frillish

August Tea Party

• daily
• fashion

Hello We had our August tea party last week, which Amber planned as Oshikatsu Tea Party While I am not that familiar myself with the term “oshi”, I believe it’s from Japanese idol culture and focuses on expressing adoration and support for your favourite idol or character (the “oshi”) through attending events, buying merch, crafting themed goods, and engaging with other fans

It’s very popular as part of jirai & ryosangata j-fashion, so it fit our server very much

Anyway, originally I was not sure if my eczema would behave enough for me to attend, but thankfully it got better! I themed my outfit on shirokuma

I wore the outfit on the left for the tea party, but later I went out as the right with my favourite, super old and grungey thrifted cardigan from many many years ago

For some reason it rained totally randomly in the morning so I didn’t bother to curl my hair So strange to have summer rain in socal, especially since it was high 80’s all week!

It was really fun to hear about who everyone adores and collects goods of! I love hearing the sentiments and history of items that people have acquired. It makes me feel slightly less conscious about my consumerist collections even though I try to be mindful about goods I get.

We went to try Waka Sakura, near the recently opened Tokyo Central It was quite funny since my housemates messaged us partially through our lunch asking if we were eating here, coz they parked by our car on total chance!

It’s a roller-belt sushi

The menu is pretty small, but the fish is super fresh and I really like that they flavour the rice! Overall, I thought the place is a bit pricey but the freshness and value of the sushi is worth the price. I was really happy we got to eat out somewhere new together

For some reason, the manz wanted a treat (very rare) so we got boba too! Or well, he got a bobaless milk tea and I got a passionfruit tea from HNTea. Sadly, we originally wanted to go to Yi Fang since they make fruited fruit teas but it looks like the one in Irvine closed!?

Still, I feel like it was such a nice treat

Lastly, fall items are slowly coming out at Trader Joe’s!! What a joy!! I love pumpkin items. I’m looking forward to make a pumpkin puree macha latte when the season is in.

Oh, I had one more thing to add to this post! I changed up the layout slightly. It does resemble my previous layout even more now in terms of structure but I didn’t like how refreshing the page used to bring you back to the top every time for some reason.

Now, I’ve fixed it and allowed more reading space, along with a few adjustments to the spacing of things. Hopefully it’s more comfortable to read now

Friday

• daily
• fashion
• reads

Wow, hello It has been quite a while since I last wrote on my blog! I don’t know why, but I guess it’s just been some time. I did start journalling in my physical journal again after another break, so since I had a “journalling” outlet there, the blog got neglected!

Sometimes I also feel super indulgent, just writing about myself here But I guess that’s just what a casual blog can be like! So like, since I feel more awake today, I’ll share a handful of recent-ishes.

A while back, we had “Casino Night” themed party for one of our friends moving away to Las Vegas. It was so rowdy lol but the friend group is really sweet! We got to meet a few new (to me) people, too

I decided to wear this pink outfit I kind of prefer to wear outfits that aren’t as pricey to parties because there’s a lot of loose food and drink.

I got some items from Honey Mew, michellmacaron’s new sub-brand I really love their brand aesthetic; it reminds me of a bit sweeter pium

To be honest, I was so unsure about their sizing because a lot of their pieces come in only XS and F (freesize), and their measurements are done flat (so, useless LOL). I normally wear Japanese size S, and sometimes “freesize” can be too big for me. I noticed almost all their models on their IG wear XS, so I measured my existing closet garments and matched them up to the size chart, which corresponds to XS - so that’s what I ordered. Thankfully… they actually fit! And I think the onepiece fits a bit better than my freesize pium, which is a bit too long on me

That said, the tiered pink skirt is SCANDALOUSLY short. I cannot recommend this for anyone over 5 feet. It’s basically a “my bf will have to pick up anything I drop on the floor” outfit

In the second pic, I got some summer items from Bobon21 Their new collection was so cute! I feel like cfashion is really nice for summer

Picked up this Rosé Muse white dress NWT secondhand since I had wanted it since it came out, but didn’t want to pay full price. I was so happy to see it available in my size! Unfortunately it’s a bit loose in the waist but the design is pinnable thankfully

It’s super comfy and the small details are so pretty

Lastly in clothes, I managed to finally snag this old Liz Lisa dress for a good price I’ve always wanted this design, so I’m really happy I found it! I think it will be versatile and suitable for multiple seasons due to the cut and the slightly longer length

Got a little shirokuma pouch after eyeing it for months

Finally, I was so surprised that I managed to snag the idang club x milkyhearts diary ring binder. I had about given up that anyone would ever part with it since Korean indie brands are really sparse in secondhand markets… but I found it at a great price too! Rejoice!!!

I’m planning to keep notes on my yearly goals and reflections in this tiny binder

I did these nails in June for our girls’ norcal trip. I can’t believe they’re actually still on today (though they’re pretty nastily grown out and the jewels are faded LOL)

I’ve never had my self-done nails stay on for so long before!

I forgot what I wore this outfit for, but it was probably a daily outing. I liked it a lot since it’s simple - nothing better than an old school liz lisa sukapan for casual wear

As part of my birthday celebrations, my dangie, bro, and manz celebrated with me at Seabirds Kitchen - a vegan restaurant that I like quite a lot! I was so happy they were willing to indulge in vegan food with me, but I think Seabirds is very versatile!

Afterwards, we walked over to Stella Jean’s Ice Cream and I got their yuzu + poppyseed cake ice cream. I was a little nervous trying it bc it’s one of their vegan options and my manz didn’t really liked their vg ice cream last time he tried it, but it turned out to be so delicious! I was so happy! (Though I was really eyeing their blueberry cornbread flavour… I love corn ice cream.)

I was so surprised when the staff lit a candle on my ice cream and the strangers in line started singing happy birthday haha, it was a bit embarrassing but in a sweet way

Picked a comfy and easy outfit I like to wear - knit top with my pium/bubbles combo.

My dangie gifted me the polaroid 2x3 photo printer that was on my wishlist, and I immediately used it to journal with!!! And… I didn’t put a picture here coz I forgot to transfer it from my phone LOL but my brother gave me an Albedo mousepad To match the coaster I already have hehe!

On the weekend bday celebration with my family, I wore this overly girly dress that’s rather hard to wear normally

On the way to my parents’ house, I wanted to take some cute couple photos together so we stopped at Life4Cuts and took this silly pictures I was really happy he was open to indulging me since he’s not much of a photo person

Lastly, we visited Chicha San Chen - the “legendary” (according to A’s boba enthusiast friend) Taiwanese tea place that’s trending in the states now. We’ve been on a search for STRONG tea-flavoured milk tea places to replace Orobae after that closed, and my manz really liked this place - not as much as Orobae - but he was so happy he kept praising it as he inhaled his drink!!

I got a peach fruit tea because I forgot I wanted to try milk tea Though, at 50% it was the perfect sweetness! I really enjoyed the real fruit bits. I wish we had one closer to us!

Never Flinch (Holly Gibney #4)

Stephen King

Goodreads

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐★

Genre: Thriller, Horror

Summary A killer's warning: 13 innocents and 1 guilty on the list to avenge the death of an innocent man. Holly Gibney aims to unravel this villain's plot before he finishes his mission - but the mixed-in stories of several others, including police detective Jaynes, women's rights activist Kate McKay, gospel singer Sista Bessie, Holly's closest friends Barbara & Jerome, and secret freaky people bring chaos among the search for justice and vengeance.

Opening Line March, and the weather's miserable.

The setup of this is very much classic King - so many storylines, and when they line up, they sure line up I couldn’t put this down, even though the build-up is pretty slow in the beginning, and some of the characters were - well - not so enjoyable to read (to be fair, I don’t think we’re supposed to like some of them!)

In terms of a Holly novel - I think this one was solid, though not as unsettling as the previous in series Holly, which was… pretty disturbing LOL. I think Holly herself has gotten so established that she feels like she’s missing a few of her quirks that we’ve grown to love about her, though it doesn’t so much weaken her character as make it more streamlined and a little less unique.

That said, I adore Barbara & Jerome and seeing more of them is always fun! The villain in this novel did freak me out a bit, and I can’t say much more without potentially spoiling, but I really like how Stephen King paced the villain in this. Such a great read!

Ararat

Christopher Golden

Goodreads

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐★★

Genre: Horror

Summary Ghostly mountain Ararat threatens a curious exploration team with more than they asked for. I mean, why not start poking at the ancient artifact found inside?

Opening Line Just past eight o'clock on the last morning of November, the mountain began to shake.

Okay, so I kind of liked the premise of this - freaky mountain does freaky mountain things - but the characters were SO unlikeable and didn’t stand out very much besides being… there. In fact, I don’t even remember a single one of them I liked LOL. The book was very long, so I think it would’ve worked better as short story.

I finished reading it since it was on audiobook so it wasn’t so bad - but it was just alright. I do love a spooky archaelogical theme, though!

The Piper's Graveyard

Ben Farthing

Goodreads

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐★

Genre: Horror

Summary Small town horror with big buried scary. Cessy ventures back to her hometown Hamlin in search of her missing sister, only to find it taken over by those who hate vermin: as taught by the talk radio in town that never sleeps. Something unusual is brewing under town and it just might snap soon...

Opening Line A rusty storm door creaked loose on its hinges.

I was really wavering on this book throughout reading it - I think it goes between 3 & 4 rating for me. The premise was interesting and the horror could be pretty unsettling (omg one of the type of “monstrous” effects it had REALLY sends a chill even when I think about it now lol), but the characters were often flat and annoying. The small town setting was done pretty well as its own character I think.

The joyous-sounding yet hate-spewing radio show really echoes politically when the host vows to Make Hamlin Great Again. Reading about her parents really reminded me of my own parents… heh. There’s a mixture of human nature’s horror and supernatural horror in this story, which was the first longer novel I’ve read from this author!

Overall, worth a read, but quite a slow buildup and a bit dampening enthusiasm due to dislikeable characters. The horror itself I’m split on - the Big Bad was not really my thing, but the visual horror of some parts… whew. One of the most unsettling effects I’ve read in horror, which is quite the statement.