2016: Year of the Lolita

After a very long absence, hello darlings, and happy new year!

I find it embarrassing that my last post was on March of 2015. Last year was very busy for me, with a dynamic professional life, moving across the Pacific and the mainland, and making my way through my first year of married life. It's been an emotional roller coaster, but I am glad to be on the doorstep of 2016.

In case you were wondering, it was a pleasure to meet Akira at Kawaiikon 2015. She is by far one of the most engaging J-fashion guests I have met. I posted about it on instagram, which was my platform of choice for my hectic year if you would like to catch up.

#FlashbackFriday to the time I met #Akira (@disacode) at a #Kawaiikon #teaparty! I forgot ALL of my Japanese when I saw her, because I was so nervous. But she was so funny and sweet! I gave her a present... a small bottle of Crown Royal that said "Drink Me", and a box of Hawaiian chocolates that said "Eat Me". 🍶🍫 Much to my surprise, she loved the whiskey!! 😂 She said it was her "energy!" Haha~☆ that was a great day. And she said I have a pretty face 😢💗 Marry me now, Akira-sama...👰💒💍💐 #lolitafashion #happy #eglcommunity #aliceandthepirates #aatp #kera #ouji #love #disacode

A photo posted by エリカ / Erica (@lycaon_lycoris) on Oct 2, 2015 at 6:24pm PDT

At least, I did get to wear a lot of Lolita in the past year. It was probably my friliest year so far, since there were more than enough meet-ups to go to! Here are a few which I remembered to grab pictures of:

But as I sit here on the 4th of January, there is one thing I am sure of: 2016 will be the "Year of Lolita" for me.

This year I want to:

• Improve my wardrobe
• Be more active in the community online, and in-person
• Improve my blog by sharing reviews, event reports, coordinate posts, crafting/sewing posts, Lolita themed writing prompts, and more
• Attend more meet-ups
• Maybe host or help plan a meet-up
• Travel and visit different comms, to meet all different kinds of Lolitas

In addition to the above, I've set another goal to host a fashion show for Darkly Darling at Rufflecon 2016. I have never attended Rufflecon, but I always fawn over the photos and dream of showing a collection there someday. So now that I have moved to the East Coast, why not go for it?

Of course, that means that as soon as I move in to my new home, I will have to set up my sewing machine and hit the ground running. I want to improve my skills, and only put my best work forward.

This year is already shaping up to be quite busy, with Katsucon right around the corner. This will be my first big mainland convention I've attended since I was about 12. So far a Lolita Luncheon has been announced, called "Star Crossed". I am already dreaming up a constellation-themed coordinate for the event!

I did not order any lucky-packs for new years, so don't have any new exciting purchases to show off. However, I did amass a lot of dream pieces to my collection in the past year, so I hope to have a "2015 Wardrobe Post" up by the end of the month.

I hope to share many more meet-up pictures this year, so please look forward to it!

I am also cleaning up my blog layout for something less busy, and easier to read and navigate. I hope that this will help keep my old readers as well as bring in new ones.

To all of you, Happy New Year!