Magical Tea Time!

Hello again darklings! Today I would like to announce the opening of my new Etsy shop, Magical Tea Time! Currently it only carries jewelry made by yours truly, but soon it will also have lovely hats and accessories made by my roommate Kelley, more jewelry made by her husband Evan, and some video game inspired items by my boyfriend, Brandon.
The theme of our shop sort of ranges from Gothic Victorian to Creepy Cute to Nerdy Cute (for example, I currently have in stock fancy Dracula necklaces as well as brightly colored Pokemon rings), but I hope most everyone can find something that catches their eye c:
Please check it out here!

Otakon 2012: Revenge of the Frill

Well, the aftermath of Otakon has simmered down. It wasn't my most eventful year, honestly, I wasn't even committed to going until 3 hours before pre-registration closed. So I didn't have any cosplays lined up or time to buy part of a new outfit, but it was fun weekend nonetheless.
The first day, Friday, I was going to the EGL tea party, which was gothic themed this year. So I opted to wear Alice and The Pirate's Beauty and the Rose Promise, which I hadn't gotten out of the closet since nearly this time last year.

JSK: Beauty and the Rose Promise by Alice and The Pirates
Parasol: Alice and the Pirates
Purse: Putumayo
Boots: Bordello
Tights: Sock Dreams

 The tea party was a nice little lolita event, considering Otakon was definitely lacking in programs for the frillies this year. There was a little gift exchange, and a decent selection of teas and light food. Whenever I go to a formal tea, I am always interested to see what can be made into a tiny sandwich.

(last two photos courtesy of Petrina Cheng)

Later that night was the fashion show. It was a smaller event this year, and was missing my favorite American designer, Morrigan NYC, sadly. But it definitely was run much more smoothly and was still a good show. I was particularly fond of I Do Declare and Haenuli's designs.

On Saturday, I decided to brighten things up a bit and go for a bittersweet look (quite similar to the one I posted here!)

 JSK: DoL Fantastic Dolly Replica

Cardigan: Sourpuss Clothing
Purse: Cambridge Satchel Co.
Boots: Bodyline
Tights: eBay

 I didn't really go to many panels Saturday, mostly shopped Artist's Alley and hung out with friends. There was so much lovely deco jewelry, it was very difficult to contain myself. Somehow, I managed to not spend all my money in the face of purple accessories.

Sunday was just a short "see everyone and everything one last time", so I abandoned my hair extensions and wore a comfy kodona-ish outfit.

Hat: Hats in the Belfrey

Vest, shirt: TJ Maxx

Bow: Bodyline 

Bloomers: Handmade

Shoes: Bodyline

Purse: Putumayo

Bloomers are the best pants now. I've been wear bloomers with opaque tights are casual wear ever since c:

I've still got so many photos from meetup and such to dump this month! And my roommates and I are currently setting up an Etsy store to sell our handmade jewelry and hats so, expect to be spammed with spookygoods soon, darlings!

Wardrobe Post

Finally! I actually dragged things out of my closest and took pictures. The lighting in my room is rather unfortunate, especially at night. But I did my best.
This is more or less all of my strictly lolita dresses that I have amassed over the past three years. I have some dresses from Hell Bunny and other goth/retro shops (and of course my casual wardrobe of plain goth-y clothing) but for this post I just left them out.

Let's start with burando~

I used to have more up until recently when I sold a good bit off for money reasons. Honestly. I don't regret it, as I usually don't wear my brand for everyday coords and hadn't worn some of it for nearly a year. I kept my favorites, which are...

Angelic Pretty- Red Velvet JSK(I can't find the proper name, it's an older JSK)

Baby, the Stars Shine Bright- "Velour Tiered JSK", "Marcia" Velour OP, "Mille-Fleur" JSK

MAM Maxicimam- "Royal Rose" JSK

Alice and the Pirates- "Trick Hat, Pricked Heart", "Beauty and the Rose Promise", "Vampire Forest"

I own one indie-brand item, this beautiful print skirt from Morrigan NYC, based on Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven.

I don't own much in the way of brand accessories, just a few things. Here is my Chantilly headbow, Putumayo purse, and Alice and The Pirates cardigan and parasol.

And now onto the replicas (let's not turn this into a replica debate, y/y?)

I mostly own black colorway replicas of sweet prints, thanks to my new love of bittersweet.

Dream of Lolita- "Fantastic Dolly" in lavender and red, "Milky Berry", "Milky Planet

Oo Jia- "Dream Sky", "Silent Moon"

Bodyline- "Fruits Parlour"

I have an OP and a JSK from the taobao brand Surface Spell. The purple embroidery JSK is one of my favorite pieces. Purple, black, and bats <3

Aaaand onto the Bodyline. I shunned BL at first, prefering Fanplusfriend for my offbrand source, but over time Bodyline has only improved in quality and sizing. I don't think even I own any dresses from F+F anymore, just a few skirts and blouses.

So many black dresses!

Here are my F+F Skirts. I also own a few plain black skirts and underskirts but they're rather boring so I left them out. Same with my blouses- not much going on there.

I love these highwaisted bustle skirts. They're so flattering and versatile. I actually dyed the one to the far right, it used to be black/white.

Well, there it is, my current rori stockpile! I hope you all enjoyed a little bit of oversharing. I just got back from Otakon, so next up will be several outfit posts and picspam c:

I'm back! With new digs.

Hello darlings!
I'm sorry for the extended leave, but things are finally settling down again it seems. I don't have anything elaborate to post today, but for now, here are some photos of my new place.

I moved into a townhouse with two lolita friends of mine, Kelley and Casie (and Kelly's fiance). I have a nice little basement room and now that I'm settled, it's been pretty cozy. My boyfriend has also been staying with me for the past month :>
For more regular little updates and photos of pretty things, you can follow me on tumblr. I'll finally be doing a detailed wardrobe post soon, so stay tuned!

Gothic Lolita Cooking: Absinthe Cupcakes!

Absinthe is far and wide considered the gothiest of gothy beverages. It has quite a reputation- romance, creativity, mysticism, madness. You can almost here the "1up" sound of your goth points increasing exponentially as you try it for the first time.
That said, it also makes a tasty cupcake.
On St. Patrick's day I made this confection- Absinthe and mint cupcakes with mint and vanilla icing. Extremely green, extremely tasty.

It's a very simple recipe.

1 cup butter
2 cups white sugar
4 large egg whites

1 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups milk

2 tablespoons absinthe

2 teaspoons crushed mint (or mint tea leaves) 

Preheat over to 350

Mix all ingredients

Pour into cupcake papers , half full

Bake 15-20 minutes

Frosting

 2 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons butter or 2 tablespoons margarine, softened
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons crushed mint 

Beaten until smooth and fluffy, and no longer drippy.

Enjoy!