Last week was a rough one when it came to work, which I won’t go into details because this is a public blog. It was definitely stressful and was filled with anxiety and restless nights. By the end of the week, I felt so tired, and the weekend was a definite relief.
A pick-me-up during the week was that I had unintentionally done some retail therapy. Things I had ordered earlier happened to come in around the same time. So… let’s go over those instead!
Vans x Nintendo
I love Vans shoes, and I also love Nintendo. I was so excited when I heard about the collaboration, though after I saw the designs, I wasn’t a fan of all of them (probably a good thing for my wallet). I did find a couple that I liked though and totally fell in love with them when they arrived!
I really like the other details too, like the shoe boxes that look like the original NES, and if you look closely at the shoe laces, the ends look like the controllers! The bottom of the shoes also say Game Over on them.
Of course, you don’t normally see that part since it’s at the bottom. My coworkers joked it’s for people to read as I’m stomping on them or something =P
Photography Gear
Over the years, the photography gear I take when I travel has changed. I’ve tried different combinations to see what would work best, and here I am again, trying something new. I’ve learned a few things about my preferences:
- I normally take 3 lenses: prime (non-zoom, high aperture), wide angle, and zoom. I wanted to combine the wide angle and zoom to cut down on one lens.
- I like shoulder bags for photoshoots because I can quickly grab my camera or a different lens, but the single strap eventually wears down my shoulder. For trips, I really need a backpack to distribute the weight to both shoulders.
Thus, that led to me buying a new lens and two new camera bags:
- Canon 24-105mm f/4L – Since I have a full frame DSLR, the 24-35 part is a wide angle, so this is my solution to combining the wide angle and zoom. I love the quality of L lenses, and I’m excited to use this one!
- Lowepro Fastpack 250 – I already had a camera backpack, but its purpose is to pack a lot of gear, which meant little room for anything else. I chose the Fastpack because it has a laptop slot in the back, and only the bottom half is a camera/lens compartment, leaving the top half for other items. My favorite part is the side zipper, allowing me to take out the camera without taking off the backpack.
- Lowpro Toploader Zoom 50 – I’m a big fan of these small toploader bags. They fit only the camera and one lens, which is great when that’s all you need. My other toploader is too small to fit my larger lenses, and this one is the perfect size.
Figures
When it comes to Anime or video game figures, I normally pre-order these way in advance. Earlier this month, my Majora’s Mask Link Nendoroid came in! I ordered this last August, and the release date kept slipping. It joins my collection of other Link figures!
I haven’t shared my loot from A-kon, but I do want to highlight a figure that I bought then. It’s another Zoro figure! He’s my favorite One Piece character, and this is my third figure of him.
I actually gave up all hope of finding this one since I wasn’t aware of this collection for a while and missed out early on. Every time I saw a figure from it, it was always a different character. I’m still surprised I managed to find this at the con!
Anyway, this week is starting to feel more normal at work, so no more retail therapy for me – unintentional or otherwise 😉 I’m hoping the rest of the week goes smoothly, and I’m really looking forward to the 3-day weekend that’s coming up!
Niiice stash of stuff! I find it awesome that you and Katy both got the Van shoes! 😀 Those are definitely great for video game fans! If only Vans are still comfortable for me. I’d probably get me a pair as well XD
I’m glad you were able to get that Zoro figure! That was good luck on finding it at the con.
Hopefully your work week doesn’t become too hectic again any time soon! Right now things are hectic at my workplace, so I’m trying my best not to do retail therapy, haha! XD
I’m loving those shoes. They’re too cute. Reminds me of my childhood. That ‘game over’ is pretty clever. 😀
Ooh, I love the shoes with all the different Mario characters on it! They are so cute! They just look really colorful from far away, but close up you can see all the individual characters. The shoe box is awesome, too. I wasn’t really paying attention at first so I didn’t realize it was a shoe box! The game over at the bottom is super cool, too. I might have to see what other designs they have!
Yay for three day weekends! Enjoy your new loot and the holiday, Cat! 🙂
Ahhh! I love the shoes! I work part-time at a shoe store as I’ve mentioned before so I always see the cool new shoes that Vans make (last year they had the Jungle book ones!) and I always talk about them so positively because they are seriously awesome. I Love the peach one! Have you seen the Zelda one? They are so awesome :’)
Thanks for sharing your photography gear/set-up when you travel. I’m still a newbie photographer – I only have my Sony A5000 and so I usually just put it in a case and in my bag. I’m excited to learn more! 😀
Have a wonderful 3 day weekend! 😀
Seriously, those shoes are the freaking best! I especially like the princess peach ones.
I’m sorry your week was tough but I’m glad that you got to purchase some items that you love.
THOSE SHOES! *screams* I heard about them a looong time ago I think, and completely forgot until now. Just checked at an online store and they’re here but a bit expensive ;_; I might have to wait until they go on sale, so for now I’ll just admire yours!
Hope you’re off to a better week! :3
Those shoes just bring back the childhood! They’re so pretty I can’t contain myself when I looked at them!! *.* Congrats on the new lens as well!
I still have to get those shoes! I want them so badly! ^^ Awesome goodies!
Retail therapy is good for the soul! Definitely reward yourself with all of the work you’ve done ;).
The Vans shoes are cute!!!!! The patterns look perfectly drawn and outlined :D. The Nintendo shoes would look perfect in a photoshoot when you’re doing a jumping kick pose that features both feet up in the air XD.
Ooooooh your new photography gear looks cool! (Your gear = goals)
Your figure collection is growing!! Glad to see you treating yourself to nice things ;D.
Hi ^^ How are you? Hope you’re well.
Have a good weekend.
Shoe snap!
Your Super Mario shoes are amazing! I’m very envious of those! I swapped my shoeslaces out, so I didn’t notice the tips. I’m glad I kept hold of them!
Your Majora’s Mask Nendoroid is beautiful! The detail on the small masks are brilliant, and Link looks super cute in the Bunny Hood! I was in a shop the other day and saw a lovely Skyward Sword figure, but it was far too expensive for me….
I hope everything in work is okay and no-one is stressed anymore! x
Sorry to hear that you didn’t have such a good week. I hope that things have been improving. Sometimes buying some things you want can be a good thing. 😀
Zomg, those shoes are the best ever. 😀
YUM, nice camera gear. 😀
I love your Nintendo-themed shoes! I want those too <3 But I really can't afford to spend so much money right now! Haha!
Enjoy your long weekend! 🙂 Hope everything goes well and no more stress for you 😀
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Thank you. Happy 4th of July! How are you?
Updated! As a heads up, most bloggers prefer that comments relate to the entry that they are attached to. For things like this, email is better 🙂
I’m sorry to hear that the beginning of the week sucked for you, but at least the end of the week didn’t, right? I mean, you got all those goodies!
Hmm, I don’t think I’m a fan of the Nintendo Vans shoes just yet. I think they’re pretty cool, but I don’t think I will buy any for myself any time soon. If you don’t mind me asking, how much were they? Are they more expensive than a regular pair of Vans shoes?
Hmm, I think I need to update my camera to a DSLR camera. As it stands, I have a Nikon CoolPix camera. It does the work that I need it to do, but I’ve seen the quality in pictures from a DSLR (I think Georgie uses one?) and it takes really nice pictures. Maybe I should switch? Is it still at the $200.00 price range for a DSLR? Let me know!
The Nintendo Vans shoes were $70 each, so they’re more expensive than normal Vans shoes. It’s unfortunate because they’re pretty much the same shoes, just with a pattern. I do love them though!
Entry-level DSLRs are around $400-$600. They still take great photos, but a lot of it depends on the lens. Georgie and I actually have the same DSLR (Canon 6D) which currently costs $1,500.
I LOVE LOVE how vans keeps releasing awesome themes! I wish I bought The Beatles themed ones! The nintendo slip on vans look so cool!!!!!
Wow, all awesome stuff. I need to work up the monies to get more stuff for my camera. I have been using a back pack though, I agree with you on the shoulder strap – painful after so long! Plus I love having all my stuff in one bag.
I want all the gaming and anime stuff in the post so badly! It all looks amazing.
I keep seeing people with the Nintendo Vans and I want them so much! I really want the Princess Peach ones – I always used to play as her on Super Smash Bros! They all look great though.
I love the Zoro figure. One Piece is amazing!
OMG THOSE VANS! I don’t even like princess peach but the princess peach one is adorable! the Vans collection here is so bad I don’t think I’m gonna see this one available here :(( you’re so lucky!!!!
ah, photography gear. I used to think I want to devote my life and my budget for photography but then…I suppose I’m not gonna prioritize it too much at the moment. besides, it’s not like I travel a lot so I’m pretty much alright with just a standard zoom and a 50mm f/1.4 prime. I do want a wide angle / telephoto prime lens though but it’s crazy expensive haha
I used to have a top loader bag with my old camera but now I have one that is a bit of a long boat shape. I can wear it as a bit of a cross-body sort of thing but with the bag on my back. Nick has one of the large backpacks and it pretty much has all the features you mentioned from yours! I like that it has the laptop slot and the top compartment for other things. I just don’t have that much gear, though. So I don’t see myself needing one of those!
I love the shoes even though they are not my style. I LOVE that ‘game over’ is on the bottom, your coworkers made a good point about you stomping on someone and that being the only situation you’d really see the bottom of the shoes. 😀
AHH I love the Vans x Nintendo collaboration! I just wish there were more Zelda based products for girls. My mom got a Donkey Kong snapback and I considered Princess Peach – like I said I would have gotten it if it were Zelda. 🙂
I need a new camera bag now that I have two lenses! 😛
Also your Link collection is adorable, especially the new figurine. It comes with masks too?!