It finally came! For months I had been patiently waiting for the album I pre-ordered from my favorite singer, Melanie Martinez, and on August 14th it finally released! The name of the album is Crybaby, and it is a concept album produced by Atlantic Records. It is amazing! I cannot begin to describe my love for it. If I could find a way to have the music continuously pumped directly into my brain, I would. I can say without a doubt that I love each and every song Melanie has ever created; the same cannot be said for any other artist/band I have listened to.

There were several different pre-order packs available for the Crybaby release, and I was not able to get the one that I had really wanted (it was a bit pricey), but I am so happy that I was able to get one at all. They were going fast! My pre-order pack came with the digital album, an adorable t-shirt, and some additional digital content that will be released at a later date.

THE ULTIMATE PACKAGE (and the one I wanted..) It came with the physical album, the digital album, t-shirt, poster, gorgeous story book, a crybaby necklace, and limited edition blue crybaby lipstick from Lime Crime.

I honestly feel so proud of Melanie. I’ve always thought that she was amazingly talented, and I am so glad that she’s been able to take things this far. I’m sure her success will only grow from here, and I am looking forward to tons of new albums in the future! I have been a fan of her since she “debuted” on the singing competition show The Voice, and am so glad that she is now getting the chance to dive into her own material, and is no longer forced to only do covers of other artists.

As of right now I have yet to be able to actually see Melanie live in concert…but someday I’ll find a way!! I mentally kick myself every day for missing her when she came to Albany. I had been going to school there, but moved back to the Batavia area just days before she came and performed!! I was so close!! Since then her tour dates have been too far away, oh well, maybe the next tour… Here, let me post the schedule just in case some of you have better luck than me! I hope you get to go! If you do, send me pictures!

**Next post will be about my first days at Genesee Community College/ the college’s Week Of Welcome!! Look forward to it!!

Game Players Unlimited is a local used video game store that I have enjoyed frequenting since I was young. I remember my grandfather taking me there, and being so excited to get a copy of Kingdom Hearts Chain of memories for the Gameboy Advance. Things certainly have progressed a lot from the time of the Gameboy Advance… Anyways, this place is great, and I stop in from time to time to check to see if they have gotten anything new and exciting. Before I get to the incredibly, mind-blowing, awesome game that I was able to snag though, let me show you a few pictures of what this store looks like!

They actually have two locations. The one I usually visit in Batavia, and one in Brockport.

45 North Main St Brockport NY 14420

Now, on to the inside!

Official posters everywhere! There are some I definitely wouldn’t mind for my room!A giant case full of Nintendo DS games.

They also sell lots of gaming accessories! Including Dance Dance Revolution mats, which took me right back to my middle school years…. Games…Even MORE games!Also worth noting, they do sell a lot of used movies as well! They are very affordable, and sometimes you can find some real gems. I know I saw one of my favorite movies Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure in there….

Okay, the moment you’ve all been waiting for… Let’s talk about the game!

Now, you have to understand that I have two Holy Grail, sell my right arm, ultimate dream games. I now have one of them. Yeah, this game acquisition is that major to me. It does place second on my list though. My number one dream game is Rule of Rose.

You can buy Rule of Rose online, but a new copy currently costs around $250. This is a whole lot better than the $999 I’ve seen it going for in years past however. Why so expensive? Well for starters it was banned from the UK less than a week after its release. It was also banned from various other places. it is a deeply psychological horror game centered around orphan children, keyword children, so when it came out publishers wanted nothing to do with it. It got a lot of bad, and unfair press, by people who had obviously never played the game. This game is intensely controversial still, but intensely fascinating. Several university teachers have even developed college classes around this game, and in fact I wrote a thesis on it for a video games as literature course. In all my years of searching I have yet to spot it in a physical store, but it does happen. I went into a store in Albany once asking about it, just to find out that not knowing what they had, they’d sold a copy for $20 the week before. Anyways, I could talk all day about Rule of Rose (see my previous thesis statement…), but let’s talk about Holy Grail number two. The one that I now actually own, and am playing…Haunting Ground!

Rule of Rose VS Haunting Ground

This game, like Rule of Rose, is stunning. It has everything I love, a Victorian Gothic setting, a unique and thoughtful story, psychological horror, and memorable characters. Both Haunting Ground and Rule of Rose are Playstation 2 games, but they are very visually impressive for their era. 1Up.com praised the graphics, stating they were “some of the most detailed, lavish 3D environments Capcom has ever produced”. This game like Rule of Rose implements the use of a dog companion, and I would say that they implemented it better, and with more refinement. I was so so lucky to find this game, and with the original box and manual, all in great condition! The store owner was excited to see it sell so quick, remarking that they only just got it in. Talk about perfect timing!

Okay, I’m going to wrap things up here (so I can get back to playing Haunting Ground…), by once again stressing how awesome used game shops like Game Players Unlimited are. You just never know when a treasure is going to turn up! I’d been searching for Haunting Ground for years, and then when I least expected it, boom, there it was. I cannot begin to explain how precious Haunting Ground and Rule of Rose are to me, and if you’ve ever played either of them I’m sure you understand. If you haven’t I can’t recommend them enough!! Best of luck finding them though! But hey, that’s half the fun!

Over the weekend I was fortunate enough to travel to Williamsville New York with my mother, my father, and my grandmother and aunt who are visiting from Arkansas. Now there’s nothing my mother and grandmother love more than making their rounds at local consignment shops and flea markets. Two of their favorite stores are Quality Consignment Furnishings and 2 Good 2 Be Threw, both located in the same plaza on Main Street in Williamsville (coincidentally).

8581 Main St, Williamsville, NY

There they go, mum and grandma ready to shop!

8619 Main St, Williamsville, NY 

She’s moving on to the next store!

Quality Consignment Furnishings, as you might guess, sells beautiful antique furniture. They also tend to have a lot of paintings, jewelry, and glassware.

This was the absolute coolest thing in the whole store to me! A matching earring and necklace set made of genuine bone!! I really wanted it, but it was just a tad outside my budget…

2 Good 2 Be Threw has some furniture as well, but they specialize in clothing. They also always have a wall of purses, and lots of jewelry as well.

Clothes, clothes, everywhere, even hanging from the ceiling!They even have a cute little kids section. Where I tend to get a lot of clothes from… Hey, it fits me, and it’s CUTE!

Furniture! Can you spot the not-so-hidden Betty Boop?

Both of these stores are excellent for college students looking to score some name brand clothing without the expense that comes with it, or those looking for clothing items and accessories to utilize for alternative fashions. I know I’ve found a lot of really great Lolita style blouses at 2 Good 2 Be Threw. You can find some really beautiful paintings, or cute ceramic pieces to decorate your dorm (if you live in one). It’s also a great place to shop for gifts, especially since the holidays are coming up…

As an added bonus, both of these stores are extremely close to Dash’s Supermarket, which has a to die for bakery and sushi section!!!

About two Friday’s ago I went sailing for the first time. I loved the tranquility of the water, and the excitement caused by waves rocking the boat. With every buckle of the knee I was grateful for not falling off. Ha! I would most definitely do it again, but there was more to the afternoon. Let me start from the beginning…

After meeting at the house of Rich DeValk who owned the sail boat, I explored the property, took in the smells of the lake, and did the inevitable; I took pictures.

I was in awe of the beauty I saw. There was a tree stump laying on it’s side, clearly no longer connected to the ground, but some how small green leaves were peeking through it’s center; vegetation had made something dead alive again. The owner of the house and property decorated the landscape with tables and chairs, and there were flowers everywhere. Snap…Snap…Snap.

The house sat on a geographical rise and there were rickety wooden stairs that lead down to the lake. Around me I could hear the chatter of hidden birds and locust. I descended down, and griped the hand rail as I felt the sway. When I made it down mid-way, I turned back just to see how steep the stairs looked from below, and I saw sun peeking out of the trees. Like light passing through a hole in the center of a hand. I was not alone.

When I reached the bottom, I took notice of some tall purple flowers, but something small, fuzzy, yellow was occupying them. How I wished I had my zoom lens with me; I wouldn’t have had to get as close as I soon did. I squatted down and leaned in. My camera pressed against my glasses and greasy nose. He was a fast flyer, hovering for just a few seconds at a time as he gathered what he came for. I snapped cautiously, peeking out at him over my camera just to make sure I wasn’t getting to close to his “personal bubble”. But the fear was soon gone and I realized he wasn’t harmless, just doing what he was made to do and not preoccupied with hurting me. We were alike in that way.

After walking along the wooden planks that kept me from falling in the water, and seeing tons of spider webs and lily pads (no frogs though, shucks). I went back up the stairs to the house and alas, dinner was served! Sweet corn, grilled chicken, deviled eggs, and yellow squash. A royal feast for college student with ramen noodles as a cabinet staple.

When our bellies were full of food and our mouths of laughter, we motor-sailed up Oak Orchard Creek for Ontario Lake. We passed many docked boats along the creek to the opening of the great body of fresh water. Some people were riding, some eating, and some even swimming. The urge to wave at as many people as I could overcame me and won.

Once we were out there, the motor was turned off, the jib went up and it was a rocky adventure, made complete with an un-capture-able sunset due to a cloud bank on the horizon. We were the only vessel out on there on the wide open sea. Amazing!

Okay, if you’re a (broke) college student like me, you’re probably always looking for an inexpensive but fun means of entertainment. Which might mean you watch a lot of television shows. I know I do. However, I rarely watch regularly scheduled television programming. I prefer my two very good friends, Netflix and Crunchyroll. I’m sure most people know what Netflix is, but Crunchyroll might sound a little foreign to some. Well, Crunchyroll is basically the Netflix of anime, and Japanese dramas. Unlike Netflix you can watch shows for free on Crunchyroll, no subscription required. They will have ads however, but it’s really not all that different from watching videos on Youtube which frequently contain ads. If you want to enjoy your favorite shows advertisement free, then you can always become a Crunchyroll Premium member for $6.95 a month. It’s a pretty good bargain if you ask me.

Anyways, being the connoisseur of shows that I am (just kidding), I thought I’d put together a little list of the ones I’ve been obsessed with these past few months! Hopefully I can turn you on to some of my absolute favorites! I’ve numbered them 1 through 5, just for the sake of order, but this is by no means a representation of preference.

1.) Freakshow amc:

This show perfectly captures my love of cirques and oddities. It’s a reality show about a real modern day freakshow, and the unique assortment of people that proudly refer to themselves as “freaks”. It’s inspirational, eyeopening, and not derogatory in the least. If you enjoy watching talented artists doing what they love, then you won’t want to miss it!

2.) Ruby Gloom:

Ruby Gloom is a Canadian animated series about a cast of adorably macabre characters, showing you “the bright side of the dark side”. It’s suited for children as well as adults, and is really a forerunner to shows such as Monster High. It always cheers me up and makes me smile. Also, you will not be able to stop singing the theme song…

3.) Black Butler:

This show takes place in Victorian England, features Jack the Ripper, supernatural elements, a combat butler, and the new season even has a circus; need I say more? It’s funny, it’s dark, and it will completely draw you in. Black Butler cleverly explores important social issues, all while keeping you fully engaged with it’s cast of memorable characters. The latest season is still being translated to English, so catch up on the series while you can!

4.) Inu X Boku SS:

Okay, without a doubt, this has to be my favorite show right now. I could go on and on, and babble really incoherently about this show, but I’ll control myself and let the official description do all the talking. “The Maison de Ayakashi, better known as the Ayakashikan , is a high security apartment building where humans with demon ancestors, or yōkai, reside, each guarded by their own Secret Service bodyguard. A yōkai girl named Ririchiyo Shirakiin moves into the Ayakashikan hoping for some peace and quiet. Instead, she finds herself with the service of the Secret Service agent, Sōshi Miketsukami.” That being said, watch it, watch it, please watch it!! Ok, that’s all….

5.) Amagi Brilliant Park:

This show is so cute, and it about surprise surprise, a theme park! Yeah I know, I have a bit of a theme… The once whimsical theme park is in dire straits, and to make matters worse all of its employees are refugees from a magical realm. If high school boy Seiya Kanie can’t get things up and running, everyone will be in a whole lot of trouble. Oh, and they only have three months!

So are you inspired to watch some really great shows? Hurry and do it now, before college starts and you suddenly have no time!

It was a day like any other. Four bored college students (and one bored Middle Schooler) drifted about Rochester with nothing to do. But that all changed when they entered the magical realm of Hammergirl Anime!

376 Jefferson Road
Jefferson Plaza
Rochester, NY

This store is what dreams are made of. It’s a vast sea of colorful toys, candy, manga, and anime, and I never wanted to leave. Good thing it’s only about 40 minutes from the college campus, so I can return again and again. I went there with my husband, my sister, my brother-in-law, and my younger cousin, and it kept us all entertained for hours. They say a picture speaks a thousand words, so just take a look!

Keychains, keychains, and even more keychains!

A whole wall of adorable plushie goodness! I wanted to bring every last one of them home!!

Mystery figure capsules. Oh the suspense…

Just about every manga series  you could ever wish for.They even had my favorite series!!! Alice in the Country of Hearts! Big surprise, it’s Alice in Wonderland themed…..
Tons and tons of blind box figures! Gotta Catch Em’ All!They had a pretty decent anime DVD selection as well.

Last but not least, more plushies!

I literally couldn’t figure out what to spend my money on. There was just too much amazing stuff that I wanted! I must have gone back and forth a million times before settling on the items I actually bought.

This super cute Nozomi figure, from the show Love Live! School Idol Project. She’s my favorite character, and I had been wanting a figure of her for a while.

All three volumes of  Suki: A Like Story, for only $14!! This has been one of my favorite series ever since I was in Middle School, and it’s very very hard to find. It wasn’t extremely popular, and never got an anime, so I was blown away when I spotted it on the shelf! It really made my whole month!

How cute is this little keychain? It’s actually a lot bigger than I expected, and it’s squishy! This keychain is from the series Diabolik Lovers, and it’s not actually the one I wanted, but it’s a close second. They come in sealed mystery boxes, so you’re never sure what character you are actually getting. I had my sister pick one randomly, and she did pretty good. 

This was the character I was after.

My sister and cousin bought only candy, candy, and more candy, while my brother-in-law bought 99% candy, and 1% book. It was a really gorgeous book, featuring all of the art from one of his favorite video game series Ys.

My husband and I also decided to each pick up a Weiss Schwarz card game deck, so that we could play against each other. Hammergirl had a great variety to choose from, as well as all of the Booster packs that let you add additional cards to the game. I chose a Love Live! deck, while he went with an Attack On Titan themed deck, one of our favorite shows.

The game is really a lot of fun, and I can’t wait to add more cards to my collection! Next visit!

The store also has a great website, where you can order a lot of very reasonably priced merchandise. There is continual anime showing in their “hang-out area”, and they even have some fun arcade games to try such as, Initial D Version 4, Meltyblood, and Deathsmiles. They also have Weiss Schwarz tournaments every Saturday at 2:00 PM,(just in case you’re looking for a new hobby) along with a variety of other game tournaments. So go check out this great store, you won’t regret it!

As previously established, I am a humongous Disney nerd. therefore over the past few months I had been counting down the days until the Disney Channel original movie Descendants premiered (as had the rest of my family). Well, it finally came out on July 31st, and I assure you I am not lying when I say that since then I have watched it five times. I am in love with this movie, and I think you should be too!

The Descendants premiere enchanted 6.6 million viewers, making it the year’s most-watched cable TV movie. The soundtrack for the movie is currently No. 1 on the iTunes soundtrack chart, and No. 2 on the album chart. Descendants also has a prequel novel (which I am currently devouring) called The Isle of the Lost, which is maintaining its 10-week reign as No. 1 on the New York Times Best Seller List (Children’s Middle Grade).

Author Melissa de la Cruz, and Dove Cameron

There are 101 reasons to like this film, but here’s 5 just to get you started:

–You’ll recognize the cast: This film stars Kristin Chenoweth as Maleficent. Yeah, that’s right, Broadway superstar, Kristin Chenoweth!? It also stars Dove Cameron, my favorite Disney Channel talent, along with Cameron Boyce (Luke from the show Jessie), as well as Booboo Stewart from the Twilight saga.

–The music: The music is awesome! My sister downloaded the soundtrack immediately, and now we can’t go a day without cycling through it. Trust me, once you watch Descendants, you will not be able to stop singing!

–The costumes are to die for: They are edgy and colorful, and were designed by Project Runway and America’s Best Dance Crew’s Kara Saun. She went with a Dirty Candy (villains) versus Cotton Candy (heroes), design theme, and needless to say she nailed it!

–Disney villains: Just let me repeat, DISNEY VILLAINS. I think that says it all.

–Empowering themes: You don’t have to be your parents. Shocking, but true. You also get the right to choose. The descendants of the classic Disney villains in this film seem to have their futures set in stone from the moment they’re born, but that’s not true for anyone. We all have the ability to choose our own fate no matter the amount of pressure coming at us from every direction. You don’t have to be what everyone constantly keeps telling you you are, you don’t have to be your parents, all you have to be is you, whatever that means in your heart.

Okay, so now that I’ve won you over to team Descendants *wink*wink, let’s talk about fashion! Descendants inspired fashion to be exact. Kohl’s recently released a whole Descendants themed clothing collection, and as I have access to a local Kohl’s, I rushed right over!

Just look at how cute this tag is! Evie and Mal!

My sister loves these purple Mal shoes!

However these Evie high tops are my favorite!!

I will return, for this Evie inspired moto-jacket, and leggings!!

Evie is my absolute favorite Descendants character after all.

Just look at this cute Evie necklace!

Also definitely worth noting, Descendants dolls! They are gorgeous, they are affordable, and they are available at major retailers like Walmart, Toys R Us, and Target. I know what’s going on my Christmas List…

There’s at least one doll for every major character, and as the series continues I’m sure there will be more and more!

My sister identified with Mal (Maleficent’s daughter) just as strongly as I identified with Evie (daughter of the Evil Queen), which made this movie something that we could really bond over. I even convinced her to hold still so I could take a picture of our coordinated Descendants style.

Yes, this movie did inspire her to dye her hair purple, and me to add a blue tint to my hair.

I hope you liked this post, and I really really hope you’ll like Descendants!

Over the weekend I was looking for something fun to do around town, when I remembered this amazing little store I had often visited with my parents when I was young. It’s name is Adam Miller Toy and Bicycle, and it sells just what its name describes. The store boasts tons and tons of top-of-the-line bicycles, and lots of adorable retro toys! What really hooked me, were the the retro toys! Founded in 1946, it prides itself on being “The Neatest Store in Town.”

8 Center St, Batavia, NY 14020

When I walked in the front door I was immediately greeted by a gorgeous bicycle built for two, that is available for rent. Now wouldn’t that make for a truly unique family-fun activity? I should convince my husband to peddle it around town with me!

There were walls and walls of board games and puzzles, paper dolls, and model airplanes, you really can’t digest everything in just one visit. They even have a decorative Rubik’s Cube hanging from the ceiling!

The store began it’s life almost 70 years ago as strictly a bike shop, and its roots remain strong. They still offer the best bicycle repair in town, and the back contains practically a legion of bikes!! Just look at this!

This display bicycle was absolutely beautiful, but sadly not for sale…. Not that I could afford it!!

What really caught my eye, was this cute little clapping monkey, because it reminded me of my favorite musical The Phantom of the Opera. Isn’t he adorable?

I must have wandered around this store in a daze for a good hour, just soaking it all in. If you’re in town I highly recommend stopping by this vibrant, living museum. My husband got a nifty bouncy ball out of the experience, so he was happy.