Angelic Pretty Paris 2nd anniversary Tea Party

Hi! I hope everyone is enjoying summer!
We are in July, so you guessed what it means: it's time for the annual Angelic Pretty tea party in Paris!!! I am always happy to attend, but I don't exactly know why, I was especially excited this year. It is funny, because I thought it would be less and less spectacular with the years, but nope! Every year the staff is working hard to blow our minds and amaze us with gorgeous venues!

It was my 9th Angelic Pretty tea party and my second one at the famous Ritz hotel! Can you believe that? I feel a bit old... I think next year, I'll have to attend in a wheelchair with lots of wrinkles and white hair! Hahaha

I had a bit of trouble to organize everything this year. First, most of my colleagues decided to take vacations at the same time without consulting me first (I am the one doing the schedule) and I was left with nobody to work on the first weeks of July. Yay. So no day off for me. I had to go to Paris on Saturday afternoon after work and come back right away on Sunday to be back at work on Monday morning. That was SO stressfull... but WORST: the SNCF (the national French train company) decided it was a brilliant idea to extand their strike to the 7th and 8th of July! What a great idea, because that meant I had no train to go to Paris anymore... After some anxious tears, a stop at the counter to change my train ticket and some negocitations with a coworker to take some of my hours, I finally was in the train for Paris! YES!

In the end, the strike brought me some good as I had to take an earlier train and arrived sooner in Paris, which meant I had time to have a lovely dinner with dear Rosalynn and her sweet mom! We went to Aki Boulangerie where I ate a delicious katsu curry and a straberry shortcake! Yum! After that, we had a bubble tea (of course). It was a simple, but nice evening! It helped me relieve the stress from the days before! Rosalynn even gifted me a super cute Swimmer (rip ;__;) comb! It was the most perfect way to spend that Saturday evening!

So happy I could spend some extra time with Rosalynn!

Soooooo, on Sunday morning I woke up very (too) earlier at 6:00. I just couldn't sleep anymore... I had a small breakfast, talked a bit with Rosalynn who also has trouble sleeping late and tried to go back to sleep to not look like a zombie for the party.

It was then time to get ready! I left the hotel all dressed up around 11:15 and went on my way to Place Vendôme where I had to meet with Rosalynn. She arrived just past noon and we took some pictures together outside before heading to the Ritz!

This is my favourite picture of us ♥

I actually love how our pictures turned out! I always like how she takes pictures of me, she is the best event buddy I can hope for! Things are easy between us, she knows what to do for me and I know what to do for her! 
But let's talk a bit more about our outfits! Rosalynn went for a very elegant coordination with her beautiful Cameo Window JSK in wine. I am so used to see her in pastel colours, but she definitely looks amazing in darker colours too! She was a real princess! 

Pretty Rosalynn in her very elegant outfit ♥

I went for a very simple and cute maid outfit myself, with my beloved French Café JSK. Many attendees wanted to make outfits matching the name of the tea party "Le banquet des anges", so I felt a bit out of place! Haha! (no, actually, I really enjoyed wearing this outfit!)

♥ Angelic Pretty French Café ♥ 

Barrette: Angelic Pretty 
Daisies: Claire's 
Cutsew: Angelic Pretty

JSK: Angelic Pretty 
Apron: Bought on Etsy and customized with an AP ribbon
Socks: Angelic Pretty
Shoes: Bodyline
Wristcuffs: Angelic Pretty
Bracelet: Angelic Pretty & Claire's
Rings: Claire's & Zygomatics

I soon started to spot more and more Lolitas around Place Vendôme, so we decided to head to the hotel! Many girls were already waiting outside. We were still a bit early, but we entered the Ritz anyway so I could leave my suitcase to the wardrobe. The staff was really nice and curious and I chatted a bit with them! An employee then told us to go to the salon, where we could wait for the party to start.

The Ritz isn't *that* impressive from the outside, but let's peak inside...

I am dying! So luxurious!!!

That was a bit awkward as only Rosalynn and I were given these directions and we ended up all by ourselves waiting near the salon. We then were asked to go back to the entrance, before being told to go back to the salon again... That was sketchy! Haha!
Eventually, all the guests started to arrive and we weren't by ourselves anymore. The party was late and we waited quite a lot of time before being able to enter the actual room. It wasn't a problem for me though, as I enjoyed talking to friends, taking pictures and all.

After a while, we were finally invited to enter the main room! Rosalynn and I went ahead and I was officially the first one to enter, oh yeah! This is when I was blown away by the room! It was so amazing! I am always really grateful to Angelic Pretty staff to invite us in such gorgeous places, because let's face it: I would never ever go there by myself! Thanks to all their hard work, I can feel like a true princess for a day! ♥

Pink gifts bags were waiting for us on the chairs! We have been spoiled: there was a badge, a tote bag, a cute British Crown plate and a RinRin Doll postcard inside! I especially like the plate, as I love British Crown print... even if, honestly, I will never use it! Haha

People were slowly coming in and we had a lot of free time before the party actually officially started! I went around to take pictures of friends and talk with them. We were then asked to go back to our seats, were welcomed by Angelic Pretty Paris manager and told about the program: there would be a fashion show, a special cake made by the Ritz chef, a raffle and the election of the Best Dressers!

I don't remember now if we had the cake before or after the fashion show (my memory is so bad, dear... another fact that shows I'm an old grandma! Hahahaha), but let me tell you that cake was amazing! Raspberries & cream = it was delicious!

I don't have any pictures as they were not allowed, but let's talk a bit about the fashion show. First, we had Risa Nakamura and RinRin Doll modelling, which was nice (I was especially super happy to see RinRin again, because she is a total sweetheart)! About the upcoming series: nothing really caught my eyes, but OMG the last two dresses modelled by Risa and RinRin were totally CRAZY!!! They weren't the usual Lolita dresses: they were princess dresses! They were floor lentgh, with lots of sparkles, lace and bows and were totally over-the-top!!! I think everybody gasped in amazement when they appeared! That was really something! I can't wait for the official pictures!

After the fashion show, we had quite a lot of free time again! I appreciated it, as last years that was really what was missing the most. I had plenty of time to say hello to friends, to take pictures and to eat! Only down side: Maki and Asüka weren't around at all... I wish we could have seen them a bit more!
I was glad to see my friend Lea, who also came all the way from Switzerland! Our outfits were perfectly matching and we didn't even talk about it before! That was a nice coincidence! Her outfit was inspired by 1920s fashion and was super gorgeous!

The tea party was actually way longer than what was planned! It was supposed to end around 15:45 but at that time, we still haven't had the raffle or the Best Dresser prizes! I was of course delighted to have more time, but I also started to get a bit worried about my train!
Fortunately, the raffle started soon after. There were many many many prizes, but I didn't win anything. Rosalynn, who is always super lucky, got a lovely cutsew though! I was so happy for her! Lea also got one, lucky girls! As a consolation prize, we got a cute pink tote bag with a ribbon and poodle print on it!

So many lucky winners!

This is where I started to get quite anxious about my train as it was almost 16:30 and my train was just after 18:00. Lea already had to leave in the middle of the raffle for the same reason, but I would have been so disappointed if I had to leave early!
The Best Dressers still had to be announced and we also still had to take a group picture!
There were 2 prizes for the 2nd place best coordinations! Beautiful Noke, from Finland, won a prize with a super lovely ice cream outfit! I think her idea was quite clever as she chose a very wintery print but managed to make a super summery outfit with it by turning it into an ice cream princess outfit! She made some amazing props herself too! The other 2nd place prize went to a cute Chinese (I think?) Lolita who was wearing Astro Regimen. I didn't really understand what she said about her outfit, but I think she at least said she chose this dress because she loved that shade of blue!

2nd place best dressers!

The first place for the Best Dresser went to a gorgeous girl with a pink and soft Cupid coordination. She made lots of accessories and props herself too, including her wings I think. You could tell she put lots of effort in her outfit, so it was well deserved! She was very moved!

Too much emotion!

I think everyone deserved the best dresser prize, because you can really tell all the guests made their best to wear their most beautiful or favourite outfit! I am always so happy to see everyone's different styles, it is so inspiring! But I actually felt a bit lazy as I didn't craft anything myself and went for something comfortable! Maybe next year I'll try to be a bit more creative!
Here, I just want to give some extra credits to my friend Roxane's outfit. It is quite rare I fall so much in love with a coordination, but hers was truely amazing! She was the real angel of the day ♥

The infamous time to take the group picture arrived. You know, that lovely time where you have to stand squatting during very long minutes while the photographer tries to fit everyone in the frame.... well, that time Rosalynn and I were smart and went to sit on the stage. But I send all my best wishes to the girls standing behind us who probably ruined their knees. Haha! RinRin and Risa joined us for the picture and I went all emotional when RinRin hugged me after recognizing me ;____; I just love her so much!

It was now time to leave... I wish I had more time to properly say goodbye to all my friends, but I was quite in a hurry! Rosalynn still wanted to give her gifts to Maki and Asüka and bravely went knocking on the backstage room's door. Maki and Asüka came outside and were kind enough to take a picture with us! So happy!!! An Angelic Pretty tea party isn't a real Angelic Pretty tea party without a picture with them!

Kudos to Rosalynn for making a perfect heart! Haha

After that I had to quickly go back to the entrance to grab my suitcase at the wardrobe, then come back to the tea party room to find the toilets and get changed into casual clothes (I didn't want to made a +3h30 train ride in full Lolita). I changed and packed all my stuff in less than 5 minutes. Go me! When we came back to the entrance we spotted RinRin again... oh I wish I've had time to take a picture with her, but I was running late. She hugged me again though, so that's OK ♥ Two hugs from RinRin are worth any picture! I hope I will be able to see her again in the future!

Outside, we met with Rosalynn's mom and after some more hugs and goodbyes I went on my way to the train station.

Thank you so much to all the Angelic Pretty Paris and Japan's staff for all their hard work to make this tea party real! I had a blast! It was amazing! Thank you to my friends and especially Rosalynn for making this moment even more magical and thanks to you for reading ♥

Highlights of 2017!

Hello! 2017 is slowly coming to an end and I have been reflecting on the year already. Let me tell you what I was thinking: 2017 was a shitty year for me, like really. I felt sick most of the time, which was scary and tiring. I spent a loooooot of time seing doctors, made lots of tests and in the end... nothing! We still don't know what's wrong with me. Fortunately I feel better recently, the worst months (the period between march and june was especially awful) are behind me!

Anyway, so as I said I have been reflecting on the year and I told myself that of course there was some really bad stuff going on but also really happy things! And I wanted to write an entry about the happy ones then!

Let's have a 'happy me' picture from last summer first!

 
- I travelled the world again and went to many events!
I was lucky enough to be able to travel a lot in 2017 again! I even started the year by visiting Vienna with my mother, which is one of my absolute favourite cities! I swear if my German wasn't that bad I would totally move there!

In march, I also went back to Japan and I managed to enjoy it even if this is exactly when I started to feel sick. I wasn't able to eat for days, but I love Japan so much and was so happy to be able to spend time with friends and with my brother's family-in-law that it was all worth it! I visited Tokyo again of course, but also went to Osaka for the first time which I really loved! I definitely want to go back to explore Osaka more as I only had a short weekend there.

I was so lucky to meet my dear friend Marie in Tokyo again!

Visiting the Angelic Pretty shop in Osaka was a dream come true!
Read about it here!

I also travelled to Paris for the Angelic Pretty Tea Party and visited Disneyland with my dear friend Marie-Lou for the first time of my life! Hope we can do that again in 2018 because it was the best trip ever!I love how easy things are with Marie-Lou! She is such an easy-going and caring girl! I enjoyed every moment we had together in Paris, even the ones when we were just litterally lying in bed watching stupid videos on Youtube!

Read about our adventures in Disneyland here!

At the Angelic Pretty Tea Party ♥

And in August I went to London all by myself to attend Dream Masquerade Carnival event. I was at first a bit disappointed to go alone, but it made me realize that I actually love to travel alone! I could meet with lots of old and new friends which definitely added magic to the trip!
I was also especially happy to spend this two-days event with Rosalynn! It reminded me of 2013 when we went to so many events together. I have so many happy memories with her! I was a bit afraid to not be able to as close to her as I used to be, but she is the kindest person on earth and she helped me have a really great time (and I hope I did too for her in some ways!)

Dear Rosalynn, Nicole and I ♥

Rosalynn and I at DMC Tea Party

-  I finally met Kira Imai, one of my favourite illustrators!
I can now happily say that I met with all my favourite artists (John Howe, Alan Lee, Range Murata and Kira Imai then). And Kira Imai is such a sweetheart that I will dearly keep the moment I met her in my heart! I also proudly to give her one of my original paintings too and she seemed genuinely happy about it! She even posted it on one of her Instagram stories!

I will cherish this pic for the rest of my life ♥

Illustration I gave to Kira Imai as a gift!

- I lost a lot of weight!
This one is a bit tough. I feel better in my body now that I can say I lost more than 17kg, but knowing that I lost so much weight because I was feeling sick and wasn't able to eat anymore is a bit conflicting. I have a BMI of 22.1 now which is healthy and perfectly normal, but I didn't ask for it and I really felt like I was going to die so I wouldn't want to go through all of that again. Though, I am more confident now and I can wear Lolita clothes that I couldn't before (Yay for non-shirred OP and skirts! And for Emily Temple Cute dresses!) That's definitely a highlight and I wouldn't want to go back to my old weight again (and don't worry, I eat normally again and I'm closely looked after by doctors).
Only downside: I had to buy new clothes as they were all 2 sizes too big now! Haha. But I love shopping, so.... xD

October 2016 me VS november 2017 me.

When I see all the pictures where I am smiling with friends, it really makes me think that 2017 wasn't such a bad year in the end, uh? I am blessed to have precious friends who always manage to cheer me up! I am also lucky enough to be able to travel, enjoy my hobbies and passions, have a loving family and a job that I like!

Now I wonder what 2018 will bring me?

What about you? How was 2017 for you?

TPC Dream Masquerade Carnival event: Day 2

Second day of Dream Masquerade Carnival event! It was tea party day of course! I was way less tired fortunately and also way less stressed. I woke up quite early again and patiently waited in my hotel room until it was time to get dressed for the tea party. My outfit was quite simple, so I had plenty of time to get prepared. I wanted to wear my Dressy Rose JSK for this event since the tickets were released last April, so I sticked to my first idea. The theme of my outfit was "British rose garden" with yellow and red accessories. I even made the fascinator myself,decorated with roses and daisies! I was quite happy with this outfit as I love retro-themed outfits, but I felt a bit uncomfortable though as this dress has quite a lot of cleavage. Haha! I sometimes can't believe it's an actual Angelic Pretty print, so different from what they usually do!

♥ Angelic Pretty Dressy Rose  ♥ 

Barrette: Angelic Pretty

Fascinator: Handmade
Bolero: Offbrand
JSK: Angelic Pretty
 Pochette: Angelic Pretty
Socks: BTSSB
Shoes: BodylineBracelets: Claire's
Wristcuffs: Angelic Pretty & Chocomint
Rings: Offbrand & Zygomatics

I arrived early to the venue (which I had some difficulties to find... stupid Google Maps showed me a totally different place!!!), but many Lolitas wre already waiting outside, including Rosalynn and her parents! I quickly joined her and we waited together. After a while, we were invited to go inside to wait in a small room. I was a bit stressed at that moment because the waiting room filled quite quickly and felt crowded. After my ticket was checked, I was hoping to feel a bit more comfortable in the tea party room, but this one was actually also really crowded! Too many tables and chairs and it was quite difficult to move around. The room was amazing though!

Such a fancy place! Perfect for a tea party!

Rosalynn could enter before me so she kept a seat for seat and I myself kept a seat for my friend Pom who wanted to join us! I was so happy to be with Pom, she is a cutie! I am glad we could spend more time together on sunday as we didn't have time to talk much on saturday.
There were lots of gifts waiting for us on the tables, but it was a bit messy and confusing. I didn't really get what I could take, but we all had a cute Angelic Pretty badge and a fan saying 'I said no picture' (which was honestly the best gift ever! Haha) for sure. I also grabbed some postcards I think. The food was already served too and there was plenty: sandwiches, scones, pastries, etc. The sandwiches were delicious and actually, at the very end of the tea party Pom and I went to grab all the leftovers at other tables! Hahaha (we also basically ate all the watermelon which was left... but that would have ben a pity to throw it away as it was also delicious!)

I love the badge! It would go so well with my British Crown JSK!

While everybody was coming in (we were quite a lot so that took time!) I went around and spotted Maki & Asüka at the head table! I went to say hi and to give them some Swiss chocolates too. I asked for a picture again and they were kind enough to accept! I'm always so happy to have a picture with them! Since 2010, I already had my picture taken with them dozens of time but it makes me really happy everytime ♥

I also managed to have a pic with Asüka later :)

The tea party hadn't officially started yet and Rosalynn and I were still roaming around, when we suddenly spotted BABI & Kaie from Triple Fortune doing some Kabedon again!!! I TOTALLY WANTED TO BE KABEDON-ED and Rosalynn too of course, even if she already had a glorious kabedon the day before. It was a... surprising experience! Rosalynn took pictures of course, but I totally hate my face on them so I will keep them private (sorry... ^^''''''''') but doing Kabedon with Triple Fortune definitely is an achieved goal!
I think we then went back to our table. We were wlecomed by the Tea Party Club and we were immediately asked to go outside to have the group picture taken. I think we were all a bit frustratd as we were quite hungry and wanted to start eating! Haha. It was quite a thing to take a proper group picture. So many people to fit in one small frame. The photographer did an amazing job though and the picture is great!

Picture by Jatzu from Freefall Creation

Now we could eat! FINALLY! I was starving! I ate all my sandwiches, a scone with jam and clotted cream and a chocolate pastry. I think we spent quite a lot of time talking with Pom and Rosalynn and then just went around to take more pictures with friends! I am glad we had a lot of free time! It didn't feel rushed and we had plenty of time to talk with the guests.
I will just now post some of my favourite pictures of the day with amazing girls!

I love this picture of Maki! She looks genuinely happy!

Gorgeous Pom! I loved her outfit ♥

Hello perfection: Marlessa & Cadney ♥

And I met with Lea again of course! ♥

After a while, it was raffle time! No confusion this time, the raffle went pretty smoothly (except I think for someone who actually won the exact prize he actually donated for the raffle! That was funny! Haha!), but I didn't win anything... Rosalynn did though! She won the cutest Swimmer jewel case ever! I think she was quite happy with her prize!

Soooooooo many prizes!

Then, the guest went to choose their favourite coordinations of the day. I think they all chose with their hearts and the winners were all gorgeous in their own style! ♥
Then, we all had some kind of emotional moment as the Tea Party Club officially stated this would be their very last event. I was abit shocked as I had been dreaming for years to go to one of their events and now that I finally could, it would be the last. But in the other hand, I was happy to be there to share those special moments with them. They did an amazing job, for the whole Lolita fashion community worldwide and they made many on my dreams come true during that weekend! So thank you very much Tea Party Club for all your hard work!

All the guests: Triple Fortune, Angelic Pretty, Rose Marie Seoir and Kira Imai!

... And I am only posting this picture because of Asüka's face! XD

The tea party was now officially over, but we still could stay a bit in the room. I went around again to take pictures (it's always a bit hard to lave after a great event....) and eat watermelon with Pom as I said earlier! Haha.
We then went outside where Rosalynn's parents were waiting. We chatted for a bit and they were kind enough to invite me for dinner. I had to decline though as I was dead tired and just wanted to go back to my hotel as I was starting to feel dizzy. But honestly, can I just adopt Rosalynn's family? They're like the kindest people on earth ♥♥♥
After saying goodbye and taking some final pictures, I went on my way back to the hotel. It was quite an adventure as it was Notting Hill's carnival that day! Street near my hotel were all crowded, but at least nobody asked me why I was dressed up! I also treated myself with a bubble tea on my way back, which was delicious!
I don't exactly remember what I did back at the hotel (I was so tired...) I think I called my mom and then took a shower. I couldn't believe the event was over already... I had to pack my stuff again which took my a while and then I went to bed. It was an amazing weekend. I am glad I spent it with my dear Rosalynn ♥ I missed her a lot, as our relationship went a bit down after my father's passing (mostly because of me and my erratic behaviour back then). It just felt so good to have her around again, take pictures for each other and together and just talk like we always did! Thank you so much for all of that, Rosalynn! ♥

My event partner ♥ Thank you Rosalynn!

Thanks also to everyone who has read this entry so far :) Hope you enjoyed my TPC Dream Masquerade Carnival event reports!