My March Favorites!

March into April with some of my favorites from this past month.

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I've been a fan of Japanese music since I was a kid, most likely because I've been watching anime since I was five. As I got older, I began listening to J-Rock and J-Pop religiously. This month, I was reminded how much I dig "idol style" music. Kyary Pamyu Pamyu has had my heart since "PonPonPon", but with her recent US tour, there has been a buzz about her in my local Lolita comm. Naturally, I became obsessed with her again. While watching countless hours of Kyary music videos, I came upon something wonderful: BabyMetal.

A sort of kawaii idol, hardcore metal hybrid, BabyMetal consists of three young girls (two middle schoolers and a high schooler) who dress in adorable punk/wa Lolita-esque dresses and sing sweet melodies over rocking beats. I'd briefly seen them mentioned on the Lolita Memes page on Facebook, but I didn't realized the wonder within. These two musical acts really reflect my current mindset of "kawaii riot" and they are just really, really exciting to listen to. 

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One of the big events I did this month was my first 5k fundraiser called Mary's Walk. It's sponsored by the owners of a local pub who lost a member of their family to cancer. Now hundreds of people come out to participate as runners and walkers. It was insane to see the amount of people and feel the sense of community. I was joined by Miss Allegra and my grandmother, as well as a few other family members. Our team raised over $1,000 for the cause!

My grandmother bought us socks that matched the promotional posters for the walk.

I enjoyed it so much that I've signed up for our local March of Dimes walk this coming May. I've left my donation badge below if you'd like to help me reach my goal for the walk! 

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Kawaii is pain, my friend.

Allegra got me this game for Christmas and I've been on and off playing for a while, but this month I sat down and did some hardcore bell scoring (thanks to Lin and Ko over on YouTube). There is just something about Animal Crossing: New Leaf that gets me hooked when I go to play it. It might be the fluffy villagers, the adorable downloadable content, or the rush of collecting bells to pay off your home loan, but once I start playing, I have to keep playing. 

I also got to "cross animals" with my friends via the interwebs, which always helps when you're in need (Allegra paid off the donations for my cobble stone bridge this time around!) Even though I am an "adult", this game is by far one of my favorites. 

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I have also been obsessed this month with the web and app versions of Luvocracy. It's a pretty simple set up: it's a recommendation site that pays you in store credit when other people buy via your recommendations (or "Luvs"). While the pay off isn't immediate, it's still a fun way to share your favorite and dream products with others, as well as checking out what's on other people's hot lists. There is also nothing more exciting than when you hit the Trending page (I've hit it three times this week~). 

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My last little favorite is kettlebells! If it was possible, I'd probably be in a relationship with one of these. Not only can you get them in cute colors and they fit so naturally in your grip, they burn a whopping 20 calories per minute! Wowzies! 

It's also nice because by finding workouts that incorporate kettlebells, you can get agility training, cardio, and strength training all at once. I've really liked chichihealthfitness on YouTube.

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I hope y'all liked this *overdue* list and found some stuff you'd like to try or things you also enjoy! 

~B

Famine's Last Feast: At the Masquerade

This past weekend, I had the priveledge to head over to New Hampshire Institute of Art for the Neo Victorian Society's masquerade. Allegra and I drove down with our friend, Chase. The long, painstaking drive from Maine to New Hampshire: so long!

Nah, it's really only an hour and a half. Photo courtesy of Allegra.

We arrived just in time to get ready with our masquerade buddies. After applying loads of make-up, putting finishing touches on our outfits, and lacing up into corsets, we braved the chill February night. It always seems that when I am scantily clad in costume, it happens to be in the dead of winter.

The venue was elaborately decorated with trees, red lights, steampunk styled table dressings, and other beautiful artifacts (including a lovely chandelier!) I honestly wish I'd snapped some photos, because they were so amazing. 

Here's one of the chandelier at least. Also nabbed from Allegra!

It was a wonderful evening with fun, food, and friends. I learned to do a standard box step with Florence + The Machine played in the distance, which made my month (really and truly!) Me and my cage skirt also got to swag out to some "normal" music. Not as cool as the ballroom dancing, but shaking around the skirt was really entertaining. 

Here's us all dark and cute! It's our family portrait. Courtesy of Arnold Imaging.

Pardon my short (and derp) post on this event. It was just something I really wanted to share. It also showcases a bit of my costuming skill, something I am planning on addressing in later posts!

See you all soon!

~B

Mini Haul + Find Me!

Best news about today? Here in Southern Maine we hit 49 degrees! 

We might get more snow, but nothing can put a damper on my mood today. While out bumbling around the mall I noticed that my local Forever 21 now carries plus sizes! I took the opportunity to try on some cuties, but I did actually end up walking away with some stuff (which was a great surprise!) I've been trying to hold back on purchases lately and today was the first time in months I bought myself some items. So, yay for seemingly breaking a spell! 

Isn't it just so adorbs!

 I actually got the dress in normal sizing, but the jacket came from the plus line. They looked so cute together, I couldn't pass it up. I actually really want to wear this combo for the spring auditions at school, since it has the fun color (so they'll remember me) and the professional quality to it.

Kind of what it looks like on. Oh the dressing room selfies.

During our trip we also popped into Bath and Body Works. Though I can't burn candles at home, I fell in love with their new bakery collection (the Raspberry Peach Macroon is to die for!) I did give in and get one of the wall flowers so that I can keep my room smelling like summer. 

This was my second favourite scent from the bakery collection.

Overall, today was a great success!

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I also wanted to put in a bit of [shameless] self promotion. 

I can now be found on Bloglovin, Lovocracy, and Instagram! 

If you like what I do and want to see more of my life and/or what I like, feel free to browse around my other accounts! 

thank you and see you soon!

~B

Review: Rites of Spring Headdress by Sweet Mildred

I have always wanted to order items from Sweet Mildred ever since I joined the Maine Lolita comm last June. A lot of the ladies in the comm have ordered from her before and I always admired the pieces she creates. So, while pondering through what to give for Christmas gifts, I stumbled upon her Rites of Spring Deet Antler headdress and knew I had to get it for Miss Allegra.

Product: Rites of Spring Deer Antler Headdress
Price: $40.00 + S&H (NOTE: The version I purchased is no longer sold; the only difference is a change in the type of resin antlers.)

Stock photo from Sweet Mildred.

Overall, Millie was an excellent seller. I placed my order December 17th and it arrived sometime around January 10th. While that seems like a long time, it was in the thick of the Holiday season and I was in no rush for it to arrive. I messaged Millie about the shipping and she responded quickly with a sweet, through response. She even included a little gift because it came later than expected. 

Product photo.

Flower detail.

Headband detail.

Worn photo (it's me! don't tell!)

The item itself is absolutely gorgeous. It's a little different from the stock photo, but that's just fine; it makes it unique! The resin antlers are beautifully realistic. I personally love all the details that Millie puts in to her products, the sheer quality and care she has for her art. I would most certainly purchase from her again, not only as gifts, but for myself. 

Here's the extra gift; it just happened to be a perfect match for Allegra.

I had promised a gift to make Allegra "shit bricks." While she didn't do that, she was left breathless, which was good enough for me!

Millie has lots of beautiful pieces in stock. She is worth checking out!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/sweetmildred

~B

Reformatting and a Return to the Blogosphere!

Oh, hello! I don't think we've talked in a while!

Where have you been? 

Classes have been rough and I took on double production assignments this semester. I assistant staged managed our production of Doubt and I am assistant costume designing The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

Couldn't you have updated on vacation or weekends?

Well, I'm a bit lazy! I didn't have much to say (I could have thought of something, but I was far too lazy.) What matters is that I am back, right?

Reformatting? Why and what did you change? 

I got the idea from Allegra, who recently made her blog super fab and I kinda wanted to fall in suit. I missed blogging and I felt that I really did have things to say (I do have a handful of reviews I could do from my dealings around Christmastime.) So, I took out the Italian titles (because I felt they got in the way) and tried to make things more uniform. I will most likely stop doing OOTD, because I feel a lot of pressure around getting them done and when I don't, I hide under a rock and don't post for four or five months (whoops!) Here's to hoping for a cleaner and more understandable blog!

So, what are you going to post now? 

Hopefully, more reviews, perhaps some personal goal stuff (I've begun a long weightloss journey, so that might pique some interest,) and maybe some findings I stumble on while window shopping.

What's next for you [in the real world?]

I've been really focused on costuming, but I have some fun things popping up soon! I do have the Lolita meet up every so often, as well as my first independent costuming gig (Godspell,) as well as the previously mentioned Drood, a masquerade, looking for a summer job, and tons more. If I can get solid posts about some of this cool stuff, I will most likely write one.

I really am sorry for dropping off the face of the Earth. I hope we can start again and that you'll enjoy what I have coming up!

Look for a post relatively soon on a gift I got for Miss Allegra for Christmas!

Best Wishes,

~B