Miss Kellie bakes Kitties!

No kitties were harmed in the making of these cookies! = ^ㅅ^ =

Firstly, pick out your favorite sugar cookie recipe. I used the Martha Steward basic recipe I've been using since I could bake! I also used a simple cat shaped cookie cutter I found on ebay. 

As you can see, I decorated some of the bare ones with a toothpick. These will be perfect for tea-dunking. Next time I want to brush some egg whites over the surfaces and sprinkle some sugar crystals over the surfaces. Honestly, I'm a little disappointed in myself for not thinking of it this time; I even have lavender colored sugar sprinkles, which would've been perfect!

This was a pretty basic cookie to make.. but it was my first time using royal icing.. and I had no piping bag or tips! Instead I just used a plastic bag and it worked fine, but I can tell that if I want to improve my craftsmanship, I really need to upgrade and buy some tips and bags (my icing job is not super cute..)

This is the recipe I used for the icing. Strangely, when the peachy pink colored icings hardened, there was some sort of discolored or faded spots in a few places that I didn't notice while icing the cookies. I'm still not sure why..

I had a great experience making these and I hope to do it again so I can try out new techniques! I hope you enjoyed seeing the photos of my cookie adventure ^^

Yours truly,
Miss Kellie

P.S.: Do you have a royal icing recipe you like?

8 Quirky Films for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is a great opportunity to do something fun with your significant other and celebrate your love.. but what about the rest of us? ⊙△⊙

Whether you're alone or not this mushy season, here's a list of 8 of my favorite quirky romances I want to share with you! Quirky and awkward romance is my favorite film genre, specifically foreign ones. Some of these might not be classified specifically as "romance," but they all carry many romantic and heartfelt notes.

(no particular order, no spoilers)

1. Romantics Anonymous ("Les Émotifs Anonymes," France)

The passion of chocolate brings two emotional people together despite their fears and social awkwardness. I promise I haven't given anything away! This film will definitely inspire hope in your heart and make you all warm and giggly. It's also probably the most awkward in my list!

2. Spirited Away ("千と千尋の神隠し," Japan)

I'm sure most of you have seen this Miyazaki film, but it's always worth another watch! Spirited Away puts a young, spoiled brat into the spirit world where she's faced with changing her attitude in order to save those she cares about.  The romantic tones may not be as strong in this film, but that's the beauty of Miyazaki's work; most of his films aren't explicitly a romance. They're first and foremost a story.

3. The Hedgehog ("Le Hérisson," France)

Paloma is disgusted with the lives of the rich; Unfortunately for her, her family is rich. The young girl decides to kill herself on her 12th birthday, but as the date approaches she makes friends with a new tenant in her apartment building, a kind, elderly Japanese man and the elegant but lethargic landlady. One of my favorite things about this movie is all the little things the characters do that add to their personality but also add to their believability as a person. Look for those little things and you'll enjoy the movie even more.

4. I'm a Cyborg But That's OK ("싸이보그지만 괜찮아," Korea)

This film gets my "Quirkiest Award"! This movie's plot is kind of hard to describe, but I'll try! Young-goon thinks she is a cyborg and is checked into a mental hospital, where she meets another patient named Il-soon who helps her get back on her feet when her insanity begins to be detrimental to her physical health. This movie is hilarious and very cute. I highly recommend it for k-pop lovers, since 비(Rain) plays Il-soon!

5. Notting Hill (UK/USA)

I think we all wish we could relate to this movie.. I can't say much without giving the plot away, but the story reveals what happens when a British Regular Joe meets a world-famous American movie star in his tiny travel book shop. It also has many hilarious bits! Anyone can enjoy this movie because I'm sure we all have celebrity crushes, hehe.

Who's your top celebrity crush? Leave a comment, I want to know! (Mine is T.O.P from Big Bang ♥)

6. Breakfast at Tiffany's (USA)

This is a classic and a definite must-see, especially if you're interested in the fashion and culture of the early 60s! Audrey Hepburn plays Holly Golightly, a naïve socialite who meets a writer who's just moved into her building and her carefree, independent nature is challenged when she finds herself becoming attached to him.

7. Lars and the Real Girl (USA/Canada)

I promise this is not a perverted movie! Lars is a socially awkward and strange guy who buys a life size doll online and starts up a relationship with her. This is a funny and cute movie and it's mostly about how the small town he lives in deals with his relationship and how Lars deals with his own delusions.

8. Howl's Moving Castle ("ハウルの動く城," Japan)

Another Miyazaki film! This one is great if you're feeling gross or ugly because the main character, Sophie, is characterized as being such (even though she doesn't look like it..) Sophie meets a selfish wizard named Howl and works for him in his moving castle as his house cleaner. This is a very sweet movie about love and what's truly in our hearts. 

Another good one that is not on this list to watch if you're feeling not-so-pretty or unloved is 100 Pounds Beauty. It's a Korean movie about a chubby, unattractive girl who gets a full body plastic surgery so the man she likes will return her feelings.

❦ I want to hear your thoughts if you watch any of these lovely films ^___^ Happy Valentine's Day!

Miss Kellie

P.S. Did you know South Korea has a holiday for singles? Valentine's Day is when girls give boys chocolates; then on White Day (a month later), the boys return the girl's gifts with candies; and lastly, another month later is Black Day, when singles eat black bean noodles (짜장면)! 

Miss Kellie goes to Rolling in Thyme & Dough

A few weeks ago I went with the Central Texas Mori Girls to a lovely breakfast place in Dripping Springs, called Rolling in Thyme & Dough! I've never had such flavorful food until I ate there with my family earlier this month and I just had to share my culinary find with the mori gals.

This time I had a delicious sandwich and my favorite drink of theirs; a dirty chai! Most coffee shops can make up a dirty chai (espresso + chai), but Rolling in Thyme & Dough makes by far the best.

Besides the yummy food, my favorite thing about the place was the decor and exterior!

The whole setting was very mori-esque and we had a blast taking fun photos. I only wish more girls could've come, because I know they would've enjoyed it as much as we did. ^^

The lovely Mia and myself! Check out her blog ^^

I hope you enjoyed going to this magical place vicariously! Hehe. The CTMG have a Valentine's crafting party this Sunday, so please look forward to my post about the event ^^

Have a fanciful Friday!

Sincerely,

Miss Kellie ⚘

Miss Kellie wears Pink Brown

Yesterday I went to a friend's birthday party and had a lot of fun with everyone ! ^___^

I ended up taking off the belt and replaced it with a dark brown one. The blue looks cute but I think it was too distracting. 

All of you pear shaped ladies know how hard it is to find good pants! These are the most flattering pants I've ever worn ( and they're velvet! ), but unfortunately, like all pants, they stretch out a bit as you wear them. I really need to take these to be dry cleaned so they'll shape up, but I'm currently out of cash. Pooh!

Since I wear wigs most days at school, I've been experimenting with hairstyles! I was thrilled to find out that I could finally do a milkmaid braid. I'm still working on blending the braids together more fluidly, but I still loved it. And I think the bow was a cute touch!

This is my favorite purse currently! I got it from taobao and it even came with a matching notebook and file folder. It's definitely my style and is very mori-able.

Blouse: Buffalo Exchange

Pants: Anthropologie

Cardigan: Merona (Target)

Boots: Target

Belt: Target

Purse: Taobao

Pearls: My Granny's

Shoes: Second hand

Bow: Twinkle Mingle on Etsy. (totally recommend her, I had a wonderful transaction!)

Wig: Ebay, of course!

MOR101: Mori kei vs. Natural kei

UPDATED 101114

One of the biggest questions in the mori community is, "What's the difference between mori kei and natural kei?" I think this is a great topic to discuss, since there seems to be a lot of confusion and since the styles are actually very different! Additionally, there is a lot of history here and you can make your own decision about my interpretation.

❁ The History

The oldest style between the two is the natural kei, but it has quite a different aesthetic than what I believe is most modern. Traditional natural kei came around the 1970s and is more shabby-chic. Moss Märchen was one of the leading natural kei blogs until she closed in late 2012, but she does a great job of explaining natural kei. Here are some images from her blog to give you an idea of traditional natural kei.

I think this style is slightly closer to what might have already been worn in the time period that it came about. Natural kei is described as being similar to "Little House on the Prairie," where the wearer lives on the edge of the forest but not quite in it, so she can afford more trendy clothing.

The mori term came around 2007, purposed to name a style that already existed. I really recommend checking out this video to show what Japanese mori girls thought about the style as it became recognized.

This is the literal difference between mori and natural kei. However, I want to propose a more modern interpretation of the difference...

❁ Mori Kei 

Firstly, mori kei, literally means "forest style." So, girls that dress in mori look like they live in and are from the forest. In my own interpretation, mori girls tend to have more of a "forest spirit" vibe. White or beige, lacy, lots of layers. Mori kei, over natural kei, tends to be more popular in Japanese street snaps, because it's more over the top than natural kei.

❁ Natural Kei

Natural kei is best described as the style of girls that live in a small town near the forest and will spend time in the woods. They are able to afford finer clothes, clothes with color, clothes with patterns, and a few whimsical or quirky pieces. Definitely less lace pieces, but not necessarily less layers (though natural kei can get away with fewer layers while mori kei cannot). Once mori began to become popular in the western culture, many people started tagging this type of mori also as natural kei. This was most likely confusion or in order to gain more attention to their posts, but I think that calling this natural kei is appropriate because it goes along with the concept of traditional natural kei (living on the edge of the forest), but with modern clothing (pants, for example).

My favorite natural kei brand is DearLi on Taobao!
Update: Lately, Dearli only has a few natural and mori pieces, but they're definitely super cute and deserve a look at.

❁ Remember

That most of the time, these two sister styles are crossed over and each are inspired by the other. Don't be afraid to mix them up or wear natural one day, then mori the next! Most of the time, I will say "mori kei" and mean both, since they're nearly the same in concept, but it's good to know the distinction and where the natural kei term originally came from in case you want to get technical. I leave it up to you to decide if you want to take on the modern interpretation of natural kei or not. ^^

Also check out my MOR101: Introduction to Mori Kei post, especially if you're confused about Choco's mori list.

The most important thing is to wear what makes YOU feel like a forest girl :)

Until next time,

Miss Kellie

Miss Kellie wears Nancy Drew

 Hello, dear friends! I wanted to share my recent outfit of the day with you. After looking over the pictures my Momma took, I feel like a modern day Nancy Drew! If you haven't heard of Nancy Drew (why?!), she is THE iconic girl detective in a mystery novel series written by pseudonym Caryoln Keen in the 1930s even to present day. I grew up reading her books and playing the mystery computer games, so Nancy is very close to my heart :)

Nancy even had titian blonde hair! Do you see the similarity too?

If you had a favorite Nancy Drew book, leave a comment! I'd love to hear them :)

Blouse: Anthropologie

Skirt: J.Crew

Boots: Target

Scarf: Forever 21

Purse: Target

Glasses: Buffalo Exchange

Facebook Launch + Giveaway!

Hello my lovely friends and followers! To celebrate the launch of my facebook page, I'm hosting a small giveaway to thank everyone ^____^

I'm giving away one of these beautiful iPhone strawberry cases (I own the one on the far right in the above picture!) because they're so adorable and I love my own so much.

The contest will end on Sunday, December 15th and the winner will be announced on Monday, December 16th. Open to followers worldwide.Hello my lovely friends and followers! To celebrate the launch of my facebook page, I'm hosting a small giveaway to thank everyone ^____^

I'm giving away one of these beautiful iPhone strawberry cases (I own the one on the far right in the above picture!) because they're so adorable and I love my own so much.

The contest will end on Sunday, December 15th and the winner will be announced on Monday, December 16th. Open to followers worldwide.

⚘ RULES
1. Like my facebook page
2. Like this post and share it publicly

⚘ For bonus entries! (If you do either of these, comment on this post to let me know which one or both ^^)
1. Follow my blog
2. Leave a comment on any one of my blog posts

Thank you all so much for your support and may the odds be ever in your favor!