Outfit: Academy Girl

Hey there honey bears!

It's been a while!  Life has been pretty crazy with a whole bunch of rehearsals, performances, and HOMEWORK!  And while the homework won't stop since exams are coming up, I've done my last ensemble performances of the year!  YAY!

So!  I have another outfit post for you!  This one was inspired by school fashion in anime, particularly those fancy Academies and boarding schools you see in Shoujo titles.

Let's go!

Note:  I apologize for the streaky mirror...I tried cleaning it with a Mr. Clean magic eraser but WOW it didn't work.  Back to good old Windex!

Details:

Turtleneck:  Thrift Shop (Originally Ralph Lauren)

Skirt:  Bodyline

Necklace:  Charming Charlie's

The goal for this outfit was to be simple, stylish, and cute!  I personally like the cream turtleneck paired with the skirt.  The color combination is one of my favorites, yet the clean cut style of both pieces reflects that academy type look I was going for.

Usually when I put together an outfit based off of anime style, I add a whole bunch of accessories and make up to play up the animation factor, but since students of these institutions are supposed to be clean cut, I decided to go with a pendant necklace and minimal make up.  I like that the pendant necklace is simple, but it's still big enough to be seen from a distance and has great sparkle!

I wore this outfit on the last day of choir tour a couple of weeks ago, and it was still very comfortable to wear on the long bus ride back to campus.  Fashion and comfort together is always A+!  

I hope you enjoyed this outfit, and look forward to new posts!  I received a bunch of new items in the mail, so I have some shop reviews coming your way very soon!

What's your favorite anime Academy?  Would you wear their uniform?  Let me know in the comment section!

Thanks so much for reading, and I'll see you in my next post!

xoxo

Martha

Anime Review: Is the Order a Rabbit?

Hey there honey bears!

Sorry for the long wait, but I'm back with another post!

I started watching a new anime recently called ご注文はうさぎですか? (Gochūmon wa Usagi Desu ka?) or "Is the Order a Rabbit?"

Let me tell you right now, it's flippin' adorable!!

Here's the plot synopsis from Anime News Network:

"High school freshman Cocoa Hoto got lost and bumped into a coffee shop called "Rabbit House" while looking for a boarding house for the upcoming semester of her new school. Luckily, Rabbit House is the boarding house she's looking for, and to return the favor Cocoa starts working at the coffee shop alongside quiet and cool Chino, strong and athletic Rize, plus Chiya and Syaro from Japanese-styled coffee shop Amausaan, as well as the shop mascot rabbit Tippy, who sometimes doesn't quite act like a rabbit...."

Usually I feel that the plot synopsis leaves something out, but this one pretty much hits the nail on the head.  "Is the Order a Rabbit?" is a slice of life style anime centered around middle and high school girls (read: Lolis) who work part time in a cafe.  With slice of life anime, the plot is very simple and isn't as fast paced as other anime genres, but what matters most is not the plot.  It's the characters.  Let's meet them, shall we?

Here we have miss Cocoa (pronounced koh-koh-ah), and she's the main character in this story.  She's got a few of your main character traits of course:  overly excitable, gets along well with everyone, loves pretty much everything, etc.  She has a habit of getting lost frequently, and her special skill is doing math in her head.  She's a hard worker and gets used to the cafe atmosphere quickly.  She thinks of Chino as a little sister and cares for her very much, and also has an obsession with rabbits.  Anything cute and fluffy really.

Next is Chino!  Chino's father owns Rabbit House, the cafe she, Cocoa, and Rize work in.  Chino has a great knowledge of coffee, and she is constantly seen with the cafe's mascot, Tippy, perched on top of her head.  Chino is the youngest of the group, the only one in middle school, and she is a bit shy.  She gets overwhelmed when first meeting Cocoa, but slowly warms up to her and even calls her "Onee-chan" once (but never does it again because Cocoa flips out).  Chino loves animals and cute things, but doesn't react as loudly as Cocoa does.  You can tell she likes something when a blush forms on her cheeks.

The third character we meet is Rize (pronounced Lee-zeh), and she's about the same age as Cocoa.  Her father was a soldier so she keeps up a tough image, carrying a gun around with her, and all of her accessories are in some form of camo.  When she gets put in charge of teaching Cocoa how to work in the cafe, she takes the job very seriously and has Cocoa call her "Sir" during training.  Despite her tough exterior, Rize loves cute things.  She constantly has inner monologues about the other characters and how cute they are, but is quick to hide it so the others won't notice.  She's an interesting character because she flips between the military training she's learned and wanting to be a normal high school girl.

The fourth character we meet is Chiya.  She's in Cocoa's class in school, and her family runs another coffee shop in town that specializes in traditional Japanese sweets.  Her shop also has a mascot, and he's a black rabbit named Anko (pictured here).  She's soft-spoken and kind, but she gets very excitable when she talks about making sweets.  You can see a twinkle in her eye and she becomes a lot more animated whenever she's thinking about it.  A fun quirk of hers is that she doesn't just call the sweets by what they are, but comes up with creative names for them that she thinks are poetic and represent the ingredients...although that sometimes can make it hard for the customer to order since they don't know what all is in the dish. XD

The last of the main characters is Syaro.  There are only two episodes of this anime released, and we haven't met Syaro yet.  I have a hunch that she may work at Chiya's family's coffee shop, or her family may have one of her own.  I'm looking forward to meeting her!

Out of all of the characters, I have to say my favorite is Chiya.  I can definitely relate to her in the creative process, and she has a passion for what she does that gets me excited about it!  Also she's so CUTE.

I just love her bright green eyes.  They match her uniform!

I'm excited for this anime to continue forward, and this is one of the only anime that I have watched while it's currently airing in Japan.  I usually wait until the whole series has finished broadcasting and watch it all in a few sittings...but the previews for this one were too cute to resist!

The Slice of Life genre took me a while to warm up to, but I do enjoy a good fluffy, cute show to make me smile and keep me relaxed when I need it.  Not to mention all of the cafe settings in this show give me ideas for the maid cafe.

Once Syano makes an official appearance, I'll write another post about how the anime is progressing.  I'm so excited!

Have some more cute pictures:

Too much cuteness and moe I'm gonna diiiie...

I hope you liked this post, and I'll scope out some more cute anime to review for y'all!  

What genres of anime do you watch?

If you've seen this one, what do you think so far?  Do you like it?

Let me know in the comments, I'd love to hear your opinions!

See you in my next post!

xoxo

Martha

Outfit: Hello Kitty and Glasses Girl

Hey there honey bears!  I've got another outfit post for ya, full of cute and pink!

I put this together because I got some fun floral glasses at Rue21, and I wanted a quirky outfit to go with them.  Let's go!

Details:

Hello Kitty Shirt:  Target

Floral Glasses:  Rue21

Hello Kitty X Tsuji Nozomi Necklace:  Kittywood Designs

Floral Hair Tie:  Scünci 

Hello Kitty Cupcake Ring:  Sam Moon

Bunny Ring:  Kira Kira Entertainment Shop (link coming soon!)

When I saw these glasses at the mall I thought of all of the nerdy Hello Kitty merchandise and knew I wanted to put together a coordinate with them.  Usually all of the merchandise is red and white...but knowing me I had to do it in pink! xP  I like how the glasses are big and squarish, so it gives a rather quirky look, and I added the floral hair bit on the top for extra spunk.  I also love the rings together, isn't the bunny ring just the cutest!?  It's a new favorite of mine.  It was a rainy day when I wore this so I just wore jeans and pink sneakers on the bottom, so I didn't bother to include those in the photos.  The top half is way more fun!

For make up, I did the same look as I did in my First of Spring outfit post:  foundation, pink blush, gold eye shadow with a brown blended at the edges, and some mascara.  Instead of wearing lipstick this time though, I just chose to wear a lip balm.  It's a Minnie Mouse lip balm from Lipsmackers if you'd like to know.  I always love their stuff, cute and practical, with just a little bit of shine!

I thought this outfit was a fun one, and I hope you think so too!  I think glasses are a fun way to accessorize, even if you don't have a prescription!  I'm near sighted though, so I had to wear my contacts under these. XD

That's all for today, but I'm afraid there won't be any new posts over the weekend since I'm going on Choir Tour with my University.  But once I get back, frequent posting will continue as usual, and I promise, it won't be an outfit post next time!  I know I have a few MusiCutes to write up!

Have a good weekend, and I'll see you in my next post!

xoxo

Martha

Outfit: Sweatshirt Sailor Moon Silliness!

Hey there honey bears!

I have another outfit post for y'all, but this is going to be a short one!

This is from last Friday I believe, the weekend before this one...

It was still a little chilly outside, and my mom had told me to go pick up a very soft sweatshirt on sale at my University's bookstore!  Only $13!  Which is a really good deal when you think of how overpriced a lot of University logo clothing is...

Anyway, I like to think of this outfit as a magical girl on her day off.  XD

She wants to be comfy, but still exude some sass, and of course she's wearing her power color!

Mine happens to be pink. :P

Details:

Sailor Moon Cap:  Bought from an Anime Convention

Sweatshirt:  Millikin University Bookstore

Jeans:  The Gap

Striped Hoop Earrings:  Claire's

Ice Cream Necklace:  Love Culture

Comfy, yet still cute.  I love over-sized sweatshirts...just sweatshirts in general.  I can't wait 'till I can pair this one with some shorts!  I've always liked a loose top with a tight bottom.  I can't wear all tight things all at once, it makes me uncomfortable.  Something's gotta give, right? XD

For the make up, I used my favorite black liquid liner, the Maybelline EyeStudio Master Precise Liquid Eyeliner (what a mouthful), and for my lipstick, I used Revlon's Cherries in the Snow.  I love this lipstick and have used it a lot, but once late Spring and Summer hit I can't use it anymore since it has a somewhat blue undertone.  My skin is already a warm tone so when I tan this lipstick just looks out of place.  But I like playing with different colors during different seasons, so I'll still be using this one until later this month.

In my last outfit post, my hair was a very vibrant pink, and that was due to it being as light as it is here a few days before I dyed it again.  This is the lightest I've let it get since I've had pink hair, and I'm not sure how to feel about it.  The back bits are fine in a pale pink, but the front turns into this strange burnt orangey color that's not very pretty.  Although I think that the lightness of my hair worked with this outfit, because if it were the vibrant pink it is now, I may have even overwhelmed myself with the over saturation of pink. XD

I know this isn't my snazziest outfit, but I'm really into sweatshirts and trying to make comfy clothes into something that's fashion forward and cute!  Hopefully I can step up my game with my next few coordinates and see if I can actually make that concept a reality!  ...let's call it Lazy Kawaii.  XD

See you in my next post,

xoxo

Martha

Outfit: First of Spring!

Hey there honey bears!

I'm back with another outfit post!

It's FINALLY starting to feel somewhat like Spring up here in Central Illinois, so on Monday I broke some things out of my Spring wardrobe!  Spring clothes are the cutest, right?  You can still layer, but you don't have to bundle up to brave any blizzards. ;)  Let's go!

Details:

Hoodie:  Lion King the Musical

Top:  Urban Outfitters

Shorts:  Target

Shoes:  Rue 21

Bracelet:  Target

Necklace:  Hot Topic

Headband:  Forever 21

Obnoxious Pink Phone Case:  H&M

Wearing this outfit made me so happy, and it helped make a great start for my week!  I love the combination of pink and white, I just think they go so well together, and I liked pairing the delicate lace of the top with the funky print in the shorts.  The floral print in the shorts also went with the floral print in the shoes.  It was also nice that the black shoes and hoodie went together.  The bracelet and necklace were added to up the girly pink theme, and you can never go wrong with Hello Kitty, right?  The shorts have some spikes near the pockets, so I paired my spiky headband with the outfit to compliment those.  Also I loved that my shorts and my hair matched. XD  My hair was also extra super cotton candy fluffy, so that was also a plus!

I did my make up a little differently than usual, but I actually like it a lot, and it's quick to do in the mornings!  I put a nice pink blush on the apples of my cheeks for a rosy glow, although I might have added more than that and gone into dolly-land. XD  Oh well, I thought it was fun, and since the eyes and lips were kept toned down, it didn't bother me.  The eyes were done in a simple shimmery gold eye shadow over the lid, on the corner of the eye, and under the eye as well.  On the outer third of the top eyelid, I used a thick brush to wing out some dark brown eye shadow to add more definition to my eyes, but by not lining the whole lid it kept the look soft.  I blended the line a bit with a fluffy brush, added a few coats of mascara, and I was done!  For my lips, I just put on some lip balm, and then topped it with the Clinique raspberry glace that I wrote about in my last post!  I didn't want a very dark color since the cheeks already stood out, so the lip balm softened the color a bit and I think it worked nicely.

I wanted this whole look to be youthful and fresh for Spring!  Did I get it right?  Let me know what you think, and tell me some things you like to wear in the Springtime!  

Here's another photo in the practice room mirror just for good measure and better lighting. ;D

More fun posts will be coming your way this month, so I hope you'll stay tuned!  Thanks so much for reading, and I'll see you next time!

xoxo

Martha