Meetup Report: Hearts All Around

Meetup Report: Hearts All Around

The weekend after Valentine’s Day, I attended a themed party~ I was very excited about this, because I really love Valentine’s Day not just as a time for romance but as a reason to remind friends that you care. A friend of mine felt similarly, so she decided to host a meetup with that theme. I really wanted to attend, so I cleared my calendar and made travel plans.

Although generally I love being a city-dweller, this becomes an issue very quickly if I would like to actually leave my city. I don’t own a car or have one nearby to borrow. (And car-sharing services are not quite in my budget for meetups–most are $10 per hour on weekends or $80 for the entire day…a fee I’d rather avoid.) There are commuter trains that run to most suburbs, but the schedule is entirely dependent on which station you’re arriving at. I also have to travel to the downtown hub to take these trains, and that is sometimes a long trip in and of itself. Also, the stations are usually centered in the downtown area of the various suburbs, which are often not near where the meetup is actually going on–and it usually isn’t a walkable distance. This time it worked out well because my friend was kind enough to pick me up from the station.

Pink Candy Table
The table in the living room was originally decorated very carefully with candy, but soon was overrun with sweets, ponies, and magazines.

I arrived early, planning to help set up, but everything was almost perfect when I arrived! It was clear that the hostess was very excited and enthusiastic about her party. Everything in her home was decorated with hearts, red, pink, and candies. It didn’t take long for guests to start arriving, and soon the house will filled with cheerful lolita and the myriad of dishes they brought with them. We started to get creative to figure out where to put everything!

Table Filled with Treats
In my area, we are big fans of potluck-type events. It’s just so convenient!

I had brought tea, but didn’t realize until I was at her house that she didn’t own a teapot bigger than a one-person serving, so the tea-making had to be done on a case-by-case basis. I was thankful that most people were in the mood for water or soda instead~

The hostess had invited a photographer to the event. He was interested in photographing lolita fashion and wanted to know more about it, so he arranged with my friend to take pictures for free to learn more. He set up his equipment outside, and during the course of the party guests had the opportunity to have their picture taken. It was kinda fun, but the reflector was blindingly bright! I make a terrible model–I never know how to pose and I blink constantly–but he took some really lovely photos of my friends.

More Sweet Outfits
Everyone tried to have at least a little bit of pink or red in her outfit, to keep with the theme!

I really love meetups of any kind where I have plenty of opportunity to talk to everyone~ I get very excited to see my friends, and I love to meet new girls as well! There always seems to be someone who has just gathered the courage to attend their first meetup or recently discovered the fashion and didn’t even know there was a local community until just now!

Party in Progress
These two girls were very sweet! I enjoyed meeting so many new faces~

I cannot stress enough how much I love my local community. I know that not every lolita feels the same about the other lolita in her area, but I really enjoy spending time with everyone that I’ve met here. ♥ They’re all very sweet people.

COLOURING
Sometimes I think there must be something slightly irresistable about crayon fumes, because even people who start off saying, “Pssh, colouring? No way!” wind up taking a chance at proving their crayon-based artistry.

We mostly talked and got to know each other at the party. There were quite a few people who didn’t know each other. I felt particularly out of the loop because there were several girls who lived in the suburbs and only attend meetups in the suburbs, so I hadn’t met them before because I rarely get the chance to leave the city. I hope that I can make it to more meetups where I will see them again~ (And maybe they’ll come to the city once in a while!)

Unicorn Bonding Time
This is my half-crazed “OH MY GOODNESS IT’S A CUDDLY UNICORN” face.

Besides meeting other lolita, I also met the prince of my dreams–Bubbles the unicorn. He belongs to a friend, and ever since I saw the unicorn in pictures I knew that I wanted to love it and cuddle it and keep it forever. I can’t obviously do that, because it doesn’t belong to me, but she was kind enough to bring him to the party and let me carry her plush purse around. I could not get enough of that unicorn–probably pretty obvious, since I keep talking about it. Unicorn of awesomeness.

Eventually everyone started playing Rock Band and decided to order pizza, but I couldn’t stay quite that long–the trains back into the city only ran every two hours. (I worked the next day, so I didn’t want to be out very late.) Although I did miss out on some of the fun, I’m sure, I really enjoyed the time that I spent with everyone!

Quality Plush Time
I love taking pictures of plush animals–they’re so cute~

In fact, my usakumya friend, Rose, had so much fun that she stayed at the party without me! Too bad she couldn’t catch the train home on her own!

Update: Tumblrin’

Update: Tumblrin’

EDIT: I’m still too out-of-touch to really understand Tumblr, at least in the extent that most people seem to be using it right now. I stopped using the Tumblr mentioned in this post, but I have found a use for it that suits me pretty well–I’m trying to take a picture every day this year, and so I’m collecting them on Tumbrl~

I just wanted to share that I’ve jointed Tumblr~

I tried it before, but my issue with the service itself has always been that promotes an atmosphere of uncredited sources. It seems to me that most people are posting and re-posting images and other content that is not their own and that they don’t link back to the source. I think that people have a right to their creative property, and when I see something that piques my interest I want to know who made it. Tumblr does provide a field for source, but it is inconsistently used–most people don’t really care. I know that if someone were re-posting my photos, writing, drawings, or anything else that I’ve made, I’d be flattered that they liked it so much, but also disappointed if they didn’t note somewhere that it wasn’t created by them. I try to extend the same courtesy.

One of the reasons I re-joined, however, was that I realized that this would be a suitable place to share pictures or sketches. I tend to doodle on any available paper, and although I don’t usually turn any of these drawings into “finished art,” it always makes me a little bit sad when I toss them away. My phone has a camera, but it isn’t a very good one, and while the pictures it takes aren’t something I want to add to Flickr, they aren’t completely terrible. Sometimes.

I haven’t really decided what I plan to share on, but I’ve been amusing myself using it as place to collect pictures and links related to lolita fashion, pokémon, knitting, and other things that catch my attention~ You can expect a lot of pokémon at the moment, because Pokémon Black and Pokémon White come out in only 4 days! I am so excited~ ♥ I’ve already fallen hopelessly in love with Minccino (Chillarmy). I can’t wait to add one to my team~ ♥

Do you use Tumblr? What do you use it for? How do you think it ought to be used? I’m very curious! ♥

Original image is from Shabby Blogs.

Outfit Snap: Be My Valentine

Outfit Snap: Be My Valentine

The weekend after Valentine’s Day I attended a related meetup with my friends. It was scheduled so as not to conflict with the holiday, and was intended to be a fun and frilly time to spend with friends.

I wanted to wear something that was pink and red, but I didn’t want to wear my “token” red jumperskirt again so soon. My husband suggested Cherry Berry Bunny, and even though that has nothing to do with Valentine’s Day… I agreed. My love of pink and bunnies will always win out. At least some of the Valentine-y colours are present on this dress!

184229_10150109890491593_503616592_6525135_2837411_n
This picture is one of Soy’s pictures from the event.

It was veeeeeeery cold that day, so I wore tights beneath my knee socks. It is a bit of a trip for me to head to my friend’s house where the party was being held, so I didn’t want to freeze to death en route! I wore a long-sleeved blouse so that I could layer a long-sleeved thermal top underneath it.

I originally wrapped my pigtails in buns so that they wouldn’t get in my way during my travels or be whipped around by the wind, but I never actually remembered to unpin them during the party. Whoops! I think they seem a bit dwarfed by the hairbow, but at least I have a substantial amount of hair to try and fight back.

Two Unicorns
I could not keep my hot little hands off that unicorn.

While wearing one of my favourite outfits, I met the prince of my dreams! Bubbles is another friend’s stuffed unicorn purse, made by Pink Macaroon. I love the design of the purse in general, and Bubbles is made of wonderfully soft and thick faux fur with a shimmery horn and shimmery hooves. (I’m not sure if my friend considers Bubbles a boy or a girl unicorn, but I tend to interpret most plush toys as boys.)

She was so very nice to let me pal around with her purse all day~ ♥ I’d love to have one of my own–a Bubbles clone, if you will.

Prince of My Glittery Heart
Bubbles the unicorn, prince of my heart! (My husband was concerned to hear me speak this way until he saw a picture of his “rival.”)

I’ll share a bit more about the meetup itself very soon! ♥ It was lots of fun and I met so many lolita I hadn’t know before~