7 Things that Get Me in the Holiday Spirit

And so are the holidays! I get extra excited for Christmas when there are less than ten days to go, but there are a few things that never fail to get me in the holiday spirit. Whether they be books, TV shows, or special food, they're all festive to me.

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Hogwarts at Christmas is magical. You can't help but feel the wonder as Harry does during his first year at Hogwarts, with the Great Hall decked out in holiday attire and presents appearing at the foot of his bed when he wasn't expecting anything at all. There's something really innocent about the first book that feels extra cozy in December.

2. "Sherlock"

I started an accidental tradition with myself a few years ago when I was wrapping presents for friends and family. I wanted some background noise, so I put on an old "Sherlock" episode I'd seen a dozen times already. Now I watch an episode as I wrap every year. (This year I watched "A Scandal in Belgravia," since there's an actual Christmas party in the episode.)

3. "Doctor Who" Christmas specials

I consistently love the "Doctor Who" Christmas specials, and not just because they're longer. They're always a little bit heartbreaking, but also very heartwarming, and extremely well-written. This year I watched "A Christmas Carol" with my brother, since we were in a stage production of "A Christmas Carol." My favorites are probably "The Christmas Invasion" (because Tennant) and "Voyage of the Damned" (because Tennant). "The Snowmen" is also pretty good and really funny.


4. Hot chocolate with peppermint ice cream

Besides being delicious, this drink also prompts really great memories of me writing Beneath the Moon and Stars, which is set around Christmas and often features the main characters drinking hot chocolate with peppermint ice cream. If you haven't tried it before, you should do it now.

5. Christmas Crack

AKA addictive toffee that you have to crack apart into little pieces when you make it (see? The pun works both ways.). It's oh-so-good and the perfect blend of sweet and salty. We tops ours with all kinds of goodies: coconut, M&M's, Reese's minis, crushed candy canes, mini Twix, etc.

6. Rissóis de Camarão (Portuguese shrimp turnovers)

My family made these one year and we've had to restrain ourselves from making it several times throughout the year because they're amazing. Hands down my favorite holiday treat. We haven't made them yet this Christmas and my mouth is watering just thinking about them.

7. Snow and fuzzy socks

Nothing beats snow falling outside while you're warm and cozy inside, curled up with a book or bingewatching a new show.

What festive traditions do you have? Leave a comment!

Time Lady Fashion

Posting about anything even remotely related to fashion or clothing is a first for me, but I was inspired by Loot Crate to post something involving geeky fashion. Which is the best kind, obviously. ;)

Loot Crate is a company that sells subscription boxes of geeky goodies with different themes. Want something fangirl based? They have a crate for that. How about something for your dog? If I had all the money in the world, I'd be buying several of these.

Anyways, onto the outfit! It's "Doctor Who" themed (surprise surprise).

This "Doctor Who" dress has to be one of my favorite finds from Hot Topic.

And this poster is just awesome!!! I found it at a local Comicon. How cool would a tenth Doctor movie be?!

You can see the designs a lot better here. Cybermen, Daleks, the TARDIS, 3-D glasses, various catchphrases, and more are patterned on the dress.

Because you totally wanted a picture of my face this close. Here you can see my TARDIS blue eye shadow and (sort of) glittery blue mascara.

I wear my "don't blink" earrings on a near daily basis.

One of my best friends got this necklace for me, and it's so cute! It has the TARDIS, a TARDIS key, and a sonic screwdriver on it.

And a TARDIS blue bracelet to match.

So that's my go-to cute/casual "Doctor Who" outfit. :)

What geeky/fangirl attire do you have? I'd love to hear about them!

30 Day SuperWhoLock Challenge - Day 3

 

Day 3 = "Favorite 'Supernatural' ship?" 

Again . . . I'm in the minority here, but I'm not a Destiel shipper. I don't have anything against the ship itself or anyone who does ship it (and there are times I can totally see valid points to the ship. And who didn't ship them in Twist and Shout?), but I have another ship on my mind.

Yes, Dean. Megstiel.

An angel and a demon? In a ship? In love? Bear with me here.

This is not your typical angel. Cas is as much the duty-bound angel as Dean is an exercise freak. That is to say, Cas isn't another soldier from Heaven. He's broken free from their constructs and twisted principles.

And Meg still has heavy traces of demon in her, yes, but she evolved just like Cas did. She believes in free will and gray area and doing what's best for the people on your team. She happens to be against most of Hell.

The crazy thing is I never would've expected to ship an angel and a demon in this show. And towards the beginning, I despised Meg. But because of the amazing writing and storytelling and character development, I ended up squealing and writing Megstiel fan-fiction.

Cas and Meg have the possibility to be opposite in every way, but their differences compliment each other. The things they have in common are the most important ones, giving this ship everything it needs to be sea-worthy.

 

 

Are you a SuperWhoLockian? Feel free to steal these prompts for yourself! Which "Supernatural" ship is your favorite?

30 Day SuperWhoLock Challenge - Day 2

Day 2 = "Favorite 'Sherlock' ship?"

I'm definitely in the minority here (I make up part of 3% of the fandom*), but here it is:

Sheeeerrrrrrlllllooooolllllyyyyyyyyy!!!

Sure, it's not canon, but that doesn't stop it from being awesome. The unrequited frustration Molly has to be feeling is about the level of agonizing torture us Sherlolly shippers go through every time we watch the show. What makes it even worse is that it's been three seasons and SIX YEARS of waiting. And still nothing, save for the numerous sparks and chemistry that neither of them act upon. GAH.

I'd just like to say, for someone who can correctly identify every other single aspect of someone just by giving them a glance, Sherlock Holmes sure is oblivious to Molly's feelings. EVEN JOHN SEES IT. Everyone knows Molly would do anything, anything, for Sherlock. Hell, she even pretended he was dead for two years in order to keep him safe.

I always like to describe Sherlock and Molly's relationship as Sheldon and Amy's from "The Big Bang Theory." They're two extremely different people when it comes to more social aspects, but they share a lot of the same interests and help each other out in their weaker areas. Sherlock helps Molly become a stronger and more assertive person throughout the seasons while Molly tries her best to educate Sherlock in empathy. It's a perfect match.

Now if only we could get Season 4 . . .

*a random percentage I pulled out of thin air totally professional and accurate statistic

Are you a SuperWhoLockian? Feel free to steal these prompts for yourself! Which "Sherlock" ship is your favorite?

30 Day SuperWhoLock Challenge - Day 1

So I found this challenge forever ago and hadn't gotten around to it until now. I won't be doing 30 days in a row necessarily, but I'll be going through each prompt until I finish it up. Any time I'm given a chance to fangirl about my fandoms is a good time for me!

Day 1 = "What fandom did you first join?"

That fandom would be the classic gateway fandom of the three:

The best fandoms are the ones that you have entirely low expectations going into and end up adoring more than baby elephants and a pound of Reese's cups. That was "Doctor Who," for me. A sci-fi alien show featuring creatures that looked like a second grader's robot science fair experiment? I was expecting to hate it. If three people hadn't independently of each other recommended it to me, I wouldn't have even tried. And considering my first experience with the show was "Rose" (the first episode of the 2005 reboot where the main bad guys were animated mannequins), it's a wonder I even continued watching. Thank goodness I have a "don't judge any show by the first episode" rule for myself.

"Father's Day" is eventually what sold me on the show. I wasn't expecting tears. I wasn't expecting anything more than fluffy, silly, goofball, time travel adventures when I started watching. I didn't think I'd end up with an obsession or with crumpled tissues surrounding my bed as I sniffled and hit "next episode." But that's what I got, and thanks to "Doctor Who," nearly every other fandom followed.

Are you a SuperWhoLockian? Feel free to steal these prompts for yourself! What fandom did you first join?

My Favorite "Platoniships" and Why it Should Be a Word

Shipping is the best. It's one of my favorite things to do while fangirling over my favorite fandoms. But all too often we focus on the romantic ships and forget the other, just as important relationships. Don't get me wrong, I love my adorable OTPs as much as the next fangirl, but what about the friendships? I've been calling these "platoniships," and I have just as many of these ships as I do my romantic ones, if not more. A few examples . . .

Harry, Ron, and Hermione from the Harry Potter series

I so wish I could find an illustration of these three by Jim Kay, because his drawings are GORGEOUS.

This trio was the perfect balance of mischief and heroism. Sure they broke the rules sometimes, but you always, always rooted for them. And no matter how often any combination of the three fought, they stuck together when it mattered most. Harry wouldn't have been able to do 90% of the things he did without help from the other two. Teamwork at its finest!

The Marauders from the Harry Potter series

OKAY BUT LOOK AT HOW CUTE LUPIN IS WITH HIS CHOCOLATE

I. Love. These. Guys. So many fan-fiction possibilities with these four. And before, you know, Peter betrayed everyone, they were the best friends any of them could've asked for. James, Sirius, and Peter all broke the law and became unregistered animagi just so Remus wouldn't have to be alone! If that's not love, I don't know what is.

Calvin and Hobbes from the Calvin and Hobbes series

These two may be at the top of my list. Even looking for a picture was difficult because there were so many different ways to portray them! I could've gone for sweet, silly, fun, etc. Ultimately I decided on this one, because I think at the heart of it, Calvin and Hobbes were about laughter. They wanted to goof off and smile and imagine whole new worlds they could have a blast in. This is my favorite comic strip series ever for that reason.

The Doctor and Donna from "Doctor Who"

How awesome are Ten and Donna?! The answer is SO AWESOME. They're hysterical, fun, sassy, gutsy, and make a fabulous team. Not to mention a couple of the kindest hearts to ever walk the Whovian earth. The Doctor showed Donna wonders and Donna made the Doctor more human in the best way. They had some of the best chemistry any two people have had on TV ever. I'm still so sad they only lasted a season.

Sherlock and John from "Sherlock"

THESE TWO. However you ship it, you can't deny that they're brilliant together. Solving murders and giggling at the crime scenes while they do it? It's the perfect blend of drama and humor. And can we talk about how much Sherlock has grown over the seasons thanks to John's friendship? (And John because of Sherlock's, for that matter!) Yay for character development!

Sam and Dean from "Supernatural"

Who says siblings can't be friends? And these brothers have one of the BEST sibling relationships I have ever seen in fiction ever. EVER, I TELL YOU. Sam and Dean behave just like normal siblings would (teasing each other, pulling pranks, getting into heated debates about music and other pop culture stuff, etc.), and they would literally sacrifice themselves for the other in a heartbeat. Eleven seasons of this show and it's still going strong, all because of them.

Charlie and Dean from "Supernatural"

Dean once described Charlie as "the little sister he never wanted," and I think that's the perfect way to sum up their friendship. He's definitely an older brother figure to her, and that's exactly what Charlie needed in her life. After all the pain and loneliness she went through, Dean became her rock. And not only have they shared some sweet moments, but plenty of fun ones, too. (Who can forget the famous "Walking On Sunshine" montage?)

Lorelai and Rory from "Gilmore Girls"

I totally think kids can be friends with their parents, and Lorelai and Rory are proof of that. They're supportive of the dreams of the other, they encourage and inspire each other, and they're so close they can practically finish each other's sentences. And when they do talk, it's hard to get a word in edgewise. The dialogue is constantly fast-paced. The wit is unreal. Watching them interact on screen is addictive. It's like opening a package of M&M's and just eating one. Which is absurd, because you never eat just one. You have to eat the entire thing, clearly. Watching a few minutes isn't enough to get your Gilmore fix. You need to watch an entire episode (or three).

Chandler and Joey from "Friends"

And for those of you who haven't watched "Friends," yes, yes they are riding on a statue of a dog.

Ah, Chandler and Joey. Once of the best TV bromances. Watching them crack each other up and go through life together is a joy. Most of my favorite scenes involve the two of them getting into all kinds of mayhem. ("What kind of scary ass clowns came to your birthday?") Could they BE anymore awesome?

Scott and Stiles from "Teen Wolf"

Out of all the possible ships, romantic or otherwise, in this show, Scott and Stiles are my favorite. They remind me a lot of Chandler and Joey in some ways, Stiles being the sarcastic one, although Scott is wayyy smarter than Joey. The unconditional support and friendship they have for each other gives me all the feels. I can never have too much of them in a single episode.

Cinder and Thorne from The Lunar Chronicles

Ermahgerd, I can't even with these two!!! Thorne is a fabulous Han Solo/Captain Jack Harkness/Dean Winchester type, the perfect blend of cockiness and sarcastic humor (even though everybody knows he's a total teddy bear on the inside). Cinder is smart and impatient and can totally kick butt in any situation. Watching the two of them collide and go from bickering to . . . well, more bickering has been one of the best parts of the entire series. I love them. I need more. Now.

Rey and Finn from "Star Wars: The Force Awakens"

This is the best picture I could find considering how new the movie is.

Can I get a round of applause for brother-sister type friendships? Because that's exactly what this one is, in my mind. Banter and teamwork and protectiveness, FTW! I'm sooo freaking excited to see more of them in future movies. (And BB-8, of course, who's just a little ball of adorable sunshine.)

Parker and Hardison from "Leverage"

Parker and Hardison are a tentative addition since I'm only in the middle of season one and Cait has suggested I might end up "shippy shipping" them (her awesome words). But for now, how sweet are they together?! Apparently I'm a sucker for brother-sister friendships. Parker deserves all the hugs, and Hardison has the best ridiculous scenes. I love it so much.

Your turn! What are you favorite platoniships? Leave a comment! :)

Top 15 Favorite Doctor Who Quotes

So this was originally going to be a "Top 10" post, because that's a nice, even number that are often used in "Top XYZ" posts. But then it stretched into twelve, so I thought, okay, that'll work because there are twelve Doctors. Then it just kept getting longer, so I made it fifteen for 2015. Basically what I'm trying to say is that there are just too many good Doctor Who quotes to possibly include them all! After lots of consideration, I finally narrowed it down to my absolute favorites, but it doesn't even scratch the surface.

(Plus, this post gave me a chance to mess around with photo editing, which I always enjoy! I think putting the images together took longer than actually picking the quotes . . . maybe.)

Tenth Doctor, "Doomsday"

Eleventh Doctor, "The Big Bang"

Eleventh Doctor, "The Pandorica Opens"

Eleventh Doctor, "The Power of Three"

Amy Pond, "The Girl Who Waited"

Ninth Doctor, "Rose"

Eleventh Doctor, "Vincent and the Doctor"

Tenth Doctor, "The Lazarus Experiment."

Tenth Doctor, "Fear Her"

Eleventh Doctor, "The Almost People"

Rose Tyler, "The Parting of the Ways"

Eleventh Doctor, "A Christmas Carol"

Twelfth Doctor, "Listen"

Eleventh Doctor, "The Time of the Doctor"

Eleventh Doctor, "Official BBC Series 5 Trailer"

What are your favorite "Doctor Who" quotes? Leave a comment!