*Anime Milwaukee 2018!!!*

Last weekend I got to go to Anime Milwaukee for the first time! It was really fun and I met so many lovely cosplayers :D

My L cosplay turned out really well, and I met such a sweet Juuzou Suzuya cosplayer! (I absolutely LOVE IT when people cosplay this totally unappreciated but awesome character! X)

Taking photos with cosplayers is honestly one of my favorite things to do at cons it would seem (even though this is only my second one that I've been to)

This was my third cosplay I've ever worn at a con, and I think it turned out pretty well! People kept mentioning L's death, though, and I kept trying to convince them it never happened...;P

(>u<)/

This is my favorite photo I got with this really cute furry who's costume was SO WELL DONE and it had such a playful and sweet persona, too :D

Here's some more of my favorite cosplay photos

I absolutely adore it when people dress up their service dogs in matching cosplays! *This little Slytherpuff duo had me fangirling so hard*

Not a cosplay you see every day (*u*)

This Annie and survey corps member duo tho

I'M PRETTY SURE SHE HAND PAINTED THAT SUIT :o

Such a cute cosplay, and a sweet cosplayer, too >u<

Mikasa cosplay, so awesome :D

And finally me and Light

(So glad to find at least one Light, I only saw two other Ls at the whole con >u<)

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I bought some cute and relatively inexpensive merch, as well including this lil kitty keychain named Strawberry Shortcat

I also got some free Voltron and Trollhunters posters, but they got bent in transporting them to my dorm and need to be flattened out with some books or something

Aren't my kawaii prints adorbs tho??? (>u<)

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I have major post-con depression now so I'm planning out my next cosplay. I'm thinking about maybe doing magica madoka one of these days

CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT CON!!!

My Favorite Teas

Yes, I absolutely love to drink tea. It is such a simple yet beautiful drink, and you can find lots of really cute products to make tea, such as cute infusers, cups, teapots, and the like. Or, you can keep it as simple as possible. There's so many different types out there to try, and I just can't stress enough how comforting and nice a warm cup of tea really is.

White Tea: This flavor of tea seems to be so rare and difficult to find. However, it's worth the hunt for the delicate flavor and unique experience. I've typically found it paired with pear or ginger teas.

Peppermint: I think this must be my favorite flavor of tea. It's definitely my go-to tea, and I almost always have some stocked up in my dorm. It's super relaxing and actually helps with upset stomachs and things like that. Definitely the most comforting type of tea to drink, in my personal experience.

Chamomile Tea: One warning about this tea: don't drink it in the morning! I always try to save this tea for drinking in the evening before I go to bed because it can sometimes make me SO SLEEPY. Even if this is just placebo effect, it totally works and helps me to feel so nice and relaxed and ready for bed. I've found it especially soothing on colds and sore throats, as well.

Green Tea: For someone who really does enjoy green tea, I don't find myself actually drinking it that often. However, I really love the earthy flavor and find it especially delightful when blended with other flavors. It's a staple in Japan, and I won't say that's the sole reason I like it, but it definitely influences it. ;)

And that's it for my most favorite types of tea. Brand wise I'd have to say Teavana has the best teas I've ever tasted, as well as such a bright and aesthetically-pleasing delivery and presentation on their products. The strong and pleasant flavors are well worth the price you pay for the colorful and beautiful tea bags, as well.

Later, Peeps💗

Growing Out Your Pixie/Short Hair

About three months ago I made a big decision. I decided to chop off all of my hair in an effort to dramatically change my appearance because I felt like I needed a change. It was something new, plus it was cute and very easy to take care of. It was a little complicated to style in the sense that I had never had experience styling a pixie cut before, but I figured it out soon enough and it was fun. However, I began to miss my long hair soon enough, and am now in the process of growing it out. This means that I'm now in what I like to call the "floofy stage." (Mostly because it makes me feel better than using the term "mullet stage.") I feel kind of like a fluffy dog or something in this awkward in-between stage, so I've naturally been researching ways to get your hair to grow faster and ways to style pixie cuts in cute and fun ways as you grow them out. I'm planning on laying out some of the ideas here on my blog kind of for personal organization but if anyone else finds it to be helpful, that's cool too. :)

Tips for getting it to grow FASTER:

Surprisingly, I discovered washing your hair actually prevents growth. Most people recommended washing only once or twice a week. I typically do three times, so I'll try to cut that down...wish me luck...

Next, there seemed to be conflicting views on trimming. Some people recommended getting trims often for faster growth, but others suggested avoiding that and instead powering through the floofy stage. I'm going to power through, personally, and see what happens.

Some recommended hair masks. It's definitely an option, but I've never done them before so it would be a new experience.

Personal scalp massages were also suggested, but only for a week out of every month. I'm not sure of the exact science behind that, but I do know that scalp massages are basically proven to stimulate hair growth.

Tips for styling whilst being FLOOFY:

Most of the videos I watched used a lot of headbands. I've definitely discovered that headbands are definitely my new best friend as a pixie girl. I also have personally tried doing two tiny pigtails in the back of my head where that awkward floof *ahem* mullet *ahem* comes into play, and it has turned out pretty cute. My pixie is extremely layered, however, and it is sometimes difficult to get them to stay in place.
I would personally recommend using lots of bobbi pins and hairbows/clips to help feel a little bit more girly about your hair. Everyone has their own style and views and opinions on how to wear their pixie, though, and if you can grow it out without wanting to style it like I feel the need to, good for you! However, I personally like to feel more girly and find that super cute bows help me stay as kawaii as possible.
I also personally love using the Unicorn Snot I mentioned in a previous post. It's so very pink and sparkly and so fun to use in your hair. I would say you could even use it every day if you wanted to, since it isn't too bold.

And that's all I've got for today, let me know in the comments below of any other pixie struggles anyone else has had or general hair tips they know of.

Later, peeps💗

FAV *Easy-to-Find* Anime/Japanese Foods

Don't get me wrong - I absolutely adore American food. You can pile on the pizza on my plate, along with fries and burgers and all that good stereotypical stuff. Trust me, I love it. However, you haven't truly explored the true potential in your palette if you haven't tried any of the anime/Japanese foods I'm about to talk about.

Like most of us, I can't actually afford to take a trip out to Japan and get all the yummy goodies they have there. Instead, I have to be content with just watching YouTubers eat them and trust that their opinions on the flavors are correct. 

However, there are lots of really really good Japanese foods I've discovered here in America that are just enough to keep my lil otaku tummy satisfied. Barely.

Ramen

Oh where would we be without this staple in life. It's a number one choice for me as a college student, obviously, but it also is just so fun to eat with chopsticks and a little bowl and just curl up and watch anime and feel like a true otaku. It's also mega cheap, as everyone knows, and it's really fun to try all the different flavors. You can also dress it up and add veggies, eggs, and meet to it, but I honestly have never personally tried that. I just eat it as it is. I'm sure it would be really fun to try to find a traditional ramen recipe on the internet and try that out, though.

Ramune

Ramune sodas are a recent discovery by yours truly. I've been able to find them at grocery stores, rarely, in the Asian foods section. More commonly, I like to buy mine at Fuzziwig's Candy Factory. They have a fantastic selection of Japanese candies and goodies, which includes typically a whole fridge full of many different flavors of ramune sodas! They even had some of them themed after Naruto characters, however, I haven't yet been able to find any cute Hello Kitty ones like the one pictured here! Of course, you can almost always find these at anime conventions, as well.

My personal favorite flavors are:

🌸Lychee

🌸Strawberry

🌸Orange

🌸Original

I guess there's a grape flavor out there too, but I absolutely hate grape flavored things so I haven't personally tried that one. I'd also like to mention my friend had gotten the original ramune soda and described the taste as being soapy to him? I proceeded to drink the rest of it, and I personally enjoyed it so I'm not sure what he was talking about. Either I like soap or he didn't know what he was saying lol.

Sushi

I am so blessed to have two locations from which I've been able to find quality sushi. The first is a grocery store near me which just got it's own small sushi station. It's all traditionally prepared, and you can actually watch it being made and packaged. It's fresh and lovely, and not too expensive. They've also just started carrying mochi which makes me very excited as well!! The other location I've been able to get sushi from is on my college campus, where they sell sushi once a week.

I do have a bit of a shrimp sensitivity, so I try to stick with the salmon-based sushi. My favorite part of the sushi roll itself is the rice and seaweed, honestly, which is closely followed by that satisfying crunch of the cucumber and cream cheese type spread inside. It's such a lovely combination of flavors in your mouth! I feel like the actual smoked or raw fish inside is just an added bonus to the otherwise lovely creation.

I'd also like to stress that I've only had the privilege of enjoying the traditional california rolls, but I would absolutely love to try other forms of sushi if given the chance! 

Pocky/Hello Panda

I absolutely adore pocky. I have tried the three main kinds sold in Hot Topic, which are strawberry, cookies and cream, and chocolate, of which I would definitely have to say the strawberry is my favorite, and not just because it's pink. I also recently tried hello pandas and oh wow are those things good. I am fortunate enough to have a grocery store very near me that sells pocky and hello pandas for very cheap prices! Much cheaper than they are sold at in anime stores in malls and things. Always check your grocery store for these goodies, they're very common and super essential to the otaku's pantry. There are also a wide variety of flavors to try, such as matcha pocky, banana pocky, almond-cluster pocky, and much much more. There's a few variants in the hello panda line as well, although I don't think it's kicked off quite as much as pocky has.

And that's it for my list of easy-to-find otaku foods! There's lots more to discover in the world of Japanese cuisine and foods typically displayed in anime. But, these are the ones that I've discovered so far and enjoy on a weekly basis. :)

Later, Peeps💗

Top 5 ~Fav Anime~ as a Budding Otaku

As always, finding the right order to rate these anime are so difficult, because they are all super enjoyable to watch and have characters that make me laugh and cry. However, I definitely do have my favorites. I thought it might be interesting for people to read this since I have only been watching anime for the past year or so, and these are the ones that are the most enjoyable to me from not having started watching anime at a young age.

#5: Death Note

I haven't actually finished watching this anime, but from what I have seen of it I absolutely love it. I love the concept of the Death Note and the whole idea of the show really makes you think. Not to mention the unique and well-crafted characters in the show. I'm definitely in love with both L and Light, and Misa is such a relatable character in the best way possible...minus the whole killing-people thing. But in the goth/rebel but also kind of kawaii at the same time thing, I'm totally there.

#4: Fruits Basket

This show is such a cute and kawaii show! Although it does follow a pretty simple plot line, and it can feel a bit slow at times, it's very humorous and the characters are so well developed and fun to watch! I'm in love with Yuki and Kyo, and I honestly can't decide which one I'd rather marry in my weeaboo fantasies...hehe...

The main enjoyment in watching these episodes comes from the cute humor and anticipating the day when Tohru will finally understand that these cute boys like her and whether she'll make a choice between them or not. So, like I said, cute and simple plot line, but with a little bit of a twist in the fact that these cute boys are in fact animals from the original zodiac!

#3: Tokyo Ghoul

This series honestly had me crying so, so, so many times. It is absolutely horrifying and painful to watch in it's gruesome scenes, so it's definitely not for the faint of heart. However, it also portrays what I believe to be the most intense character arc ever written for a protagonist. Our main character goes from such a sweet, kind, slightly awkward book lover to the tortured part-ghoul, part-human soul we all love. 

To be honest, I've completely fallen in love with Juuzou Suzuya in this show even more than Kaneki Ken, although I definitely love our main character dearly as well. There's just something about Juuzou's insane innocence and maddeningly terrifying calmness about him that intrigues me so much about the character. He's such a kawaii little murderer and I can't help but find him to be one of the most adorable anime characters I've ever seen.

#2: Attack on Titan

Attack on Titan is extremely dear to my heart. It was the second anime I watched, and I was completely obsessed with it for a solid month and a half of my life. Of all the anime merch that I have, I think my Attack on Titan merch has to be my favorite. The story is so rich and complicated. There is definitely a reason it does so well here in America as well as in Japan.

As we all know, Levi Ackerman is my biggest crush in the entire world, second only to Sebastian Stan maybe, and so I absolutely adore every scene that involves even the tiniest bit of his presence. Where's my Levi body pillow everyone I mean come on lol. 

#1: RWBY

RWBY was the first ever anime that I watched! I know that a lot of people don't consider it to be a true anime since it technically started in America instead of Japan, but I am on the side that it is an anime. This show is so rich in every aspect of storytelling. The costumes for every character were designed specifically with cosplayers in mind, and they each coincide in very symbolic ways with each character. 

The plot is constantly taking different twists and turns, and new characters are always being introduced, but not at a confusing rate. It is also beginning to develop a stronger fanbase, and I'm so excited that you can now go out and buy merch of the series! I'm so proud of the few posters I've found of this fandom, and my Ruby cosplay my dear friend made for me!

Honorable Mention: Magi Madoka Magica

Although I've only seen the first movie in this series I am absolutely in love with it. I kind of hated it because I wasn't expecting it to get so dark halfway through, but I honestly really appreciated where the plot was going and how unexpected it was. I literally got chills watching it at the unexpected gruesome parts and at first I was honestly terrified but then I loved it. Definitely recommend for those of you who are like me and love all things kawaii and pink, but also appreciate real story and realize that typically good stories take place in a real world where bad things happen.

Let me know in the comments below of any other anime I should add to my favorites list! 

Later, peeps💗