To My Friend, Khloe

My Velveteen Rabbit

The Velveteen Rabbit is one of my favorite stories. I think of it many times a year but always at this time of the year, because of the association of bunnies with Easter. My love for this story is one that I share with my friend, Khloe. So I decided to make this blog post dedicated to her, because of my desire to do something for her this Easter that both represented this story we both so love and gain strength and inspiration from and that represented how much she means to me.

 

For those of you who don’t know the story of the Velveteen Rabbit, you can find the full story here: http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/williams/rabbit/rabbit.html. It is known as the story of how a toy becomes real. Now if you don’t know the story the smothering with love might not make that much sense and you might not understand how that is part of the journey to becoming real. It is the story of a stuffed rabbit that becomes the favorite toy of a sick little boy, who eventually is loved so much he is worn and so much he becomes a real bunny.

“Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.”
“Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit.
“Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.”

So off I set, on a journey to find an outfit, some poses, a bunny which I could I could smother with love and maybe someday help become real, and a place to take pictures of it all. Khloe wasn’t available for dressing up like a bunny, but fortunately just in the nick of time Olaenka Chesnokov, creator of oOo Studio, released this bunny pose set, complete with accompanying bunnies that I could use. Once I had the poses and the bunnies the FreebieFriday hunt gift (a skirt, bodysuit, shoes, glasses, belt and bunny ears) from VERSHE landed in my lap. I was ecstatic and decided to use it when, Vershel made the decision to extend the freebie hunt for this outfit through Sunday. That way anyone seeing the pictures would still be able to get the free item. I used everything in the outfit except the adorable shoes. I was just in a barefoot kind of mood and wanted to show off my new Gaeline bare feet. I also wanted to remind folks that in addition to this freebie outfit from VERSHE (The item will be hidden in a small eggs somewhere around the store and for group members only.), group members at VERSHE would also be getting my Spring Eyeshadow from my blog on LpD. By the time this article is published there will be an extra egg added to the hunt with that free gift will be set out at VERSHE.

So the only thing remaining for this endeavor was a place to take some spring inspired pictures. After TPing around the grid to several promising but not quite right locations, I tried out one that I found through Flickr, Frog’s Garden. I discovered Frog’s Garden (http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Bonaire52/35/56/23) because of this picture, http://www.flickr.com/photos/liqueur/6892608244, posted on flickr by Liqueur Felix. When I TPed in to check it out, it was the perfect spot. Exactly what I had in mind. Small and quaint and beautifully decorated. A store in the most unobtrusive way. It inspired be so much to create my own similar space that purchases are sure to ensue in the future, but at the time I was all about the picture taking. I am pleased with how they turned out and there are a few more I posted in my Flickr stream. I had a blast playing with the windlight options and various presets and combinations of my own. I strongly encourage you to go get some pics of your own and either before or after drop by VERSHE to pick up your freebies and the last ever Fashionably Late to get your own set of bunny poses.

Happy Easter Everyone! Here’s hoping that this year you are loved so much you are worn to the point of becoming real.

And Happy Easter, Khloe.

Style Card

Store SLURLs available on the SLURLs page

Skin: *VERSHE* Andrea Tan: GoGo (Brunette)*
Freckles: -Glam Affair – Leah Freckles C*
Hair: elikatira – [e] – Listen – Brown 04
Eyes: [SLB] Eyes – July’09 – Green R
Lashes: Crissy Designs – Irresistible Look Eyelashes
Nails: *Sexy Mamas* Prim Nails
Outfit: *VERSHE* Easter Chic Outfit (Free to group members)
Ears: *VERSHE* Chic Easter: Ears (Free to group members)
Glasses: *VERSHE* Easter Chic: Bunny Glasses (Free to group members)
Earrings: [MANDALA] – tukemono earrings (SILVER)
Bare Feet: GAELINE – MOCAP ANIMATIONS & AOs – SHOES – HAIR – FASHION – *GA* – Tip Toe Bare Feet

oOo Studio: Easter Bunny #4 (Fashionably late)

*Blog review copy

Adventures On A Rainy Day

… Primary colors in a Second Life® …

The adventure began, when I saw a friend with the Umbrella from ++NODe++, but I suspect it began even before that. I have been feeling like doing a rainy day piece this entire winter, because we have had a lot of rain where I am from and there have been so many incredible rainy day creations of late in SL. So I decided to go and see the creations of Nyagos Kidd, the creator of ++NODe++, for myself. There I found basically two creations in an amazing variety of colors and patterns and a beautiful and inspired store design. Possessed while there, the mood overcame me and inspired me to look for places to enjoy the rain.

The adventure begins...

The first creation was the one I came for, the umbrellas. Which, by the way, come in a huge collection of combinations of 6 designs/colors per umbrella. This bright blue umbrella when considered with the adorable bright yellow galoshes that I got from Stuff In Stock‘s participating store, su . vida, I planned on pairing it with brought to mind a Mondrian painting. Those galoshes came with three pairs – bright pink, electric yellow, and vibrant green – cost me a combined total of 80L. What a steal!

So the thought of a Mondrian painting got me thinking about the adorable black and white coldLogic houndstooth coat dress, called parke.white, that I had been drooling over at March Mesh Madness 2012. That, combined with a Glam Affair skin sporting bright red lips and painting my stock nails from Sexy Mamas a BRIGHT Red, would at least complete the desired color palette and really stand out against the drab rainy day.

Me & My New Umbrella

Before setting out, I had to admire the second amazing creation, an adorable pile of pillows, shaped and decorated to look like iPhone app icons. You can get your very own from the gotcha machine on the wall, or just admire the massive pile in the middle of the room. You know I forgot to look and see if there was a Second Life® icon pillow. Regardless, the pillows are bright and colorful and really stand out in the drab (and extremely elaborate and creative environment) of the rainy store.

And As I Looked Into The Dark ... I Knew The Adventure Was Beginning

My favorite rainy sim, Rainy Town, the sim where Cream Shop once had its main store, is sadly gone. So, I was completely at a loss for where to go next. I was, however, inspired by the location. So I called out to one of my favorite groups to find more places of inspirational rain. The group was Fashion Emergency, FE for short, a group of fashion conscious SL residents who help find the obscure and not so obscure in the world of SL Fashion. The help there most often is of a fashion nature, but has been known to be all over the charts. Friendly members rising to offer their two cents and sometimes more is a common occurrence and my quest was no different. So off I went, on my new adventure, singing in my head, “Me & My Umbrella” to the tune of “Me & My Shadow” in some sort of mash up with “Umbrella“ by Rhianna. I know I am crazy like that. What can I say?

Sweet Lovely Cute was how I was feeling so I stopped there first...

My first stop in my rainy day adventure after leaving ++NODe++ was the Sweet Lovely Cute Sim. While rainy, the sim was a little, too, industrial feeling for my mood. As you can see it is an exceptionally well-done, random-clutter kind of back alley / warehouse feel. Since it wasn’t what I wanted, I didn’t stay long. But never fear! I marked the sim for later exploration and took off to the next of the many suggestions shared by the group. Some were wonderful, but still none were quite what I was looking for, and therefore, I saved them for future adventures. And some were lovely, but too laggy to get a decent picture with all the scenery rezzed. And, of course, I had to play extensively with my new capabilities of shadows and dept of  field, which only added to the difficulties of the experience.

Balance is everything ...

As we spoke of sims we had enjoyed exploring and ones that were no longer part of SL, I remembered a sim based around a devastated coastal town, Innsmouth. Finally, it was my own memories, which took me to the place that finished out my quest and had me playing, exploring, and snapping shots for hours, Innsmouth. The sim is designed to look as if a hurricane has ripped the quaint little town apart. What I didn’t remember was some of the creepy dark things lurking in hidden places in the town, just waiting to be stumbled upon by some unwitting SL resident.

You can't let yourself get swept away ...

When I first landed, I must have landed while the hurricane was still in progress, because the skies were dark and stormy and the rain pelted down on my body. I was thankful for the thick fabric of my dress and the sturdy umbrella that I had toted along with me. Boy! Did they came in handy. And those dirt roads would have been unmanageable in my normal high heels. At one point, I was even afraid that I would have to send out an SOS to have someone come pull me loose from the mud. I had that awful suction thing going on and almost lost one of my new boots.

I stayed ...

In the end I managed to get my self out of my suction predicament, and apparently, I stayed so long that the rain pretty much came to a stop. I began to see signs of light getting brighter, as I walked out of town and on my way back home. I was returning my avi to familiar places of safety, one where I control the environment and the decor. That way i would be able to log out and leave her to rest up from her long and arduous journey around the grid …

And As I Looked Back …

And As I Looked Back ...

… Out Came the Sun …

Out Came the Sun

And dried up all the rain. Leaving me to sing Itsy Bitsy Spider, all the way home. On this adventure, I strongly identified with that Itsy Bitsy Spider … I had had my adventure to see the world and when the storms lifted I had achieved my goals and headed home, none the worse for wear.

Upon returning home, I compiled my pictures, saving the best shots to share, and even ended up making a graphic novel type set of them. If you are curious to see the effects, you can check out my Rainy Day Adventures … Graphic Novel Set found here on flickr. For Sim and store information, see below in the style card section. And If you have your own favorite pics of these or any other wonderful rainy locations, please share them in the comments. For some reason, there never seem to be enough good rainy scenes in SL. So please if you know one do share… Happy adventuring until next time.

Style Card

Store SLURLs available on the SLURLs page

Skin: -Glam Affair- Layla Light – L HB 07
Hair: [e] Over – Blonde 02
Eyes: [SLB] Eyes – July’09 – Green R
Eyelashes: Crissy Designs – Irresistible Look Eyelashes, [ glow ] eyelashes – Secret Eyes 01
Nails: *Sexy Mamas* Prim Nails (custom shade) and Reale – Manicure – red (alternated depending on if pose broke the nail AO override)

Coat Dress: coldLogic jacket – parke.white
Galoshes: su . vida – color shock zebra (matt) – Yellow
Umbrella: ++NODe++ – umbrella_v2_NO1

Poses: (marukin) [blossom] sundress (Collabor88), (pda) Marvelous Design (Collabor88), [doll.] Celestia 1 (PLATINUM HUNT), Djinn & Tonic – Designers United 2 – Up & Away Attachment (moved birds out of the way), and poses from my natural AO

Locations

NODe+ Store (http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SLOW/15/65/21)

Sweet Lovely Cute (http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Bon%20Voyage/56/50/23)

Innsmouth (http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Innsmouth/166/218/25)

Happy Valentine’s Day

Mixing Old & New

SL for me has had two primary concentrations for me lately, Back to Black and Sorting Inventory. In the process of doing both, I was able to put together a comfortable Valentine’s day look.

The skin is a new one from Illusory and is only available from February 8 –  March 7 at the Collaborate themed shopping venue. It is truly lovely. Clean, fresh,and innocently seductive. It is a perfect match for the new Elikatira hair, Abbey. This hair, inspired by one of my favorite broadcasts on Masterpiece Theatre called Downton Abbey, is one I started drooling over as soon as Elika posted a picture of it on Flickr. She has since updated her blog to let all those, like me, who bought it as soon as it released to let us know that a HUD is now available for color changing the ribbon (use the redelivery system in the store to get the latest version which includes the HUD.).

The socks and shoes are both staples of my inventory and I have had them for what seems like forever, although Maitreya didn’t release the socks nearly as far back as I got my Pornstar Hi-tops. They are both so comfortable and casual and go well with so many things. Here I actually doubled up on a copy of the socks to give the tiered look and the color and pattern change options on the shoes allowed me to mix and match for a combination that matched the other items in my outfit.

The sweats are from IREN and they are one of the five colors of sweats being offered from IREN at the Back to Black event. The creator has made a few different options to be able to provide some variety to your shape. Hopefully you can find one that closely fits your own body type. The texturing and accessories are excellent and a fine example of the sort of exciting items that are available at Back to Black. My next post will show a few more items from the event to look forward.

So to all my friends and family out there, Happy Valentine’s Day.

Style Card

Back to Black items are found at http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/CHIC/68/123/26 and Collabor88 items can be found at http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tails/75/134/889. All other items that are still available have store slurls that can be found on the SLURL Page.

Skin: [Ill] Illusory Skin – Love_Milk – Scarlett (Collabor88 – February 2012)
Hair: Elikatira – [e] Abbey – Red 08
Eyes: [SLB] Eyes – July’09 – Green R
Eyelashes: [ glow ] eyelashes – Secret Eys 01 (nose), Crissy Designs – Irresistible Look Eyelashes
Shirt: (NS) Plaid Heart Shirt Brown 2 (Poop Hunt – Old item found when cleaning out inventory)
T-Shirt: Gritty Kitty: Senor Skull  tee (Poop Hunt – Old item found when cleaning out inventory)
Pants: [IREN] Comfy Sweatpants/red/Curvy *Back to Black* (Blogger Promo)
Socks: Maitreya Scrunched PrimSocks
Shoes: PornStar Hi-Tops MultiColor v2
Necklace: Sway’s “Heart – Gift” Necklace (Old item found when cleaning out inventory)
Piercing: basic piercing
Ring: Zaara : Raga oyster ring *pearl* (silver)
Teddy Bear:Sway’s Cookie Bear ‘VALENTINE’ – Gift (Old item found when cleaning out inventory)

All the poses I have used with the pictures of the Back to Black items, unless otherwise stated, are from R.icielli – 120 MODEL POSES / PROMOTION! pack for 99L (https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Ricielli-120-MODEL-POSES-PROMOTION/3146308)

Vintage Fair 2011 Outfit Post 6 – League Part 1

Vintage Fair Landing Points

Vintage Fair ‘Classic’ Landing Point

Vintage Fair ‘Retro’ Landing Point

Style Card

:Curio: :GP: Petal [Dark] Vintage-Ritz 2 – Vintage Fair 2011 Item
:Curio: :GP: Vintage Brow Pencil – Vintage Fair 2011 Item
Elikatira – [e] Soft – Blonde 02 – Collabor88 Exclusive Item
[SLB] Eyes – July’09 – Green R
Crissy Designs – Irresistible Look Eyelashes-Tuli Hope Nose

*League* Sakura Camisole – Vintage Fair 2011 Item
*League* Sakura Stockings Floral Colour – Vintage Fair 2011 Item
*League* Sakura Corset – Vintage Fair 2011 Item
NX-Nardcotix Esther Shoe (Red) – Vintage Fair 2011 Item

Pose and Ottoman: Di’s Opera – Vintage Sit – Vintage Fair 2011 Item

Simply Sexy

Glam Affair Mary Full Bodyshot Front and Back

One of the high points for me for the skin fair was this gorgeous new release found in the Glam Affair stall (TP direct to the stall: http://slurl.com/secondlife/VANITY%20UNIVERSE/26/105/24 ), called Mary. It is just Simply Sexy. For me, there are no flaws in this skin to point out, and it is the widest range of options ever offered by creator, Aida Ewing. She has created a body that is a combination of womanly and athletic and can easily be pushed either direction based on shape you chose to combine with it. And at only 1000 L for a single skin or a fat pack of 12 makeups for 4999 L, the pricing is very reasonable for skins in the same quality range.

Glam Affair Mary Closeup Bodyshots Front and Back and Back of Legs

My pictures are all done in skin tone Tan with the base skin as far as cleavage which is the traditional B-C cup but not pressed together style cleavage. But you do have the option of buying an add-on cleavage enhancer made for your specific skin tone choice that can be used with all Glam Affair skins in the same tone for just 199L. I have it and choose, based on the outfit, whether or not I want to wear it.

Like the cute lingerie I am wearing. It gets more sheer as you take off layers (I am wearing all three top layers and both bottom layers) for a much sexier and less cutsie look, and it can be yours for just 50L. Everything is 50L at the 5th&Oxford Going Out of Business sale. Including this lingerie, called Caer – taupe in the {Luxuria}  product line from 5th&Oxford. I suggest you check out the sale as soon as possible because i am not sure how long you will be able to get these great deals. To get to the sale check out this SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Nouveau/185/33/25. There you will find shoes, casual outfits, lingerie, skins, and the sale is not limited to women. There are also some men’s outfits available at these great prices too. However, personally, I found that the women’s selection was much better both in range and quality.

Glam Affair Mary Skin Tone Options

Options abound in this line whether it be the 5 skin tone options from the very light to one that can truly pass for a black woman’s skin or any dark skinned person based on the styling to the 12 different makeup options to the 3 different ey brow options. And oh yeah this time Aida released hair base versions of each of these as well! This latter one I am super psyched about because hair bases are MUI IMPORTANTE to me of late. Most of my hairstyles look better with them. One word of caution though. Even though there is a light brow option that looks great with blonde hair, if you choose the hairbase option it is black so you might need to wear the non-hairbase option more if you wear lighter hair tones. Below I am showing you the 12 make up options and the three different eyebrow options. I elected to wear no hairbase with the blonde hair but I have on the darker hairbase with both of the darker hair options. One quick note on the brows. My brows tend to be heavier and your shape will make a big difference on this. If the brows look to thick to you, try the demo on your own shape. You might be surprised. For an example of a thinner brow, keep an eye out for Sasy Scarborough’s post on this same skin to be posted on her blog http://www.sasypants.com/.

Glam Affair Mary Eyebrow and Makeup Options

Speaking of hair I love this one from Elikatira! Thank God Elika came back to the creator for front. This particular hair, blind, is in her Essential’s color set and while you are there picking it up I recommend you join her group because she gives great gifts and even has a special color set of hairs offered only as a limited time gift to her group on special occasions. You can get the essentials collections for only 250L and comes with a range of colors representing each of the main hair color groupings, Whites & Lights, Blacks, Browns & Reds. One of the reasons I went with this style is it gives nice focus to the cheeks which was an important feature for this release from Glam Affair. Mary has a clean looking base skin with a very light natural blush to it with three more options to enhance the rosy glow of your face, A, B, & C. And thanks to the multiple layer option for those who want heavier versions or more coverage you can wear these multiple times on your tattoo layer for an even different effect.

Glam Affair Mary Clean Makeup and Blush Options A-C

I would be hard pressed to pic a favorite feature with this release, but, if I had to pick, I would pick the lips/lipsticks. This is quite possibly my favorite mouth on any skin in SL and I am really not even tempted to use a lipstick over it for a different look. There are so many lipstick choices from the light, almost-not-there, girl-next-door look presented in Clean, 01, 03, & 11 to the glam and goth looks presented in 4, 5, 10, & 12, from the boardroom looks of 8 & 9 to the bedroom looks of 2 & 6. She even through in the 80’s look found in makeup 07.

All the lip options really emphasize, not only the main theme of this skin line, but the theme of the entire skin fair, Options. So exercise your options and go get one of these gorgeous skins or get the entire line.

Want any of the things seen in this blog? Check the style card.

-Style Card-

Unless noted all SLURLs are found on the SLURL page

-Glam Affair- Mary – http://slurl.com/secondlife/VANITY%20UNIVERSE/26/105/24
-Glam Affair- Mary – Blushes
Elikatira – [e] – Blind – Essentials Collection
Crissy Designs – Irresistible Look Eyelashes
[SLB] Eyes – July’09 – Green R
Self made – basic nose piercing
*Sexy Mamas* Manicure – Sculpted Prim Nails
{Luxuria} Caer – taupe (50L at the Going out of business sale at 5th&Oxford) http://slurl.com/secondlife/Nouveau/185/33/25
Maitreya Scrunched PrimSocks

Pose *ELISA* casual6 (no longer available)