I’m entering the “busy season” at work, and the fall semester is coming to a close before winter semester starts. (My graduate school uses a quarter system.) I keep thinking about all of the things I’d like to write about–cozy fall activities, planning for the upcoming winter, more about tea, lolita fashion and general appropriate, and a myriad of other topics that always pop into my mind when I’m sitting in a lecture or frantically trying to complete something for a deadline! I’ve worn more outfits since my last post, but I don’t like having too many outfit posts in a row; I don’t really consider it content. I haven’t been able to make it to many meetups, either, due to my schedule with work and school. Working on Sundays always seems to exclude me from activities~

I haven’t been any less active and I’m not losing interest–I’m just busier than I’d like to be~ I’m hoping to have more time to write this weekend. There are so many things on my mind!

I’ve been thinking about trying my hand again at NaNoWriMo–National Novel Writing Month. I’ve attempted to complete the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel from scratch in one month, starting November 1 and ending November 30, but I’ve never gotten anywhere close! I’ve always had fun trying, though, so I just might try again. I want to write about lolita fashion, but I’m not sure exactly what. Some kind of modern, fairy tale-esque fantasy, perhaps~ Not quite the life of a girl living on Milky Planet, but… hmm… something. I’m sure it won’t amount to much!

Within the past week or so I’ve taken up a hobby that I haven’t done in a while–knitting! I’m having a lot of fun trying new projects. There are so many yarn stores in my area; it’s astounding! Best of all, I can knit on the train or bus to and from work or other errands, and I’ve managed to make quite a bit of progress. My goal is to eventually make the Chocola-chan scarf that was available in the Gothic & Lolita Bible. I want to be sure that my skills are up to par before I purchase nice yarn and start on it, so I’m trying to get a lot of practice in!

I’ll be very happy when Thanksgiving is over and things have calmed down a bit~ I’m very glad that I’ve at least avoided getting sick so far. I feel like so many people I come into contact with daily are ill~ It’s just that time of year.

Most of the time I spend the weekends with my husband and my friends. I am often at work (and, when it’s not summer, often in class as well) during the week, so I try very hard to make the weekends into tiny vacations. That’s why I make a point of wearing lolita fashion and attending events. However, this Saturday my husband was out of town, working with my father, and my friends were occupied, so I spent the day alone. I tried to keep myself occupied, but wasn’t entirely successful. (Darn!)

I made tea when I woke up, with the sun streaming in through the windows in the kitchen. My kitchen is actually not terribly pink–the most colour comes from the chairs, which are a bright and sunny yellow. When the sun rises it lights up the kitchen and everything seems to pick up that yellow hue; it always makes me think that the day will be a fantastic one!

Tea is one of my “first loves,” so I have an entire section of countertop dedicated to it. There’s a drawer filled with tea below, and an electric kettle always awaiting on top! My teacup collection is displayed on a shelf nearby, with teapots within easy reach. Most of my teacups are floral themed, so one of my favourite teapots is a small mossy-green one. It compliments most of them nicely!

Most of my morning was spent scrubbing in the kitchen (I like to keep things tidy), and then trying to get some pictures of my new doll. The lighting in my home is not very good–the sunlight tends to be too harsh or not bright enough, so getting a good picture is not simple. I tried to get some from the kitchen, but it didn’t work out as well as I hoped. (I also spent quiiiiiite a lot of time in EGL‘s chat room, popping in and out as my attention waxed and waned.)

I planed to get some cleaning and organizing done, since there wouldn’t be a well-intentioned husband to get in the way. n_~ The biggest mess was the proliferation of ball-jointed doll “stuff.” I purchased things at Dolpa during my trip, and ordered things online once I purchased the doll I really wanted, so there were clothing, wigs, eyes, and other accessories tucked all over the place–nothing where it belonged. I managed to pile everything together and attempt to fit it back into the box it came from, but that didn’t work out very well!

Then I tried to get some outfit pictures. I had forgotten how difficult it is to take my own picture. x_+ I made crazy set-ups of boxes on top of stools on top of chairs on top of even suitcases, and balanced the camera precariously on top of the stack. Again and again I wound up with pictures of only my feet, or only my head, or most of me but no head. (And, inevitably when I messed up setting the timer, pictures of my hand. XD) It was so frustrating!

The library notified me that some of my books were ready for pick-up, so I headed out on a short trip. It was so bright and sunshiney outside! With my heart-shaped sunglasses and fluffy pink dress, I got a lot of stares! X3 (Although a white-haired gentleman kindly told me that he thought my dress was lovely, which was very nice! I like seeing people smile, even if it’s because they’re holding back giggles. n_~)

It was much too warm for tea when I got back home, so I made a Shirley Temple! I almost always have maraschino cherries in my refrigerator, because Shirley Temples are my “oh my goodness what a horrible day” remedy, much the way some people treat cocktails or other liquors. Since I had both soda and cherries, it wasn’t something to pass up. I’ve never grown out of pink fizzy drinks with lots of fruit, and I like them best if there’s no alcohol. :3

My library pick-ups included a novel I’ve been very excited to read (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith) and some books on ballet. I took ballet classes a very, very, very-very-very long time ago, and I’ve been thinking about taking classes again for fun. I’m much too old to ever be a ballerina, and I don’t have any performance aspirations, but I remember really enjoying ballet. (Plus, I’ve wanted to incorporate some exercise into my life!) I picked up a few books to read not to teach myself, but to at least do some research.

After reading the novel for a while I figured it was time to do get back to tidying up before it became night. (The novel is incredibly enjoyable. I wish I could talk my grandfather, who is very fond of Abraham Lincoln, into reading it, but I’m not sure he would find it as amusing as I do.)

When going through some lolita fashion items that had snuck into my house since my little sister’s trip to Japan, I found the postcards she had purchased for me. Although Imai Kira isn’t my favourite artist, her work is very beautiful. The postcards and mini-poster have such detailed, delicate lines. Most of the postcards have a pearly shine, too! ♥ I’m hoping to hang them up somewhere, but I haven’t quite decided on the best way to display them. I was thinking about putting the mini-poster up in my office, but now that I’ve seen it in person I’m not sure if that’s the best use of it! It’s so pretty!

My house is not decorated at all, but I have aspirations to add some more frilly touches~ I think framing the postcards might be a nice touch, but I’m not sure exactly what I’m going for yet. I have a hard time even thinking about where to start. I’ve never done much decorating because I’ve always rented, so anything that goes up will have to be taken down and put back to the way it was before moving out. However, it seems we’ll be staying in my tiny house for a little while, so I’d like to make it more of our own. ♥

My day ended uneventfully, since I had to head to work that next day. (There is no rest for the wicked, after all!) I hope that I can spend next weekend with friends and loved ones–it’s nice to have some time alone, but I get bored too easily. Work seems to give me all the “alone time” I want!

Dear Mom,

I’m never lying when I say that you’re the best mom ever; I proudly proclaim it to everyone I know. I’m eternally thankful to have such a wonderful mother. I know I don’t always show how much I love you. I’m not as affectionate as I could be, and I let myself get frustrated by stupid things. Despite this, I truly love you and couldn’t even imagine such a thing as a “better” mother than you even existing.

After all, it’s impossible to improve on perfection. ♥

Love,
Your Daughter

I was very excited about today! Instead of a normal, perhaps even boring day at work, there was something to look forward to–a lunchtime meetup in a local park~ That was why I stayed up quite late working on my homework, debated over which purse to carry, and fussed over the fact that I couldn’t arrange a lolita coordinate to wear to work today. At work I skipped about, constantly adjusting my pink rose scarf (a gift from a talented friend).

However, when I got to the park after clocking out, there were absolutely no lolita; not even a familiar face that I recognized. I called my little sister, who had arranged the meetup, but she didn’t answer her phone. Just as I was wondering how long I ought to stay and where else I should look, my phone rang. Apparently everyone had been too busy to spare much time for their lunch hour, and they disbanded very early. She still had plenty of time to spare before her next class, and I wanted to at least drop off something that belonged to her.

Instead, we ended up spending the afternoon together. I really enjoyed myself! I love being with any of my friends–doesn’t everyone?–but I especially cherish the time I can spend with my little sister. ♥ We always have more fun that we really ought to, sometimes getting into trouble but always keeping each other entertained. (Even though she’s a self-proclaimed “Complainasaurus!”)

When we met each other I took her out for cupcakes at one of my favourite shops–Sugar Bliss! My chocolate toffee cupcake was incredibly rich and absolutely delicious, and her spice cupcake was equally tasty. The window that looks out on Wabash is perfect for people-watching, which seems to go well with cupcakes.

Afterwards we ran a quick errand, then decided to browse the Marshall Field’s at State Street. I love wandering around that elegant, massive building–it’s almost like a shopping mall, with all of the sectioned areas that are sometimes rented by specific retailers. I inevitably get lost on the ground floor, usually when trying to get from one side to the next. In Merz Apothecary we couldn’t resist oddly-flavored toothpaste in tiny tubes, and split one that claimed to taste like lemon tea. (It does.)

Then we wandered to the Shiseido counter, which she had recently opened my eyes to the wonders of. (My overly sensitive and ridiculous skin has never behaved so well… Now I’m coveting that highly-expensive scrubbing brush, which I pet at the counter.) We pet some makeup brushes at the MAC display~ Sooooo soft~!

Then we ducked into Intelligensia to sit and chat. I hadn’t been able to see her for a little while, as my work and school schedule keeps me fairly occupied and my little sister also works, attends university, AND was busy with an internship. (She’s such a hard worker~) We moaned about lolita fashion we really wanted, pondered future outfits to coordinate together, and discussed crazy fabrics she planned to purchase for entirely non-lolita purposes.

Despite spending several hours together, it all ended too soon. It did put me into a marvelously good mood, which I hope will get me through my long day of class and work tomorrow as painlessly as possible~ ♥