Handheld Mistress #28: Ps3 Catchup

Hi Gang!
 Here I am again, I'm finally getting used to a consistent schedule, I sure did miss it! Speaking of missing things, this post is all about the missed Playstation Three games of 2014, I'm blogging on exactly 3 hours of sleep, so let just jump right in!

- Uncharted 2 Among Thieves: I picked this up because of my sister. She has this one and three, and she thoroughly enjoyed them and I am all for a adventure puzzle game, that is literally the definition of up my alley! I started it and continued to play until I hit a tough spot, I didn't get very far, I think maybe a half hour of game play, but that was also when I had to share the television and the playstation with Alex's Father, now that it is all mine. I plan on making good on my new year gaming resolution.

- Fairytale Fights: I am in love with this game! It was super cheap when I found it, but if I had known about it when it first came out I would have definitely paid full price. Not only is the art super deformed and cute, but it has the gore factor of Splatterhouse. You literally get to skate around in your enemy's blood, what is not to like?

- L.A. Noire: Is actually a game that I've had since I first bought my Ps3, but never got around to playing it, a friend starting playing it at my house and I lost interest, since the friend is gone now, I will probably starting this one soon as well.

- Deus Ex Human Revolution: I know nothing about this game except that when it first came out it was very popular. I remember a lot of online chatter and Chubisaur raving about it on her tumblr, but that was a few years ago, almost 4 now!!! I am always up for something new, and I am excited to sink my teeth into something completely new.

- Borderlands: Everyone , everywhere on the internet was talking about this game. I even came across an ad for it in a dentists office! After hearing so many good things I decided to purchase it because I wanted to try something different, I started playing it and ran out of ammo, and the camera angles gave me such a headache that I never touched it again, but I'm sure I'll be picking it up again soon, since I've gotten used to Bioshock 2.

- Assassin's Creed: Another really old, popular game that I finally decided to give a chance. I was actually really intrigued with it's game play, but I haven't really gotten the chance (I.e. Been lazy) to delve deeper, but with a couple of off days coming up, I will be attempting it soon.


Until Next Time,
~Gabriella!~

read more

Series #7: Arrow Seasons 1+2 (Spoilers!)

 Hi Gang!
  It seems like Netflix and I have become the best of friends over the last couple of weeks. I have finished/caught up on quite a few shows, but this post I am going to be focusing on Arrow. It was a little slow moving at first but after episode 6 it really picked up. As usual, keep in mind that these are my own opinions and spoilers!

- I cannot express just how much I LOVE FELICITY!!! Felicity Smoak has to be one of my favorite characters in quite some time. She's smart, She's witty, and She's adorably awkward. She knows her way around a computer and she is relateable. Especially, when she unloads her worrie
s about not having a place on the team anymore because Sara is back and just generally kicking ass and taking names, it showed viewers that she was vulnerable and it was okay for us to be vulnerable right along with her. I HATE how Oliver used her in the end. Just another reason to add to the next blurb.

- I hate how Oliver Queen treats the women in the show. Even as a child, I was never a fan of Green Arrow/ Oliver Queen's Playboy persona. This show honestly hasn't changed my mind. Through one season, he broke the hearts of at least five women. He treats them like trash. They are there to be used and then tossed away when they do something he doesn't like or when he is done with them. That is one of the reasons Black Canary was one of my favorite heroine's because they work well together, you can tell that there are genuine feelings there, and she is constantly putting him in his place.

- I hate how badly they fucked up the origin of my FAVORITE D.C. HEROINE. As above, Black Canary, Dinah Laurel Lance is my favorite heroine. It irks me that the sister gets to be canary, and not the girl deserving of it. It irks me, that we don't really get any specific Black Canary/Green Arrow Villians, it just feels like they are grabbing all of Batmans' Bad guys because they are better known.


- How could have Blood honestly believed Slade would keep his end of the bargain? When Slade literally just started kidnapping people to use for his serum, how could Blood trust him to keep his end, that "no one" would be hurt and that once the damage was done, he would be able to save the city, and becoming the loving Mayor that everyone would run too? How stupid and gullible do you have to be jeez? I mean he is missing an EYEBALL, obviously he isn't that great a guy.

- What ever happened to Slade's Son Joe? So even with all of the flashbacks to the Island, we never learned what happened to Slade. We don't know how he got off the island, and we don't know if he ever visited his family when he did get off the island, what happened to his son? Is he still alive? Is he dead? Did Slade become so jaded, that once he was free he didn't even bother to go see his family?

- Who Saw Sara's Sexuality as Bi coming? Being a woman who is bi herself, I am all for it being splashed across the television screen. If people don't like it they can sit and spin honestly, but I definitely didn't see her betrothed being Ra's Al Ghul's Daughter. Honestly, I expected her to be like Ra's concubine or something, but I am very glad that decided to take it in a different direction. I am a little miffed that she went back to them, even after she had been freed.

- Super confused about who to ship for Barry. Felicity or Iris? I have the biggest Crush on Barry. He is so freaking ADORABLE! With Felicity, it is easy, their chemistry and banter comes smoothly, but Iris is of Color (Slightly biased No apologies) and they have known each other for ever and his feeling have been around forever, so I can't help but cheer for the underdog. Grr, decisions, decisions.

- Moira's Death... WHY?? All of those people that know Oliver's secret Identity. Everyone being on his side, and team and squad, and yet NO one was there when he needed them the most! I think it was selfish for no one to come to his, thea's and Moira's aid. It also pisses me off to no end, that Thea lost her mother, and her brother just decided to up and leave her, when she needed him the most! Why wouldn't you have attended her funeral? I don't care how much she lied, you at LEAST owed her that.

- Thea going with Merlyn. Both Oliver AND Roy had the opportunity to be honest with Thea, and then she would have been in the know and on their side. I mean, there were probably 4 people in the whole cast that didn't know Ollie was the Arrow, and yet by selfishly keeping their secret, they pushed Thea right into the arms of someone who definitely doesn't want the best for her. Anything that happens to Thea in Season 3, I am THOROUGHLY blaming it on the two of them.

See ya'll Soon.
Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel,
~Gabriella!~

read more

Handheld Mistress #27: DS Game Catchup

Hi Gang!
  What better way to start the year then to clean up to do lists of the year before? I'm not sure what happened but toward the end of the year, I stopped posting about video games. Now just because I wasn't writing about them, didn't mean I'd stopped playing them, or even buying them (even though my wallet was begging me too.) So this post is going to highlight all the games that were purchased in my absence and a little about why I bought them.

- Epic Mickey Power of Illusion: I actually waited a very long time to buy this game. It was winking at me every time I went into that Gamestop, and I definitely wanted to get it, but it had already been out for almost a year, and the price was still crazy high! I finally gave in and picked it up when Alex and I went to go get his system and his new games. I was never a really big mickey fan, out of all the disney characters, but they did such a bang up job with Kingdom Hearts I was hoping it was going to be along the same lines. I think I've gotten 5 minutes of game play in, it definitely fell to the wayside, when I bought Professor Layton V.S. Phoenix Wright. 

- Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy: This was the last game I needed, and now I have the Entire Layton Collection. I was very excited about this being added to my gaming collection, and incredibly moved, because it was Alex's Anniversary gift for our one year. Professor Layton is incredibly important to me. One of my favorite games of all time. He reminds me of my father, who is also on my tops list, and the Professor is my only tattoo.  Since it is the last in the series, I didn't want to play it until I got there, I am still in the midst of playing Diabolical Box, it is the only game still in shrink wrap. 

- Kingdom Hearts 3D Dream Drop Distance: When I was younger I was a huge disney fan. Now I'm older and I have been awakened to just how racist, anti-feminist and sexist the company is, but at the time Kingdom Hearts had come out, it hadn't been revealed to me yet. I was in love with everything about it; the music, the character design, my favorite disney characters, but not the game play. It took me forever to get used to it, especially with the camera angles. It was my first game with a moveable camera. 

- Persona Q: I was attracted by the art, and I had heard lots of great things, from my otaku friends and the internet, and I thought I would give it a try, the fact that it came with tarot cards was great too. The art is so beautiful, and the dialogue makes me laugh so I'm glad I decided to buy it.

- Pokemon Omega Ruby: I actually got it for Christmas, and got the Sapphire for Alex. It actually was going to be one of the Pokemon games that I wanted to skip, but the advances to the game mechanics and small changes to the story, honestly made me very glad I got it. It is also the only game I have been able to connect to the internet, and I am looking forward to kicking international ass. Where else can I find a Poochyena with ice fang? Her name is Chowpan. (See what I did there?)

- Etrian Odyssey IV Legends of The Titan: I bought this game purely for the art on the cover. It has not been opened or played. It is super pretty on my shelf and I have this horrible habit with knitting books as well, but I do plan on playing this game in the near future. Hopefully, the gameplay will keep equal pace with how beautiful the art is. 

- Blazblue Continuum Shift II: I was a huge fan of the Console versions, and when I saw I could have it on the road, I just had to get it! I was super creeped out though, because I bought a pre-owned copy and it had my gaming info in it, but I had never played it before. I honestly haven't played it again since, but that will probably change once the heeby-jeebies go away. 

- Professor Layton V.S. Phoenix Wright: I am in love with this game. It is the only game I have ever Pre-ordered. I love both characters and to get them in a crossover of this magnitude makes me very happy! I am about half-way through the game, I don't know if when I started playing I had been taken over by Brianiac but the puzzle seemed very easy to me. I haven't played since, because I realized that I was still just beginning Diabolical Box, and figured I shouldn't have skipped around. More than likely, I will be starting this game up again pretty soon. 

This week will be game related, just to get my game blogging chops back. Check back next time for the PS3 game Catchup. As always, you can get more of me at Twitter and Instagram, links are in my side bar. 

Til Next Time,

~Gabriella!~

read more

New Year New Knits!

 In my sophomore year of College, my friend Claire taught me how to knit. For the next couple of months I tried again and again to get the grasp of it and then I did. At the time, knitting was just too hard for me. Crocheting was just way easier for me at the time. A couple days ago, I read the complete backlog of Izznit's blog and was so super crazy inspired! I can't believe that it is 2015! I am so excited about all the possibilities the new year presents! This post is a wishlist of sorts for me, I want to step up my knitting game, Usually any projects that I'm working on are accessories; hats, cowls, bags and the like. By upping my game, I am thinking about doing more challenging garments. Tunics, skirts and sweaters. Learning how to read patterns, and to start designing my own patterns.
  I'm really looking forward to using the brand new yarns I got for Christmas, here are a few of the next patterns, Ideas I have in mind.

- Midriff Sweater: Originally, I saw one on one of the singers of After School ( Which is a korean Pop group) I've been batting the idea back and forth in my mind, and I know it is definitely one of the first projects on my list.

- A Cardigan with front buttons: The whole point of jumping to bigger more advanced pieces, is so I can learn something new. I am hoping to learn a new technique with every project, AND fill my closet with pieces that I made myself! I'm hoping for something close to Andi's A-Z Retro cardigan. I definitely want it to have pockets. It drives me crazy when pullovers and sweaters don't have pockets.

- A Pullover : Something similar to A bird of passage. I think it would be ok if this particular design doesn't have pockets, but I am very excited to try something new.

- A flowey tunic: I found a few patterns translated from Japanese online, Their patterns are so PRETTY, I'm hoping that with some serious hard work, my handmade pieces will turn out that way too

 Thanks to The knitting Answer Book by Margaret Radcliffe, I have this blossoming feeling that a finished handmade garment isn't too far off in the future for me. I can't wait to start churning out projects and showing you guys that all my hard work has paid off!

 Until Next Time!
~Gabriella!~

read more

Sew Nerdy: Fabric Haul

 Hi Gang!
  Now that I have finally got my tables, set up, this feature can finally get started! What better time then to learn how to sew in the new year?! I stopped by Jo-Ann Fabrics the other day because Alex wanted to pick up some colorful yarn for the rug he's making. (You read that right, he's making a rug.) I was teaching him about different yarn weights and such so his project wouldn't look so wonky, when I realized that they had a few bolts of fabric on sale. 30% 50% and the like, and I kinda went crazy.
 They had like four women cutting fabric and there was still enough of a line, that I had to pull a ticket number and wait with the rest of the peanut gallery. When it was finally my time, I sauntered up there with all of my bolts of fabric and pretty much got 3 and 1/2 yards of everything, there were a few that didn't cut it, and I just took the rest of the bolt. I also picked up a sewing book, called the Essential Sewing Reference Guide. I'm hoping, it will help me not pull my hair out when I'm trying to sew later.
 I literally found the cutest fabrics in there, Alex had to pull me away before I spent my entire check, but now they're here, my machine's are here and I have a good sized working table, I can't wait to get started. I think my first project will be a pinafore skirt with suspenders. I do adore Pinafore skirts so. I was so glad I got all kinds of sewing essentials for Christmas in my stocking. Thread, replacement needles, three pairs of scissors, elastic, bias tape, and a zipper! I think I'm pretty set to go.

Until Next Time!
~Gabriella!~

read more

2015! Can I have a flying car yet?

 Hi Gang!
  I can't believe it's a new year! 2014 literally flew by for me! I am so ready for whatever this year wants to bring me. New experiences, new opportunities, and new friends, I am so excited to see what is coming my way. My resolution list is pretty short this year.

1. Lose another 30 lbs  w/ regular Excercise. I already bought stretchy bands and a weighted Hula Hoop. I'm ready to get fit in 2015!

2. Continue to pay off my bills and escape debt. Almost there, but I am still not free yet.

3. Start competing in video game tournaments. I wanna make a name for myself. Why not get paid for something you enjoy doing?

4. Take MORE PHOTOS! Of family, of Myself and Alex, of the cats and of people in general, start beefing up my portfolio.

5. Complete at least two video games, that aren't arcade fighters!!!

Not too much for this year, I'm thinking with a smaller list, it will be easier to get more of it done. As Always the conversation continues on twitter, What's on your resolution list for 2015?

Happy New Year!
~Gabriella!~

read more

What's in my bag: Knitting Edition

Hi Gang!
  It's been a while since I've done this, especially since I really haven't put up finished products of anything in over a year. However, that is all about to change!! With Instagram being such a fiber of inspiration (See what I did there?) my knitting imagination has been in Overdrive. If you are following me on there, then you probably have seen these photos and such, but not a lot of people are following me there, so I thought I would post it here as well for everyone to see!
 My work bag (As I call it.) is essentially an oversized makeup bag.. It fits four balls of yarn comfortably, a pair of scissors and a smaller makeup pouch, that holds all of my needles. I picked up both bags from Hot Topic. I use both Crochet Needles and Knitting needles for various projects. I prefer to work with Circular needles, just so I don't have to worry about not enough space, or dropped stitches, they just work so well for me. Plus they are a lot easier to take with you, then straight needles.
 The balls of yarn shown, bought from Knitwits in Crescent Springs; 2 balls of lilac frost and pumpkin are going to be used for my mid-riff sweater project ( I think, I am still unsure about the color selections, maybe I'll use the new blue-ish yarns I got for Christmas. Decisions, Decisions.)  This will be a free form pattern, but I have a lot of free forms that seem to have worked really well, and I'm thinking about maybe selling patterns in my shop, but that is way way in the future. Would you guys be interested in purchasing my patterns? One pattern shop I like in particular would be the Hello Happy shop, Lisa's designs are always so freaking cute~ I practically died when I saw her Kawaii Bunny hood/ cowl pattern.
 One of the reasons I like this bag so much is it is so portable. It comes with it's own strap. So, just like my gaming case, I can just toss it in my purse and go OR, just take it as it without it taking up so much space. I used to carry a huge Hello Kitty Tote bag, and Yarn was getting caught on pens and books and other things, because it was an all in one bag, and it used to drive me crazy! This way is just so much cleaner and convenient.

Until Next Time,
~Gabriella!~

read more