My Milk Toof and a Survey

http://mymilktoof.blogspot.com/

I found out about My Milk Toof quite recently, around two months ago now I think. This site is just absolutely adorable, the concept seems so simple and I think that's a lot of the charm of the story.

My Milk Toof is a blog that chronicles the travels of Lardee and Ickle, two milk teeth that go on grand and small adventures together. It can be a trip down the road to visit a tortoise or simply sitting in bed reading a book, each post shows a different story.

I have absolutely no idea how this blog was accomplished, I'm not sure how the teeth are made or where the creator gets her props from but I'm so in awe of her talent! This site is just so sweet, it warms my heart each time I see it.

And now I thought I would fill out a survey;

1. Who’s your favourite designer?

I don't especially follow designers or fashion shows as such although I will read womens magazines and so I do get to see the new fashions sometimes. I find them quite confusing, how theres just so many different types. I find catwalks fascinating though, especially the couture shows, but I can never remember the names of designers that I do like!

The one person that sticks out to me is Alexander McQueen, he embodies what I'm really interested in regarding fashion: Improvisation.

His visions and creations are often just so strange, really bizarre! His use of colour and shapes is so bold and interesting, he doesn't seem to go with the flow or bend to consensus at all. I'm interested in people using their primary ideas, the ideas they really want to create and that really capture them, not some watered down version.

For that reason I prefer more DIY, hand modified things of cheaper clothes.

2. If you had to move out of the country you are living in now, where would you chose to live?

At the moment I would love to spend some time in Tokyo, when I went there it was so overwhelming that I cried many times during my stay. It was very stressful, it wasn't always a happy holiday since I worried so much about everything! I lost weight because I was too nervous to ask for food there so I only ate around one meal a day.

However what I saw of the culture was fascinating, especially the youth culture. I liked how shocked I was by visiting there too, it really rocked the boat for me regarding my comfort zones and what I was used to and found shocking. For that reason I'd like to go back, it was scary but a very exhilirating place to go!

3. Do any of your friends blog?

My most 'famous' blogging friend I suppose would be Alice of Hysteric Girl (http://hystericgirl.blogspot.com/), she's a very good friend to me and without her my own blog wouldn't even be here. Other than that I have friends who keep blogs online but not so much this type of blog as a journal which I'm not sure really counts!

4. What is the scariest thing you have ever done?

I really don't know to be honest, I never know how to answer this question. I don't tend to do scary things really. I suppose it would be flying to Tokyo and spending two weeks there when I was 17 and my boyfriend was 18, that was pretty terrifying!

5. What hair products do you use?

Not as many as I should probably! I just use Pantene Pro V shampoo with balancing serum, it's actually fantastic and it makes my hair really shiny and soft.

6. Would you rather be in a submarine by yourself for six months or in a rocket ship in space with your best friend for a year?

I'd much rather be in a space ship with my best friend, I'm not very fond of the sea at all and spending any time even near it on my own is definitely not on my list of things I'd like to do. I would be so frightened to go in a submarine for even one minute alone.

7. Would you rather be a model in Paris or a musician in Barcelona?

A musician would appeal to me more, I'd love to play the harp.

8. Would you rather be an artist in San Francisco or a dancer in New York?

Definitely an artist in San Francisco.

9. Would you go back and change anything in your life?

A quote that I like from my favourite game is thus;

"I like the past... it's because of the past that I'm here now, right?"

There are things in my past that I regret having done, times when I wasn't a nice person or when I wish I could stop suffering I've been through that was unnecessary. Despite that I wouldn't change what I've done... no matter what it was, even if it was awful or frightening it's made me who I am today, I could have been so different... the thought makes me afraid because I know there have been points in my life when I could have gone down the really wrong path and yet I didn't. Sometimes I was saved and sometimes I saved myself... if I changed those things that I needed saving from maybe I wouldn't have met important people, maybe I would know bad people now...

I'm happy with who I am now, because of this I wouldn't change my past.

10. Do you have a job? If so, where? And do you like it?

I don't currently have one but I'm going to try and get a small part time job this next year.

11. Are your friends fashionable?

I think so, they definitely stick out from the crowd.

12. Why did you decide to start this blog?

Basically I wrote a short article on my journal last year now, it wasn't supposed to be anything serious and I thought nothing of it. It was about how we percieve our own fashion and our own choice to express ourselves. I wanted to help people feel brave and like they have the right to wear what they like, I feel strongly about the freedom to express yourself freely in your fashion choices.

Anyhow about a month after that entry I got a message on my public post over at my journal from a stranger saying 'I saw your article on this blog and it made me feel better, it gave me courage'.

I was really shocked, I had no idea what this blog was!

Eventually I found out it was Alice's blog (who I mentioned above) and she'd posted my article without me actually knowing! I went over to her post and found that a lot of people seemed to be enjoying that article and that a lot more people than I thought needed that encouragement.

I still wasn't sure... I waited around another two months to start this blog after that but I've found it such an enjoyable experience! It's morphed and changed, definitely so, from purely being about fashion to being about my life in general.

Overall though the message is the same, this blog is about positivity and standing up for what you believe in, being yourself and doing what you want to do with your life.

13. When did you start this blog?

My first post was 4th Febuary 2009, it seems so long ago and yet just yesterday too! I can't believe I started this blog at the start of this year, it feels really like I've been writing here for quite a long time.

14. Did you or do you make any of your clothes yourself?

I've made skirts, scarves, hats and hair bows myself but they were very rudimentary, nothing I could sell! I like to customise my clothing, if I get bored it's fun to make something new from what you already have available to you. Plus I just don't like throwing things away.

15. If you could be anyone for a day who would it be?

I honestly don't know, maybe Hironobu Sakaguchi? I love the games he produces and has a part in, if his ideas are the main frame then I'd love to get inside his mind.

16. What’s your favourite highstreet shop?

Primark. It's very cheap and has deceptively good clothes for what I want. The quality isn't fantastic all of the time but they get a bad reputation I think that they don't fully deserve. Although it's a very mainstream store you can easily do lots of interesting things with the clothes there by experimenting or changing them yourself.

17. If you could live anywhere is the whole world, where would it be?

I'm not sure exactly, didn't I already answer this with Tokyo? Maybe I misunderstood that other question though. I find it difficult to decide, I like the city and yet I love nature and a more countryside setting, so I can't really choose for definite.

18. Whats the one thing you regret not doing most?

I really have no idea. I don't like having regrets, I try to do the things I want to do because I know I'll regret it if I don't. This isn't to say I don't have any regrets, actually my memory is just way too bad to remember those things xD

19. Favourite colour?

Light Pink. It's so soothing and sweet and it reminds me of childhood. I think I'm relapsing into the mental state of a 6 year old girl right now.

20. What’s your perfect summer outfit?

A pretty dress in nice light colours and delicate fabric with a pair of sandals or comfortable shoes. I like simple outfits and especially if it's hot I don't want to wear too many clothes.

21. Who’s your favourite radio DJ?

I don't have a specific favourite, mostly I find them irritating... their personalities just don't appeal to me. Anyone who will put good pop music on for me to sing along to is okay with me.

22. Can you play any instruments?

I can play the Ocarina simply.

23. What colour is your toothbrush?

Blue and White, quite standard I believe.

24. Best and worst thing about blogging?

Best: I get to see the thoughts and creations of so many interesting people I might never meet.

Worst: It's such a big world I know there's great people out there I'll never find.

25. Where do you see your blog in 5 years time?

I sincerely hope it will still be flourishing! I expect it will be quite the same as it is now, an amalgamation of fashion posts, musings, writing and artwork. Hopefully I will be able to interest people for that amount of time.

26. Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?

I will be an Acupuncturist by that time but hopefully I will be simillar to how I am now. I will probably be a little more grown up though, I'm sure I have more maturing to do.

27. Who are your favorite bands/music artists?

My absolute favourite is Nobuo Uematsu and has been for years and years now. There is nobody I admire as much as I do this man, his music is just so beautiful and he is so skilled. I love how he can make a fast, exciting techno piece and then go to a slow and incredibly sad piano piece, harp pieces, whole orcestras... he's just my hero.

At the moment I'm very much into Michael Jackson as well, I've been a fan since I was about 5 years old and I have flare up moments where I just listen to his music constantly. He has such fun songs, fun to sing and dance to.

28. Do you have any brothers or sisters?

I'm an only child.

29. If you could only wear one color for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Probably White? I know it would be so hard to keep clean but I love White clothing, it's so pretty and pure and simple.

30. Your favorite item in your wardrobe?

My Black and White sailor lolita dress. I don't wear it as much as I should but I love it dearly. My most treasured item though is my happy hat which I bought the first time I ever met my boyfriend 5 years ago.

31. Your least favorite item in your wardrobe?

I have some PVC dresses I don't like anymore but they hold sentimental value so I don't throw them away!

32. If you could meet up and talk fashion/go shopping with anyone, who would you pick and why?

I'm really not sure, Alice probably! Or Saku or Neko would be fun. Basically anyone who wanted to go with me.

33. If your perfect day was patterned after a song, which song would it be?

I'm not really sure what this question is asking but I'll go with 'What you Are' by Sheena Easton. Insanely cheesy and awful but so funny and it puts a smile on my face because of all the in jokes I have about it.

"I'd like to make what you are... into something so wonderous, in this life of mine, that I would love for all time!"

34. Describe your capsule wardrobe:

I honestly have no idea what this question means, sorry.

35. Where do you get inspiration from?

Anywhere and everywhere, colours, people that I see or know, right now I'm finding looking at furniture and interior design very inspiring. Interesting shapes and dramatic designs in clothing inspires me a lot, something bright is great.

36. What do you want to do with your life?

It sounds big headed I know but sometimes I sit and wonder if I might one day be this amazing person who did such great things in my life and how right now I don't know that I'm going to be that person. I hope I can become amazing at something.

37. Who is most important to you?

My boyfriend, my friends, my family and my cats. I can't put one single most important person I don't think.

38. If you could host a dinner party and could invite anyone, who would you invite?

Just anybody who considers themself my friend and wants to come, there's no one especially that I idolise enough to ask them to come specifically.

39. Do you have any style icons?

Lex from Gloom Cookie. I'm not especially Goth anymore but reading that comic always, without fail, makes me want to get dressed up!

40. What is your favorite decade for vintage clothing?
Probably the 50s, the shape of the dresses and the colours used were very pretty then and very feminine which I like.

41. What’s on your birthday list this year?

A lot of Lolita clothes from Bodyline.

42. Who is your favourite disney character?

This is so difficult, I like Disney so much. Hades xD

43. What are your pet peeves?

More than anything I can't stand people who whine constantly. I hate when you just know the words that are next out of that persons mouth are going to be moaning and complaining. I especially hate it when they whinge about things they can change and then do nothing about it! Arghhh so annoying.

44. What is your favourite quote?

I can never for the life of me remember quotes ;;

45. Which countries have you been to and which was your favourite?

Spain, Majorca, Ibiza, Bulgaria, France and Japan. My favourites were Ibiza and Japan.

black and white

I apologise for the distinct lack of outfit photos on this blog recently, for about three months now I've completely lacked any desire to put nice or fun clothes on. I don't like looking boring but somehow I lapsed into a state of wearing generally uninteresting clothing.

I bought ELLE yesterday and it came with a booklet documenting the Autumn/Winter fashions, generally the contents wasn't that spectacular however I did garner that there seems to have been a surge of 80s fashion recently and that tends to be fun!

I dislike the seriousness of some fashions, catwalk is really fun because you get to see the real ideas there, they're not tamed for anyone and show the pure intention of the designer. I hate how these magazines say 'pick this and this from this look but not this, be safe!'

Why? Why be safe? It would be so much more fun to pick the more outrageous and interesting elements of the outfits, then the highstreet would reflect that and the choices out there would be more fun.

There were a few pictures of Alexander McQueen's collection and that inspired me. Generally these magazines will show a few little pictures of his work but try to stay away from it considering how it's supposedly so 'outrageous' and too far fetched.

I don't get it, it's so much more exciting, all the details and the concepts are so cool and interesting.

shirt: my boyfriends (from Ebay)
petticoats: Ebay

belt: France when I was about 12.

boots: Primark

hat: handmade

I attempted a little quiff type of hairstyle, it's quite popular at the moment judging by the magazines and I thought it looked fun.

It was simple to do and I like the effect.

Basically I took my fringe and pulled it forward into my face, got a hair brush and back combed it many many times and then put a little of my boyfriends hair wax into it, back combed it again a few times and then pulled it back onto my head, smoothed it out with my fingers and a little brush and then pinned the ends down on the top of my head.

Photography from Wales

Hello everybody ^^ I apologise for the lapse in posts recently, I had problems with my laptop and was also on holiday for a week so I was unable to update.

In the time that I've been away I went to Wales with my boyfriend and his family and I've also been house hunting! We've found a great place, it's very big and spacious and I have a little room for all my art and books with a big window. I'm not sure about other people but I have a bit of a thing about windows and this is the perfect window for me. Our living room even has a bay window!

I'm also glad to be able to say that I found out my results for my first year exams today and I passed everything so I'm definitely into my second year of university on my acupuncture course!

Since I get to start needling this coming year I would like to make acupuncture related posts where I will talk about some of the treatments and points and also show you the needling technique.

Today I'm going to show my pictures from Wales, or Cymru as it's called in the Welsh language.

I saw this really odd bird and had to get a picture of it quickly before it flew away. At first I thought it was a black bird but it had odd colouring, a more dark grey colour than black, and strange facial markings.

Welsh sign posts.

An old man was opening our window on the way down Mount Snowdon so I took a picture.

A chicken on the side of the road.

An old water wheel, I don't think it was in operation anymore.

Foxglove flowers, aren't they so cute?

Barnacle friends.

We went to a very stony beach, I like stones so I collected a whole bucketful!

There are many, many sheep in Wales. Their baaing was really soothing, we could always hear it from the cottage we stayed in.

A wild rabbit, I got very close to him actually.

Of course I had to throw in some obligatory shots of my cat, I think you probably expect these by now. Between her and my boyfriend I had only a little square of the bed left.

A sleepy sheep, it was so hot.

All the mountains and hills were covered in mist.

A lake we found whilst driving back to our cottage from Snowdon.

The steam train we rode up Snowdon, it was too wet to climb that day.

I sneakily took this picture, I thought they looked really cute together.

I always wonder what it would be like if you could somehow touch clouds.

This was the view from the top of Snowdon, not very much unfortunately but I still like this picture.

An old abandoned building on the incline of Snowdon.

So much greenery, it smelt so nice and it was very refreshing to get away from the city.

A waterfall that was near to the water wheel.

I love the look of moss, it was all over the waterfall. When I was little I used to think it was carpet for hedgehogs houses.

The houses on the seafront when we went to the beach one day. I love houses painted in these colours of blue, yellow and sea foam green, aren't they lovely? I'd love to live in one and open my windows and let in the salty sea air.

I have a few things to make note of:

1. I am set to move house on the 1st of August and so from that date it is unlikely that I will have internet for a little while. I expect I will be getting the internet installed in my house in late September to early October, as such this blog will be on another hiatus from then.

If you'd like to contact me for any reason I expect I will still be able to check my emails through school and my phone so if you send a comment or email me to dear.sweetlings@gmail.com I will still get it.

2. I am on holiday from the 24th of August to 8th of September so I won't have any internet access at all during this time.

3. Some time in September or October depending on when I get my internet back I will be making a large sales post of clothes, dvds, games and paintings for anyone interested.

I am also going to begin work on the next volume of Dear Sweetlings magazine soon and I would love to see any submissions you might have.

I accept artwork, stories or articles pertaining to fashion or any other issue you might be interested in so the spectrum is very broad right now. If you would like to take part in it then please don't hesitate to send me an email ^_^

After a short hiatus Dear Sweetlings will be back soon.

Hello everybody!

Unfortunately I have not been able to update the blog these past two weeks or so, I went on holiday for a week and unfortunately my laptop broke in that week also so I have not been able to get online since then.

I took many, many pictures whilst on my holiday, Wales is definitely a beautiful place! It was amazingly green and peaceful, full of animals and sunshine, mountains with fairytale stories and mist, mist, mist as thick as you can imagine.

I have also been househunting and I think that me and my boyfriend have found the perfect place! The pictures look just amazing, we are going to view it on Monday and if all goes well we will be moving in starting in August. I'm so excited to move, truly. The house we are viewing is big with beams and a loft space and a spacious garden which we will use to grow vegetables and fruits like Tomatoes, Potatos, Peas and Rhubarb just like my mum.

Talking of my mum's ever expanding garden she had just bought a grape vine when I last saw her so I'm excited to see that growing in her garden. I'd like to go back home at some point soon, I expect her food will be ripe then so I will take pictures of all of her garden.

Also my friend Jaz wrote me the cutest poem telling me she missed me and I can expect wooden adventures when I get back there! I'm looking forward to that, I'm guessing it's a bonfire.

Anyhow, I apologise for my absence, I will post more very soon.