Twenty Questions

The latest Strawberry Singh meme is a lot of questions! I'm taking a deep breath and jumping in.

Meme instructions: Answer the following 20 personal questions about your Second Life. Don’t forget to share a link to your post in the comments!

1. When and how did you discover Second Life? – I read an article in the New York Times about Second Life in early August 2007.
2. Did you know about virtual worlds before or was this your first experience with them? – I had no clue. I'd played the Sims a bit, but that was all.
3. Has Second Life met your expectations? – I don't recall what my expectations were. I do recall that SL was very complicated and I'm amazed I stuck to it. Thank you newbie mentors! When I attached a box of household goods to my body and asked how to remove them, the poor mentor had to deal with a newbie on a Mac who didn't even know how to right click.
4. If you could teleport back to the first ten minutes of your avatar’s slife, what would you tell yourself? – Hmm....I'd probably tell myself to forget most of the freebies and to invest in a decent skin. Oh, and to take off the dumb freebie nipple tattoos.
5. How long did it take you to master avatar flying and driving vehicles inworld? – Wait, we can FLY??? I'm still not good at it. And I can't drive in SL worth a darn.
6. Do you have a mystery alt? – No. I'm quick to tell my friends who I am on an alt. I get lonely otherwise!
7. Is your SL avatar a reflection of you, or someone you wished you could be? –Physically Dolly is a younger me with a better ass. Personality wise, it's just me unless I'm roleplaying, and even then it's an exploration of sides of myself.
8. Is there an individual you met in SL that inspired you in your RL? How? – Probably, though I can't think of anything specifically.
9. Do you feel it is easier to create stronger bonds/relationships with people you meet inworld as opposed to the real world? – Not stronger bonds, but I was surprised at how attached I became to my Second Life friends.
10. Did you ever imagine or believe people could fall in love with someone they never met before Second Life? – I never imagined it.
11. How has your perspective of dating changed (or not) since you started playing second life? – I don't really think my perspective has changed. But my dating life in Second Life has been wilder, because for the most part it's a safe place to explore sides of my sexuality that I wouldn't feel comfortable doing in RL.
12. How has your perspective of employment changed (or not) since you started playing second life? – I've always admired entrepreneurs, so not really.
13. Name three things in both your lives that overlap each other significantly. – I'm not sure I understand this question.
14. If you could live your life more immersively in a virtual world, would you? (Kind of like the Matrix) – No, SL is the wild west. It's a great place to visit, but I have to be able to turn off the computer.
15. How do you think behavior changes for people if they’re inworld vs in real world? Why do you think that is? – Not many people in my real life have looked me in the eye and acted like a troll, so I agree common courtesy suffers from anonymity. On the plus side anonymity can be freeing when respect for fellow residents is observed.
16. How has second life consumerism changed your perception of spending habits, the value of money, the need to be “bleeding edge” with fashion? – I do spend money in Second Life, but I can indulge myself for a lot less than it costs in real life, so I don't begrudge my shoes and hair. In real life I practically live in jeans.
17. Do you think virtual worlds like SL drive and redefine human interaction or do they narrow and limit it? – Human interaction is changing with or without SL. I text instead of talk on the phone these days just like everyone else.
18. If technology progressed tomorrow to allow you to send emotions to people the way you’d send text or voice messages, would it enrich your SL experience or infringe on it? – If you can write or speak you can send emotions. You just have to be willing to talk about them.
19. Name three skills you attribute to having learned or honed in second life alone. – Interior design and talking photos are skills I've honed in SL.
20. If your grand kids googled your Second Life Avatar’s name, would they be intrigued, disgusted, proud or something else? – The good news is that it seems grandchildren accept their grandparents more than those kids' parents do. At least that's my observation. They'd be curious, probably.

Credits:

Pure Poison - Pin - It Girl Wedges (at My Attic)
Tee*fy Laura Unbuttoned Knotted Shirt Check (at Collabor88)
Zaara Elina shorts navy (at FaMeshed)
LeLutka - AMANDA'S hair - StrawberryShortcake (New Release)

Purple Moon Coco Sunglasses in Cherry

Zenith Butterfly Ring (Silver)
Izzie's - Neva Skin rosy GB

Slink Avatar Enhancement Hands
Slink Female Feet (AvEnhance) - Mid
IKON Promise Eyes - Green (M) 

Mon Cheri "Falsies" Eyelash - Upper+Lower 

 

Did I Buy It All?

It sure seems like I've been buying out the stores and events recently. I had to fatpack the Hucci shoes on sale at Collabor88, because I knew I'd need every color eventually. Then Lelutka released new hair and coldLogic released the perfect floral summer dress. What's a fashionista to do?

Credits:

coldLogic dress - valeri.blush (New Release)
Hucci Pinup Peep - Pink (at Collabor88)

Zenith Butterfly Ring (Silver) (at FaMeshed)
Izzie's - 80's Sunglasses (black lenses)
Slink Avatar Enhancement Hands
Slink AvEnhance Feet High
Slink Visage Mesh Head - Emma

LeLutka - AMANDA'S hair - StrawberryShortcake (New Release)
Adam N Eve Carolyn 2 Tone C Applier HUD for Slink Visage Head
Adam N Eve Skin Carolyn 2 Tone C Bare

Pose and props from Adorkable (not available)

Love for VIP's

PXL Creations has a Valentine gift for members of its VIP group, this lovely special edition Jade skin called Love. It's a perfect skin for a night out with that special someone on Valentine's Day, don't you think? The group costs $250 Lindens to join, and it is worth every digital cent, for the truly lovely and exclusive bonus gifts such as this skin.

Credits:

PXL Creations Jade NAT "Love Edition" MEB C2
Mandala Simple Ears HUTUU
Beetlebones Mesh Lashes V.01 (Dainty brown)
IKON Spectral Eyes - Green
Maxi Gossamer - Earrings - Keshi Pearl Heart  - GOLD
Maxi Gossamer - Necklace - Keshi Pearl Heart - Short - GOLD
Slink Avatar Enhancement Hands

LeLutka - POCAHONTAS hair - Bournville

 Cracked Mirror Athena Dress (coral) (at FaMeshed)

I'd Like to Thank My Mom...It's the Oscar Contest!

Contests are fun and Harper Ganesvoort's 5th Annual Oscar Fashion Photo Contest is one of the most fun of all. Last year Ayla and I won 3rd place with this entry! Every red carpet fashionista should enter! Check out past years' entries (and add your entry for this year) at this Flickr pool.

I'm planning to take a few photos and choose my favorite for my entry, but this "Thanks Mom" photo is a definite possibility. There's time, the contest runs through March 2nd.

Credits:

Baiastice Giulia dress - metal gold
Mandala 777 jewelry set Yellow

LeLutka - KATE hair - AuburnHaze (New Release)
Glam Affair - Vera skin - America - FLF E

Slink Avatar Enhancement Hands
Slink Female Feet (AvEnhance) - Mid
ANE Aura Shoes GOLD 

Pose and Props - Standby Inc. - World Tour - Microphone (Gacha Item)

SL OSCAR (Free on Marketplace)

About the Booty

We all have a love/hate relationship with our Second Life rears, don't we? We love that we can control the shape and we hate how the default avatar gives us weird pointy edges. I was tempted to try the new mesh booty from Luck Inc. called Phat Azz, but I could tell it wouldn't look right on my slender avatar. But when the same creator, CK Winx, released a new version called Cute Azz for us less bootylicious ladies, I decided to try it.

The Glam Affair applier blends seamlessly, so it's easy to forget that I'm wearing mesh from the waist down. It works with my SLink feet though I went down a foot size for a seamless fit. I adjusted my shape for the look, reducing body fat and belly to 0 so there would be no overhang. I lengthened my hips a little which made my Cute Azz look more natural to my eye.

Unlike my SLink mesh hands and feet, this is not a mesh item I would wear every day. There are appliers to cover it, but I've been over the painted-on-clothing look since mesh hit the grid and I'm not going back. This mesh ass is a photo prop for me and as such it is a little pricey at $1200 L plus the price of skin appliers. I tried a lot of poses and discovered that while my new Cute Azz didn't do that bizarre flattening that our default booties do in certain poses, it did have its own minor issues, mostly in seated poses at the joints of the hips to the legs.

So, while it's not the perfect answer to our default booties, it does improve over the default avatar rear in many respects (and at many angles).

Credits:

Luck Inc - Cute Azz

Maxi Gossamer - Ring - Royal Khadijah Estate - Large

Slink Avatar Enhancement Hands

Slink AvEnhance Feet High

Slink Mesh eyelids (alpha) (photo prop)

Slink Priscilla Plateau Heels Black

LeLutka - NEW hair - AuburnHaze

Glam Affair - Vera skin - America - FLF E

 

Feather Soft

Two new things to love - the latest Lelutka hair and this necklace and earring set from Mandala. What could be better than feathery statement jewelry and swooping curves of pretty hair?

Credits:

MANDALA YAKUSHI  WHITE Earrings and Necklace

MANDALA SIMPLE EARS HUTUU

Mutresse Jana Cardigan
BeetleBones Mesh Lashes V.01 (Dainty brown)

IKON Spectral Eyes (right) - Amber

LeLutka NEU hair - AuburnHaze

LeLutka NEU side - AuburnHaze
Glam Affair - Vera skin - America - FLF E 

 

Resolution

I'm not a big one for New Year's resolutions. I'd rather resolve to do things on my own inner clock. Sometimes, however, I ignore the inner clock's alarm and hit the snooze button. There are a lot of things I should resolve to do as a blogger. Check out more events, keep up with new stores, credit poses more often (the one in this photo is from Diesel Works), among a million other things.

But number one on my resolution list is to reduce and/or better organize my inventory. I wrote about my inventory about a month ago and I'm ashamed to admit that the limited success I had made has completely evaporated as I grab more new releases by the fatpack! I'm at over 39,000 now! I hit 40K and panicked, deleting a bunch more duplicate landmarks.

So this is why I'm leaning against the closet doors (a great item from Digs - fake doors!) to hold my inventory at bay.

Happy New Year, everyone. Don't drink and drive!

Credits:

 

Maitreya Stagioni Boots Sand
Maitreya Wool Cardigan Beige (New Release)
Maitreya Zipper-Skinny Jeans - Dirty

Cracked Mirror Layered Tank (blue/red)

Yummy Chunky Scarf - Cranberry (at Collabor88)
DECO - MESH Her Warrior Watch
MANDALA SIMPLE EARS HUTUU
Maxi Gossamer - Earring - Hampton Boho
Slink Avatar Enhancement Hands 

LeLutka - SATO hair - AuburnHaze

Glam Affair - Vera skin - America - FLF E

Cheeky Pea Beresford Vanity - Dazzle

Tres Blah Vanity Accessories (Gacha Items)

Color.Me.H.O.F Mesh Luggage Set (Gacha Items)

Color.Me.H.O.F Mesh Fashion Rack (Gacha Item)

Apple Fall Vanity Flair Magazines

Apple Fall Empire Table Lamp

Just Call Me Casually Cool

Is there anyone in Second Life that doesn't love the clothes from Maitreya? Right now there are new releases that work beautifully together. The dress and short sleeve sweaters are fabulous! I haven't tried the sweater with other items yet, but I will!

My cute-as-can-be hat hair is a members' gift from Lelutka and Celoe. Members of either group can pick up the fatpack AND a new Christmas tree at either store.

I participated in a Secret Santa gift exchange in SL this year and really enjoyed chatting with my Secret Santa (who is no longer a secret and now on my friend list). The red and black rose Cannibelle tights are one of my gifts from Santa. I wanted tights and stockings with SLink appliers and she delivered! Thanks so much Pink Cardboard!

Credits:

Cannibelle ~ Wild Roses Tights - Red
Yummy Midsummer Blossom Necklace - Egg Shell

Yummy Winter Flower Ring - Gold
Maitreya Calgary Clutch * Coal
Maitreya Poise Dress * Red (New Release)
Maitreya Wool Cardigan * Turbulence (New Release)

LeLutka - CHILL hair - AuburnHaze (Group Member Gift)
The Skinnery Maya 11 (toffee) BB CL1
IKON Spectral Eyes - Amber (S)
Slink Avatar Enhancement Hands
Slink Classic Pointed Pumps Black
Slink Female Feet (AvEnhance) Mid

Inventory Woes and Temptations

I'm going to blog about my Second Life inventory folder. It's a mess and the number keeps creeping up. As I began to write this, my inventory was showing 38,861 items. Oh wait! There's something in the trash! DELETE. Oh. 38,860. I know by many bloggers' standards my inventory is a good size. But it's going to creep ever higher, so I'm trying to do something about it.

I am always ready to talk about inventory management, I really am. I love to talk about it. I love to hear about other people's strategies for coping, for organization. But my problem is this - I hate doing anything about my inventory. It's BORING! That's why I'm blogging it. It's either that or shopping and you know what that does to a girl's inventory.

Goals

I'm setting a number goal. I want to reduce my inventory by 10,000 items. That's pretty ambitious, so let's call it a stretch goal. I'd probably settle for 5,000.

I also want to put away all those folders I have left out (relatively easy) and perhaps make a new folder or two for better organization. For instance, my life got easier when I had the bright idea of putting all of my shoes for my SLink feet in one folder. So much better!

Strategies

After some random deleting of boxed items I have already opened in my object folder I decided I needed a strategy. So I started with low-hanging fruit.

• First, the old deleting note cards strategy. I opened my inventory filter and checked only note cards then went through each folder happily highlighting note cards I know I don't need and hitting the delete button. Whew! Done, and my new inventory number is 38,021. I've done the deleting note cards bit before. It was a more dramatic change the first time, but still, a relatively painless way of getting rid of 840 items!
•  Second, the deleting extra landmarks strategy. It's just like the note cards strategy - boring, but effective and painless. Less than halfway through the landmarks I logged, so I'm not done but my inventory was down to 37,594.

Then I went to Collabor88 and bought stuff. Face palm. I always do this! Clearly this is a long term project. I'll keep you updated about my progress. I'm still down by more than a thousand items!

Credits

Apple Fall Ornate Mirror (at Collabor88)

Apple Fall Chrysler Armchair (at Collabor88)

ISON - leather shape corset (sand) (at Collabor88)
ISON - side ruffle skirt (sand) (at Collabor88)
 ISON - lace-up gladiator sandals  (tan)

Slink Avatar Enhancement Hands
Slink Female Feet (AvEnhance) - Mid
LeLutka - HELEN - AuburnHaze

Belleza - Leila Med R 0

Guess Who I Look Like!

I didn't consciously design my avatar shape to look like anyone in particular. So when I saw Strawberry Singh's blog challenge for the week I didn't know how I was going to answer. I uploaded a picture to the Celebrity Look Alike Generator and was surprised but very pleased with my top result. According to that website, I most resemble Katherine Heigl! I lightened my hair for the picture in honor of that gorgeous blonde. I just wish Second Life allowed me to make that luminous smile of hers.

Credits:

One Bad Pixel Tee Dress Soft Pink
LeLutka HELEN Hair - SummerTime (New Release)

Belleza - Leila Med 4 R

BeetleBones Mesh Lashes V.01 (Dainty brown)
Mayfly - Luminous - Mesh Eye (Deep Honey Hazel, w3) (New Release)

MANDLA Haramita  earring/silver

The Laundry Room

Dutchie has put laundry on my mind. She released this remarkably detailed and beautiful period laundry room complete with appropriate (and inappropriate) animations for my washing up roleplay fantasies. It also makes me grateful for my washer and dryer. Laundry was hard work back in the day! But never fear, my Dolly maid is planning on some fun. The adult version of this table folds more than laundry!

Also adorably sexy is my mesh maid costume from Provocation. Now all I need is the butler!

 Credits:

Dutchie linen room cabinets with accessories (New Release)

Dutchie folding  table adult (New Release)

Dutchie wringer bench

Dutchie ironing board

Dutchie  drying rack and basket (New Release)

Dutchie scrub bucket adult

Provocation Maid costume
Slink Classic Pointed Pumps Black
Slink Female Feet (AvEnhance) - Mid
LeLutka - SERENA base and front(2) - AuburnHaze (New Release)
-Belleza- Leila Med 4 R

Mayfly - Deep Sky Mesh Eye (Deep Honey Hazel, w3)
Slink Avatar Enhancement Hands 

Cheeky Pea & Exposeur - Fancy Feathers poses and prop
 

Happy HallowMeme!

I'm ready for Halloween. I've been blogging possible Halloween costumes for several days, but for Strawberry Singh's HallowMeme I'm happy to do another picture and show off my awesome new Lelutka hair.

Meme Instructions: Share a picture of your Halloween Costume in Second Life and/or answer the following questions about Halloween. Don’t forget to share a link to your post in Berry's comments and if you share a picture, feel free to add it to the Blog Memes Flickr Group.

1. Did you go trick or treating as a child? Yes, I wrote about those mean scary cowboys in THIS POST.
2. What was the best Halloween costume you ever saw or wore yourself? I met a young woman right after college whose fiance dumped her almost at the altar. Rather than moping, she wore her wedding dress to a big block party on Halloween and won first prize!
3. What is your most vivid memory about Halloween? It's back to those nasty scary cowboys. But second to that was one of my friends who got so excited about getting dressed up to go trick or treating that she threw up before we even left the house. My tummy aches always came afterwards when I stuffed myself with candy.
4. What is the scariest movie you have ever seen? "The Birds" by Alfred Hitchcock. My sister and I saw it on TV when we were kids and were creeped out by birds for months and months.
5. Do you ever get nightmares after watching a scary movie? Not for years. However, when I started watching "The Walking Dead" on NetFlix this past spring I had nightmares after the first two episodes.
6. Are you superstitious? If so, name at least one superstition of yours. I'm not really, but I do get influenced by other people's superstitions. My mother-in-law, for example was constantly knocking on wood to ward off jinxes when she would say something hopeful. I find myself doing that at times and explaining my action to myself by thinking "it can't hurt."
7. What will you be doing for Halloween this year, if anything, in SL and RL? In my real life I'll probably be passing out candy and trying to keep my dog from being freaked out by excited children dressed like pumpkins and bumblebees. I'm not sure about what I'll do in Second Life.

Credits:

Tee*fy Dakota Corset Gown

Yummy Faceted Solitaire Earring
DECO - MESH Marilyn Pearls (Licorice)

LeLutka - SERENA Hair and Tiara - AuburnHaze (New Release)
Belleza - Leila Med R 2

Beetlebones Mesh Lashes V.01 (Dainty brown)

Mayfly - Deep Sky Mesh Eye (Deep Honey Hazel, w3)
Slink Avatar Enhancement Hands

!bang - masquerade mask and pose

Perfect for Fall

I have great news for coldLogic fans! Two new casual dress styles were just released. They're perfect Fall dresses to accessorize with boots, leggings and scarves.

I get all excited by newness in my inventory. But there is definitely a place for the tried and true. When I did an inventory search for leggings to accessorize my look, I thought these cute lacy leggings from G Field gave my new classic styled sweater dress and belt a little style punch. And I've had them for a couple of years!

The second new dress is a little flirty and boho. I love it with my Ison boots and Ispachi scarf!

Credits:

top picture

coldLogic dress - zane.black Belt

coldLogic dress - zane.slate

G Field Rose Lace Leggings(Mid) -black-

G Field Rose Lace Leggings(Mid) ruffle cuffs

Clawtooth: Je t'aime - Strawberry cream

fri. - Allison.Boots (Regular) - Sock.tops

fri. - Allison.Boots (Slink) - Soot

Maxi Gossamer - Necklace - Royal Autumn Forest Acorn -Short

Slink Avatar Enhancement Hands

Slink Female Feet (AvEnhance) - Mid

Belleza- Leila Med R 0

Belleza - Leila Freckles 1 MED

Belleza - Leila Med Gloss Lips 7

Beetlebones Mesh Lashes V.01 (Dainty brown)

Mayfly - Liquid Light Mesh Eye (True Grey, w2)
 Del May Pose

bottom picture

coldLogic dress - zach.rust
ISON - cult riding boots (tan)
ISPACHI [Heuston Scarf] F. Medium : Col
LeLutka - SEIKO hair - IrishRed

Sweater Weather at FaMeshed

It's October and several creators have great sweaters for our Autumn moods. I'm featuring two new-to-me stores today that are in the October round of FaMeshed. The great color change short sleeve sweater in the top picture is from Mutresse, a store to definitely watch for every new release. In the second picture is a beautifully textured cowl neck sweater from Coquet, so soft and comfortably casual looking that I couldn't resist!

Credits:

top

Mutresse  Jana Cardigan

Clawtooth: Merci beaucoup - Strawberry cream

DECO - MESH Classic Sneaks small (black)

Maxi Gossamer - Rings - Dew Encrusted Teardrop - Small

Slink Avatar Enhancement Hands

Mon Tissu Cotton Pants ~ Grey

-Belleza- Leila Med 4 R

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

bottom

Coquet  Cowl Neck Sweater -2 tone Coal

coldLogic jeggings - seyfried.black 

Maxi Gossamer - Rings - Dew Encrusted Teardrop - Small

Slink Avatar Enhancement Hands

LeLutka -SEIKO hair - AuburnHaze

-Belleza- Leila Med 4 R

Beetlebones Mesh Lashes V.01 (Dainty brown)

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

Berry's Windlight Settings Challenge

I like this challenge, one of Strawberry Singh's Monday memes/challenges. We're talking windlight settings this week. You can feel sorry for me if you want, because I can't take pictures in Firestorm. It crashes me every darn time I push up my graphics settings and try to take a snapshot. I use the Second Life official viewer because - for my Mac laptop at least - it's the most reliable viewer with the least lag and crashing. Messing with windlight settings in the official viewer is a drag, but it's better than crashing.

In my photos above, the only change is the windlight settings. Typically I do more post processing with layers and colors, but these close-to-raw pics show the windlight settings as they appear in world. The big one on the left is one I made and named Friar, because I made it for my friend Friar's pic when I blogged him for another meme. I made color adjustments to his photo ultimately because Redgrave men's skins can be kind of orange. Then from top to bottom on the right are Annan Adored's Light Explosion (moody sky and sharp contrasts), Gogo's Davos Midday (very soft shadows and a lovely sky color), and Berry's Sapphire (awesome in the studio, shadows somewhere between the sharp and soft shadows of the other two). To view a larger version of this photo to see better what I mean, go to my Flickr photo.

Meme instructions: Answer the following questions about windlight settings and share some that you’ve created yourself. Don’t forget to leave a link to your post in Berry's comments (and mine if you like).

1. Do you use windlight while taking pictures? If not, why not? Oh yeah, of course I do! I experiment all the time with windlight settings. I've practically forgotten what Second Life looked like pre-windlight.
2. When taking a closeup snapshot for a profile picture, which windlight preset do you use most often? Since I don't have all those wonderful Firestorm settings, I've downloaded several kind peoples' settings and made a few of my own. The settings I use most often are probably Strawberry Singh's Sapphire or Amethyst settings, or Gogo's Davos Midday setting.
3. Which windlight presets do you use for full body portraits? Hmm... I still do a lot of experimenting with various settings in a photo shoot and choose the pic that works the best for the particular shot. I love Annan Adore's Dusty and Light Explosion settings if I'm in a sim setting. Against a backdrop my favorites are probably the ones I downloaded from Berry.
4. If you do landscape photography, which windlights do you use for that most often? I find that the windlight settings that work best on my avatar's face are not necessarily great for objects. While the face needs a relatively flat lighting, objects benefit from stronger contrasts. When I take a picture of a room or outdoor setting I love Chic Aeon's Places windlight settings. Sand and Pathfinder are particular favorites. 
5. Do you have any tricks or tips that you could share for using windlight effectively? Well, once I find settings I like, I use them a lot, changing the east/west position for shots. I do play with settings and when I really like one I've changed a lot, I save it as one of my own.
6. Have you created any windlights that you would be willing to share with us? I'd be happy to share mine if anyone wanted them AND if I had a clue how to do it! If someone wants to teach me, I'm all yours.

Speaking of sharing, thank you Berry for sharing your latest windlight settings! I'll be downloading and experimenting with them as soon as I finish this post. Annan Adored's settings have a link from Berry's page, so I'll just add a link to Gogo's JuicyBomb.com settings.

Credits:

Tee*fy Aurora  Nightdress Sky (at the Arcade Gacha Event) 

LeLutka Hair- SEIKO hair - AuburnHaze (New Release)

League Dipped Feather Earring Silver
Slink Mesh Hands (av)
Glam Affair - Cleo - America - 06 F

Beetlebones Mesh Lashes V.01 (Dainty brown)
Mayfly - Liquid Light Mesh Eye (Summer Shore, w3)

September at FaMeshed

Because it's September now I think it should be Autumn, though Summer officially lasts until the 21st. But for now I'll pretend there's a nip in the air and don this cozy sweater and matching skirt from Cracked Mirror for this month's FaMeshed. The bridge I'm crossing is a new release from Botanical, available this month at FaMeshed.

I'm also loving the tousled short new release hair from Lelutka (even though it's not at FaMeshed).

Credits:

Cracked Mirror Slouch Sweater (Emerald) (at FaMeshed)
Cracked Mirror  Snare Mini Skirt (Emerald) (at FaMeshed)
Yummy Boho Ring - Yellow
Slink Mesh Hands (av)
[LeLutka]-SEIKO hair - AuburnHaze (New Release)
Glam Affair - Cleo - America - 06 F

Beetlebones Mesh Lashes V.01 (Dainty brown) 

Mayfly - Liquid Light Mesh Eye (Summer Shore, w3)

Are You a Joiner? A Strawberry Singh Meme

Strawberry Singh wants to talk about groups in Second Life, and it's a good topic. Do we have enough group space? What do we use them for? What makes us want to join a group?

Meme Instructions: Answer the following questions about groups and share some of your favs with us. Don’t forget to leave your link in Berry's comments!

1. Have you reached the 42 group limit? I've reached the limit a few times. It's embarrassing to not be able to join an invitation only group because my groups are full! I have winnowed them down to 29 at the moment. I used to be a builder and had a lot of groups related to that. Recently I left all but a few I can't bear to be without, or ones that would be a hassle to rejoin due to fees and other requirements. Of course after reading everyone else's submissions to this meme, I'll probably probably be begging for 84 groups.
2. Do you do a lot of group hopping to keep up with all the groups you want to stay a part of? Some, but not a lot. I love creators who have the web-based group option and and prefer to join those groups whenever I have the choice.
3. What makes you want to join a group? There are different kinds of groups. We have a land group on our sim which is a must. Roleplay groups serve a different purpose and every roleplay sim has at least one, and usually several groups that you must be in if you play there. There are some groups which are purely informational. I belonged to an Elect Barack Obama group in 2008. But of course, the majority of my groups are store, event and blogger groups. Store and event groups I join to keep up with new releases and events, or because they have a great group gift.
4. A lot of store VIP groups have a group fee which you have to pay to join. How do you feel about paying group fees? I'd rather not but I do belong to a few groups that require a fee. If the group receives frequent group gifts I'm OK with that. But believe me, if the creator goes months without a group gift I won't be a happy camper. I might join if the VIP group gets discounts on merchandise, but I often forget which groups offer that, so it's not as big an incentive even if I love the creator.
5. Name a few groups that you are a part of that you feel everyone should look into joining and share your reasons behind that.
   
   •  No group is for everyone, but if you want to learn to build in Second Life, I highly recommend Builder's Brewery. Every week a new schedule is released for classes on everything from building with prims to making textures to learning Blender. One minus for me is that the group chat is VERY chatty. But it's a nice group of people sharing their skills.
   •  The Fifty Linden Friday group is a must for me. I don't always shop the event, but I don't want to miss it either!
   • I belong to the Lelutka group because I can't bear to miss a new release and the Dura group because they send demos of new releases to members, which I find very handy. I'm still in the Celoe group because if they DO release something new I'll be there in a flash.
   • Honestly, most of the other store groups that I like are the web-based groups that don't require a group spot. Truth Hair and Hucci come to mind. Both have group gifts on occasion, and they both keep me up to date with new releases. The only downside to the web based groups is that (a very few) creators add you to their group just for visiting their store. DON'T do that. I' still trying to figure out how to leave one particular group!
     
   Credits:

One Bad Pixel Cigarette Pants Black

Pure Poison - Amelia Studds Earrings - Gold

Ricielli Mesh - Spiked Bra + Pullover /#pow (at The Dressing Room Fusion)

Slink Mesh Hands (av)

[LeLutka]-POCAHONTAS hair - IrishRed

Glam Affair - Cleo - America - 01 F

Beetlebones Mesh Lashes V.01 (Starstruck brown)

Mayfly - Liquid Light Mesh Eye (Summer Shore, w3)

Vintage Women

Oh wow! Hart Larsson of PXL Creations has set my heart aflutter with two stunning vintage specialty skins. The first is Diva, available as a donation item at Love Donna Flora! I've seen several Marilyn inspired skins over the years but this is the very best of the bunch. I modded my eyes and lips a bit to look a little more like Marilyn, and added PXL Creations' OpenMouth teeth for the picture. The ring is a Donna Flora creation with a color change hud for the stone. There is more than one way to support Squinternet Larnia!

As for the second, I was lucky enough to receive a preview of PXL Creations' Kate Vintage skin for August's Collabor88 beginning August 8th. I can't decide whether I'm a 20's flapper or a 30's movie star. Whichever I am, I love it. The Lazuri ring is color change and available now as a donation item at Love Donna Flora!

Credits:

First pic
PXL Creations DIVA The Classic makeup (at Love Donna Flora!)
PXL Creations Diva eyebrows Shape 1
Donna Flora ARTURO ring
Baiastice_Giulia dress-metal gold (at Love Donna Flora!)
Dura-Girl 31(Strawberry)
Mayfly - Liquid Light Mesh Eye (Summer Shore, w3)
Slink Mesh Hands (av) Elegant1
PXL Creations OpenMouth PRO TEETH v1.3
Ploom. Lashes 6

Second pic

PXL Creations KATE Vintage "Red" makeup (soon at Collabor88)
PXL Creations KATE Vintage Standard Eyebrows (tattoo)

LeLutka - JOSEPHINE Hair - Bournville
Lazuri Maysoon Ring (at Love Donna Flora!)
Mayfly - Liquid Light Mesh Eye (Aged Bronze, w3)
Slink Mesh Hands (av) Elegant1
Slink Mesh Lashes

Bandana Day at Hair Fair 2013

Tomorrow is the last day of Hair Fair 2013 and there is a charming tradition observed by caring fashionistas and hair addicts all over the grid on that day. Take off your hair and wear a bandana from Hair Fair. Blog in a bandana, post a picture on Flickr wearing one, go clubbing in one. It's a reminder of what Hair Fair was about in the first place - to raise money for Wigs for Kids. You forgot to pick up a bandana at Hair Fair? There's still time. Here's a direct TP to a Bandana Booth. 100% of your $50 Linden bandana purchase goes to Wigs for Kids.

While Hair Fair is winding down, another fundraising event is still going strong, Love Donna Flora! My earrings are a donation item from Lazuri and they're color change for amazing versatility. See my previous blog post HERE for more information about the event.

Credits:

LeLutka - ALINA scarf (at Bandana Booths at Hair Fair)
LeLutka - HAIRBASE AuburnHaze

Lazuri Maysoon Earrings (at Love Donna Flora!) 

Glam Affair - Cleo - America - 05 F

Beetlebones Mesh Lashes V.01 (Dainty brown)
Mayfly - Liquid Light Mesh Eye (Aged Bronze, w3)

Dancing In the Moonlight

Harlow Heslop has a blog challenge going called Blog the Beat, where the blogger's inspiration is a song. I really liked Harlow's photo this week and the song was upbeat and happy. So I thought I'd give the challenge a shot. I've always meant to attempt a moon photo.

OOPS! As I went back to link to Harlow's blog I noticed we're wearing the same dress! Oh well, we both have the good taste to wear the new Baiastice Giulia dress that is currently available at the Love Donna Flora! event.

Here's Dancing In the Moonlight by King Harvest.

Other Credits:

LeLutka - LORELLA hair and floral wreath - AuburnHaze (at Hair Fair 2013)
PXL Creations JADE NAT Chocolate Lips MEB C2 (FR)

PXL Creations JADE NAT TopLine Eyes (tattoo)
PXL Creations JADE NAT Eyebrows: Red (tattoo)
SLink eyelids - photo prop
Slink Mesh Hands (av)