Author: lolitaandthecity@gmail.com

Cupcake of the Week: Brooklyn Cupcake

Visited a friends new apartment in LIC.  We both past Brooklyn Cupcake (irony?) and were highly recommended to try by a customer.

With flavors like French Toast (with or without maple syrup), Coquito, Rainbow Cookie, and Tres Leche who can go wrong.  These cakes can last a few days fridge and still taste good. 
Check out their website or follow on Twitter and Facebook for updates.

(Williamsburg)
335 Union Ave,

Brooklyn, NY 11211
718-576-3600

(Dumbo)
61 Pearl Street 

Brooklyn, NY 11201
718-576-3600

(Long island City)
4-43 48th Ave

Long Island City, NY 11101
718-482-8220

Treat House – Treat. Yo. Self

Treat. Yo. Self. To Treat House that is.
An unknown rice krispie treat shop had been gracing my Facebook feed. Between this and a new crepe shop in SoHo, it was hard to decide which to check out first.  Crepes tend to be more fun with people, so I went to check Treat House on it’s grand opening.
I also treated myself to the American Natural History Museum to check out their whale exhibit which was a few blocks away. 
(For the record, I went to the museum first.)

To be honest I have a love/hate relationship with rice krispie treats.  I will crave the marshmallow snack, but once I’ve bought a box it will stay unopened until the apocalypse. (There’s an infamous chocolate-covered one in the shape of a penguin in the bowels of my cupboard.)  I blame the overwhelming sweetness and the not-so-snack-size bars they often come in.
You can buy 1, 2, 4, or 12.
Treat House, on the other hand, were petit-four sized, had just the right sweetness, and came in more than one flavor. Actually they come in so many flavors that it was hard to choose. My eyes went instantly to the Double Bubble that topped a Pink Bubble Gum flavored one, but my brain recollected bad Halloween memories followed by trips to the dentist.

I recommend a 4 pack for one person.
Instead I ending up pointing at familiar flavors like Cookies & Cream, Chocolate Pretzel, S’mores, and Cappuccino (my favorite).  This turned out to be a mistake because I wished I had chosen ones like Red Velvet, Blueberry Pie, and Birthday Cake. There’s even a plain bar for you vanilla people. 
My Chocolate Pretzel did not fair well on my trip to Central Park.

Lolitas looking for sweet alternatives should take heed:  for $2.25 a bar, it’s cheaper than a cupcake and about the same price as an average macaron, depending where you go.

I will be curious to see how this shop will fair in future months. However this shop already has an established following; when I popped in there were plenty of locals congratulating the owners and making purchases.

Groups are popping in and out.
Unfortunately to my husband’s dismay, there is currently no vegan/vegetarian option (The homemade marshmallows are made with fish gelatin). Hopefully they will consider this in the future. Otherwise that will be 4 bars for me.

In addition to the crisped rice treats, they serve cake pops, marshmallows, and ice cream bars.  As well as homemade iced tea, juice, and Stumptown coffee to wash it all down.

Cabin in the Woods this is not.
The decor was very simplistic (just like a rice krispie) and I had nothing but smile when I saw the little faux cabin in the back. 
Employees’ Only sign?

Log art on the wall.
Right now, there’s no shop like this in New York, so I would not label it a craze just yet.  However it is certainly unique and something to check out if you are in the area (like the museum) or just visiting the city.  
Treat House will probably become my Upper East Side counterpart: when I go to Alice’s Tea Cup I will more than likely go to Ladurée. Especially after learning they donate a portion of all their sales to the Food Bank of New York City.
All treats were eaten in the making of this post. So was my smile.
Treat House
452 Amsterdam Avenue
New York, NY

Matching Sets – BoldLoft Human Touch

“Oops…My Bad.“

Boldloft was a shop I found on my last day in Hong Kong.  It’s a cute shop if you love matching sets or are looking for couple gifts for someone or yourself.

“My Heart Is After You.“

Featuring simple graphic designs that make anyone smile or laugh. They have everything from drinking glasses, t-shirts, and, my favorite, couple pillowcases.

“Captured By Your Love“

These same-sex couples ones seem to be only available on Amazon.

Girls too can love. Also only on Amazon.

“From My Heart To Yours.“

We went with a black and white graphic design because we were afraid of it getting dirty in the future.

The box it came in was cute too.

Pillows don’t need to be slept on.

Pillow Tag.
Pillows can save the world.
Now I never want to hid my pillows under the covers when I make the bed.

While I purchased my pillows in Hong Kong, you can go on their website (as well as Amazon has a few and browse their products. The best part is they ship internationally!

Cupcake of the Week: Shark Week

Save Snuffy, eat a cupcake.

Shark Week is summer’s version of Christmas.  Whether it’s the video of sharks tearing flesh from fishbone or just the mind blowing knowledge how they operate — it’s one of the highlights of summer. For the third time, Georgetown Cupcakes is again honoring the period with special Shark Week cupcakes.

These are only available online or by emailing your nearest store for pickup or delivery.

NOTE: Shark Week starts Aug 4th, 2013 for inquiring minds.

Georgetown Cupcakes
111 Mercer St
New York, NY 10012
212-431-4504

Go Big or Go Home: Lolitas vs. (Mini) Vermonster

Signed as proof.
Lolita fashion makes you do crazy things. If you love the fashion long enough you want to do practically everything while wearing clothes that make you look like a giant cupcake. Whether it’s going to the movies, the zoo, to try out a new restaurant, or even going out for ice cream. 
Since a lot of friends were big foodies, I wanted to do something a bit outrageous: I wanted a bunch of us to get together, while wearing Lolita, and eat a Vermonster.  It turned out to be a fun, casual bonding experience. 

For those who are unfamiliar with Ben and Jerry’s Vermonster, according to Wikipedia it is a giant sundae containing “20 scoops of ice cream, 4 bananas, 4 ladles of hot fudge, 3 chocolate chip cookies, 1 chocolate fudge brownie, 10 scoops of walnuts, 2 scoops each of 4 toppings of your choice, and whipped cream.”  Ideally it is for a group of 7-8, preferably more.  For $38 dollars between that many people is still a good deal.

The plan was to meetup at Rockefeller Center, since this was the only Ben and Jerry’s in NYC that carried the monstrous sundae. Due to unforeseen circumstances only 6 (as opposed to an original 10) of us could make it  and the more we thought about it, we wouldn’t be able to tackle it. 
Cherry Garcia, Phish Food, Cookie Dough, Milk and Cookies, and Rainbow Sprinkles.
Mint Chocolate Chip, Vanilla, Salted Caramel, Americone Dream, and Cookie Crunch.
Fortunately there was a mini version, appropriately named the “Mini-Vermonster,” with 4 scoops of ice cream, your choice of caramel or hot fudge, 1 chocolate chip cookie, 1 chocolate fudge brownie, 1 topping of your choice, and whipped cream. Since the mini-Vermonster was made for 2-3 people, we decided to get two of them.  It was $13.99 for each and between all of is it was only $5!

Can’t Believe It’s Ice Cream.

We finished them for the most part! It was still a bit much, but more manageable than 20 scoops of ice cream.

No More. No More.

Did I really just eat this?
Yes we did.
Oddly enough we were still hungry and now craved something more savory.  Someone had mentioned a German beer hall that served giant pretzels as big as your head. 
It was very unanimous that we had to go. Especially since we were unable to get an actually Vermonster. 
They even had tofu wurst for vegetarians.
Reichenbach Hall is known as one of the only indoor German beer halls in NYC.  We wanted pretzels and were going to order two, but the waitress told us it was very large. Also that instead of $8.99, it was $18.99. We decide to order one for now and order more if it wasn’t enough. 
Behold the pizza pretzel.

It had been the giant-sized food we had been looking for — served on a large pizza tray, the pretzel was warm, soft and had the right amount of salt.

I volunteered to be the Vanna White for scale purposes.

The end of the story is do something crazy with friends and it will be a memory you can put in a book later.

Street Snaps: ConnectiCon 2013

It was my first time going to Connecticon and I had a great time.  Not only was it a nice break from the larger cons, like NYCC or Otakon, it was just as fun with plenty to do.  I was quite surprised by the amount of fashion statements for such a small convention.

Note: As always, please credit me if you decide to use these photos elsewhere. And if you see your photo and would like it taken down, please let me know!

Lolita Fashion and Life panelists: the girls behind FYeah Lolita and Ramble Rori.

A grey day for Lolita.

Lavender Daydreams and Dream Sky.

Bears and Stripes.

Strawberries and Bear.

Kyary fan.

A Vintage Chess Story.

Just smelling the roses.

Sweet Cult Party

A mori day to you.

Misty Sky at Night

Precious BoyStyle.

Cosplay and fashion come together with this lady’s sea-like kimono and handmade Going Merry hat.

Caro-chan lets the demon come out.

Casual Lolita.

Saw her at AnimeBoston,  does she pull off Gothic so well?

Can’t beat down a broken doll.

No lumps about it with Her Lumpiness.

Classic in Lady Sloth.

Life’s Sweet Essentials in her latest coordinate and DIY bag.
An old but good Emblem.
Last-minute dresses are fab when you have a good attitude.
This Lolita stole the blue box. Guess where it is?

A touch of sweet.

Queen of Hearts.

Cinderella Jewelry

Last photo of the night. 

Seamtress who sewed her fandom a dress.

Star Trek!

Chess Story’s Mariage L’Amour.

For once, I end the con with Magic a la Mode.

Steady As She Goes: Connecticon 2013

You are not in NYC anymore, Pucca.

It was a weekend of firsts: it was the first weekend where the weather was below 90 degrees; the first weekend I stayed in Connecticut instead of just passing through; it was the first time time I attended a convention that was not an anime or comic focused; finally, it was my first time at ConnectiCon.
UncleYo vouched for the convention every time I had a chance to talk to him. This year I was fortunate to attend as Press. Coming from New York it was a hop, skip, jump to Downtown Hartford by Metro-North. Not only that but ParfaitDoll was nice enough to offer me a place to stay.  Not only that but the weather held out to be perfect for a convention unlike the heatwave that continues in New York City.

The family that watches Korra together, stays together.
Which witch is which?

I must say that it was refreshing. As I’ve talk to many attendee goers, it was a con for those who did not or could not go very far and still wanted a con experience — and you certainly get that at the Connecticut Convention Center. Unlike Otakon or New York Comic Con, ConnectiCon was a smattering of fandoms: there’s anime, comics, celebrities and a panel room that always has something to do with Doctor Who.

Doug Walker autograph signing.

Little Witches Academia.

While Connecticon boasts an attendance of 10,000 plus people, it still felt small; which for me was a good thing.  I never had to worry about lines, crowds, or if I had eaten anything at all that day. Yet on Friday lines were still out the door and everyone was waiting to get into the Dealer’s Room. There had been few occurrences where I waited in line for a panel—unless it was for Jim Cummings or UncleYo.

Marina Sirtis and Magic a la Mode.

Marina Sirtis a bit peeved there are people leaving for Doctor Who panels.

Lolita Fashion and Life: Wearing Daily – hosted by Ramble Rori.

For a convention in the middle of Connecticut, the Lolita fashion community is quite strong — having not one, but three panels dedicated to Japanese fashion. There was a panel, run by Christina from Ramble Rori and Caro from FYeah Lolita on how to wear Lolita fashion daily and how to make your wardrobe more versatile (KISS).

Stick them with the pointy end. Perhaps slicing them is a better choice in this case.

Later in the day was a J-Fashion Show, featuring different fashions that you find wandering the streets of Tokyo.

Dolly kei; Shironuri; Cult Party; Aristocrat

Sweet Lolita; Gothic Lolita; Gyaru; Decora

Group shot.

Unfortunately I will regret due to the lack of seating (due to sword demos taken place the hours before) and dim lighting made for poor pictures on my part.

UMI sushi + tapas in Blue Back Square

Conveyor belt sushi in Connecticut. Who knew?

Since the show was the last thing on our list, Victoria and I celebrated surviving our first day with a sushi dinner. Umi is located in West Hartford in Blue Back Square – a fancy outdoor mall that reminds me of the Derby Street Shoppes in Hingham, MA. Umi is a conveyor belt sushi place that certainly stands out in the suburbs. I decided to try the sushi off the belt and it was good, especially if you went for the classic rolls. There were also odd flavors like BLT rolls and something called an Edamame Bomb.

Lolita Fashion 101 – the silhouette.

Swap Meets are good for those looking to clear and add to their Lolita fashion wardrobe.

Saturday we took it easy and attended the Lolita 101/Swap Meet panel. Oddly enough, I was told that the room was full yet when I peeked in again there were quite a few seats. However it was a constant rotation as the room was overpacked, leaving staff to ask any standing room people to leave. No matter where you go I suppose anything related to Lolita fashion will get a packed room. At the end of the panel was a swap meet for Lolitas or attendees to add or clear their wardrobe.

Jim Cummings Q&A

Jim Cummings Q&A started with the voice actor asking questions about his audience before they could ask their own question. This was intermingled with Cummings and Liz Landa actin out scenes from Star Wars (Winnie the Pooh as Darth Vader), The Godfather (Tigger as Micheal Corleone), and Gone with the Wind (Ray the Firefly as Rhett Butler).

Lastly was UncleYo’s panel which was his and friends telling convention stories. There were so many to choose that he left it up to the audience to choose. Eventually it divulge into telling the story of how he and his girlfriend meet, and reading aloud fanmade fujoshi featuring UncleYo.

Penne a la vodka – sauteed portobello mushrooms and red peppers tossed in tomato cream sauce made with house infused jalapeno vodka.
Connecticut treats their congoers right.

Our night ended with catching a bite to eat at the Front Street Bistro across the street. I’m always weary of food around a convention, much less inside a movie theater. Front Street Bistro though made you feel like you were at a restaurant with it’s outdoor dining and hardwood seating– despite lines right next door to see Pacific Rim for the nth time.  The menu was a typical burger and fries joint, and I opted for a penne a la vodka. Overall I was impressed by the service at 8PM on a Saturday during a convention: waiter was attentive and service was prompt, even the food was excellent. The penne was not drenched in heavily ladened vodka sauce and had slices of portobello mushroom. Also if you still had your badge, you could get 10% off your bill.

Potato Pancakes. 
Vanna White waffle. There is fruit under that. Somewhere.

Sunday was all about the brunch.  Victoria took me to a brunch place she frequents a lot – Leo’s Restaurant. It was your basic restaurant but the brunch was impressive and, I must say, creative. They had croissant-style french toast, a take on Huevos Rancheros, and a waffle named after a game show hostess. I went with potato pancakes…and could not finish. Victoria had a waffle that looked to be something from Milky Planet than waffle.

10 Most Important Things About Writing.

Once we arrived at the convention was I popped into a panel about how to improve your writing (i.e. Write a lot; Don’t be a perfectionist; Experience everything).

Kokeshi Doll Workshop

Victoria and I also tried our hand at making kokeshi dolls.

To drink or not to drink all the tea: that is the question.

Lastly there was a tea tasting panel where for $1 you got a souvenir cup, went to table, and learned about the tea they were brewing. This panel was also popular and almost sold out. Again we were told it was completely booked, but by per chance we were able to secure the last two spots.

Dealers’ Room

Haru Vamp as Bōsōzoku Black Lady with Sailor Moon 

Overall I had a wonderful first Connecticon experience and would certainly consider going again next year. It was the convention of my yesteryears when I thought AnimeNext was a big convention. It was a convention where I didn’t have the race at opposite ends of the Javits Center at New York Comic Con to catch a panel.  

Fête Paradiso – July 13-September 29!

via ixdoxdeclare

Fête Paradiso opened last Saturday, but still something worth checking out if you are a fan of old timey things that are hardier than the plastic-made rides of today.

Governor’s Island is proud to host several vintage carnival rides and carousel straight from France.  Not only are they relics of 19th and 20th century but still functional! Admission is free for the festival and for a measly $3 you can ride into the past!

From July 13 – September 29 every weekend, you’ll be able to eat and drink at their pop-up beer garden that features French carnival food, try your hand at mid-century games, and ride lots of different carousels.

Check out their Twitter, Instagram and Facebook page to peak your interest and any updates.

Fête Paradiso: A Festival of Vintage Carousels and Carnival Rides

July 13-September 29, 2013
10:30AM – 6PM
Governor’s Island

City of Water Day – July 20th, 2013!

Heave-ho onto open waters on City of Water Day

New York City is a city surrounded by water.  You need to go under or over water to get to Manhattan from Brooklyn or Queens.  You take the ferry to Staten Island.

On July 20th, Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance celebrates everything that has to do with water with City of Water Day. On Governor’s Island and Liberty State Park in New Jersey there’ll be Children’s Activity Fair in both areas.  Featuring food, a cardboard kayak race, as well as free boat tours!

Various boats will also be offering free tours along the Hudson.  See New York City like you’ve never seen it before. Learn about the life of a mariner, see various birds that live along the river, or see why tugboats are so important.

City of Water Day
July 20th, 2013
10-4PM
Liberty State Park, NJ and Governor’s Island, NY