Epic Teaparty in Hagaparken

I had an absolutely lovely day, girls!

Soon Paris, soon!

Today I met up with Victoria and we took the time to plan our trip to Paris. It won't be long now until everything is booked!

17 Mai, a few days late

Ja, vi elsker dette landet, som det stiger frem furet, værbitt over vannet med de tusen hjem; elsker, elsker det og tenker; på vår far og mor og den saganatt som senker drømme på vår jord. Og den saganatt som senker, senker drømme på vår jord. Dette landet Harald berget med sin kjemperad, dette landet Håkon verget medens Øivind kvad; Olav på det landet malte korset med sitt blod, fra dets høye Sverre talte Roma midt imot. Fra dets høye Sverre talte, talte Roma midt imot. Bønder sine økser brynte hvor en hær drog frem; Tordenskjold langs kysten lynte, så den lystes hjem. Kvinner selv stod opp og strede som de vare menn; andre kunne bare grete; men det kom igjen! Andre kunne bare grete; men det kom, det kom igjen! Visstnok var vi ikke mange, men vi strakk dog til, da vi prøvdes noen gange, og det stod på spill; ti vi heller landet brente, enn det kom til fall; husker bare hva som hendte ned på Fredrikshald! Husker bare hva som hendte, hendte ned på Fredrikshald! Hårde tider har vi døyet, ble til sist forstøtt; men i verste nød blåøyet frihet ble oss født. Det gav oss faderkraft å bære hungersnød og krig; det gav døden selv sin ære - og det gav forlik. Det gav døden selv sin ære - og det gav, det gav forlik. Fienden sitt våpen kastet, opp visiret for, vi med undren mot ham hastet; ti han var vår bror. Drevne frem på stand av skammen gikk vi søderpå. Nu vi står tre brødre sammen, og skal sådan stå. Nu vi står tre brødre sammen, og skal sådan, sådan stå. Norske mann i hus og hytte, takk din store Gud! Landet ville han beskytte, skjønt det mørkt så ut. Alt hva fedrene har kjempet, mødrene har grett, har den Herre stille lempet, så vi vant vår rett. Har den Herre stille lempet, så vi vant, vi vant vår rett. Ja, vi elsker dette landet, som det stiger frem furet værbitt over vannet med de tusen hjem. Og som fedres kamp har krevet det av nød til seir, også vi, når det blir krevet, for dets fred slår leir. Også vi, når det blir krevet, for dets fred, dets fred slår leir.

More Steampunk Obsessing

I found this absolutely lovely site dedicated entirely to Steampunk and thought I would share it with you. I am sure I am not the only one around here who is slightly, and only slightly mind you, obsessed with cogs and gears and all things brass.

http://www.steampunktribune.com/

And while I was browsing this wonderous site, I discovered a rather charming little quiz. it was supposed to tell me what stereotypical Steampunk character I was and it had the most interesting questions I have seen in quite some time!

I took it, of course, and I turned out to be

The Charming Noble

Who would have thought?

Interior Decorating á la Steampunk

Since a while back I have been working on decorating my room up here in Umeå, where my family usually spends most of its summer. The room itself is located in a small house on our property that I claimed as my own as soon as I could. The rest of my family resides in the bigger house, but I prefer to remain in my own house, which has become a sort of sanctuary for me. And since I spend so much time in there, I decided to decorate it to suit my tastes. So in the last few years I have been on a mission to collect little nicknacks that might further my design.

Below are two items that I have found and that I simply HAD to have in my little room.

A very antique looking map with a wooden frame. This will look so much better on my wall than any painting I could ever have hoped to find.

It even has an oddly shaped Sweden :)

This clock was something I found only yesterday and, even though it is obviously brand new, it still has that old feel to it that I like.

Roman numbers, yellowed paper and dark wood, can it get any better?

This summer I plan to finish the work on my little house, and when it is finally done, I'll be sure to post more pictures here to show you how it turned out :)

xxx

Kamalia

Victorian Maiden

I recently discovered that Victorian Maiden has FINALLY made some changes to their site and that it loads so much faster now. A couple of weeks ago you had to wait for almost an hour for each page to load, but now it only takes about a minute or less. So, because of this incredible improvement, I took the time today to browse the VM site completely and found so many things that I felt definitely would improve my wardrobe. :)

All pictures were found here: http://www.victorianmaiden.com/

I have wanted a classic OP without a capped sleeve for quite some time. Capped sleeves seem somehow too sweet for me, and they make my shoulders look really wide, so this dress is a very nice alternative. The summer makes most Lolita dresses unbearably warm, but there are ways to make a slightly cooler outfit without wearing just a Jumperskirt and nothing else. A shorter sleeve on an OP helps a lot, just as a nice cool cotton is better than a heavy velvet. Pair this with a nice parasol and a fan, and you can be just as comfortable in the summer as if you would wear ordinary clothing.

This under-dress is something I have been looking at for a long time, but never bought. I mean, it's meant to be worn underneath a regular dress so it will not be seen, and it is bound to make your outfit a lot warmer than it already is. That might be nice in the winter, I suppose, but now that summer is fast approaching it hardly seems appropriate. However, there is something about this lightweight undergarment that calls out to me. And for some reason I feel it would be most comfortable to wear this summer.

Even though something might seem like it would make an outfit warm and uncomfortable I have found that that is not always the case. For example, I have been adviced against wearing bloomers in the summer, for obvious reasons, yet I still prefer to wear them all year round. In fact, I do not sweat quite so much when I wear them. You see, without them, the petticoat and the dress fall much closer to my legs as I walk and as the day wears on, that friction can get quite unbearable, not to mention the fabric likes to stick to my skin. It is most uncomfortable. However, when I DO wear bloomers, they provide a nice barrier between my skin and the skirt and that immediately takes away that friction and as a result I don't feel half as warm.

Oh dear, I feel I have strayed a bit too far off the topic. But I rather like the idea of wearing something so nice and light under my summer dresses and, as long as I do not wear velvet or something equally hot and heavy, I imagine it would be nice and flowy in the breeze.

Once again I am drawn to a very light weight dress for the summer. Flowy cotton can be such a relief on a hot day, especially when it is loose fitting like this.

I would very much like to try pairing the loose dress with the under-dress like this. Once again it is light and I imagine it would be very comfortable to wear casually to a nice picnic underneath the branches of a large oak tree.

One of the things that I love the most about Victorian Maiden is the absolutely beautiful hair corsages they make. Big, lovely roses paired with dainty little leaves and shiny pearls... Doesn't every girl in the world dream of wearing something like this in their hair?

They come in many different colors and can be worn in so many ways...

I wish I could afford to buy one of each kind.

I know it might seem frivolous and silly to go on and on about clothes like this.... In fact, I am pretty sure it IS frivolous and silly. But to be quite honest, this is the only thing I can seem to smile about nowadays... so I like to sieze every chance I get to enjoy myself, even just a little bit.

Spring! Finally!

I went outside to meet my friend Mia today, whom I haven't seen in a long time. In fact, I think the last time I saw her was at my birthday party in February! Anyway, we both decided that we needed to get out and have a good time so after a quick, albeit late, lunch, we went to Kungsträdgården in Stockholm and took some pictures under the beautiful Cherry trees that FINALLY were blooming. It was cloudy for most of the day, but when we finally reached the park, the sky cleared and the sun shone down on the pink trees.

It was quite beautiful, but then again, it always is.

Mia was looking lovely and Victorian in her long poofy skirt :)

I decided on a more Spring-themed outfit today with pretty flowers and a green Innocent World skirt.

I had a very nice time, Mia dear, i hope we can do this again soon :)

Concerning Dolls

While sitting on the bus today I noticed a young woman on the side walk. She most definitely stood out from the crowd and she caught my eye, even though it was just in passing. Of course, I regularly take notice of things I consider to be pretty, but this lady got my attention for another reason. She had long blond hair, a short skirt and high heels. Nothing unusual there, really. What bothered me, however, was that her long, and very nicely shaped legs, were covered in something I can only assume to be a spray-on tan and it reminded me something horribly of the barbie dolls I had when I was younger. Her skin even gleamed in the same way as plastic would!

I know I have been called a doll on numerous occations, which might suggest I look artificial... But at least I am made of porcelain and not plastic!

Shopping for the Milliner

I recently decided to start making more mini hats, both to wear myself and to sell. There is something so calming and wonderful about working with your hands, that I simply could not resist it. Not to mention hats, when they are made correctly, can be so incredibly gorgeous and elegant. And they sell for a nice profit,too, which is really nice for someone like me who spends all their money on clothes and dolls!

So today I decided to go shopping for materials and decorations for my new mini Millinery business.

I woke up rather late this morning and, knowing that the shops close early on Sundays, I decided to go for a more casual look, with comfortable boots and a cardigan instead of a blouse. However, I did decide that my Mary Magdalene skirt needed to get out more, even though I don't have my dream coordination for it yet.

I went to a Swedish craft-store called Panduro Hobby to get my hat-making materials. They do not have a very wide variety of flowers, feathers and things like that, but it's better than nothing. Especially since I am only just getting started.

In the end, this is what I bought:

Artificial flowers of different kinds and colors.

Little Cameos,

either for decorating hats or making brooches, I am not quite sure yet.

Black Ostrich Plumes

Peacock Feathers

Pheasant Feathers

Rusty-red Down

Mini Hat-pins

These are probably meant to be something else, but they are perfect for minihats!

Artificial Leaves

And last but not least I bought black yarn. It's not for hat-making, but rather for the scarf I intend to knit for Yuki when he comes home again.

That's all, folks! :) Have a nice day!

Kamalia