Happy Blog Birthday & 2017 New Year's Goals

Hey everybody!
Today the blog turns a year old! Whooo! To celebrate, we have a layout change with new lovely art!

Yesterday I reviewed the final progress for this year's goals and, though 2016 sucked overall, I did well in terms of lolita. For this post, I put together 2017's resolution with ten separate goals to pursue. They are as follows:

1. Hold a meetup: Now that I've participated in a few meets, I think I'd like to put together my first one. I was thinking of doing a swap meet or casual tea somewhere, as it sounds like a good starting point in terms of event planning.

2. Go to a lolita event (tea party, fashion show, etc.): This is a rolling goal from last year. I'd love to participate in an fashion show, attend a tea party or a convention this year.

3. Keep a time for weekly blog posts: I haven't been very consistent in posting this year, and I'd really like to fix that. I think I'd like to post every Saturday at 3PM U.S. Central Time and do other non-scheduled posts either Fridays or Sundays at the same time.

4. Complete the 52 week lolita challenge: I'd like to take on F Yeah Lolita!'s 52 Week Challenge to make sure I post once a week. I think I'll just pick a random topic from their list and complete it out of order depending on what I feel like.

5. More coordinate pictures!: This one goes without saying! I'd love to use my mannequin more by at least posting monthly about what's on it.

Floordinates and Mannequin shots will come this year!

6. Have money set aside for lolita purchases: This goal came to mind thanks to Cupcake Kamisama's goals for this year. I'd really like to set aside some money to be prepared for expenses, just in case something big comes up that I really want!

7. Save for Outerwear sale and Black Friday sales: This goal goes hand in hand with the last one. I'm hurting badly for outerwear and Closet Child's and Lacemarket's Black Friday sales could help with that--as long as I finally am financially prepared for them!

8. Experiment with my nails more: I've been doing work on my hair and makeup this year and, while I'd like to continue experimenting on those two fronts, I feel like I've neglected to do my nails in a way that matches my coordinate well. That's gonna be my next area of exploration this year!

9. Update my wardrobe post: I'd like to complete my wardrobe post update by the end of January. I still haven't decided whether I want to do a video or just post pictures, but whatever I pick, expect a post :)!

10. Be more active in social media (Amino, Tumblr, Instagram): I recently joined Amino and, since I'm aiming to get more pictures this coming year, I think I'd like to update my social media accounts a bit more too. It'll be good to document progress with some purpose.

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Do you have any goals for this coming year, or will you take things as they come? Feel free to share your plans below as always~ <3!

This is Keiko and here's to a whole new year of blogging!

End of the Year Goal Review: 2016 in Retrospect

Hello everyone!
Keiko here~

It's finally that time of the year when we look back at what we have accomplished in the last 365 or so days. For this blog, it means that I'll be going back to do a final evaluation of how I did regarding my 2016 goals for lolita fashion. Do you remember what they are?

 2016 Lolita Goals

1. Create and keep a blog - I not only kept the blog, but I updated more than 52 times! That's about once a week or so, so technically this was successful.
2. Wear Lolita More often - I've stepped my game up with this goal, since I started going to meetups and wearing lolita to run errands. What I need to get better at is remembering to take pictures!
3. More Floordinates - I think this could have been much better this year. I just haven't really remembered to take pictures. Now that I have a mannequin, though, that's no excuse. I think for this coming year I'll establish a once a month or bimonthly post about 'What's on My Mannequin?' so I can force myself to remember to take pictures and practice coordinating.
4. Lolify Room - Success! The room I share with my husband has been solidly lolified. You can see my room tour post here. Maybe I should update it, since I've made some changes.
5. Go to a Lolita Event/ Meetup - I have attended three meetups this year with my local comm. It's been really fun and I'm super looking forward to joining them for more events. 

   

   Seeing beautiful lamps costumes with my comm was fun!

6. Participate in ILD -Finally participated in both Summer and Winter ILD! For next winter, I'd like to have more outerwear at the ready.
7. Wardrobe Post - The wardrobe post was one of the first goals completed. I would like to make an updated one with better lighting for this coming January :)
8. Practice Makeup - I've been practicing make up more often this year than ever before. It's fun to just try out looks to match upcoming coordinates and experiment a little as well.
9. Spend Less money - I did really well on this goal for a while, but then it came back with a vengeance when I started to get a coordinate ready for one of the meets. On the plus side, though I failed this goal, my wardrobe is definitely much more well-rounded now.
10. Lose Weight - I am stuck at the same weight. I have oscillated between going up some pounds and losing some, but the holiday season definitely set back my progress. I think next year I want to focus on my health, and this will be a big part of that.

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Did you have any goals last year? How did you do in meeting them? Share your 2016 lolita experience down below <3 ~

Keiko out~!

Christmas Meetup

Hey everyone!

Thank you for tuning in for today's brief blog post~

This past Sunday, my lolita comm held a Christmas meetup by where I live. We had a potluck, presents, and a great time!

My friend SJ and I wore the same print~

My friend and I decided to do some pseudo-twinning just for fun. We both really like Sweet Cream House by Angelic Pretty, so we decided to go for it. It was fun to see our different takes on the print~

One of the attendees brought an amazing log cake!

One of the people that came was super sweet and brought teacups with matching saucers that everyone could keep. Here's mine:

I also got a super cool present for my Secret Santa exchange. My Santa knew I needed outerwear and that I'm incorporating more gothic into my lolita wardrobe, so she got me a black capelet!

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Has your comm had any recent meetups? What did you do? Let me know all about it in the comments below~

Keiko out~~

Shopping Service Review: Taobaonow

Keiko here~

About three weeks ago, some friends and I decided we wanted to get some basics from Taoabao. Naturally, this led to a a $300USD order lol. This week, after torturous waiting, I received the parcel containing my first-ever taobao group order! Being the impatient being I am, I opened it already and got my stuff. I also decided I wanted to do a review for the shopping service (SS) that helped us obtain our large package.

The shopping service we went through was TaobaoNow, whose site you can visit here. They also opened a new site called SpreeNow, which you can access here. I've only used the old site, so that's the one I'm going to review.

Ordering from them is fairly easy. You create a log in, look for items on Taobao that you want to buy, and fill out their order form with the links of the items. They have the instructions on the site and it was pretty intuitive in my view.

This is what the shopping cart looks like

The staff is very communicative and speaks English well. They send you messages to confirm your order, to make sure you didn't miss picking a color or size, and they act as an intermediary if you have any questions for the seller. For every message they send you, you also get an email to the email account you registered with them to alert you of the unread message.

You pay for your order through paypal, so it's quick and easy to complete the transactions. If you run into any problems, or if you have questions about anything, you can message and get an answer pretty quickly (within a day, in my experience). It's been very useful in reassuring when I buy from Taobao, and I now buy with confidence through them.

The shipping process is also relatively straightforward. The items are first shipped within China to the SS warehouse, where they are checked twice. Once the checks have been completed you are contacted about paying for shipping to your country and any outstanding balances. Once you pay, the parcel is sent over with tracking through EMS. It is costly but worth the peace of mind --especially if you split it several-ways with your friends in a group order!

The orders have always been safely packaged in a box with plastic wrapping. Each vendor usually has their wrapping, but with the group order, the SS wrapped everything in one large bag to make sure it stayed together well.

Overall, I'd score TaobaoNow as follows

Communication 
Payment  
Customer Service 
Packaging 
Shipping 


I've only used them thrice, but I've only had good experiences with them. I'd definitely recommend them!

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Do you shop from Taobao? Is there a Taobao shopping you like to use? Share your tips and tricks in the comments below~ <3

Keiko Out!

5 items I don't use often

Hey there peeps~

As winter approaches and I start avoiding certain items in my closet ill-suited for the cold, I've been thinking about items I avoid in general. This resulted in putting together a mini-list of accessories I generally don't use when wearing lolita --or pretty much anything else, for that matter. The list is as follows:

Earrings

Melty Ribbon Chocolate Earrings

I generally don't wear earrings very often. I either put them on once and wear them forever, or take them off once and never wear them. I can get away with this in lolita since wigs usually cover my ears, but I usually prefer to go without because I don't deem them that important anyway.

Gloves

Chocolate PieceWool Gloves

You'd think that, for someone that lives in one of the coldest part of the country, I'd own a lot of winter wear for lolita. Nope! I own next to no outerwear and, within that low-priority group, gloves are near the bottom. To be fair, I dislike the sensation of gloves in general, even if the temperature is in the negatives, because I don't like not having feeling in my hands. I really appreciate being able to solidly grip items in my hands, and I feel like I can't do that with gloves on. Still, lolita ones are so cute I might just cave~

Scepters

Butterfly Crown Scepter

I like how they look but they're hard to incorporate to my outfits since they tend to be more extravagant than what my simpler style merits. As much as I love them, I must also admit that they're impractical to have to carry around as well.

Short Socks

Royal Chocolate Crew Length Socks

Because the weather is so cold most of the year, I usually stick around with tights or OTKs. Crew length socks are cute, but they are pretty much a summer-only accessory, and summer where I live it's pretty chilly and short, so they are relegated to the bottom of my sock priority list.

Plush bags

Porter Chocolat Bag

As cute as I think they are, plush bag have zero space. This makes them highly impractical to carry around, so they are usually a no-go for me. This is the reason why I stay away from Usakumya and Kumakumya so much. The only real exception to this is my Porter Chocolat bag that I have yet to use in a coord for the above reason. It's just so dang cute!

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Are there stuff you stay away from in lolita? Do you have any accessories you love but don't really wear? Feel free to share your experience below!

That's all I got for today, but stay tuned~

Keiko out!

Winter ILD and my Lamp Obsession

Hey there everyone!

Long time no see, but I'm back again! This time, I'm here to talk about my experience at the winter ILD meetup we had today.
We went to a Downtown Abbey costume pop up exhibit. Now, I've never seen Downtown Abbey, but I still greatly enjoyed seeing the details in fabric --so much so that I was so engrossed I forgot to take pictures!

Sorry for no pics

Fortunately, one of my friends at the meetup managed to capture some pictures of me while I was preoccupied with the costumes and the beautiful lamps they had at the exhibit.

I really loved the lamps in this exhibit...

Just look at it! It's so beautiful <3!

After the exhibit, we went to get food at the newly renovated food court at the mall and then went as a group to several stores to buy things and run errands together. It was a pretty laid back and friendly meet and I am definitely looking forward to the next one.

Here's a bonus shot of the coordinate when it was a work in progress on my mannequin:

I substituted the beret for bear ears and wore high boots instead of lower shoes

With this meetup, I have reached my yearly goal to participate both in summer and winter ILD! Whooo~ Progress! Anyhow, let me know how your ILD went this year in the comments below <3