Arendelle just got a bit colder!

I just had the pleasure of viewing the new Frozen short and Cinderella on the big screen. Naturally, I wanted to show up in style and show that I  have come down with a case of  Frozen Fever!

One of the many souvenirs I brought back from my trip to Disney World in January was this Olaf pin. I normally keep my pins on my Pin Trader lanyard or on a button curtain that I made from a piece of Dumbo fabric. However, occasionally I use them to accessorize outfits, so I pinned it to my black denim jacket. I thought this pin would be perfect because Anna and Elsa's  costumes in Frozen Fever are so bright and adorned with flowers.  

In addition to the pin I also wore my supper comfy Anna dress that I bought from Hot Topic around Christmas time. Although, I still love Elsa, Anna is my favorite sister. This is largely due to the fact that we both love to shove chocolate in our face and also because her name is similar to mine. we also tend to ramble a lot!

The short itself is really cute and I loved the new song. I am really hoping Disney store makes little plushies of Elsa's new creations. I think I might just have to buy the them in threes. I have been snatching up the new merchandise as I see it but have yet to display the pieces I purchased.

first I found these dolls at Toys R Us. When I purchased them they were roughly 17 dollars a piece. Their arms and legs appear to be pretty stiff but I love the hair and intricacy of the outfits for the price range. They also had a more expensive two pack featuring Anna and Kristoff but I did not have the money at the time.

However, I do have lots of plans for the next set of dolls that I purchased. The Disney store currently offers a two pack featuring Anna and Elsa and it is stunning.  The first thing I noticed was the fact that this set of dolls was ball jointed which makes the dolls easier to pose. I am thinking about buying a Japanese model kit and setting up my own version of Anna's birthday party with Cake!
The paint detail on the facial features of the dolls are fantastic. Look at Anna's natural blush! I  also love the tightness of the bun and the way her bangs fall just right. It was well worth the price. I am really torn about opening the package for these two.

Check back tomorrow for my thoughts on  the live action Cinderella and some pictures of the new Cinderella merchandise I picked up!

I can feel it in my code....time for an update!

oh, wow. I haven't updated my little part of cyberspace in forever! Lots of things have happened since my last update in march including, summer internships, semesters of college, hospital stays, Disney Vacations and of course conventions and lots of toy buying. I have been meaning to get back into blogging for a while now and wish to share my adventures with you!

 I feel like I should start with a general update and post pictures and slightly embarrassing completion stories of my Vanellope cosplay,  which I did manage to debut at Dallas Comic Con!

This cosplay was the very first costume I ever completed from scratch! It gave me a whole new level of respect for the hard work that goes in to cosplaying. My costume was by no means perfect but I loved the process and the final product. I want to break down the individual pieces before posting the final product. 

Vanellope's hoodie was VERY hard to find. I searched thrift shops relentlessly. I finally found a teal hoodie that matched Vanellope’s but it was a zip up instead of a pull over. Sometimes you have to work within a budget and with what is readily available to you. I used yarn to add the licorice hood strings and embellishments. The flash unfortunately distorted the colors a bit so you may get a better idea from the final product photos.

The Leggings were just as tricky to track down and duplicate. Thankfully, I found a pair of teal/ mint colored tights at my local target. I do not remember the price but I know they were pretty inexpensive. Target is the place to go for Tights if you are looking for slightly oddball color choices. At this point, I enlisted the help of my friend Kat for panting the stripes. This is largely due to the fact that I have very little artistic talent and frankly, she would be painting the tights while they were on my body.  This act of true friendship, resulted in standing backyard on a warm day while singing Disney songs (badly on my part but Kat has a wonderful singing voice) at the top of our lungs. She expertly wrapped the stripes around my legs using a Martha Stewart fabric paint with a small paint roller.  Once the paint dried ( in like 20 minutes) she used a purple sharpie to add detail. Could we have found an easier way? Yeah, probably but where would the fun be in that?

We also coated candy pieces in Mod Podge to add to the wig I bought from ebay but I failed to take pictures of that process. Now, on to the finished product. It was imperfect but for my very first Cosplay it was not Bad! 

The second is my favorite photo because a racer is still a racer regardless of what galaxy she is in. Sometimes you just feel it in in your code!

I have lots of other cosplays planned like Lydia Deetz and a school girl version of Madoka from Madoka Magica. Plus, a blog about my recent trip to Disney World!

An Adventure Under The Sea

In 1989, Disney breathed new life into the classic The Little Mermaid. Loosely based on Hans Christian Anderson story, The Disney adaptation told the tale of a young mermaid named Ariel that desires to be part of our world upon the surface. After saving the life of a sailor, that is later revealed to be a prince, Ariel makes a Faustian bargain with an evil sea witch in order to become human and be with the human she loves.   Now in 2014, Ariel, Eric, Ursula, and everyone’s favorite crustacean conductor have left the ocean again courtesy of Dallas Summer Musicals and Fair Park Music Hall. 

In the musical adaption of the film, Chelsea Morgan Stock’s singing voice rivals that of Jodi Benson, who gave voice to Ariel in Disney’s animated feature film.  In addition to the original songs from the film, the stage production offers new musical scores by Howard Ashman and Glen Slater that will become “Part of Your World” and just as beloved as the original soundtrack. The song “Beyond My Wildest Dreams,” is an original number that helps showcases Ariel’s childlike infatuation with the human world as she finally  finds herself on land and inside her true love’s palace.  Pleasantly, the Musical adaption also offers more insight into the villainous mind of the evil sea witch Ursula who is denied much of a backstory within the Disney film. Liz McCartney embodies Ursula in the stage production effortlessly and her performance of several original numbers details her previous deeds to include murdering her sisters in “I Want The Good Times Back.” 

Stock’s portrayal of the beloved Disney princess was made all the more believable thanks to the swimming sequences choreographed by Paul Rubin. The wire work featured within the stage adaption allowed for the clear separation between the underwater world and that of the surface. The seemingly effortless swimming acrobatics and the consistent rippling of cast members via subtle body movement as choreographed by Billy Spague showcased a great attention to detail. The precise movements by Stock and the rest of the cast encouraged the audience to believe they were partaking in an underwater adventure right along with Ariel. 

The costume coordination and design by Amy Clark and Mark Koss also deserves a bit more than an honorable mention within this critique. This is perhaps the most true when it comes to considering the use of LED lighting in  the costuming of  Ursula’s dubious henchmen, Flotsam and Jetsam. The timely use of the lighting allowed emphasis to Scott Leiendecker and Sean Patrick Doyle’s chilling performance of “Sweet Child” in which they coerce Ariel into meeting with her less than honorable aunt, Ursula.  Clark and Koss’ use of silks and other flowing fabrics made the transition for Triton, Ariel, and cast of the other Merfolk from screen to stage seem effortless as it allowed for movability within the several wirework sequences featured within the performance. 

Charlie Morison’s lighting was a valuable contribution to the stage adaption as well.  The ambiance of the lighting by using subtle blues and greens created a believable ambiance that embellished chirography the underwater sequences. This use of subtle lighting greatly contrasted the bright over the top lighting used to differentiate the surface world from Triton’s underwater Kingdom. 
Music Hall at Fair Park itself invited the attendees of The Little Mermaid musical to be submerged into a world under the sea, that for me, became much more than simply seeing a musical based on one of my all-time favorite Disney stories.   

As a venue, the music Hall showcased exuberance with its high ceilings and fanciful chandeliers. Also, If you were fortunate to partake in a meal before the performance you may have been delighted to see items like “Triton’s Tuna and White Bean Salad” and “ Scuttle’s Spinach and feta  stuffed Chicken breasts,” among other delectable gourmet dishes.  I felt that these names, although a tad morbid added to the experience as a whole.  I was also enchanted by the fact that you could purchase your very own Dingle-hopper hair brush at the merchandise booth because at some point every little girl attempts to comb their hair with a fork after seeing the film. 


I must admit that besides loving all things Disney, Especially the Little Mermaid, my main reason for attending this performance was due to the fact I am required to go to three art exhibits or performances for my art appreciation class. I am a college student after all! After giving us the assignment my teacher informed us about Student Rush Seats, which is when events offer low cost seats to students usually the day of the show. This is done in order to give students affordable access to the arts (usually at the cost of the lowest seating arrangement available. For example a last minute floor seat may cost a student the price of a nose-bleed balcony seat) and to fill the floor seats which may go for a price of 250 or more depending on the venue and performance. This news while making me super giddy, made me slightly upset because no one had told me this information previously. Had I have known I would have used it to my advantage. Hello, Wicked! I would have been defying Gravity right along with Elphaba instead of opting to miss out on one of my all-time musicals because as a student, I could not afford the 100-200 dollar asking price. I mean why isn’t this common knowledge? I believe that If more people could afford the arts than more people would support them. Right? 

I would also like to thank Fair Park Music Hall for having disability friendly seating available on the floor and offering it for the lowest ticket price available. Needless to say a lot of venues do not offer this. I remember seeing the off-Broadway version of Hairspray while living in Cleveland and having to pay a large amount (120 dollars for tickets) just so that I could sit in a seat that I could get to because the building was old and had very limited wheelchair access. I think it’s important to praise venues that offer options to handicap people and for this reason I will continue to go to their performance hall and support the arts.

Lastly, Here is a photo of me taken after the show because I loved my Ariel dress so much. Yay!