Of Ears and Shells

Shall I Compare Thine Ear to a Shell by ~ironcageskirt on deviantART

Things have been busy in Sydney (surprise!) but I took some time today to clean up some photos I took ages ago while on a break from other things. Mostly, housewarming invitations, job-hunting and blogging about living in Australia. haha

Hope everyone's doing well!

Intense

Intense, a photo by kate.ruggeri on Flickr.

I made it to Australia in one piece! At the moment, I'm writing a public blog for my family to follow, so there really hasn't been much content to upload here. I'll put up posts about lolita events as I attend them (so far, I haven't been able to make it to one), but otherwise, most of my content has moved over to the Rouge Aerie for the time being.

For now, enjoy this photo I took at the Taronga Zoo on Thursday!

Two Week (Plus Some?) Hiatus

As of tomorrow, I'm going into the End Game of moving. It will be two weeks of packing, cleaning, repacking, cleaning, storing, stowing and moving with people coming to and from the airport on a regular basis.

It'll probably be at least two weeks before I get back into a regular blogging schedule (and possibly longer). I'll still be reading and commenting on other blogs, though. I just won't have much time to put together posts for a bit (which, considering my camera has croaked, is unsurprising anyway).

See you in October!

30 Day Lolita Challenge: Day Thirty

The last, ultimate, final day of the meme I started. One Day Late.

I got through it and only flubbed twice. It's kind of remarkable, really. I figured I'd probably give up at some point or another.

Last night, I was too fucking exhausted to actually finish the post.

Day 30: A photo of yourself taken today and 3 good things that’s happened over the last 30 days.

Hi, readers. Real bedhead, not so cute. Plus the "tattoo" on my palm.
God, I'm still tired.

And here you have me, the morning after an exhausting day at work. I slept nearly ten hours, but I still have bags under my eyes from exhaustion. Why? I'll tell you why.

I've worked the last seven days, for at least six hours per day, up to ten hours (several times). Sadly, I still have at least two (possibly six) more in a row to finish. Suffice to say, I don't look so fresh or pretty right now. I've yet to shower, eat, or start my toilette for the day and it's nearly eleven AM.

I'm. Fucking. Bushed.

Now for my three good things:

1. Gave notice at my horrendous job, paving the way for me to leave the country.
2. Sewed a really cute pair of bloomers for a pirate outfit to wear to see Alestorm.
3. Found out from my boyfriend that my favorite brand of yogurt is available in Australia under a different name.

30 Day Lolita Challenge: Day Twenty-eight and Twenty-nine

Apparently, my scheduling for this yesterday's post failed (thank you, stressful job situation). Now, you'll get two days in one.

Day 28: A picture of the perfect lolita location.
Day 29: A picture of a lolita you would love to meet for real.


So first, we have Day 28:

View more photos on the New York Times.

I would love to have a cute cottage escape, where I could go to sew or read by myself. This remade hunting cabin is absolutely precious and perfectly decorated inside.

Next, we have Day 29:

This photo is more representative than literal, as I'm not sure the girls in question would appreciate my stalking them and posting their photos without permission.

I'm moving soon to Sydney in less than twenty days (ohmygodohmygod) and I'm naturally looking forward to meeting the lolitas there!

30 Day Lolita Challenge: Day Twenty-six

Too tired for witless banter. Blaaaargh.

Day 26: Your Facebook profile picture.

Since I've already used my Facebook profile picture in one of the photo of the day posts, I'll post my last one from before the present one.

30 Day Lolita Challenge: Day Twenty-five

This is the point where I start chugging "I think I can", I believe. 

Day 25: Your favorite lolita themed artwork.

I don't have a particular, single favorite I'm afraid. So, instead, enjoy a few images from artists that always inspire me.

by sakizo

30 Day Lolita Challenge: Day Twenty-four

So close! I'm almost there! Can I make it?! Are you still with me? Or do you skip these posts in your reader by default now?

Day 24: A picture of you from a meet.

Sources of Inspiration: Blogging

On a daily basis, I read quite a few blogs. Quite a few are lolita blogs. Some of these are personal blogs run by people I encountered one way or another on the internet. Others are professional blogs, pertaining to graphic design job markets and ways to market yourself. Yet more are creative outlets for artists I admire.

Here are three blogs that I read on a nearly daily basis and the reasons I read them:

Doodle Everyday
http://ilovedoodle.tumblr.com/
This is a blog all about getting that creative gush out and onto the paper as fast and as often as you can. Every day, Lim Heng Swee posts a drawing, print or doodle to the blog. That sort of dedication to regular, continued creative output is rather impressive (especially considering how often I know I run into an artblock, myself).

Visual News
http://www.visualnews.com/
This blog presents articles about up and coming artists, new exhibits and interesting techniques or movements. It covers pretty much every kind of art you could imagine, from graphic design to infographics to exhibits through experimental techniques and art theory. If it's visual, it fits and it's likely to show up sooner or later.

Flickr Blog
http://blog.flickr.net/
Just what it sounds like, the flickr blog is a blog consisting of photos posted on flickr by its users. Sometimes they highlight a particular photographer, but more often they choose photos that pertain to a particular theme or subject matter.

30 Day Lolita Challenge: Day Twenty-three

I'm not going to type all that much today. Since you get to see:

Day 23: A picture of your handwriting.

Enjoy!

Click to enlarge (somewhat)

30 Day Lolita Challenge: Day Twenty-two

We're drawing in on the end of things. Ohme, ohmy.

Can I make it?! Or will I falter before I reach the finish-line?!

Day 22: A picture of your room.



Oh.


Shit. Uhm.

Well. I'm in the middle of moving, so I think that you'll just have to make do with this (awful, fisheye) photo of my living room, complete with knitting mother. I'm in the middle of moving and all, so things are a huge mess with clothes everywhere, boxes stacked on boxes, piles of paper everywhere and a lot of random shit.

I promise to make up for this before I leave the country. Just like I promise to make up for the Day in Your Lolita Life post, too.

Suck the Life Right Outta Ya

One of the first things I did when I started packing for my trip this coming month was buy Space Bags.

What are Space Bags?

Why, these are Space Bags.

Space Bags are these awesome, giant plastic zip-lock bags. You fill them up with clothing, zip them shut with the industrial-grade zip-device, then vacuum the air out of them.

30 Day Lolita Challenge: Day Twenty-one

Are you sick of these posts dominating my blog, yet? Look at the post archive! Seriously! Just look at it! Almost every other line is a post from this meme!

Day 21: Your favorite fictional lolita.

Screen capture care of AnimePaper.net

 In general, I don't like fiction that focuses on lolita as its main topic. It gets to be shallow and trite most of the time and there isn't exactly a huge canon to draw from.

I did, however, really like Miwako (and Arashi, since they are a pair) from Paradise Kiss. She was a lolita character who made the fashion her live without being annoying about it (at least in my opinion); having her appear in other styles also helped soften the blow, really.

Miwako's character hit a lot of the stereotypes of lolita, but had a good deal of depth to her beyond that, and broke quite a few stereotypes as well. I really loved the relationship that she had with Arashi, because it was sweet and pure, but hardly the detached and "innocent" relationship you'd expect from a stereotypical lolita. She still had a personality and desires beyond the clothes, which I really did enjoy.

30 Day Lolita Challenge: Day Twenty

I've made it two thirds of the way through this meme and once again, I am faced with a difficult decision. I have quite a few people in mind who fit today's topic, but I unfortunately have to pick only one.

Day 20: A picture of a lolita friend.

My friend, Chi-burger as a b'henna'd pirate!

Wish I could still tapdance

I've already mentioned in previous posts how much I love tiled floors and feet. In fact, you've seen a lot of my feet. A lot. The last few days, I've been sorely tempted to shoot a whole series of photos of my feet in different shoes, stockings, pants, skirts, etc. in different locations with unique tiled floors.

I know, it sounds kind of insane, but it might result in a fun mosaic. Particularly if I frame or zoom in so that all of the tiles are about the same size as one another!

This project probably won't really happen, however. I'm a bit neurotic, but not that obsessive. Not even about feet.

30 Day Lolita Challenge: Day Nineteen

This is another hard topic, today. Again, because I have a hard time choosing what to highlight. Also, this post took foreeeever to put together. I kept getting distracted and having to go back to my bathroom to look up the names/numbers of each color. haha

Day 19: What’s in your make-up bag?

Loooooove that lip color. And ... holy crap! No WIG?!

For today, I'm only showing off a (comparatively) small selection of the items I use the most. My whole bathroom is pretty much covered in make-up products, sorted into different containers by what they are (one for eyes, one for lips, one for powders, one for brushes and so on).

I'm also in the process of my semi-monthly weed-out of old products, in preparation for my big move. I mostly use drugstore brands because of my habit of culling the herd so often, with the occasional Sephora splurge for things like primer, false eyelashes or tools I can't get elsewhere. Everything I'm showing off in this post is fairly new (no more than three months old, probably) and all are something I use pretty frequently.

30 Day Lolita Challenge: Day Eighteen

Are you still with me on this meme? I hope so! Today's theme is a good one:

Day 18: A picture of your favorite lolita style.




Yo ho, Yo ho... by ~Gurololi on deviantART

Moving On: New Project, New Goal

Out of the blogs and websites that I read, the Digital Photography School is one of my favorites. They provide really useful tutorials, hints, tips and discussions on a pretty much daily basis. They also have a "theme of the week" where you're encouraged to shoot in accordance to the theme and share your work with the rest of the virtual class in a sort of show and tell via Flickr, Twitter and so on.

I haven't been taking photos much lately (for starters, my main lens is on the fritz and I need to take it to a repair shop to be serviced and checked over; work has also had me busy as can be). However, I've really been wanting to get back into the habit of doing so. As such, I'm going to start taking photos again on a more regular basis--even if it is only a few times a week for the time being--to participate in the weekly themes.

I'm also going to get back on the wagon for a similar group I'm in on Facebook.

The themes this week? Doors for the DPS and Light for the Facebook group.

Wish me luck!

RANT! RAGE! SMASH!

Lately, I've been severely lacking in socialization. My job has gotten to the point where I wish I had quit outright rather than giving them a month to replace me. I usually keep my raving about work out of this blog as much as I can, but today is an exception. I'm pissed.

One of my co-workers, the other keyholder on staff, has gone AWOL. She handed in her keys one day and stormed out, leaving us to flounder in the lurch. The District Manager (DM) told us she'd be back, pending an "investigation". What this investigation entails, he won't tell us. We're not sure what's going on or if she'll be back (much less when she'll be back).

In the mean time, the Assistant Manager (AM) and I are covering her hours.

30 Day Lolita Challenge: Day Seventeen

We're into the back half of the meme, now, and still going strong!

Day 17: What do you want more then anything right now?

I want a lot of things right now, but in terms of material, lolita-related things, I want this:

Remember how I said I don't have a dream dress? Well, I lied. I saw this and this is it.

This dress is really, really badass and amazingly awesome. I usually hate wa-lolita items, but Meta has a real knack for coming up with things that I love using kimono print fabrics.

Plus, it's a collaboration with Hakuouki, an anime series based on an otome/dating sime game that I was addicted to this spring (seriously; it was very much a guilty pleasure that I normally would not admit to having watched).

In terms of non-material, non-lolita items, I really want my packing to be finished, already!

30 Day Lolita Challenge: Day Sixteen

This is a sad day, because can't fulfill the meme's requirement.

Day 16: Your outfit for the day.

I'm sick (I've lost my voice, no joke) and schlubbing around the house in PJs until I go to the doctor, so I unfortunately am not wearing lolita. Alas.

Instead, I give you photos from yesterday, when I was feeling pretty okay and had some errands to run. It's not lolita, but at least it's cuter than jeans and a t-shirt?

I've put on weight lately but somehow I look thinner than usual
in this photo. My gastro doctor would not be pleased with me.

Dude! Dude. Stop that.

When I got home yesterday from my eye doctor's appointment, I found this dude waiting for me (he's actually not that little for an anole, though). He was perched on the door knob and scuttled off right when I reached for it. Poor thing was less than pleased to see me and put on his dominant, super-strong lizard threat display.

Cheeky little bastard flashed his throat flap at me and everything.

I probably hurt his feelings. I laughed.

30 Day Lolita Challenge: Day Fifteen

And today I hit the halfway mark! Hooray!

Day 15: A picture of your last lolita purchase.

A modest haul, as purchased through mukunoki.
Photo provided by the shopping service before shipment.

Back when I got my tax return in the spring, I had a little bit of a splurge for the first time in a long time. I purchased several items on mbok and Yahoo! Japan through Mukunoki's shopping service, including a long Innocent World jumperskirt, an Alice & the Pirates salopette and an h.NAOTO frill bustle-back vest.

In the same order, I also purchased a few h.NAOTO GRAMM items, including a lace-strewn, cream-colored cutsew, a long, hooded black vest and a really cute asymmetrical bolero with corset lacing.

As for the shopping service, Muku and Kaori were both incredibly helpful and quick to answer my questions. They were friendly and provide a great service. They're a bit more expensive than some of the other shopping services available, but for the extra care that they take in making sure you have a good experience, I feel like it's quite worth it.

I haven't bought anything since then, as I'm saving up for my trip to Australia, but a friend of mine is finishing up some pieces that I commissioned from her quite a long while ago. I may have photos of those pieces, soon, as they're nearing completion!

30 Day Lolita Challenge: Day Fourteen

That's right, still grooving along with the meme! I can't really believe it either. It's been two weeks now, almost halfway there!

Day 14: A picture of your dream item.

Elodie Doll JSK specs on the Lolibrary

 

I don't really have a "dream" item right now, but this dress is at the top of my wishlist. It's the Elodie Doll Jumperskirt by Mary Magdalene.

100 Post Celebration!

If nothing else, this post just proves that I need to write more. It hasn't been quite a year, but I've only just made it to one hundred posts! To celebrate, I'm going to have a little give-away for those of you who've been so nice to read my blog. There will be only one winner for this particular raffle, but I promise to have more prizes available for the next one!

The winner of this raffle receives:
A Red (Felt Plush) Digital Camera!

This little camera is handmade with acrylic felt, polyester fiberfill
and assorted findings (plus looooove).

Sources of Inspiration: Amanda Rynda

So recently, I was browsing through Facebook when a fellow designer friend posted a link to Regretsy. Regretsy is a blog highlighting sellers on etsy who are somewhat less than what we'd call "good". So, expecting something horrible or at the very least, trite, I clicked.

Rather than something bad, I found something amazing.

30 Day Lolita Challenge: Day Thirteen

Right, no prelude today:

Day 13: A picture of your favorite sweets.

Cheesecake counts, right?

Get the recipe from AllRecipes.com

Worn down, but not out!

Work lately has been a real challenge to keep up with, mentally and physically. I've had a few scares with my health the last few weeks, among other things. Things are looking up, though! Last week, I handed in my letter of resignation. As of September 14th, I will freely give up employment and head into the wide world to find something new.

30 Day Lolita Challenge: Day Twelve

Believe it or not, this one was really hard to do. There aren't many photos available to me digitally that fit today's topic:

Day 12: A picture of yourself before lolita came in to your life.

This is a photo that my mom put on Facebook recently to try and embarrass me. The boy in the photo with me is an old childhood friend; he's about a year older than me. When we were kids, he used to ask me to marry him (I slapped him for it once; a movie I saw on TV made me think it a brilliant idea). Then, after he started kindergarten, he stopped asking me to marry him and just asked me to have sex with him, instead.

Enjoy it!

Shot in Downtown Houston

Not sure what "it" is, but we'd better enjoy it! The graffiti says we should.

30 Day Lolita Challenge: Day Eleven

I was going strong, until I hit this one.

Day 11: One day in your lolita life in pictures.

I've been working a lot lately, so I haven't worn lolita often. I didn't know that this topic was coming up or I would have taken more photos the last time I wore lolita.

I offer to you, instead, photos from when I went to a concert with my boyfriend last fall (he'll probably kill me for this one later). I didn't wear lolita, but I was pretty frilly all the same. He gave me shit for it all day and kept calling me "Strawberry Shortcake", which bit him in the ass, later.

I promise to take photos of a "normal" day and repost this part of the meme the next time I get to dress up!

Dietary Expansion

Alright, so I'm dropping the "photo of the day" label from the post titles. The tags should take care of that easily enough and I'm getting ill looking at the post archive with "Photo of the Day" every other line.

But. It's still technically the photo of the day and today's photo is ... my lunch! Sort of. Lately, I've been having to change up my diet a bit and I've started including a lot more simple-to-digest foods like yogurt, bananas, apple sauce and so on. I've been experimenting with a lot of different yogurts, including almond milk yogurt and Greek yogurt in different forms.

30 Day Lolita Challenge: Day Ten

Can you believe it? I've made it a third of the way through this meme! I can barely believe it. I mean. Seriously. I usually give up after two days on these suckers.

Day 10: What’s in your bag?

Photo of the Day: Face ... SMASH!!

 

One of the projects during my capstone class was to create a show poster for the class to view and vote on. It had to name each of our classmates and represent us as a whole. One of my classmates asked us to each smash our faces into a scanner and then used those images to design her poster. I was "known" and teased by classmates for my insanely long hair (it hung all the way to my hips at the time), so I used that to my advantage. The necklace I'm wearing is an Australian opal my grandfather gave me when I was a child.

She also tagged us all on Facebook with the unedited, uncropped facesmashes, so I swiped this image from her for today.

30 Day Lolita Challenge: Day Nine

Chuggin' right along and keeping going. Today's theme is:

Day 9: 10 things you will never do in lolita.

There are very few things that I wouldn't do in lolita just because I'm in lolita, so a couple of these are probably going to be "I wouldn't do these things at all and it just happens that I wouldn't do them in lolita either!"

Photo of the Day: Vampire Vision

 

I've been trying out contact lenses through my eye doctor lately, to find a prescription that is right for me. Unfortunately, it hasn't been going well. My eyes do not like having bits of plastic film slid over their pupils very much.

However, my eyes do like wearing ridiculously red sun glasses with those contact lenses while driving. The world takes on all kinds of funky, high-contrast distortions!

30 Day Lolita Challenge: Day Eight

Moving along and still with the meme (are you sick of this yet? Seriously? If you are, I can always stop). Though today is a good one, since I've been thinking about it a lot lately!
Day 8: 10 songs that inspire you for lolita.

Photo of the Day: Jumbo Chibi

If I have to explain why this is funny, you'll probably call me a weaboo.

30 Day Lolita Challenge: Day Seven

This post is actually going to be harder than the last six. Well. You'll see in a few minutes just why:

Day 7: 10 people who inspire your lolita style.

Photo of the Day: Reality

Every five hours, four times a day, I take two of these pills. Eight pills a day, fifty-six pills a week, two thousand, nine-hundred, twenty pills a year.

30 Day Lolita Challenge: Day Six

Cranking along with that meme, now! Somehow, I've managed to keep up with it (can we say thank you to the scheduled post function? Because I think that's the only thing keeping me on track, now).

Today, we're on to:


Day 6: 10 things you can’t live without in lolita.

Photo of the Day: Reaching High

When I was a kid, before I turned into a smart-alec-know-it-all, I liked to pretend that clouds were the ghosts of trees that had passed on. I made up a whole mythology about how they were trees that had been chopped down before their time and that rain was their tears, falling back to Earth to nurture their descendents.

I was a weird kid.

30 Day Lolita Challenge: Day Five

So after a jaunt into the totally-not-lolita world of my favorite foods, we go back to:

Day 5: 10 items from your wishlist.

Oh, this is going to be hard.

Photo of the Day: Wheeeeee ...!

Back when I used to work in a press shop, some nights, I had to stick around to answer the phones even when I'd finished up my tasks for the day. On nights like those, I used to take silly photos of the office (particularly while running the collation machine).

As you can tell from this photo, it was often boring "work" to wait for the clock to strike five and often I ended up taking silly snaps of various things around the office. Like my loop. And my feet. These photos make me smile looking back, but I really, really do not miss that job.

Has there been anything that's made you smile lately? Any silver linings to your rainclouds?

30 Day Lolita Challenge: Day Four

I'm not sure what this part of the meme has to do with lolita, but I'll go with it. I mean, really. It can't hurt. And I do love food. Speaking of, if you enjoy taking photos of your food and sharing good deals with others, check out this group on Facebook: Look at My Lunch.

So, if you haven't guessed today's topic is:

Day 4: 10 different kinds of food you like.

This will probably cover beverages as well, because I don't see anything in the list for drinks in the future.

Photo of the Day: Hide & Seek

While I was taking photos for the Sunny 16 article, I came across this little dragonfly hiding in the plants. He was very, very well-blended with his surroundings and so entirely unafraid of me. I don't think he was more than an inch and a half long!

I got right in and snapped several nice close-up shots of him.

I only wish that I could have gotten closer so that you could see the actual segmentation of his eyes, but the plants were all in the way and I didn't want to scare him off. I've uploaded this image at a higher resolution than usual, so feel free to click on the thumbnail!

What kind of critters have you seen in your back yard lately?

30 Day Lolita Challenge: Day Three

Already up to day three! And still going! Woo. The topic for today's challenge entry is a bit sticky.

Day 3: 10 things you hate in lolita.

I really hope I don't offend anyone. Also, remember, just because I don't like it doesn't mean I don't like you if you do like it. Got me? 

Photo of the Day: Friendly Familiar

Red-eyed, grey-scaled little snakey familiar! Now I can be a real witch.

While I was out shopping recently, I came across this friendly little face in a rack of sterling silver jewelry. Being a sucker for snakes (and unable to wear the other ones I'd found and liked before due to the stupid nickle content in most costume jewelry), I pounced on her.

She hasn't left my thumb since I bought her! Well. Short of the necessary times like showering and washing my hands.

Have you made any exciting purchases recently?

Tricks and Tips: Sunny 16

This photo was shot with the following:
f/16, ISO 400, shutter speed 400 on a 90mm macro lens

With summer droning on, I've been doing rather a lot of photos outdoors. The weather has been on-and-off between gorgeous and disastrously hot, with a heavy bias on the beautiful (especially in terms of skies). When the sun's out in full force, exposure can get tricky because of dark shadows and glare. But, there are ways around it! Because I've been shooting so much out doors compared to the rest of the year, it got me to thinking about my days in photography classes and the things I learned there.

Sitting in a small high school class room, surrounded by flip-top desks and gum smacking girls, I first learned about "Sunny Sixteen". Our instructor was a large man with a passion for the Wild West, buffalo riding and cameras. The room smelled like a mix of stop bath and cheap floral perfume that I will forever associate with the dark room, no matter how many times I enter a new one.

30 Day Lolita Challenge: Day Two

Still working on that meme! The topic for today is:

Day 2: 10 things you love in lolita.

Oh, this should be easy. And photo-filled.

Photo(s) of the Day: Mac(cas)rons

Go, Big Green! These were mint cocoa shells with bittersweet chocolate and Kahlua filling.

On Sunday, I tried out a recipe for macarons (or as my boyfriend calls them, 'maccas-rons', after their resemblance to small burgers) that was listed in the local newspaper a while ago. I also did a repeat on Wednesday when a photo shoot got canceled.

They came out pretty well for a first (and second) attempt! Albeit the first batch was very green.

30 Day Lolita Challenge: Day One

A lot of people I know are filling out this little meme, so I thought I'd give it a go! This blog has been decidedly lacking in lolita-related content of late, anyway.

Day 1: 10 things about your lolita bubble.
I'm not really sure what "lolita bubble" is supposed to mean, unfortunately. Does it mean my community? My personal space? The thought bubble that pops up over my head when I think about lolita?

Most of the people I've seen doing this meme don't really know what it's intended to be, either. So. Kind of a weird starter, if no one knows what it's supposed to mean.

Isn't it?

I'm going to operate under the assumption that it means how lolita fits into my daily routine and I'm going to stick to that.

Photo of the Day: En garde! Lost Photos

I normally try to get photos of my outfits before I head out for the day, but it doesn't always happen that I actually post them to Daily Lolita like I intended. Especially when they're this casual!

Actually, it almost never happens that I post to Daily Lolita these days. But what can I say? At least it gives me photos to post! I think I have at least three backlogged outfits on the drive and will probably have more stockpiled by the time I actually get around to posting.

Photo of the Day: Wandering the Woods

So how's everybody doing these days?

Keeping busy? Keeping up-beat?

I know I have. At least, on the busy front.

Lately, I have written up a bunch of tutorials, articles and the like, but have yet to actually post them. Mostly because I haven't had the time to take the photos for them yet, so it'd be silly to put them up. How am I supposed to show off a particular technique without actually demonstrating it? Whoops.

Photo of the Day: Distractions

Distractions, a photo by kate.ruggeri on Flickr.

I've had a lot of distractions lately, myself. Mostly personal things that keep me from maintaining the goals I set for myself earlier this year in regards to my health and other aspects of my life. But. Things are getting better.

As mentioned in the last post, I leave for Australia in September. The 24th to be precise.

So between then and now, I'm in the process of organizing my life, putting things into storage that I won't be taking along (like my sewing machine and a lot of the fabric I've stockpiled), preparing items I will be taking along for shipping (such as my photography equipment, some of my lolita clothing and a lot of practical, daily-wear attire) and just getting life in order.

Need to finalize my travel insurance, among other things, and then I'm off!

Photo of the (last two dozen or so) Day(s): Awkward Noon Romance

Awkward Noon Romance, a photo by kate.ruggeri on Flickr.

Life has gotten busy. Work. Work. Work. And other things.

I got a break this weekend to do a photo shoot with some Full Metal Panic! cosplayers (whom I met ... at work). After extensive editing due to REALLY AWFUL MIDDAY SUN, I got a few shots that look pretty decent.

Also, I have big news: my work-holiday visa has cleared. I'm going to Australia in September.

BET YOU DIDN'T SEE THAT ONE COMING! :D

Photo(s) of the Day: It's Show Time!

The Ringmaster - Click for larger view

The Lion - Click for larger view

Have had a bit of a break lately, but the good news is that I had a job interview with a big company in the area (which will hopefully yield a new job) and my doctor will have word for me on Tuesday as to what's been plaguing me since October. Huzzah!

Partly to celebrate a day off, partly to test a new method of backdrop (that I can STAND in), partly to test some coordinates for a later photoshoot AND partly to participate in a contest, I took these photos. I'm pretty happy with the overall results, but I still need to learn more about lighting. D'oh.

Hope you like 'em!

Catch-Up and Froufrou Stuff

When I first got into lolita, I really did have an admiration for sweet lolita. It has gradually turned more and more sour, the more things get added to people's heads. It's always the heads, why not the rest of the outfit?! It sort of clicked into place a few days ago when a sweet-lolita obsessed friend of mine made a remark that sort of amused me. She commented on her Facebook about a new pair of circle lenses and how the old ones gave her tunnel vision.

The above little doodle resulted from her remark. It could use some refining, but I'm happy enough with it for now.

How-To: Taking a Self-Portrait

Very much like taking an outfit snap, you have a lot of options in shooting a self-portrait. I'm going to focus on one particular style, as shown above.

For this particular How-to, you will need the following:

1. Your camera
2. A tripod or stable surface on which to rest your camera
3. A stand in (to focus on) or a remote release

Let's begin!

Photo of the Day: Lunch DESTROYED

Work is upsetting me. My favorite coworker was let go last week.

I don't have much else to say right now, so ... enjoy this cell-phone snap of my Healthy Choice Thai Chicken Steamer lunch from yesterday when I found out. Or something.

Shit, I feel blue. Better go to the post office and mail those packages, now.

Digital Photography: Basic Dodge and Burn

A lot of lolitas have a bias against over-processing or editing their photos, but removing a blemish or two and enhancing your natural features for the sake of a nicer image can be done without a big production.

Every photographer has their personal techniques and preferences, in this series, I'll talk a little bit about my basic process for preparing and editing photos. These little tutorials are mostly for beginners, rather than Photoshop experts, but will become more advanced as they progress.

For this particular post, I will discuss a simple way to brighten your eyes and touch up your make up as well as hide wrinkles and creases.

Photo of the Day: Dotty in the Country

I went to a meet-up today and surprised myself by having a good time! I wasn't sure what to expect, since this was a new group of people to meet (short of one), and I woke up with a bit of an anxiety-induced gut ache, but things went smoothly. Even though they closed I-59 north and I had to detour around for about 45 minutes, I managed to have a good day!

During the meet-up, I took a lot of photos (which I'm sure I'll be uploading sooner or later) and enjoyed myself pretty thoroughly. We relaxed in the park, took photos in a garden and got to know one another. It was rather hot, so we didn't too much bustling around. We did run into a group of cosplayers while we were there, though!

Although, I wish we had gotten a chance to fly the kites I had brought, maybe that can happen next time? We'll see. I think I made a few new friends today!