I don't know much, but I'm learning.

Recently, I got my first real job at a small greenhouse. This won't be a post that talks about my boss or the work or anything like that, because I'd rather things like that remain anonymous, but I thought I'd share a few pictures that I took while working. I've been seeing some really beautiful scenery lately. But then again, the world is always beautiful if you take the time to look. A photo posted by Kathryn Elaine (@forestsandtea) on Nov 10, 2016 at 10:11am PST This first picture was from a field near where I worked. It was out in the country, so there were some beautiful views on the way to work each day! Made another little friend at work the other day. 🍃 A photo posted by Kathryn Elaine (@forestsandtea) on Nov 9, 2016 at 6:52am PST Working in an open greenhouse means I met a lot of little bug friends. There were a lot of beautiful butterflies, happy grasshoppers, and other fun insects. Fog can be annoying to drive thr...

Hello my deers! Today I have another special mori music find for you all. Today, it is a YouTuber named Christy-Lyn. I've been following Christy-Lyn on YouTube for a while now, and I have to say that she gets better and better with each video she makes. She is a very talented musician, that plays mainly harp, but also occasionally dabbles with ukulele and piano, as well as being an amazing vocalist. She has a soft, classical sort of sound, which goes perfectly with her selection of music, which is largely folk songs. I could honestly fall asleep while listening to her sing, it's just so relaxing!  Have you heard of Christy-Lyn? If so, how did you like her music? If not, I hope you enjoy! Happy Listening!

Hello my deers! I hope you're doing well today :) I have another quick outfit post for you all. It's finally starting to cool down where I live, so hopefully you'll see more outfits from me soon! But for now, just a few outfits I've been able to squeeze in here and there in between hot spells and work. I hope you enjoy! This is a very boring, uninspired outfit. But guys. I'm wearing more than one layer!!!! I'm so happy I could burst! 😄👏🎉 Granted it will be back to hot tomorrow, but this is still a really great day for me. #morigirl #morikei #森ガール A photo posted by Kathryn Elaine (@forestsandtea) on Aug 15, 2016 at 12:11pm PDT Jumpers with pockets are my new obsession. (Also dresses over jeans is as Mori as I can get this summer, because heat.) #morigirl #morikei #casualmori A photo posted by Kathryn Elaine (@forestsandtea) on Jul 31, 2016 at 11:37am PDT A photo posted by Kathryn Elaine (@forestsandtea) on Jul 23, 20...

A common discussion amongst mori folk these days seems to be whether or not there is a mori lifestyle. When I first joined the community, I would have been someone who said there was. In fact, I even wrote a blog post about it . But while I still somewhat agree with what I wrote in that post, I now have a slightly different opinion regarding the topic. I do still believe that there are lifestyle aspects that fit in well with mori kei. Things like loving nature, and enjoying the small things in life. Even some more specific things, like mori-esque music and mori hobbies, like sewing or hiking. Everything I mentioned in my post I still think fits well with mori kei. But even though there are these things that fit into the mori " aesthetic" , if you will, they by no means make up requirements for having a "mori lifestyle", nor are they required to even be considered a "mori person". In my personal opinion, there is no need for a mori lifestyle becaus...

Today's Mori Music Find is Cecile Corbel. Miss Corbel is a French singer, harpist, and composer who has a fairytale-esque style of music. She's quite popular amongst mori circles, and her music is very beautiful. In addition to writing her own music, she also does beautiful renditions of folk songs from many different countries. Have you heard of Cecile Corbel? If so, how did you like her music? If not, I hope you enjoy! Happy listening!

Something that has always baffled me about the mori community is those who say they can't wear the mori girl style in certain seasons. I think that mori is a very versatile style, and one that can be easily adapted to whatever weather you find yourself in! Take for instance the spring season. This time of year is perfect for wearing a few layers, light sweaters, and brighter colors! In the summer months, it's a good time for only 1 or 2 layers, crochet vests, and lace pinafores. For me, this is the hardest time to dress mori, but it's still possible! The fall months are a perfect time to pull out those cozy fall colors, chunky sweaters, and boots. This is my personal favorite season for wearing mori! And then there is winter, which is a great time to pile on all of those excessive layers, warm sweaters, shawls, scarves, and other winter accessories. It's the perfect time to fulfill your dreams of being a cute and comf...

A common question for new mori folks is often where on earth they can find mori clothing. It can be quite daunting to jump into a style as obscure and different from mainstream fashion as mori, so it's only natural to wonder where to being! People are always asking whether they should buy their wardrobe from online brands, and places like taobao and aliexpress. Or should they purchase their clothing from thrift stores instead? Some people go for one or the other, and some even claim one is more "mori" than the other, but I personally fall somewhere in the middle. The majority of my closet is thrifted, but I have purchased from brand stores as well, and I love both options! So today I would like to give you a quick rundown of buying brand versus thrifting, and some of the pros and cons of both, to give you a better idea of where to start! So let's start by talking about brand pieces. By brand, I mean pieces specifically designed for mori fashion, usually sold by ...

I can remember clearly the first time I wore mori kei. I had only discovered it a month prior, and it had taken only a few weeks for me to convince my mom to help me remake my wardrobe. We spent hours looking through thrift stores, not quite knowing what we were looking for and buying everything we thought might work. After hours of blind shopping I had somewhat assembled a wardrobe, and I was eager to create outfits. I spent hours mixing and matching my pieces, and I came up with several outfits I was happy with. (Although looking back, there were all really awful.) Up until that point in my life, I had only worn t-shirts, jeans with holes in the knees, and worn-out converse shoes. That was my wardrobe, and I had never experimented with fashion (besides a weird phase in middle school where I wore fingerless leather gloves all the time, and dyed a large strip of my hair pink). So the idea of going out in public in such a unique style as mori was a bit daunting to me. I spent a whole ...

Hello again my deers! I'm back again with another Instagram spotlight. Today, I want to highlight two different instagram pages for you. One already has a large amount of followers, and another is a smaller account that I feel deserves a bit more love. Both are lovely in my opinion, and I hope you enjoy them too! The first account I want to spotlight is momochy_. She is a lovely artist from Japan who makes mori and lolita inspired art. Her style is very cute and soft, and never fails to make me feel warm inside. She's relatively popular, and rightly so, as she really is a great artist. I really enjoy her use of soft, pastel colors! #illustration #drawing いのり。 A photo posted by momochy (@momochy_) on Apr 18, 2016 at 7:10am PDT #illustration #drawing フォロワーさんが7000名に…！ いつもありがとうございます❁ 皆さんからのいいねやコメントに励まされています。 これからもどうぞよろしくお願いいたします！ A photo posted by momochy (@momochy_) on Jan 12, 2016 at 6:31am PST #illust #draw #ghibli #風立ちぬ 風立ちぬ、初めて観ました。 ...

Hello my deers! I have another outfit post for you all today. As always, you can keep up with my outfits on my instagram (@forestsandtea) if you're interested, and almost everything I'm wearing is thrifted from local thrift stores. I hope you enjoy! I hardly ever wear long skirts, because I feel like they don't look good on me, but I think that this one actually looks alright. Also, I feel like a walking piece of Kath Kidston dinnerware. And I am 100% okay with that. #morigirl #森ガール #morikei A photo posted by Kathryn Elaine (@forestsandtea) on Oct 25, 2015 at 6:10am PDT Trying to dress like a teacher today! My class is taking a field day to shadow some teachers as part of my major. #moriinspired A photo posted by Kathryn Elaine (@forestsandtea) on Oct 27, 2015 at 6:42am PDT Wearing my polka-dot jean dress today! #moriinspired A photo posted by Kathryn Elaine (@forestsandtea) on Oct 29, 2015 at 8:59am PDT Feeling cozy...