2016 Holiday Shopping Guide

2016 Holiday Shopping Guide!

It's all below the cut! I've tried to add highlights of each sale, because there's no way I can go into exhaustive detail and list all of the deals. Links to the flyers have been added for each entry, so you can check whichever retailer you would like.

Also, just gonna leave this here for now: Kinja's one-stop "how to Black Friday" guide

December update

Hi, everyone!

Just a quick update. Posts are going to be kind of light from now until the end of the year. I'll have one more mini review, and possibly some news posts, but that's about it. Basically, I am feverishly working on trying to finish a handful of homemade Christmas presents that got pushed off and pushed off until I realized that Christmas is basically two weeks away. No more time to spend on the blog, it's crunch time!

Also, I've been enjoying my shiny new PS4, so that ate up some time. I bought "I am Setsuna." and a few games from the PSN store sale. So I've been spending a bit more free time than I planned with it.  I'm also planning to just relax as much as I can during my Christmas break.

Miss Scarlett, signing out!

Hobby Haven Holiday Cookie Blitz! Day 12: Kitchen Sink Cookies

Hi guys. This is the last day of the Cookie Blitz, and I am exhausted. My kitchen is covered in odds and ends of ingredients, and I don't have the stamina or the brainpower to try a new recipe or go shopping for anything else or even care about how these look. So I am just going to whip out an old standby: Kitchen Sink Cookies.

The beauty of these darlings is that you can dump just about whatever you've got lying around the house in them. Raisins? Sure. Funky flavored baking chips? Yes. Pretzels? Go for it. Crushed up mystery cereal? Why not. It is flexible and customizable. It is also a recipe that I posted last year and I am technically cheating but WHATEVS YOU GUYS I DID IT AND I AM DONE. Enjoy your last cookie recipe while I stagger off and go sleep.



The Ingredients:

• 1 cup of shortening or butter
• 2 eggs, beaten**
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2-3 cups dry ingredients***
• 2 cups plain flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar****
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt

**I have actually tried using an egg substitute in this at one point. If you don't have any eggs on hand or can't have them, try this: Combine 1 1/2 Tbsp oil with 1 1/2 Tbsp water and 2 tsp baking powder. Mix them together; they should combine into a fizzy whitish-grayish substance. That is equal to one egg. Double, or triple it up for more than one egg. It makes the cookies very light, thin, and fluffy.
***This is where you get creative. You can use stale cereal, oatmeal, dried fruits, chopped nuts, shredded coconut, chocolate chips, etc. My favorite combo is chocolate chips, pecans, and Craisins.
****If you're putting in sweet dried ingredients, you can probably drop the sugar by 25-50%.


The Tools:

• An oven (natch)
• Cooking spray
• Cookie sheets
• Mixing bowl
• Hand or stand mixer 
• Soup spoon

How to make it:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. grease the cookie sheets with the cooking spray.
2. Cream the sugars and butter/shortening together with the mixer (it's almost impossible to do by hand, I've tried). Add the eggs and mix again. Then add the flour, baking soda, and baking powder, and mix again. Mix in salt, vanilla, and dry ingredients. 
3. Use a spoon to form small balls of dough, about half the size of an egg.
4. Place the balls of dough on the cooking sheets.
5. Bake between 10 to 17 minutes, or until lightly brown. The amount and type of ingredients used can change the baking time, so keep an eye on them and check periodically.

Hobby Haven Holiday Cookie Blitz! Day 11: Oatmeal Scotchie Cookies

Welcome, everyone, to Miss Scarlett's Holiday Cookie Blitz!

Right, so remember how I made those butterscotch pudding cookies earlier? And I altered the recipe because one bag of chips was way too much? ...I might have purposefully chosen this recipe to use those up. Well, also because my mother was hinting that she wanted these, because she loves cookies with oatmeal. Like, adores. So Mom, here's to you!

The ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed down
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 cups quick of "old-fashioned" oats
• 1/2 bag (or 1 cup) butterscotch chips

How to make them:

• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
• Place the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon into a medium bowl and mix together until combined. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla.
• Slowly mix in the flour. Once combined, fold in the oats and butterscotch chips. 
• Drop tablespoonfuls of the dough onto ungreased baking sheets, and bake for 7 to 8 minutes. Let them cool on the sheet for a few minutes for moving them to the wire racks.

Hobby Haven Holiday Cookie Blitz! Day 10: Rocky Road Cookies

Welcome to the Hobby Haven, everyone! Oh man, I'm really excited to share this one, with you guys...these are super delicious and really rich. The only way to improve them? Maybe adding a tablespoon or two of cocoa (or chocolate pudding mix) to make it even more like real Rocky Road ice cream. Yum!



Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 sticks softened unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 box vanilla instant pudding mix
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup chocolate chips**
• 1/2 cup chopped almonds***
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup mini marshmallows

**I recommend semi-sweet, but use whatever kind you like!

***If you can't get chopped, slivered also works.

The tools:

• An oven
• A large baking pan
• Parchment paper
• 2 large mixing bowls
• A wire whisk
• An electric mixer (either a hand mixer or a standing mixer)
• A rubber spatula
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Oven mitts
• A wire cooling rack

How to make it:

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line the baking pan with the parchment paper.
• Place the flour, baking soda, and salt into one of the bowls. Whisk it together until well mixed.
• In the other bowl, use your mixer to cream the butter and sugar together. Once combined, Add the pudding mix, eggs, and vanilla, and continue creaming until well mixed.
• Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing continually. Once it's all been combined, turn off the mixer and fold in the chocolate chips and nuts with the rubber spatula.
• (The original recipe said to measure out the dough into "two tablespoon" portions, and then roll them into balls. I don't really recommend this, since they turn into big mound-like cookies that take forever to bake. It also doesn't match the pictures they showed...it works way better if you measure it into a tablespoonful.) Measure out the dough, rolling it into balls and placing it on the baking sheet.
• Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes. You want them to be just set on the top. Pull them out, and turn the broiler on. While it's heating, place the marshmallows on top of the cookies--you might have to push them down slightly. You can also top with more nuts if you like.
• Place the cookies under the broiler and let them broil for about 30 seconds. Watch these carefully! You want them to turn slightly golden brown, so pull them out the instant that happens.
• Cool the cookies on the sheet for about 5 minutes before placing onto the wire cooling rack.

Hobby Haven Holiday Cookie Blitz! Day 9: Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies

Welcome to the Hobby Haven's Cookie Blitz!

Remember the pudding cookies, you guys? Well, here it is: Revenge of the Pudding Cookies! I admit, when I see new products at the grocery store, I get excited. And when I saw a box of red velvet instant pudding, my first thought was, "I want to eat that. What should I put it in?" And the answer, like always, was cookies. Now, finding a recipe to use this in was kind of difficult, since just about every "red velvet" recipe out there calls for chocolate pudding mix and red food coloring. And I don't keep food coloring on hand, it kind of creeps me out. So these are "red-velvet-in-flavor-but-not-in-looks-because-Miss-Scarlett-is-ironically-grossed-out-by-red-food-coloring pudding cookies."

The ingredients:

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 box red velvet pudding mix
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips**

**You can also substitute white chocolate chips if you want!

How to make them:

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• Place the flour and baking soda in a medium bowl. Whisk together and set the bowl aside.
• In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add the pudding packaged and beat in. After it is well mixed, add the eggs and vanilla, and finish beating them in.
• Slowly add the flour in until it has been totally mixed in. 
• Stir in the chocolate chips.
• Scoop the dough in tablespoonfuls and roll into balls. Place onto a greased baking sheet and bake for 9-12 minutes.

Hobby Haven Holiday Cookie Blitz! Day 8: Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Welcome, everyone, to Miss Scarlett's Holiday Cookie Blitz!

I guess I'm not done with the sugar cookie just yet. I've tried them before, and sat thinking, "What would improve this cookie?" The answer is chocolate. It's always chocolate. So here we are. What we never knew that we always needed: chocolate sugar cookies. (And then I swear I'll be done with this, I promise.)


The ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup sugar (for rolling the cookies in!)

How to make them:

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• Place the butter and brown sugar into a large bowl and cream for a few minutes.
• Add the first egg, mix for one minute, then add the other egg, beating for another minute. Add the vanilla. 
• In a separate bowl, add the cocoa powder, flour, salt, and baking soda together. Mix until just combined.
• Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing well.
• Cover the bowl and chill for one hour.
• Scoop the dough into tablespoon-sized chunks and roll into small balls. Place the white sugar into a small bowl and roll the cookies in it until covered.
• Place the cookies onto lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes.
• Let cool on the baking sheets for about 10 minutes before transferring to cooling racks.

Hobby Haven Holiday Cookie Blitz! Day 7: Butterscotch Chip Cookies

Welcome, everyone, to Miss Scarlett's Holiday Cookie Blitz!

I really wanted to try making some cookies with pudding mix, since I've heard good things about doing that. Hence, this recipe. These ended up soooooo moist, and I'm thinking about doing them again. Maybe chocolate pudding mix and peanut butter chips? Or cheesecake mix and cinnamon chips? The possibilities are endless! (And delicious!)


The ingredients:

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg
• 2 cups flour
• 1 small box of dry instant butterscotch pudding mix
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 bag butterscotch chips**

**The original recipe called for an entire bag, but there wasn't enough dough to support all of those chips! I cut it down, and that worked out much better. Plus, they won't be cutting into your hand when you shape these!

How to make them: 

• Place the butter and both types of sugar into a large bowl and cream together for about two minutes. Once light and fluffy, mix in the vanilla and egg. Set to the side.
• In another bowl, whisk together the flour, pudding mix, and baking soda. Once combined, add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients. Mix these until they are just combined. Then fold in the butterscotch chips.
• Cover the bowl and chill for about one hour.
• Once it's time to start baking again, place the bowl of dough onto the counter, then preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Scoop the dough into balls, about 2 tablespoons' worth, then roll them until smooth.
• Place the dough onto greased baking sheets, giving them a bit of room to spread.
• Bake them for about 12 to 15 minutes, and let them cool completely on the baking sheets.

Hobby Haven Holiday Cookie Blitz! Day 6: Jam Thumbprints

Welcome, everyone, to Miss Scarlett's Holiday Cookie Blitz!

Okay, so this was my first time making these, and boy do I have some tips to share with you! I made these since I wanted a fruity cookie to balance out all the heartier flavors, and was basically, "Huh, this looks good. Let's go!" But they're kind of tricky.

In step three, please make sure that you make a good-sized indentation! You don't want it to go all the way down to the bottom of the cookie, just maybe halfway. This recipe calls for putting the jam in before you bake it--which I do like, it makes the fruit flavor stronger, I feel--but if the thumbprint is too shallow, the jam overflows and covers the cookie with stickiness. And furthermore, using jam is not quite the way to go. I tried this using both jam and fruit preserves, and found that the preserves held better together than the jam, which had a tendency to melt and run. Finally, the last step requires these to be dusted with powdered sugar. Use a sifter, or else lightly dunk these upside-down in the sugar

Learn from Miss Scarlett's mistakes wisdom, y'all.


The ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup powdered (confectioner's) sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 cups flour
• 1 jar of fruit preserves**

**This can be any flavor that you want! 

How to make it:

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. While it is heating, line your cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Place the butter and sugar in a bowl and cream together until light and fluffy--about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and salt, mixing for a bit. Then add the flour, and mix it in until just combined--you don't want to overmix!
• Roll the cookie dough into small balls. Place them on the cookie sheets. Press down on each cookie with your thumb; you want them to spread out a little and have a nice little dent you can place the jam in.
• Fill each dent with no more than a teaspoonful of preserves. Trust me, it's plenty.
• I should note here that the original recipe called for 325 degrees and no more than 15 minutes, but I found that the cookie were still raw after doing it. I bumped the temp to 350 and cooked for about 18 minutes, and was satisfied, but you might want to keep an eye on these. You want them to be puffy, and with slightly golden brown bottoms.
• Let these cool a few minutes on the sheets, then transfer to cooling racks. Dust with some more powdered sugar.

Hobby Haven Holiday Cookie Blitz! Day 5: Snickerdoodles

Welcome, everyone, to Miss Scarlett's Holiday Cookie Blitz!

Snickerdoodles are another holiday classic--Starbucks doesn't make holiday drinks based on just anything--so I figured I would make some this year! I'll admit that I normally don't care for sugar cookies, but the cinnamon-sugar that they're coated in makes them just plain good. (Again, this is another cookie that you can use a commercial mix for--just skip to the third step if you are--but I decided to go all-out for this holiday and make some home-made ones.)

The Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 3/4 cups flour
• 2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp sugar & 1 tsp cinnamon (to roll the cookies in)

How to make them:

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• Take one bowl and mix together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Once combined, set the bowl to the side.
• In another bowl, cream together the butter and the sugar (remember to take a few minutes for this!), adding in the eggs once the butter-sugar mixture is light and fluffy.
• Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients and mix thoroughly.
• Place the cinnamon and sugar into a small bowl. 
• Shape the dough into small balls, rolling in the cinnamon sugar.
• Place the cookies onto ungreased cookie sheets and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove to cooling racks immediately.

Hobby Haven Holiday Cookie Blitz! Day 4: Peanut Butter Blossoms

Welcome, everyone, to Miss Scarlett's Holiday Cookie Blitz!

Morning, everyone! This recipe is an old favorite at our house. It's simple but really cute. (I know you can make it with peanut butter cookie mix, but I try to make it from scratch when possible. I think it's tastier that way!) It's like a Reese's cup, but in cookie format, and these go especially well with a glass of cold milk. And protip: unwrap the chocolate kisses BEFORE starting this, so you're not rushing to get it done while the cookies are baking.

The Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter**
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup sugar (for coating the cookies!)
• 1 bag chocolate kisses

**Trust me on this one, crunchy won't work.

How to make them:

• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
• Place both types of sugar (but not the coating sugar), butter, and peanut butter into the bowl, mixing until they are light and fluffy--take your time with this! You'll want to combine them for a few minutes. Add the egg, vanilla, and salt, and continue mixing until it is all blended. Then add the flour and baking soda. Make sure it's thoroughly mixed!
• Shape the dough into small, round balls. Place the sugar that you will be coating the cookies with into a small bowl. Rolls the cookies around in it until they are thoroughly coated.
• Place the cookies onto ungreased cookie sheets, and bake for about 8-10 minutes. They should be very lightly golden brown, but still a little soft. 
• Take the cookies out of the oven, and immediately place one chocolate kiss in the center of each cookie. Press down gently, but with enough force that the surface of the cookie splits a bit.
• Let these cool on the sheets for a few minutes before placing them on the cooling racks; be careful!

Game sale!

Just a quick update, everyone: Good Old Games' Winter Sale is now live! As always, there's tons of mini activities to do to earn points that you can redeem for games, plus every purchase of a game earns you points.

Well, I'm off to continue with this cookie fest. Miss Scarlett, signing out!

Hobby Haven Holiday Cookie Blitz! Day 3: Chocolate S'mores Cookies

Welcome, everyone, to Miss Scarlett's Holiday Cookie Blitz!

Okay, so I have to get this part out of the way: there are no graham crackers involved in the creation of this cookie. Or rather, the "graham cracker" has been swapped out for a soft chocolate cookie. I might experiment with this for next year to see if I can make a richer, graham cracker-like cookie to make these true s'mores cookies, but for now, you'll all just have to live with chocolate cookies, LOL.

Getting these "picture perfect" is a bit tricky, since the marshmallows have a tendency to slide. But we're here to eat the cookies, not Instagram them, right? In any case, the recipe is after the jump.

Hobby Haven Holiday Cookie Blitz! Day 2: Chocolate Crinkle cookies

Welcome to the Hobby Haven: Cookie Blitz edition! I'm your host, Miss Scarlett, who is very shortly going to be up to her eyeballs in holiday cookies (not like that's a bad thing).

Today's cookie is one of my all-time favorites. The chocolate crinkle is a very rich, moist, chewy cookie, and is best paired with a glass of very cold milk. This darling is a refrigerator cookie; you just make the dough, chill, and then bake later. So it requires a bit of planning ahead. It's not what I would call a "spontaneous cookie."

Everything you need to know about making these delicious treats can be found after the jump!

Hobby Haven Holiday Cookie Blitz! Day 1: Cookie Butter Chocolate-Chip cookies

Welcome, everyone, to the Ho-Ho-Hobby Haven! I'm your host, Miss Scarlett, and today I am introducing a new feature for the holiday season! (Yes, apart from the Shopping Guide.) This is something that I've been thinking about for a while, and I've decided to try it out this year.

Today begins the first-ever Hobby Haven Holiday Cookie Blitz! For the next 12 days, you'll be treated to one delicious cookie recipe per day! Cookie swaps? Holiday parties? Currying favor with your boss? No problem!

So check back every day now through December 12th to get your daily cookie recipe fix. And to kick it all off, today's first recipe will be below the jump.

December Update

Hello there, everyone! I hope you're enjoying your holiday weekend!

Just a quick update: as I may or may not have shared before, this year I'm doing something a little different for December. This year, I am kicking the last month of the year off with my Hobby Haven Holiday Cookie Blitz! There will be twelve straight days of cookie recipes: tried, true, and delicious! So keep an eye out for it, starting next week!

(Another, personal update: I finally got the PS4 remastered version of Final Fantasy X! At $8, it was an absolute steal. And now that my PS4 is being delivered tomorrow~~~~, I can get playing right away!)

Miss Scarlett, signing out!

Black Friday!

Hi, everyone! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Well, today is the craaaaaziest shopping day of the year, Black Friday! With deals galore, there's something on sale for every budget and every occasion.

I got most of my Black Friday shopping done on Wednesday, believe it or not! It seems that more and more retailers are beginning to launch deals before Thanksgiving, and extend them through the rest of the week and the weekend. So even if you weren't able to shop yet (if you're planning to, that is), you've still got some time! And actually, I find that I spend less and less time in actual stores and more and more online, especially if they offer free shipping.

I didn't quite get everything I was planning, though; I was hoping to get the remastered version of Final Fantasy X from Target (only $8!), but the deal never seems to be active when I check the website... Also, Walmart had some pretty decent Blu-ray deals, but the free shipping minimum is $25 (and I don't want enough stuff to make the minimum).


My Black Friday kill count:

Whoooo! Black Friday sales begin!

Hey, everyone! I am going to do my best to get the holiday shopping guide up either tonight or tomorrow--I've been really busy, so I'm sorry for not having it up earlier!

Now, onto the goods: today has kicked off not one, not two, but THREE anime sales! (okay, well one technically started on Saturday, but I only saw it today.) Today is not only the first day of the legendary Right Stuf holiday sale, but also sales from Sentai Filmworks and Funimation (who apparently have their own storefronts on their websites, who knew?)

Here's what you can expect...

The last day of Sentai's sale is the 23rd. They will be adding 40+ items each day, so you will probably have to wait until the last day to see everything that's on sale. They have some pretty massive discounts on their own titles, and the actually are beating out Right Stuf's prices on the same products! For example, a 12 (or 13) episode-long series on Blu-ray from Sentai is being sold for anywhere from $23.99 to $27.99 on Right Stuf, depending on how recently it was released. On Sentai, it's going for $20.99. So make sure to price-compare! The only annoying thing about Sentai's store is that they don't have many variations in prices; so let's say you have $70 worth of merchandise and you want to get the free shipping offer. You would need to spend $5 to reach the $75 minimum for free shipping. But the cheapest thing sold at their store is $10, so you'll be paying a bit more than you wanted.

The last day of Funimation's sale is the 28th, so there's quite a bit of time to browse through. And you're going to need that time, because A. They have over 700 items on sale, and B. Their website keeps crashing. You'll be reloading a lot. The sale discount is 50% for each item, so in some cases, their item is cheaper than Right Stuf, and in some cases, it's more expensive than Right Stuf. (I made a spreadsheet last year of all the anime I wanted to buy, and what price is was being offered for at Right Stuf; I found it very helpful in tracking my spending. I just checked the prices in this Funimation sale against the Right Stuf prices from last year, and was amazed at the differences. But your mileage may vary.) They aren't adding items to the sale, so it is what it is.

Finally, RightStuf! Their sale usually ends after Christmas. This year, they are doing so many things, it makes my head spin. First, they are adding items each day; they kicked the sale off today with over 130 items, but who knows how much they'll be adding per day. Second are daily "Mega Deals" which are often collector's editions or brand-new releases--items that usually don't go on sale or don't get huge discounts normally--for a hefty discount. That discount is only good for one day, though! Third are "Limited Time Offers." These are specials that are only good for one week. This year, these weekly specials are all volumes of manga from Viz. They are available either in bundles or singly, but at a sharp discount. And...uh...fourth are discounts on hentai and other adult-oriented products in the "Naughty List."  *ahem*

Merry anime hunting, everyone! Miss Scarlett, signing out!

Odds and sods

Hi, everyone! The weekend is almost here! Are you as excited as I am? (My best friend and I are going to go out for lunch, shopping, and a play this weekend; it's nice to have some "girl time" to look forward to, especially given how busy work has been.)

Here's some bits of news for you:


Black Friday ads have begun to be leaked! There's news of lots of PS4/PS4 Slim and XBox One S bundles available from different retailers. So far, we've got confirmation of bundles from eBay, Dell, Best Buy, Target, Gamestop, and Walmart. The bundles are for the "vanilla" PS4 or the PS4 Slim bundled with a game, or the XBox One S bundled with a game, for $249. Last year (before the Slim and S models came out, obviously), bundles were $299. It looks like Sony is encouraging stores to sell existing models before the release of the PS4 Pro, so of course Microsoft doesn't want to be left behind.

Since I'm not getting a Pro (I don't really play AAA games, so it's not like the games I play would benefit hugely from the Pro), this is excellent news for me! I had initially budgeted $299 for a bundle, but this will save me some additional cash that I can hopefully put towards some games; I'm fully expecting Best Buy and other retailers to offer sales on PSN gift cards. Even if it's 10% off, that will be helpful.

Also, Nintendo is offering a special Black Friday deal: a limited-edition New Nintendo 3DS for $99.95. This is about 50% off of MSRP, and considering Nintendo doesn't usually offer sales or discounts on their products, this is an incredible deal. They're available seemingly at every big box retailer (Walmart, Best Buy, etc.), and the only caveat I can find is that they only come in black or white. I can't find any information on how many are available, or if any remaindered stock will be available at the same price, so I think it's safe to assume that this is a Black Friday-only deal. For those looking to get into the Nintendo 3DS family, this is an INCREDIBLE opportunity. Full disclosure, I have one of my own, and it's worth every penny thanks to all the awesome RPG and puzzle games available for it.

Persona 5....is delayed AGAIN. The new release date will be Tuesday, April 4th, approximately two months further out from the original February 14th release date. I've heard rumblings that this is due to the Nintendo Switch's release (so Atlus wants to make sure the game doesn't get quickly overshadowed), but who knows at this point. Atlus tried to soften the blow by announcing that they will offer the original Japanese game audio as a free DLC set. While I do have to admit that I'm a little pleased since I like several of the character's Japanese voices, I am just tired of waiting! (I am half expecting us to get to January, and oooooops, they have to delay it again)

In more cheerful news, next Wednesday will kick off Right Stuf's annual holiday sale! They sent out their catalog a little while ago, which had some details about the whole thing. It looks like they are continuing their strategy from last year of placing a new batch of items on sale every day, and keeping all the sale items on sale until the last day. They had a really fun feature last year where certain days had "Mega Deals" that were discounted at percentage rates they normally don't do (think 65% off as opposed to 50% off)...but the catch was that the super low discount was only for one day.

I'll try to post some links to sales and such again! Hopefully I will have some downtime at work next week to post them.

Miss Scarlett, signing out!

Miss Scarlett Cooks! Pecan Pie

Welcome to the Hobbay Haven! With Thanksgiving on the way, I figured I would share one of my favorite fall recipes with you: pecan pie! Now I'll warn everyone first off that I'm a Northerner, so if you're used to Southern pecan pie, this ain't it. It's moist but not overly gooey, with a crunchy top, and has more of a dark and smoky flavor.

Let's get cooking!

It's that time of the year...

Aww, Halloween is over, guys. :( It's always a little sad when that happens. But we are now entering the wild, crazy holiday season (because honestly, most of November is now just a prelude to Thanksgiving and Black Friday).

I tend to get my Christmas shopping done earlier in the year; in fact, I usually try to have it done by summertime. So usually by the time November rolls around, any shopping I have to do is usually for me! I'll hold off on buying electronics or clothes I don't need immediately in order to get them during the holiday sales. (I also hold off on buying anime, because the best sales are always in November and December...)

This year, I'll be biting the bullet and picking up a PS4. Last year's sales were about $299 for a console, so I'm hoping that we'll see some bundles (maybe with a free game or with a controller) for about the same price.

Aside from that, I'm hoping for some good clothing sales to pick a few new things for my work wardrobe. Mainly pants and shoes, I think. And stocking stuffers, too!

As for the Right Stuf sales, I'm hoping to buy up a bunch of Aniplex-created shows that Sentai had licensed. Given that Aniplex has not been renewing contracts for a lot of their licensed-out shows this year, I feel that it's wise to pick them up now as opposed to waiting and and then being forced to buy them for a big markup after suddenly going OOP. I'd also like to buy some of the Funimation titles that are on my "high priority, want to buy these soon" list, like The Slayers (which I got into last year after trying on a whim, it's very "zany" but has great action and is pretty fun). Next year and the year after, I'm going to save up more and try to "go big" and buy up as much off of my wishlist as possible, including some of the pricier releases that I've held back on (which includes a few shows by Viz, who never offers any sales or bargains and forces you to pay close to full MSRP, grrr), plus some of the manga series that I have fallen behind on. I guess I'll need to buy more shelves!

Miss Scarlett, signing out!

Media Review: The Vincent Price Collection 2 on Blu-ray (Scream Factory)

Happy Halloween, everyone! This past Friday's review was Halloween-themed, yes, but I figured you guys deserved an extra treat. So cuddle up with a hot beverage of your choice, maybe some pumpkin-based treats, and let's take a look at a collection of movies featuring the master of horror, Vincent Price!

Elvira's Movie Macabre: The Coffin Collection DVD Media Review

Happy Halloween (almost), everyone! Welcome to the Hobby Haven!

Today's review is just in time for the spookiest time of the year! I'm willing to bet most of you are familiar with Elvira, Mistress of the Dark: or at least I hope you are. For the uninitiated, Elvira is the alter ego (of sorts) of the actress Cassandra Peterson, who got her showbiz start back in the 1980s by hosting late-night horror movies on a small, independent TV station in L.A. Clad in a soaring beehive wig and a vampy dress that leaves little to the imagination, she deftly skewers oodles of B-grade horror and sci-fi movies (and C-grade, and D-grade...), making corny jokes and gags. Think MST3K, but with your goth-y best friend enamored of bad vaudeville jokes.

Curious? There's more after the cut.

Happy weekend!

It's finally Friday! I hope you're all as excited for the weekend as I am!

I had to share this with you; the wonderful Miss Momo surprised me with a toy from the DC Super Hero Girls Happy Meals from McDonald's! Three guesses who it was, and the first two don't count...

I am amazed at how well made she is for a modern Happy Meal toy. Her left arm swivels, but the right one is fixed. (...Why??) She can also swivel her head and at the waist. If she could just move her other arm, too, this would be a fantastic toy. The colors are bright, no parts removable, pretty solid...pretty good, overall.

Her hair is rooted and brushable. It's hard to tell from the picture, but her hair streak is purple (or at least a shade of blue that is incredibly close to purple). 

You also get a...POG? I haven't seen those in years. Are they making a comeback? The official character art is on it, which is nice.

Anyway, my nattering aside, have a great weekend, everyone! Miss Scarlett, signing out!

Nintendo Switch!

Whoaaaa, have you guys seen the news from Nintendo? They just unveiled their new console, the Nintendo Switch. From what I've seen of the trailer, it appears to be a hybrid console-handheld unit. It's a little hard to describe, but basically the Switch is a tablet. If you want to use it as a console, there is a charging unit that you dock it into and then hook up to your TV. You then use a dedicated controller to play the game. If you want to use the Switch as a handheld, you remove it from the dock, and just take it with you. There are detachable mini-controllers on the side, plus a part that pops out of the back so you can stand the tablet up.

Here is the Siliconera article, which has the trailer available: http://www.siliconera.com/2016/10/20/nintendo-officially-unveils-their-next-console-the-nintendo-switch/

Nintendo has also already announced a list of third-party developers who will be working with them. I see my three favorites (Atlus, Level 5, and Spike Chunsoft) on the list, so I am hoping to see some fun games from them! One of my friends who loves gaming on the go is already crossing his fingers that Atlus will port Persona 5 to the Switch; I'm hoping for a new Professor Layton game. (And a new Shin Megami Tensei game. And a new Ace Attorney game. And another Bravely Default or Legend of Legacy. And...well, you get the idea.)

Nobody seems quite sure yet whether or not Nintendo will discontinue making separate handheld and console units. Maybe they will focus their efforts from here on out with making hybrid units. I tend towards consoles, myself, although I have historically bought Nintendo's handhelds because of the good third-party games made for them. I suppose only time will tell, although I can safely say that I won't be even considering getting the Switch until I see the games to be offered. (No word on the price either, although I've heard rumors that the unit will be offered by itself and in a bundle, so both will obviously be priced differently.)

According to other rumors, more info should be arriving next week. I'm most curious about the launch titles, and the pace of games arriving after launch. Lots of stuff to look forward to! Miss Scarlett, signing out!

Figure review: "Sailor Moon" Sailor Mars S.H. Figuarts

Hello there, everyone! I am pretttty excited to be bringing this review to you today!

Whew. Mars has been a long time coming. Basically, even with my new job, I can't buy everything that I want (sadder but truer words were never spoken), so I am trying to balance buying things that have been on my wishlist for a long time with pre-ordering newer items. Given how popular the Sailor Moon Figuarts are (or at least the first five), I haven't been too worried about picking them up, and instead focused on ordering the new figures that seemed to have supply issues.

Well, I finally was able to clear room in my budget to get her! And I am stoked. It's also kind of a load off my shoulders, mentally speaking; the thought of having an incomplete set just bothers me in some strange way. (Given, my set is still lacking Mercury, so it's still incomplete.)

I'll give you all the pics and pertinent info after the cut!

Miss Scarlett Cooks! Apple Crisp

Well, readers, autumn has come once again and I couldn't be happier. The cool weather, the colors, the warm fashions and food~~ It's perfect. So to launch all of us into the festive fall mood, I'm sharing a delicious seasonal recipe for one of my favorite desserts: apple crisp! It's perfect for dessert or even a decadent breakfast the next morning. It's pretty easy to make, too! Everything you need to know is after the jump.

All for Fall!

Hello, everyone! I hope you've had a good weekend. Welcome to the Hobby Haven!

Well, October has officially begun, although it hasn't been very fall-like yet; it's mostly been pretty grey and grim and damp and rainy. A few trees are starting to turn, but no real gorgeous fall foliage yet. But I'm still pretty pumped. This year, we are throwing a Halloween-themed party at work, so we have been chatting and planning endlessly for it. I'm helping with decorations and music, so I have had an actual excuse to browse Pinterest during work hours, LOL! I got some really good ideas that way, so you'll be seeing a "Miss Scarlett Crafts" Halloween Special!

Also, since I worked on Labor Day, I'm allowed to take off a day of my choosing, so I picked...can you guess? (We're not having the party actually ON Halloween, so there's no scheduling conflict there.) I'll be doing some treat baking that day, since we're not allowed to serve homemade food to students (for fear of allergies and such), so I can guarantee that I'll get some delicious treats no matter what!

It also means that I get to plan ahead for spending a fun, cozy day at home snuggled in blankets and watch spooky movies! So far I'm thinking some of my favorite monster movies (Dracula, The Wolf Man, etc.) mixed with some favorite childhood classics (Hocus Pocus, The Addams Family, etc.). I'll need to stock up on some treats like cider and Count Chocula, too.

I'm optimistic that this will be a fun fall!

Miss Scarlett Reviews: "DC Super Hero Girls" Wonder Woman Action Doll Review

I am so gleeful right now, dear readers, you cannot imagine it. After such a long, long time, I finally get to bring this review to the blog! What a wondrous (heh) occasion! Welcome to the Hobby Haven.

To give you an idea of how long we've been waiting, the DC Super Hero Girls franchise was first announced back in April of 2015. No joke, it's been over a year. I'm not a huge comic book reader, but I have a few favorite characters that I follow, and I'm always happy to see something new with them in it. So knowing that these were being made but not being able to get my hands on them for months was painful. Mattel gave the dolls a sort of limited test launch earlier this spring, but did the official release this July. Work got kind of crazy, and I wasn't able to get my hands on one of the dolls and do the review until only recently, which irritates me, but better late than never, right? (...right?)

Without further ado, let's get to the nitty-gritty of my review, which is all after the jump!

Miss Scarlett Cooks! Cranberry Chicken

Hello, everyone and welcome to the Hobby Haven! The school year has begun, and I'm starting to think about nice warm, filling meals. Something with an autumn vibe. And this perfectly fits the bill! This was one of my mom's go-to recipes when I was in high school, mainly because it's economical, filling, and easy to make; so easy that my sister and I could do it and help have dinner on the table by the time everyone was home! So if you belong to a family on the go, this is definitely for you. Loads of yumminess awaits after the jump!

Miss Scarlett Reviews! "Back to School" Loot Crate

Hello, everyone! Welcome to the Hobby Haven!

I've got something a bit different for you guys this time around. Some of you might have heard of Loot Crate, a subscription company that offers themed "mystery boxes" of nerd-related merchandise (comics, videos games, anime, TV shows and movies, etc.). It's always sounded interesting to me, but my biggest hangup is that you are paying them roughly $30 a month for a box of items that you may or may not like. It's entirely possible that you could end up with a box full of items that you hate, and then it basically feels like you wasted your money, y'know?

So even though there are all kinds of subscription boxes out there, I've held off. This time around, I saw an ad for their latest anime-themed box listing tons of series I like: Fruits Basket, Persona 3, Assassination Classroom, etc. LC was also offering a promotion for this box; anyone with a Premium or Premium Plus membership from Crunchyroll would receive a $5 discount off the purchase price. This made getting this box, at least this time, a bit more appealing.

I decided that I would try it out this once to see what it was like. So here are my impressions!

Crafting post: Duchess Swan makeover, Part 3

Okay, okay, so I should have gotten this out waaaaay sooner, but better late than never, right? You might remember that last year, I undertook an effort to give my Duchess Swan doll a makeover to make her appearance closer to that of her appearance in the webisodes. It was a long, multi-step process, but I'm telling you guys what I did, step by step, in case you want to do the same!

Here, we're going to look at what I did for the dress, as well as for her hair.

To begin with, Duchess' dress needs two things: trim around the top, and a panel on the front. The former is very easily taken care of. This is where your thin piece of black ribbon comes into play. Stitch it along the very top of the bodice, using the black stitching on the bodice itself as a guide. The pictures below serve as a before-and-after.

Figuring out how to make the panel on the front of Duchess' dress took the longest. (And unfortunately, I forgot to take pics of the panel before I sewed it onto the dress. Whoops!) It took me a while to figure out the best way to go about this, actually. I had to think of a way to get the panel onto the front of the dress. I ended up taking a piece of wide white ribbon and attached it to some fusible interfacing; and this is super easy to do, don't be intimidated! 

Using the front of the bodice as a guide, I sketched out the shape of the panel, then cut the same shape out of the ribbon. Using the interfacing is easy. Take a piece of interfacing, and put the "wrong" side of your fabric (in this case, the back of the ribbon) next to the shiny side of the interfacing. Place your pieces on an ironing board. Then put a damp tea towel or pillowcase over it. Turn an iron to the "wool" setting and turn off the steam option, if you have one. Then press the iron down hard on your towel-covered panel piece for about 30 to 45 seconds. Lift the towel to see if it's fused together; if it hasn't, press again.

Once it cooled, I sewed the panel to the front of the dress, then sewed some of the thin black ribbon on in a zig-zag pattern. Make no mistake, it's a lot of work, but it comes out looking good.

I actually had the hardest part with her hair, believe it or not. I am pants at styling hair, I can't even do it on myself. I just stared and stared at her hair, mind running in circles, trying to figure out how this was going to work. Then I gave up and went to Youtube. There are a surprising amount of tutorials available, but this one sort of clicked with me and seemed the easiest for me to understand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Hb3E2xmGxM.  So I...uh...can't be of much help, guys. Sorry.

I am still not entirely happy with how it turned out; I think that my Duchess has a lot less white and mauve in her hair than the doll that AprilLily used in the video above. I also think the white hair is rooted in a different spot, because I could simply not get it to look right. And no matter how I try, I can't get the strand of hair on the side to curl nicely!

This was how Duchess turned out after her hairstyling session. Better than before, but still not as good as she could be. 

But overall...I'm very satisfied with how this turned out. Giving Duchess a makeover was a ton of work, but it was surprisingly fun! There's something very satisfying about seeing your vision of something slowly come together. Maybe I'll end up getting a different EAH doll and just do embellishments on her for fun.

Miss Scarlett Cooks! Chicken and Zucchini Casserole

Welcome to the Hobby Haven, everyone! How are you enjoying these last few weeks of summer?

Oh man, you guys. Usually I do about one recipe post a month, but I just made this and it was so good that I had to post it *now.* Now, I don't know about you, but everyone I know has been having zucchini bumper crops all summer long, and we've had them foisted off on us just about every week. There's only so many times you can eat them as a side vegetable or shred them up for bread and such. So I went looking for a new recipe to use them in and found this casserole.

It's incredibly simple, and surprisingly filling. Everything you need to know is after the jump!

Neko Atsume Keychain Gashapon Review

Hey, everyone! Weird to think that summer is over 2/3 over, huh? But the Hobby Haven keeps going! Here's a quick, fun little review for you guys!

I ended up getting this for free with the purchase of some CDs from YesAsia; they run a constant promotion where if you buy two qualifying items, you can get a gashapon toy for free! You get to chose what series you want it to be from, but the toy itself will be random. I selected Neko Atsume, and waited with bated breath to see what I would get!

For the uninitiated, Neko Atsume is a fun app that you can download for smartphones. You basically have a house that you decorate in hopes of getting cute kitties to visit; you can then take pictures and share with your friends. It's surprisingly addictive!

The gashapon sold individually for about US $7, which I feel is a fair price, once you count for the currency exchange difference.

Here's the toy as it came in my order package. Note that they don't give you the plastic ball that it comes in if you were to get it from a game machine. I think it would add too much bulk to the package that way. 

The little brochure shows you what keychains are in the series. I really like the little tiger-striped cat, but all of these are cute!

The keychain is metal, with one of those typical ball chains. The top with the graphic is smooth and glossy, and features Kathmandu and Peaches, two of the rare cats in the game. I love their blobby little faces!

The back of the keychain has "Neko Atsume" in its original Japanese logo form, plus manufacturing info. Nothing too exciting. But the keychain feels solid and well-made.

This keychain is super-cute, although I do have my reservations about how well the glossy top will hold up regarding scratching. I would probably get another one if possible. However, these are currently sold out at YesAsia, and I don't know if they'll get more! I think if you like Neko Atsume or just cute, fun cat things in general, these would be great if you can find one. A quick search on eBay turned up a couple, but I wouldn't pay more than $7-8 for one. (You might be better off looking for one of the more common rubber strap keychains.)

Miss Scarlett suggests: Cute and fun, these keychains would be a great pickup if you like cute and quirky stuff!

Miss Scarlett Cooks! Roasted Breakfast Potatoes

Good morning, everyone! I've got another scrumptious brunch recipe for you folks today, although here's a secret: although they're called "breakfast potatoes," you can eat them at anytime! Topped with bacon and herbs, this will have you licking the pan and wishing you'd made a double batch! Get ready to drool after the cut!

Quick update!

Sorry for the sparseness of posts, everyone! Work got really busy last month, and it's only going to pick up from here. I'll try to post when I can, but no guarantees. Worse case scenario, see you guys in October!

Figure Review: "Frozen" Princess Anna Nendoroid

Hey there, everyone! Welcome to yet another figure review at the Hobby Haven! You may remember that last year, I reviewed the Queen Elsa Nendoroid figure. Well, I'm happy to announce that I completed my "set," and have her adorable little sister Princess Anna! I love Frozen, so more merch is always great.

I hope you guys are as excited as I am! Let's open up the box and take a look at her! My review is after the cut.

Miss Scarlett Crafts! Baby Blanket, part 3

Hey there, everyone! Hope you're having a great week so far! Apologies that this arrived so late, I've been juggling a lot of blog posts. Here, finally, is the third and last part in my "Miss Scarlett Crafts a Baby Blanket That Never Seemed to End."

Miss Scarlett Cooks! Blueberry Lemon Crescent Ring

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Hobby Haven! Remember back in the spring when I gave you some of my favorite brunch recipes? Here's one in the same vein, that I tested out for Father's Day. My father's a big fan of pastries, and especially loves danishes, and I thought that it would be nice to make him some homemade ones. ...Then I realized that I have no idea how to make dough, so I was back to square one. Until I realized that you can basically use refrigerated dough to do the same thing, so then IT WAS ON. This homemade danish is bursting with bright, summery flavors of lemon and blueberry, and will brighten up anybody's day. Check out the recipe after the jump!

Figure review: "Sailor Moon" Sailor Pluto S.H. Figuarts

Finally. After months of waiting, months of torment, it's FINALLY over. SHE. IS. HERE. Brace yourselves, everyone, because it's finally time for my Sailor Pluto S.H. Figuarts review. (Oh yeah, welcome to the Hobby Haven!)

A little backstory for this...or more like, a little saga. Back in the summer of 2014, Bandai Tamashii Nations announced they would be starting production on the Outer Senshi's S.H. Figuarts action figures. Pre-orders were opened up in the U.S. for Uranus and Neptune, who were going to be web exclusives on the Japanese Bandai Tamashii e-store. Pluto, most of us figured, couldn't be too far behind. So we waited. And waited. Then Uranus was released but no news. Then Neptune was released but no news. Then we finally got confirmation that she was coming! But no release window or anything. Then they released a whole bunch of other stuff (two more versions of Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask, and Chibi-Moon), but still no Pluto news. Then we finally get a release window for Japan! And we get pre-orders opened up for NA! And then Bluefin (the NA distributor for Bandai) and Amazon have a falling-out and Amazon cancels all pre-orders and essentially refuses to carry anything new from Bluefin for months. There is much weeping and gnashing of teeth as everyone who had ordered from Amazon floods every other retailer that will import her. Pre-order slots sell out in hours, and still more people can't even place an order. Yours truly gets lucky during a random check of Big Bad Toy Store and successfully places a pre-order; the window closes shortly after and all the pre-order slots sell out. And Scarlett can finally breathe, knowing order has been restored to the universe. (The epilogue: BBTS eventually restocked and is now selling more Pluto figures, and Amazon and Bluefin kissed and made up and now the former is selling Pluto figurines for $15 less than what Scarlett paid for it. The moral of the story: life isn't fair, especially for a figure collector.)

So without further ado, let's get to that review, which is waiting after the jump.

E3

Hello, everyone! How has your week been? Welcome to the Hobby Haven!

Well, it's E3 week, so video game news abounds everywhere! The big buzz this year is focusing on Microsoft's new "Project Scorpio," a new console which isn't *quite* part of a next console generation, but will be like an upgrade of their current XBox One. It isn't coming out until late next year, but they're apparently making announcements now to give developers some time to make games for it. Sony is doing something similar with their "Playstation 4 Neo" which is like a PS4.5. They're holding off on discussing it until next year, but the big deal with that is that it will be optimized for 4K TVs and such. (Microsoft is also making an XBox One slim version, and are offering drastic discounts on their "original" XBox One consoles, so there's that going on, too.)

Quite a bit of new games announced: Tekken 7, a new Forza, a new God of War, Resident Evil 7, so on and so forth. Nothing new announced that personally interests me, although one of my friends will be getting RE7; I might end up watching her play through that.

Atlus did show some more gameplay footage of Persona 5, so I am really excited for that! They showed off more activities that you can do (going to an old-fashioned bathhouse, eating out at restaurants, working at part-time jobs, etc.), some of the things you can do in school (questions during class, walking around and visiting different classrooms and areas; you can even buy lunch which might give you a temporary stat boost or heal HP?), plus some of the vendors that you will be visiting. There was a fair chunk devoted to showing off combat, which had me very excited. It looks like a version of the classic Megami Tensei "negotiation" mechanic will come back, where you can get enemies with low HP to give you money/items, or become your Persona. The "One More" mechanic of Persona 3 and 4, where you get extra turns in combat when you exploit an enemy's weakness, also makes a comeback. There's also confirmation that the Social Links mechanic will return, albeit in a retooled format called "Cooperation." No info on what the changes will be. Finally, Atlus confirmed what I had already assumed: the game will be English-voiced only. All of the past Megami Tensei games released in NA have not featured dual-audio, and I didn't expect them to buck the trend here. (From what I understand, getting the voice actors' agencies to agree to license out worldwide distribution rights is incredibly difficult and expensive.) The PR manager for Atlus USA said they'll look into doing a JP language track as DLC, but I doubt it will happen.

Whew...that's a lot! Miss Scarlett, signing out!

Sailor Moon Collectibles Roundup: Irwin Deluxe Adventure Sailor Moon and Sailor Jupiter Dolls

Hello there, everyone! Hope your summer has been fabulous so far! It's time for your favorite post and mine, the Sailor Moon Collectibles Roundup! Today's entry is a retro blast from the past, so sit back and enjoy! (There's a lot of nattering ahead, so all of it is after the jump.

STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING

So, approximately one week BEFORE E3, the kind, beautiful, generous folks at Atlus have let the Persona 5 bomb drop.

Good news: We have a Persona 5 release date!
Bad news: It isn't releasing until Valentine's Day, 2017.

Good news: There is a Premium Edition!
Bad news: It is PS4 exclusive.

I woke up, checked my email as usual, and found an email from the Atlus Faithful Newsletter letting me know that...Persona 5 is ready to order???? And no, it wasn't a hoax.

Persona 5 will be releasing for both PS4 AND PS3, albeit with some differences. The PS3 version will be a barebones release in a regular PS3 box, $49.99. The PS4 version will have a variety of options. Pre-orders and limited amounts of day-one purchases will come in a Steelbook case. That's the "barebones" version, and will cost $59.99. The PS4 is also getting a premium limited "Take Your Heart" edition that costs $89.99, but is stuffed with goodies. It comes with: a soundtrack CD, a hardcover art book, Steelbook game case, a plushie of the game's mascot Morgana, a life-size replica of the school bag the characters use (!), and a collectible box to keep them all in. That's...a pretty substantial amount of goodies for the price tag. Pre-orders are live at Amazon!

So...uh...I...pre-ordered the limited edition. And now I need to buy a PS4. But that's okay! I have 8 months to do it, and Black Friday sales usually have it for $300.

....don't plan on hearing from me that week in February, guys. Or maybe the rest of February.

Odds and sods

It's Monday; another work week has begun. But your chipper blogger like no other is here with bits of news to brighten your week! Welcome to the Hobby Haven. :)

We're starting to get info on the San Diego Comic Con exclusive toys! Ever After High's exclusive is a really out-there version of our dear Cedar Wood. Remember the scene in Pinocchio where our intrepid hero ends up with donkey ears? It's something like that. Cedar looks more like a puppet than ever here, and is tied via strings to a golden control bar. Her skin has much more noticeable "wood grain" texture, and her mouth looks just like a puppet's. It's actually kind of freaky, LOL. But her dress is insanely detailed, with shows that have cuckoo clocks built into the heels! There are pictures up on the Ever After High Dolls fan page on Facebook, so check them out!

And there are TWO Monster High exclusives, and they look AMAZING! First is a two-pack with your favorite robot and mine, Robecca Steam, together with her inventor father/creator, Hexicah Steam. Robecca is shiny, shiny bronze, and has super blue hair and a top hat. She looks amazing. And even better is the second exclusive: Ghostbusters Frankie Stein. I am serious. Frankie's got the suit, the proton pack, and a mini Slimer. I don't like her face, which uses the newer mold, but since I'll never be able to get these (no way to go to SDCC, and the dolls always seem to end up on eBay for $200), it doesn't really matter.

DC Super Hero Girls has an exclusive, but not enough info has been released yet. Stay tuned!

Can't quite remember if I mentioned this earlier or not, but the first set of Sailor Moon Crystal is now available for pre-order at Right Stuf! The Limited Edition contains the first season of Crystal on DVD and BD, and comes with some very nice goodies: a chipboard box, a mini art book, and art cards. If you also order the LE from Right Stuf, you can get a retailer-exclusive suncatcher (while supplies last, as always). The product art for everything in this set is lovely; very ornate and lush and beautiful, and I urge you to at least check out some pictures if you're interested in Sailor Moon. (I think Viz got enough feedback from fans that they have started making the packaging nicer. I mean, it IS a limited edition.) The LE is available for $63, and the "regular edition" retails for $55. (So it's not that much of a price jump.) Viz is apparently focusing on getting Crystal out this year, and is going to release Sailor Moon S after that. According to their twitter account, they're looking at the feedback from the first two seasons' home video release. So this could mean anything! Hopefully better video quality. I'm sure it will be worth the wait, though. (And honestly, this gives me a bit of time to buy other stuff that I'm missing first!)

Well, that's all for now. Miss Scarlett, signing out!

Miss Scarlett Cooks! Fruit Salad with Honey Citrus Dressing

Hello, everyone! Summer is here and I've brought you a super easy and refreshing recipe to keep you cool. I'll admit that this is one of the shortest recipes I'll ever give you, but work with me here. This is great for potlucks, picnics, outdoor suppers, you name it! The recipe is waiting for you after the jump.

Blind Box Review: Pusheen Surprise Plush! Series 1: Snack Time!

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Hobby Haven! Today, I've got a review of something that I haven't had in a long time--blind boxes! I kind of miss collecting them, even if they're designed to bewitch, bother, and bankrupt you.

But first off, let's talk about Pusheen. Pusheen is love. Pusheen is life. Pusheen is pretty much my spirit animal. She's a chubby grey tabby cat who loves eating, playing, eating, being lazy, and eating. I don't have much Pusheen merch, which is a shame, because I just want to plaster her over everything. But then I found these. (Check them out after the jump!)

Odds and ends!

A little different than "Odds and sods," since I don't tend to include my own shopping details in those. There's a new review coming up in a few days, and since I was able to put in some overtime earlier this month, I'm hoping to get a doll or two once HR gets me my bonus check. ::rubs hands together evilly::

After all, the budget line of the Birthday Ball dolls have hit, and they're available on Amazon for $15. I need to snag Duchess while I still can!

(Although, I...might have spent some cash in anticipation of my bonus check. I was doing a periodic browse through my Amazon wish list. If any of you anime fans are interested in picking up the fantasy action series Moribito, the complete series on Blu-ray is $24; it normally retails for twice that much. For the curious, you can check it out on Hulu; it's available both subbed and dubbed.)

Good Smile keeps showing new prototypes of stuff (although I want to know where all the figures they displayed at the Wonder Festival are. Huh, GS????), including a figma of Phoenix Wright from Ace Attorney. Supposedly we'll see him later this year, but I'm not holding my breath. And no new Sailor Moon Figuarts yet (although with summer trade shows coming up, that could change), although BBTS has announced that the Sailor Pluto and Sailor V Figuarts will be getting replenishments, starting in June. You can head to their website and pre-order one. I'll get around to reviewing mine one of these days... (The Lupin III and Fujiko Figuarts are also now available for purchase, and are super tempting...)

The summer convention season has started; last weekend was host to a ton of conventions, including A-Cen, where we got our first anime license news of the season! You can check out all of the announcements at ANN, but some of the highlights (for me, at least): Vertical has licensed the "Flying Witch" manga series--the anime is airing right now on Crunchyroll for the curious--, and Viz has FINALLY answered my prayers and will be re-releasing Bleach on Blu-ray. The BD sets seem to have more episodes per set than the prior DVD release (27 as opposed to 20), and will be sold for about $45-50. Assuming they don't pull any crap like they did before and try to sell us 11-episode box sets, I'll be happy to finally pick up the whole series in a more space-saving format...although I am hesitant to let go of my old DVD boxsets, if only for the memories. And my slight hoarding tendencies.

But from now until the end of summer, just about every weekend will have at least one convention, so we can look forward to tons of awesome announcements and surprises!

ETA: I forgot to mention that I signed up for the new Nintendo Rewards program, My Nintendo. I like this new rewards program better, since it's easier to get points, all you really have to do is log into certain apps once a week. Although now the majority of what I buy (physical 3DS games) won't count towards points. And I don't really care for the rewards so far. It looks like they're trying to move away from offering you physical rewards and are just offering coupons (WTF?) and game downloads instead. We'll see how it goes once summer hits and they refresh the rewards. I don't like that the points expire, and I'm somewhat worried that by the time their expiration date rolls around, that there won't be anything I like to get!

Miss Scarlett, signing out!

Sailor Moon Collectibles Roundup: Minako & Artemis UFO Catcher Plush

Yahoo! It's another Sailor Moon Collectibles Roundup, everyone! Let's gather 'round and take a look at the Moony goodness I've got in store today:

You may or may not remember the Rei "UFO catcher" toy that I got a while back. As a quick recap, back in the early 1990s, Banpresto made a series of Sailor Moon plush toys to be won as arcade prizes in Japan. These little darlings were found in the crane-type machines, known as UFO catchers. This particular set has Sailor Moon's four friends in their civilian forms, going about their everyday lives. I would like to complete this set, but had the worst luck finding Minako (my favorite, if you haven't already guessed). I ended up finding her by complete luck; my dear friend Miss Momo belongs to a Sailor Moon-themed buy-sell-trade group, and one of the members decided to sell off her plushie collection. And what should happen to be in there?

BE STILL, MY BEATING HEART.

It's Minako and her cat guardian, Artemis, just chilling. Like they do. My guess is that they're sitting on a yellow cushion on an orange carpet? Minako is doing her best ojou laugh, and Artemis looks concerned, so this is probably everyday "Minako daydreaming about her crushes; Artemis wonders why the fate of the world rests in this weirdo's hands" sort of life.

I gotta appreciate the mad detail put into Artemis, especially his itty-bitty plastic wire whiskers. This is solid craftsmanship, especially considering it's a mass-marketed plush toy.

The tag, giving you an idea of when this hit arcades...

...and the Toei sticker letting you know that it's legit. I had to search for it, though.

It even comes with a convenient hanger in case you want to...uh...dangle it from your rearview mirror? IDK, it's for whatever you want.

I'm stoked, though, because this is awesome. It's about the same size as the Rei plush, and the quality is great. I love her sheet of felted hair! They're a little hard to find, so if you're looking for a Sailor Moon plushie, you might be better off getting one of the more recent ones that are in plentiful supply. But if you like collecting rarer merch, this series is SO WORTH IT.

My "Miss Scarlett Suggests" is going to be the same as for the Rei plush, so I'll just sign out now! See ya later!

Miss Scarlett Cooks! French Toast Casserole

I don't know about you, but when I think of spring, I think of brunch. Easter brunch, Mother's Day brunch, Sitting-at-home-on-a-Sunday-and-watching-the-flowers-bloom brunch. So I figured, what better way to celebrate the beginning of warm weather than sharing one of my favorite brunch recipes! It's French Toast, but with a bit of a twist; it's in an delicious casserole form. You make it a day ahead, and just pop it in the oven when you're ready. (Although it doesn't have to be just brunch; this is great for whenever you're in the mood to make a delicious breakfast-type meal.)

Everything you need to know to make this scrumptious casserole is below the jump!

The Persona 5 Post!

Ohhhh boy, you guys. Toooooonnnnns of info just got released after months of waiting and waiting.

Atlus hosted a livestream earlier to announce more information about Persona 5. The whole event was themed around the "phantom thieves" who are the protagonists of the game coming to "steal" Tokyo Tower. I managed to find a user on Hitbox who was mirroring the livestream in her channel and providing rough translations. After about a half hour of watching fake reporters feign shock and suspense, we finally got the goods.

First, we got a brand new trailer, chock-full of info. Tons of new characters, right off the bat. There is a brunette girl dressed like a knight, riding a sort of motorcycle, a long-haired computer hacker girl who serves as the dungeon navigator (who rides around in a spaceship-shaped Persona), and a "pretty girl thief" who dresses like the Scarlet Pimpernel and has a finishing attack involving her sitting down at a table to drink tea. There are glimpses of a fourth male character, but nothing on him yet. No names or other info for the girls beyond what we see in the trailer.

Lots of gameplay footage shown, plus many of the bosses. The mechanics look very stylish; there's a "baton toss" that you can use that looks like one character attacking an enemy and then asking a teammate to deliver a follow-up attack. The dungeons look amazing. No new dungeons shown, just more footage of the ones already revealed.

Second, the Japanese release date will be September 15th, which oddly does fall into their estimate of "summer 2016." The fall equinox isn't until September 22nd this year, so it's just...very late summer. There is, as yet, no release date beyond "2016" for North America. Even if Atlus is generous and gives us a simultaneous release with Japan, we won't get it until the last quarter of the year. I was really hoping to play this during the summer (I was secretly hoping that Japan would get this in, say, late June/early July and that we would get a fast localization for maybe August. Oh well.)

I'll admit, I'm grumpy about this because I wanted to play it this summer. C'mon, Atlus! Autumn is a busy time at work! Don't make me use by vacation time then!

The livestream ended with an announcement that more information would be revealed at E3--which says to me that this has something to do with the localization outside Japan. After all, E3 is an American event, so I would be shocked to see Japan-only news. So now we wait until the middle of June to get what I expect will be a NA release date.

Whew. That's it for right now, although I might post again later because I know that I'm forgetting some stuff. Miss Scarlett, signing out for now!

Sales Post!

Whooo! Hope you're in a spending mood, guys!

Steam is running a weeklong sale on all different kinds of games, plus another sale on Star Wars games in honor of May 4th, Star Wars Day. ("May the Fourth be with you!")

Amazon is running a sale on tons of Monster High toys, from dolls to vinyl figures, to licensed merchandise. There's stuff under $5, so tons of bargains are to be had!

P.S. The Persona 5 livestream is this Thursday! Soooo excited!

Miss Scarlett, signing out!

Some fun video game news!

Hey, everyone! Hope your day is going great! It's been a pretty good one for me so far: A+ employee performance review, plus a party for the staff who have April birthdays (I brought some treats, and got great feedback, so I'll have some new recipes to share!). And I've just found some fun little video game news tidbits that I'll be passing along!

For those of you who are, like me, fans of the Shin Megami Tensei series, boy do I have great news! Atlus has uploaded a mysterious countdown timer that ends on...wait for it...May 5th. 05/05. It's been updated with some text stating that there will be a livestream airing at the end of the countdown. Hmmm....given the red color scheme, familiar character graphic, and the number, I wonder if this could be making an announcement for a certain Persona game...? (I'm fully expecting either a release date for the game in Japan or more information about the Persona 5 anime that was announced last year. Either way, it should be good!)

And your friend and mine, GOG.com, has just launched other initiative to drain our wallets. They are running a "Bundleopolis" sale, where you can buy themed bundles of games for super deep discounts. I'll point out that in any given bundle, you can opt out of buying various games in each bundle; it will raise the price slightly, but the games are still sharply discounted overall. There are new bundles every 6 hours, and it's ending on Sunday! (Don't worry, none of the bundles are limited-time only, so you can just check on Sunday once everything is posted to see what you want.)

That's all for now! Miss Scarlett, signing out!

Odds and sods

Hello, everyone! I hope the weather this weekend was as nice for you as it was for me! (Well, a little *too* nice; I stayed out too long, and now Miss Scarlett is the same color as her name...ouch!)

Some fun little tidbits for everyone: both anime Kickstarters that I posted about earlier got funded! So both the Escaflowne Director's Cut and Skip Beat! will be dubbed into English and provided on home video on DVD/BD combo packs. Sweet! The cast lists have been announced, and I'm pretty excited. I can't wait to watch the English versions! If any of you contributed to the Kickstarters, thanks for helping out!

Also on some video game related news, we got some good MegaTen news from Atlus--although not quite what most of us were hoping. But the spinoff/kind-of-sequel to Shin Megami Tensei IV, "Shin Megami Tensei IV: Final" will be released in North America this summer! This is awesome, although there's just so many games being released for me to keep up with right now that I know I won't get around to playing it for a while. (I haven't even finished playing SMT IV, so playing "Final" is definitely going to have to wait.) I'm still holding out hope that news on Persona 5 is right around the corner, since that's my most anticipated game of the year. (Well, I'm holding out hope that it's not getting delayed again...)

Not...a whole lot in doll news to report? I've seen some of the photos of the new Monster High dolls, and they look very Barbie/Disney like. The first dolls in this reboot will be a budget line, so they're very...basic. Very generic, and stripped of a lot of the freaky fabulousness that made them so appealing in the first place. I'll wait a bit longer to see what the next few lines look like before I'm going to stop buying the new ones, I'll give Mattel that much. The photos of Ever After High's Epic Winter aren't too promising, either. Birthday Ball should be hitting later this month, and Birthday Ball Duchess might end up being the only EAH doll I get this year. (It's all for the best, I suppose; I have to shunt *some* money over for all these Kickstarters and games and whatnot.)

Well, that's all for now! I might not be posting much for the rest of the month, since some relatives are visiting from out of town, so my time will be spoken for. (Worse comes to worse, I'll see you next month, readers!)

Miss Scarlett Crafts! Baby Blanket, part 2

Can this be? The long-awaited, much-promised part 2 of "Miss Scarlett Makes a Sort-of-Tshirt-Quilt for Her Friend's Baby. When we last left off, I had gathered up all of my materials and was about to begin planning out what to do.

P.S. I just realized exactly how much typing I'm going to have to do, so this post is just going to be about planning the layout and such.

Miss Scarlett Cooks! Ham and Spinach Strata

Happy April Fool's Day to all of you! Miss Scarlett's here with a delicious brunch recipe that is no joke!

This is a delicious casserole-type dish that you prepare ahead of time and just pop into the oven the next day. Nothing could be easier! We made this for brunch on Easter, and everyone raved. Gooey cheese and savory ham---YUM!

I've got the whole recipe for you, step by step, after the jump!

Crowdfunding anime

Hey, everyone! Welcome to the Hobby Haven: Anime News edition!

I don't chat about my love of anime as much as I do with dolls or other toys, but I thought this was something that I'd like to bring some exposure to. It's pretty rare for the U.S. anime and manga industry to become involved with Kickstarter, but given the explosion of high-profile campaigns (like the MST3K campaign not too long ago), there are now some cropping up!)

Full disclosure: I have donated to both campaigns, albeit with differing amounts.

Funimation: The Vision of Escaflowne Director's Cut English dub

Escaflowne is a classic gem of fantasy anime. It's the story of a young girl named Hitomi who finds herself inexplicably transported to a strange world called Gaea and finds herself embroiled in a political conflict that could determine the fate of not just Gaea...but also Earth! Oh, and there are giant robots, too. :)

This is a licence rescue; Bandai USA, who held the home video rights, went out of business years ago. Funimation managed to secure the rights to the brand spanking new HD-quality Director's Cut version of the show, which was released not too long ago. But because this Director's Cut version contains new material that wasn't in the original, the original English dub track won't match up with the new video. Hence why Funimation is making a new dub from scratch. It's already met its goal (and is ending soon), but if you want to get in on some of the Kickstarter-exclusive bonus material, this is your chance! (And for the curious, the original series and its original English dub from Bandai will be made available as "bonus materials" on the Collector's Edition of the Director's Cut.

Pied Piper: Skip Beat! Home video release and English dub

For those curious about the show, you can watch it here on Crunchyroll for free; it's the story of Kyoko, a hard-working young girl supporting her egotistical love interest as he becomes a star in the music industry. But he cruelly betrays her, and she seeks to beat him at his own game by becoming the biggest star in show biz. She's a strong, plucky heroine, and it's enormously satisfying to watch her grow as an actress and a person.

This show has never before been released on home video outside of Japan. This Kickstarter campaign is aiming to finally make that happen! The requirement, per the Japanese licensor TV Tokyo, is that it must have an English dub...which is of course, very expensive. Hence the crowdfunding! The stretch goal is to make this available on Blu-ray as well as DVD.

If you're interested in anime, I hope you'll consider checking out either of these campaigns, especially Skip Beat (given how niche it is).

Media Review: Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun Limited Edition

(Sorry, everyone! I meant to have this up on the 18th, and it just slipped my mind.)

Welcome to the Hobby Haven, everyone! Today's entry is a review of the recently-released collector's edition of one of my new favorite shows, Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun! I'm pretty stoked to share this with you guys, I'm so excited.

For those unfamiliar with the show, Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun is a loving parody of the shoujo manga genre. It's full of warm fuzzies, gut-busting laughs, and some of the most engaging characters I've ever watched. We follow the exploits of a high schooler named Chiyo who is crushing majorly hard on the tall, dark, and handsome Nozaki. She screws up her courage to confess her love, only to receive in return...his autograph. Turns out the stoic and manly Nozaki is secretly a popular manga artist who draws Chiyo's favorite shoujo romance series, "Let's Fall in Love." She winds up getting roped into becoming his assistant, and things just devolve from there in the most hilarious way possible. It's also surprisingly informative about the process of creating manga.

Sentai Filmworks, the NA licensor, has been putting out more and more collector's editions over the past few years, which I'm very grateful for. There's nothing quite like getting a deluxe edition of a favorite show! They also made it clear how highly requested this was from their customers, so it's also good to see that fans are willing to put their money where their mouth is. It's been a long time waiting for this; they announced that the show would be getting a CE all the way back in November, and I've been on pins and needles ever since seeing the details of the set.

Now, for the initial details. I pre-ordered this from The Right Stuf during a sale they held on all anime published by Sentai Filmworks. This will retail for $84.49 normally, but between the sale and my Right Stuf "Got Anime" club membership, I snagged it for $70. Now, this does not "officially" release until the 29th. But if you pre-order something from Right Stuf, they will ship it to you as soon as it arrives at their warehouse. In my case, that was over two weeks early. Shipping was free since my order was over $49, and the turnaround was very quick, about 5 days.

You do get an awful lot for that amount, though! Let's go through it piece by piece, after the jump.

Odds and sods

Happy weekend, everyone! (It's almost over, but I hope what's left of it is happy, at any rate.)

My next media review will bill published tomorrow; I actually was hoping to get it finished last week, but RL happened, so that got postponed. I'm hoping that I'll have some downtime at work to work on some more posts. Fingers crossed!

Convention season has begun! C2E2 was this weekend, and Anime Boston and Sakura-Con will be held next weekend. We've already got some announcements from Viz (they have all kinds of rights relating to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure now, plus they licensed another Yoshitaka Amano artbook, and another Ghibli artbook. I'm happy for the latter, at least! I'm looking over the schedules for both, and it looks like all of the usual suspects: Funimation, Crunchyroll, Sentai, Viz, and Dark Horse. I'm hoping for a good amount of license announcements (Viz, you can let us know when the Sailor Moon S box set is coming! Any day now, y'know! Not like fans have been waiting months for that news or anything...), plus hearing who picked up which spring anime.

Speaking of which, I am pumped for this spring; the lineup is particularly epic. There's the second seasons of Ushio & Tora and Kagewani, the anime adaptations of Ace Attorney and Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto, the third season of Sailor Moon Crystal, and some interesting-sounding new shows: Mayoiga, Kuma Miko, Bungo Stray Dogs, and Flying Witch. I'm hoping that Crunchyroll can get the majority of these shows; I have a paid subscription, so I can watch the shows right as they are released. (If Funimation gets any, they'll show them on their own site, and I'm not getting a subscription for their site for just a show or two.) I'm hoping that we'll get home video releases for all of these!

Well, that's all for now. Miss Scarlett, signing out!