My journal sometimes slips out of real time when things get busy, so I apologize for it's being all over the place as of late.

A couple of weeks ago it was my birthday and I wanted to thank all my friends and family for making it such a fun one this year! Since it fell neatly on memorial day Dusty had off work so he whisked me off to my favorite vegetarian Chinese restaurant , then for bubble tea and lose tea shopping!

I suppose if belated birthday wishes are sometimes kinda sad then a belated birthday post is really sad! Still for my family and friends back home, that's what I got up to and thanks so much for such a great birthday!

Ok so I don't drink out of fancy cups all the time, when I'm working I have a mug of tea on standby pretty much all of the time! A while back I bought a Chococat  mug and a began a curse! Shortly after I dropped it and it broke. I then bought a cute rabbit one like the one seen below, and the other week dropped it and it broke

So over the weekend I went to get a replacement bunny mug, and also got a teddy mug to try and break the curse!!!! (plus Dusty got a drumming monkey, he really does drum too!)
I love how the lids make great saucers for teabags etc, the teddy one even comes with a basket inside for loose leaves!

As a girl who drinks on average of 5 pots of tea a day, these mugs make me happy!

The weekend before last me and Dusty went out to an antique fair being held by us. The place was HUGE. I was pretty excited about it but, I think poor Dusty got pretty bored pretty fast. One of the coolest things there was a stall of antique clothing, mostly from the late Victorian and early Edwardian eras. I ooed and ahhed over a few things, and even found out the lady coveting an 1880's bonnet with me was a Candy Violet customer! (she was so sweet!)

I managed to snag another 2 teaspoons for my collection there which I've just polished up to show you guys!
The one on the left as a present from mmymoon, she picked it up for me and the Herb Garden Cottage gift shop at the National Cathedral since I wasn't able to make it in there before closing time! It's made in Japan so it's been paired with my favorite Royal Sealy teacup (the little yellow one with big roses painted in it and 3 little feet ^__^)

Th Middle one is  from Alivn, it looks like poppies? I liked this spoon because are one of my all time favorite flowers! (they used to grow by my school!) and the bowl looks like it has "maiden" engraved in it! (I think it's Meriden but I like Maiden better)

The one on the right is Irian from RS Wallace in 1902 I thought it looked pretty rococo in design in some ways, so we pretty excited to find that one.

So those are my latest tea set additions.

Yesterday I was in pink and black mood because of my latest lolita art project! A little bit back the marvelous miss_meander made a post about the lovely old fashioned silhouette portraits people used to have, and I've been dreaming of giving it a go ever since! I finally found an oval frame this week and made up my silhouette!


Aside from silhouettes we went out to an adorable tea house nearby called Sweet Christina's. They were very busy so we got some cakes and scones to go!


Those were a few of the highlights of my pink and black day.

This post is cross posted from lifestyle_lolis as part of the new day in the life tags!

Over Christmas my family bought some lovely new tea related items for me as gifts, and I spent some of my Christmas money one some lovely new items as well!




I've been collecting this tea set for quite some time now, and though I'll still keep picking up a few new pieces (I aim to have a spoon to go with every cup, and still need a cake stand and a few other items) my set is now  functional and ready to go!


I'm looking forward to holding a tea party soon so every one can enjoy it all as much as I do!

Well I was on a good run with posting! But as every one knows after Thanksgiving comes cyber Monday, and things have been pretty intense ever since.  Still with the store now closed till the new year, and all my straggler orders packed and posted (except the big hoodie pre-order) I can site down and chat with you guys again!!!!!!! So here's the catch up....




I think that pretty much brings us up to date. It's been an up and down season, but it's been a bit if an up and down year.

I want to say a HUGE THANK YOU! to every one who supported us this year, and helped make this year an even bigger success than last year for us here at Vivcore. You guys really are a huge part of everything we do here  and it's really appreciated, so thanks once again.

So every one knows I have a slightly unhealthy obsession with all things tea. Well, a little bit back I got the perfect home for all my shiny little tea accoutrements! An adorable Queen Anne style curio cabinet!


It has a lovely mirror back, but at the moment the mirror reflected the cables from the entertainment center, so I added a rather nice baby blue brocade, it has a nice antique kinda look to it don't you think?

As well as the new cabinet, I have new China too! Most of it came back with me from England, though the smashing retro cockatiels  came from Dusty's grandmother "ninny"  who passed away last year.


After seeing all the cups in the cabinet, I did make a promise to really not add any more to the set, BUT this doesn't mean an end to tea adventures, there are still spoons, creamers etc. It'll be the best tea set ever!

So there you have it, my collection gained some new friends and a nice new home.

For any one who doesn't subscribe to Shojo Beat, there is another article in the November issue you might enjoy checking out! It should be on store shelves in the next week or two.



It's a little DIY project for designing your very own usable teacup! This is the one I designed whilst writing the article, so I hope a few people here might pick up a copy and show of their cups too!


This little fella has been hiding in my collection for so long, it's nice to finally show it off!
(Cups form England and my new teacup display cabinet coming soon....)

My sister bought me this amazing book for my birthday, and gave it to me whilst I was over visiting every one again a few weeks back. I thought you guys would love it too!



Afternoon Tea has all kinds of adorable recipes to lay out a perfect tea time spread for you and your friends! It has everything from little finger sandwiches and other savory treats, to some of the most tasty looking sweets I've ever seen!

Also whilst we we over in England my sister took me to the shop she bought the book at, a place called The Rustic rabbit in Grassington (small adorable village in Yorkshire) and I picked up Cupcakes by the same author. I'm all set to try out my mad baking skills now (expect photos!!!!)
 

You know I don't know if I should feel proud, or kind of embarrassed, but every time a person I know thinks of teacups, they think "Vivien!". And that's pretty much how this all came about...



My In laws moved house recently and were clearing out old items from their house, amongst the various objects were several lusterwear teacups!


A few went with other people, but 5 of them made it home with me, and here are my new teacups which were added to the collection!

They are all from Occupied Japan, and 3 of them are from Royal Sealy. At first i was a little unsure because I've never been a big fan of lusterwear (lusterwear is that pearly iridescent finish you see on some china like these!), but in the end I've fallen in love.

I think it's the sheer over the topness of them that appeals to me. They have elaborate pedestals and intricate shapes, all topped off with fancy designs and iridescent finish! The Luster finish also looks great when you pour tea in it, it really sparkles.

I feel kind of like a step mum the these guys, but I'm pretty excited to add them to the collection (which is now overly huge)