Japantag and Lolitopolis Summer Meet!

I've been quite busy the last few weeks with being ill this last week that I didn't get the chance to write about Japantag and my own Lolita meet up. But don't fret I'll give you a recap of the last months.

Japantag was amazing. It was the first time I attended and even though the weather wasn't all that nice I and my family had a great time.

I was lucky that my German family lived close by so me, my boyfriend and my mum stayed over for the weekend. I was really excited to see some German Lolita's there. I had heard so many nice things about them and how active their community is.

The day was filled mostly with food, merchandise, picture taking and fun though I didn't really get to take part in any of the activities at the booths because it was so full.

I did see some awesome Cosplays, one of which was from Naruto. I have no idea what the character is called but he carried this HUGE sword. It was very impressive. Shame I didn't dare to get a picture though. 

And one of the most amazing things happened. I had given myself the task to find an Alpacasso, seeing that I didn't find one at previous events. It was my boyfriend who spotted them near the end of the day. I just simply snatched my purse and payed the guy at the stall. In my Ecstasy it didn't even occur to me that my boyfriend wanted to buy it for me. xD

We finished the day with home-made pizza by my aunt when we got back to her house. And we watched the fireworks on TV.

Me and a beautiful Lolita, Manilla and sushi!

Last Sunday my first Lolitopolis Summer Edition Event took place, which I am very proud of. I started the Lolitopolis community a few years ago wanting to bring people together at meets. This year I wanted to top it up with my first event. I hope to repeat the event every year combining it with my fashion line Christeline. And in October I will host a spectacular Lolita Halloween event in the name of Lolitopolis.

Coming back to the Summer meet, we all met up in Amsterdam and headed towards the bag museum. I had walked past this museum months on end and always told myself to one day go inside and have a look. Well I'm glad we did this time because it was absolutely beautiful from the inside. It was so elegantly decorated and they had the cutest tea room.
We started our tour right at the top of the museum. I felt like a real lady gliding up the old fashioned stairs to the top floor.
I handed out quizzes to everyone and explained that they could win great prizes. Everyone was super excited and off we went to explore the museum. The oldest bag at the museum was an old leather bag dating back at least 200 years. That was pretty amazing.

After about an hour, and me being sick with the fever, we went to sit in the tea room to have something to drink. It was so nice just sitting there taking pictures, chatting and sipping on our refreshments. Even the toilets were picture worthy.
After a long while I decided to hand out the first sets of prizes for the best three coordinates. Sanniya, Dido and Tamara won. I have to say everyone was dressed so beautifully it was really hard to choose but I was happy the winner's loved their prizes.
After some time we picked up our tour again and munched on some delicious home made rose and Lady grey macaroons by Naomie. They were so delicious. Naomie you need to make these Lady grey macaroons more often.
Not long after we finished the tour I checked the quizzes and selected two winner's with the highest score; Tamara and Sanniya. But the two people who hadn't won anything didn't leave empty handed of course.

It was then time to eat Frozz. For the ones that don't know what Frozz is it's a frozen yogurt dessert which is normally topped with fruit, chocolate, muesli etc. All in all it's just really delicious. Apparently in America there are more sweet toppings but the Europe concept exists of more fruit toppings.
We still had some time to kill so we did a little shopping at Accessorize and walked around Rembrandt plein in Amsterdam. It was very lively with music and a little market. A little while later we took the tram to the restaurant that we would be eating at.
We all couldn't wait to eat our food at the Japanese Pancake World restaurant. We met up with two other girly friends, who couldn't make it to the museum, there. We all had preordered a okonomiyaki's with different toppings and we were very curious how this food would taste. 
I chose a Hiroshima sea food special okonomiyaki and it was the most interesting thing  had every eaten, accept for snails they just taste plain weird.
I really liked my dish and it was a lot of fun to eat. From the whole group only two were not so fond of their okonomiyaki. But to make up for their loss we had green tea ice cream with black sesame ice cream and vanilla ice cream. Some people had a crepe with it too. I have to admit that I really love black sesame ice cream. I had read about it on my friend Rosalynn's blog post whilst she was in Japan and I was very eager to try it too.
It was already getting late and we all needed to retreat to our homes. It was a lovely day and it was a great first event for Lolitopolis.

The classic Koetie face, Mona Lisa me and okonomiyaki.

Whilst finishing this post I am preparing for my trip to Paris. I am super excited and can't wait to experience the tea party for the first time.
I also finished my event poster and will be handing it out to fellow frills in Paris.I am supper excited to tell people more about the Halloween event. I will of course post about it here too.
Should any of you readers be at the BTSSB Tea Party in Paris don't forget to say "hi." I always love meeting new people.

Thanks for reading an take care.

Big update with great news!

I nearly went through the roof when I beheld my e-mail inbox the other day. As I recall, reading through my resolution list, I wanted to visit some more international Lolita events like the tea parties from Baby the Stars Shine Bright and Angelic Pretty. Well I can safely confirm that I am officially an attendee of the Baby the Stars Shine Bright tea party. I just can't believe my luck and I'm so happy! Some friends have also been elected and it's going to be a blast. I can't wait until I leave for Paris. It is going to be a short trip sadly because my saving pot isn't that huge at the moment with another event planned too. But a stop at the Loli shops is still on my agenda of things to do while in Paris.

Which brings me to my other great update. A Dutch Lolita, and owner of MFashion, has organised a Lolita Kawaii meet where Misako, Rin Rin Doll and more will be attending. It's a whole weekend event with a tea party Saturday during the day and a evening party with a performance from Misako herself along with a fashion show, outfit competition and so much more. The planning for Sunday is a trip to a castle with the Japanese celebrities and a lovely pick-nick. I probably wont be attending that one but I will have to see how for my budget can stretch.
The concept, of the event, had been flying around for a while and yesterday the tickets where finally released. It was a shock to see the prices though. I wasn't sure if I would be able to attend and was very sad. But after a kind donation from my wonderful boyfriend I safely snatched my ticket. I really couldn't be happier and I just love that my schedule for the summer is filling up nicely. Wearing Lolita more often was a resolution this year after all.

Other events coming up are Lolitopolis (organised by me), Almere Cosplay Event (I will be presenting a quiz show in Lolita) Summer darkness (there will be a Lolita fashion show) Dutch Lolita Summer meet, Abunai and  Frock on! But more on those in another post!

If any any of you are attending any of the meets above do let me know and we can share love!

Thanks for reading and take care!

Japanese market in Leiden

The day after Rowan's birthday me and Rosalynn went to the annual Japanese market in Leiden. It was the first time I had been there and I have to say it was a fun day.
I had planned to wear Lolita that day but because I was still exhausted, from the day before, decided on something more casual and comfortable. I wore a navy blue dress with a cute crochet white collar with my new shoes. I was going for a Pastel Goth look but didn't quite succeed. But no matter I thought my outfit still looked cute.

Around 10 ish I met up with Rosalynn at the train station. She too decided on a more casual look that day. She was dressed in red and black. I loved the combination!
By chance we met a friend at the station and he was also going to the market. So we rode together. It was a fun ride; talking about Japanese food, Purikura, cosplay and just laughing most of the time.

Once in Leiden we waited at the station for more people to arrive, seeing we didn't know the way to the market. It's always better to follow a group that does know before you get lost (my logic ^.^)
We were also ever so lucky weather wise. It has been so cloudy here lately but on that Sunday it was nice and sunny. I really enjoyed the warmth.

About a 10 minute walk later we beheld a little crowded market. We soon lost our little group but that didn't bother me all too much much because I had seen a takoyaki stand and that was far more interesting at the time. But because I had forgotten to withdraw cash, at the station, we had to walk all the way back to find a cash machine. While getting money we bumped into Eline and Kimberly who were also heading to the market and we ended up hanging out together for most of the day.
Once back at the market I grabbed some delicious, and hot, takoyaki. Oh my god was it delicious but according to Rosalynn it wasn't the same as in Japan. One day soon, I hope, I will try real takoyaki!

Most of the day consisted of looking at cute merchandise, drinking remonade, taking pictures and walking outside the botanic garden.
I ended up buying mostly food and drinks and I really loved the remonade I bought! It was my first try and I have grown fond of it ever since. I think watermelon flavor is my favorite.
I  also met quite a few cosplay friends and other Lolita's who were engulfed in a wave of paparazzi photographer's every time we stopped to talk.

Because the market was small we decided to leave earlier and get some delicious hot brownie and ice cream back in our town. There was a fun fair too so we went into the fun house because that looked the least intense. I love wild and crazy rides but I wanted to go on something together with Rosalynn.
We had such a laugh in the fun house. We must have looked ridiculous at times. There was a huge, terrifying sloping treadmill which I nearly fell off of but was luckily saved by a local hero (one of the workers at the attraction *ahem*). Once standing at the top I felt rather daft while Rosalynn had a laugh attack at the bottom of the slope.
It was starting to get cold and Rosalynn had to go home which was a shame. We said our farewells and hugged each other goodbye. I always hate saying goodbye because it makes me sad :-(.
Later that night I went back to the fair with my boyfriend. I literally begged him for an hour before he finally gave in *GO ME ^.^*. I  had a lot of fun but went home with bruises from some rides but it was totally worth it xD.

Unbeknown to me I would step off this ride with a sore bum.

Did any of you attend the Japanese market in Leiden? And if so what did you do, buy?

Thanks for reading and take care!

Happy "Early" International Lolita Day!

Just another quick post. 

As we all may know tomorrow it's International Lolita Day Summer Edition! I'm posting my wishes now because I wont be able to tomorrow because I will be in the UK attending a wedding! Yay for the first wedding since 12 years! *WootWoot*
I unfortunately wont be dressing up in Lolita because I have a very limited amount of space in my suitcase but will be celebrating at heart in my own way that day! Maybe treat myself to a cream tea? *hmmm*
I'll be in the area London, Norwich and Gt. Yarmouth and if any Lolita's around would like to say hi and share some love that would be fun!
Do let me know what you will be doing, or did on this glorious day, I 'd love to know!

Bye bye for now!

Lots of love from Cat and Señor Vanilla!

Rowan's Gothic Lolita Birthday Party!

So it's been a while since my last post and so much has happened recently that I didn't find the time to write about  anything. But I'm back now and ready to share my recent adventures.

Every weekend the past month had been fully booked with activities or dates with friends, which was a good thing. I had been feeling very lust-less a few weeks before and thought this could get me back on track. Plus I hadn't seen  a few of my friends in a while, so it was also a good excuse to hang out again.
My friend, Rowan, celebrated her birthday earlier this month too and most certainly I was invited to come over to a small gathering of friends. Non Loli friends to be exact.
She told me that she really wanted to have a Lolita birthday party like mine but that she just didn't have the funds for it. Because I didn't have a gift for her yet I suggested to organize a Lolita Birthday for her. She was pretty much over the moon and loved the idea.
So we got to organizing everything and went shopping together for decorations and food. The theme of the party was black and white and with a Gothic Lolita dress code. This wasn't obligatory of course ;-)
Pretty much everything was black, white or Gothic themed including balloons, napkins, the tablecloth, the cake, the food etc.

One day before we prepared the food and cake for the following day. The cake was a black coffin filled with chocolate and jam (it was delicious). It was a lot of fun to see Rowan and my mum put it together and I have to say it looked amazing when it was done. It was almost too good to eat.
While Rowan made the cake I made onigiri and fried rice for the omurice the next day. I really enjoy making onigiri and have gotten quite good at it.  I tried some different ingredients for the onigiri this time. Adding a slight bit of soy sauce to the rice. All from inspiration from RunnyRunny999 and Cooking with Dog on Youtube. I really love those channels and it makes me want to make more Japanese cultured foods.

Later that day Rowan left and me and my mum got to decorating the table so Rowan would be surprised the next day. It looked so beautiful and I couldn't wait for the next day to arrive. But before I could rest my head I needed to buy some fish sushi.

The following day I got up nice and early (around 5 ish) and got everything prepared to make the vegetable sushi together with Rowan.
We were both quite nervous about making this for the first time but our sushi turned out quite good. Though I have to admit that Rowan is a little better than me. We made cucumber and banana sushi. Yes banana sushi! It actually tastes really nice.

It was nearly 9 o'clock and it was time to pick up Alicia. Alicia is still quite new to Lolita and doesn't own any dresses yet so I lent her a dress from me. I always love dressing up someone new to the fashion.
Everything was pretty much done and we only needed to get dressed. Once dressed my boyfriend arrive with the helium balloons. He was  seriously the saviour of the day because I didn't have time to pick them up myself. He's such a sweetheart.

I wont reveal my outfit just yet ;-)

When we were all ready to go we headed to the station to wait for everyone. Once gathered we made a traditional stop at the Bubble Tea shop. They seriously love us there. They're always happy to see us and they made some pictures of us which they placed on their Facebook. Which was cool :-) I had kiwi flavor which was really nice although it looked disgusting xD.

Then he headed back to my place to have cake, give Rowan gifts and have a great time.
Everyone loved the decorations and it already started to be a merry gathering of frills.We prepared the candles of the cake,  which was such a pain. They wouldn't stay up and I burned my finger which hurt throughout the whole day. Once everyone had a slice of cake I set to laying the table with the rest of the lovely treats we had prepared. There were bats, cats and coffin biscuits, cakelets, warm tea and lemonade. It was a feast!

Shortly after it was time to give Rowan her gifts. It was such fun to see her reaction. She received some really nice things. Then it was time for me to give her an additional gift from me and my mum. We had made a music note skirt for her and hoped she's like it. Well what can I say she broke out in tears of joy. It was so emotional to see. I even started crying. I was so glad she liked it and to my surprise she also had a gift for me. As a thank you for organizing the meet for her she gave me a little tea set. It was a little teapot in the shape of a picnic basket with a cloth on the top and strawberries all over it. Along with the teapot were three little basket drinking cups. It was so cute. I loved it!

Next  up was photo time. We wanted to take pictures of everyone's outfit plus make a remake of the recent craze going round at the moment. The Kamehameha action pose where everyone flies to the side as if being stuck by the person's power ability in the middle.
It was definitely a lot of fun to do and such a laugh. It took ages to get the right pictures of everyone jumping at the same time and jumping right. Some of them turned out pretty well though. And in addition to that we made our own Harlem Shake Lolita version video.

My outfit of the day

The rest of the day existed of having delicious sushi, more cake and more food (mwahahha).We also did some DIY work and everyone could make either a choker or wrist cuffs. People made some lovely creations and it was a little something they could take home as a souvenir.
Quite a few people had to already leave but that didn't stop the rest of us still having a great time. We had omurice which didn't turn out like it should have. It's quite tricky getting it to flip right so instead I put the rice on top of the egg omelet and made it look like hair. With ketchup I made a face.

After the meal we got to making candyfloss which was super cool. It tasted delicious and everyone could try making their own frof of candy sugar on a stick.

Then it was time for everyone to leave because it was already quite late. It was a great day and Rowan was tired but happy. She was so happy that I organised everything and that she could be the queen on her birthday meet. It was nice to see everyone enjoy themselves.
When everything was cleaned I jumped into bed and was glad to finally, after a long day, rest my head on my pillow.

The next day I visited a Japanese market in Leiden with Rosalynn but more on that in a different post.

Thanks for reading and take care!

All credit for the photo's go to Sanniya, Rosalynn and myself.

Let try something new!

Moshi Moshi! ^-^

I was just browsing some Lolita blog's for outfit inspiration when I stumbled onto one particular blog that inspired me so much. I've been brainstorming a lot lately about what to write about, seeing that I only write about events at the moment. I'd like to be able to set an achievable target for myself and thought I'd write about other little things that interest me. One of those interests is coordinates. I've been making so many collages lately about coords that I wish I could put together if I had the money. So I thought maybe I could do a monthly post about a few coords I'm particularly proud of. And who knows maybe one day I'll be able to wear some of them. Credits to the blog who already does this and helped convince me to also try it out.

So here are my first coords (these are made up of dresses that I already own):

Honey Picnic by Metamorphose. This is a pretty recent buy and I have yet to wear it. I'm a sucker for lavender and decided to combine this dress with elegant white shoes. I thought these shoes give the outfit a more mature look and together with the pearls add a hint of elegance. I added the cute bear bag because it's a bear theme and it was too cute to miss.

   This was my first classic dress and I love it to pieces. I decided to add pink to the coord because there already is a hint of the colour in the dress print. Also my friend, whom the dress belonged to previously, tried this combination too and it looked adorable. I decided to add the brown heels and bag to still give it that classic vibe. Plus I love brown and pink combined.

 My beloved Milky Chan of the Fawn JSK. I really wanted this dress in brown because I just love brown. It always gives me a warm and positive feeling. And what better combination than with pink?

 My strawberry Surface Spell dress. I haven't worn this one yet because I still need a pink blouse. The blouse from Anna House will suit it perfectly I think. To emphasis the red, I added red shoes and a strawberry bag. I just love red accents in coords. They really complete an outfit.

This is my very first Lolita dress. I absolutely adore this dress' print. Because it's an OP I only really need some cute shoes. I chose the black ones as they are very versatile and added the white ones for a more elgent look. I thought this bag would look really cute with the coord as there a quite a few lavender accents in the dress.

 ♥I have to say that it's quite fun to put these together so look forward to more in the future. ♥

Thanks for reading and take care!

DIY Easter Lolita Meet Up!

A while back I helped my friend, Rebecca, organise a DIY Easter meet. It was a lot of fun and we all managed to make a little something to take home.

On the 30th of March, early in the morning, I got ready. This time way in advance so that I could save plenty of time and it was a success. I wanted to wear something classic and really wanted to combine my new red stoler with that. Matching to the stoler I wore my Victorian Maiden bonnet. I really love bonnets!

I met  the girls at the train station because some of them came from far away. There were quite a few new faces which was really nice. I'm very glad I met the lovely new ladies.  After some delay in trains the whole group was finally together and we were ready to set off to Rebecca's house. Before the the bus arrived we had a quick introduction round which was quite a laugh. My friend Rowan handed out Easter egg rings to each person. I really loved mine it was such a cute touch to the meet and I think everyone appreciated it too. Because the eggs soon started to fall off we made a game out of it. Basically the last people still wearing a whole ring were the winners (I was one of them! GO EGG POWER!).

After a fun bus journey we were finally at Rebecca's house. I had never been to Rebecca's house before and I have to admit that it made my jaw drop. It was such a big, beautiful house and inside was a readily laid table full of materials for us. There were so many things to choose from. I t took me a while before I had finally decided. I ended up decorating a cute little straw hat and made a cute black chiffon head bow.  My friend Rosalynn made the same but then in baby pink. They matched quite well.

Whilst everyone was sewing Rebecca and her mum provided refreshments and snacks. I had made onigiri again and was eager to find out everyone's opinion. Luckily everyone liked it (at least I didn't hear anyone say otherwise xD).

Even though it was really cold outside we did dare go out to take some pictures and a group shot. It was really hard to keep still without a coat on. So we started dancing to keep warm and it helped a lot.  We took some lovely pictures together but darted back inside as soon as we were done to warm up again. 
Once back inside we continued to finish our little masterpieces. I was startled when the first people had to already leave. Time just flew by and I was sad that they had to already leave. Either way I'm sure we'll see each other again real soon. In the end there were only four of us left. 

Around 9ish me and Alicia needed to leave but before leaving we had to try the delicious mochi. I had watermelon mochi which was really nice. Also sesame flavor was very good too.
After running to get the bus me and Alicia talked some more. She told me that she could speak Japanese and had been learning for two years using Skype. It really amazed me what is possible nowadays and it made me very confident to try it out myself. So basically our conversation until home was in Japanese. It really surprised me how much Japanese I already understand. My favorite word is Neko-chan ^-^

It was such a great day and we got a lot of feedback from everyone. Apparently this type of meet is very popular. So I think there will be many more in the future.
If your interested to read Rosalynn's post about the event to check it out here.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading and take care.

All photo's are property of Lolita Wonderland and my friend Rebecca.