2013 In Review

Facebook has that app or feature or whatever it is, called 'Your Year in Review' and for mine it basically is Disneyland, Dickens Fair, and pie. Which is not all that interesting so I've decided to take a look at all the numbers and add things up here that equal my 2013.

Number of Days in Disneyland: 5

    

Southern CA trips: 4




-Cosplay-
(Costume Making Break Down)
Disney Costumes:11

Commissions: 17

Other Dresses: 2
Original Designs: 3
My Costumes: 9

Sewing Total: 26


Conventions Attended: 2

Gatherings Attended: 3























-Blogs-
Charlotte's Web posts: 39
Disney Eats posts: 19

-Baking-
Cakes Made: 3

Cupcakes Batches Made:5
Pies Made: 4



-Cinema/School-
Classes Taken: 14
Movies seen in theatres: 10

-Incalculable-
Books Read
Teas Tried
Movies seen in total

That is pretty much my life this past year. Not too much going on but that is kind of what school does to a person. Here's hoping next year will be more eventful, and if all goes according to plan, it will be.

-Charlotte

Fish Fingers and Custard

On the Day of the Doctor, after watching that glorious episode, I went to the store and bought custard powder. I already had the frozen fish sticks having bought them earlier in the week in preparation for this day. I had debated for a long time whether I actually wanted to try out fish fingers and custard and I felt the time had come.

But not until a week later. The idea was just off putting but as a loyal Doctor Who fan and running into many other loyal fans who had tasted it, I felt I just needed to know that flavour for myself.

On the day I actually prepared this 'dish' I had a cold so it might have been my sick brain going crazy, but I made the custard, it turned out amazing and very tasty. Other people have used vanilla pudding, but that really won't work for this because it is way too sweet. What is nice about this mix is that it isn't crazy sweet it is creamy and smooth (should you mix it correctly) and the hint of sweetness makes it a dessert and not a sauce.

Then I baked the fish sticks until they were golden brown and delicious. I use to be a fan of fish sticks (fingers, whatever) when I was younger and now that I've had them again, they might grow back on me. They were crispy and the fish was flaky yet firm and held up nicely.

Now the time to put the two together. They were plated nicely, and I stared at the plate for a while before reaching out and hesitently dipping a fish finger into the custard and bringing it to my mouth.

There are three things that I've had in my life that I've had the same taste bud confusion to. The first was the dill pickle flavoured popcorn available in Carsland at the Cozy Cones. They didn't taste like dill pickle and I didn't know what it tasted like and I'm still not sure whether I liked it or not, but I ate all of it because I was starving.

The second thing was a cider. Described to be more like a sour beer, it had the apple flavour in there but all the other flavours mixed in, plus the sour taste, just threw me for a loop and I kept drinking my sample because I couldn't tell if I liked it or not.

And the third is fish fingers and custard. Because the Bird's custard isn't ridiculously sweet it didn't taste all that strange with the fish. Had it been vanilla pudding I bet it would have been gross. The fish wasn't too salty so that didn't work against the custard either, this could vary depending on fish finger type. The custard added a creamy sauce to the crispy fingers so it balanced nicely in the texture department. I'm still not sure about the flavour since neither really has all that of a strong flavour in order to out shine the other. Overall, it is edible, and you know for someone not of this world, it could be their favourite thing ever, for me I'm okay not eating it together, but I'm not afraid to try it anymore should I have to.



Additionally, there is an Asian custard that is very eggy, I've had it from a Japanese market before, and it isn't sweet at all. In fact it has a bit of a salty taste to it. I bet that with fish fingers would be really good and would help bring forth the natural fish flavours in the fingers.



-Charlotte

Artsy Fartsy Christmas Gifts for Friends

Since I'm a poor college student I don't really have that much money to spend on Christmas gifts for people, family and friends alike. I did the whole 'Disney ornament' thing for several years in a row because I had good discounts but there comes a time when Disney ornaments get old in the giving department.


Last year I decided that I really was too poor to afford all these fancy ornaments anyway so time to do something different and practice my hand at making them stuff, and all my money was used to buy fancy gifts for my family who I can never figure out what to get and usually just get them a DVD or something.

I had been sewing for a good six years now many, many different costumes and I try to keep the larger scraps of fabric for later use just in case I need them. Well I never found a use for them and often being in odd shapes I had no clue what to do with them so I decided to give those to my friends. But sewn together. In fancy patterns. With a theme. And stuffing inside.

Yes I made them pillows! Fancy decorative pillows!

I inconspicuously sent them a message in October I believe asking them who their favourite Disney character was (a common, neutral theme amongst my friend were that they are huge Disney fans) and they replied back and I got to work drawing out basic designs for each friend then tweaking it in accordance to the cut of fabric I had.


In the end I produced seven of these fabulous pillows and I must say I like them quite a bit. Though they did take up a lot of space in my room between completion and distribution.

And I can remember what each scrap of fabric came from and for a special added Disney treat, in each pillow I added a scrap of fabric from some Disney fabric. Last year when I worked at Disneyland, I had access to the Company store where they sell outdated merchandise, old hotel funiture, and even fabric that the costume department doesn't need anymore. I got this white, shiny fabric that I think either was used for Tiana's dress or the Soundsational Parade Princess dancers, and I got a lot of it so since it was Disney fabric, I decided to use a piece of it in each pillow.

I also wrote the name of each character as they would autograph something were you to meet them in the park (except not Loki).

Chopin from Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Fabrics used:
Rapunzel purple
Mother Gothel red
Mother Gothel gold trim
Random Pirate gold
Random Pirate ivory
Mrs. Lovett's red fringe
Anna Sackville-Bagg velvet
White Disney Fabric

Alice from Alice in Wonderland

Fabrics Used:
Park Alice blue and white cotton
Haku dragon white ribbon
Dickens Fair black ribbon
Burton Alice blue sheer
Disney Park fabric ruffle

Donald Duck

Fabrics Used:
Sailor Jupiter white trim
Kanmuri Shigeru blue cotton
Susan Pevensie daisy fabric
Kiki's red ribbon
Disney White Fabric at neckline

Jane Porter from Tarzan

Fabrics Used:
Mother Gothel silk yellow
Mrs Lovetts' paisley gold
Random Pirate gold
Rapunzel purple
Burton Alice lace
Disney White Fabric neckline

Loki from Thor and The Avengers

Fabrics Used:
Dickens Fair green
Random scrap fabric gold
Susan Pevensie brown leather
Mother Gothel cloak black
Disney White Fabric at top

Peter Pan from Peter Pan

Fabrics Used:
Mother Gothel trim
Failed Hook Tinkerbell attempt brown
Chihiro green
Susan Pevensie suede thread
Dickens Fair feather
Disney White fabric at neckline


I also did a Raymond one from Princess and the Frog but I can't seem to find any of my pictures of it.

So this year I once again asked my friend a vague question that they have no clue what it is in relation to, and I plan to make something else in response to their answers. I could sew them something again since I have so many fabric scraps still, but everyone shall have to wait and see.


-Charlotte

Flashback Friday- The Ninth

 

Because The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug was released today I shall share a Lord of the Rings story from my childhood.

In third grade I started attending day care after school and there you were suppose to do your homework and then play with the other kids. I would finish my homework in class and I didn't really care to play with the other kids so I spent my time reading since they had a really good selection of books. It was here that I read all of the Chronicles of Narnia, many Dickens classics, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, and all of the Lord of the Rings books (including Hobbit). When I was in fifth grade or so The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring came out in theatres and on DVD and I was obsessed and watched it again and again.


None of my friends understood my obsession and a few thought the movie was boring. I had this one friend whose entire family would say 'whenever I need to take a nap I'll pop in a Lord of the Rings movie'. I never liked that comment and would get so angry inside I had potential to turn into the Hulk. Needless to say we aren't friends anymore, not because of that but sometimes I like to think it is because of that.



The main story takes place on Valentines Day in fifth grade. Because it is elementary school they have the rule where you have to bring a valentine for everyone in the class so no one is left out and my friend Sergio brought Lord of the Rings valentines. My friend Sergio is one of the most laziest people I know, and he takes pride in it, so he just grabbed a random Valentine to bring regardless of what theme is was and he didn't even write our names on it just left the 'To:' part blank and wrote his name in the 'From:' before giving them out willy nilly.

I sat at the same table as him so I knew he brought Lord of the Rings valentines and I really wanted a Legolas one. The elves are my favourite race from the series and the only elf on the Valentines was Legolas so I really wanted that one. Because they were folded in half and stickered shut so you couldn't see the picture on the inside, my friend Sergio just sort of shrugged and said 'you get what you get.' He distributed them, I opened mine, and saw I had Gandalf- don't get me wrong I love Gandalf, but I really wanted an elf and I could be a bit selfish at times so when I handed my valentines out I scoped to see who had the glorious elf valentine.

My friend Megan did.

Now she was into mythological creatures and things of that nature. Influenced from her parents, they have dragons all over their house and she spent her free time playing an online game with wizards and dragons and stuff of that nature (...or not of nature...). But she did not know Lord of the Rings, nor did she see the movie. I had tried to talk her into it because I knew she would like it, but she hadn't gotten into it yet. Bingo.



I finished passing my valentines out then grabbed my Gandalf valentine and sat next to her.

"What did you get?" I asked. She shared her valentines and then came to the Legolas valentine.

"That's my favourite character!" I said when she showed it to me.

"Really? Who did you get?" she asked. I showed her.

"This is Gandalf the Gray, he is a really powerful wizard. Really cool, but you have my favoruite character," I said. I knew she loved wizards a lot so I started making Gandlaf seem like the only wizard in the world and that she must have him. I spewed out all my knowledge on him till she began to look back and forth between the two valentines.

"He does sound cool," she said staring at my Gandalf card.

"Hey, do you want to trade?"

She looked back and forth between the two cards before nodding and switching. I had my elf valentine.

The funny thing is that once she finally saw the movie and all the other ones, she became obsessed with Legolas. As Tumblr is to Hiddleston she was to Legolas. She had his picture as her desktop wallpaper, screensaver, a shirt of him, even a life size cardboard cut out of him in her room. She didn't remember this Valentine's Day, but I do and every time I saw one of her Legolas items I would always remember this story and smile.

But what the best part is...

...I STILL HAVE THE VALENTINE!


I smooth talked my way into getting this Valentine and even lied my ass off, it was a huge win in my book and I could never see it in my heart to throw it away so I kept it all these years.

-Charlotte