Tag Archives: Liziaah

06/06/2018 – Vintage Fair – Part 2

I don’t get the smoking in SL. I’m a smoker in RL (well not at the moment for baby bump reasons) but I never got the appeal for cigarettes in SL. My avatar is a better version of me, smoother skin, finer features, perkier boobs… I can play with piercings and tattoos at times because, unlike in real life, they can be removed quickly and painlessly, and obviously she’s a non-smoker. But when I unpacked this cigarette with mouthpiece from Dreamcatcher I knew I just had to show you. It comes with poses but I used another pose pack, also from Vintage Fair, that’s called Moonlight and Martinis, and includes a cigarette too, as well as a glass of… Martini! As usual, you’ll find all the credits after the pictures!

Credits :

  • Body :  Maitreya – Lara
  • Head : LeLutka – Simone
  • Shape : Banana Banshee – Rosie
  • Lashes : Avi-Glam – Lure Lashes
  • Hair : Lamb – Fate (group gift currently in store)
  • Shoes : The Secret Store – Stella Bow Strapped Heels
  • Picture taken at Backdrop City

At Vintage Fair :

  • Skin : Navzar – Ashley – Porcelain
  • Lipstick : Navzar – Ashley Lipsticks Palette
  • Cigarette : Dreamcatcher – Cigarette with mouthpiece
  • Glasses :  Cae – Brigitte
  • Glass & poses : Gingerfish Poses – Moonlight and Martinis poses and props pack
  • Dress : Liziaah – Lucille dress V2
  • Nails : Cazimi Nails – Moon Manicure [Silvers]

In Riding a Horse, We Borrow Freedom

In Riding a Horse, We Borrow Freedom

I thought I blogged this a week ago. Oops! First, I have to deal with the quote I used for the title. The internet is a disaster for quote lovers and this is an example of why. Which Helen Thompson? My guess this quote may have come from the wife of the race horse trainer, David Thompson. I am pretty darn sure it did not come from this Helen Thompson and by the way, I am even more sure that fifth quote is also one that belongs to the woman whose life was in racing, not the psychologist studying gender differences who was born in 1874.

In Riding a Horse, We Borrow Freedom
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The Arcade closes at midnight, do you know where your gacha is?

“ that fragrance which fills the soul with optimism and faith, the fragrance of the crushed beans beneath the jet of boiling water curving from the kettle, the smell of coffee.”

“…that fragrance which fills the soul with optimism and faith, the fragrance of the crushed beans beneath the jet of boiling water curving from the kettle, the smell of coffee.”

In Halldor Laxness’ extraordinary book Independent People, there are well over 150 references to coffee, most of them reverent. That is as it should be. Laxness was Icelandic and they are among the world’s greatest coffee consumers–along with all the other Scandinavians.

http://www.worldmapper.org/posters/worldmapper_1038_coffee_consumption_ver2.pdf

Although Swedish-American, I am closer to real Swedes in my coffee consumption. When I was a kid, I put coffee in my milk, sometimes now I will put milk in my coffee when I get a latte, but usually drink it black. There is no perfume in the world quite so warm and evocative as the smell of coffee.

So I was thrilled by the coffee shops at The Arcade. I took some pictures outside the other day, but today I am shooting inside where I combined elements from the RH Designs Coffee House and the PLAAKA Coffee Factory.  The building is from PLAAKA’s coffee factory. I just fell in love with the look of the crumbling old factory being repurposed to serve coffee. The broken down wall and patio appeals to my love of things old and worn.

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V for Victory

When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it--always

“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it–always”

Mahatma Gandhi

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Hello Cold Weather

Hello Cold Days

December is here and that means Christmas! and The Arcade! and it is up for debate which is more exciting. It’s so easy to go the red and green route for the holidays, but I resisted, buoyed by the gorgeous Camellia lights from {anc} over in the corner. I went for pinks and turquoises, think Miami meets Idaho. I liberally used the edit menu to tint my furnishings just a bit and even retexture a few things such as the runner on the side table. I know it’s a blend of modern and traditional that should clash, but it doesn’t. I think of Simon de Pury when I decorate, “Be bold, be brave, be amazing.” Why not mix modern settees with traditional cupboards and folk art and deco end tables? If you can make harmony of contradiction, then it’s not just bold, it is amazing.

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Apply Yourself

Nature is the inspiration for all ornamentation.

This Verushka dress from Liziaah is striking in its details – all very architectural and rigid, but intricate and complex – a baroque form of modernism.

Nature is the inspiration for all ornamentation.

It is also unusual in its construction. With the advent of mesh, we have lost the old form of system layers and while we often use appliers for lingerie or layering, there are few people making clothing using appliers and mesh pieces. Liziaah is one of those few. This dress is applied and the dreaded flap for the skirt is added, however, since this is mesh, not prim, it has not of the flaws of past. It conforms to movement, it reacts to the light the same as the applied textures. In the end, it makes a beautiful dress that is form-fitting in ways that mesh cannot achieve.
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Clean Install! Clean Install! Clean Install!

Fashion is only the attempt to realize art in living forms and social intercourse _ Sir Francis Bacon

Why do I procrastinate about doing a clean install? I know that when I crash just by turning or camming or razzing an item, it is time for a clean install, but I delay and try to muddle along, bring my draw distance down to 32 and crashing and getting fed up and closing out of SL for days. I put this outfit on last Sunday and only finally got around to shooting it – AFTER I did a clean install. It’s not like it that hard even.

I know why, though. I am always afraid the new version won’t work and the old version will be gone, lost forever. See my rant on that at “Linden Lab, Don’t Feel My Pain.”

Fashion is only the attempt to realize art in living forms and social intercourse _ Sir Francis Bacon

I have also been decorating the beautiful Daylily Cottage from Scarlet Creative for Collabor88. Crashing when I rez things made it a slow process. I really should have done that clean install sooner.
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Wherever you go, there you are

Wherever you go, there you are.

I always wonder if I should explain long absences or not. I remember an SLSecret mocking those explanations—particularly the ones on Flickr where people change their name to a status update. But I will risk it and explain I have had a head cold. If head colds were mountains this would be K2. I won’t claim Everest because I always imagine there could be something bigger, but damn, this was a doozy. It made me feel perpetually drunk, kind of swimmingly dizzy with anything lit (like a computer screen) a big bit of glow. It was almost entertaining in its capacity to incapacitate, but I am now on the mend and have a big new box of decongestant, so here we are. I put this outfit on about ten days ago, or so and finally took some pictures yesterday.

It began with the gorgeous tuxedo dress from Liziaah. It’s hot and sexy. Menswear details and forms do not have to look dress for success androgynous. Sometimes the contrast heightens femininity and this jacket really does that.
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If Only In My Dreams

Like It's Christmas in the Room

Skin: Glam Affair America/Simone Hair: Doe: Tessa – Fatpack Appliers: Glam Affair Simone Applier for Lelutka Mesh Head Eyes: [PXL] REFLEX Eyes (B) ~ GreyGold Mesh Attachments: .LeLutka.Mesh Head-SIMONE v1.4

Christmas Eve’ll find me
Where the love light gleams
I’ll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams

Lelutka has released a new mesh head called Simone. It’s a special edition head with additional expressions including this mournful one that perfectly captures some of the emotional turmoil I am feeling this Christmas season. With the passing of my aunt this summer, everyone from my parents’ generation is now gone. My sister had a tough struggle with cancer last year and came though in the end, but now has a new cancer that has gone from Stage One to Stage Four in just one month. I will confess I cry a lot lately, but I am still hopeful she will beat the odds. She is the strongest woman I know. Homesickness has manifested itself in the kitchen with traditional Christmas baking like lefse and rosettes and cooking up Cherry Soup with Dumplings, the foods that make me think of home and family.

Like It's Christmas in the Room

| -Pixicat- Ballerina.Cat delivery box @ The Arcade | ~silentsparrow~ Felt Bird Ornaments – Partridge – Merry @ Tannenbaum | Silence. – Wooden Cutout Ornament – Gift 2 @ Tannenbaum | MudHoney Brights Giftbag Spots @ The Arcade | The Loft – Monochrome Christmas Fir Garand White M @ The Arcade | Botanical – Green Douglas Fir Christmas Tree (Tannenbaum) | Schadenfreude Jingle Ball 1 Catmas Ornament | ~silentsparrow~ Felt Bird Ornaments – Partridge – @ Tannenbaum | Silence. – Wooden Cutout Ornament – Gift 2 @ Tannenbaum | The Loft – Monochrome Christmas Fir Garand White M | {anc} glass ornament. for tree (2) @ Tannenbaum | !Ohmai: Gold Star Topper @ Tannenbaum | Trompe Loeil – Vintage Diamond Floor Lights @ The Arcade | [ zerkalo ] Magical Christmas – Pile of Gifts#1 | MudHoney Rustic Giftbox Plaid 4 @ The Arcade | MudHoney Rustic Giftbox Plaid 1 @ The Arcade | MudHoney Brights Giftbag Spots @ The Arcade | [ zerkalo ] Magical Christmas – Pile of Gifts#2 @ The Arcade | Sari-Sari – Traditional | Christmas – Reindeer RARE @ The Arcade | {vespertine} snowy dust 11 @ Tannenbaum | {vespertine} dala horse/red 14 @ Tannenbaum | Fancy Decor: Book Ornament Blue @ Tannenbaum | ARIA – Myrrh Handmade Vintage Bulb Bauble Ornament @ Tannenbaum | MishMish – Puppy in a box – Pastel @ Tannenbaum | Schadenfreude Fish 2 Catmas Ornament @ Tannenbaum | [RI] Pearl Berry Ornament (Bubblegum) @ Tannenbaum | [RI] Pearl Berry Ornament (Bubbly) @ Tannenbaum | Garbaggio // Round Xmas Ornament – Red @ Tannenbaum | Silence. – Wooden Cutout Ornament – Gift 2 @ Tannenbaum {anc} glass ornament. for tree (2) 1Li @ Tannenbaum | ~silentsparrow~ Felt Bird Ornaments – Hen – Bright @ Tannenbaum | ~silentsparrow~ Felt Bird Ornaments – Peacock – Bright @ Tannenbaum | Lark – Star Ornament – @ The Arcade | Sway’s [PineConny] Ornament . pink @ Tannenbaum | {anc} glass ornament. for tree (2) 1Li @ Tannenbaum | Silence. – Wooden Cutout Ornament – Tree 3 @ Tannenbaum | {vespertine} crane bauble /mustard 9 @ Tannenbaum | ~silentsparrow~ Felt Bird Ornaments – Raven – Merry @ Tannenbaum | ARIA – Myrrh Burlap Tree Skirt – RARE @ tannenbaum | ~silentsparrow~ Felt Bird Ornaments – Partridge – Merry @ Tannenbaum | Kalopsia – Glitter Leaf – Silver @ The Arcade | Garbaggio // Studded Xmas Ornament – Blue @ Tannenbaum | The Loft – Monochrome Christmas Bulb Ribbon White@ The Arcade

No one loved Christmas more than my mom. Each year, my dad and my uncle would scour the woods for the perfect black spruce or balsam fir. It has to be 17 feet with no bare spots, so when I put the angel on the top it stopped just shy of the ceiling. Dad made a tree stand with wheels so we could turn it to decorate it evenly. I did the top from my bedroom balcony while they did the middle and bottom before we oh-so-carefully wheeled it across the living room so it was framed in the center by all the windows that faced onto the lake. It was a huge undertaking that was never done in a day, particularly since many of the ornaments were generational hand-me-downs and hand-made memory-laden pieces that prompted stories and remembrances of the past. There were no themed trees or single-colored trees because that store of ornaments was much more precious – a store of memories.

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In order for the light to shine brightly, the darkness must be present.

In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present.
Francis Bacon,the great scientist-philosopher wrote, “In order for the light to shine brightly, the darkness must be present.” The truth of this is demonstrated every time I work with projectors. They are brightest when it is darkest. I thought of this quote, though, in relation to this avant garde outfit from Liziaah. It explores form and texture and through its form, the interplay of dark and light. Released in deep, dark shades of aubergine, royal blue and black, the colors provide the darkness.
In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present.
Explorations of form, curving shapes and an open back reveal the light of exposed skin made brighter by their relation to the dark, rich fabrics.
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