Tattoos Bookish and Otherwise

Today is my birthday! So, in lieu of a full on book blog post I want to do something a little bookish adjacent. Today I am going to tell you about my tattoos, starting from first to most recent.

1. Purple and teal butterfly
   • I always wanted to get a butterfly tattoo. When I was younger I collected stuff with butterflies on it and the last present I got from my grandma before she passed was a butterfly mobile.
   • I got this one when I was in Daytona Beach for spring break. No, there was no alcohol involved.
   • There is a slightly funny slightly “Oh no, I should not have done that” type of story that is associated with this tattoo.
   • It’s honestly not a great tattoo. I didn’t know much back then and just went with a flash piece and didn’t ask for a black outline or anything.
   • I go back and forth on wanting to cover it up with something else and leaving it.
2. Quill pen
   • I like to write and the quill was the symbol of my college sorority so I thought it was fitting to get one on my wrist.
3. Ladybug
   • Grandma’s nickname was “ladybug” so mom and I got matching ankle tattoos in honor of her.
4. Fairy
   • Along with butterflies, I also collected fairy items so I felt like I needed a fairy as well.
5. Golden Snitch
   • Sigh…back before a certain someone was problematic I was all in for a book series about a young wizard. This was one of several tattoos I got to honor a fandom I’d been a part of for a very long time.
6. Owl
   • Grandma also collected owls!
7. Hummingbird
   • This one was for my grandpa who loved sitting on the porch swing next to his hummingbird feeder. Plus, hummingbirds are very pretty.
8. Book stack
   • How else would you show everyone how much you love to read but a tattoo of a stack of books on your thigh?
   • Since I’ve gotten this I have seen so many book stack tattoos that are even better and I kind of wish I had shopped around for artists but this one is still up there on my favorites list.
9. Deathly Hallows
   • Another one from the fandom who must not be named. Only personalized in several different ways!
   • I still really like it for what it meant once upon a time but I also question still having it on display given what’s been going on.
10. Star Wars Rebel symbol
    • Galaxy themed rebellion! A simple symbol turned a little intricate because of the layers of color to make it look like a true galaxy.
11. Kady Grant
    • I absolutely loved the Illuminae Files book trilogy for a whole myriad of reasons and I wanted something to honor the book.
    • I found a great portrait artist and he made a literal piece of art on my arm and I love it.
    • (I just really wish I wasn’t always cold and therefore covering it up.)
12. Ramiel Mountains
    • A tiny little piece to represent the mountains and stars that are so important to another favorite fandom, A Court of Thorns and Roses.
13. ACOTAR
    • I worked with an artist to create a bigger piece of the above tattoo with mountains, moons, stars, and flowers.
    • Simple black and shading and it’s so, so pretty!
14. 8 point star
    • I read Crescent City and needed a tattoo and it just so happened that there was an idea that was perfect for a tattoo.
    • In the book Bryce gets starborn powers which is reflected by the scar of an 8 point star in between her breasts. Bam! 8 point star tattoo on my chest!
15. Triple Goddess
    • Triple Goddess imagery is prevalent in fantasy and myth and what not and I worked with someone to create a pretty little piece full of moons and flowers.
16. Buffy Summers
    • The same person who gave me Kady Grant is currently working on a Buffy portrait for me and I’m so happy!

Best of 2021: Movies

The top ten movies that I enjoyed in 2021, in no particular order. Also, these didn’t necessarily come out in 2021. I just watched them in 2021.

1. Black Widow
   1. My girl finally got her own movie. I just wish it would have come out before Endgame.
2. Fear Street trilogy
   1. Normally I can’t do gory horror but this trilogy was a great combination of middle school reminiscences of the R.L. Stine series I devoured but updated. Especially enjoyed the references to the classic horror films from each decade. 
3. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
   1. I’m really liking the Marvel movies that are less traditional than the ones about the original Avengers.
4. Red Notice
   1. Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds should team up for more things.
5. Love Hard
   1. Perfect Christmas movie. Funny and sweet.
6. Scream 1-4
   1. I had watched the original Scream back in the day before I became a big scaredy cat and finally decided to watch them all and really enjoyed them. I like how they aren’t super gory but suspenseful and not afraid to poke fun of themselves.
7. Raya and the Last Dragon
   1. Really liking where Disney is taking princess movies. Less “I need a prince” and more “I’m a strong woman and need to rely on myself, my family, and my friends.”
8. The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf
   1. I really liked getting to see some of the background of the world of the Witcher given that I’ve only ever watched the show and never played the game and therefore know nothing.
9. Suicide Squad
   1. Violent. Fun. Funny.
10. Wish Dragon
    1. Cute. Animated. Dragons for the win.

Best of 2021: Television Shows

The top ten television shows that I enjoyed in 2021, in no particular order. Also, these didn’t necessarily come out in 2021. I just watched a season of them in 2021.

1. Loki: Tom Hiddleston. Enough said.
2. The Book of Boba Fett: Is it just me or are the Star Wars Disney+ series actually really good? Because I think they are really good. 
3. Letterkenny (season 10): This was the absolute best way to end 2021. My husband and I literally sat down and finished out the year with this show and it was the perfect, hilarious way to do it.
4. Wheel of Time: One of the only cases where my husband was the one to have read most of the source material and I hadn’t. Good though a bit trope-y.
5. Hawkeye: I am so glad that Hawkeye got the treatment he deserved. Angry dad Clint Barton was the best and the female actresses were all so fun.
6. The Witcher (season 2): Hmmm. Fuck.
7. The Great British Baking Show: Every year just needs the vibe that the Great British Baking Show gives out. So soothing.
8. Nailed It: Nicole Byer is a gem. One of the best hosted food shows ever. 
9. Shadow and Bone: I was skeptical as to how they’d tie the Six of Crows into Shadow and Bone in one of the most bookish adaptations of the year and yet it worked. This cast was great.
10. The Watch: Randomly came across The Watch not realizing at first that it was based on Terry Pratchett’s Discworld and why was this not hyped up more? Sure it’s just loosely based but it was fuuuun.

The Best of 2021

It has been a long, long time since I have updated this blog. So long, in fact, that I had to recover my password AND I had to choose a new background and theme for my blog because WordPress no longer supported what I’d chosen for it previously. (To be honest, I can’t even remember what it used to look like. Maybe I’d made my own background using a photo I’d taken myself and they no longer support that if you use a free account? *Shrug*)

But I think I get a free pass for not having blogged at all in 2021 because…well because it was 2021 and need I say more?

Now that we’re all done crying over the extreme shitshow that was last year let’s get into the good stuff! I’m going to start off 2022 with a series of Best of posts and we’re going to get a little off topic from my usual creative writing and book posts. Of course I’ll have a Best of 2021 Books post but I’m also going to do television shows and movies that I watched in 2021 because I think we all need to be reminded of some of the good, enjoyable things that happened in the middle of all of the craziness. 

First up, in just a few days, let’s read about the television shows that I enjoyed in 2021.