Turkish Coffee and Fortune Telling

Does anybody remember the egl community on livejournal?  That's how I was first introduced to Lolita fashion, and one of the friends I met on there back in the 2000s, aonele, along with her friend Stephanie, came to visit Taiwan!  We met up at a Turkish restaurant which was super cute!!

KC, JSK: handmade by me
Underskirt: Forest Song
Socks: Little Rose Planet

Happy Year of Ox! My New Year holiday

 

Happy Chinese New Year everybody!!!!  I spent New Year Eve through Second Day with my mom :3

Hope your year started out on a positive note!  Even if you did not, that just means we can only go up from here, right? ( ´･･)ﾉ(._.`)

Dragon Boat Festival 2016

Happy Dragon Boat Festival!  I could have sworn I had a post about the history of this festival, but when I checked previous posts I only found a rather morbid comic I'd posted about suicide (related to the festival, I swear!)

Most people know about Dragon Boat races and eating zongzi in relation to this holiday.  There are, of course, variation on the legend, but basically the story I grew up with is about a man named Qu Yuan who loved his country very much.  He was an adviser to the emperor, but when a the emperor proved to be selfish and care little about the country or the people, Qu Yuan jumped off a cliff into the river to kill himself.  Because he was such a good man, the local villagers quickly made some riceballs wrapped in leaves (zongzi) and rowed out to drop them in the river so the fish would not eat the body of Qu Yuan.

I remember my mother making zongzi at home when I was growing up, though now they are readily available so we just buy them :P

This year Ano's mom gave us some vegetarian zongzi (she is Buddhist) she made which were really good!

Also made with healthy rice grains mix!

I went home for dinner and had another zongzi, one my mom bought

It... kinda looks similar...

They are really filling, essentially a complete meal-to-go.  With so much rice though, it is best not to eat more than one in a sitting I think ^^;

And a random photo of today's look:

Today's outfit

I've also got an instagram now!  My username is "_sparklewolfie_"  I couldn't sign up using the username without the underscores for some reason.  It said the username was taken, but when I did a search, no such user existed :/  I sent several inquiries but never received an answer.  I post some non-lolita outfits on there and other daily occurrences.  Let me know if you have an instagram so I can follow you as well!

This is Halloween!

Happy Belated Halloween!

This year we had a fun little meetup.  We went to a restaurant that went really over-the-top with decorations.  Halloween is a time for spooky goodness, and a lot of people (including the servers) were dressed up in gory costumes or full face paint.  There were of course some more fun superhero or goofy costumes, such as big pumpkins or cartoon characters.  Many children were dressed as classics, such as princesses, superheros, witches, Disney characters, etc.

And no, "sexy" Halloween is not a thing here, for which I am very glad.  Bring on the monsters!

Before heading over, Ano and I went to a pop-up market and took the above snap.  It wasn't a Halloween-themed market per se, as they were selling everything from vintage clothing to handmade faux sweets and retro dolls.  The place was decorated for Halloween though!

 

 The restaurant the Lolita meetup was at is called Le Ble d'Or.  Usually a pretty fancy place, it got SUPER spooky for Halloween!  Look at all these setups:

 Teddy got in on the action as well:

 The long hallway leading up to the host podium was covered in these slashed and bloody paintings:

 

 The entrance was redone to say Witch House:

 These three pumpkins had MOVING expressions!  The faces are not carved, but rather projected onto the pumpkins so they would sneer and laugh and periodically disappear.  Very cool effect!

 Teddy doing some Frankenstein-esque lab experiments

 

And me pretending to be a witch:

 The interior was quite dark, but we had a lot of fun taking photos!  We took "idol group" type shots on the stairs ^u^  We all took turns being in the center, so here is my center shot!

Idol group: Owlita

P.S. Yes, my costume was a bear.  I didn't have any idea what to be for Halloween so I just added bear ears.  It's like cheating ^3^  Teddy is already a bear so maybe her costume was a people?

Hope you all had a lovely Halloween!  If you've got costume photos to share, please do, because I love seeing cute and creative costumes ^u^

Tiered Cake Skirts Meetup

Yesterday I woke up a bit late at 1PM. Ano was putting up new lights in my work studio! ^u^
We got ready for the meetup and had to take a taxi because we were late :P But we were still second to arrive

The theme was "tiered skirts," called "cake skirts"(蛋糕裙) in Chinese.

We met at a small cafe place called 七見櫻堂 that specialized in desserts. They were out of rice and beef when we went so many of their mains were unavailable -_-; I got a small platter with a quiche, a cake, and a brownie. Unfortunately, it turns out their "garden quiche" contained meat so I ended up eating only the sweets -_-;

The meetup itself was fun, and we had lots of chatting!

Lilith gave me and Ano the wedding cookies (喜餅) for their wedding and the wedding invitation (喜貼), which was very fancy-cut paper and pretty!  "喜" (xi) means "happiness" and is seen all over wedding-related terminology.  Often you will see this character doubled up to mean "double happiness" representing the bride and groom coming together.

Funny side story: Lilith said that for their wedding shoot her "casual wear" was a Lolita wedding dress, which is casual compared to the other two wedding dresses, but the photographer was like ._. and told her fiance that he didn't need to change out of his tux otherwise it'd look seriously mismatched if he was in jeans and a T-shirt :P

Me

It was super windy out yesterday! We took photos outside because the cafe was too small, and met a small, one-eyed dog that belonged next door. The dog was a grump and had no fear of cars, but was mean to people. A big truck was coming down the alley and the dog didn't move out of the way so Lilith had to try and move him out of the way and he snapped at her (didn't really bite her though). Same when motorbikes came through. I wonder how that dog manages not to get run over every day

Haotien asked us to kiss as he was taking the photo, so this is what happened

"I'm the boss"

Oh, the places you'll go

Actually I just went to a couple stores that sell cosmetics, clothes, etc.  Not quite a department store, but I don't know what they are called.

Took some snaps of cute or funny things to share!

Tiana patch

Drunk turkey wine holder

Every cosmetic store needs this!it's got a cosmetics remover tester on the left, a stack of cotton on the right, and a dustbin behind. After testing several foundations, this setup was a godsend!

Foam-filled soft lip to show you just how luscious your lips will look if you buy their products!

Tea color eyeliner tape. Somehow I doubt this will fit most eyes. 

this mascara is just too funny!  This was at a Japanese shop. 

what does the Fox say?  This foam visor is meant for children but it was funny so I took a snap!

I'm pretty sure this is an American product. Make this style easily!

What's the most interesting or funny beauty products you've seen (or maybe tried?)

Mix it Up! Hakka + Kawaii

As some of you may know, Kawaii.i is running a Kawaii Leader contest with the theme "MIX-it-up Kawaii."  I entered, but that is not my reason for posting this time!  You can still vote for my entry here if you'd like (you must be a fan), but I would prefer you read this post first to understand why my entry is a "mix it up" rather than just Lolita fashion.

Most of the winners for the larger prizes will be chosen by the Kawaii.i committee rather than user vote anyway ;)

This is the photo I submitted:

Hm, just looks like some Lolita fashion, right?  But my focus here is on the headdress, which is done in a traditional 客家/Hakka style called 纏花/ChanHua, which means "wrapping flower."  We learned about this in my Chinese Clothing History class and I wanted to give it a go when I made this outfit!  So, what makes ChanHua different from traditional hair chopsticks or embroidery?

Well, it began because the Hakka people were not quite so wealthy as to be able to do traditional embroidery or metalwork.  So they cut out cardboard shapes and wrapped silk thread around and around to create shining crescents on a wire base that could then be folded into all sorts of shapes!

A basic flower

Some could get incredibly complex!

Cicadas!

Different shapes and patterns emerged and the art is still practiced today, though not as frequently.  I found a recent piece (I believe it' from the Hakka channel on TV) introducing a Hakka woman who began to learn the art in her 20's.  You can see the skill it takes to make such intricate art!

OK, in comparison my work is abysmal, but it was fun to try!!!  I actually also cheated and used double-side tape to help my thread stay in place... I'm not even adept enough to cut the card shape properly, so the threads would slip!!!

I personally really admire handicrafts such as this!  The time and tradition behind cultures have such a great history.  Tribal peoples are vanishing all over the world, but I hope their art forms live on eternally!

By the way, I can subtitle the video on Amara.com if anybody is interested in what is being said.  I wanted to share the making process, and they just talk a bit about why the woman chose to learn the art really.

I'm not Hakka myself, but it was great to give this a try!

Everyday Kawaii~ TsumTsum Time!

Previously I've blogged about how convenience stores in Taiwan all offer point systems (we have the highest density of convenience stores!) and each round they collaborate with different companies for gifts to exchange.  Normally I shop at 7-11, but this round FamilyMart has collaborated with LINE TsumTsum!

Taiwan really has an awesome cute-collection culture ^_~



This crazy popular mobile game by LINE Naver Japan makes every character so adorable!  They regularly put out little videos on facebook as well.  I'm super excited and want to collect so many!  Even characters I normally find ugly, such as Disney Cheshire Cat, become kawaii in TsumTsum.

Every NT$69 earns one point and you can exchange 3 points + NT$89 or 60 points for one "egg."  The shell is a coin bank and inside is either a clip, a magnet character, or paper tape.  They are coordinated so the shell matches the contents!  You can see all the combinations on the webpage here!  Even if you are not going to be in Taiwan during the event, the webpage is adorable and has interactive tsums you can toss around using your cursor.

The event has only just begun, and I found out through some other Lolitas, since we all share super cute things with each other.  Lolita life \m/(-_-)

Belated Tomb Sweeping

Sunday I went with my mom to see my grandmother and great aunt. I've actually never met my grandmother in life, and only seen my great aunt a few times. We went up a mountain to the tower where many ancestors are staying now. 

 since my mom had spinal surgery during Tomb Sweeping Festival we didn't go then, and made up for it this past weekend.

You can purchase a vase and flowers to hang on the door. We found them overpriced but are going to see if we can bring our own. 

this is a different type of case which is clear and you can put souvenirs from life inside. We saw many miniature bottles of alcohol and old cell phones. Also some model cars and even an electronic cigarette!

There were Christian options too, with a cross instead of Buddha. 

Afterwards we went for fresh seafood.

 I tried my first sea urchin!  Didn't taste like much to be honest.

What traditions or burial/grave rituals do you observe and practice?  With the convenience of cremation and these towers, we don't need to maintain gravesites any more, just visiting. However I feel I'd rather have a greener future and be buried without a box with dirt and seeds to return to nature. Save on cremation energy and costs as well!

Tainan Trip

Recently I took a trip to Tainan with ANO for his work. Of course we still had time for a bit if fun!  Tainan literally means "Taiwan South" just like Taipei means "Taiwan North". Very creative names?  It took only a couple hours to travel by high speed rail.

We got to start at a nice hotel, ranked 8.6/10 by booking.com apparently (that's what the sign said!). We rented bikes each day to ride to the worksite at a department store, Shinkong Mitsukoshi.

 During a break we decided to investigate some old streets. Started out with handmade almond tofu cut like mango and served on ice:

 Then we saw a sugar puff thing I'd never seen before!  Ano said he'd tried it before, but basically the master melted brown sugar in this pan, added a powder, remove from heat, and stir. Suddenly the liquid comes ttogether and then puffs up and splits!!

 A fake puff to photo:

 The best fun was at the handmade wooden clog shoes shop. There were many bases and ropes or tops to choose from and the family custom make your shoes. We each bought a pair of geta style sandals. ANO chose a 10cm because he is short!

 Modern shoes options

 model shoes the mama boss said was too dangerous for me to try on without proper training. She let me try on a shoe that made me walk properly like a Chinese princess (格格)

 All the strap options

 five minutes for the daughter owner to make mine.

 At a street of shopping we passed this poop cake condors. Maybe competition for the penis cake vendors in Taipei?

 Very small poo poo cakes

 the next day ANO and his assistant Zach went to work so I explored and manage to find the only maid cafe in the city!

 They were closed, but I browsed the side shop. And took a sneaky selfie with a cat paw! Apparently the shop owner is an alumni from my university!

 That night we went to a night market and had octopus mouths:

 Saw unique flavor tarts:

 Got Thai banana dessert

look so yummy ba?

Of course got fat but now is diet time to get back under control!

What is you favorite guilty pleasure food? I like all types of cak type desserts, it's awful!

I hope this post is not considered boring because it is not related to Japan. Taiwan is quite lovely aas well*!