Day 1: Swap Meet
The first days event was on Friday so I went after work. I didn't get pics of this outfit as I was just in my Jane Marple British Bookshelf JSK and Black Ribbon beret for shopping the swap meet! I got off work earlier than the event started so I had some time before the swap event. I went to Kinokunia and got some presents for friends for Christmas and grabbed some riceballs as a snack for shopping energy!
Soon it was time for the start of the event! I went and stood in line to get my 'I'm vaccinated' wristband which I kept the whole weekend. I and a slowly expanding group waited for the doors to open talking about what we were hoping to find (lots of matching accessories mostly!) There were a lot of tables there with so much cute stuff! I also saw a whole bunch of people I either haven't seen since pandemic started or just its been months! I was really tempted by a black x white lace Baby JSK but even though it was NWT it was over $200 and I'm still trying to cut back on getting items not in my wishlist. The curse of both no room and not as much time to wear lolita as I'd like! I got instead a AP novelty Keychain for my Usakumya itabag and a Meta Crown Label all black skirt for $35. Solid color black items are on my wishlist so this was a good buy. I'm going to try re-dying it black as it's a bit faded and I figured that it was inexpensive enough to attempt this new project.
Day 2: Shopping at the Pop Up Shop
The next day it was rainy so I elected to drive into Japantown instead of deal with public transit in the rain. I wore Starry Sky of Mother Goose with a silver cardigan in a winter night theme coord!
There was so much cute stuff in the vendor hall and the artist alley area! It was hard to choose! I ended up getting only 3 things. I got the Haenuli giant necklace that I have been eyeing for a while, a halo crown with moons from A Gato Designs I'm hoping to wear with some fancier coords, and a sugar cube ring from Majo no Recipe. I'm really happy with my purchases and I'm glad I was able to restrain myself to some accessories!
After shopping I didn't end up signing up for either of the other events as I had to leave before the social and didn't think I'd be any good at the craft. Instead I went to get snacks! First stop was the Macha Cafe Maiko tea/ice cream place to get their seasonal Raspberry White Chocolate and Hojicha flavors in a swirl. I got too excited so I forgot to take a picture before eating! I'm still new at this blogging stuff. 😅 I then stopped by the somewhat new bakery next to Kinokunia 'Jina Bakes' which had a really long line! Unfortunately the cream puffs sold out before I could get there but I will go early tomorrow for the tea to pick up some-they were Hojicha flavor and I really want to try!
I ran into some friends at Belly Good crepes and chatted for a bit before I had to leave. Overall a successful day! ❤️
Day 3- The Tea Party Brunch
I went pretty early to Japantown this day so I could get the cream puffs I wasn't able to get yesterday! I also got a Bannofee and regular croissant (for todays jam from my advent calendar later!). I also got a Honeycomb Latte for a spot of caffeine before the tea which was delicious!
I checked in to the tea party a little early and was seated a up front with a few people I had met before and some new people! There were a mix of people who were in lolita back in the LJ days with me and some who had only gotten into it in the last year or two! It was a fun mix of people and we had some interesting discussions with the prompts provided about dream dresses and first outfits. There was also a postcard and crayons to color it with so I had a stab at it:
Soon we were prompted to go get our Polaroid picture taken for a souvenir (I won't show you mine, I have quite the derpy expression lol) and if we wanted to enter the coord contest. I entered but didn't expect to win as I was Candy-Chan and not actually on the theme of sweets! I will post here the pic I took myself of my coord for the event:
Lots of people found the old school screen print nostalgic 😊
Soon enough it was time for food and drinks. The food was buffet style and the optional pre-paid alcoholic beverage was off to the side. There was also a tea station with a variety of teas and a water station along the side of the room. I of course was too hungry yet again and forgot to take pictures of the food I actually got but this was the spread! The Yuzu pudding dessert thing in the little cups was especially tasty! (not pictured some maki rolls and salmon and shrimp sushi)
I really commend the Hotel Kabuki staff and Bay Area Kei for providing/ordering what seemed to be enough food for everyone to get at least a little bit of seconds if they wanted them. Sometimes at buffet style teas the school of ravenous piranhas that are hungry frilly people ends up shocking the poor staff!
There was a Secret Santa gift exchange which I didn't participate in as I'm not great at both giving or receiving gifts 😅 We mingled and had coord contest voting and with the votes counted there were 2 runners up and 1 winner! They all looked very cute and festive 🎄After we had the large group shot it was time to pack up and go home.
I really enjoyed the event all weekend and next year I'll definitely be attending the rebranded event Ursa Major next year! 🌟✨
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