Tag Archives: The Instruments

The Perfect Red

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"All my life I've pursued the perfect red." —Diana Vreeland

Diana Vreeland once said she spent her entire life in search of the perfect red. She should have started at Sascha’s Designs where Sascha Fragelli has captured the perfect red in her Lush Red Dress for The Instruments from February 11th through the 25th. The dress comes with its own jewelry, heart-shaped hat and white boa, but I decided to go in another direction with Lelutka’s bolero in purple (it was a Christmas group gift). Something about red and purple is so lush and wild.
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I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields

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I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says "Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.

I stopped by Orchid yesterday. What a lovely place to visit. There are deer, horses, and birds chirping away in a rustic winter wonderland that made me think of Alice talking to her cat, Dinah.

Do you hear the snow against the window-panes, Kitty? How nice and soft it sounds! Just as if someone was kissing the window all over outside. I wonder if the snow LOVES the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, “Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.”

I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says "Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.

If you’re not feeling sleepy, though, this fun skater’s dress from ISON at Collabor88 is a winner in eight gorgeous colors. ISON also presented coordinating Nordic sweaters to wear over it, but I was drawn to this fur hoodie from Xen’s Hats for the Instruments. It also comes in several colors, but the white one is my favorite.
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If Only In My Dreams

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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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like stars filling the dark trees

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"Snow was falling, so much like stars filling the dark trees that one could easily imagine its reason for being was nothing more than prettiness.”

“Snow was falling,
so much like stars
filling the dark trees
that one could easily imagine
its reason for being was nothing more
than prettiness.”

― Mary Oliver

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So this is how liberty dies… with thunderous applause.

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Black and white is abstract; color is not. Looking at a black and white photograph, you are already looking at a strange world. Joel Sternfeld

The Instruments monthly showcase is featuring designs inspired by Star Wars this month. Among the designs, you will find this fabulous gown inspired by Padme’s outfit in Episode Three. Padme’s lament, “So this is how liberty dies… with thunderous applause.” seems particularly apt at this time when crowds of people applaud the creation of databases to track people because of their ethnicity and armed vigilance committees march outside mosques and call themselves patriots. I guess those people have not studied history (or watched Star Wars), a tabula rasa of ignorance on which the future of tyranny is being written. Of course, the Force is with us all to resist tyranny by resisting fear. We know what happens when fear inspires hate.  It has happened before and if we fail to learn from that, we have only ourselves to blame.

Black and white is abstract; color is not. Looking at a black and white photograph, you are already looking at a strange world. Joel Sternfeld

I stopped at Winter Moon for the photos, since the dress is black and white, I thought black and white pictures would be great. By the way, I think the scarf that is part of the Padme dress may work well with other outfits. The Padme outfit includes the dress, scarf and sleeves that I am wearing as well as a crown, earrings and rings that I am not.

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Exploring Vivara

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You don’t gamble to win. You gamble so you can gamble the next day. Bert Ambrose
There’s a new game in town. Well, a new place to game. I headed over to Vivara, a new gaming sim. I got dolled up with a couple pieces from The Instruments event, mixing a dress from DE.Designs with a feather bolero from SAS: Sascha’s Designs. There’s a lovely performance hall there and I thought since we can do anything in SL®, I might pretend I can sing. It’s purely pretend.
You don’t gamble to win. You gamble so you can gamble the next day. Bert Ambrose
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Dorian Gray Did It Wrong

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“I don't want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them.” Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde’s Dorian Gray told his friend Julain, “I don’t want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them.” He sold his soul for a painting and eternal youth. He should have just joined Second Life® and mastered his emotions with Lelutka’s new updated mesh head.
Lelutka Mesh HUD
As you can see, when you decide to express yourself, you can control your eyes, your eyebrows and your mouth.This gives you 84 different expressions. You can also decide whether or not your teeth should be visible.
“I don't want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them.” Oscar Wilde
Glam Affair released two new applier skins to coincide with the release of the updated expressive heads from Lelutka. They are named Eline and Laura and I am wearing Laura in all the pictures. Because of my dress, I wanted a different lipstick, so I used Glam Affair’s Avril for the lip color I wanted. My hair is from Wasabi Pills, a nice undo to show off the head and the Earthstones jewelry.

I played with the free Pixlr photo editor that mainly just lets you apply effects and frames to have some fun with my expressions. You can crop, but fixing things is a non-starter. So enjoy this little gallery of emotions and photo effects below the fold.
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Enter Smiling

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“I don't want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them.” Oscar Wilde

The Instruments opened today with lots of fun fashions including this gorgeous LBD from Tashi. I also used the Tashi nails that are quite horrorific just in time for Halloween.
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Color Speaks All Languages

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Colors speak all languages.A little over 300 years ago, Joseph Addison wrote, “Colours speak all languages, but words are understood only by such a people or nation.” He was writing about the pleasures of the imagination and arguing that the written word incites the imagination more than imagery. He also suggested that how enthusiastically people respond to the written word is influenced by their capacity for engaging their imagination while reading. I like the idea that color speaks all languages, but it is hooey.

First of all, even within people speaking the same language, men and women see color differently. Women see more shades of color than men and describe the colors differently. Beyond that, colors have cultural values that vary from place to place. There is a very cool interactive chart here. White is the color of mourning in East and of bridal innocence in the West. Red is lucky in China and dangerous in Europe and North America.
Colors speak all languages.

However, no matter what the cultural subtext color choices may bring, no one can deny that this gorgeous Ethnic Jacket from Purple Moon will being an entire conversation to your closet.
Colors speak all languages.I paired it with this gorgeous pencil skirt from Maitreya. The skirt details including the black back and the leather detailing make it seem to have been made for this jacket.
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Go For It!

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Sunset is still my favorite color, and rainbow is second

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.

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