I wanted to start a tradition of setting new year’s resolutions for myself. I enjoyed doing so during this year–I think there is a lot of value in giving some serious thought to what I might like to do to encourage personal growth. I’ve mainly been setting goals related to my interest in lolita fashion, but I think I might jot down a few unrelated goals, too, and see how that works out this year! Those types of goals are usually the ones that I change my mind about or entirely avoid, but I want to continue to try to be a better me. ♥

★ Organize a tea party at one of the hotels downtown!

I love meetups of all types, because I love spending time with other lolita~ Most of the girls I’ve met through the fashion have become cherished close friends of mine, and I’m always hoping for the potential for more! Although I did host a few meetups during 2010, they were all fairly casual events. That’s my preferred type of meetup, but I miss the opulence and elegance of the formal events I’ve attended in the past.

That’s why I want to arrange an afternoon tea meetup at one of the hotels. It can be pricey, but the atmosphere is so luxurious and dazzling~ Plus, it’s such a wonderful setting for pictures! I want to do this while the weather is still chilly, but thankfully this city is good at being cold and snowy–I should have plenty of time~

★ Knit the Chocola-chan scarf!

The Chocola-chan scarf, a pattern featured in the Gothic & Lolita Bible, is one of my knitting-related ☆holy grails☆ because I own the “Going Out with Chocola-chan” coat. I avoided this project in the past because it was something I thought was “too hard.” I’ve been doing a lot of knitting, and I’ve already tried most, if not all, of the few techniques used for the scarf. I think that I should be well set to try my hand at making one. After all, nothing terrible will happen if I fail–I’ll just have to try again~

I’m starting off 2011 by going “cold sheep,” however, so I’ll have to work on this scarf as a reward. I’ve gathered up quite a bit of yarn over the holidays–I’m planning to get some headway into using up that which I’ve accumulated before any new yarn comes home with me. (This will be very, very hard. I am determined to use my stubborn streak to my advantage!)

★ Strategic wardrobe enhancement!

After wearing lolita fashion for a few years, my closet isn’t really what could be considered “small.” Although I rarely buy, I even more rarely ever sell, so the quantity of garments in my possession has continued to increase. Despite this, I tend to purchase things that I consider to be “good deals” instead of things I’ve been wanting for various coordinations. I own very few cutsews, most of which are very specific, when I know I could get much more use out of a white cutsew with no design. I own no boleros. There are also a few hair accessories that I’m sadly lacking.

I want to carefully plan my purchases for the new year. I don’t want to thing, “Oh fluffbunnies, if only I owned item x–it would be so perfect for this,” and then buy another one-piece. I get so much enjoyment from wearing lolita fashion–I want to be able to wear it more frequently and arranged in new outfits!

★ Take better pictures at meetups!

When it comes to meetups, I never seem to remember that I have a camera with me! Afterward, as I reminisce about how much fun I’ve had and eagerly sort through ideas for meetups to come, it dawns on me that I should have taken pictures. Usually I’ll have only one or two quick snaps saved on my camera–pictures that are out of focus, blurry, streaky, and taken in bad lighting. The subjects are typically unprepared, resulting in a picture that is overall unflattering and just plain bad.

I want to work harder on taking good pictures of meetups. Pictures of attendees, pictures of activities, and pictures of interesting things. I want to have something I can share with others or just look at on my own. I’ve always thought it would be fun to scrapbook, but it’s hard to do that without pictures. A lolita-themed photo album would provide an easy way for me to review at all the memories that I treasure~

BONUS: ★ Make a video post!

This isn’t something I want to run myself ragged trying to do, but I’ve thought it would be a lot of fun to add at least one video post~ I just don’t know what would be something best talked about, rather than written about.

Has anyone else set resolutions for 2011~? Are you excited about the beginning of a new year?

Happy New Year, to absolutely everyone! ♥ I hope this coming year is more marvelous than the last~

At the end of the year I decided to set a few resolutions for 2010. Looking back on what I wanted to do, I think I can consider 3 of 4 to be accomplished~

2010’s Goals in Review

★ Host more meetups! Check!
Although I haven’t hosted a million meetups, I’ve done my best to host meetups whenever I could come up with a decent-enough idea. It’s been lots of fun; I love any excuse to see my friends.)

★ Work harder on loli_bookclub! Fail.
I just haven’t kept up. I feel pretty guilty about this one…

★ Hold still for more pictures! Check!
If I did anything in 2010, it was record more outfits! I like being able to look back and have proof of my frilliness. My husband has gotten much better at taking pictures, too~ ♥

★ Post entries more often! Check!
I wrote entries fairly regularly for most of 2010. I slacked off quite a bit in December, but sometimes other things get in the way. Overall, I’m satisfied with the frequency of new content.

Now I just need to decide what to do for 2011! It’s almost upon us!

It’s hard to grasp that 2009 is over, and 2010 begins tomorrow! 2009 was quite an eventful year for me; I can’t help wondering what the new year will bring. It turned out that I actually had the opportunity to buy new clothes during this year, but there wasn’t much that really caught my eye. I made new friends within the community and bid other lolita farewell, as they went on to follow their dreams. ♥ I started living in my own tiny apartment, and got this crazy idea that it would be okay to cram many petticoated girls into it! (I still think that’s a good idea, though. I really love having company over~) I even took the plunge and finally had bangs cut into my hair! I feel like most things that happened were positive, and I am hopeful that 2010 will continue in that tradition.

Most years I try to make resolutions for the coming year. Most years I don’t do very well at even remembering what my resolutions were. I thought I’d make some focusing on lolita this year.

★ Host more meetups!
It seems there are more and more lolita and aristocrats in Chicago every day! I want to make sure there’s a variety of activities, from the inexpensive to the more decadent–a little bit of something for everyone’s taste and budget. I’d like to go ice skating at Millennium Park in the beginning of the year, spend more time at the Lincoln Park Zoo when the weather is good, and visit the Garfield Park Conservatory again~ I’d also still like to have afternoon tea somewhere nice–maybe Russian Tea Time again or one of the hotels if the price and service is right. I’d also like more “cozy” meetups relaxing at someone’s home; that’s really my favorite thing to do.

★ Work harder on loli_bookclub!
 I tried to revive this community during the year–an online book club with a lolita focus. It’s sometimes hard to really connect lolita fashion with most books, but I’m hopeful that I can keep on a better schedule with the community so that more members will join. I’d also like to encourage local communities to host book club meetings or start other book-related projects!

★ Hold still for more pictures!
Even though I wear lolita fashion on a fairly regular basis, I almost never pause to take pictures. I’d like to be able to look back when I’m old(er) and reminisce about this time in my life! Seeing pictures of myself dressed in frills and lace, and pictures of my friends, will remind me about how much fun I had and how silly I looked without caring about it~ I won’t be able to wear lolita fashion forever, so I want proof so future generations can giggle at how odd I looked. n_~

 ★ Post entries more often!
I always have something I’d like to write about, but I find that too many times I don’t post because I am worried about not having pictures. I know that my writings are mostly text, and thus not very visually interesting. I’d really like to change that, but I am not very prepared in terms of picture-taking; I never seem to have my camera with me when something actually happens! I also don’t like using pictures that aren’t mine, even with proper credit, unless I know that person well and they have specifically said it was alright.  However, I don’t want readers to be bored–everyone likes pictures, right? Right now I know I wanted to talk about holiday dresses, Christmas, the macarons from Trader Joe’s, and so much more!

Surely there are other lolita with New Year’s resolutions, right? What are yours–especially if they’re lolita fashion-related?

I’m wishing a Happy New Year to everyone! ♥