Cats in Straw Hats New Years Giveaway

The lovely Cath of Cats in Straw Hats has put together an adorable New Years giveaway!

The contents include (from her blog):

・ Pocket watch style necklace. (this watch is actually at lots nicer than the one I own personally!) The front opens to reveal the numbers, and it is a nice antique gold colour!

・ A sheet of Korean stickers with an Alice in Wonderland theme. These are super cute, and there's actually quite a lot of stickers on the sheet!

・ A lace detachable collar. It has a black satin ribbon that ties it together.

♥

The rules for entering are simple (from her blog): 

"Follow this blog using Google Friend Connect (Use Google, Blogger, Twitter, Aim or Yahoo account and click the 'Join This Site' button to the right of this page), and leave a comment on this post. 

Make sure to add your email address in the comment, so if you win I can contact you!

It's as simple as that!  ﾟ▽ ﾟ

You can also obtain extra entries by:

・Blogging or tweeting about the competition 

(Make sure to leave another separate comment with a link to the blog entry or tweet!)

I'll run the giveaway until midday on Tuesday 17th January (NZST / +13GMT)"

I would say good luck to everyone but I want to win >.> Hehe I guess I'll say good luck anyways ♪

Monthly Challenge Theme: What's in Your Bag?

You may have guessed this theme from the January tips, but it's "what's in my bag?"

For some unknown reason, I love these ♥ Especially the illustrated versions that can be found on Pixiv. 

Theme:  what's in my bag?

Whether it's a photo or illustration, please link to your own bag posts! I will be doing an updated one shortly, but I love seeing what other people carry, it says a lot about them; their style, interests, and what gets them by during the day.

Via quietgirl.net

Via Pixiv

Via Pixiv

Please see my previous post for more illustrations ♪

January Lifestyle Ideas

Happy New Year everyone! I apologize for almost forgetting about my monthly posts, but here they are ♫ Also, please excuse all of the tutorial tips, I've been rather obsessed with Pinterest lately ^_^;

• Experiment with colors like creams, cool pinks and beiges if you never have before.
• Try this yummy lavender cookie recipe ♥
• Have a half-used eyeshadow you don't want to throw out but never use? Turn it into nail polish
• Already experiencing warm weather? Try these shorts for a casual look. Accent with lace too!
• Stamps can be expensive but this fashionable triangle stamp is not!
• Wire baskets make cute and handy storage solutions
• Many Mori girls in Japan (or Japanese girls in general) have little pouches for just about every electronic or collection of pens, candies or make up supplies they one. They not only keep everything organized, but also protect your items from marks and scratches ~
• Here are images of mori-style interiors I've collected c:
• Lace laces and aprons (cotton and sheer) over a loose, A-line denim skirt for an effortless look 
• Fabric stickers are a cute way to dress up a planner, phone, photo frame, flower pot or anything else for that matter!

I love "what's in my bag" pictures ♥

Christmas and New Years Update/Haul

Hi again everyone! hopefully you haven't forgotten about me u__u

My winter "break" has been so busy!

I'd like to start off by saying how thankful I am the holidays are over.

(I have more fun after the holidays during break than during them, too stressful and too many dishes)!

I'd like to show you some of my favorite things I got/bought/picked out for myself for Christmas ♪

Not exactly a Christmas gift, but something adorable I bought ♥ I put my keys in here so they're easy to find in my purse.

My new "everyday" bag ♫

Omnomnom

Candy Sugar ribbon + free candy c:

DSLR camera strap from Etsy

Strap for my Instax camera

Ta-da!

Photo albums for my Japan photos and Instax photos

Inside! (The left one is full now)

Small letter organizer and scrap book from Omoi Zakka

Cath Kidston mug and Calico Critter mouse family ♥

A crop shirt from Cotton On to go over my maxi dress c:

Bad photo of a very cute peter pan collar dress from Cotton On

Collar of a cute sailor sweatshirt from Forever 21

Lace headband and polka dot usakimi from Claire's

They had a buy 1 get one half off on hair accessories

Little did i know the brooch/pin/hair thing was actually on clearance for $2 from $12!

Wonderful fawn jacket from my boyfriend ♥♥♥ (From Forever 21)

In addition to Christmas activities, I also volunteered and participated in a Japanese street fashion show at my local Anime convention. 

Everything is vintage, off-brand and handmade

I made a Fur Fur inspired hair piece for my outfit

Photo by Keith Goode

I represented a (slightly couture) style of Mori girl during the fashion show and wore Lolita while I wasn't on Duty. Sadly I don't think I got any photos of those coords, but they aren't that different from anything I've worn before. I was surprised to see the amount of Lolitas there! Most of them ended up being in the fashion show too ^_^ I did spot a fair number of girls in Bodyline coords too. Speaking of that, the ATX Lolitas also hosted a Lolita 101 panel, which went spectacularly! The lovely Virginia (first row in the blue VM dress) provided wonderful handmade prizes for the audience ♫

More info, photos and possibly a video of the panel can be found here.

I saw some great cosplay too! I really loved this girl's original outfit based off of Sentimental Circus ♪

I also helped make an impressive Jenga tower at the Maid Cafe.

Of course, I got some swag too!

Ahhh arpakasso !!!

Chi's Sweet Home, Shaymin and Tofu-kun key chains c:

I make this face quite often

And this one after a large meal

Hi there!

Tofu-kun ♥

Happy Happy Clover shitajiki. Such a cute manga!

G&LB vol 40 ♥

I may or may not buy magazines for stickers...

BTSSB will be at Anime Matsuri!!! I want to go so bad D:

Wheh! Thank you if you stayed with my through all of that! It's been a hectic two weeks c: