up anyways and it would just be darker. Nope. It looked really ugly. So I had to go out and get bleach, let it sit on as long as possible without my hair falling off and it almost got all the color out. Tried dying it again and it's...well, the parts that were pink are a cute color, but the parts that were blue is kind of a dull ashy color, plus that area got really destroyed by the bleach, so it's all frizzy and gross. But, I'm done messing with it for now. If I do anything with it, I'll dye it a little darker brown. No more bleaching or weird colors for me for a while. And definitely no cutting it. I want it to at least be at my shoulders, if not longer.

ANYWAY, onto my monthly favorites~

Let's start with my only beauty product for the month - Tarte's Lipsurgence in what I think is the shade Lust. I got a mini of these in a set my parents I got for my birthday (which is why I don't know the shade; it doesn't say on the packaging). I haven't worn much makeup at all or dressed up often in June because it's so hot. But this is a great product to just throw on alone or paired with other products, and it looks great and stays on long. I first learned about the brand Tarte through grav3yardgirl's videos, and had never really tried anything by them before. This product is very smooth and doesn't dry your lips out like a lot of other lip tints do. You can find this product at Tarte's website, Sephora, and Ulta for a little over $20.

I guess I do have another beauty favorite, sort of. This isn't so much a favorite yet as I know it will be in the future. I briefly mentioned Taobao in my post about plus size lolita fashion; it's a Chinese website that hosts thousands and thousands of stores that sell everything from clothing to furniture to electronics, kind of like Amazon. I had said in that post that Taobao slightly intimidated me and I had never ordered from them yet, as you need a shopping service to do so. But recently I've just spent literally days browsing shop after shop, searching for something and finding so much of it. Street fashion? Anime paraphernalia? Plus size clothing options? Makeup? They have everything I could want and more. And everything is SO AFFORDABLE. It looks a little intimidating, because everything is in yuan...but 400 yuan? That's a little over 60 US dollars. Yeah. And I have to look hard to find something that I would want to buy that is that expensive, anyways. It's the shipping and shopping service fees that are what drive the price up. I haven't ordered anything from Taobao yet, but I have a few hundred bookmarks dedicated to things I'd like to purchase. I want to solely order all my clothes and gifts and plushes from there from now on!! Next time I have some money to spare, I'm definitely placing an order. Expect a haul soonish!

Next is something else that I received for my birthday, this little red Keurig! Doesn't it look so retro? Anyone who knows me knows I have a serious coffee and tea addiction and love going out to Starbucks. This severely cuts down on those Starbucks trips, as I can have creamy iced coffee or a flavored iced tea any time I want! So far my favorite flavors have been Donut Shop's original iced coffee and the raspberry iced tea by...snapple, I think? But there are so many other flavors to try! I have to be good and not drink four cups of coffee in one day, hahaha. This Keurig is a lesson in moderation, heh.

I mentioned these stickers in an older post where I talked about things I wanted to purchase in the near future. And I did! These stickers are the creation of artist Kaiami. All together, plus shipping, they only cost $17. I have them on everything, pretty much. They are so much cuter in person!! And, um, through a shipping error I happen to have two sets of each, and she told me just to keep the extras! How nice!! The extra sheets are taped to my wall currently, but maybe I should include them in my tumblr giveaway, hmm?

I have a notebook and sketchbook fetish. There, I said it. It's a problem. I see a cute blank book, I get attached, then suddenly I end up with a whole shelf full of half-used journals and sketchbooks. Anyway, this cute sketchbook is a Barnes and Noble exclusive I bought during a trip to the Vanderbilt store, and it was pretty cheap too. The best part? All the pages are perforated! Also, this sketchbook has been covered in stickers.

I made a whole post about Vocaloid. It's no surprise I would purchase a new Project Diva game. Hatsune Miku Project Diva F is the first Project Diva game to appear on the PS3. It's loads of fun, but it does have a few flaws. I've been meaning to write a whole review of the game, but I've never really done a review on a video game before, so it's a bit intimidating to do so. But, hopefully this month I will. As always, there are tons of fun songs and loads of modules, room pieces, and other things to unlock. I've pretty much been addicted to this the first half of June.

Mario Kart 8 is a video game both me and my fiance can enjoy! We've been playing it pretty regularly, but there's still a few things we have left to unlock. I am pretty much in love. It's so gorgeous! The graphics are just so clear and that sort of cartoony-realistic that make you want to jump in! The characters handle great and I love all the new additions they added in. I might do a review of this, but I think everyone's beaten me to it, hah. Of course my main character to race as is Princess Daisy on her fast little bike. I'm actually pretty good at racing games!

This is the last video game this month, promise! Tomodachi Life is either a great or boring game, it all really depends on you. I am definitely going to do a long review of this game. I downloaded it launch day and it hasn't gotten boring or old yet. Tomodachi Life is kind of hard to describe...it's sort of like Animal Crossing, sort of like The Sims, and sort of like the popular app, Line Play. Except, with your Miis. You insert your own Mii and any other Mii your imagination can create into an apartment and see what they get up to. You can change their rooms and clothes, but what they do and where they go are pretty much up to them. If this game sounds unappealing, I wouldn't spend the money to try it out, but if it sounds cute or interesting, definitely give it a go!

Okay, technically this isn't a video game, so I didn't lie! It's an app! Line Play, made by the same people who made the popular Line messaging program and Line camera, is a cute little program where you dress up your character, change their room, and interact with others (except if you're me, then you only do the first two). You can socialize and visit strangers, friends, or even licensed characters such as Hello Kitty, Marie Antoinette from the classic anime Rose of Versailles,  and a bar keep from Dragon Quest. It's pretty cute and a fun way to waste a little bit of time. Line Play is free, but of course you can purchase more hearts to give people or more gems to buy clothes and furnishings. I haven't (and probably won't) used real-people money in this app, but the prices are pretty reasonable.

Okay, technically Tomodachi Life was still the last video game, this is just a gaming apparatus, haha! This is my new baby, a blue (and now stickered) 3DS XL in blue. Honestly  I wanted a pink one, but I got this used, so I didn't get much choice. I also got this for free by trading in some old gaming things I didn't use anymore, so that's pretty cool, because the first store I went to to trade in stuff said I'd still have to pay like...more then $70. Free is better. The store owner transferred all my data over for free, so it's like my old 3DS is living in a bigger body. I looove the bigger screens. It's so nice and immersing.

My second to last favorite is a Korilakkuma phone case for my iPhone 5C. I'm going to go ahead and say that I'm very sure this isn't a licensed product. I got it off Amazon for about one dollar with five dollars shipping. It was supposed to arrive this month, actually, but it came within two weeks! It fits perfectly and isn't in any way cumbersome. My phone was cute before but now it's even cuter!!

My last favorite...maybe shouldn't be in my favorites because I haven't watched or read too much of it yet. But Ai no Exorcist/Blue Exorcist is in my favorites because I had avoided it for too long, never liked what I saw and hated its fans...and then I watched a few episodes and was hooked. Family, religion, and demons? Awesome. I will definitely be watching more, and I recommend it!

I had a lot of favorites, even though it was such a boring month! Hopefully next month has a lot of favorites as well. What were some of your favorite things this month?

As for upcoming posts...I'm going to try and actually dress like a normal human, so maybe a few OOTDs, some game reviews, summer anime first impressions, a link to the upcoming tumblr giveaway, aaand...who knows what else~