I could leave one picture here and have you think I’m mostly settled into my new SLife, that I’m not living out of boxes and trying to sort out where my things are or what should go where in my new house.
This would be a lie. Continue reading
One of my great loves this round of The Arcade was the twin treehouses from Dust Bunny. Since I’m in a transition in my SL changing things up and just moved – I was ecstatic when Cajsa happened to give these to me as a present. I’ve found my new house! Continue reading
I love the music of Leonard Cohen. I have a playlist I love of Leonard Cohen covers and know nearly all his songs by heart. One of them, Anthem, is one of my favorites because although on one level it despairs of the world; it also calls us to act with hope. “Ah the wars they will be fought again. The holy dove, she will be caught again, bought and sold and bought again. The dove is never free.” It is true, endless wars are a constant stream throughout history, started by governmental leaders, the “killers in high places who say their prayer out loud.”
But then there is the chorus.
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.
Ring the bells that still can ring acknowledges that as bad as it is, there are still some things that you can do. Don’t let excuses stop you from doing what you can. “Forget your perfect offering” reminds me of Voltaire’s aphorism “The perfect is the enemy of the good.” Do not wait for the perfect answer, the perfect solution, go with what you’ve got because good enough is better than nothing, and nothing is what you get if you wait for perfect. Everything we can do is going to be slightly imperfect, “there is a crack in everything” but it is those imperfections that reveal our humanity and “that’s how the light gets in.” I love how he asserts that it is in our imperfections that we will save ourselves.
The kind of hair day we want in SL is always possible, which is something I love. I’ve got four different kinds of rollered hair. I’ve got some old JBF hair from Elika or something. I’ve got up do’s and long wavy and various curls and bobs.
Some hair, however, begs for me to walk around the house naked, just luxuriating in it. Continue reading
So, this is not one outfit, but pieces from two, or three if you count my shoes, outfits that I put together. The Nisha blouse is paired with a solid black flirty flip skirt and the Kenia pencil skirt is paired with an elegant halter top. I was immediately drawn to the pencil skirt. I always am, it is one of my favorite forms in fashion. However, as much as I liked the halter, I struggled to get it to work with the alpha cuts on my mesh bodies. I noticed the blouse and thought that the two prints would work well together and produce a more exciting, bolder look than each print alone with a solid item. Luckily for all of us, DE.Boutique releases their items as separate pieces, even though they are in one outfit. This gives us the freedom to do our own thing.
I will confess I am a little in love with Deborah Vos and DE. Boutique even though I have never met her or even sent or received an IM from her. It is just that I liked this outfit (there’s a bit of a story there) so well, I checked out her Marketplace and found so many things I want, with that combination of sophisticated and classic style and bold, modern sensibility that is completely in tune with my aesthetic. DE.Boutique is completely new to me, a discovery at this month’s showcase event The Instruments that runs through October 6th. They have a new sim, so delete your old landmarks and Teleport to The Instruments‘ brand new home.
I’ve been wandering around in the woods for a few days lost and wondering what I wanted to do. Luckily I was dressed for a pastoral setting and only missing my sheep.
I bet a I have a sheep around here somewhere. Continue reading
“The sky grew darker, painted blue on blue, one stroke at a time, into deeper and deeper shades of night.”
― Haruki Murakami, Dance Dance Dance
The Instruments, a monthly themed showcase of Second Life fashion and design opened today. I was instantly drawn to BYRNE’s Eternal dress. It’s a shape I like and I love batik fabric. It always make me think of my three housemates in college who were from Malaysia and their seemingly endless supply of batik sarongs. It seemed like the only thing they ever wore. They gifted me with beautiful sarongs, though I never got the hang of making them secure enough to wear rolling skating like they did.
I like the form of the dress as well as the fabric. The ruffles complicated finding poses, of course, but that happens with most dresses that have ruffles off the side. I do wish the cuffs had not been rigged. It is easier to adjust the cuffs than adjust the arm. Alphas hide the arm, but the alpha cut on the mesh body did not line up with the cuffs, so I had to play around with my shape. It’s not that big a problem, I always save a copy and then go back to the original that I never edit.
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JUMO just released Arthuriana – a skirt and top combo in chocolate, oil, marsala, navy and violet The dress comes with a luxe wreath of gold and pearls, earrings, bracelets and a headpiece. However, I was inspired by the print to take the outfit in a different direction.
As you can see, Arthuriana has Wow! factor aplenty with its design details such as the dramatic sweep of the skirt and drama of the cutout back.
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When Sarah McLachlan wrote Angel, she was not thinking of the sort you might see in a Sunday school lesson, but one more like this perhaps. The song is about seeking comfort and escape from life’s pain through a needle, through heroin addiction to be precise. Inspired in specific by Jonathan Melvoin of Smashing Pumpkins who died of an overdose about 20 years ago, the more general inspiration came from McLachlan’s own experience of seeking comfort and reassurance from other drugs. McLachlan, when speaking about the song, seems to think the feelings of inadequacy, of insecurity, of alienation are part of the music industry. Personally, I think they are part of life.
there’s always some reason
to feel not good enough
and it’s hard at the end of the day
I need some distraction
oh beautiful release
memories seep from my veins
let me be empty
and weightless and maybe
I’ll find some peace tonight
in the arms of the angel
fly away from here
from this dark cold hotel room
and the endlessness that you fear
I thoughy this blood-tipped “angelic” gown paired with the needle-sharp Say wings from Glam Affair would be a great representation of McLachlan’s “angel” whose comfort is only temporary unless, of course, it is the final comfort of death. Incidentally, Maylee Oh of The Secret Store who made this gown also made a video of her weight painting and texturing it and while I have no idea what she is doing it is strangely hypnotic to watch.
The gown is a gorgeous brocade with a delicate blood tip. You see more red in this picture than the other because of the red projector I was using to light the scene. The wings are white and plum and the projector lights them as well. I actually selected the plum textures in the wings and tinted them bright red to go with the dress and the jacket.
My shoes are from Hucci and are incredibly elegant. I love how the leather comes to a point and echoes the feathers and the wings.
I always wear lingerie under my clothes. After all, sometimes when you TP in, your clothes seem to arrive a few seconds after you do. Luxuria is my go to brand.
A chose Truth’s Anouk hair style with the color-change bands and Donna Flora’s Julia set with rubies.
My makeup comes from Glam Affair’s newest release Mavi, a Lelutka mesh head applicator. I opted for the brightest, reddest lipstick.
Store info at Blogging Second Life
****SHOPPING LIST******
Poses: Di’s Opera
HUDS: AnyPose Expression HUD v1.0 – Wear Me
Slink Ankle Lock
Skin: Glam Affair Mavi Asia
Mesh Attachments: .LeLutka.Mesh Head-STELLA v1.1
Slink Avatar Enhancement Feet High & Handas
Slink Physique Mesh Body V2.4 (ADD ME)
Appliers: Flair Mani-Pedi 13
Glam Affair Mavi Asia
Luxuria Serpentine Red
Eyes: pc eyes by LL – shallow water – medium
Hair: TRUTH HAIR Anouk
Clothing: [Slink]The Secret Store – Avianna Dress – Blood Dip @ Collabor88
[Slink]The Secret Store – Harpy Mantle – Blood Dip @ Collabor88
Glam Affair – Sya Wings Plum @ Collabor88
Shoes: ::HH:: Hucci Minerva Sandal – Collection (Slink) @ Collabor88
Jewelry: Donna Flora Julia
(Yummy) True Fate Ring – Gold – Rainbow @ Collabor88
Location: Kalopsia Broken Floor, anc Bubbles
First things first, Strawberry Singh wrote an important post about an ongoing fraud happening in SL right now. You should read it to best protect your own account. Of course, a good rule of thumb is not to execute or agree to anything from objects given to you by strangers. While it’s not true that you can never cheat an honest person, it is true that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
So autumn is here. Here in Oregon, it’s raining, bringing sweet relief from the heat and let us hope, from the fires that are destroying so much habitat in the Pacific Northwest and California. Here in SL, though, there are no fires and the rain is holding off for another day. However, the state fairs are all over and all the 4Hers have their ribbons and are back in school. Fruits are being harvested and canneries are running around the clock. For me, though, lounging by the barn is a pleasant way to spend the afternoon. Schadenfreude’s black squirrel is much more industrious, picking up a small pumpkin to store away.
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