A Two for One~

Hello loyal readers,

I come to you humbly asking for your forgiveness. I promised you a post for Wednesday and for Friday...now it is Sunday, and my last actual post was on Monday. Ack! Here, as promised though is Wednesday's post and as a special added bonus, Friday's post!

First I suppose I should answer this question : what in the world is a lifestyle lolita anyway? She is a lolita that lives her life as a proper lady. By no means is every lolita a lifestyle lolita and by no means is it a requirement to be so. Some people, myself included, feel a particular calling to a more beautiful and elegant (if not idealized) life. I've wanted to lifestyle ever since I learned about what it was, but old habits (such as swearing and slouching) are hard to break. On the other hand, there's no time like the present to try and start. I suppose the first step (and where I'll start) is research. The goal here is to act like a lady of stature, a high class woman who, if dropped into the Victorian era would fit right into high society. Start by brushing up on your history of the Victorian era, and specifically women in history. Here are a few websites that give a legitamite synopsis of women in the Victorian era, but don't forget to visit your local library as well:

A breif history of the Victorian woman in country and urban settings
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/trail/victorian_britain/women_out/urban_life_01.shtml
A complete (if not nearly complete) history of her royal hignness, Queen Victoria
http://www.victoriana.com/queenvictoria/
Et cetera.

The afore mentioned links are by no means complete histories. It is up to you do to some research on your own. You also don't have to act exactly like the ladies of the Victorian era, and in fact in some instances it might not be appropriate to do so. As you already know, or will know once you venture more into the lolita fashion and life style, the idea is to follow some basic guide lines but pick and choose as you go along. Just as one day you might wear a sailor lolita skirt with a gothic lolita blouse, it is perfectly ok to mix the ideas of a Victorian lady with a modern one.

In our next lifestyle instalment, I plan to discuss ettiqute and manners. Stay tuned!

Now, for the food portion of our post:

What should a lolita eat? There is a sort of myth surrounding the fashion that all lolitas are obsessed with sweets. This could not be farther from true. Sure, you might very well see sweets as a common motif in lolita clothing, but this usually goes along with the Sweet lolita style of clothing. By no means does that translate into "all lolitas eat nothing but cupcakes and sunshine". Lolitas do not eat Japanese or Chinese food all the time either. Unless, of course, they want to or live in Japan or China.

So what should a lolita eat? A lolita, like every other person out there should eat a healthy dose of fruits and veggies along with grain, dairy, and protein. Sweets should be eaten sparingly. Most everyone enjoys sweets though, and they're great to bring to a meet up or tea party. That being said, the first recipe we'll cover will be chocolate tofu parfaits. "Chocolate tofu parfaits? That sounds terrible!" So you would think. Tofu is a magical food though that provides, among other things, protein and is a great absorber of flavor. We'll also be using dark chocolate for flavor which is a brilliant source of antioxidants. The recipe is as follows:

You will need--
A blender or a food processor.
16 oz of silk tofu. This is key as it blends well and won't be chunky in your parfait.
½ cup packed brown sugar
¾ cup dark coco powder
1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar
¼ cup dark chocolate, melted. You can do this over a double boiler (or two pots, one with a little bit of water in the bottom and the other on top), or in the microwave. If you do it in the microwave, be careful! Chocolate has a bad habit of burning when you microwave it for too long so be sure to watch your chocolate when you're warming it up.
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix all the ingredients \ in the blender or food processor and blend until smooth. If you want, mix in some nuts or dried fruit or even angel food cake. Let it set in the fridge for about 1 hour and serve.

Next time, I think I'll tackle a delicious goat cheese and apple salad. Mmm~