So firstly, this blog sort of naturally ran its course. I had a list of posts I wanted to make before thinking of shutting down this blog and that list has been completed. Truth is, I could easily keep this blog going just doing print discussions, shopping reviews and outfit posts, but that is not really why I started this blog in the first place and I don't wish to become repetitive. This blog was meant to be a diary of me starting out in lolita fashion and then how I progressed. I logged my experiences and thoughts. But for a while now a lot of my growth has been going on away from the lolita fashion community. I have actually been talking about ending this blog since as far back as 2014, but then for some reason it just kept going. Whilst I am glad I decided to carry back on in 2014, I feel nothing but relief that I am ending it now in 2017. I got an extra 3 years out of this blog and I think I wrote some of my best posts during those 3 years.
Secondly, I can't go in to too much detail, but somebody close to me is very sick. It is not terminal or life shortening, but it is going to affect them for the rest of their life. They actually got officially diagnosed just before Dream Masquerade Carnival and that is why I was such a mess at the tea party. There has been a lot going on behind the scenes including hospital trips, talks with specialists etc. It got me thinking about my own health as well and back in October I finally had a test done which I had been putting off for over a decade (Yay, I was finally brave! James even treated me to salted caramel doughnuts afterwards). I have been thinking a lot about happiness and well-being and sadly, this blog does not really make me happy any more. That is not to say that I don't enjoy the activities and interacting with my readers- believe me, I love reading all of your comments and it made me happy when people came up to me at events and told me they read this blog. But the actual writing part became more of a chore than a pleasure. I want to focus on things that make me happy again. This past year I have completed a course of therapy, which was a real eye-opener. I have also been doing a lot of exercise classes, so I am physically stronger as well. In fact, I may have to sell my Bodyline OP because my biceps are bulkier now and the sleeves are a bit tight... When I compare myself to how I was even just a year ago, I am so much happier and fitter. I feel good about myself. Putting this blog on hiatus is another step on my journey to growing as a person.
Finally, this blog has unfortunately gotten in the way of me pursuing other projects. Believe it or not, even just doing 2 posts a week can get very time consuming. The print posts were not too bad, but the more personal ones took further planning and organising. It wasn't unusual for one post to take me a couple of hours, which can be hard to find when you are also juggling work and other stuff. I have been doing lots of things, such as baking and helping to run charity bake sales. Doing this made me remember how passionate I am about baking and the stalls meant I made new friends and got to help out for a good cause. The last stall made about £300 for a cancer charity and I can't wait for the next one. You will even be able to see a recipe from me in the last Tea Party Club annual. But there is another project which I have actually already started which is going to be eating away at my spare time. I don't wish to say too much about it right now, because it is still early days. The talk I had with somebody at DMC proved pivotal in me taking a big step to finally achieving this dream I have. I am really excited! Hopefully I will be able to share more on this in the future, but it probably wont be for at least another year. I also have some other small side projects which I am hopeful I can put some time and effort in to now that I wont be writing posts for this blog.
So until I figure out what I want to do and how to manage everything, this is sadly going to be my last post. Thank you all for reading and taking part. The blog is going to stay up, so you will be able to look back at any posts you want. If you wish to keep in contact with me, you can either friend me on Facebook (although please say a bit about who you are so I know you are not some random creep) or you can follow me on Instagram @t_is_for_tiffin (be aware you will get my day to day stuff as well as fashion stuff) and I will probably be keeping my Twitter for now, which is linked on the side. I don't really follow that many J-fashion people on Instagram yet, so I would really love to see some of you on there. I am not leaving Japanese fashion, just this blog. So hopefully I will be able to still see some of you and I hope we can keep in contact. If not, then thank you for being a part of this blog. It means a lot to me.
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