Alice and the Pirates New Year's Lucky Pack and Special Set

This year, I treated myself to a special holiday present--the Alice and the Pirates New Year's Special Set I and Happy Pack. Getting them was madness with BABY's site crashing every 30 seconds, but I was eventually successful, and they arrived here in California yesterday!

I took lots of pictures of the unboxing and each of the items that I'm planning to keep (there aren't any of the two items I'm selling, sorry...) so read on for more.

Fairytale Boutique's "Holiday Fantasia" Event

Fairytale Boutique in LA hosted a beautiful holiday party this year! Guests of honor were Angelic Pretty/Harajuku Hearts San Francisco and Automatic Honey, along with a few other great vendors. There was an excellent buffet tea, games, and of course lots of socialization and pictures.

Read on for lots more details and photos!

La Belle au bois dormant [Photoshoot]

"Everyone was horrified, and the twelfth wise woman, who had not yet offered her wish, stepped forward. Because she was unable to undo the wicked wish, only to soften it, she said, 'It shall not be her death. The princess will only fall into a hundred-year deep sleep.'"

I love fairytales, and Haenuli's gorgeous "Sleeping Beauty" is one of my favorite versions of the story in a print. The second photoset I did over break features the black jumperskirt and my wonderful husband.

The Visigothic [Photoshoot]

Mozarabic chant (also known as Hispanic chant, Old Hispanic chant, Old Spanish chant, or Visigothic chant) is the liturgical plainchant repertory of the Mozarabic rite of the Roman Catholic Church, related to the Gregorian chant. (Wikipedia)

I had a chance to work with my very talented sister again this year over the Thanksgiving holiday week, and we did a brief set of photos featuring the Mozarabic Chant print by Krad Lanrete. Follow the jump for more pictures!

Autumn Outfit Catch-Up

There have been a lot of fun events recently, and so many great opportunities to wear Lolita. I've been dressing up so much that I haven't even gotten photos of some of the coordinates! Between the events (and event posts) there are still outfits that haven't been posted, so it's time to catch up.

Photo courtesy Christine de la Creme

Keep reading for the PMX Tea Party, Halloween coordinates, and more!

Pacific Media Expo 2013 Fashion Show

This year's Pacific Media Expo was a mix of cosplay and Lolita (though mostly Lolita), and as always, tons of fun. I spent way too much  money in the boutique, modeled in the fashion show, and ran around as Sailor Uranus.

This post is VERY image-heavy with all the fashion show pictures, so be warned! Carry on for the full set.

A Lolita Halloween Party & "Black Magic" Cupcakes

For Halloween this year, we had a small party at my house--and it was the first time we've had that many people over since we moved in! It was quite exciting, and Fred and George had a blast with all the people. The food was potluck style, and I provided dessert with "Black Magic" cupcakes with orange cream cheese frosting.

Read on for meetup pictures and cupcake details.

SDCC Lolita Fashion Walk

Another super overdue post, and I'm sure all of you have already seen these on Facebook anyway, but hey, why not do a post about it anyway? My wonderful husband took tons of pictures at this event (I took some as well) so carry on for lots of great photos!

Overdue SDCC Post

It's been so long that I'd almost forgotten that I had pictures to post about SDCC! As always, I spent most of the week of con working as volunteer staff, which is so much fun but keeps you very busy. I didn't get to go to very many panels, but the ones I did attend were great. We also had a big Lolita meetup on Sunday, but I'll save those pictures for another post.

Jim Lee drawing live for a panel.

A lot of these pictures are from my phone camera, so please excuse the poor quality!

Caramel Cupcakes with Butterscotch Filling

It's officially the holiday season, and the weather is getting cooler, which means it's time for baking! I didn't make much over the summer because of the heat and also being super busy, but now with several Halloween parties I've had a good excuse to make something new.

These cupcakes were not the best that I've made, but that's the risk you run when you try new recipes all the time! They were not terrible, but they were very dense and difficult to fill. Carry on for more pictures and my critiques.

Steins;Gate Cosplay Commission

In September, I was asked to make a couple of cosplays from Steins;Gate by a member of one of the cosplay communities I'm part of. I was very pleased with how they turned out, and the customer said it was cool to share pictures, so here they are!

Read on for more pictures and some construction notes.

Black Princess Jumperskirt

This weekend, I finished a long-awaited Lolita project for a black jumperskirt. I've had the fabric for a long time, and sketched the initial design concept months ago, but I just never got around to making it until now. I feel like the finished dress has a very hime-style look to it, so I decided to call it "Black Princess".

Read on for more pictures of the finished dress and construction notes.

Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune

At Anime Expo this year, my friend and I were privileged to work with a very good photographer friend of ours Brian Calilung for an hour or so and got a great photoset with our cosplays! I'm so happy with how it all turned out--the costumes, the wigs, the photos, everything!

Lots more photos below the cut.

Anime Expo 2013: Lolita

On Saturday of Anime Expo, there was an informal Lolita meetup in the South Hall Lobby. I got to see a lot of my friends, and we took some group pictures. Everyone looked really great--at such a large event, I think people are inspired to come up with their best coordinates!

Read on for more meetup and coordinate pictures!

Anime Expo 2013: Cosplay

Anime Expo 2013 was last weekend, an amazing but exhausting weekend (with record-breaking attendance!) with my friends. As always, the convention was full of great cosplayers and some pretty cool panels.

My husband and I shared the camera, so there's a pretty wide variety of fandoms represented. We didn't take a huge number of pictures, because we also spent a lot of time being sociable and attending panels, but here is what we took for you to enjoy!

Photo Gallery by QuickGallery.com

On Friday, I was dressed as Lady Knight from Maoyuu Maou Yuusha, and then on Friday and Saturday my friend and I were Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune from Sailor Moon. We were all too tired to dress up on Sunday! My husband didn't dress up, but he did take the majority of the pictures, so of course there are a lot of repeats of me and my friends.

If you saw us at the convention and took a picture, I'd love to see it! You can comment here, email me, or send me a message on the Facebook page.

Review: Krad Lanrete's Mozarabic Chant

I fell in love with Krad Lanrete's Mozarabic Chant after someone posted their review of it on EGL. I knew I had to have it! So a few months ago, I organized a Taobao group order (to save on shipping) and ordered the long skirt in red.

Keep reading for more pictures and a brief review.

Fairytale Boutique First Year Anniversary Event

Earlier in the month, I went to a big event at Fairytale Boutique to celebrate their first year anniversary and the start of their carrying the beautiful Korean indie brand Haenuli (of which I am a huge fan). Automatic Honey was also a featured guest.

My friends on Facebook will have already seen these pictures, so bear with me! I'll have a review post tomorrow, so stay tuned for that. In the meantime, here are my photos and outfit for the event last weekend.

Another Bodyline Shoe Review

I'm a big fan of Bodyline shoes. They're cheap, relatively comfortable, and come in a variety of designs and colors. I tend to be pretty hard on shoes, so as much as it would be cool to have brand name shoes from Alice and the Pirates or BABY, I would be so scared to wear them out for fear of damaging them!

I got three pairs this time in three different colors. I wanted these to replace my old platform shoes, which are too Sweet in style and make me too tall for my liking. Read on for pictures and a brief fit review!

It's Convention Season!

I have to confess, I'm going through Lolita withdrawals. I haven't been able to dress up at all for the last two months due to various reasons, and it's honestly a bit depressing. I even have a beautiful new skirt and blouse and haven't been able to wear them out!

However, it's almost convention season, and you know what that means? Cosplay!

I recently started getting back into cosplay, and decided that this year's Anime Expo was going to be the excuse I needed to actually get off my butt and do something new. After doing so many cosplay commissions for other people, it was high time that I started doing something for myself, too.

Read on for my plans!

New Design and Color Scheme!

It's finally here, the previously-hinted color and design change. Since my Lolita style has been becoming more classic over the last year and a half, I thought it was time for an appropriate blog design change as well.

Banner design and photography by the fantastic Alyssa.

I'll probably continue to tweak the colors a little over the next few days, so please report any issues in the comments--unreadable text, etc.

March and April Outfits

As always, things are pretty hectic in my life, but I still manage to find time to dress up a couple of times a month. I got a new wig to try out, and now that the weather is getting a little warmer it's not necessary to wear quite as many layers.

And a few more...

The Easiest Pineapple Cupcakes Ever (And Low-Calorie, Too)

No seriously, the post title isn't lying. I made these cupcakes at the beginning of the month, and they were a surprise hit. Read on for more!

New Page Tabs Added

In case you hadn't noticed, I added two new pages that can be accessed by the tabs just under the banner image.

The Feedback page is for personal feedback on transactions I've been involved in (secondhand sales, commissions, and group orders). If you have had a transaction with me and wish to leave feedback, just comment on the Feedback page!

The Commissions page is a replacement for the old post--this way, it is more easily accessible. I also updated the post with more accurate pricing and personal information, as well as new ways to request commissions (Etsy and Facebook).

If you haven't already, please also visit my Facebook page and follow me there, too! I don't update the Facebook page very frequently, but it's the best way to message me if you want a quick response.

Oh, and a new, darker layout is coming soon! Stay tuned.

January and February Outfits

January and February saw a lot of Lolita events for me--lots of dressing up and driving was done, but I'm okay with that! I also bought and moved into a new house, bought and sold some Lolita things, and finished a commission. It's been a busy couple of months, that's for sure.

My First Attempt at Red Velvet - A Success Story

So I always see people making Red Velvet cake and cupcakes, and around Valentine's Day, the red velvet craze is in full swing. I've never made Red Velvet anything before, and finally decided it was time to give it a try.

EGL Wardrobe Post

Now that January is over and the main EGL community is done with the wardrobe theme, I thought I would share my wardrobe post here. Check out the links to the last three years to see how my collection has grown and evolved!

2013 Wardrobe Post

2012 Wardrobe Post

2011 Wardrobe Post

St James and the Dragon

St. James Cathedral, Seattle, WA

Photoshoot by Alyssa

Int'l Lolita Day and December Outfits

The holidays hit us pretty hard this year--lots of travel and work to do. Joey and I are also in the process of buying a house, which is very exciting! I'm looking forward to having more space to do baking in.