Fat Girl Walking: Sex, Food, Love and Being Comfortable in Your Own Skin....Every Inch of It by Brittany Gibbons aka Brittany Herself

Fat Girl Walking: Sex, Food, Love and Being Comfortable in Your Own Skin...Every Inch of It by Brittany Gibbons aka Brittany Herself has an impossibly long title for what the book is, but it grabbed my attention nonetheless, so I guess it works. 

I didn't know what to expect when I picked up this book. I was at Barnes and Noble one morning looking for Radical Self Love by Gala Darling. Because my local B&N has the weirdest way of shelving books (and RSL wasn't even where it was supposed to be anyway), I found Fat Girl Walking first. I remember seeing it on a few must read lists in magazines, but a lot of those lists are just new releases and hold no literary value- so I usually just take them as paid advertising from publishing houses and not much else. Anyway, I started flipping through the book and I was drawn in immediately. It was expensive though, so I put it down, bought Radical Self Love (which I still haven't finished, by the way) and obsessed about the book I left behind.

I ordered it on Amazon the next day because after reading her blog (brittanyherself.com, which she doesn't really update anymore), I knew I really had to get the book (and Amazon was more within my budget). It was every bit as funny as I remembered it being (well, the parts I'd read in Barnes and Noble anyway), and I felt that she wasn't putting on a show for anyone like some bloggers do- what you see is what you get with Brittany.

Reviews from sites like Goodreads and Amazon were harsh for the book, and I thought about them while reading it. A lot of people said that the book was a let down because they said the title talks about being confident in a plus size body, but most of her stories were about her struggle to get there. Do you go to a movie expecting the pivotal plot point to be revealed right at the beginning? I don't. That would be such a let down. Also, this isn't a self help book per se, it is a memoir. There are no mantras or affirmations to repeat, no guide to flattering Instagram angles and filters- this is Brittany's life. If you can help yourself after hearing her story- then that's an awesome bonus.

The other biggest complaint that I saw was about all the sex talk. Well, sex is in the title of the book, so I'm not sure why people were so surprised. Its like if you bought a book titled Ten Hail Marys: Stories from the Other Side of the Confessional  written by Some Priest and got surprised that there were stories of sins that people had confessed to him in it. The sex talk is part of her narrative and it fits- so big deal. My own personal ehs about the book are the emails included towards the end. They just seemed like filler and served no real purpose, but she does have a bunch of them on her blog, so maybe she just included them because her readers expected it? Also, I would never speak about my dad the way she talks about her parents. It wasn't necessarily horrible, its just not any way I would talk about my dad (I'm totally a Daddy's girl though, so that could be why).

Overall, I recommend this book a lot. Its a quick read, funny, and at the end of it you feel like you've gained a new friend. Also, shes writing a new book that's due out at the end of this year or the beginning of next year. Its a fashion memoir and I'm hoping it'll be as good as (or maybe better than) Fat Girl Walking. I have such a difficult time dressing myself, I would love to hear other people's traumas :)

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Quests/Los Angeles- Talking Dead filming

Yesterday my husband and I got to attend a filming of Talking Dead for Fear the Walking Dead. We have been trying what feels like literally forever (and I hate the misuse of literally, so you know its serious!) to get tickets for a taping of Talking Dead for The Walking Dead, so when these came up, we jumped on the opportunity.

The Talking Dead does its ticketing through a company called 1iota, and they seem to give you tickets based on attendance ratings to other shows that they ticket for, so it can be really tough to get into some of these tapings. And the Talking Dead's studio is super small, there are only forty fans allowed into a taping, so getting tickets is like the Hunger Games, may the odds be ever in your favor.

The experience itself was interesting, just because we have been to a couple of tapings of the Conan O'Brien show (once when he was with NBC and once with TBS), so we thought we knew what was going to happen. And for the most part, it was similar. There were a few big differences though, like you are absolutely not allowed to have your cell phone on you once you hit the lot, where at Conan they always said "if we see it, we take it." This information was printed on the ticket though, so my husband and I left ours in the car. Others did not head the ticket's advice though, and once we made it through the metal detectors, they were all asked to put their phones in a basket and they could retrieve them after everything was said and done. I understand why they do it though, you screen the episode before it even plays on the East Coast, so they don't want spoilers to find their way to the Internet. They also don't rely on electronic applause or other reaction signs that hang in front of the audience, instead, a producer told us when to clap, when to amp up the laughter, all that stuff. It was pretty cool, kinda old school really.

They also tell you how to dress, which was interesting considering you pretty much never see the audience in Talking Dead shows. You are told to dress like you're going on a movie date, so casually nice, no large logos allowed, except on fandom tees. They should really change that rule to no logos whatsoever allowed, My husband was chosen as a potential question asker, and he had a tiny logo on his polo shirt that was about the size of a dime (think- alligator polos from the 80's). The show brought out a sweatshirt for him to wear in case he was chosen because the logo wasn't allowed. Oh yeah, they also tell you to bring a light jacket or something because they studio gets cold. Totally listen to that one- it gets freezing in there! (and I had a light hoodie on)

The process goes pretty quickly once you get into the studio, but waiting beforehand (outside, on the sidewalk of a busy LA street with no trees) is boring. 1iota says you have to be there by four pm to make it in, but you really need to get there sooner to line up (if you're parking on the lot though, they won't let you park until three, and they are very to the minute with that time). You sit how you line up, and your position in line won't really change unless you're chosen to potentially ask a question (they choose four people to do this, but only one gets to actually ask a question), then you get to sit in the front row once its time to film the show. After the screening of the episode, there's about a half hour wait before you go into the studio. During that time they let you eat from the vending machine and go to the bathroom if you need to, and the people chosen as question askers get whisked away to sign a bunch of papers, get new questions (because their's aren't good enough, lol) and have headshots taken. I was very bored for that time, since I didn't get to go with my husband and the people around me weren't all that friendly. If I get to go again, I will most definitely bring a book. 

I got to sit in the second row since I was a person who had a person taken from me (that what they called it lol) by the cameras, which was fun. I was still alone, since my husband got to sit in the front row, so that kinda sucked. But I did get to learn about how they do the sets for the different Talking Deads, and all the random, minute details that they put into them, which was really interesting. And the show was dynamite, of course, and Chris Hardwick is well, Chris Hardwick *mild swoon* The guests (Tamera Mowry-Housely, Jim Gaffigan and Mercedes Mason) interacted a lot with the first row, which was lucky for them, not so lucky for the rest of us *shrug*. Once it came time to do the question asking, they chose one of the girls to go up there and not my husband. womp womp. The producers give the potential askers these questions, and then whatever question best fits the flow of the show or hasn't really been covered yet is the one that gets chosen. 

Overall, it was a really fun and interesting experience, and I hope we get to do it again. A lot of people in the audience were Talking Dead veterans, so that gives me hope that my name will come up a winner again in the ticket lottery :) 

ModCloth Monday #5

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Mother's Day is Sunday, May 8th, which is coming up way faster than I'd like to admit! It can be difficult to buy presents for your mom- I know it is for me. I never know if I should go funny or sentimental, and occasionally I just flat out forget to buy one all together. And now that I'm a mom myself, I know that while the first two are equally as appreciated, that last one hurts. A lot. I also struggle with price. I buy for my mom, my stepmom and now my mother-in-law. Before I would worry that I would buy a more expensive gift for my stepmom and my mom would find out about it, but now my mother-in-law almost demands the most expensive gift (she seriously puts price minimums on the gifts she expects), which leaves me feeling like crap for giving my mom and stepmom something that's I feel may not be as nice. Its a real conundrum.  And you just might be thinking -so what does all of her internal struggle have to do with this ModCloth Monday? Well, I'll tell you. ModCloth has everything you need to find the perfect Mother's Day gift this year. They have all different price points and all different styles, so you can find something for pretty much any mother figure on your list. Or if you're a mom- buy yourself a little pressie- you totally deserve it! Motherhood is rough, you might as well look cute while living it. 

Here are my top picks for Mother's Day gifts:

1) Eye Love You Necklace

2) Heart-Cover Copy Cardigan

3) Swap Meet Sweetheart Skirt in Plaid

4) Treasure Up to Expectations Necklace

5) Paint the Way Skirt
6) You Heard That Bright Cardigan
7) There's a Map for That Necklace in Gold

If you shop Mother's Day gifts from ModCloth, let me know what you pick!!

Monday Mix Up #24

Here are some links to help you procrastinate your Monday away- enjoy!!

*I thought this was a joke (it was published on April Fool's Day), but say hello to the Double Dose Twins!

*Someone made a real Glock look like the gun from Duck Hunt. I'm not here to debate any political gun stances, I just think it looks neat.

*Can Super Mario Maker inspire children to learn to code/design games? Nintendo helps a library full of kids in SF figure it out.

*The biggest, free legacy server for World of Warcraft, Nostalrius (which I played on occasionally), was shut down by Blizzard for violating it's terms of service. This topic will more than likely be a WoW Wednesday, but I thought I'd share it now. The hate for Blizzard on social media has been unreal the past week.

*I usually save videos for my Monday Mixtapes, but I thought I'd share this one because the song has been stuck in my head. It's a little bit Lonely Island, alotta bit NSFW. Here's 3OH!3 with My Dick:

WonderCon/Friday

This year WonderCon was held at the Los Angeles Convention Center. I was only able to attend Friday, so it was a short day and I was a little disappointed, but grateful at the same time. Since it was the opening day, it wasn't super crowded (I heard it got ridiculously cray over the weekend- sold out both Saturday and Sunday!), so it was easier to move around the floor and to get into some panels.

Badge getting was quite the experience. We parked in the parking garage right under the convention center (yay for minimal walking!), and there were like no signs telling you where to pick up your badges. So we find our way inside the convention center, and even up to where the badge pick up is supposed to be, only to be told that we need to find the end of the line. The end of the line that was all the way outside and not too far away from the Staples Center. So it was quite the walk to get to the end of the line, only to walk right back to where we just were. And then, once we were inside the badge area, they did the whole, break the lines into cattle herds type of thing. The whole get up close and personal with your neighbor thing doesn't sit well with me, so I was less than impressed. And they had three of these line blobs set up. It looked like they were letting each line flow into the badge pickup area for about ten minutes at a time, then letting another line blob do it, etc. Well, the line next to us was getting crazy when it was our turn. First they tried the whole "think of the children!!" routine, and when that didn't work. they went straight hood. Mob mentality is stupid, and it particularly doesn't have a place at a comic book convention. And because they started cussing and screaming and causing such a fuss, after my line's ten minutes were up, instead of going to the next line like they should have, they went back to the first line that was screaming and let them go through. That should not have happened. They should have made those fools wait like everyone else. But whatever, that's just me. Once we got to the badge pickup though, everything went quickly. And I was surprised to see that WonderCon has also gone the RFID route, except they still have badges, not tiny bracelets. If you didn't tap in and out though, your badge went defunct and they had to reset it for you, so that was a hassle (didn't happen to me, thank goodness, but I understood why the guards were yelling at people). Tapping in and out also went a lot smoother compared to SVCC because the area in which you were tapping was larger.

The first panel we went to was for Tee Fury (I love their shirts!). They gave out little pins and had some of their artists talk about how they design shirts for the company. It was pretty interesting to hear what inspires them to create the mashups that they do.

Right after that was the Her Universe Fashion Show update panel. I had no idea that was the next panel, but once I found out, I stayed in. I love Her Universe and I'm always so bummed that I can never make it to the fashion show at SDCC. They talked a lot about what they're looking for this year. They're going to have three winners this time- the Judge's Pick, Audience's Pick and Audience at Home's Pick. And if you're wondering how people at home are going to pick, its because they've partnered with ComiConHQ to film the entire process! Its going to be really cool and a chance to really get to know the designers. Plus, there's going to be an open casting call on April 23rd at Hollywood and Highland to show off your skills!! Applying online is still very much encouraged (required?). They also showed a very tiny sneak peak of the Star Wars The Force Awakens collection for Hot Topic collection that last year's winners designed, and that will be coming out just in time for you to celebrate May the Fourth be With You in style!! They also touched on the Marvel active wear line that Her Universe is selling at Kohls right now and it is all so great! I can't wait to wear some to the gym!

After this panel, we hit the convention floor, and I was so relieved to see my favorites lol. All the big name comic companies were there, all my favorite geeky apparel places....its what a convention floor is supposed to be. Didn't really do much spending though. I was on the hunt for a few She Hulk comics that I'm missing and I could not find them anywhere! My husband got an autograph of one of the Aquabats for his friend's son, and that was about it. We did stop by the Geek and Sundry booth, and we both rolled this big foam dice thing and won awesome The Guild prizes though- so that was pretty awesome.

Since roaming the floor wasn't too fruitful, we decided to hit up some more panels. We did a spotlight on Jim Lee, who is my husband's favorite comic artist. He was very funny and drew some pictures that he gave away. We didn't get one of those, which was a bummer, but my husband did get to take a picture with him after the panel, which he was really excited about. 

We scooted over a room to the Rotten Tomatoes panel, which was actually our way of room camping for the Preacher panel that was after that. But the Rotten Tomatoes panel was actually really funny. People get to state why they love or hate a movie, and then the panelists will basically argue with you. Some people had clearly done it before, one dude even came with notes that he handed the panelists. It was a high energy panel and the hour went by really quickly.

The end of our WonderCon day was with a screening of the pilot episode (the whole thing! not just clips *cough*SVCC*cough*) of AMC's new show Preacher. Its based on a comic I've never read, but the show was so amazing. We weren't allowed to record or photograph anything that was on the screen while the show was playing, but it was very good. Its kinda Walking Dead-esque, as far as graphic-ness and language is concerned, so for the comic fans out there, I don't think you'll be disappointed. And boy, does AMC love them some UK actors lol. After the screening, there was a brief panel with two of the show's stars and the show runner or some dude that's important. The guys seemed really eager to be there, the girl did not. She looked incredibly bored and was playing with something (her bracelet? her phone?), when people were talking, so that was a little off putting. And the WonderCon employees that were yelling at people....so uncalled for. It was the last panel of the day in there, but they were yelling at people to keep their questions short, and after it was over, people were trying to take pictures with the cast and they were doing it, and the WonderCon people were yelling at them to stop and to leave. 

WonderCon was a lot of fun, and I wish we'd been able to attend more than one day. There was a lot of space in the LA Convention Center, but at times it almost seemed like too much (although, it wouldn't be too much if they were looking for a place to move a larger convention like say....SDCC...). The walk between the exhibit area and the panels area was long, but it was a lot cooler inside the LA Convention Center than its ever been in the Anaheim Convention Center, and I appreciate that. It seemed like there was a lot more food choices in LA too, but maybe its just because of all the food trucks. Next year WonderCon is scheduled to be back in Anaheim, March 31st-April 2nd, 2017, so any complaints or loves about this venue will basically be invalid (again, unless they're looking to hold a larger convention there some time in the near future). 

Did you attend WonderCon this year? Did you love it in LA or are you ready to have it back in Anaheim? Let me know!

ModCloth Monday #4

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through my links. **

Savvy style doesn’t have to break the bank -- stock up with ModCloth’s latest event! For a limited time, they’re offering some of their most unique pieces for $20 and under. Simply shop ModCloth’s Stylish Surprise, and be amazed by your luck!

Deal: Stylish Surprise 
Start: Monday 3/28 at 9 am PST, 12pm EST
End: While supplies last 

I wish I had some money to shop right now because how much fun is this?!?! For $20 you can do a dresses only option or an apparel option and for $15 you can do shoes!! Its a mystery as to what you're going to get though, so if you're a fan of surprises or subscription boxes where you never know what's coming- then this is for you! And, its ModCloth, so you really can't go wrong. Act now as sizes are limited. If you buy one, let me know what you get!

Silicon Valley Comic Con/My Yays and Nays

Here is my final post about Silicon Valley Comic Con 2016. Like with any convention, there were things I liked about it and things I didn't. Let's break it down, shall we?

Yays:

Emphasis on Cosplay. Not only were there multiple panels regarding cosplay (nine, that had cosplay related themes), they had a dedicated area just for cosplayers on the convention floor (it was even marked on the map). Cosplay is not consent signs were very present all around the convention, as well as the program and on their website. I don't cosplay, but I find it fascinating and have a deep respect for people that do, so I thought it was great that a convention was so supportive of it. 

Location. Downtown San Jose is beautiful. It looks like its going through some kind of revamp, like most downtowns do (I know my city's downtown has been going through one for years lol), so there was a lot of vacant buildings. But they had the most beautiful murals on their walls, and there were some good restaurants over there.

Its Different....ish. I liked that they tried so hard to incorporate the technological surroundings of Silicon Valley into this convention to make it more than just another comic/pop culture con. There were more technology exhibits there than I've ever seen at another convention, so that was neat. And the panels were very good for this being a first year con.

Nays (and Mehs):

You have to pay for seating and line access.  This is a money grab to me, and I've only been to one other convention like it (Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim). Its not enough that you're paying to get into the convention, but you have to pay for good seating in panels and spots in line for photo ops, not to mention how expensive all the autograph and photo ops were.VIP access was horribly annoying to those that couldn't afford it. What that was, is people could get an upgraded pass for a more expensive price that came with perks like being able to get into panels or photo ops first. The rooms were cleared after every panel so VIP people could have a crack at the best seats for the next panel, so you can't camp out like at WonderCon or SDCC. I was in some lines that held us up almost minutes before the panel started in order to accommodate any last minute VIPers that might want to get into the panel. I also learned from one couple in a panel that they had pooled their money together with their friends so that they could get the VIP passes, then save seats for the friends that had helped them obtain them. They take turn doing this at this type of convention. Seems like cheating to me, but what can you do when people pay for premium access? As press, I could have bypassed some of that, but my husband had a general admission pass, so I chose to stay in line with him. I also found that my press pass was more easily honored at the smaller panels than the larger ones. I'm not sure if this had to do with the equipment I had (or didn't, as the case was) or what, but it was a little weird.

The RFID bracelets. In an effort to set themselves apart from other conventions by being more tech savvy, SVCC had no badges (unless you had a press pass or a VIP badge). Everyone in attendance had an RFID bracelet. They were color coded depending on what you were to the convention or how long your pass was good for. The idea was neat, you were just supposed to tap in and tap out of the main hall. It was frustrating though because the bracelets were small and the area that you were supposed to tap on the pole was also small, so people kept missing it and had to keep hitting their wrists up against the poles and it could really hold things up at heavily trafficked times of day. Plus, the novelty of a badge is fun, and the bracelet took it away. That's just my personal opinion though, maybe if the bracelets were a little bigger, they might have been better. 

The lack of line control. Oh my. The lines for panels were a mess. They just went all over the hallways, and the front of the line would suddenly become the end of it and vice versa. There was a lack of communication between the volunteers and it showed. And they kind of just herded us all together like cattle, there weren't any discernible lines at certain points, which again was frustrating because you could be standing somewhere for 20 minutes, then have someone stroll up 5 minutes till, and get a better spot than you, because the volunteers were concerned about filling the gaps in their lines. More signs and better lines foe next year please. 

Schedule. The online schedule, the app schedule and the program schedule didn't match. At all. And that makes it difficult to plan your day when nothing is giving you the correct information. I hope next year everything can become more streamlined.

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Overall:
I think the convention was pretty good for a first time convention. I hated having to clear the room after each panel, because if you wanted a chance at a good seat at the next panel, you had to leave early. So you either missed out on the ending of a panel you wanted to see, or you sacrificed seats to another panel you really wanted to see. (Plus it just looks rude to me to get up and leave in the middle of someone's panel.) The convention was small enough though that I got the opportunity to see some big names that I probably wouldn't get to see at a place like SDCC though, so that was a huge bonus for me. Plus, I really enjoyed being able to attend as press, and I hope that SVCC will have me back next year :)

Would you be interested in attending Silicon Valley Comic Con next year? Let me know below! And you can check out my daily breakdown of SVCC here, here and here.