SXSW 2018 Wrap Up

Getting in a blog post before end of the month! I told myself that I'd blog at least once per month to be somewhat consistent. So far, so good. 😊

This past SXSW, which lasted from March 9-18, was so much fun but also way too exhausting. I'm so glad it's over. I went out 10 days in a row and my body definitely felt the consequences. March has been filled with friends' birthdays/housewarmings, friends visiting, VIP access to some concerts courtesy of Vevo and Pandora, the Mondo x Phantom City Creative exhibit, my first time at a rodeo, and the unexpected DC Comics SXSW event activation.

I got to watch (left to right, top to bottom) Ludacris, Tinashe, Common, and Chris Carrabba/Dashboard Confessional among other great artists perform live. Thank you so much to Vevo and Pandora for the invites! You really made this SXSW memorable.

I watched live bull riding and team roping and ate a turkey leg at the rodeo! It was Mickey's and my first time at a rodeo and we're told Rodeo Austin is one of the smaller ones. We actually really liked it. It's such a unique experience and the people in the events were very talented. My favorite event was Mutton Bustin'! It's where kids hold onto a sheep for as long as possible as the sheep runs around the arena.  If your'e not familiar with rodeos, I'm being 100% serious. It's actually ridiculously adorable and kind of hilarious. Also, the bull fighters, those keeping all the riders safe, are my heroes! They do such a great job. I would definitely go again, maybe a bigger one next time.

There was a concert at the end of the rodeo each night and most nights hosted country singers as you might expect, but I'm me so I bought tickets for the night Ludacris performed. Yes, we saw Ludacris 2 nights in a row. 😂

Right as SXSW was starting up, we grabbed some gorgeous prints at the Batman: The Animated Series Phantom City Creative exhibit at the Mondo gallery here in Austin. The exhibit was beautiful! We walked around and enjoyed all the amazing art, grabbed a couple free drinks, and even ran into a friend who recently started working with the Mondo marketing team. We caught up a bit and I gushed about how happy for her yet jealous I am of her new gig. I was just being honest. 😀😂Check out photos from the exhibit below. I took way too many photos so will be sure to share the rest on Facebook so you can see more items they had on sale.

We had such a hard time picking out which prints we wanted, but ended up purchasing the following Phantom City Creative prints (in order): Batman: The Animated Series (Variant), Harley & Ivy, Perchance to Dream (one of my favorite episodes), and Pretty Poison (which we purchased for Dustin Nguyen as a gift when we see him at SDCC this year). I can't wait to hang them. They're going to look so great! Which of the ones we purchased is your favorite? Are there any others from the exhibit that you liked even better?

Here is the list of all the prints for sale. Those that you might have seen in the exhibit photos that aren't listed here were old prints from Phantom City Creative that were either not for sale or sold as is from the wall with the frame for 2x+ the original price! There was one old print in particular that Mickey wanted to buy, but by the time we got to the check out counter, it had already been claimed.

Even with all of the above, I think my favorite part of SXSW was still the DC Comics SXSW event activation (DCSXSW18) complete with a pop up shop, signings, and photo opportunities with Batmobiles. Below is a group photo of the Batmobiles on display followed by individual photos (in order, Val Kilmer, Ben Affleck, and Christian Bale Batmobiles) and then photos of Batgirl and Robin's motorcycles from Batman & Robin. At some points throughout the week, they actually had Christian Bale's tumbler and Batfleck's Batmobile open and fans were allowed to climb in for a photo! Every time I came around for the photo, they were closed so I missed out there, but I did get a photo on Batgirl's motorcycle. While I was waiting in line before they opened up the activation to the public, they were wrapping up the press portion of the day and people like DC Comics' Co-Publisher, Jim Lee, actually turned on the Batmobiles and revved them for a few minutes. It was amazing.

It was so much easier to experience than any craziness at SDCC so I got up close and personal. They had a special book on sale for Superman's 80th Anniversary which is shown below along with other tradebacks, Funko Pops, and special SXSW t-shirts. They even handed out free coffee all day (and free beer in the evening).

We purchased the Teen Titans Go "Night Begins to Shine" Robin Funko Pop that we've been looking for pictured below. Look at his amazing rock star hair. Hah. I'll be sure to post more photos from DCSXSW18 on my Facebook page as well since I took way too many as expected.

Mickey and I were also lucky enough to score some free Eventbrite tickets for a Jim Lee signing at DCSXSW18! I was literally learning about the activation the week before SXSW was happening so I started checking the DC Comics Twitter and must have been checking at the right time. I love Twitter. We dropped by Austin Books and Comics first thing on the morning of the signing to buy some books for the signing because turned out all my Jim Lee comic books are back in California. It was a smooth process and Jim lee was very nice and patient with everyone. We only waited ~2 hours, which I know sounds like a decent wait, but it includes the 30 minute wait before the activation even opened and I heard some Eventbrite ticket holders weren't able to hop in line after a certain time frame so I consider us lucky! Jim Lee signed my Moleskine Batman notebook featuring his art on the cover as well as a 15th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of Batman: Hush. Check out more photos of the signed items on my Instagram.

It was a jam packed week, but I'd say we made the most of it in true geeky style! Were you around for SXSW? What were your favorite parts? If not, what got you most excited from my post? If I'm being honest, I'm not eager for SXSW to come around again just yet because I will definitely be enjoying and appreciating the rest and relaxation before then.

Happy Valentine's Day 2018!

On Valentine's Day 2 years ago, I posted some of my Batman Valentine's Day cards. I talked about how I'm not much of a V-Day celebrator, but I ALWAYS look for Batman Valentine's Day cards around this time of year to add to my collection and also to hand out to friends. I'm sad to report that I didn't find any new one's this year. Womp.

I did find some Spiderman (of course), Superman, Wonder Woman, and Justice League ones. Old hoarder Tiffany probably would have grabbed the Justice League ones just to get the 1-2 Batman cards, but I'm being better about only buying things I really want or need. For example, we went to purchase the Batman: Gotham by Gaslight Blu-Ray at Target and I DIDN'T also purchase the Batman Valentine's Day box of chocolates or the Batman pop socket that I saw. *SELF HIGH FIVE*

I don't have any new V-Day cards to share this year, but I do have another set of previously purchased Batman V-Day cards that I still have lying around. There are still enough in the box for me to hand out to friends while also still keeping a set for my collection. I do enjoy the ones I posted in 2016 because they were all about Batman, but these are nice in that they feature some other great Batman-affiliated characters. I particularly enjoy the Nightwing one. 😍 I'm almost positive these are from Target or Walmart.

I then remembered that I have even older Batman V-Day cards that I've yet to share! I bought these next V-Day cards years ago (some near a decade ago), gave them out to friends, and then kept a set for my collection. Apologies for the poor photo quality. We'll just call this a Way Back Wednesday post since I'm pulling these sexy photos from the vault. Hah. I still have these V-Day cards lying somewhere around my parents' house so can definitely share better photos some time in the future, but no better time than the present to share these especially since it's Valentine's Day.

The first set is some standard Batman ones. The ones hiding in the flash of the camera say "Swinging your way this Valentine's Day!" and "Have no fear, Valentine's Day is here!" 😂 So cheesy, love it.

One year, I bought Batman: The Brave and the Bold V-Day cards when the show was still live. Not all of the cards featured Batman and they didn't even feature cheesy V-Day sentiments. They simply stated character names. I do like some of these other character, but overall, not my best Batman purchase in my opinion. The matching character, non-heart-shaped stickers were a nice touch, though.

One time, I wasn't a hoarder and didn't save the box! These are V-Day cards featuring The Batman TV show art and characters. The large card had a cute little word search on it! The Joker card hidden in the flash of the camera says "Hope your Valentine's Day is a LAUGH-A-MINUTE!" 😂 For better photos of these Batman Valentine's Day cards and others, I found a great resource here. You can find better photos of these particular V-Day cards under the the section labeled Batman Animated Valentines.

Looking back on these just makes me think about how much of a hoarder I am, but I'm also glad I have them to look back on.

Whether you're a hopeless romantic who loves the idea of V-Day or if you're more like me who just treats it like any other day, I hope you have a great one with family and friends!