sweet treats and lolita musings

hey everyone! sorry i havent posted in a while. i've been getting adjusted to my schedule for this semester, and i've had a lot of quizzes and exams already!

i've been trying to get a lot of rest to avoid the terrible flu epidemic here, and i've also been watching breaking bad. i've also been hooked on downton abbey as well, so when i'm not studying i'm sleeping or watching those... (╯3╰)

anyway! i have some outfits to share with you that i'd forgotten to post as OOTDs!!

first up~

sweatshirt- won from hudiefly giveaway at the geeky peacock
jeans- forever 21

the outfit was at christmastime, so i wore this kurisumasu bracelet i made a year ago.

 i made this ring for my store, but i kept it for myself!

 

i made these hit clip earrings for myself, and pinned a wooden cross onto a bow.

both charms here are from kings island.

 

all right! here is my next outfit, a fairy kei coord based off of christmas items i got!

shirt- disney online store
bow- ribbonholic
tutu and ring- pinkly ever after
tights- vintage
shoes- sperry top sider at macey's
necklace- i honestly forget the brand right now but i got it in the artists alley at youmacon!
bracelet- target
ring- ann ani

 

i will have to do a review of pinkly ever after soon-- they are SO AWESOME. i can't recommend them enough!!

anyway, i've been excited for a lot of stuff in the future right now!! bands i love are being really active, and that always is such good news. my friends harry and the potters are doing a show here on valentines day that i'm really excited for. 

i've also been able to wear my lolita way more often because of my schedule now for class. as soon as it gets warmer, i'll be able to wear it a lot! i feel like i'd love to write about lolita and my experiences with it more, as i love my local community and love to talk about lolita.

i almost want to wear this exact coord again for valentine's day! hehe.

anyway, i will be writing again soon and i will definitely do a review of P.E.A. for you guys!

that's all for now!

Meeting Heroes (and an OOTD)

hello everyone, and hi to all the new readers out there! welcome!

sorry for the break in posting recently. i've just gotten through all my midterms, and that's quite a time-suck. i've also been preparing for youmacon and going to lots of concerts the past few weeks. a great time for midterms, huh? > <  

i saw the avett bros., cake, metric, and the wombats. this last week, though, i saw a band i've been aching to see for years-- motion city soundtrack! (you've probably heard their song LGF.U.A.D., which was how i found them back in the day.) i got to meet some of the members, too, which was so nice! their openers were now now (who i've never heard of and didn't get there in time for) and jukebox the ghost, who are a really fun band i'd actually heard a few songs from before.

i went with my best friend jessica, who came from her out of state college to go with me. it was in a nice little venue in a theatre housing other venues i'd been to. i'd never been to this room, but it was intimate and a ton of fun! barely anyone was there. 

jessica and i accidentally matched our entire outfits. i'm not kidding!! we both wore red pants, black chucks, black t-shirts and black jackets. i'm still laughing about it now.

 

 the bands were so good, especially mcs. i have to say this might be the best crowd i've ever seen for a concert. EVERYONE screamed along the lyrics. at some points they seemed louder than the band. the band remarked they didn't even know human beings could be so loud!!

as for when we got to meet them, i was really happy. i had the guitarist and bassist sign my ticket-- but it was accidentally my ticket from cake and metric a few weeks ago!! i'm not too upset because come on. that's friggin hilarious.

justin (pictured here) joked about communicating without words after the show and i thought he was really joking, but he actually didn't speak to save his voice! i used sign language to talk to him at first. it was so nice to meet him. he's as sweet as could be and has incredible hair. one of my favorite lyricists ever, to boot.

so, one of the biggest pieces of advice i give that i believe in is to see as many bands as you can possibly see if you love music in any capacity. going to shows is always such a fun experience for me and it's a big part of my life. the people watching, the clothes, the scenes and atmospheres, and the performances are all so fun to see. i love it so much. 

and going along with that, i would also say don't be afraid to meet your heroes. i mean this!! people say don't meet your heroes, and i just think this is plain untrue. i've met a lot of bands from going to so many shows, and i LOVE IT. i'm so so lucky and happy to have met all these artists i respect so much. and you know what? they were all pretty much really nice!! the most that ever happened was that someone wasn't incredibly warm, but they were still polite. and this only really happened once. i've even befriended one of my favorite bands just because i wanted to meet them. i think people want to be nice to their fans for supporting them, generally. so for the most part, musicians will be polite when they meet you. and if they're not-- are you so sure you want to be their fan if they don't have common courtesy or are mean people?

i've only had good experiences meeting people i admire, both musicians and artists, etc. and life is short, so i want to pack it with as much fun as possible.

 

so, on to the OOTD! this was from about a week ago.

navy jacket- thrift store
button- swimmer, bought from ann ani (reviewed here)
necklace- ebay
brooch- gift from a long time ago
bow- bought from ann ani (reviewed here)

i wore my ribbonholic bow and some forever 21 mint green acid wash jeans as well as some black boots with this, not pictured.

i didn't get one full good picture of everything or the accessories like last time! sorry about that.

 i took one of my cute halloween brooches and put it under the bow. (i only realized the bow was upside down halfway through the day...)

 

i got this cute little twin stars necklace in a best friends set for my mom (who got me into little twin stars) and myself on ebay! the seller even included a cute wooden phone charm of a bike.

so that's all i have for today! i'll try to post more often especially since i have a few outfits saved up to post. see you next time!

Ann Ani Review

hey guys! while i'm trying to get this blog to look nice, let's have some actual content, huh?

so recently, i bought some things from the cute Ann Ani store for my birthday. i saw how they carried a bunch of cute things from different kawaii culture brands like SWIMMER and Ribbon Holic, so my mom kindly bought me some things from them that i found too adorable to resist.

here's their pretty carousel 2-way, which includes a sturdy hair clip that doesn't slip in my hair and a pin, so the bow can be used as a brooch if you so desire. it's a nice pastel yellow fabric that shimmers with an iridescent, glittery quality. the clip/pin is attached really securely and nicely, and so are the little gems and the horse on the front. it's delicate looking, but i don't think it'll be falling apart any time soon! it's also available in blue.

here is my new favorite bow, a fluffy 2-way bow by ribbon holic. i'm a huge fan of this bow. again, it's really well-made, so i'm not afraid of it falling apart. i love the colors and how adorable the little stars are on the upper layer of fabric. it's also huge, so it's perfect just by itself on top of an updo for the summer heat. i also love the gold charm on the back. this "sugar ribbon" is available in two other colorways.

i also love this cute little ice cream necklace. i love the minty blue soft serve and the sparkles on it, but the little pearl elevates it from the usual ice cream jewelry you see. i also really like how the chain reflects the cone color, and the length seems perfect for this particular charm.

i've always loved all things SWIMMER so i jumped at the chance to get this now out of stock badge set. they're pretty big, and they're absolutely adorable. i'm a little afraid that the rhinestones might come off, but i think if i just use them as brooches and not on a purse they would be perfectly protected. these are sold out, but ann ani has two other swimmer badge sets in stock as well as some bags.

as for this tulle ribbon bow ring, i love the combination of pastel minty aqua and pink. the little jewels and ribbon in the corner are really well secured, as is the ring itself. the craftsmanship is great-- you can't see any stray glue, or any signs of the construction. it's super cute, and i've been wearing it with almost everything since i got it. it's also available in pink x purple, and pink x pink.

now, as for the shop's work itself, i was really satisfied! their website is well designed and the package came very quickly. the packaging, which i didn't get pictures of because i opened it on my birthday, was also really cute, and i appreciate when people go the extra mile to make the packaging extra sweet. there was a big silver glittery heart on the mailing box, and inside the items were wrapped inside a pink heart patterned plastic bag with a cute sticker. they also included a little note as well as some freebie rainbow bobby pins and star earrings in the shape of some shooting stars on a card! the backings of the earrings are bendy and therefore i can't get them to go in my ears correctly, but they're still adorable and i might use them for a craft or something. 

the little star earrings

tiny card

a sweet note with a little geisha stamp thanking my mom for shopping with ann ani

overall i was really pleased with how cute their offerings are and the service and i'll probably be buying from them again, considering how much more adorable stuff they have for sale!

dividers from glitter-graphics.com