Tea time!

A tea post is a must in a lolita blog. Here's mine!

I've always liked tea, even though I'm not as refined as many others. I don't have high understanding when it comes to water temperature, cups with right shapes, the quality of tea leafs and such. Still, I'm very interested in Western tea traditions. It's such a pity that you can't find a tea house in Finland where you could get afternoon tea (at least I haven't found one). I've also always wanted to host a tea party meet up - I just didn't own some necessities such as a tea pot... But now I do!

I was randomly searching for Christmas presents yesterday and came along this pale blue tea pot at Clas Ohlson. It was only 15€ so I had to buy it! I've been looking for a tea pot since... hmm, forever? And this one was just perfect. It is the exact colour of my Arabia KoKo tableware and even the style is quite similar.

...and it also goes well with my Green Gate cups! (The camera changes the colours, in natural light there seems to be no difference at all between the pot and the polka dot cup).

It is big enough to serve at least for four and can be washed in a washign machine.

Of course, I'd love some cute flowery tea set with gold decorations, but they are both super expensive and impractical. I also don't have the space to store multiple tableware sets and they are hard to come by. So this pot is just perfect!

My favourite tea is black tea, even though I drink some green ones too. I like Earl Gray a lot, it's what my father prefers so I've always been drinking it and it's quite nostalgic. Many flavoured teas are lovely too, at the moment I especially enjoy Spring Flower tea from Indiska (I know, not very Christmas-like ^^;). It's a black tea flavoured with almond crocant, fudge, egg liqueur and cream. Very sweet and the scent is heavenly <3 I also like chai tea and everything else with spices like cinnamon, cardamom or vanilla. I prefer my tea with sugar, no milk, lightly infused.

I'd love to try scones with clotted cream and jam, one of the most traditional treats to go with afternoon tea. Anyone tried them? I'd also make cupcakes, sandwitches, pastries and a cake to go with tea ^^ ...and now I'm getting hungry.

It seems it's time to go and eat something :D

Penpals and other lifestylishness

Oh my, I've been lost for almost a month... I blame school! And also that -20 celcius degrees outside, every time I go out I look like a Michelin man. Not very lolita.

Today, I'd like to talk about letters and pen pals. I originally got the idea from the EGL's post 101 Lolita Lifestyle Ideas. Of course, writing letters to your pen pal is a gorgeous lolita hobby. I remember reading lots of Jane Austen's books with her main characters corresponding with their relatives or friends or suitors. I can imagine the girls, in their pretty dresses, sitting on a bench in a sunny garden, writing letters and maybe adding a small gift like a dried flower. Their handwriting would be sophisticated and the letter paper maybe scented with their favourite parfume. Isn't that the perfect lolita image?

Okay, I'm not writing my letters in a garden (and the frost might be a problem too...) but I try to find pretty letter paper and be careful with my handwriting. I also love pretty post stamps <3 These, for example, are adorable:

I just started corresponding with three lolita girls from USA. All three seem to be very different from each other but still they all like lolita fashion. It's really interesting, how we lolitas can be so different, also from different countries, cultures and religions but we have all come to love this fashion. It makes me very happy to see how people around the world find common interests and share their experiences with each other.

I've had lots of pen pals since my childhood but every time we just stopped corresponding. I think that the main problem was the lack of common interests. Okay, we both love horses, great! But then I also love reading and cooking and handicrafts, and she loves football and absolutely can't stand to stay still long enough to make tea (don't even talk about making apple pie). When looking for a lolita pen pal, it's very easy to find people with lots of common. Most of us like other Japanese things, like manga, anime, J-pop, or traditional arts like tea ceremony, calligraphy and ikebana. It's also normal for many lolitas to like baking or handicrafts or reading novels.

It's often said that lolita is only a fashion and no lolita lifestyle is needed at all. But to me - and I believe, to most of us - the lifestyle is a big part of the hobby. I admit, it's just not possible to be a 24/7 lifestyle lolita but it makes me feel good to be able to add some aspects to my own life. Having pen pals is a nice way to add some lolitaness to my life (between the Michelin man and school, sigh).

If you wist to find a lolita pen pal, I recommend Lolita Pen-pal Association. I wish you happy corresponding!

Until next time,
Giselle