I decided to take old Instagram photos and edit them with a new photo editing app I got to make something new! The photos here are pulled from my Instagram between 2020-2023ish and then edited with Juxtaposer and stock photos!
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Oh my goodness, I am so happy that 2025 is done!!! First day of 2026 has gone very well for me! I’ve filmed a YouTube video, hung out with a friend, and taken time to relax. I was absolutely charmed by the fact that “Good Riddance” was a theme for the New York celebration last night. That was hilarious. The spring and fall of last year was quite difficult. There was deaths in the family as well as some mental health challenges that took a lot of my attention. I was really just in survival mode for a while. I’m feeling good about this new year. It’s going to be a good one, even if that has to be achieved by hook or by crook!
I’m really looking forward to this year. I have some fun goals. The only one that’s really J-fashion related is wanting to post more on both this blog and my other socials. My big one is wanting to be able to life (on the machine not free weights) between 120-160lbs by the end of this year! I had been up to 40-60lbs, but after some family stuff this fall I had to take a break. Sadly when I tried going back to the gym the past couple weeks it looks like I’m back down to 20-40, hence it being a more flexible goal. Ideally it’ll be the full 160 though! If I can do that, I’ll finally be able to fireman carry my husband and pick up my best friends.
Another goal of mine is to give myself more credit. Honestly, self-praise is way more motivating than being critical of myself ever is, but it feels so weird to try to be that way! I was raised to always be humble and I feel like it veered into being way too hard on myself. A new habit that I love is using a planner! But kind of backwards, you don’t write what you’re going to do then check it of, instead, you write everything you did that day big and small until you run out of space. It’s hard to beat yourself up when you count everything you do, you probably do more than you think.
My favorite planner to use is the POPFLEX one, I was a huge fan of Blogilates in high school and college. I actually would do one workout before I left for school and one when I got back as a way to help me with the transition. Honestly, working out is still the best way for me to manage my mental health personally. I love how much space there is to write in the planners and all the little bonuses between months. It’s expensive as a planner but I haven’t found anything comparable.
I am so looking forward to all the adventures I’ll have this year! Drink some water, eat good food, and get some rest! See you soon!
There’s nothing wrong with being a solo Lolita, but comms and therefore meet ups have been a pretty integral part of our community for quite some time! Many comms seem to develop a default “meet planner” and it’s good to be able to help them out, or become that planner! The more meets you help plan, the more meets there will be.
1.) Look at what there is to do in your area for your comm! There may be lots of tourist traps, restaurants, parks, recurring festivals museums, etc. One of my favorite parts of being a Lolita is getting to do and see all of the local things I would otherwise not be very likely to do in my area.
2.) Consider the mean budget of your comm, does your comm typically do extravagant meets or potlucks? If you mostly do potlucks, there is nothing wrong with having a more extravagant meet more aimed at the members with larger budgets but now that you will have smaller attendance and possibly make some members feel left out. I find that it gets easier to balance this as time goes on. Especially if you make sure to plan a range of meets. If you’re comm does do more extravagant meets, there may be some members who are very relieved if you do schedule something like a potluck! Nothing wrong with either kind of meet.
3.) Choose what you’d like to do based on the prior information! Other things you might want to consider is any accessibility issues your comm may have. It’s not uncommon for there to be a few members with disabilities in a Lolita comm and they will greatly appreciate it if you consider them in your planning.
4.) propose the meet to the group! Also, propose some dates, and be sure to set a date once a majority or consensus is reached. If you don’t the meet is liable to never happen. If you have the ability to help with transportation, offer a hand to those who live near you! It helps keep the meets alive. Double checking logistics also helps keep any last minute snafu’s from occurring. Always double check dates and if you need reservations.
5.) Have fun at the meet! Take pictures, talk with friends and enjoy whatever activity is at hand.
I recently got some nail pens and have been going to town with them! Giving them a bit of a rest now as I hate chipped nails and as soon as a single chip appears, I rip the rest of it off, looking to get a peel-base here soon in order to be kinder to my nails.
I really enjoy doing my nails myself as I do martial arts and am a fairly athletic person, long nails just aren’t practical, b it having my nails done always just makes me feel 100% more productive.
I had a great time filming my last mermaid video, my swim spot was much shallower than expected but I still made it work! I used screenshots from the video and edited some pretty cool photos here. This is this tail’s last swim since it had gone somewhat threadbare. Working on getting my next one!
Getting to take out screenshots of splashing was really fun! As normally I film underwater and well, underwater you can’t see any of the splashing.
I filled in the evening so I got a slight golden glow. Had I waited just a bit longer I think it could have been even greater. Next time I might see about using a golden hour calculators
I like this shot the most. It’s really too long sideways in composition to share on Instagram so I shared it here. There was a rock ubder the water I was able to balance on.
Finally got to a Lolita meetup! It’s been forever since I’ve been able to go to one due to my limited transportation, fortunately I lucked out and a car was available for me to go. One of my comm members and I realized it had literally been 2 years since we’ve seen each other! We message on and off so neither one of us had fully realized that! We went out to a nice little brunch spot at 1pm. I suggested it wasn’t really brunch since it was past noon, but they stated we were still at the restaurants brunch time. I conceded my point after that. We celebrated on Sunday instead of Saturday since that’s when the most comm members were free.
My comm members all had very cute coords, without intending to one half of the table had black and white and the other was pink and red. I was on the pink and red side. I adore the casual vibe of Lolita meetups and how there is always something we can talk about due to having such a unique shared hobby. You can sit for an hour and still be noticing little details in other people’s coords.
It was so great catching up with everyone. We all talked about how our jobs were going and what events we might want to try to attend together. There was some half-joking discussion of renting a passenger van for a road trip. I’m hoping to go to the Gilded Age in November and some comm members might be coming with me!
On the way home I stopped to take some pictures! On insta I got a compliment on how beautiful the location was but this was literally a rest stop off the interstate on the way home because I knew as soon as I was home I was going to be so over being in this whole get up.
I hope everyone had a great time celebrating in whatever way they could!
1.) Check the Weather
If you live in a temperate climate like myself, what the actual weather may be might be roulette. Checking the weather ahead of time will help keep you from being shivering cold, or boiling hot. My area can be anywhere from 35 to 70 degrees in what is traditionally thought of spring.
2.) Beware of Mud
Mud can be everywhere. Mud is deceptively hard to get out of things. Don’t fall in the mud. I lost an old dogi to that. I highly reccommend having a change of shoes. Tea parties are for inside this time of year.
3.) Lots of Layers
The weather mentioned in the first point??? Can change during the day if you have a climate like mine. Cute coordinated layers can be a life saver. I love cardigans this time of year.
4.) Experiment with different motifs! Think of ways to use other seasonal items
I have a lot of red for my winter wardrobe! Red works well with berries, berries are often thought of for summer coords, but I think they work equally well for spring. You can also use pieces from Christmas sets as smaller accessories if colors match and the print isn’t too obviously christmassy. I also enjoy adding florals in order to make Coords more “springy” regardless of what is actually on the print.
5.) Rain Gear
I do not yet have this, but cute rain gear would be a great addition! I’ve seen waterproof parasol’s before and one would be a perfect addition to protect your doors. Cute outerwear has become increasingly more accessible, so keeping an eye out for pieces that work with your wardrobe would be a good idea. (I need to take my own advice here)
I went to Burlington Anime fest this past weekend and had a great time! It’s a tiny con that’s only one day long and 20$ to attend. It was very well organized and I saw a few of my comm members there! I had intended to vlog, but had so much fun catching up with people I hadn’t seen in awhile that I didn’t get enough video for a YouTube video. I thought it would be cool to still use that video for a mixed media post so to speak!
I ended up mainly shopping there as I had some Venmo money a friend sent me from a shared vacation of ours I had completely forgotten about. So, I was able to purchase some presents for my husband and some things for myself. I think my favorite vendor was Adorkabows. The bows were not cheap, but every single one was unique! I ended up buying the black and pink “Brat” bow that I’m hoping to use for a gyaru code.
The vendor was really nice!! I enjoyed chatting with her. She told me about a girl who is on a mission to buy all of her Sailor Mercury bows. If that’s you, good luck!
Here’s her store link
The next place I bought from was Snowbug Art! They made these really cute adorable earrings. I bought my husband Gengar earrings as those are his favorite pokemon. I got some Cheez it earrings myself. (Cheez its are my absolute favorite snack)
The shop keeps were once again, super nice! My friend and I had a great time buying from them.
Here’s their link!
The next place I bought from was called Leveling Up Designs! They had these amazing crochet plushies. I ended up buying the grim reaper plush for my hubby! She was super fun to talk to, and we hung out at her booth for awhile. I didn’t spring for any of the stickers, but those were adorable. I’m currently in a pokemon ttrpg with my friends, so I have a big soft spot for pokemon.
Here’s their link!
https://www.facebook.com/levelingupdesigns/
Last artist I bought from had these adorable bear ears with mushrooms and strawberries I’m hoping to incorporate into a coord sometime this summer! That shop was called 222.lumina.love.
Her link!
https://www.222lumina.love/shop
I had a great time walking around the con and hanging out with friends I hadn’t seen in awhile. The main event I participated in was anime Trivia which I rocked as long as the anime’s were between 2005 – 2015, outside of that I really struggled. So, I didn’t win anything, but it was a super fun event.
I also got to meet Tiffany Grant! I didn’t think to take a photo with her but since there wasn’t a busy line, I had a lot of fun talking to her about her voice acting career, I let her know one of my best friends thinks she’s the best character in the show. She appreciate that. I also talked to her about my aspirations as a voice actress. I am currently in a Halo machinima but that’s my only project. I haven’t auditioned in a long time, but I’m feeling more motivated to. Hilariously, I actually met her in the lobby of the hotel as we had both parked on the wrong side of the building and had to walk aways to the con. I had no idea who she was by looking at her. When I came up to her booth she said “Oh! It’s the tiny hat lady” and said she had a feeling I’d be coming by. It was a really nice experience. I actually ended up buying a signed sweater of Asuka from her booth.
Overall, the con was super well organized, simple and sweet. If you’re in VT and want to do an affordable con, I’d reccommend going!
I recently got a butterfly cut! But I have very straight hair so you can’t normally see the layers all that well. I have also always been a big fan of heatless curls because I had a terrible curling iron for a very long time. When I do heat less curls I always have to let my hair dry like 90% of the way or it will still be wet in the morning.
I separate out my bangs so I can make a single pin curl with them, I find this works the best to give my curls volume.
Then I do 4 mini buns on each side of my head twisting away from my face. I like doing it this way since it’s much faster than pin curling multiple layers and I get pretty similar results. All in all, it takes like 10 minutes.
Then you just pull the buns down and use your fingers to separate the curls. I split my bang curl in half.
After that I just brush them until they look “correct”
At first it’s a little poofy but it falls down into smoother curls pretty quickly. This is the exact thing I did for the pictures in the pro-wrestling post.
This past winter I have been a sadly very landlocked mermaid. I, this past winter, for financial reasons ended up getting rid of my car. It had so many problems, however I miss having a vehicle so much. I live in a part of the country with extremely limited public transit and very few pools. So, I miss swimming so much. It is one of my favorite exercise and pretty much impossible to overdo it with, unlike when I try to play with my siblings on Easter and nearly give myself an asthma attack.
I have 5 younger siblings, and I’m 18 years older than the youngest one. The 3 I was playing with on Easter wanted to play tag and capture the flag which was awesome!! However, my 3 siblings are all elite hockey players for their age. We ran around outside in the cold for 2.5 hours. They weren’t even tired!!! I miss when I used to be able to do that, but even then I don’t think I ever had a lack of limit the way those 3 do. Swimming never does that to me, probably because I’m not breathing a lot of the time, and the motions you use to mermaid are slow big motions so they don’t put as much of a strain on me.
I’ve also had to recycle a lot of older swims for my mermaiding shorts to keep consistent on my YouTube channel at least on the shorts side of it. I feel bad for reusing the same content this much. People like it! I’ve had success with it, but for some reason it just bothers me as a creator.
Thanks for reading my grumbling. I hope you have a lovely day! Drink some water, eat good food, and get some rest. See you next time!
Luna By The Lake With Cake 