Blog revelations and renovation plans

Hello everyone.

Before I start, let me ask you the following:

Do you ever have one of those revelations where things are just not going right for you in general, or that the goals you had achieved so far is a far-cry from the goals you had in mind when you started?  Do you ever feel that you are not motivated enough to bring your goals to life?

Congratulations! You had just discovered what I have been going through for the past months (no sarcasm intended, I swear)!

While it disheartens me to say this, I feel that ever since the transition in styles from Hime to Lolita, I have been having a difficult time keeping up with what used to be my weekly blog schedule and acquiring as well as maintaining the motivation to keep the blog going. Could it be that I am not trying hard enough or is it that I had lost the flame that keeps me blogging from day one? I suppose another possible cause would be that I had been very lazy with maintaining the blog, and that I had been dreading the idea of coming on here or *gasp* fathom the idea of coming on here.

While I could rant more on the subject, I feel that you guys had already read enough on that as it is, so I'm going to spare you further details on that topic and give you more information on my current state of affairs. I feel that I owe it to you for that part at least.

As of right now, I am currently job hunting and trying to find work in the field that I had studied in (accounting). So far I am having no luck due to a lack of jobs that require little-to-no related work experience, which I am trying to obtain. Apparently just only having a degree doesn't cut it in the current job market. On the side, I am trying to work through a ton of craft ideas and trying to bring my ideas to life with limited success, either due to work or family commitments/errands. In addition, I am trying to improve my Lolita coordinates. I feel that I am doing a good job so far in terms of colour and theme matching, but just like with the Hime style I feel that I could definitely improve, especially in the makeup/hair/being elaborate categories. It seems that my heart and goals are in the right place. Yet my motivation and drive are not there.

With that being said, I am going to renovate my blog to have a fresh start and possible have a fresh perspective on my current outlook in the blogosphere. This would mean that it would take me a while to come up with a new theme (hopefully not too long), and as a result I will be on a long hiatus. I only wish that you would all bear with me in the meantime and I wish you all luck with your goals! 



   

An Overdue Post - A Compilation of the Past Months Part 1

Hello everyone!

It has been quite some time since I had updated the blog. I will not lie, I find myself drained and completely lacking in motivation to post up content, despite the fact that I have numerous photos that I had taken in the last several months and had been very eager to share them. I am not entirely certain if I am completely out of this unmotivated stated that I had found myself in, so I am going to take it easy and post a compilation or summary of all of the activities that I have done. In the time that I had gone as well as ever since realizing my love for the Lolita fashion, I had already purchased some more acquisitions, particularly pertaining to Angelic Pretty, which I find is quickly becoming my favourite Lolita brand.

Returning from a long journey (for now)

Hello everyone!

First things first, I would like to give out a major apology for having not blogged in a long while. For the last couple of months, I had been so intensely focused on my studies that I had not been able to spare any spare time towards the blog. As we speak, I still do not have time, what with all the assignments that I still have yet to complete in addition to the upcoming quizzes finals that I have to study for. But I figured that it is best not to leave you all in the dust and to notify you that I am indeed still alive and kicking!

Thank you for the understanding! 

Renmants of a past summer and some fashion contemplations

Hello everyone!

School had officially started for me about a two weeks ago, and ever since then I had not been able to create one blog post during that time frame! I will not guarantee that I will be able to have a stable blogging schedule, but I will definitely try my best to release a blog post during any free time that I might have had.

Also as a note, I would like to share some contemplations with you all at the end of the blog post in regards to my latest fashion choices.

First off, during the last month of summer heading right into the school month of September, I had worn the outfit on the right. Up until that time, I had not gotten the chance to wear this particular dress and I was so happy to have finally done so. As for the outfit on the left, congratulations! You are now looking at what I wore on the first day of school! ^^

A late holiday greeting and getting back into the blogosphere

Hello everyone!

One word: Wow! It has been quite a long time since my last post, and time sure passes by quickly! For the average person, it would still be the middle of December, and the next thing you know it the month fast forwards straight to Christmas! Though speaking of Christmas, even though this might be a tad bit late, I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! ^^ May everyone's year have a great start!

Anyway, with that done and over with, I would like to profusely apologize for the very late post. I am quite aware that I have not been very active on the blogosphere at all, and therefore would hopefully be able to change that for the upcoming new year!  During the beginning of December, I had been extremely occupied with studying for the finals, while during the end of December, I had been more or less occupied with the frustrating activity known as Christmas shopping (though I got better eventually and managed to get everything). The holidays had calmed down a bit, and I figured that while I still have time left before the new school term starts, why not take the time to update the blog?

Unfortunately, this post is not really going to contain much content. It is more of a "letting others know that I am still alive and kicking" post rather than containing chalkfuls of content, as I am sometimes prone to do after coming back from a short break. But since I have not finished receiving or giving out the presents from Christmas (and I so wanted to list them all in one post for the sake of efficiency and completeness), I will save the Christmas posts until next time.

Though just going a bit off-topic, is anyone feeling a sense of "loss" in regards to their I guess you could say fashion identity? Lately, I have not been feeling up to or even in the mood for dressing up nicely, though I guess you can say that no one has the time to dress up when they are too busy worrying about finals. This has been equally compounded by the increasingly cold weather in the area where I live in. (Canada has and always been a cold place most of the time *sigh*) I hope that this will all change with the year 2013, where the old gets swept out and the new gets swept in. I'm pretty sure that I could use a wardrobe revamp anyway and who wouldn't want one? Surprisingly one day, I had managed to pull off this outfit, despite the lack of inspiration and motivation!

Dress/Onepiece: Urban Planet
Cardigan: Guess
Necklace: Claires
Bracelet/Hairpiece: Ardene

Until then, I would like to wish everyone good luck with the upcoming year 2013! 

What I have been up to for the past two weeks

Hello everyone!

It has been a long time since I had posted! In fact, it has been roughly two weeks, give or take. So why so long? Well, it all comes down to this: during the past two weeks, my parents went on a cruise trip to the states and took the camera with them, leaving me camera-less for those two weeks. Pretty fun right? Not really. Not if most of your posts are pictures-related that is. I'm quite sure that I can do a post without having the need to post up pictures all the time, but I find that it will not be as "fun" as if you were to post a blog post with pictures. Not as much enjoyment, since what is the joy in reading a blog post without pictures? There must be a sort of balance, just like there is balance in every aspect of life.

Liebster Blog Award

Hello everyone!

I had been given the Liebster Blog Award by the Glass Princess a few days ago! One thing I did not mention however was that she had actually given the blog award to me twice, but since I figured that I haven't done the actual award post yet, it would be treated as one time. Isn't that a convenience?

Anyway, I had been following the Glass Princess for a while now and I think that she is an excellent Lolita! With impeccable coordinates and a wonderful personality, how can she not be awesome? Plus, you can't get anymore awesome than modeling on an occasional basis! Please feel free to check her out here: http://the-glass-princess.blogspot.ca/

With that being said and done, let's get onto the award. Here are the rules:

1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves.

2. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you, plus create 11 questions for the people you've tagged to answer.

3. Choose 11 people and link them in your post.

4. Go to their page and tell them.

5. Remember, no tags back!

First off, for the 11 things about myself:

1. I have an admiration and fascination with waterfalls. They are breathtaking and beautiful creations of nature.

2. My favourite food is pho and noodles.
   
3. I have a little sister.

4. Most of the time, I can come up with a multitude amount of ideas in one day and maybe only one of them comes to fruition.

5. I have a bad habit of buying things that I don't need as of the moment.

6. I procrastinate a lot.

7. I usually have an intense decision making process going on in my head and therefore it takes me a long while to shop, even online.

8. When I buy something, I don't usually get back to it until at least 3 days later unless it is something I really love and can't wait for.

9. I like keeping things as new as possible.

10. My zodiac sign is Gemini.

11. I love Hello Kitty and friends. (No surprise there huh?) 


Now here are the questions that the Glass Princess asked me and my answers to them:

1. Do you have any pets?
Nope.  

2. Whats your favourite beauty product?
Don't really have a favourite, but I guess I'm particularly more inclined to eyeshadow and eyeliner.

3. Whats your favourite song?
As of right now, Day By Day by T-ara.

4. Whats your next purchase?
An alarm clock for sure! I want a new one and I need to prepare for the upcoming school year!

5. Whats your favourite band?
Don't really have a favourite. I just listen to what I'm in the mood for.  

6. Have you ever been to any music festivals?
Nope.

7. Whats your favourite picture of you?
One of the pictures in my past outfit shots. I really love this one: http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb350/alexandrite_silver/Outfits/IMG_0486.jpg.

8. Do you like where you live?
Yes.

9. Whats your dream item?
A Jesus Diamante dress.

10. Who is your favourite celebrity?
Don't really have a favourite. (Wow do I live under a rock)

11. If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
Japan! I'll die happy if I'm able to visit a Jesus Diamante boutique at least once. Of course, visiting other places like Shibuya 109 is not so bad either.


Now I present the award to 11 lovely people:

1.  Hime Gyaru Geisha
2. Closet Voyage
3. Cupcake Doll
4. Magic Pearl Heart
5. Nuella Source
6. Princessly Living
7. Star Princess
8. The Princess in Training
9. Jennifer's Blog
10. Like Candy Floss
11. Lita's Blog


Here are the 11 questions to the lovely people that I had picked:

1. What is your favourite colour?
2. What is your favourite food?
3. What is the fashion style that you are currently into? 
4. Are you content with your life right now? 
5. Have you visit an anime convention before?
6. What do you do on a daily basis? 
7. What would be your dream pet?
8. Short or long hair?
9. If you were given 1 million dollars, what will you do with it?
10. Have you made any major purchases lately?
11. If you were to dress in a drastically different style than the one that you are currently in, what would it be?

With that done, I would like to personally thank the Glass Princess for presenting me the award and I would like to congratulate the winnners!

Introducing Lavender and Roses V2.0!

Hello everyone!

Just a quick short post as of now, since I am technically posting this at around 2am. Not exact ideal blogging conditions except for the sleep deprived and/or the usual insomniac...

Anyway, as you can tell by the title, I had been secretly working on revamping up the blog. In total I think it took me about 4 days? At least it feels like 4 days anyway. This was also why I have not been updating recently. I figured that I might as well get the revamp out of the way before posting up any new content. Perfect sense right?

Now with that being said and done, what do you think of the new layout (a.k.a. V2.0)? Feel free to leave any feedback in the comments below. Also, I had just found out while updating that apparently Blogger had now integrated the threaded comment feature, so now I should be able to reply to you all properly compared to the "archaic" method that I had been using before. I'm quite aware that in this aspect, I am "late to the party", but I guess that it is better late than never. Going back to the layout for a bit, it is not fully done as of now, so please be aware that there might be some tweaking here and there. Of course, that is for later when I have the time to work on it rather than 2am in the morning. None-the-less, something I thought that you should all know about or be aware of.

Other than the whole layout news, I had finally gotten off my lazy butt and created a Twitter account! My address is here: https://twitter.com/#!/lavendernroses

Thank you for hearing me out! 

Four Lovely Blog Awards

Hello everyone!

Miss Lita of her lovely blog (which can be found here) was kind enough to give me not just one but four lovely blog awards. The first one that she gave me was this one:

Award link: Here.

Here are the other ones that she gave me later on:

Award link: Here.

Since the rules are almost the same for each of them, I decided to include all the awards in one post and post it as just that, one post. 

Rules:

- Link back to the person who gave you the award. 

- Complete the form below.

- Tell seven random things about yourself.

- Nominate fifteen bloggers.

---------------------------------

Questions Form:

1. Name your favourite colour. 

Purple (and pink, if applicable). 

2. Name your favourite song. 

As of now, I Hate You by 2NE1.

3. Name your favourite dessert. 

Cake of course.

4. What pisses you off?

Certain know-it-alls. People who swear every two sentences (hate hearing swear words in general, especially the "f word"). Cheaters. Fakes. :/

5. When your upset you...

I'll probably go on a little rampage and then go to my room and try to cool down (this usually involves a little silent treatment). Will definitely forget about it within a few days.

6. Your favourite pet?

Rabbits. They are just so fluffy and cute. :3 Though fish are a close second. 

7. Black or white? 

Both, since I can't decide. Need both to have a healthy balance anyway. 

8. Your biggest fear?

Horror movies. 

9. Your best feature?

Hair. 

10. Everyday attitude?

Nice and content. 

11. What is perfection? 

Being perfect? O-o 

12. Guilty pleasure?

As of now, listening to this song (no thanks to my sister, who got me hooked onto it -_-). Surprisingly enough, it's catchy. 

---------------------------------

Seven random things about myself:

1. I get guilt tripped easily. In fact, too easily. This also usually happens every time I turn someone's offer down. 

2. I love dinosaurs. Mention a theme park, museum, or even a zoo and I'm there (well not literally, but you get the point). Yes I am serious about the zoo, even though they are not alive... On second thought, maybe it's best that they are just animatronics...   

3. I love playing video games in general, but my most favourite are role playing games. So addicting... 

4. I have an obsession with mirrors. Full length mirrors, hand mirrors, desk mirrors, decorative mirrors. You name it, I probably got it. xD Don't know why or how this obsession got developed, but you got to admit that they are pretty...

5. I have a tendency to continuously buy craft supplies, even when I don't need it right now or might not need it in the future. It might also be why I tend to favour bulk orders... Anyway, I tend to call this an "emergency preparation". :)  I mean you may never know right?

6. Whenever I get brand new stuff in the mail or from the local mall, I tend to keep them in their original packaging for a few days. I mainly do this for blogging purposes, but other reasons is just plain habit. I try to keep them as brand new as possible for some odd reason. ._.; 

7. I love movies, especially those of the action/adventure genre such as any superhero movies. 

---------------------------------

Now for the fifteen fabulous bloggers:

- Sasha of Bears and Bows 

- The Glass Princess 

- Tiffany of The Princess in Training 

- Njennifer's Blog 

- Rose of Hime Lolita Life 

- Caylee of Like Candy Floss 

- Suzu's Blog 

- Heidi of Peaceful Cottage Creations 

- Kristen of Princessly Living 

- Black Koi of Perpetual Dream of a Geeky Honey

- Mana of Starre Princess
- Adorably Clueless Me
- Chanel of Rainbow Jelly
- Alina/Black Sui of Sui Princess
- Violet of Violet LeBeaux - Tales of an Ingenue

Phew. That was a lot of bloggers. @_@

Anyway, congratulations to all those who received the award!

Also, please go check out Lita's blog and her awesome photos! Thank you! ^^    

A While's Worth of Contemplating...

Do you ever have a feeling that you are missing something while you are doing your daily tasks? Or do you have one of those moments where you feel that there is no end in sight to the current path that you are traveling on? Or it could be on the opposite side and there is an end in sight, but you don't know where to go next?  Better yet, what if you were lost?

Just recently the thought had hit me. Okay, I lied. It wasn't just recently, but it had lingered in my mind for a while now. I just haven't paid attention to it until now. Now I know that all I had been doing recently was just straight crafting, but what would happen if I have actually run out of things to craft on? Better yet, what if I have run out of ideas? Chances were that if that were to happen, I wouldn't write it off as a lost cause. If anything, the ideas might come back eventually. How long is eventually I don't know and I will probably never know. It is one of those questions that never get answered for all of the mysteriousness surrounding them. As for running out of things to craft on, it happens or it can happen. It has happened to people before me and it will happen to me as well. A matter of when is questionable, since it feels like that I have tons to do right now but it creeps ever closer for every crafting project done. I think that the best thing that I can do when it comes to things like these is to just keep on crafting and when it happens, face it with a smile and some happy thoughts. I mean no use moping over it when there is plenty more things to do out there. Who knows, my inspiration for crafting might come back after I'm done with other things. But that isn't until way later, which I am fortunate for.

However, the question still arise. What would happen if I have actually run out of things to craft on? Now you are probably thinking: "Didn't you already answer that question in the last section?". I did, but I had only answered the question directly. I did not address the implications of actually finishing up all the wanted and thought-of projects and what happens afterwards. Chances are, I probably won't be just straight crafting until I get to Hime-hood. Not only is it unrealistic, but it's not just only pretty things that makes up a himegyaru. With that being the case, what happens afterward? That, as often quoted by the famous Shakespeare play Hamlet, is the question.

I guess it is at this part that I did the most contemplating and also where a thing called goals comes in. Usually I am not a fan of writing down my goals, considering that I feel no dire need to and I feel like I don't really have that many goals in the first place (I mean all I really need to do in order to accomplish my goals is to just clean my room and craft right? Right??). Turns out that I had underestimated the actual number of goals that I have. Like I had said before, being a himegyaru isn't all about having pretty things and a pretty room to live in. There is also makeup, hair, nails, etc. So I decided that for the sake of my mind (and to keep track), I will keep a list of goals handy.

Goals

- Clean my room  (Ideal look: shop format)

- Craft projects 
- Things
     Decorate or make room decor (lamp, clock, phone, any cute items)
     Make pillows 
- Clothes 
     Decorate most of current clothes except for ones bought from Taobao
     Make heart/star/dog/etc. shaped bags 

- Makeup
     Know basic makeup routine
     Buy required products and look up reviews 
     Look up himegyaru makeup tutorials and magazine scans
     Practice routine 

- Nails
     Practice nail designs
     Develop routine 

- Hair 
     Practice bouffant hairstyle
     Get into hair curling habit 
     Experiment with different hairstyles  

- Personality        
     Smile more
     Be more social/talk more 
     Manners and etiquette
     Have more confidence 
     Know right words to say 

As you can clearly see, definitely more than cleaning my room and crafting. Looks like I have my work cut out for me. Will see what happens later.        

Changing from Ordinary to Princess

What's in the ordinary? What's in the princess? Sometimes when I'm not busy with the usual business that is life, I ponder back onto these questions. It's not only the questions, but the whole idea of the transition from something ordinary to something glamorous or "out there", such as a princess.

I have to admit, almost all of my life revolves around the ordinary or the normal, and I don't have a tendency to stand out or find any appeal in standing out. I had and have been a "wallflower" in every sense. I also have a tendency with speaking in soft tones or at least speak very quietly. I am very sensitive towards other people and don't want them to hear what I'm saying. All in all, I am a very shy person. I wasn't as bad as before, where even I had trouble talking to other people or at least try to avoid talking to other people. I can now talk to other people with no problems, albeit with a few some stuttering here and there. Due to my wallflower personality and quiet nature, I tend to have a modest lifestyle, which generally includes my fashion choices. Throughout most, if not all of my entire life, school tends to be the main focus along with the occasional game. I was very studious and tend to not focus on girly things such as makeup, nails, and shopping. In fact, I used to hate shopping, since it was so boring and the only time I went out shopping back then was with my mom. I guess in a way (could be a very big way) I am making up for that now and it all started when one of my friends introduced me to the wonderful concepts of shopping and fashion (yes, I was that deprived).

As for how I exactly got into the Himegyaru lifestyle, I am not exactly sure how long I have been into the style, but it definitely had been a while, way before I had started the blog. I recall that I had seen a few stuff relating to "Hime" while browsing on my favourite deco site, Fullmoon. Me being the curious person that I am had decided to investigate (who wouldn't be curious?). Turned out that the Hime stuff that I was looking at was indirectly linked to Himegyaru, judging by the browsing and searching that I had done. To my pleasant surprise, himegyaru was (and still is) depicted as being a very girly and frilly style. At first I was just looking at the style, amazed at how "princess-like" (duh xD) they were, but I guess I wasn't fully into the style until later on when I came across the style again.  It was at that moment that I decided to fully pursue the Hime style and learn everything there is to be one, though I had help from Violet's blog and was fully inspired by Violet's bravery as a himegyaru, despite a possibility of getting weird looks. 

Sometimes I wonder about whether or not the transition from being that of an ordinary person to that of a princess will be drastically different and if it will be worth it. Obviously it will impact my life in a big way, considering that I did not change at all since my high school years (what one of my friends apparently said...) and making such a drastic change in a short amount of time will definitely take some getting used to. Will I get weird looks as a himegyaru? Probably. It will be a given that any fashion that's very out there will get the weird looks. Now I have to admit that I don't exactly take criticism well (still working on getting tougher skin) and this alone might be the end of my himegyaru style ventures, but just like anything in the world, even fashion can be a learning experience and the hime style will be just that, a learning experience that will build up as you grow and learn while looking fabulous. Will the transition from ordinary to princess be drastically different? Of course it will be. Will the transformation be worth it? In my mind yes because:

"You can do anything if you put your mind to it."

Once Upon a Time...

There is a first time for everything. Starting a blog isn't an exception and I guess the prospect of typing up a first post is both intimidating and interesting. Intimidating since I'm not quite sure how to start off (Did I type this correctly? Have I missed anything crucial that I need to add in? etc.) and interesting since starting a blog is like making your first steps in the great unknown. You can never know what you are going to expect once you are out there. Of course, I could just be making this out to be a bigger deal than what it really is.

Why did I create a blog? Before I had created this blog, I was (and still is) on the hunt for anything himegyaru-related. Blogs, images, the usual Jesus Diamante website, you name it. It didn't occur to me back then, but while I was searching, I noticed that there weren't a lot of active hime blogs. Of course, there are definitely exceptions, such as the famous Violet LeBeaux, Starre Princess, and even The Princess in Training. There are possibly plenty more out there that I'm not aware about, but I mostly found active content relating to the above blogs. In my never-ending quest to achieving the full himegyaru lifestyle, I figured that keeping a blog will help keep track of my progress. That and possibly helping out any others interested in the himegyaru lifestyle.

Now with all that being said, it's time for the journey to begin, starting with "Once upon a time"...