On the Fourth Weekend of March, My Birthday Gave to Me...

...a lovely Sakura Matsuri and a mountain of work for MTAC!

So this past weekend was the Cherry Blossom Festival hosted by our local Consulate General of Japan and it's always something I look forward to, but am a bit wary about each year.

You see, I look forward to it because TAKOYAKI!

Also, lolita with my friends, hanging out with people I don't get to see often, educating people on Japanese culture and fashion, sometimes wearing cosplay, enjoying the lectures and performances...

(click to view larger)

But really, it's all about the takoyaki.

And funnel cake :)

Th reason why I DON'T look forward to it is because it always rains on the day of the festival, without fail! I've attended the last three years and every year we've been rained out each time. This year was a bit better in that the rain waited until after the festival, but it was super cold and cloudy all day.

Still we all had a good time and I got to give a lecture about Japanese Street fashion (which I was somewhat unprepared for, but it turned out alright), which had one of the largest audiences at the festival!

(Photo by Kate Canes)

And one of the best parts was that I got to spend SO MUCH TIME WITH KATIE! XD This girl, I cannot even tell you, is an inspiration and an awesome friend! I love having her around and I'm so glad that I got to spend this past weekend with her and that I'll get to spend even MORE time with her this coming weekend!

Nothing else about this weekend even matters because it was all no-fun working-for-MTAC stuff. Spent Sunday night sorting out the last of everything at the Go/No-Go meeting and have been tying off loose ends ever since. This weekend is when it will all comes to a head! This weekend! The fifth and final weekend of March! Ack, it feels like everything snuck up on me! Welp, no time for whining, time to make this thing happen.

After I've recovered, look for an article and photo dump of stuff from MTAC sometime next week!

Until then, my dears

♥ Princess Kisha ♥

On the Third Weekend...Ahh, Screw it

Yeah. March isn't over, but I ran out of time to do things.

MTAC's around the corner and I just...don't have time. I don't have time.

This past weekend I drank and made merriment with my friends and continued on the trend of eating my bodyweight in cupcakes and sweets.

I only want to fill myself with sweet things.

Oh yeah, ya'll get it. When this month is over, I have got to do a detox or something, I think my whole system's mucked up with sugar and alcohol and stress.

This weekend is the Cherry Blossom Festival (Sakura Matsuri if you're more of a weeaboo than me) and I'll be hosting a lolita meet-up at the festival and doing a lecture on J-fashion on behalf of TN Lolitas. Hopefully, I will remember to make time to post about it before MTAC next weekend, because it would be a shame to not do so. I will be so cute. I really should remember to post.

So please bear with me for a bit longer, in two weeks I'll have free time again!

Toodles!

♥ Princess Kisha ♥

On the Second Weekend of March, My Birthday Gave to Me...

...time to be la-a-aaaazy!

Wooooooo! XD

On Saturday, Josh and I did stuff of little importance, then had dinner, drank, and watched movies with my roommates.

Then on Sunday, we lounged about in our pajamas and marathoned Neon Genesis Evangelion (he had never seen it), followed by End of Evangelion.

Because the mechs are sexy...leave me alone...

Gah, that was a break that I desperately needed. :3

Unfortunately, the world doesn't stop just because I want it to. With MTAC in about two weeks (eep!), I pretty much spend all of my time outside of work in front of a computer working on MTAC stuff or on the phone with MTAC people.

The going has gotten pretty rough, and most days I feel like I'm running myself ragged. Where I once counted down the weeks and days to my favorite time of year, I now find myself wishing it was all over and done with. I know I'll be fine once I actually walk into the convention center that Thursday morning, but I have to keep reminding myself of that fact, or I get pretty gloomy. One of the little things I do to keep myself excited for MTAC is plan my outfits for each day of the convention! Here is one of the outfits I'd like to put together:





I already have the dress (mine is the one with the scalloped hem and sweetheart neckline), but I'd need to get almost everything else! I saw the boots and leggings at work and knew I needed to have them (despite the hefty price-tag on the boots, yikes!), and I'll probably carve out time to make a bunch of creepy cute accessories to wear with it. I'll also need a new wig to complete the look. Over all, this is probably going to be the "costliest" outfit to put together of all of the ones I'll be wearing (since I've pretty much got everything I need for the others). Hopefully I can do it for relatively cheap, since I want to save as much as possible for spending in the dealer room at con.

What about you guys? Do you attend conventions? Do you bother planning out what you'll wear at the convention in advance, or do you just pull what you already own when packing the night before?

♥ Princess Kisha ♥

On the First Weekend of March, My Birthday Gave to Me...

...a lovely tea party!

This past weekend was the lolita tea party that I hosted at my apartment. Since it was so close to my birthday, I essentially decided that it would be a birthday party in addition to being a Tennessee Lolitas meet up and sponsored the whole thing myself. Yes, it was a tad costly, but TOTALLY worth it!

Sorry for the lack of posts, but....

...my birthday is coming up! Aside from being obnoxiously busy for the last week or so (had to work overtime last week and the anime convention for which I work, the Middle Tennessee Anime Convention, is now in less than a month), I have been working hard to plan for and prepare to throw the best birthday MONTH ever!

Say what's that? Birthday month?

Yes, I am a terrible dork and I am spoiling myself rotten for the entire month of March! Each weekend I plan to do something fun to celebrate and I'm even throwing myself two birthday parties! Because of this, I don't feel bad about the lack of posts so far, because there will definitely be a great increase in posts following this weekend.

Look out for my next post(s) about my first party, which will be on Sunday. I am super excited to reveal all of the things I've been working so hard on for the past three weeks!

Until then, my princes and princesses!

♥ Princess Kisha ♥

Happy Valentine's Day 2013!

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen! ♡

I just wanted to say happy Valentine's Day to you all! Whether you're single, in a relationship, dealing with something complicated, or forever faithful to your cats, everyone should take today to love someone, even (or especially) if that someone is yourself!

My global studies instructor showed this to me today in class and I'm sure that I'm a bit behind in finding it, but I love the message and it made me smile. Hopefully it'll make you smile, too:

 Also, NOT COOL, ROBERT FROST. 

If you're into all of that lovey-dovey crap I might be shoveling down your throats then check out three of my favorite love songs after the jump:

Valentine's Day for Lonely Hearts

So I must admit, Valentine's Day used to be one of my least favorite holidays. For a teenager who was convinced that she was fat, greasy, and unattractive and subsequently never had a date, Valentine's Day was the macro lens that focused on how incredibly unwanted I felt. I had a few major crushes through high school and when not a single one of them proved to be productive, I always ended up feeling that much worse about myself.

Then I got a boyfriend. Things were supposed to change then, right?

Right?

Well, I can definitely say that it did get a tad better. Valentine's Day went from being miserable to being relatively tolerable. I had someone who liked me (enough) and wanted to go out with me and buy me flowers and chocolates and things. No longer did I have to deal with the anxiety of going through another Valentine's Day where I'd wait for even just one of the guys to notice me. I wasn't alone. So why didn't I learn to love Valentine's Day?

The answer to that, at least for me, is that I hadn't quite learned how to love myself first. It took a nasty break up, and several changes in my life before I could see myself for the awesome person that I am. There are days when I still struggle, but I put on my make-up and get through them. I had to learn to really love myself and be my own valentine before I could be a good valentine for anyone else. Now I'm with a pretty fantastic guy who makes me happy and it's easy to look forward to spending Valentine's Day with him when I can be happy knowing that I can be a pretty fantastic gal for him.

However, it all starts with learning to love yourself. After my last relationship, I spent the following Valentine's Day shopping, eating delicious food, hanging out with my friends, and being very single. I know it's not easy, but you'll ultimately be happier if you do something for "you" this Valentine's Day instead of moping and being unhappy. Here are some fun ideas for your very you-centric Valentine's...

1) Do arts and crafts.
Make yourself something pretty! One of the big things that come with Valentine's Day are V-Day cards! Usually people make, give, and receive them, so why not make some cards for your friends and family? Maybe make an extra special one for yourself? Or you can make a whole slew of other things, it's all up to you and what you want to do! Play with glitter, get glue on your fingers, leave bits of scrap paper or fabric on the floor and make wonderful things!

2) Indulge yourself.
On a diet? Not on Valentine's Day! Bake yourself some cupcakes and spend lots of time decorating them with icing and sprinkles. Buy yourself some of your favorite chocolate and a pint of your favorite ice cream and enjoy it thoroughly over a sappy, feel-good movie and a glass of wine (caution: know yourself and your limits. If you are a sad drunk or anything like that, substitute alcohol with a truly decadent cup of hot chocolate with all of the trimmings, or your drink of choice).

3) Pamper your body.
Check out your local day spa and get a facial or massage or both! Get a pedicure or stay home and give yourself a pedicure! Soak in a hot bubble bath with a glass of wine (wine goes well with many things) and your favorite novel. Get your hair done or even consider trying a new haircut or color. Taking care of your body will help you to feel better about yourself.

4) Go out.
Do it. Go somewhere that makes you happy. Get some friends together, if you can, and make an evening of it. Or go alone and make some new friends! If you're anything like me, you'll go to the theater and see a musical or see if there are any burlesque shows happening in your town and try to attend one of those.

Whatever you do, though, don't be down on yourself. If all else fails, stay home, play video games or marathon a cool show, but don't let anything get you down. You are awesome, beautiful, handsome, clever, caring, special, and most importantly, and loved. Remember this and have a wonderful Valentine's Day! XOXO

-Princess Kisha