Happy Halloween!

Okay, so I'm a day late. That's ok! For Halloween this year, I decided to use mostly things I already owned to make a costume. I ended up being a unicorn, and I only bought the horn/ears headband and tail (because they came together). I would have tried to be creative and make those things myself, but I waited until the last minute and didn't have time :)

So here I am with my Jedi husband at our church Halloween party.

The skirt might be familiar to you if you love Lolita like I do - it's Dream Of Lolita's replica of Angelic Pretty's Milky Planet (I have no problem with replicas. If you do, sorry!). The shoes are Bodyline's SHOES259 in White. I'm all about saving money - I bought the Milky Planet replica secondhand on the comm sales, and the shoes during one of Bodyline's holiday sales last year for $10 cheaper than the normal price.

I ended up having to work Halloween night, so we celebrated the day before, then watched "The Nightmare Before Christmas" when I got off work.

In other news, I got my first ever tattoo a few weeks ago when my parents and sister were in town to visit!


Also, hubby and I got a pet. She is a dwarf hamster, and the cutest, tiniest thing I have ever seen. She will not let me take pictures of her - every time I try she runs away and hides. But I named her Princess Penelope, and I am in the process of kawaii-ifying her cage so I will try to remember to post pictures when I'm done!

That's all for now! Thanks for reading!

Polyvore

One thing I love: Polyvore!
If you don't already know, Polyvore is a website where you can upload clothing, accessories, etc. from anywhere on the internet and create an entire look. You can also use anything that has ever been uploaded by any other user! It's difficult to explain, so let me show you my latest Polyvore creations:

Crop Top: thehut.com, $6.43
Suspender skirt: ebay.com, $14.99
Shoes: shopakira.com, $95
Backpack: forzieri.com, $56
Owl Necklace: claires.com, $8.50
Watch: jcpenney.com, $36
Bow: amazon.com, $10
Nail Polish: asos.com, $19
Lip Gloss: selfridges.com, $18.95

If you know me, you know how much I love pastels. Especially over the past year or two! If I could dress like this every day, I think it would be so fun (though in real life, I don't wear crop tops :) I prefer my belly to be covered!) I seem to have a different favourite pastel colour every week these days - currently, I'm crazy about mint :)

Tank Top: owntherunway.com, $18
Jacket: bankfashion.com, $47
Jeans: theoutnet.com, $95
Boots: modaoperandi.com, $465
Clutch: topshop.com, $19
Bracelet: boohoo.com, $12
Nail Polish: nelly.com, $26

I love leather jackets and combat boots! I am not a rebel by nature, but I am crazy about this style. It has a "grunge-y" feel, but it's very clean and a little more high-class (though I have no problem with grunge! I love people who can pull it off!), and studs make everything better.

Crop Top: nelly.com, $24
Skirt: Angelic Pretty, ~$180
Shoes: heels.com, $65
Bag: christianlouboutin.com, $2,395
Earrings: swarovski.com, $90
Headband: disneystore.com, $20
Lashes: motelrocks.com, $10
Nail Polish: tenover6.com, $18

Needless to say, I will not be spending $2,395 on a purse any time soon, but I LOOOVE putting together the outfits! This one is a mix between Lolita, cosplay, and plain old fun. The skirt is Lolita, the overall look is going for Minnie Mouse (which could be seen as cosplay), but I like the idea of mixing Lolita with street style, even though it is no longer considered Lolita once you do so :)

I don't get on Polyvore too often, because once I start, I find it difficult to stop. But I enjoyed sharing my latest creations with you!

Review: Holika Holika Moisture Petit BB Cream

Review time!

I have always had a hard time finding a good base makeup that works for my skin type (which is, by the way, EXTREMELY dry). As you probably know if you read this blog, I am obsessed with Asian fashion, particularly Japanese and Korean. Since I spend so much time on Asian fashion websites, I'd heard a lot about BB cream, which is really popular in Korea. If you don't know what BB cream is, it is (and I directly quote Wikipedia here) "an all-in-one facial cosmetic product to replace serum, moisturizer, primer, foundation and sunblock." It originated in Germany, but gained extreme popularity in Asian markets, particularly in Korea. It is now beginning to gain popularity on the Western market, too, but I have heard rumours that it is still better to go with the Korean brands (they are cheaper anyways, as Western markets rack up the prices, assuming Americans will be more willing to pay for it). All that being said, since I had never found a product that worked well for me, I decided to give BB cream a try.

I researched a few brands and decided to go with Holika Holika's Moisture Petit BB Cream, since I am prone to dry skin. For those who do NOT have dry skin, this BB cream is also available in Shimmering, Essential, Clearing, and Watery. Here's a quick hint: if you want to get it cheaper than straight from Holika Holika, you can also get it from a good seller on Ebay. Just be sure the seller has good feedback and it is a new, unopened product. I ended up getting mine for less than $6, including shipping.

Without further ado...

Here's a picture of the BB cream in my hand, for size reference

My product was shipped a day later than expected, so the Ebay seller sent a free Holika Holika Tomato Essence Face Mask Sheet. I have never used a face mask sheet before, and the instructions are in Korean so I will have to look up how to use it, but I was excited about the freebie :)

The product itself is awesome. It works great with my skin type, and feels light while giving a LOT of coverage. My face doesn't feel dry or tight like it usually does, and my makeup doesn't feel caked on - I can barely tell it's there at all. Added plus - it has an SPF of 30 PA++ (PA has to do with protection from UV rays), which is great for my sunburn-prone skin. I also love that I can wear it by itself - I don't have to use moisturizer or primer beforehand. I DID use a bit of powder on top of it because I knew I would spend a lot of time walking outside today and didn't want to sweat off the makeup. After being outside in the heat for awhile, it looks just as good as right after I put it on!

When I first tested it on my hand, I was a little nervous it would be to dark, but when I rubbed it in, it matched my skin perfectly.

And here I am, finally, wearing my BB cream! Excuse the derpy face, I never know what to do with my face in pictures :)

I have no complaints about this product at all. The only thing I would change if I could would be making the bottle cuter, but that's just me being picky :) It's also a bit small, but if you get it on Ebay, the price isn't bad and the size is still worth what you pay. I will probably continue to buy this BB cream, and may buy more Holika Holika products in the future. I am one satisfied customer!

Thanks for reading!

We've Moved!

Life has been busy for the past month! We finally moved and have mostly gotten settled in to our new apartment. Patrick has started school/work. I got a job working in childcare at a fitness facility, and started working there last week. School starts Monday for me, and boy am I nervous! I have to say, we absolutely love living here so far. It's a beautiful city! It's not very big, but it has all the amenities a bigger city would have (including a great bus system, which is free to all students) and we've enjoyed exploring our new surroundings.
I plan to post pictures of the new apartment when we get completely settled in. For now, it's still a bit of a mess as we are trying to figure out where to put some things! Luckily, we've gotten quite a bit sorted out - we just have those last boxes full of stuff that doesn't seem to really go anywhere. I have the rest of this week and the weekend to figure all that out - once school starts I know I will not want to be worrying about getting moved in still.

Just wanted to make a quick update about why I've been out of touch! Thanks for reading!

All things considering...

If you saw my last post, you know all about the joys and stresses Patrick and I have faced so far as newlyweds. We've been married over a month now - hard to believe time flies by so quickly! These days, we're just working a lot, spending our spare time together, and preparing for our move to Iowa in a few weeks. I was able to get register for classes, and soon I will start looking for a part-time job there. Patrick will be taking some tests once we get settled, which will determine whether or not he has to take certain classes. We've been living out of boxes for well over a month now, so we're ready to get to our new apartment and FINALLY be able to unpack. In case you can't tell, we are so excited to begin an adventure in a brand new state!

We were also able to visit my family for a few days, which was such a blessing! We had a good time with my parents, my sister's family, and my brother and his wife, who are getting ready to move to Africa to do some awesome missions work for a few years. It was nice to spend some time with them before they leave.

Just a short update today :) Thanks for reading!

Married!

As of last Saturday, I am a married woman. It's hard to believe! I am going to blog a bit about married life so far (even though it's only been about 10 days)! But first, here is a picture taken by my lovely sister (see more of her photos here) -



The wedding was on June 1st, and it's already been an adventure.
I won't go into all the little details of the pre-wedding madness, but I will say that our wedding was everything I ever dreamed it would be and more. I had some very kind-hearted friends and family who worked so hard to make the day perfect, and I was humbled by their generosity.

Since Patrick and I are saving money to move in August, we decided against a big, expensive honeymoon. Instead, we chose a nice bed and breakfast called the Inn and Crescent Lake in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. I can't recommend the place enough! Beautiful property, kind and helpful owners, and just a short drive from Kansas City, where we went to Worlds of Fun and saw the musical Spamalot, as well as shopping and some nice restaurants. We had a blast, and we came back to our new apartment that we are sub-leasing for the summer before our big move feeling relaxed and in love. The love stayed, but the relaxation quickly dissolved when we realized there had been a mistake - we had no electricity! Normally, this wouldn't be such cause for panic, but the problem was Patrick (who moved our stuff in a few days before the wedding) had the refrigerator and freezer full of food for us to come home to. The power had been out a few days, and there are no words to describe the smell that was coming from the fridge. We ended up spending our first night home as a married couple at Patrick's parent's house because we couldn't stand the smell. We cleaned all the gone-bad food out, all the while taking regular breaks to run outside and get some air, but the smell remained. We used various cleaners, bleach, coffee grinds, baking soda, and regular old water over every inch of that fridge, but... the smell remained. Finally, we talked to the landlord, who said the smell is most likely in the vents in the back, and he would power wash it to get the smell out. However, it would be a few weeks before he could do it. Going a few weeks without a fridge would be easier said than done - at this point we'd gone a few days, and that was difficult enough! So we borrowed a mini fridge and are using that for the time being, with the real fridge taped shut to keep the smell out of our apartment. Not an ideal situation, but everyone needs a good newlywed story :)

With all our efforts trying to de-stink the fridge, combined with our work schedules, we have barely begun to unpack, so our apartment looks frightful! Boxes, boxes, boxes everywhere. The messiness has been a cause of stress, but now that we have our refrigerator situation covered, we are going right to work on the rest of the apartment.

Regardless of all that, I love Patrick and I love being married! We have learned quickly to deal with these every day challenges and laugh at them later. I've already learned so much about myself, and I am so excited to spend the rest of my life as his wife. God has blessed us with each other and the gift of marriage!

Thanks for reading!

Recommendations!

Since I started working overnight, I have done a LOT of reading.

Here are some of the great things I have discovered so far and would recommend to anyone who enjoys a good book.

1. The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

This is an absolutely lovely book about Ernest Hemingway's wife, Hadley. It begins with the day they meet and the story is so wonderful. If you're a fan of the '20's, read it. If you're a fan of Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, or Ezra Pound, read it. If you like books, read it. If you like life, read it.

2. Man Walks Into Room by Nicole Krauss

I am a HUGE Nicole Krauss fan. I recommend all her books, but this is the one I read most recently. It's about a man who is found wandering in the desert with no memory of how he got there, or anything else. He does not remember his wife, or even his name. He decides to participate in an experiment done by a scientist, and the book tells about his journey. Nicole Krauss has a way with words, and this book, along with any other she has written, is definitely worth the read.

3. Stepping on Roses by Rinko Ueda

Stepping on Roses is a manga. If you've never read manga before, it takes some getting used to, but this one is worth it. It's about a young girl named Sumi who lives with her older brother, who has a soft spot for orphans and is always bringing them home to live with them. The problem is that they can barely afford to feed themselves. One day, one of the orphans gets very sick and no doctor will treat that child for free. In a desperate moment, an extremely wealthy man who she has never met asks her to marry him, and in exchange he will guarantee financial security for her family. It's a beautiful story with beautiful illustrations, and I'd recommend it, no matter how much experience you have with manga.

Inspiration

I take inspiration all around, and see things often that inspire me to find out more about them, or cause me to wonder why I never noticed them in the first place. Almost daily, I am inspired to create, and, even more so, things that change my ideas about fashion. In the last few years, fashion (particularly alternative fashion) have become a passion of mine as I see more and more how creative people are and how beautiful it is to be different from everyone else. One thing I love about alternative fashion in particular is that not everyone is going to like it, but that's okay, because it's your art. Just as a painter paints on canvas, and a musician makes music, someone can create a work of art using his or her own appearance. It also celebrates that no matter what you look like, you can still be glamorous, creative, and lovely just by being unique. Of course everyone is absolutely beautiful, but it's more about how you feel inside. If I love what I wear and how I present myself, I will feel beautiful and confident. Here are some things that have made me feel inspired one way or another this week, in fashion or otherwise:


(Source: wanderlust-paradise07.tumblr.com)


(Source: tokyofashion.com)


(Source: weheartit.com)


(Source: weheartit.com)


(Source: moon-of-mine.tumblr.com)


(Source: prettypinkpage.tumblr.com)


(Sourice: tokyofashion.com)
**PS - If you like this one, you should take a look at the whole photoset here

Lately, I'm liking...

From the taobao shop Shirley Deer (shirleydeer.taobao.com)



I love this because it's elegant, not too childish, and winter-friendly. It would be a lovely snowy photo shoot choice. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. It's priced at 486 yuan, which is a little over 78 USD. Not cheap by any means, but not priced any less than it is worth (especially when you consider its weight and that it IS a winter coat). My favourite thing about it: as a future teacher, I could still wear it - even when going to work! Score!

Have a blessed day!

Busy, busy...

My life has taken a 180 degree turn over the past few weeks! I went from sitting around at home watching Netflix all day to working overtime every week between two jobs. On top of that, hubby-to-be and I are in the process of finding an apartment for the fall. We're having to do this online since we can't make the trip down to Iowa! Although we won't be moving until August, a lot of the apartments in the area are already spoken for, so we're going to have to find one soon.
This coming weekend, we will be heading to Kansas to visit my family and get some things done for the wedding, including our wedding shower, which we're very excited for! We're getting married two months from today - the time has really flown by :)
Between working so much and trying to figure out the future, there hasn't been time for much else. The trip will be an awesome break!

Busy morning!

Well, two great things happened this morning: First, Patrick and I decided officially that we will be moving to Iowa in August, attending Iowa State University! Second, I got a job offer - which will help keep me busy until the move, and help us have the financial stability to get settled into a new place. I'm really excited about both of these things!
The job that I was offered is at a place called the Good Samaritan Boy's Ranch. It's a place where boys who have been removed from their homes for whatever reason (whether they have gotten into legal trouble or there are issues with the family) temporarily live, go to school, and receive the help that they need. I will be working on the night watch crew, meaning I'll stay up overnight in one of the dorms as a security measure. It will be an interesting job, and I am excited to get started and work at a non-profit organization!
As far as out decision to go to Iowa - we learned that I will receive in-state tuition since Patrick will be working at the school! That is such a blessing for us, as my potential tuition costs were the thing that was holding us back from accepting their offer. Thankfully everything worked out perfectly, and all my prayers from the last few months are getting answered :)

Decisions, decisions.

Now that Fiance and I have visited all the options for a potential grad school (and undergrad for me), we are finally at a point where we can make a decision. We are both leaning highly towards Iowa State University. However, we can't decide officially until we figure out a way to get around me paying out-of-state tuition. Both of us have been communicating with the school trying to figure everything out so we can make an official decision. I have sent in an application, but it won't be reviewed until the school has received my transcript. However, my school will not send out my transcript until I pay off the final $200 I owe to the school. After paying rent and some bills for this month, I decided today wasn't a great time to pay that off! Prayers that I can have my transcript sent soon. Just a short and sweet little update, because it's difficult to tell other about your future when you don't know anything about it yet :) Thanks for reading!

All Things Bright and Beautiful

Lately, I have been celebrating beauty. Looking around, I've seen the most beautiful things - of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, that's something I believe with all my heart. Some may look at a landscape of colorful trees in the fall and feel there is no greater beauty. Others may prefer to go to an art museum and look at oil paintings. A man may look at a woman and think there is nothing more beautiful in the world. All these things are beautiful, of course. But today, I want to give a glimpse of some things I find to be extraordinarily beautiful. Man-made or not, glory to God for creating such things and the people who make them.


Vincent Olinet
Pas encore mon histoire - installation view Wanderland, Tilburg, 2008
Via laurentgodin.com


Via schalott.tumblr.com


Via september-irises.tumblr.com

Not much to this post, but just felt like sharing some pretty things with you.
Here's a quote to end on:

“Love beauty; it is the shadow of God on the universe.”
Gabriela Mistral

And a verse:

"He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end."
Ecclesiastes 3:11

As I'm getting further and further into my wedding planning, I am getting so excited to become Mrs. McVey! Today I am going to write about my fiance and how great he is, so for the un-romantic and cynical, you have been warned.

How We Met

At the beginning of my sophomore year of college, I was a music major. I was required to take an instrumental course (besides Piano, which I'd taken already). I had signed up to take the introductory guitar class with my roommate. It was a once-a-week class, and I ended up dropping it so I could take Opera instead. I only went to the class 3 or 4 times. Patrick was in the class, too. However, I wouldn't say I met him there - we never talked in Guitar class, but that was when we first became aware of one another's existence. I noticed him (what girl doesn't notice a cute guy in her class?) but didn't think much of it, because I didn't know the guy :) But then, a few days or weeks (hard to remember now) later, he added me as a friend on Facebook. A moment of honesty: I had to ask my roommate who he was. She had a class with him the previous semester, so she reminded me that he had been in Guitar class with us, so I accepted his friend request. He started "facebook chatting" me. At the time, I thought this was SO ridiculous! What a silly boy. We had some mutual friends, one of whom tried to set us up by inviting both to hang out at the same place at the same time, but Patrick just didn't talk to me! At some point, he actually asked me to go get coffee with him, and I said yes (sure, the facebook chatting was lame, but he was so cute! I couldn't turn him down!) so we went to a local coffee shop. I expected him to be a little shy, just because he hadn't spoken to me outside facebook... boy, was I wrong. We were there a few hours, and I barely had to contribute to the conversation! I can be a bit of an introvert, so I was happy that he was so talkative. After that, we started hanging out more often, going on walks, eating Dominoes Pizza, and watching movies. Through our conversations, he had learned that I was very protective over my heart and would not give it to any man who had not promised his heart to me. Unfair, but it was something I felt very strongly about. One night, Patrick pulled me aside and said something that has changed my entire life: He told me that he wanted to offer his heart to me, and to take my time and consider if I would like to offer mine to him as well. And I did take my time. Soon after this, I went on a trip to Guatemala and had NO communication with him for over 3 weeks. Even after I got home from Guatemala, I didn't see him for a few weeks, as it was Christmas break and we live a state away from each other. When I got back to school, we started hanging out a lot again, talking a lot about dating, but he knew I wanted to take things slowly. I'd never been anyone's "girlfriend" before. But he waited until I was ready, and when I was, I told him so.

My First Boyfriend

One night, I went with Patrick to his parents' house, where he was living at the time. We were going to eat dinner with his family and watch a movie. When it got later and his family started going to bed, he said he had something for me. He gave me a small piece of paper with a clue. Which led to another clue. And another. And another. I went all through his house finding these clues, some of which came with presents (because who doesn't love those?). The second to last clue led me to his bedroom, where his closet was filled with TONS of balloons. I was told to pop the balloons until I found the final clue (which wasn't really a clue at all). It simply said "Turn around." Patrick was standing behind me, and he said some of the sweetest things to me, and asked me to be his girlfriend. There was nothing that would have made me happier.



We're engaged now, of course, and I am so happy to be getting ready to marry this sweet, wonderful man, and I am so grateful that God led me to Patrick! That wedding and the lifetime that will follow couldn't come soon enough.

Materialism

On my Tumblr the other day, I received the following message:

You are incredibly materialistic :( Looking at your blog makes me sad for you. You say you love Jesus? And I am confused because Jesus did not love material things? Perhaps stop blogging and read your Bible?

When I first read this, I was deeply saddened that someone felt this way about me. Of course, as the message was anonymous and I do not typically advertise my Tumblr to people I know in real life, I am almost positive whoever sent the message knows nothing about me except what I post on Tumblr. However, I wanted to share the message on this blog as well as my response in a more detailed manner, because I do think it's important.
Here was my response (which I have edited a bit after re-reading) to the message:

Dear Anon,

If I ran a blog about art, sports, or music would you think twice about it? Why am I allowed to be passionate about those things, but not about fashion?

Newsflash: fashion IS art. I am blogging about things that make me happy, things that I enjoy. Besides that, Lolita is extraordinarily modest. I feel NO moral guilt for this blog, because I have no reason to.

Lolita is expensive, and if that is where you’re getting the “materialistic” thing from, that is also unfair. Growing up, I did musical theatre, and my parents had to pay a fairly large fee for every show I was in, not to mention the gas money to drive across town every day for rehearsals. It was not a cheap hobby, but I loved it, and it made me feel like I was good at something, and gave me a sense of worth. So… was it sinful for me to do musical theatre? If someone loves football, would you judge them for buying expensive season tickets for their favourite team? If someone wants to be a musician, should they feel shameful for paying for piano lessons? No.

God never asked us not to be passionate about anything. I am still passionate about God. I only buy new clothes when I can afford it—honestly, that’s not very often. I have exactly ONE Lolita outfit, despite blogging about the fashion regularly. Regardless - even if I had a thousand Lolita outfits, you have no idea what I do with the rest of my money, how much I spend, or how much I love Jesus. You especially do not know how much I read the Bible.

Now, please don't get me wrong - I'm not saying we should use our money selfishly. But I AM saying no one should feel guilty for being passionate about something (unless, of course, the thing they are passionate about is sinful). Give what you can, both financially and prayerfully, give your time or expertise to help when help is needed, and do NOT be selfish with your money. But don't feel guilt for loving something, either.

My Favourite Styles

Over the past few years, I have been going gaga over a few different fashion trends. Many of those who follow my Tumblr have asked me about the pictures I post there, because they show some very unique and interesting styles that most people don't see every day, especially where I'm from. I have been thinking for quite awhile, "Wouldn't it be nice if I wrote out a post that I could direct people to when they are curious about my unique interests?" So today, I'll be making a list of some of my personal favourite trends with descriptions and pictures.


1. Lolita
Lolita is a fashion from Japan. It is based off of clothing from the 18th century, with many twists and sub-styles. The two types of lolita I am most fond of are Sweet Lolita and Classical Lolita. There are a few things that are constant in Lolita, despite the sub-style. For something to be considered Lolita, it must have a distinct shape that is obtained by wearing a petticoat. Lolita is also a style that values modesty, which means the skirts are typically to the knee and the necklines are modest. There are other constants, of course, but in seeing some photo examples, hopefully you will be have a better idea of what Lolita is and is not.

Sweet lolita:
Sweet lolita is defined by pastels and cutesy themes/accessories. Here are some of my favourite examples of Sweet:

Classic lolita:
Classic lolita offers a much more mature look than Sweet. Here are some of my favourite examples of Classic:

2. Fairy Kei
Another style with pastels! Fairy Kei is sometimes confused with Sweet Lolita, but it is very different. It's much more casual, for one thing! Fairy Kei is also a Japanese style, but it takes inspiration from the 80's, not the 18th century like Lolita! You'll see what I mean with some examples:

3. Soft Grunge/Pastel Goth
Stay with me here - I know the term "Goth" can be a turn-off to some people, but this is not what you are expecting. Pastel Goth (again with the pastels!) is beautiful to me! A few of my favourites:

As far as the details of what these styles are (and what they are not), hopefully someday I can do a more detailed post on each of them. For now, I hope the very basic introduction will peak your interest! Thanks for reading!


*Note: I own none of the photos in this post. The majority of them have been found floating around the internet, and I do not even have a source for many of them. If any of these photos are your property, please let me know. I would be happy to credit you OR remove the photo. Thanks.