holidays | Jennifer Awesome v5.0

Tag Archive for holidays

Tasty Peach Studios: Christmas Meowchi

January 18, 2016 Jen Ný Figures and Toys No comments

I just realized that I haven’t yet reviewed my newest Meowchis. My Peppermint Candy Cane and Cream Reindeer Meowchis arrived back in December, just in time for the holidays. This review will be short since I have already reviewed a number of other Meowchi plushies.

Cream Reindeer is a variant of the 2014 Reindeer Christmas special edition Meowchi. Tasty Peach Studios offered this recolored version for everyone who missed the original. He has adorable little antlers.

Peppermint Candy Cane is the 2015 Christmas special edition Meowchi. He has a two-toned red and white body.

As always, these two Meowchi plushies are made from a soft minky fabric.

The Reindeer design has been retired, but Candy Cane will be available again sometime this year for anyone who missed out. A second-chance pre-order for the Disapproval and Bumblebee Meowchi is currently available on Tasty Peach Studios‘ website. I have already pre-ordered my Bumblebee!

Tasty Peach Studios: Purple Vampire Bat and Chocolate Candy Corn Meowchi

November 13, 2015 Jen Ný Figures and Toys One comment

Halloween Variant Meowchis from Tasty Peach Studios

I missed the preorder opportunity for the variants of last year’s Halloween Meowchis (and didn’t get the originals last year either), but Tasty Peach Studios offered a last chance to order the remaining Purple Vampire Bat and Chocolate Candy Corn Halloween Meowchis last weekend, in addition to the remaining Witch and Demon Meowchis that were introduced this year, so I woke up early that day and scooped them up as soon as they went live.

The Purple Vampire Bat Meowchi is a variant of the black Vampire Bat that was available last year. He has felt wings, just like this year’s Demon Meowchi. He also has spooky red eyes and adorable vampire fangs. His whiskers are also red, presumably to show up better on his dark-colored fur. He reminds me of a cross between the Bitey Bat and Meowburt animal orbs in Castle Crashers.

The Chocolate Candy Corn Meowchi is a variant of last year’s Candy Corn Meowchi’s. He has a chocolate face instead of the original yellow. He has an orange stripe across his middle and a white stripe across his rear, just like a real chocolate candy corn! He has the same adorable happy facial expression as the original Meowchis. Chocolate Candy Corn Meowchi is a delicious addition to any Meowchi collection!

Here’s all of my Halloween Meowchis, as well as my entire Meowchi collection. I think I may have a slight problem, though my Meowchi collection does pale in comparison to some of the photos that other fans have shared on Tasty Peach Studio’s facebook page. I love how stackable these things are. They’re like potato chips. You can never have just one!

These limited edition Halloween Meowchis were definitely worth adding to my collection, despite Halloween being over. They are cute enough to display all year!

Starbucks Christmas Cups

November 11, 2015 Jen Ný Cool Story Bro No comments

In light of the Starbucks holiday cup “controversy,” I created two festive cup designs for Starbucks to use next year.

The first one features Odin riding Sleipnir. What could be more Christmasy than the original inspiration for Santa Claus himself? Long before Christians forced Germanic Pagans to convert to their religion, the Germans had their own yule traditions. Odin would lead the Wild Hunt atop Sleipnir, the eight-legged horse, bringing toys to all the good children who left straw and carrots in their boots for Sleipnir. At some point, as Christianity took hold in Europe, Odin became Santa Claus, and Sleipnir became eight reindeer who liked to bully poor Rudolph for being different. It’s the Christian reindeer way.

Next we have a coffee cup featuring Krampus. Krampus is a popular holiday character in Germany and Austria. While Saint Nicholas is distributing gifts to the good children, Krampus is tasked with dealing with the naughty children. Krampus puts all the bad kids in his bag and takes them away. Depending on the particular tradition, he may drown them, eat them, or transport them to hell. I bet children who’ve heard of Krampus are much more well-behaved than those who have only a coal-filled stocking to fear!

I think that my new Starbucks cup designs are just as Christmassy and Christian as the snowflakes that the people complaining about the plain red cups were hoping for!

The Knock

October 31, 2015 Jen Ný Writing No comments

Here’s a spooky short story that I wrote for Halloween. Enjoy!

I was sitting on my chair in the living room, drifting in and out of sleep. After some time, I was awoken by the chime of the clock as it struck twelve. I didn’t mean to sleep for that long. I was just resting my eyes.

In a half-awake daze, I was startled by a creaking sound from somewhere outside. Several moments later I heard the sound of someone, or something, knocking at the door. I struggled to get out of my chair. My legs aren’t as strong as they once were. I slowly hobbled to the window, but I didn’t see anyone there. It must have been my imagination, or perhaps the wind.

I returned to my chair. As I sat down, I thought I heard another sound. It was the unmistakable sound of a child laughing. My children are grown and my grandchildren never visit. The story is the same for my neighbors. There haven’t been any children in this neighborhood for years.

“Hello,” I yelled out. “Who’s there?” No response. The faint sound of high-pitched laughter ceased. Perhaps it was only my imagination playing tricks on me again.

I settled back into my chair. There was another knock at the door. “Is somebody there?” I yelled out a second time. The knocking stopped, but there was no response. I watched the shadows of the trees outside dance around on the hardwood floor of my living room. It must have only been the wind again, I reasoned.

I looked around my living room. The ticking of the clock seemed louder than before. I heard the sound of light footsteps outside my window. It sounded as though someone was walking around on my front porch.

After several minutes, there was another knock. This time it was louder than before. I gathered my courage and resolved to investigate again.

“I know there’s someone out there,” I said as I stood up again. I slowly made my way to the foyer. I took a deep breath and opened the door.

On my front porch stood two small girls. They wore bright green skirts and matching vests covered in sewn-on patches.

“Can we interest you in some cookies?” One girl asked cheerfully. The other stood next to her holding three boxes of cookies. There was a wagon parked on the sidewalk behind them filled with more.

“Sure, I’ll take a box of Thin Mints,” I replied as I shielded my eyes from the midday sun.

The Spiced Pumpkin Village

October 27, 2015 Jen Ný eBooks, Writing No comments

My newest book, The Spiced Pumpkin Village, is now available through Amazon. The Spiced Pumpkin Village is a lighthearted Halloween-themed story about a girl who finds herself transported to a magical world. Along the way, she learns to accept a part of herself that she has kept secret from even her best friend, as she finds herself developing feelings for a pumpkin spirit girl she meets in the Spiced Pumpkin Village.

Autumn is just an average girl who loves fall and pumpkin spice lattes. She, and her best friend Summer, get lost in the woods the night before Halloween. Autumn never imagined that magic could exist until she gets separated from Summer and finds herself transported to a village inhabited by pumpkin spirits. There, Autumn meets a pumpkin spirit girl named Curpepa and they fall for each other almost instantly. The pumpkin spirits mistake Autumn for one of their own and insist she hide in their village until All Hallows’ Eve is over, as the veil between the spirit world and the human world is weakest during this time of year. The pumpkin spirits seem terrified of humans, so Autumn decides to let them believe she is a spirit. Eventually, Autumn is faced with the decision to reveal that she is a human to save Summer and risk losing Curpepa, or to continue her charade. Along the way in her adventure, Autumn learns to accept herself for who she is and what true friendship really means.

The Spiced Pumpkin Village is suitable for teens and young adults and is available from Amazon and Smashwords. It will also be available from other major ebook retailers soon!

Tasty Peach Studios – Halloween 2015 Meowchi Review

October 26, 2015 Jen Ný Figures and Toys 2 comments

I got this year’s limited edition Halloween Meowchis from Tasty Peach Studios as soon as they went live on their website. If you’re not familiar with Tasty Peach Studios, I have written about other plushies from them before (here and here). I couldn’t choose between the adorable witch and demon, so I got them both.

They are both super soft and are made from the same minky fabric as the other Meowchis. Both of these limited editions also have their own unique facial characteristics.

The witch is green and has a felt witch hat attached to her head. She also has cute little warts on her face and one tooth sticking out of her mouth. Her eyes are slightly slanted to give her a mischievous look, as though she is thinking about putting a spell on you. The felt that makes up her hat is stiff and a kind of scratchy. There are ear holes on the hat to accommodate her ears. Witch Meowchi is the perfect familiar for any kawaii witch!

The demon is red and has devilish horns sticking out of his head. He also has felt wings on his back, which are made of the same type of material as the witch’s hat. Rather than the standard rounded tail that most Meowchis have, he has a pointy tail, just like a real demon! On his face, he has evil little fangs and the same mischievous eyes as the witch. Demon Meowchi is ready to cause all kinds of mayhem on Halloween!

The witch and demon Meowchis are still available on the Tasty Peach Studios website (as of this writing), but they probably won’t last long, being limited editions. They are $25 each, as are all of their limited edition Meowchis (the standard Meowchis are $20). If you miss out, they will be available again in January during their “last chance” offering of this year’s limited editions.

Dinosauring Christmas

December 24, 2014 Jen Ný Comics, Cool Story Bro, Dinosauring No comments

Today is marks the third week of my web comic, Dinosauring. Since today is also Christmas Eve, I did a special 6 panel parody of “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.”

This strip, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, features the three Stegosauruses, Sir Stegington, Gweneira, and Mary Sue, along with a special appearance by Stego Claus.

I hope to make more special holiday comics in the future (including New Years next week!). My interneting goal for the next year (and beyond) is to post a new Dinosauring comic every week, as well as posting here on my blog more often (even if my boyfriend is the only one reading it).

(This post is being filed under “Cool Story Bro.”)

Our Nerdy Christmas Trees

December 23, 2014 Jen Ný Cool Story Bro, Photos No comments

As is tradition, we have a really nerdy Christmas tree this year. Actually, two of them. Our main Christmas tree is decorated with an assortment of dorky things, mostly stuffed animals. I also have a smaller pink Christmas tree that I decorated with Pokemon this year.

This tradition started two Christmases ago. It was the first year that my boyfriend and I lived together, and we didn’t have any actual Christmas ornaments (bought two that year, two snowmen) and filled in the rest of the tree with our action figures tied to string. Then last year, we didn’t have room for the big tree, so I got a small pink one instead and decorated it with pink action figures and small pink plushies.

This year, we have plenty of room again, so out came both trees. We used mostly stuffed animals this time because we were too lazy to put strings on our action figures this year.

Here’s our main tree. I added a winking Pikachu, a smaller Sylveon, and three normal ornaments (including a stegosaurus) since I took the pictures.

And here’s my Pokemon tree:

Maybe next year we’ll have three or four trees!

If you’re curious here are our trees from 2012 and 2013. I didn’t think to post them on my blog before:

Tomodachi Life: Krampus QR Code

December 22, 2014 Jen Ný Freebies, Gaming No comments

If you’ve never heard of the Krampus, be prepared to add this delightful character to your family’s holiday traditions! In Germanic folklore, Krampus is St. Nicholas’s devilish companion. Whereas good old St. Nick brings gifts to the good little boys and girls, Krampus takes care of the naughty children. While Santa Claus is happy with offerings of milk and cookies, Krampus would prefer to be offered schnapps.

I thought he would be a great addition to my Tomodachi Life Island to go along with Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus. I needed more crazy looking characters.

Even Krampus is getting into the Christmas spirit with his festive holiday interior!

I think Krampus should become a more popular Christmas character in the United States, right along side Santa Claus. What do you think?

Have you been nice this year? Or will Krampus have to visit your house?

Tomodachi Life: Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus QR Codes

December 21, 2014 Jen Ný Freebies, Gaming No comments

Merry Christmas! I made Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus Mii characters for Tomodachi Life. They both live in festive holiday interiors with Christmas trees year-round (unless you decide to change their interiors).

I made the original QR codes with them both wearing matching “ugly holiday sweaters” before I found the Santa Suit outfit in the “seasonal” section of the clothing store (yay for scheduled posting!), so I remade the codes with the Santa Suit outfits, but I’ll keep the ugly holiday sweater codes here too, just in case anyone prefers that outfit.