Araya Artisan Chocolate and Wine Pairing

Good evening, today’s post is a meetup recap; it’s been a really long time since I had attended a meetup outside of a convention! Nowadays I’m swamped with work, however I am always down for a food-centric meetup. K decided to host a wine and chocolate pairing one night back in March, so I decided to show up! I’ve had wine a few times, but it was never quite enjoyable for me as is most alcohol, but I am always wanting to expand the horizons of my palate since I want to enjoy all kinds of foods.

The meetup was held at Araya Artisan Chocolate, a local Houston family-owned business. I’ve never had their chocolate, but I had seen their name pop up a few times while browsing Yelp. The tasting is held after the store was closed, so we had the shop to ourselves and the presenters. I realized I quite like smaller meets these days since everyone can talk to each other without branching off into groups. 

I was actually late because I went to the wrong location, but I caught up quickly. We were given 6 different types of wine, 6 different flavors of chocolates, snacks, and a sheet of paper for notes. I was a bad student and didn’t really take any notes. A cacao bean was passed around to hold; it was heavier than I thought it would be! 

Actually, I only got to taste 5 chocolates. I had gone to the restroom and when I came back to my seat I had one missing? What a sad night for me. 

In conclusion, I am still not an avid wine fanatic, but I definitely enjoyed the experience. There was a mini lecture and slideshow explaining the process of making chocolates and wines. Though I drank a little too fast, so I don’t remember much of it. 

Originally, I did want to wear a chocolate theme, but not in the typical Angelic Pretty style. I failed to come up with something in time, so the coordinate I ended up wearing features the Gathered Chiffon JSK in wine x gold x black to match with the wine theme. I’ve been wanting to pair this colorway of Gathered Chiffon with the Chat Noire Hat for a long time; it just took awhile because I never had the appropriate time to wear a giant pirate hat outside. Therefore, my theme was wine pirate lolita. Not 100% percent satisfied with wearing this coordinate since it looked better in my head, but can’t be perfect all every time! 

Some detail shots of other people: 

In finale, a group shot and the traditional shoe shot:

I had fun catching up with old friends and meeting new people. It was probably the chillest meetup I had ever attended (alcohol may have helped). I probably won’t see anyone until autumn, so until next time!

#21

Call me crazy, though I’ve always been a fan of piling layers on myself, I keep wanting to stack dresses on top of each other after I received an overwhelming amount of good feedback on coord #13. Just another way for me to suffer in the Houston humidity. Good news though, I finally found these shoes in my correct size! The ones I wore in coord #1 were too small after learning that the hard way. 

Really, I need to learn my lesson and remember to take an outfit shot before the meet not after it. I somehow managed to get this picture in at midnight as I rolled into my house. Things are disheveled, but I suppose it adds to the drunken pirate theme! 

Outfit Rundown

• Hat: Alice and the Pirates Chat Noire Silk Hat
• OP: Alice and the Pirates x Hizaki Collaboration One Piece
• JSK: Alice and the Pirates Gathered Chiffon Jumperskirt – Shinjuku Limited Colorway
• Collar: Alice and the Pirates Captain Grace’s Frill Blouse
• Necklace: Voodooodolly The Knight’s Repose Necklace – Sword
• Socks: Alice and the Pirates Diamond Lame OTKs
• Shoes: Vivienne Westwood Anglomania x Melissa Temptation Pumps

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