Me & the Troll Tree

I got this Great Tree Troll & Garden Ball Lights a few months ago from the old location of the Epic Toy Factory. I copied & arranged the lights & they looked so pretty so I added some lovely HPMD grasses & slapped a tatami texture down & just took some pictures in what I was wearing. Epic Toy Factory has recently moved & I think they are still under construction but I say go check it out - it's really "fantasy-ish" & full of interesting creations. I had recently assembled this funky 80's inspired outfit, (which I realize has almost nothing to do with Troll Trees or tatami, so sue me,) out of bits & pieces but I really like how it turned out. Enjoy.

 

  

 

 

The Epic Toy Factory Troll tree & Garden Ball Lights (Under Construction, take a look around.)
La Malvada Mujer Snow Cat poses (Last Xmas Hunt Gift?)
Lamb Hair Whoop Dee Doo (I use this one a lot because it's amazing.)
Pink Fuel Skin From Previous "Bake Sale" Special Event so it's not available anymore but Please go to the store because it's so cute & the other skins are GREAT.
RibboN Suspender Skirt 40L. I love all my RibboN clothes! Go there!
Haut.Monde Natalee Wedges 349L for 3 colors. There was an inworld vendor issue & the owner, Teresa Republic was so kind to resolve it for me. I really love these shoes. Thanks, Teresa.
Jack Spoon Vibora Dress 65L (I bought a lot from this new designer & will blog more soon. I would have worn the whole dress ((the snakeskin top & puffsleves are from it,)) but I had an issue with the skirt. My body just poked through when my AO moved & it bothered me. Maybe if I had an AO that wasn't so "hippy" or didn't move so much? I tried many AO's in my inventory & even some alpha masks for my butt & hips & finally decided that the best bet would have been for the designer to have gone with a system skirt or even a system with some added flexi (ugh, I know,) or perhaps a differently shaped sculpted prim? Next Step Mesh, (it has spoiled me.) I will say I absolutely LOVE the designer's color & texture sense & I am VERY happy in general with all my purchases & I am willing to try resizing the skirt again & looking for a better AO because I think it's worth it. I AM definitely going to blog more about them because I LOVED the vision the designer has & I want to support that! This is NOT a "dis" - I want to see more from this designer! I bought a BUNCH  more cool things to photograph so get ready for those!)
LeeZu Burleske Tights 95L (How great is this store? I just wish it was cheaper so I could buy it all :P)
[glow] Studio Jennifer Shape
***Eyes & Chest Tattoo made by Me, LaDonna, (Jennifer Oleari)

Still in a Vintage Mood

I am really feeling the Vintage Fair. Yes, I finally was able to go back & the lag was not bad at all. I wasn't able to splurge as much as I would have liked because I kind of blew my budget early this month & I live on a fixed income but there is one more item I may have to go back & get, (I'll keep you posted.) In the meantime I am happy with my Haut.Monde purchases AND I got another pair of shoes from them, (actually a three-pack from the mainstore ~ posting soon!) Plus I have been scouring my inventory for "vintage" finds & pairing them up with some cool new additions I recently picked up. I got a little artsy with the setup on these pics, (I wanted to use my cool furniture!) so the clothes aren't exactly featured the best they could be & they are not from the Vintage Fair but they are pretty vintage looking & pretty great. I really love everything I am wearing here, new items & old favorites.
Ok, so Both pictures feature:
Glam Affair Gio Skin 70L , Glow Studio Jennifer Shape 70L, Noctis Sofa, Table, Lamp & Rug (Past Hunt Gifts) Stone Misery Reading Rug (includes books, Pillows, candle & Raven) Past Hunt Gift or Lucky Board (Can't remember which, Sorry!)

 

 *First Look Also Features:
Lamb Hair  Girlfriend in a Coma (Purchased for discounted rate of 88L at Collabor88 last set up!)
Pig Sing Sing Precious Old Group Gift
RibboN Gray Suspender Pants 40L
G Field Alex Adjustable Strap Shoes in Black 200L (the Straps have 3 or 4 configurations plus no-strap, also sole color change. It's like getting a bunch of shoes all in one.) Great deal & Look amazing on.
Miel Color Changeable Genius Peepers 175L
House of Fox ForeverYoung Ring Purchased on Sale for 50L, is now back to 100L

*Second look also Features:

Elikatira Hair from Collabor88
Coco Bow Blouse 100L
LeeZu Pants (Lea Pants with added Brit Pants Bits, sorry I do that a lot)
Nardcotix Shoes from The Dressing Room
Natural Avec Toi Hair Piece 69L
Nala Monocle

Fairly Vintage

So, my new Second Life friend TokiSan has the most amazing taste & took me to a store at the Vintage Fair called Haut.Monde to get these awesome shoes. The lag was incredible & I'm not one to usually suffer from lag. It was so bad I was only able to cam around to a few surrounding stores. I really don't understand the lag problem because all three times I tried to go, there weren't that many people there, but I guess it has a lot to do with vendor scripts & builds, etc. I really don't know anything about that stuff, all I know is I wanted to see more of what the Fair had to offer & I couldn't. I will keep trying, because although I think what I saw/purchased was a little overpriced, (the shoes alone were over 300L,) it's a fun concept/great theme & I like to support creative designers. Puff Sleeve Bodysuit, Overknee Leggings & Franci Wedges from Haut.Monde. I added an extra old leg warmer on one side for additional asymmetry, a great 10L belt from Cobrahive & flower shoulder piece from an old Ohmai bodysuit. The beautiful skin is from Glam Affair (I LOVE their skins!) & available at the 70L discounted price at The Dressing Room right now, (I added freckles & dimples as always,) the hair is from elikatira, Olive Juice pose. PS - I stumbled upon even more photoshop tricks today. This is becoming more fun & expressive & I can't wait to learn a lot more! I know it's a little goofy but that's me, & I am still learning, so what can you do. Enjoy ~

Song to the Siren

 

I grew up near the ocean almost my whole life. Now that I am living inland I truly miss being able to take solace in all that the Sea has to offer. I made my little parcel in Second Life an "oceanside retreat" for a very specific reason ~ to be able to virtually revisit this comfort. Anyway, I got this LeeZu "Barbara" pullover in olive from The Dressing Room, great color change boots from Miel & the 25L bloomers, from sn@tch, found in the bargain pit & green tights (part of the full Pixie outfit.) The ball jointed doll avatar is from The Sugar Garden & hat/hair from the now defunct Berries, Inc. Also, please enjoy the sad/beautiful song I have included at the end as well. It is a cover of an old Tim Buckley (Father of Jeff Buckley,) song entitled "Song to the Siren" sung by Liz Frazier of the Cocteau Twins in a group called This Mortal Coil which was actually a collaboration of different artists from the 4AD record label, getting together & making gorgeous music. I have all three albums the collective put out over the years & they are all beautiful. This song always had a very "oceanic" & "longing" theme that fits my current mood perfectly. 

I (Don't) Hate this Love Song

I have been listening to/watching this Big Bang video nonstop since yesterday. Where has this song been all my life? I only heard a couple Big Bang songs before I fell in love with the GD & T.O.P. solo collaboration cd. I played it so much my boyfriend begged me to put something else in the car stereo, so I tortured him with more SHINee cd's. But honestly, I can't believe I have missed out on so much good music by being blinded by SHINee's beauty, (lol - no offense to my shining boys & I am a Shawol forever,) but DANG - this Big Bang song & video is SO GOOD & I want to hear MORE. The music & vocals have so many hooks & catchy bits - you don't need to understand Korean to get the vibe thanks to the wonderful  performances. I LOVE the guitar melodies - very evocative of the Edge (from U2,) and the drums - I could go on, but just listen for yourself. I am going to listen to it again. (Oh & BTW ~ GD proves that cool guys DO look back at explosions at the end, cos he's the only one who looks & he's Pretty Darn Cool, lol.) PS - Happy Belated Birthday to T.O.P.~ a beautiful, talented guy with that sexy deep voice I always go for, (Plus he has the most amazing eyebrows.) Good Luck to Big Bang who are up for an award in the MTV EMA's. * I LOVE THIS GROUP!*

~ Ok now here's my little Second Life look I put together out of all free items!

 *.amato.* eyes, pose, photostudio
 Dilly Dolls dress, Mesh Boots (Group Gift)
 .+*Heart Softens*+. hair, corsage, Group Gift
GHOST! Prison Tights made my Triangle Caudron
.::Mother Goose's::. Skin (Free Lucky Boards)

Ode to Dia de los Muertos ~

Yes, this is a bit late, but as I have posted before I have been having computer problems. My computer is being a real pill, in that it will do almost everything fine, except run Second Life. I am on my very patient boyfriend's computer right now. I have to say, since our move to the new house we bought, he has been really amazing. He has really stepped up to the plate and done far more than his share in helping to get this place together enough to be a home for us. I am really impressed with him and his work ethic. On the flip-side, I have been feeling very melancholy lately, myself. Halloween is a double-sided affair to me, fun, yet morose, as I watch all the little children going through the motions of the childhood ritual. I am an older adult now and it is weird! I don't feel old inside my head, but my body is OLD! I have been going over ideas of age, gender and the like in my head lately and I am not satisfied with all my conclusions. I feel lost so often in life. I feel alone. I thank goodness for my truly close loved ones: the people that put up with me daily and still love me. I love you back ~ More than you know. I would like to dedicate this post to my Nana Jean whose Birthday it was on 11-2-11. Although you are gone, we all think of you daily. You will never leave our hearts and we will love you forever. PS - I miss you Burke. I have a tribute coming soon...

Nice & Light

My computer decided to die on Halloween, so I have been relegated to my old, laggy laptop or borrowing my boyfriend's desktop while I slave-drive him to fix mine. I had some grand plans to make a few Dia de los Muertos outfits, but since I wasn't able to get on Second Life until today, I just decided to photograph a look I made a few days ago. I got this lace dress at The Dressing Room for 70 Linden. It's from Mimikri and I have purchased from them before but I was a little disappointed with the neckline on this dress. (Click the link to their blog. As you can see in the ad, the upper neck is obscured by the models long hair, so I had no idea what it looked like until I bought it.) The arm seams are a little visible and the upper neckline seemed a bit "unfinished," (in my opinion,) so I covered it up with a scarf  and brooch. I really liked the soft taupe color and honestly it looks pretty cute here in this picture, in the context of the whole look, but I was just a little disappointed when I first bought it. If it were my creation, I would have probably included a prim, (similar to the arm bands and waist,) for the upper neckline, but I am not a builder so what can you do. Anyway, maybe I will be able to put together some of those Dia de los Muertos looks a little later tonight ~ better late than never I suppose!