Dream Sky re-release

It's happening. They're re-releasing dream sky. This is legit happening!! :'D I wonder what changes will overall be made (if any.) I see that there is no pink colorway this time and black seems to be left out. All blue toned colors this go-around! Sax, royal blue, navy, and an interesting looking purple/lavender that I hope is an odd printing in the scan I saw because wow it looks kind of ugly... Dare I attempt to even try to get it? Dare I...? Yeah I'M GUNNA TRY!! (good luck to me~~) *DREAM BIG*

BAD costumes!

Late night vloggin~

Non-print lolita doesn't get enough love! (Chelsea Regimental)

It's very common for certain prints from lolita brands to get hyped up to the point of an instant sell out, and in some rare cases re-releases. For example Sugary Carnival, Chess Chocolate, and Day Dream Carnival have all resulted in such events!

However non print dresses don't seem to get the attention they do deserve! So many of the "plain" dresses Angelic Pretty releases between it's big prints are so lovely! But you almost never hear months-in-advance announcements; or people freaking out about them to the point of staying up all night to make sure they get a sliver of a chance to buy it.

However, just the same, they do seem to fly "off the shelves" (so to speak) when they do come up. So why don't brands give their non print dresses as much love and attention as prints? Maybe they know they'll sell well already? *laugh*

I recently was able to score Chelsea Regimental off of Mbok for a REALLY good price. This is one dress that I was actively seeking out but never thought someone would sell for a various reason (timeless, versatile, etc). All the pictures I saw of it made it look so lovely... but in person? OH MY GLOB. This dress is BEAUTIFUL!!

The detailing is immense on this! Though it's a simple stripe woven fabric the choice of colors work very well together- a mix of chocolate brown, milktea, and light blue stripes bring a little extra accent to the pallet. The gold stripes woven in add a pretty, although subtle shimmer unless in certain light- then they really show well! The fabric itself is extremely soft- which somewhat surprises me due to the mylar woven in as it's generally something that can become itchy. However when I was feeling the fabric the gold is fine enough that it does not irritate my skin in the least bit :)

The construction of the dress is superb as well. The bodice has a mock vest piece in the middle that hides the skirt seam though being fully sewn in itself- I will admit that sewing such a thing is rather tricky unless you're used to holding fabric bits back while sewing (I usually end up smashing my finger in the machine when I do this lol.) The back of the collar has a button so it's a bit easier to get on and off. The cross straps in the back are removable and can also be flipped over; one side has the milktea colored stripes while the other has blue ones. A small detail which can help balance an outfit. I prefer to leave them attatched though as I like the extra detailing they have to offer.

The back lacing is done with actual eyelets instead of lace, ribbon, or elastics. I like how this makes it feel almost classic in its attempt although the dress may still be classified as "sweet". The ribbon is very high quality as well and has no damage to it. I honestly wonder if the girl I bought this from ever wore it!

The extra lace detailing going down the skirt is one of my favorite touches as well. It's a small detail that's easy to lose in the pattern but adds a nice surprise when you find it.

This dress is, again, seriously very lovely. If I had a chance to buy it in another colorway I most certainly would. Everything about this is lovely and I really did feel amazing wearing it! It has the charm and magic of lolita that I love!

And of course the cat was curious!
"This thing you're wearing smells strange!"

Cat vs Apple

My roommate's cat is a unique character in and of her own XD

[Cosplay Progress] End of Triangle Ranka

With Sakura Con very swiftly approaching I've just FINALLY gotten my poop in a group and started working on one of my cosplay outfits I'll be wearing that still needed to be made! I'm bringing magical girl Mami (from Madoka Magica) and Stocking's default lolita dress (Panty and Stocking) but... TO JUST NOW START ON A COSPLAY.

I'm crazy. I know.

Fabrics
[Facebook Link]

I really honestly pity Liz more though as her Sheryl outfit is hell compared to Ranka's; We're making the "End of Triangle" outfits from the 3rd Macross Frontier movie.

So far I've gotten a good start on things. I spent a good deal of time already on the top and have all the layers stitched together. I'm trying to work on the navy colored parts first so I can efficiently sew things without having to switch out thread/bobbins too often. Also the navy bits are, in large part, the bases for everything else; maybe I'm just lazy but to me this is the best way to go about things.

[Facebook link]

I bought gloves a long LONG time ago for a Steel Angel Kurumi cosplay that was nearly the perfect color- they're still a bit too blue compared to the fabric I chose. I was thinking about trying to dye them down a bit with black though to dull out the blue. I'll have to get the dye though. The gloves just need a yellow cuff added and they'll be done other wise. Ranka has these weird gloves that end part way up her thumb (about an inch from the wrist) but I didn't cut them down all the way yet so I had plenty of fabric to stitch the cuff to.

The bracelet was found on etsy! It's from the 80's. I searched EVERY STORE in Lloyd center and every Target, Fred Meyer, and well... honestly any store I went in to that had a jewelry section I searched and searched for a PLAIN translucent bangle like this. Despite this green being a color that is in style this season I could not find anything remotely close!
Not even just a green bangle that didn't have some sort of crazy design all on it. This really was a seriously wonderful find. Thank you internet!!

I wear the weirdest things
when I sew LOL
[Facebook Link]

As for the corset top, at this point, I need to press the seams flat and add the boning in. Not sure if I have enough boning as it is but I'll be able to add what I do have on hand. If I end up running out I'll work on the belt piece (I drafted a pattern so far but nothing else) and will also have her arm bands to make. Well... I made the blue base for the one on her upper arm. But her wrist one still need to be made. I feel like that one will be a lot easier to make though as it won't involved curves ~_~;;

I'm waiting on some metal heart findings to come in the mail to make her necklace and ring out of. I'm also waiting on the gold studs! I had bought a bunch earlier but they ended up being too small ;-; The studs need to be as wide as my choker- these were the nicest small gold buckles I could come across that weren't the standard ugly Drtiz ones. I don't like their color of gold either! It's a very cold yellow that just looks cheap. For Ranka I'm trying to stick with a warmer gold so everything actually ends up looking to have a brass tint to them. I think it compliments the navy blue a lot better than a harsh, bright gold. /Gold Rant (lol)

I'm crazy... still... I know this. I think once I have the corset top all done and put together everything else will somewhat fall in to place. I still need to figure out shoes because she has a lightning bolt on the heel... I'm not really sure I'll be able to find such shoes in time. I'm also debating on finding a pair and molding my own heel shape onto it. I have such a problem with high heels being comfortable that I rue ever having to order them online :( Really hate having to... UGH.

This should not have taken as long
as it did ~_~;;
[Facebook Link]

I think the part I'm most excited for on this costume is the giant butt cape I get :3 I'll probably go pick up MORE fabric for that honestly- I want it to be huge and anime-like! It'll flow as I waaalllkkk and I'll probably never stop messing with it LOL. I'm glad this costume will have a "fun" part on it like this... seriously. Sometimes wearing a costume is just so uncomfortable that it's nice to have something you can be silly with :)

*SCREAMS*

I HAVE ONLY 15 DAYS UNTIL I LEAVE!!

Chess Choco-WAT!!!

I did it! I won!! I won the Chess Chocolate Jabost JSK in mint finally! :'D

I had been stalking auctions for a good while despite Brandon having contacted Closet Child about the dresses (They hadn't called him back yet to tell him they had stock or not.) So when the auction popped up I decided to bid on it :x the price started rather low for this color/style (¥10,000) and it didn't raise up very far at all!! I think over all I spent around ¥20,500 on it! Which I consider a STEAL since it was A) Cheaper than the initial release price & B) Cheaper than I'll ever find it from a second hand selling in the states! They'll usually charge around $350 (¥33,000) for it >_<

Sooooo I'm excited!! Though I went a bit crazy with the orders. I was also able to get Royal Queen mint OTKs for only ¥1,000 and the ivory skirt for around ¥9300...

I also found a bunch of Sailor Moon musical VHS tapes for supa cheap >_>;; so to grow my tiny collection (of mostly Miyuki) I bought them~! All first stage! :D There were 8 in all.

I also noticed the person who dicked me out of the mint head bow has been trying to sell it WITH their bustier dress. Would it be crazy/stupid of me to buy it? LOL... I'm not a huge fan of the bustier dress honestly but it WAS the one I first initially liked when I saw the collection. Who knows? Maybe I'll like it. If not I'll sell it off. I'll wait until I get paid this Friday though before I even bid. If it's still up *shrug* I'll probably go for it ^^;;

*spazzes*

One down, two to go! (Dream Sky & Sugary special~)

"Who knows how to make love stay?"

Tom Robbins quotes always come to mind when I think about "love". Particularly ones from his book Still Life With Woodpecker He's honestly a fantastic writer and I should pick up more of his books as well and reread the ones I have already read. I suggest you check out this author! He's great!

“Who knows how to make love stay?
1. Tell love you are going to Junior's Deli on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn to pick up a cheesecake, and if loves stays, it can have half. It will stay.
2. Tell love you want a momento of it and obtain a lock of its hair. Burn the hair in a dime-store incense burner with yin/yang symbols on three sides. Face southwest. Talk fast over the burning hair in a convincingly exotic language. Remove the ashes of the burnt hair and use them to paint a moustache on your face. Find love. Tell it you are someone new. It will stay.
3. Wake love up in the middle of the night. Tell it the world is on fire. Dash to the bedroom window and pee out of it. Casually return to bed and assure love that everything is going to be all right. Fall asleep. Love will be there in the morning.”

 ~Tom Robbins      

But how DOES one make love stay? One first has to ask how you define "love"- as this is something not all people view the same. Some people see love as self-sacrificing; where you give up everything that is "you" to either support the "we" aspect or the other person. Other's see it as a financial support and end up throwing gifts or money at their loved ones. Sometimes love gets twisted and strange but honestly so many people express love so differently that you can't really know how someone will love you unless you receive love from that person.

Personally I find myself giving the type of "nurturing" or parental love. I want to take care of the people whom are dear to me- making them food, helping them with things, etc. Just generally taking care of them and helping their lives become a little easier if possible. A little bit more comfortable.

But this also to me is a flawed love. As it's a love most people receive from their own mothers. So it's been taken advantage of a lot by people before. Yes I do this with friends, and no I don't expect things in return for it (aside from maybe a "thank you" or two.) But, generally speaking, people seem so used to this type of "love" that more often than not it's taken for granted. Demanding a more showy type of love from me will not net you that as that's not how I express it. I do buy gifts for people; usually in a sense of "OMG this reminded me of you!" But it will end up being something like a silly Star Wars trinket for someone or something Pokemon. I bought a mini plush set of Animal Crossing before for a friend since it wasn't a whole lot and I know she wanted a KK plush really bad (he was included.) I expected nothing in return because her shrieks of delight were enough to make my day.

But you want me to do WHAT now? You want me to dress how? You want me to change THAT about myself? Demands demands demands. People never seem happy with what they have- even if it's the best thing they've ever had.

How do you make love stay?

But what kind of love is it that you want?

MOAR ANGER- and a Remedy For It~!

This week as not been my week. This week has not been acting in my favor one bit. But it also seems as though I'm not the only one having such problems (Anger filled Monday, Super sleepy Tuesday, Bad news Wednesday, etc etc.) But what happened to me yesterday afternoon almost took the cake on the rage-o-meter scale.

I got boned out of my ultimate dream dress- part 2!

I was informed that someone on the comm sales had posted -the- dress for sale. The price wasn't too bad either! Someone had previously commented about PM-ing the seller but I figured I'd give it a shot as well. I messaged them and informed them I'd be able to pay in full and to let me know if that would work out. I had the money... I would be nearly penniless until next Friday but sometimes I feel it can be worth it (stupidly lol.)

But I woke up after my weird noon-time sleep to a message from the seller that the dress was already on payment plan and she apologized.

So wait... someone doing a payment plan got precedence over the person willing to pay in full that day? I was honestly confused and, honestly, by now it really just felt like salt being rubbed into my wounds (especially after losing out on said dress once before.)

I went to work mad and stewed about it for nearly my whole shift. My boyfriend had even asked me "Would you give up the black version for this one?" and I simply said yes to him. No questions. I think at that point he understood why it had miffed me so much.

However towards the end of my shift I was just kinda of mopey and figured being angry did no good. I talked a good deal with some friends and listened to music to forget about it for some time. I mean come on! It's just a dress right? But it's also a hobby. Like Pokemon! Except I don't want to "catch 'em all"; I want to build a small, strong team of AWESOME.

 Now the remedy happened a few hours after I got home. All is quiet- after all it's the butt crack of night time (4am). And I decided to see what my awesome buddy Brandon was up to in Japan-land so I called him up on Skype.
Turns out he had called Closet Child over the weekend about Dream Sky and Chess Chocolate and they're shipping some dresses in from their other stores for him to take a look at! :D This seriously perked me up SO FAST. At this point I was OK not getting the Special Sugary dress- upset a bit still but I will obtain it eventually *determination!!*!
I sent him an e-mail with the pictures of the exact colors and styles I was looking for. He'll go in probably sometime Monday or Tuesday of next week to check them out, talk stock, pricing, and check the dresses for damages and stains (to further talk price about). He said he'd take pictures but I told him that Closet Child actually doesn't allow it. I suggested he bring his girlfriend along as she is also into lolita and will be able to asses the dresses as well- plus it might not be so weird for him to be in a store full of frills LOL.
He commented that he had no problem with going there as I have dragged him to the fabric store many times- which however also works in his favor as he'll be able to better spot any problems with the dresses. I further told him it's OK if they do have slight damages or stains as I don't really care much and can fix most construction problems with the dresses themselves.

So it perked my day up really well :) I'm feeling a lot better about the events of the day as it probably all happened for a very good reason. Had I bought Sugary my bank account would be near nil until Friday and thus I'd be unable to send him the money for the dresses/shipping. But now I'm good~
I still need to do my taxes too! :3 more monies there~


In other news it looks like an 80% chance I'll have to work Saturday. I plan to go in early if I wake up in time so I can milk the over time without having to stay super super late @_@;; I'm -trying- to be happy about that one. But there are 2 meet ups happening this weekend (one each day) and it may cause me to miss both. Again. *sigh*

Just keep swimming~

iMAD

So Mad  D: ugh!
I was browsing around on Mbok the other, which has become a daily thing I do to try and find certain dresses, and I saw a mint Chess Chocolate head bow (aka "Alice band") going for only 2000 yen! With the conversion as it is now It was just under $24usd... "what a steal" I though. I saw an ivory one sell for nearly $80usd on the Livejournal comm sales so I was excited!

I contacted Japonica and did the whole, order request, money request, send money, etc thing you do with a shopping service; and then I waited. I waited to see when they bid and did a happy dance! I then waited as the auction closed as well with my winning bid~ woo!
So excited!! :D I went to bed very very happy~ one step closer to getting the set!

But I woke up the next morning to an email from Japonica... it said the seller canceled the auction.

but...

but... I..

bu...

BUT I WON IT.

I'm so peeved. Seriously!! Mbok is just making me more and more angry >:/ This is the 2nd time I've had someone cancel an auction AFTER it ended on me. The previous time I wasn't so mad but now? With the head bow... :( The seller still has their dress up and now they have updated the pictures to include the head bow as well! I'd buy it however it's the bustier-style dress and I don't really care for it (and it seems to be the only version anyone is presently selling.)

Blaaaaahhh!!

It's getting really difficult...

Work is killing me. This is in the sens of, well, everything: Emotionally, physically, mentally, socially, etc. It has become a soul sucking black hole in my life. I know many people say "I hate my job" or that "work sucks" but I literally and very truthfully hate my job.

There are days that I don't even want to pull myself out of bed or get dressed to go to work. And I can honestly say I rather paint a picture with my own blood then ever step foot in that building ever again; I would eat rocks if it I meant I didn't have to work there! It's bad. I've tolerated so much bullshit for the 7 years I've been there and I have next to nothing to show for it other than the insurance and a paycheck. I would say steady paycheck but that would be a lie- I don't even get that. There are months on end where we "have to cut hours" to save the company money in production costs (but we then get yelled out for not pushing out enough product). So working for 7 hours a day, ever day, for nearly a month really puts a damper on my ability to, ya know... SURVIVE. I eat less, I sleep more, I see daylight and my friends a lot less & I end up feeling really depressed and unmotivated to do anything. Even clean my own apartment or to even harass the cat.

I'm currently working on a huge entry for all the extremely stress inducing bullshit that happened to me this last Friday via my boss. The entry is going to be long and probably either boring or juicy to read. But for now I won't focus on that. Just know that I was 8 seconds away from throwing my life into chaos by telling my boss that I quit. Had I had to talk to him for that much longer I would be jobless.

But lets focus on the more positive things I'm trying to do insofar as my job goes.

I'm going to quit.
Honest to goodness, this year, I am going to quit my job and move onto something else. I've decided to focus on becoming a flight attendant. I have been reading up on it a LOT and even though it's a customer service job (hello social anxiety) I believe I would be able to do well at this job. I'm going to honest to goodness give it a shot and I hope to totally fall in love with it :)

And before I get told that I'm making a rash decision this is honestly a profession that has been on my mind for over a year or more now- in fact so long I can't even remember when I first thought of taking it on.

The prep stuff I have to do though while at my current job is getting all sorts of lovely medical check ups. I want to get my eyes checked and get glasses if need be and get my teeth/dental work all done up. I want to have a pretty picturesque smile so I don't feel embarrassed to do so in front of people.

Now as I take on this job though I plan to move closer to Portland International Airport. I'm honestly not far from it (20 min or so drive- but I don't have a car) but It'd be nice being closer to work and it would also help my future room mate as it is closer to her school. However, if I can't find a decently priced apartment or even house to rent then I am OK with staying where I am currently as I do really like it here a good deal.

These are my goals. These are my wants, and honestly, NEEDS to do to improve my working life. And despite having an erratic schedule as a flight attendant I would still have more time to see friends and to actually do things. With my current job I work 5 days a week, every week, on a horrid swing+graveyard schedule combo of hell. It's next to impossible to get time off and I'm only ever allowed to call in sick 3 times a year. And as it stands now with how much Oregon's minimum wag went up I am not far above it. I have worked at this place for nearing a decade and I get paid under $13 an hour. SEVEN. YEARS. And that's all I have to show for it *sigh*

I can't do this any more. It's been long overdue that change has to happen. And this year is when I will make the change.

FUCK THIS JOB!

Marshmellow [sic] Bunny

 I was never crazy about this dress. It was always just kind of cute to me, but at the same time really rather ugly; it reminded me terribly of Easter in wall the wrong ways. Bunnies and pastels: two things that practically MAKE sweet lolita what it is. However the over all motif just seemed so ugly and weird; and I can't quiet put my finger on just WHY. Maybe it falls under "busu kawaii" for me? Where something is so ugly it becomes cute... lol.

 Really though the only color I was not a fan of was the pink- which often happens. My favorite is black with blue and ivory coming in second. The ivory looks too yellow though against the white bunnies. But I suppose making it white would make the bunnies pretty much just creepy floating eyes/boys/noses... thought maybe that'd be kinda of neat in their own way.

 Some weird power possessed me to buy this dress. I don't know if I'll regret it later or not (and boy do I hope I don't) but I ended up getting the ivory. Black and blue were sold out and like hell I'd buy pink lol. I think black might end up being the ONLY colorway of this dress I end up liking in the end...

BUT IT'S SO UGLY!!

Seriously why the frak did I buy this thing?! I already regret it and AP already sent it out... ugh ~_~;; Maybe I can sell it? I'll steal the pattern off it first though lol

Small Taobao Order: Star themed!

I made a rather small order using Bhiner to test them out. I plan to do full reviews of each item but for now here is a list of the things I got en route :)

- Loris shooting star bag in light yellow:
[shop link] [review]

- Loris star handbags (purple and pink):
[shop link] [review]

- Blonde+pink lolita wig (for Sheryl Nome cosplay!):
[shop link] [review]

- Sentimental Circus pass cases (bunny and elephant):
[shop link] [review]

The galaxy school uniform had to be ordered in 4 separate pieces (two tops and two bottoms.) At the time I got these they were immensely popular so I got a few different sized things. I always ordered up a size when I had the chance though!

School Uniform top (blue size & purple size XL):
[shop link] [review]

School uniform skirt (blue size M, purple size XL):
[shop link] [review]

[Taobao] Trying a new shopping service

So this new shopping service I'm using is called Bhiner. I chose to try them out as they only charge a 5% fee and I've heard a few people talk good about them. I usually used Taobaospree but decided to give a different service a try this time around (TBS also charges a 10% fee).

I've come to find a few good and bad points about Bhiner:

• BAD: I -have- to choose my shipping method before they start buying my items. The bad side to this is that I don't fully know just HOW much my order is going to weigh! My shipping option I choose could end up being vastly more expensive than planned/hoped! Also they say they will charge you a small fee if you decide to use a different shipping method after you make your order.
• BAD: They don't offer SAL as a shipping method. Also the cheapest method's price is raising on FEB 22nd (2013). The method that will then become cheapest takes 15-30 days to arrive as opposed to the current time of 7-14 days. Lame.
• BAD: There's a 4% fee to move money from your Paypal into your "Bhiner account". The whole idea of have a separate account weirds me out as well. However the other Paypal option is to send them money as a personal gift and Paypal charges MORE for that than the 4% (at least it did with my order.) I also don't feel very secure sending them money as a gift.
• GOOD: Items arrived SUPER quick! I paid for them on Thursday (China's Friday) and everything was with Bhiner by Tuesday. I ordered roughly 10 things though they were only from maybe 3 or 4 shops.
• GOOD: The cheap fee. They also say they have a 44% discount for EMS shipping (which I intend to try the next time around if I do use them again)
• GOOD: The cart system is super easy to use and all the items will get confirmed for stock within' a days time :)
• GOOD: Bhiner automatically takes pictures of the items as they arrive and uploads them online.
• GOOD: Website has a shipping calculator that shows you the price for each method or shipping and will automatically highlight the cheapest method. Very helpful!

Overall it seems to be a decent service to use. I've been thinking about trying another service for my next order but I will say that I have yet to find a cart system that is as stream-lined as Bhiner's is. I like how they have things set up and the shipping calculator is helpful. I suppose I will give them another shot.

Day Dream Carnival

Scans from a fashion magazine showing Angelic Pretty's two newest prints have been circulating on the internet for a short time now- and even better pictures have finally been released. I'm not sure if AP has announced anything about it but I do know a good deal of girls whom are ALREADY contacting shopping services to procure one of the dresses for them! All they are going off of are some magazine scans!... but really I can see the hype with the print.

It's being referred to as a more "mature" or "grown up" version of Sugary Carnival- which I can see. But at the same time all I am seeing in this dress is the similarity with Bodyline's [fairly popular] carousel dress. Now I'm not saying that Angelic Pretty is copying Bodyline at all- not by a long shot. But the two prints are very similar in a lot of ways: the framing around the carousel, vertical multi-tone stripes, stars on the stripes, and even somewhat the ponies themselves (from what I am able to see.) This isn't intended to be a "who did it better" sort of comparison but you can't deny how similar they are in the raw basic aspects of it.

I will say thought that overall construction wise I KNOW AP's will be done a lot better. The cuts and seams are always done well whereas Bodyline is put together in a much more mass-produced way (side panels not cut so much on the bias to be able to use more fabric, same cut/pattern used for many dresses, not lined, etc etc.) I know AP's will definitiely look more lovely worn but it's really hard for me to NOT see the similarities. I suppose I shall wait until AP updates their online shop before I judge so much though ;x

A lot just seems so over the top and costume-y about this dress that it's really hard for me to like it. I almost get the feeling like it's just much too busy overall- too many elements going on. And I'm not a fan of the colors- in fact the white is the only one I like so far.

Personally I think Gloria was a lot prettier than this dress. And I wasn't a huge fan of Gloria because of the giant gold cross printed directly onto the front of the skirt (also the fat baby angels) but the constructive design of the Gloria dresses looked so lovely and regal. Whereas Day Dream just looks like a little girl's princess dress.

It's pretty but it's not for me at all. One more dress for other girls! Haha
I'll stick to working on acquiring Chess Chocolate :3



BTW scans are NOT MINE. I found them on 4chan... >_>;;