My Second Life Is But a Dream...

I did a little landscape shopping and added Botanical's water lilies to my pond. I also picked up the newest chair from the mini event, Atelier Kreslo, this time a collaboration between Pilot and Fri.day. I was more into taking a serene and peaceful picture than in shooting a fashion photo, because I'm waiting for the June events like FaMeshed and The Arcade Gacha events to begin. So I'll just briefly run down what I'm wearing then sit on my dock and do some much needed inventory maintenance.

Credits:

Tram hair and over the shoulder striped sweater

Erratic tee shirt (new release)

One Bad Pixel shorts

Purple Moon sunglasses

SLink sandal add-ons

 

Sway's at the Arcade Gacha

And so The Arcade Gacha is almost ready for another round. I hope you've been saving your lindens. Sway has designed lots of these swim rings in a multitude of colours and they are just adorable and fun. I'm going to be missing out on the initial rush with me going away on holiday on Sunday, but gacha event is definitely going to be my first stop when I return!

Sway's Swim Ring [Quack] green 

coldLogic bikini - lake.

/Wasabi Pills/ Sunny Mesh Hair - Black Coffee

Glam Affair - Cleo - India - 05

[glow] Neon 60's glasses Pink

Let's Communicate - A Strawberry Singh Meme

After last week's tutorial challenge, Strawberry Singh decided to go easy this week on the bloggers taking part in her meme series. THANK you, Berry! So this week it's about how we communicate in Second Life. Just a few simple questions to answer:

1. Who did you speak to last inworld today? Clay Cowen. We mostly talked about why we held Don Draper to a different standard than Pete Campbell in Madmen. Oh, and Clay didn't like the hair in this picture so I changed it just for him while reminding him how he stands around for weeks on end totally naked. We make it a point to get together by setting a time to meet a couple of days a week.
2. Who has taught you most about SL? Hmm. It has changed over time. In the early days I learned a lot from Ayla Barzane and her real life hubby. Now I probably would say AprilMae Devin. She's always trying to make me learn the latest gadget. Right now she's all about combining our alpha layers which she learned from the tutorial on the Not Quite Pink blog.
3. Who do you turn to for help? April, again. Darn that girl, she's always learning new stuff and teaching me, or pointing me to tutorials. If it's a shopping question, however, I ask my Plurk timeline for help. April is a terrible shopper. 
4. Who is the most entertaining person on your friend list? Friar Tyles is probably the biggest goofball on my friend list. I hope he comes back soon and models a new mankini for me.
5. Do you speak to your SL friends outside of SL? Not much except on Plurk.
6. Are you part of a community or family inworld? My close friends were all part of a tightly knit roleplay community and some of us live together on April's Alterior Living sim, though we don't really roleplay much anymore.
7. Are you usually around a lot of people or do you spend most of your time alone inworld? I spend a lot of time setting up pictures, and that's an alone sort of thing. But I'm always happy to see April or Ayla online and will hang out with them or Clay on our prearranged times when we can. Since I did the roleplay tutorial last week we've all talked about having an itch to roleplay, so we may venture out to find somewhere to roleplay again.

Oh wow, done already! Nothing left but the...

Credits:

Glam Affair - Cleo - America - Clean F

Glam Affair - Cleo - Freckles 2

Dura Hair - Girl*42(Sienna)
Beetlebones Mesh Lashes V.01 (Dainty brown)
Mayfly - Liquid Light Mesh Eye (Summer Shore, w3)
Maxi Gossamer - Necklace - Isis Solar Magic - Long 2 - SILVER
Maxi Gossamer - Rings - Khaleesi's Ring Of Power
Slink Mesh Hands (av)
Mon Tissu Collared Shirt Long Version ~ Denim Light

I Floss Daily

We're going to see a lot of Glam Affair's newest full release skin, Cleo, over the next few weeks in many Second Life fashion blogs. I fell hard for it and bought the fatpack. I don't know about anyone else, but when I look through SL pictures I stop and look closer at photos that surprise me in some way. I decided to try to make what will surely be one of many pictures of Cleo a tiny bit surprising by parting those luscious Glam Affair lips.

Teeth in SL are difficult to get right and I've never been really satisfied with the options I've seen. I picked up these prim teeth from PXL Creations and I think they're as close as I've gotten to a realistic looking parted mouth without having to resort to a mesh head. Don't get too excited. Like all the other teeth I've tried in SL, these look better in a straight on photo than walking around in world. Think of it as a photo prop and you'll be happy. It has some nice features - a hud with several versions of teeth and shadings, including a braces version and a chipped tooth version. There's a demo at PXL Creations so you can check it out before you buy.

Credits:

[PXL] OpenMouth PRO TEETH v1.3

Glam Affair - Cleo - America - 01 F
Glam Affair - Cleo - Freckles 2

D!va Hair "Sayaka3" (Type A)(Red amber) (at Collabor88)

Mandala Simple Ears HUTUU
Beetlebones Mesh Lashes V.01 (Dainty brown)
Mayfly - Liquid Light Mesh Eye (Summer Shore, w3)
Tee*fy Elyse Wrapped Tucked Tank Creme
MAGIC NOOK Baroque Earring (Rose) (at The Dressing Room Fusion)

Izzie's Irene at The Dressing Room Fusion

I had Izzie's last release of a new skin, Asia, and reluctantly decided to pass on the latest full release, Irene, only for reasons of my Linden balance. Then something wonderful happened! Izzie joined The Dressing Room Fusion and released this sunkissed version of Irene for $70L. I already had the SLink appliers so it was a no brainer. It's a good round of creations at The Dressing Room Fusion. I highly recommend a trip right away.

Credits:

Mandala Simple Ears HUTUU
Beetlebones Mesh Lashes V.01 (Dainty brown)
Truth Hair Selma - Gingers02Fade
Izzie's - Irene Skin TDR Fusion sunkissed GB (at The Dressing Room Fusion)

Baiastice - Summer mini dress-aqua/blue (at The Dressing Room Fusion)
Mayfly - Liquid Light Mesh Eye (Summer Shore, w3)
Maxi Gossamer - Earrings - Khaleesi's Ring Of Power

California Dreamin'

Two great things are happening, dudes and dudettes! Home and Garden Expo, a Relay for Life charity event, starts tomorrow. If the surfer bus from 22769 bauwerk is any indication of what to expect, it's gonna be gnarley (everything I know about surfing I learned from Sean Penn). The bus even comes with built-in single and couple animations for resting surfer babes.

The other excitement is yesterday's release by coldLogic of some super fine bikinis. Now I'm just waiting for the perfect wave.

Credits:

coldLogic bikini - waters.tomato
Slink Mesh Hands (av)
LeLutka - POCAHONTAS hair - IrishRed
Mirror's Enigma Victoria Tan Skintone (Nude/Red)

Surfing pose in the second picture by oOo Studios

Lady Garden

You thought that title meant WHAT? ;-P

Just for something new to do I stopped in at a new-to-me shopping event called We Love Role-Play. It seemed fitting since my last post was a beginner's tutorial about roleplay. Evie's Closet had the Flora Fairy outfits she had released for petites for Fantasy Faire, but this time for full sized avatars. I couldn't resist. The mesh sunflowers and the mesh fence (which you can barely see in the picture, oops) were also goodies at this fun event from Dysfunctional Designs.

In other great news, Glam Affair released SLink hand and feet appliers! 

Credits:

Evie's Closet Flora Fairy - Puff (flora hairpiece included)

Truth Hair - Lotus Ginger02 fade

Glam Affair Skin - Lilith Bare 

Teach Me Some Roleplay Basics

When I saw that Strawberry Singh's meme this week was to do a tutorial on something I cried. "But, but....I don't know how to do anything!" I wailed pitifully as my mascara melted and ran down my cheeks. It's true. I'm pretty clueless about computer thingies like drivers, routers, and IP's. I don't know exactly what those things are! I don't have photoshop, I use GIMP for my limited post processing of pictures. I have no idea how to take a screenshot of my computer screen.

Then it hit me. I could cry like nobody's business. I could roleplay. I love roleplay and think roleplayers are amazing. They are by definition the most social people on the grid, because they interact with others ALL the time. There is an etiquette to roleplay and common sense rules that experienced roleplayers follow, no matter what type or style of roleplay they engage in. So here is a very basic tutorial on Second Life text based roleplay.

1. When you go to a roleplay sim, read the rules and the backstory. If they calls for a certain type of dress, comply. If you merely want to observe - and I highly suggest observing before jumping into roleplay - follow the sim rules for observers. Roleplay sims are typically immersive environments and it's just common courtesy to respect their right to keep it that way. If you don't like the backstory for some reason or find the premise offensive, just leave and look for a roleplay environment that makes you more comfortable. They're out there.

2. Pay attention to the style of roleplay. By this I mean one-line roleplay - where each post is a quick line of text; paragraph (often called para) roleplay - each post being a carefully crafted and descriptive paragraph; and my favorite - semi-paragraph (semi-para) roleplay - which combines the two. None of these styles of roleplay are wrong, but people have definite preferences and tend to prefer to play with others with the same preferences. If you're new to roleplay, you'll quickly learn which style you prefer by experimenting with all three.

3. In character and out of character are terms that are shortened to IC and OOC. Most roleplay sims have similar rules about OOC postings in open chat. Open chat is for IC. IM's are for OOC unless you need to say something to a group that is assembled to roleplay. To make it clear to everyone that you're making an OOC comment, double parentheses are typically used ((like this)). If you are observing at a roleplay sim and most of the posts in open chat are OOC, then you may want to look for another place to roleplay.

4. Once you've chosen a roleplay environment that suits you, choose a role and build a back story for your character. You should speak with a sim administrator about the roles available, but what you do with the role is up to you. Accept feedback from the administrator about your back story with good grace. He or she probably has a pretty good idea of what works and what doesn't in that particular sim. If you want to be a 20 year-old princess from a far away land who has run away from an evil and aged royal fiancee, fine. But if every female roleplayer comes in wanting to be a variant of that same princess, and no one ever wants to be a saucy serving wench whose penniless parents need to be supported by her meager wages, then consider that other idea. Roleplay is more interesting when there is variety.

5. So, after all that observing and creating your character, you're ready to play. Have a plan and a direction you want your character to go in, but stay flexible. Roleplay isn't a novel written by a single author. It's a subtle dance between multiple players. You need to pick up on signals from other roleplayers. For instance, if you decide you want an in character rivalry with another player, explore that idea through your postings. A good roleplayer will pick up on your idea and may be delighted to engage in that rivalry. Or they may not, because their character just doesn't roll that way. Don't be discouraged, try something else. The most popular roleplayers are players who are generous with their storylines, bring others into them, and participate in furthering other players' stories.
 
6. Learn what godmoding is and avoid it. Godmoding is dictating the actions of another player in your post, or refusing to accept the consequences of roleplay. I think it's easiest to understand through example. In the first example:  

• Dolly gives Ayla a tight little smile as her eyes fall on the fragrant peach pie, still warm from the oven. Without considering her action, she picks up the pie, weighs it in her hand and reaches over the small table, grinding its peachy stickiness into Ayla's surprised face. 

That's godmoding. Ayla has no chance to react before there's warm sticky pie in her face. In addition, it isn't Dolly's job to tell Ayla that she's surprised. Instead, Dolly should have posted something like this:  

• Dolly gives Ayla a tight little smile as her eyes fall on the fragrant peach pie, still warm from the oven. Without considering her action, she picks up the pie, weighs it in her hand and reaches over the small table, aiming the flaky pastry straight at Ayla's face.  

See the difference? Now Ayla can react. She can throw up her hands to protect her face, duck under the table, or even accept that she's going to have a face covered in peach pie. It's up to her.

The other example of godmoding - refusing to accept the consequences of roleplay - is less common but more infuriating when it does occur. Let's use the pie example, and this time we'll make Ayla the godmoder:

• Dolly gives Ayla a tight little smile as her eyes fall on the fragrant peach pie, still warm from the oven. Without considering her action, she picks up the pie, weighs it in her hand and reaches over the small table, aiming the flakey pastry straight at Ayla's face.
• Ayla quirks a brow. As soon as she sees the gleam in Dolly's eye she draws a wooden shield from her apron pocket, blocking Dolly from hitting her in the face with pie.

Wait a minute! She had a wooden shield in her apron pocket? Are you kidding? Those are two simple examples of godmoding. Just don't.

7. One last basic rule that may be obvious, but is often flouted - take turns posting. Once you post, your roleplay partner begins to craft a response. If you then post again before they have a chance to respond, they have to stop, read the addition to your post, maybe erase what they posted and incorporate the new material you provided into their response. That is very frustrating with two players. Imagine six players in a single scene all posting willy nilly. It's chaos and doesn't work. Experienced roleplayers often work out an order of posting and stick to it. Wait your turn, even if you think of something brilliant to say!

Well, there it is - the basics of roleplay. If it sounds like too much trouble, then roleplay probably isn't your thing. That's okay. But if the idea of telling a story through interaction with others makes your creative juices flow, give it a try. I hope I was a little help to someone who has an interest but wasn't sure how to get started.

Now excuse me while I try to figure out what an OS might be.

Credits:

Izzie's - Mascara Tears + Redness Tattoo more intense
Izzie's - Sad Eyes *brown*
One Bad Pixel Cuffed Denim Shorts Taupe

Baiastice_Lari Halter Neck Top-leaves coral
Pure Poison - Leah Necklace - Gold

Slink Mesh Hands (av)
TRUTH HAIR Lotus - Gingers02Fade
Glam Affair - Lilith - America 05 Red

The partially seen Cheeky Pea sofa and Alouette bookshelf are available at Catnip Carnival.

I've Got Your Back

It seems like forever since Ayla and I took a picture together. We wanted to feel comfy and casual for our rainy day in my new Parisian skybox from Barnesworth Anubis, so we pulled on jeans and sweaters from our inventory. We had the usual crashes, and I kept blurring out of focus, resolving and blurring again. But in the end we had a sweet picture of friends. It was worth patiently waiting to come into focus. Ayla has been away from Second Life while she worked on getting healthy again. I'm glad she's back, feeling better and ready to take a picture or two.

This friend couple pose from Flowey was perfect for our photo and aptly titled, "I've got your back."

Credits for Dolly:

D!va Hair "Sayaka3" (Type B)(Red amber)
One Bad Pixel Sweater and Blouse Olive Chenille
Maitreya Flare Jeans (for flats) #7

Slink Mesh Hands (av)
Izzie's - Asia Skin Ginger Edition pale freckles
Izzie's - Lipstick brown

Credits for Ayla:

JANE - sweet n low jeans.light
Maitreya Athena Sweater - Cream
Elikatira Youth - Brown 08
Glam Affair - Margot - India 02

I can't help but stare

I met Geanna the other day and she had the cutest from Tee*fy dress on. Of course I had to go get it. God knows how I missed it at this months FaMeshed! I already had my Gos espadrilles and what a perfect match, eh? The hair is a cute style from Tram, although the shade isn't quite the brown I usually go for, it was either black or this. Miss Tram creator, please, please make a better choice of shades because the styles are awesome!

Wow, I managed another blog, go me!

Have a great weekend everyone <3

Tee*fy Odette  Blooming Set

[Gos] Boutique - Lolita Espadrilles - Linen

tram  C405 hair / brown&black

Glam Affair - Margot - India 02

LaGyo_Lost crystal ring Silver

{what next} My Red Telephone Box Pose Prop

Truth Hair Contest!

I have a lot of fun with Second Life photography contests. It's nice to win or place, but I never feel like I lose as long as I'm having fun and am relatively satisfied with my photos. These photos are for the Truth Model Search contest. Check out the rules and submit your photos on his Flickr group HERE.

This contest coincides with the release of six new Truth hairs, new textures and a new store build. It's nice to see even the best and most popular designers on the grid seeking to reach new levels. And taking pictures of beautiful new hair? Nothing better!

Credits (clockwise from top left):

Photo 1

TRUTH HAIR Selma - Gingers01
Baiastice_Lari Halter Neck Top-green (at Liaison Collaborative)
-Belleza- Ava Med TLC 5 r (at Liaison Collaborative)
::BB:: Mesh Lashes V.01 (Dainty brown)

Mayfly - Liquid Light Mesh Eye (Aged Bronze, w3)
Slink Mesh Hands (av)

Photo 2
TRUTH HAIR Sadie - Gingers02Fade
Truth Hairbase - marmalade

Ohmai Antique Bee Ring (Brass)

G Field [Mesh] Frill Bikini bottom -lagoon
G Field [Mesh] Frill Bikini bra -lagoon
Maxi Gossamer - Earring - Beatrice
AE Skins - Bethany T3 Bare
AE Bethany Eyebrow Tattoo Red T3
Adam n Eve - Freckles

Photo 3

TRUTH HAIR Gattina - Gingers02Fade

Yummy Winter Flower Necklace - Gold

Yummy Winter Flower Ring - Gold

League Nyx Corset -Lace- Apricot
League Nyx Skirt -LightTan
Mirror's Enigma Victoria Tan Skintone (Nude/Red)

Dolly's SL Guilty Confessions - A Strawberry Singh Meme

Oops! I've been spilling things about my SL life right and left in these memes. The habit has caught on and I actually confessed in my last post that I was wearing shoes that were not matched to my outfit. Do I have any confessions left? At least those that I'm willing to share? For this is the newest of Strawberry Singh's entertaining blog memes - our guilty confessions. You can read hers here.

Confession #1.
I have a game I play with myself about my inventory. I'll type something random in inventory search and see what (if anything) pops up. At least half of my inventory of 33,000 items is dumb sentimental stuff that I can't bear to part with for this reason. If I delete that pink elephant, no elephants will pop up during my game!

Confession #2.
I spend a lot of lindens on things I love in Second Life - clothes, shoes, hair, skins, jewelry, homes, furniture, landscaping, etc. I really should cut back a little.

Confession #3.
I pretend to be kind of clueless. Sometimes I am clueless about what the latest drama might be, but sometimes I just pretend to be. It's an avoidance technique that I probably learned at my mother's knee. I'd rather not hurt feelings or have my feelings hurt. So, rather than jumping into the frey and expressing my opinion, I feign ignorance.

Confession #4.
Berry had an interesting and honest confession in her post about silent boycotts. I suspect we all do that. We do it in real life all the time. For example, I'm not going to Chick fil A anytime soon, because even with a corporate apology, I don't want to line a homophobic senior manager's pocket. My boycott there is silent (well, it was until now).

The same principle applies in Second Life. There are (only a very few) SL people whose creations I hesitate to blog because somewhere along the way I saw that person vent in an ugly or childish way about something. The same thing is true of event organizers. I don't do this at the first sign of trouble.  Anybody can have a bad day and vent inappropriately. I respond more to a pattern of behavior. If someone represents a brand in Second Life, that brand could suffer from silent boycotts if they act like an unrepentant asshole. It is so easy to lose trust and so hard to regain it.

Credits:

Adam N Eve Skins - Bethany T3 Bare
Adam N Eve Skins Bethany Eyebrow Tattoo Red T3
Adam N Eve - Freckles

Mandala Omochi Bracelet /SAHARA Brown
Mandala Omochi earrings/Sahara Brown
Emery - Mesh Denim Jacket Hollywood Dark
Mayfly - Liquid Light Mesh Eye (Aged Bronze, w3)
Slink Mesh Hands (av)
Tram C409 hair / maroon (size40)

Hello Again!

I'm back. Again. Yes I know my blogging has been a bit erratic in recent months, well more like 9 months, since I first took ill.  The good news is my health is slowly improving, I'm feeling fitter than I've felt in many years, but it's not all been easy. You may or may not have missed my presence on Second Life or Plurk, and I don't feel that I have to explain, but I want to, perhaps the only reason being that it's selfishly cathartic.

Last August I was admitted to hospital with a rare liver infection, the doctors still don't know what caused it, even after a plethora of tests. Things improved after a couple of rounds of antibiotics, but again in January I had a reoccurrance and was laid up in bed for the first 2 months of the year. At the end of February, the day before my birthday in fact, I got a call from the Doctor with MRI results. The infection had cleared up but there were changes in my liver the doctors weren't happy with. Basically, they diagnosed me with a fatty liver or Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver as it's properly known. As you can imagine, this was an extra blow to my health that I just wasn't expecting. Yeah, I have always struggled with my weight, yeah, I guess I was classed as obese, yeah, I was quite unfit, but you really don't realise what effect it has on your body until it smacks you in the face.

At first I blamed being on my computer so much. I hated it, it was switched off for two months. I blamed six years of being on Second Life every day for hours on end. Partly that was true, but in reality, I only had my own lazy arse to blame. I made the choice, the choice to sit at my computer all that time, I was the one who let it get to the stage where I was putting my health in great danger. Having chronic depression and anxiety hasn't helped, but again, I chose to let that stand in my way of being healthy.

That day, when my Doctor called my house to tell me the bad news, something snapped in me. I got out of my sick bed and I swore that things were going to change. I have four beautiful daughters who need me, one of whom is autistic. My eldest daughters are broody (not allowed to have babies yet though!) and it made me think, I want to be a fit and active Grandma. My husband, the poor man. He puts up with so much, without complaint. He loves and cares for me unconditionally and I need to be well for him, so I can be the wife he deserves.

Anyway, I'm rambling a bit, I know. I'll finish up by telling you since February the 26th this year, I have lost a total of 2 stone 2 lbs (30lbs for the US guys) and I am feeling a million dollars compared to how I was for the first two months of the year. I am determined to be healthy, I go walking whether it's raining or blowing a gale out there and I make damned sure get my half hour or exercise a day and eat healthily.

I will be on Second Life, but not at much as I used to be. I'll still blog when I am inspired or just for the fun of it, but Second Life isn't allowed to dictate my real life anymore, I just can't afford it to.

Now on to the picture! When I logged on for the first time in two months last week I had a whole lot of shopping to catch up with. I love this little dress from Zaara, you'll all know by now that you can pick it up at Fameshed. I changed my skin when I saw this one from Glam Affair at this months Collabor88, perhaps a little darker than I usually go but what the hell, it's summer (almost). The table set from Lisp can also be found at Collabor88 and it comes in a few different shades and is filled with cute animations.

That's me done, phew! Until next time, ta ta for now. <3

When It Rains

Sometimes I get tired of dressing Dolly up in the latest fashions and still want to mess around in Second Life. Shocking, I know. I've had this new Tee*fy release on for two or three days and HAVE NOT EVEN BOTHERED TO MATCH MY SHOES TO IT!

Whew, with that upsetting confession out of the way, I'll tell you what I've been doing instead - dressing up my homes. Dolly's got several you know. She's quite the jet/teleport setter. I seem to fall in love with all of the latest Barnesworth Anubis releases, and the rainy Parisian skybox at Collabor88 is my new love.

Mixing and matching furniture designers is as much fun as mixing clothing designers. My credits may seem kind of vague, so feel free to leave a comment below if you can't tell where I got something. Also, if the pics seem a little dark, well - I was feeling artsy fartsy and it was raining outside my skybox!

Credits:

From LISP: sofa and chair, chest with lamp and bird dodads, clock, lamp on the table under the clock, telescope for spying on the Frenchman across the street, oo la la!

From The Loft: console table, jute rug, mirror in the bedroom, basket of pillows

From Cheeky Pea: coffee table

From Culprit: framed pictures on console table

From Apple Fall: hydrangeas in vase

From Dutchie: potted plants

From Pilot: bed and stool in the bedroom

Lazy Days

I like the bra and panties set from Fashionably Dead at this month's Collabor88.  The sheer cropped tank fits perfectly over the bra.  I decided to wear it with my new board shorts from coldLogic and felt downright spiffy in a relaxed and lazy sort of way.  My rustic old dock is from the Domineaux Effect, with animations built right in.

Credits:

D!va Hair "Sayaka3" (Type A)(Red amber) (at Collabor88)
Fashionably Dead Basic Bikini Top/Bra - Black (at Collabor88)
Fashionably Dead Messy Crop Tank Sheer - Orange (at Collabor88)
Purple Moon Coco Sunglasses in Orange
coldLogic shorts - pitt.midnight (new release)
Slink Aussie Thongs Rigged Female Black
Slink Mesh Feet (Av) Flat
Slink Mesh Hands (av)
Mirror's Enigma Victoria Tan Skintone (Nude/Red)

Shoulders Bared

coldLogic has some new releases!  I always get excited about such things, and I'm showing off my new favorite casual top with cut-out shoulders for a subtle kind of sexiness.  The messy yet fab updo is a new release from D!va, available at the all new Collabor88, as are the Maxi Gossamer earrings.

Credits:

D!va Hair "Sayaka3" (Type B)(Red amber) (at Collabor88)
coldLogic shirt - jacobs.sage
coldLogic shorts - pitt.khaki
Mayfly - Liquid Light Mesh Eye (Summer Shore, w3)
Maxi Gossamer - Earrings - Isis Solar Magic - GOLD (at Collabor88)
Slink Mesh Hands (av)
Mirror's Enigma Victoria Tan Skintone (Nude/Red)
  

Dolly's Haiku Meme

My Dolly wanders
Digital landscapes searching
for perfect pictures

A haiku? Damnit!

I haven't done one of those

Since my junior year!

See what I did there? 

This is Strawberry Singh's meme, 

and her post is HERE.  

Now I cannot stop.

There must be intervention

or I'll blog haiku.

Credits:

 The Secret Store - Structured Blazer - Nude (at FaMeshed)
tram  C424 hair / maroon
One Bad Pixel Cuffed Denim Shorts Flor 1
DRIFT Morning Tank [MESH] Knit

Pure Poison - Butterfly Earrings
Slink Lulu Heels Addon Cream
Slink Mesh Feet (Av) Toes
Slink Mesh Hands (av)
Mirror's Enigma Victoria Tan Skintone (Nude/Red)

Mayfly - Deep Sky Mesh Eye (Deep Honey Hazel, w3)

Spoil Me

When I'm looking for jewelry for my spoiled avatar, I look to a few top-of-the-mind stores like Maxi Gossamer, Mandala and Yummy.  More and more often I'm finding great trendy mesh jewelry at Pure Poison.  The store has just moved and been redesigned with half of it turned over to accessory items.  Check it out and let me know how you like it.  I'm loving all the great jewelry choices.

Credits:

(Top pic)
Pure Poison - Nisaa Necklace - Scarlett
Celoe.nile.hat.silver/dark
Pure Poison - La Rose Dress
Mirror's Enigma Victoria Tan Skintone (Nude/Red)
Dura-Girl*44(Sienna)
Purple Moon Coco Sunglasses in Red

(Middle pic)

Pure Poison - Cat Necklace
Pure Poison - Cat Earrings
tram  C409 hair / maroon (size40)
Emery - Mesh Denim Jacket Hollywood Dark

(Bottom pic)

Pure Poison - Love Earrings - Floral
Tee*fy Odette Dress Springfield
tram  C429 hair(B) / maroon

Desperately Seeking Hair

 I love this new Exile hair.  Hard. I'm not even sure I have anything else to say in this post except yada yada Zaara, Maxi Gossamer, FaMeshed, SLink sale, but have you noticed my hair? OMG.

Seriously, I adore everything I'm wearing.  This Zaara dress is one of the highlights of a VERY top notch FaMeshed event.  The hair isn't even from the event.  I'm just so excited about it because I had some strange idea in the back of my mind that Exile hair might sit too low on the forehead to suit me.  I haven't even demoed an Exile hair in forever.  Well, that's balderdash.  This hair is perfect.  And I'm loving the streaks and fades I can customize on a hud.  Kisses, kisses, Kavar (Truth, I still love you, too)!

Before I forget to mention it, while SLink is having a 30% off sale, it's a good time to pick up a fatpack or two of shoes for our SLink feet.  It's on now through the weekend.

You may be wondering why I don't have a pretty closeup featuring the hair, not to mention showing off the elegant necklace from Maxi Gossamer.  And, you might say, "Aren't those SLink shoes you're covering up in the grass?"  My answer is this - I'm a naughty, naughty fashion blogger today and I blame Whiskey Monday's "I Don't Want to Be a Fashion Blogger" post. Hey! Same dress!

Credits:

Exile - Desperately Wanting Natural Fusion

Zaara - [Mesh] Chaitra chiffon dress *leaves*

Maxi Gossamer - Necklace - Raisa - ALL - SILVER
Slink - Lulu Addon Shoes - Beige
Slink Mesh Feet (Av) Toes
Slink Mesh Hands (av)
Mirror's Enigma Victoria Tan Skintone (Nude/Red)
Mayfly - Deep Sky Mesh Eye (Deep Honey Hazel, w3)

Just My Everyday Tiara

I got such a giggle from Maxi Gossamer's concept of an "Everyday Tiara."  So much so that I decided to make it the centerpiece of my first FaMeshed post for May.  I'll just tidy up the kitchen now - the mesh kitchen from Trompe Loeil available at the all new FaMeshed.  Honest to god, I feel like Penelope Cruz bragging about her espresso machine. 

My Exile hair, FABULOUS "everyday tiara" and surprisingly ladylike dress from Cracked Mirror are only a few of the offerings at the one year anniversary bash for this great event.  I went to FaMeshed early in the morning and still had to try a few times to get in.  It will settle down in a day or two and it's there for a month, so don't let the early crowds stop you from visiting.  Take a pile of lindens.  You'll want everything.

My sexy/cute housewife a la Mad Men pose is a collaboration between Cheeky Pea (for the duster pose prop) and Exposeur, not from FaMeshed. 

Credits:

Cracked Mirror - Wool Peplum Dress (grey)(at FaMeshed)
Exile Hair - Fire To The Rain Natural Fusion (at FaMeshed)
Maxi Gossamer - Everyday Tiara - Pearl Heart - SILVER (at FaMeshed)
Maxi Gossamer - White South Sea Pearl - Necklace - Single Strand
Mirror's Enigma - Victoria Tan Skintone (Nude/Red)

Three Wishes - A Strawberry Singh Meme

"Hello, Linden Lab?  Strawberry Singh is my fairy godmother - what?  Yeah, the one who takes those great pictures - anyway she gave me three wishes of changes I can make to my Second Life, and I thought I should let you know.  Huh?  No, I'm not filing a jira.  These are magic wishes.  I'm telling you because we're in this together, you know? You're confused?  Just check her blog."

This is really, really hard for me, Berry!  I have wishes about SL all the time but I usually shrug and do what I can to forget about it. 

Second Life has improved technically over the years, despite the grousing that seems to be a constant drone.  I remember when passing over a sim crossing was not something one did lightly.  You could crash, have your shoes and hair reattach to your butt, or find yourself walking into the great beyond.  Now we have windlight, shadows (if your computer can handle it), and mesh that allows us even more creativity in our virtual spaces and avatars, along with more stability overall.  I still crash, don't get me wrong.  But not like the old days! 

Wish Number 1:  All of the previous is my way of saying that I'm not one of those Second Life crabby types who looks suspiciously at every new thing that is rolled out, sure that it'll be the end of SL.  So my first wish will be to never hear again, "They should have fixed [the issue that affects the grouser] before rolling out [whatever, doesn't matter how great it is]."  or "I can never ever ever ever get used to the new viewer and will let you pry Viewer 1.whatever-the-hell out of my cold dead avatar hands!"

Wish Number 2:  Now that I've been nice and patted Linden Lab on your back for what you've done well, I want to let you know I do have a problem with the way you market Second Life.  When you don't define your product in an easy to understand way, others do it for you.  And they have with Second Life.  In a not so flattering way.  Nobody wants to talk about Second Life.  We residents are embarrassed because of the way we're defined by the media and the gamer community.  I noticed, Linden Lab, that even you don't want to talk about Second Life.  It's not even mentioned on your home page. 

Try saying that Second Life is fun.  It's people from all over the world in a shared space for creative endeavor.  But you can't stop there or normal people will have no clue what you're talking about!  Tell them they can be a tourist, a treasure hunter, a fashionista, a roleplayer, a photographer, an architect, a DJ, a blogger, a gardener, a fashion designer, an artist, and yes - a stripper.  Second Life has a functioning economy.  It's cute.  It can make us cry and laugh and say awwwww.  We have fundraisers for charity.  We make friends, and unlike Facebook, we can go together to a disco and hear live music or take a class to learn how to build a house.  Sometimes we're dragons, mermaids or penguins.  Sometimes we wear penis hats.  Sometimes we're just drop dead gorgeous.  The best part is - we residents had a role in creating Second Life and we have this tremendous pride of ownership.  Who wouldn't want to be a part of that?

Wish Number 3:  I wish the ability to make darling perfect mesh furniture and houses fell out of the sky and into my head without having to learn Blender.  A woman can dream.

Credits:

Dura Hair Boy 37(Sienna)
Pure Poison - Cat Necklace
Slink Mesh Hands
Mon Tissu Daydream Dress ~ Liberty

Mirror's Enigma Victoria Tan Skintone (Nude/Red)
What Next Phone booth photo prop