Tea Party Season

The month of August has been a strange one for me in terms of blogging. My apartment complex has been undergoing construction which pretty much results in me losing internet for at least a few days when someone messes up and cuts a wire or leaves it unplugged. *sigh* My iPod Touch also decided to die early in the month with no way for me to revive the poor thing. So, until I finally sink down and get an iPhone, I'm stuck using my fiance's phone which, while having a great camera, is limited on cutesy apps as the Windows Phone marketplace is still underdeveloped. I will get back to a regular blogging schedule as soon as a I can, so bear with me while I make fewer original picture based posts and draft out some more text or research based ones.

Anyway, despite my deficient blogging habits, my comm has been busy during the month with meet ups. Early in the month, we visited a little local restaurant called The Chocolate Biscuit. The place has a down home, Southern feel and we managed to all comfortably pile into the further back dining room. The meal included chicken salad, a small spinach salad and 'strawberry fluff' along with options for good old Southern sweet tea. I ended up too full to buy the house's signature dessert which is, of course, a chocolate biscuit. We later went to a local outlet shopping mall for a bit of fun and ended out the meetup with eating at an Italian restaurant.

Before the summer season ended, I decided to wear my nautical Captain Mia jsk from Ista Mori which I did a short review on. I paired the jsk with my new custom blouse from The Floral Notebook, a cat bowler hat and a simple pair of black lace-up Oxford heels.

Jsk: Ista Mori
Blouse: The Floral Notebook
Earrings: Forever 21
Necklace: Rue 21
Shoes: Payless
Wig: l-email

An overhead shot that I really loved. 

My comm also had our typical yearly gathering at Townhouse Tea Shoppe. I love the cozy atmosphere at the shop, and, as my first meet up was actually at this place, the occasion marks about 3 years of me being in lolita now. ^^ We nibbled on pleasant pastries and sandwiches while sipping on tea with exciting names like Long Island Strawberry green tea and Sleepy Hollow Pumpkin. Earlier in the month, I managed to obtain one of my dream dresses: Angelic Pretty's Milky-chan the Fawn in brown! I had actually previously owned the necklace style jsk after finding it on mbok but was sad to discovery that the cut didn't fit my bust at all. Now, thanks to a friend, I own the ribbon jsk along with the headbow and the socks. I'm too overjoyed at getting to see the print in all of its finery and get to note the details like the piercing in Milky-chan's ear and the fawn shaped lace adorning the edges. I paired the set with the pink Bodyline bunny ear blouse and pink Bodyline rocking horse shoes.

Jsk, socks, headbow: Angelic Pretty Milky-chan the Fawn
Blouse, shoes: Bodyline l009, Bodyline SHOES262
Bracelets: Forever 21
Wig: l-email

Much more detailed shot of the socks and bottom of the print. 

Thank you for reading along with me today. I hope that your end of summer is going well too, and feel free to comment below and talk about end of summer meets your lolita comm has had.

Summer Yukata Meetup

Long time, no see! The end days of summer have been very busy for me as I'v been bolstering my exercise routine and working on some general self improvement. I may do another weight loss for lolita post, updating on the progress and maintenance practices since my last one. 

My lolita comm decided to host a small yukata meetup to wrap up the summer. We had a few months of planning and ordering our outfits, culminating in a pleasant visit to Emma's Tea Room. Rather than a hot tea, I went with getting a nice glass of iced oolong tea. I sadly can't remember the exact variety, but the flavor was pleasant and I wish my memory would let me remember so that I could add the tea to my collection at home. 

I chose to get the daily salad special which came with a small blueberry muffin and poppy seed dressing. The flavor was great, and the combination of plums and strawberries with the bed of mixed greens was so perfect. <3

Dessert consisted of a piece of lemon cake topped with mandarin oranges and whipped cream. The flavor was really nice, and I liked the arrangement of the components. 

What would a post about a yukata meetup be, though, without a photo of me actually in my yukata? I ordered an easy to wear rose yukata from DreamV which was a good idea since I've never owned or worn a yukata before. In keeping with the general taste of my wardrobe, I went with the dark colored version of the pattern. The shoes which came with the yukata itself were way too small for my American feet, though, and the site offered no option to size up for a bigger pair. I ended up finding a pair of simple heeled wooden shoes from the thrift store which actually matched the general feel of my coordinate. I even wonder if they were originally ordered from Japan since the size labeling read "24.5" rather than a US or European style sizing scheme. Overall, I was really happy with the way I looked in the yukata although it's not nearly as comfortable as lolita, and I can't see myself wanting to wear an outfit like this more than once a year for a special occasion. 

We were somewhat tired after the tea house, so we wound up just going to a local antique store before parting ways. This is the second time I've gone to a curated antique store with my comm, and I've had a great time on both occasions. I ended up buying the stuffed rabbit pictured above as I love his vintage feel, and he reminds me of the Mossbadger items I love so much.