Love Donna Flora - We Can Help

I remember the first time I went to Donna Flora. April and I were mad for 20's vintage clothing and hair, so we were scouring search with words like "roaring 20's" and "flapper" and other terms. Of course we found Donna Flora, and I spent HOURS there, looking and buying. The jewelry looks like something you would find in the estate jewelry section of the very finest jewelry store. Her attention to period detailing was and still is unmatched in Second Life.

I never met Squinternet Larnia, the creator behind Donna Flora, but through Cajsa Lilliehook's posts and updates, I knew about Squinternet's fight with cancer since late 2011. She had overcome her prognosis for over a year, but her cancer is back and she hasn't been able to release recently.  According to Cajsa, "Her income from SL has dropped to just enough to maintain her sim. In characteristic Second Life fashion, the community that makes SL what it is has come together to throw a fundraiser for her to help defray her  expenses. While Italy has national health insurance, she must finance any alternative therapies and much of her home nursing care."

Love Donna Flora, the fundraising event, starts July 25th and run through August 11th. Designers will create one item for sale at 100% and can sell additional times that they can split with a 50%, 75% or 100% donation. There will be donation jars available soon for merchants, DJ's and others who want to help. See more details HERE.

Of course, another way to help is to go to Donna Flora and shop. Saffron Foxclaw started a blogger challenge called Bare All for Breast Cancer. The challenge is to showcase one of Squinternet's beautiful creations in a breast baring way. Join in. Post your picture to the Flickr group HERE and post to your blog if you have one. I may have chickened out of full frontal, but I've got the spirit of the challenge wearing the Kristabel set of necklace, earrings and gorgeous statement ring, and nothing else.

Credits:

Donna Flora Kristabel earrings
Donna Flora Kristabel necklace
Donna Flora Kristabel ring

Mandala Simple Ears Hutuu
Beetlebones Mesh Lashes V.01 (Dainty brown)
Mayfly - Liquid Light Mesh Eye (Aged Bronze, w3)
Slink Mesh Hands (av)
TRUTH HAIR Colbie - Gingers01
Glam Affair - Cleo - America - Clean F

More Fantasy Faire 2013

Maybe if I'd asked for early access to Fantasy Faire 2013 I could have taken pictures of the sims.  As I didn't, you will have to take my word for it that Fantasy Faire is a visual treat, and you must go see it yourself.  I'll just nudge you toward the items I like - this dress and cape from The Muses, for example, with 100% of the purchase price going to Relay for Life's cancer research.  All I need now is a dragon or two and I'll take over Westeros (you Game of Thrones fans know what I mean).  You can find The Muses with Bilo on the Crimson Fields sim.

I tend to focus on mesh clothing in this blog, and I'm happy to report that there is more mesh this year at Fantasy Faire.  I've noticed that many of the fantasy clothing designers mix system and mesh clothing.  The bra for this outfit is system.  I'm not sure why, and I don't mind.  It doesn't distract at all from the look of the outfit. OOOOH....maybe it's so I can flash the girls!

The vine arbor in the background of this picture is from Botanical and can be found at the Liaison Collaborative's Garden event.

Credits:

the muses . Starfall (at Fantasy Faire 2013)
PXL Creations Sophia NAT Copper lips MEB C2
ploom. Lashes Tattoo 01
PXL Creations Sophia NAT Aqua Eyes (tattoo layer)
PXL Creations Sophia NAT Red Eyebrows (tattoo layer)
Fashionably Dead Sunday - Brunette 5

Bilo at Fantasy Faire 2013

I'm ready for a little fantasy - and to support Relay for Life's cancer research fund raising.  I can do both at Fantasy Faire 2013, which opens today at 6:00 a.m., Second Life time.  I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek at Bilo's Fantasy Faire mesh offerings like this elegantly textured dress.  You can find Bilo at the Crimson Fields sim, one of eight sims in this year's fair.

Credits:

Bilo Rani- Warda Silver  Teal Slim (at Fantasy Faire)
LaGyo Lana rose crown blue
Slink Mesh Hands 

LeLutka -JASMINE hair - Bournville

LeLutka -JASMINE pony - Bournville

PXL Creations JADE NAT Cherry Makeups {C88 Edition} (at Collabor88)
Beetlebones Mesh Lashes V.01 (lush black)

Mayfly - Deep Sky Mesh Eye (Deep Honey Hazel, w3)
Addiction Radiance Pearl Earring
Addiction Radiance Pearl Necklace

Let's Noobify!

 When I went to Hair Fair the other day, having waited a few days for the rush to fade, I carefully stripped down to the basics.  No shoes, no prim eyes or lashes, no earrings, no mesh, no huds; nothing but shape, skin (with hairbase as a nod to my very large sense of vanity) a system tee and shorts from Tres Blah to cover my nakedness.  This left me with no scripts in the official viewer - other viewers are a minimum of one, in my experience, and a rendering cost of 1,000.  Minimizing lag to tool around Hair Fair is a good thing. 

I was surprised to find that my mode of dress was an extremely small minority.  I did see one other male avatar tooling around in boxer briefs.  Everyone else was dressed to the nines, or should I say 300,000 arc?  Charity events are a huge draw in Second Life, and I'm proud of that.  They are so much more fun for everyone if we all do our part to reduce lag for ourselves and others.  Some merely derender all the avatars.  That's fine as far as it goes, but not everyone knows how to do that.  Noobify yourself, leave the vanity for later when you put outfits together with all the new wonderful hair you picked up. Just for comparison's sake, the avatar rendering cost in the bottom picture is 60,726.  I didn't count the scripts, because I generally keep those fairly low with just an AO.

Credits (for bottom pic):

Cracked Mirror Sequin Crop Top MESH (grey)

Fashionably Dead hair - Sunday - Brunette 5 (at Hair Fair)

Beetle Bones Mesh Lashes V.01 (Dainty brown)

Mayfly - Deep Sky Mesh Eye (Steel Blue, w3)

Miamai_Mahvi Pants Black

Glam Affair skin -  Roza - Natural 02 Red (at Collabor88)

Home & Garden Expo - D&M's Ayla's Abode

This years Home & Garden Expo benefiting Relay For Life of Second Life starts tomorrow and will run from through to the 28th of May. This year’s extravaganza will span 14 sims, with more than 100 exhibits.

My dear friend and co-blogger Dolly Baroque is taking part again this year and I have the pleasure of blogging for her!  She will have 3 homes on display, 2 of which will be donations to Relay for Life.  

The first I bring to you is actually my own home in Second Life.  Dolly made this little Tudor cottage especially for me last September when Mr Q and I needed more room for our growing family.  If you know me at all, you will know that I am famous for changing homes as much as I change my knickers but since we moved into this darling little cottage I have had no inclination to change it.  That is a miracle!  I love it, it's just the right size, cozy and snug and perfect for our little family.  It's 69 prims with a 30x18 footprint, excellent for a small plot, or if you have a low prim allowance, and with it being small but an adequate size, it doesn't take thousands of prims to furnish either.

Ayla's Tudor Abode

Livingroom

Bay Window

Bedroom

Spare room which I use for the babies

(This isn't actually my home, it's one I decorated for Dolly to blog.  Mine has an extra room at the back of the house for the twins, so you can expand if you feel inclined and have the building skill)

Culture Shock Is OPEN!

So strip down to the bare essentials (scripts especially) and head on over!  I love this necklace by Finesmith Jewelry.  It's available only at Culture Shock, as are these so sexy heels from PiCHi.

Once you get to Culture Shock you can easily navigate around using the handy map on CHIC Management's website.

Culture Shock is a CHIC Management event sponsored by MODAVIA Productions benefiting Medicins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders).  Lots of my favorite Second Life merchants (more than 180) are participating.  Each designer offers at least one (and, in lots of cases, more) exclusive and new design with 50% or 100% of the proceeds going to this worthy charity.

Credits:

 Culture Shock Items:

PiCHi Love Heels*

Finesmith Jewelry*

Non Culture Shock Items:

Boon Hair

Glam Affair Leah Skin

Diesel Works pose chair

* Culture Shock review item

What Next at Culture Shock

I name this pic dorm room chic. The posters*, records and record player*, and floor cushions* chock full of animations from laptop surfing to air guitar playing, are all from What Next for Culture Shock and they're all in mesh.  The yellow cushion and the record player are donation items, and the posters are freebies!  Gorgeous work! 

Also gorgeous, if I do say so myself, are the pants* and pose* from Miamai, hair from Exile and sweet cropped top from Apple May, all also available at Culture Shock. 

Culture Shock, a CHIC Management event with 180 participating merchants, starts today and continues to May 26th. It benefits Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières

Navigating Culture Shock is easy when you use this handy guide from the CHIC Management website.

Additional Credits not from Culture Shock:

22769 ~ guitarbag zebra*

KOSH- AUNA necklace

Pixel Mode Fae Wedge - Black

League  skin - Jen Pale Natural

* review copy

Culture Shock - It's What the Doctor Ordered

I couldn't be more proud to be chosen as an official blogger for a charitable event.  Culture Shock, a CHIC Management event with 180 participating merchants, is running from tomorrow, May 4th to May 26th.  Culture Shock benefits Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières for the second year in a row.  A brief perusal of their web site gives you a sense of the critical humanitarian aid this organization provides, even in mortally dangerous conditions for the volunteers.  Send a prayer their way with your donation.

I'm not on many blogging lists - I usually buy what I blog, and that's fine with me.  Ayla and I blog whatever suits our fancy.  Many of the merchants associated with Culture Shock have provided review copies so that we bloggers get their name out there and generate some buzz for this event.  All good marketing, and I'm glad to do my part.  I'll put an asterisk in the credits for review copies, and I'll be making a Linden dollar donation to the cause as well.

I don't think I have to tell you how awesome the dress, scarf and skin are, not to mention the pose.  Here's the credits:

Culture Shock Items:

Celoe - June dress Lake (donation item)

Mon Tissu Skinny Scarf (donation item)

Akeruka skin - Blanca Medium (donation item)*

oOo Pose*

Non Culture Shock Items:

Beetlebones Mesh Lashes - dainty brown

booN hair - chestnut

Mayfly - Deep Sky Mesh Eye Teal Hazel

* Review copy