Playing Catchup: Halloween (PIC HEAVY)

Hellooooo folks, a regular blog post here, catching up on Halloween.

Last year, around October, I think, my guy decided he wanted to be Buddy Christ for Halloween this year. He stopped shaving and let his hair grow out all year in preparation.

Knowing he might be less inclined to dress up this year if I wasn't participating, I set out for ideas for my own costume. I really didn't know what I wanted to be at all. The last time I dressed up in a costume for Halloween.... and we're not counting "reusing costumes just for the heck of it"... was in 2006 or 2007 when I was a Hogwarts student. I've since reused that costume a couple times.

ANYHOO, starting this past September I started wandering costume sights, aimlessly clicking links I might be interested in, and seeing if I could successfully find a costume I'd want. No luck. It wasn't until the end of September that I'd find something that caught my eye.
At the end of September, for those who didn't read my 3DS post, I got back in to Pokemon. And while looking up Pokemon DS games, I came across this costume available online:

And it clicked. I could be Pikachu!! I immediately loved this costume, but not completely, only aspects of it. So I wandered online to look for better costumes. I couldn't find one I liked more than this costume. I liked the tutu and the idea of just having a shirt, tutu, and some arm and leg warmers to "become" Pikachu. But I didn't like the random lightning bolts on the shirt, or the buttons on the warmers, or the fact that the hat has Pikachu's whole face on it. If I'm going to be Pikachu, shouldn't I be the face? And then there's the tail... nowadays, a female Pikachu has a notch in the tail... and this one didn't. (Hey, if I'm going to be a Pikachu, I might as well be the right gender! Even if no one else notices that but me. lol.)


So I decided to make my own Pikachu costume, using that image as inspiration. I wanted a tutu, and leg warmers and a tshirt, but that's where similarities change. The shirt I wanted would be more "80's" style, in that it hung off a shoulder and was looser than the image above. (I'm a bigger gal, not a fan of tighter fitting clothes.) My plans included fingerless gloves instead of arm warmers, giving me the option to wear bracelets if I wanted to, and better fitting alongside my 80's style shirt.



I started the costume that very week.

Nintendogs + Cats for 3DS: (Part 3 of 3) Extra Picture Dump

Random pics at home

My first three pups

Toby, Jethro, Zoey

Jethro, Toby ,Zoey

Zoey and Toby

Nintendogs + Cats for 3DS: (Part 2 of 3) Walkthrough and Tips

The following is a "walkthrough" of what I've been doing in the game. Tips might also be included and will likely be highlighted in blue.*
(*Yes, I'm aware this game came out in 2011. It's new to me though! So this is what I'm doing. Nyah nyah.)

I received this game used. Anyone who has the option to get this game used, I highly recommend it. It might be a tad cheaper and the game you get might still have the previous owner's game saved on to it. As someone who gets a wee bit impatient saving money at the beginning of a game, this was great for me. The previous owner, Rebecca, had four dogs and a cat, a bunch of various supplies, a fancy (cost in game $3000) house, approx $3000 in cash, and everything had been unlocked. I chose to keep her game as opposed to starting a new one. Worked for me! Thanks Rebecca!

The first picture I took in game was of her two dogs and her cat. I made a point to not pay much attention to the breeds/names/looks of the pets, as I was immediately getting rid of them, and I'm quick to get attached to things sometimes. I do recall the cat's name was Deoblo. (Spelled that way. Yeah.) So I got rid of all but the cat, purchased my very first pup, and then got rid of her cat. (Can't get rid of all your pets at once. Must have at least one)

Nintendogs + Cats for 3DS: (Part 1 of 3) Comparison and Review

Nintendogs + Cats was released in North America on March 27th, 2011.
There are three versions:
~ Toy Poodle & New Friends
~ French Bulldog & New Friends
~ Golden Retriever & New Friends*
(*In Japan this was Shiba Inu & New Friends)

All those years ago, when I got a DS, I picked up Nintendogs; Dachshund & Friends. And I loved it for quite a while. So I was delighted to receive the newest version of this game for my 3DS from my boyfriend.

This time around I got French Bulldog & Friends. For comparison purposes, I pulled my DS out, (that I haven't played in probably about six years) which of course, still had Nintendogs in the slot. It was almost a nostalgic experience to turn that DS on and see the pups I was once so attached to. Another odd feeling was immediately recognizing one of the dogs on the screen was chosen and named by an ex boyfriend, only to glance at the 3DS and see a pup that was chosen and named by my current boyfriend. I guess that's a thing with me. *shrug*

Took a picture with the Nintendogs + Cats next to Nintendogs for DS

These games are obviously quite similar - the 3DS just has some updates, although not all for the better.

I got a 3DS!

Greetings! I am here writing a blog because I feel it's necessary in order to proceed with the posts I actually want to write right now. I got a 3DS! It's technically a 3DS XL.

Seven years ago, I got a DS lite, and mostly played nintendogs on it. As a result, when the 3DS came out, I wasn't much interested. Until... until my love for Pokemon attacked me at full force.

 At the end of September, (which, coincidentally, [I found out later] marked the 15 yr anniversary of the first Pokemon game to be released in the US) I had a sudden urge to play Pokemon Blue. It was the first Pokemon game I ever played, and the only one I played in the "main series". (I've played Pokemon Snap, and Pokemon XD as well) So I picked it up and started playing. I was quite addicted, and finished the game in two or three days. I then told myself I wanted to play at least one game of every generation Pokemon has. I got Crystal, and... well, life happened, and I'm reeeally close to finishing it, but alas, am still not done. I still have... I think... Emerald, Diamond, Black or White and Black or White 2, (Same generation, but still curious to play) and then finally Pokemon X or Y.

Pokemon X or Y would require a 3DS, which I did not have. And all of a sudden a 3DS was on my wishlist. All through October I looked at different 3DS's, eventually deciding that if I had the option to get one right then, (realistically, and NOT spending twice as much for a cute Pikachu version) I'd get a Special Edition Pokemon 3DS XL that came out to promote X/Y. It's available in Blue or Red. I decided on Red. I figured I'd ask for it for Christmas. (Dad likes to get us all one "big ticket item" and then a few smaller tidbits.) I knew it was possible the Pokemon XY version wouldn't be available by then, but meh. I'd try anyhow.

My boyfriend got the 3DS for me the day after Halloween.