Chase Away The Monday Blues With This Sweet Daily Lolita Highlight

  I thought it would be nice to start off this week with nice bright and happy Daily Lolita Highlight.  The following Daily Lolita Highlight is not just one girl but two, super fun.  Crazy_Kitch got her sister to join in the fun and they look cute as 2 cute ruffly peas in a pod together.  (If peas were ruffly)  She states that her sister does not usually wear Lolita but she looks just darling and it is just darling that her sister did that for her.

  Decked out in Angelic Pretty prints Dreamy Doll House and Miracle Candy and more pink and blue that you can throw a parasol at these two are a cotton candy vision.  The days of super sugary outfits has passed for me but I still LOVE to see it on other Lolitas.  With bows, pearls/beads, ribbons, and charms caking their hair and wrists their accessories are spot on for any super sweet Angelic Pretty print. 

Part of what I love about their outfits is the mixing of expensive brand pieces along with off-brand and what looks to be handmade pieces as well.  I am a big believer in eclectic outfits and doing something different.  Whether its mixing brands, mixing brand with non, sewing your own pieces, adding traditionally non-Lolita pieces and making them work, and what not.  Along with their Angelic Pretty dresses they are wearing Bodylines cute pink bag and new Rocking Horse Shoes.  (I really like the RHS from body line, they are super cute and I have heard good things about them.)

After the pictures with her sister she decided to make a costume change and hopped into the blue Miracle candy print.  I can't decide which one I like better on her.  She looks very nice in both pink and blue.

Helping Cats

  Whenever I am doing anything crafty (sewing, pictures, making jewelry, baking/cooking, or anything else to be frank) one of my two cats always tries to "help" me.  I had finished making a bit of jewelry and accessories so it was time to take some nice pictures.  I set up my light box and lights and let the lights warm up.  I left the room to get some things and when I came back Eirwyn had hopped into the box. So, I did what I was going to do anyway.  I took some pictures.  Here is the best.

If you love kitties and doggies nearly as much as I do you should hop on over to the Itty Bitty Kitty Committee.  The IBKC blog is about foster kittens growing up and finding their forever homes.  The pictures are cuter than the cutest and I find it brightens my day to check it out.

"It's fund-raising time and once again, we're participating in Tacoma/Pierce County Humane Society's " Dog-A-Thon Walk for Homeless Pets". Last year this lovely group of folks following the IBKC blog helped raise over 23 squillion dollars for the cats and kittens at the shelter. Let's see what we can do this year!! The more we raise, the more kitties saved!"

It really was amazing last year they set a goal of about $4,000 and it was met withing a few days.  They set the new goal to $10,000 and that was met, so again they raised it and in the end they raised a whopping $23,000!!!  I cannot believe the generosity.  

This year the goal is $40,000.  Very do-able.  Go on over to the Itty Bitty Kitty Committee and toss them a few dollars. 

Daily Lolita Highlight- LavenderLillies

  I have been slacking on the Daily Lolita Highlight segments and I have quite a backlog of gorgeous girls that need to be put on display.  So, I will be trying to do a couple of highlights every week.  This weeks highlight is from a little while ago and I am sorry I did not get to it sooner. 
  LavenderLillies caught my attention with the way she put together a coordinate, her own alternative look on Lolita, and her plain old coolness.  In middle school and the very beginning of high school I wanted to be cool and tried desperately to "fit in".  After I got over that I started to just be me and be my own person who did what she wanted to and did not care about the cool kids.  I think that in itself is cool and I see that in LavenderLillies.  She comes across as being comfy in her own skin and that makes her cool.  So, congrats on being too cool for school LavenderLillies!

  Her Peace Now casual Loli coordinate in all black with hints of white is just splendid. I love the tiers of ruffles on the bottom of the blouse and the the ruffle of the skirt.  If they were not there I feel the outfit would be severely lacking.  You can check out more of her pictures on her post here on Daily Lolita.
  Her short wavy hair is so light and carefree and the head eating black bow are a perfect match.  I also love the over the knee socks and adorable black bowed shoes.  I have had a soft spot for knee and over the knee socks for many years now and when ever I see them I immediately like an outfit about 7.5% more. 

  This second coordinate is too lovely and fancy for words.  The killer poses she is striking scream Parisian model.  All elbows and mile long legs (because of those amazing shoes which she got at Hot Topic, but I think they are perfect) she still embodies the cool element.  The back Peace now blouse and skirt, black corset, and Betsey Johnson socks are such a clever mixing.  She looks just lovely.  Another thing I like about her in these shots is that she looks beautiful without tons of make-up and over the top hime hair.  I really love when a Lolita can do something different and still look just darling.  Good job done LavenderLillies.

Tons and Tons of Giveaways!

  Everyone who has a blog is doing a giveaway.  It is amazing.  if you just become a follower and leave a comment at their blogs you can win too many goodies to count.  Sooo, here we gooooooo.......

"Summer is here! … giveaway at Parokeets"

Babbling Brooke's BIG 2nd Birthday Giveaway!!

  'I HAVE SEOUL' MAKEUP GIVEAWAY!

 Ruth's Reflection Giveaway

the skinnies giveaway

Katiengo's giveaway #3

Sprinkle of Glitter Giveaway

Alright, I think that is it for now.  I really have my eye on the rainbow palette of eyeshadow. 

Welcome New EGL Readers!

  

  Welcome to all of the egl readers.  I hope you add my blog to you bookmarks and/or follow me through Google follower so you can keep up to date.  Check my blog out and give it a little read.  I really do hope you enjoy it.  SweetSuzette

All My Dreams Are Coming Through (cue the cheesy background music)

  In one of my earlier posts I explained that I want/need to make some changes in my life.  One of the changes I am making is my place of employment.  I am keeping my current job as of right now but I am after a second job as well.

  One of the places I was looking to work at was the new bead shop that is literally 5 minutes away (walking) from my apartment.  I went there 2 weeks ago for the first time to check out the shop and did a bit of shopping.  I met one of the co-owners and talked with her for a good 25-30 minutes.  And just this past Saturday I went to the shop again to show the owner the necklace that I made with the pearls and beads that I made from the shop.

 When I got there I met the other owner and spoke with her for quite some time too.  After I made my small purchase I told her that if they were ever looking to hire to please remember me.  She looked surprised and asked me if I was serious.  30 seconds later I was hired on the spot!  Yea!!
  In a week or 2 I will be starting with a small bit of hours.  Most likely 10-12.  One of the best parts of the job so far (even though I have not started yet) is that they love my Lolita outfits.  Now one of my dreams of wear some pretty Classic Lolita OP's and coordinates will come true.  Getting this job has really inspired me to do a lot of sewing so today.  I have plans for a OP and a skirt.
  The shop, Black Bear Beads, has a facebook page but it is not updated very often as well.  If they will let me I would love to take pictures, videos, and make fun updates for the shop.

  Wish me luck in the upcoming weeks. 

New Rings For Sale

  I will be doing a ring sale on the EGL sales page tomorrow around noon-ish.  I made lots and lots of cute new ones.  I added a few shiny jewel looking ones.  Hop on over tomorrow and get a few.  Ah, don't forget that with all of my ring sales I give away 1 free one once you buy 6 rings.

That is just a little sampling of the cute goodies.

Blooming Pink Roses

  I wanted to make use of the cool pink pearl beads that I got at the new bead shop that is close to me.  So, I grabbed my jewelry making goodies and got to work last night.  I had an idea in my head of what I wanted it to look like and it changed a couple times as I was working on it.  I have to say though, I freaking love how it came out.  I think it is my best work yet.

I will take more pictures of me wearing it and post them this weekend.

I am also going to post it up for sale on Etsy in a couple day as well, or if you absolutely have to have it now you can shoot me an e-mail or leave a comment.

Trying out Gothic Lolita

  I have been trying out Gothic Lolita a bit these days and I have also been playing with my hair styles.  This past weekend I bought some nice dark colored eye shadows and eye liner.  Here is a snap of what I wore on Sunday.  My husband and I did nothing special on Sunday so I pretty much hung around the house like this and then went to dinner at his parents and sister in laws house for some yummy dinner.

The Dress and the head dress are from Bodyline.  The boots/socks are off brand.

This weekend I will have to take more pictures and better ones of my fancy make-up.

Rainy Days Never Stay Giveaway

  One of the blogs that I read on a regular basis, Rainy Days Never Stays is doing a super fun giveaway.  Just hop on over to her blog and give it a gander.  There are LOTS of goodies to win.

Candy Violet Lavender Dress, Oh How I Love Thee.

  OK.  Yesterday I saw this dress on LolitaLover  and today I saw it on this post on Egl.  I think it is calling out to me.

I fell in love with it the very instant I saw it.  The color, and fabric, and small decorative ruffles, and sweet heart top, and everything else is just perfect.  I have to say that I am super bummed out that I did not come up with this design. 

I hopped onto the Candy Violet shop to see how much it was and almost fell over when I saw the price, $500!  Eeeeeeeeek.  Having a Bachelors in Fashion Design I can usually understand the pricing of most dresses but I feel this particular one is a bit much.  I have to guess that a large chunk of the price has to come from the price of the fabric alone.  On the page I could not find what kind of fabric it was so I can't say but I hope it is very nice.  The only thing that I don't like is the back.  It is very plain compared to the rest of the dress.

I love it so much but I also do not have $500 to burn so I think I might make my own.  Perhaps I will add a few of my own ideas and make a few adjustments but I need this dress in one form or another.  I think  I will add ruffles to the back of the skirt, in a swirly pattern along the bottom of the skirt.  Here are more pictures of the amazing dress in all of its glory.  Enjoy!

What I am Reading- The Three Sisters Island Trilogy (Dance Upon The Air)

 I love to read.  There is nothing like escaping into another world and story.  I especially love stories with magic and fanciful elements.  Since reading is popular amongst the Lolitas I though it would be nice to share what I am reading.
  One of my favorite authors is Nora Roberts.  I know I know.  You might be thinking, "Romance novels are all Fabio and women with heaving bosoms."  Not Nora Roberts.  About 5 years ago I worked at Barnes and Nobel and loved to talk books with my co-workers.  I read all of the books by my favorite author Dean Koontz and asked my co-workers who they liked for recommendations.  One of them told me to try Nora Roberts.  I resisted because I liked mystery, horror, suspense, and big bad guys/monsters.  She told me her books had all of those things but just with romance as well.  Boy was she right.  Roberts's books walk a fine line of romance, suspense, impending evil, and personal growth.  They are perfect for me and might be perfect for you as well.

  So onto the first books.  The Three Sisters Island trilogy.  The trilogy is made up of Dance upon the Air, Heaven and Earth, and Face the Fire.  The first book Dance Upon The Air is my favorite one of the three. Here is the quick little blurb from the inside cover.

  I really like the main character, Nell Channing.  She is mild but also very strong.  She loves to cook and bake, make people happy, and is strong on the inside but does not look it on the outside.  Her love interest sheriff Zach Todd has a super sweet personality and is very likeable.  I highly suggest checking out his book along with the other two in the trilogy.  Happy reading!

New Bead Store Near Me- Black Bear Beads

  I do most of my jewelry supply shopping on line through Etsy and other on-line sellers/vendors.  The other bit of shopping is done at "local" craft stores.  The closest store is JoAnn's fabric store which is about 25 minutes away from my place.  They have a small but okay selection of the staples but they are just a little too expensive for what they have.  The next closest store is A.C. Moore which is about just shy of an hour away.  They have a much better jewelry/supply section but they still are a bit too expensive.  But Now.  *happy trumpet sounds* There is a place that is close, very close.  Black Bear Beads is a new bead shop (only two months old) that is literally within walking distance of my apartment.  Yea!!!
  I heard about them from a co-worker and hunted them down on Google and made my way to their shop.  It is very small, like 1 room small but very nice.  They carry all of the regular findings like jump rings, earring hooks, eye pins, and so on.  They also carry lots of super fun and unique beads.  I met one of the co-owners of the shop on my first visit yesterday.
  Bonnie was super friendly.  We talked about beads, jewelry, the rain, our marriages, fashion, and oodles of other random things.  I really liked the shop and Bonnie so much I think I will put in an application for employment.  I think I could really be happy working in a bead shop.  Anyway, I also made several purchases so here is my haul.
  All of my goodies were packed into a little black and white bag that has little paw prints on it. *cute*

Here is the full load of goodies that I got.  Lots of pearls, crimpers, gold necklace hoops, black stretch cord, and a jump ring ring. 

The pearls that the shop had were super pretty and they had the nicest colors.

I lost my tiny pair of crimp pliers so I bought a nicer and bigger pair.  I also bought 2 strands of  "pearls" that are pink and light blue.  Together the colors look like cotton candy.  Yumm.  The last and possibly the best thing I bought is a jump ring ring.  it is a ring that you wear on your finger that has several slits in it.  You put the jump ring in the slot and use a small pair of pliers to open the jump ring.  It was only 1 dollar so I thought I would give it a chance.

I will have to dive into my new goodies and show you girls some new pieces when they are done.  

Black Bear Beads is not going to be my new shopping source for every thing but it will be a new seller that I will be using on a regular basis and will be walking to on a regular basis as well.

Daily Lolita Highlight - Candies and Laces

 It is a nice and dreary Wednesday, the week is half over, and one of my cute little kitties cuddled up beside me.  It is a good time to do a Daily Lolita highlight. 

  I love looking at the Daily Lolita on egl because you get to see the newest collections/prints on girls, you see how people make up their coordinates, make up, and hair, and pictures from meet ups.  Like many Lolitas out there, I live in an area where I am the only Lolita within quite a radius.  So it is nice to see all of my Lolita girls every day through the internet and live-journal. 

  My latest Daily Lolita Highlight is a lovely minty beauty, Candies and Laces.  These pictures are from a picnic that she went to and they chose a beautiful location and lucked out with nice weather. 

  When I first got into Lolita I was all into sugary Sweet but now my tastes are leaning more towards classic and the more subdued looks.  Candies and Laces does this in a great way.  She is cute and sweet without being over the top and too sweet.  I love it!  Her lovely minty OP by Le Carrousel is awesome.  Her perfect combination of mint and white keep the whole outfit light and young.

There are just so many elements of her outfit that I love.  I love the colors, the pearls draped everywhere, her mature and pretty make-up, and her hair!  The hair!  I completely embrace what she is doing with her hair in these pictures.   Her soft side swept bangs add a bit of romance and the up swept braid and delicate butterflies are too perfect with this outfit.  I know most Lolitas favor big long curly hair but I enjoy and prefer (for myself) an up-do.  Having her hair is a great choice with this particular outfit because it allows you to see all of the gorgeous necklaces and her super cool tattoo on her back.  I think we should strive to wear our hair up more in cute "do's"

Another part of her outfit that I love are her nails.  Her nails look so soft, clean, and the color is amazing.  I find I don't have the patience to paint my nails nicely and I get a little jealous whenever I see girls with extra nicely painted nails.  So good job Candies and Laces, I am officially jealous.  This girl knows how to put together a coordinate and look good.

Selling SweetSuzette in stores

  Today I ran around Saratoga Springs to see if any cute boutiques wanted to sell  my jewelry in their stores.  I loaded up with business cards, jewelry, invoice pad, and water.  A lot of the stores were cute but not quite right for my jewelry to be sold in.  My stuff is cute and light and most of the stores are cool and hip.  I left my card for the shop girls to give to the owners (when the owner was not there) and spread the word that I am trying to sell. 
 I did hit a good one though.  80 West!  It is a nice trendy little shop right on Broadway where there is a nice steady stream of foot traffic.  The store is still really young (1 year old) and not well known but I think there is potential there.  Mary-Lou is one of the owners and super friendly.  She agreed to sell about 30 of my pieces on commission.  I set up a little table that is all pink and cute.  Hopefully things will go well at the shop and soe of my pieces will sell.
  I also got lots of compliments on my outfit today.  I went in all Lolita.  Blue Bodyline dress, white boots, blue BL bag, flowers in my hair, and  lots and lots of pearls.  I would hear "Cute Dress" from behind me and people passing by.  I always smile, wave, and say Thank You.  I like when people are nice.
  Lastly, I did a whole lot of nothing on Lolita Day but I still wanted to dress all pretty.   Here is a quick shot.  My cat Bella wanted to be in the shot as well.  She always manages to hop into my pictures somehow. 

I am all about lots of flowers in my hair right now.  When I do my hair every day whether or not I am going to be in Lolita I always end up putting bunches of those petals in my hair.  It must be the nice spring/summer weather.