Thursday, March 31, 2011

Free socks!!!


Who doesn't love argyle? ...Who doesn't love free stuff?  I was at Grixdale checking out the new stuffs , which btw you need to check out..very cute stuff! Anyway, while I was there I found these awesomesauce socks. They come in six different colours and the best part...They are FREE!! all six pairs totally free..how cool is that? They are laid out on a table in the right hand side of the store. Although I should warn you that going there you will be bombarded by uber cute stuff and will probably end up shopping your heart out, but, ..hey the socks are free!

Skin: League - Sia Medium - aqua with freckles
Hair: Elikatira - Vivid - Brown 10
Eyes: Poetic Colors - Purple Morning
Top: DP yum yum - Tweed Jacket - Green
Shorts: CoCo - Denim Shorts ( part of a group gift outfit)
Socks: Grixdale - Antique Socks - Bean Sprout
Shoes: Virus - Fatal Buckle Strap Shoe - Black

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Me and my Shadow...


Over the last few months I've seen a lot of things about people trying to get shadows to render in SL. It can be a rather involved process and not always turning out successful. I never even considered attempting it before, my old comp would have flipped me the finger if I even thought about it..lol. However, now that I have the new comp I thought I'd give it ago. My first try was using Kristens Viewer, that didn't turn out so well. I turned up the graphics ....followed the instructions to enable shadows ..and..well..things got weird. my sight got kind of blurry , my left eye started to twitch and I got kind of light headed.  I had visions of those newscasts about the kids who had seizures from video games..lol. I stopped immediately and abandoned the idea. I'm still not sure what happened there but, recently I went back to using Viewer 2 and thought I'd give it another go. I did the same as before turned up the graphics enabled shadows and ..viola! it worked and no seizure inducing trauma!  Now that I got them..I'm really not sure what to make of it..lol. Don't get me wrong its really cool and I love that I can do it..just think I'm gonna have to experiment with settings and locations and so on. Now for the important part....the clothes! Have I ever mentioned how much I love The Sea Hole ?  Well I do, Drinkinstien Sorbet comes up with the most fantastic and fun designs.  Always well made with a little whimsy, and these Beaded Satin Genie Pants are no exception. I love that they are loose baggy pants with out having to have a lot of prims attached to your legs. They are made of a pants and sock layer and blend together flawlessly. The top is also from The Sea Hole, again the details are fantastic and the fringe around the neckline makes it fun and a little different from other camisole style tops. Both pants and top come in a variety of colours.

Skin: League - Sia Medium - Olive
Hair: Elikatira - Away - Blonde 7
Eyes: Poetic Colors - Purple Morning
Top: The Sea Hole - Fringed Camisole - Harvest
Pants: The Sea Hole - Beaded Satin Genie Pants - Jet
Necklace: Shiny Things - Florina Necklace - Gold
Bracelets: Shiny Things - Ruma Bangles - Gold
Earrings: Shiny Things - Prya Cascade Earrings - Gold
Sunglasses: Pueple Moon - Vain Sunglasses - Brown Leopard
Shoes: Zaara - Ilaida Majri - Black

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Dirty Little Rock Star...........



White is the colour for week 21 of the Luna Jubilee Colour Challenge and I've decided to let out my inner rock star.  As a little girl I used to line up all my toys , turn my radio up loud, jump up on my bed and "perform" for them...much to my mothers dismay...lol. Actually things haven't changed much. I still grab my brush and sing into it  when a good song comes on..only now its my kids giving me the displeased looks..lol.
This top is the White Love Story Tee by AlterEgo. I loooove this shirt! The graphic on the front and the belt detail at the bottom give it a definite rock chick vibe.  I've paired it with a pair of white leggings and added the Rock'n'Rolla Chain by  Naith Smit Design, and of course what rock chick is complete without a killer pair of red leather boots?. Also the skin I am wearing is Sia, newly released from League. It is
Fan-Freaking-Tastic!  There isn't anything I don't love about this skin. The lips are lovely , The make up choices are great and the body work is fabulous. I'll probably be wearing this one for a while and that saying something as I change skin more often then I change clothes.lol. If you haven't checked it out already you really need to.........go ....go on......go now.....hurry..go .....go ....go!

Skin: League - Sia Medium -Ruby
Hair: LeLutka - Addison - Strawberry Blonde
Top: AlterEgo - White Love Story Tee
Pants: Koko - low waisted leggings - White
Boots: Gos - Curvaceous Boots - Red
Necklace: Naith Smit Design - Rock'n'Rolla Chain
Bracelets: 333 Creations Shop - Black Bangles
Earrings: Earrngs R.icielli - Eustaquiae Earrings - Gold and Quatz
Tattoo: Raw Ink - Kat Von D Tatttoo

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Body Image


It seems a little strange to talk about body image in a world full of pixel perfection. In Secondlife there are no love handles or flabby abs, for the most part the residents of sl wonder around looking roughly 25 years old and model perfect. You are, however you fantasize yourself to be and theres nothing wrong with that. Its your secondlife, to do and be whatever you wish. But, after nearly 4 years in world I am beginning to wonder ... where have all the curves gone?  Like a lot of people I think, I got my first shape from Body Doubles, I remember  being taken there on my first day and I was amazed! I could seriously look like Angelina Jolie? . To freaking cool!!  I'm sure like a lot of others, I quickly learned that the shape didn't just magically make you in to the celeb of your dreams ..lol.  As time passes shapes changed but one thing remained the same......my avi , like most, was "barbie".... tiny little waist and  a rack that only the gods could have created..  Several months ago, It kind of started to bother me that me and most of the people around me all looked like we could where the same size. Yes there were slight differences in the way the  shapes fell together and the faces were different but we all looked like we were a size 5.  So I decided to fluff Crowley up a bit, make her a little more like the real me.  Believe me,  Crowley still has the body the RL me would give my left  non-existent testicular fortitude for, she's just more like a size 12 instead of a 5.

Original Crowley shape v.s. Fluffier Crowley Shape


Although it took some tweaking I was really pleased with the outcome.  I really didn't think about it much, it didn't seem that big of a deal to me but as I went about my normal sl business I began to see just how anti-fluffy this world is.  I know that when creators design their products they do so based on their own shape and the average size of the avi's purchasing their items.  However, I've found it increasingly difficult to get prim attachments to fit correctly. Specially sculpted skirts, in order to get them to fit I often have to stretch them so big they just look ridiculous. Also, animations can be difficult at times because they place my hands and arms inside my body , not accommodating for fluffiness. I have had my avi insulted , called "fat". told she " eats to many donuts" . For F*&@ sakes! this is Secondlife! Where people run around as purple rabbits and zombies ! is thin really that important? Friends of mine have told me how great they think it is that Crowley's outside  the "normal" avi size, they've told me how brave I am, as although, they have considered doing the same they were not confidant enough to do so.  Ok people , the sliders didn't really go up that much..whats going on here?  But the biggest thing I have notice, since Crowley got fluffy, is just how thin avatars are becoming. Its not even so much the barbie syndrome anymore, more and more I am seeing stick thin avatars with little to no curves whatsoever. Now, I do realize that just as there are us fluffy girls in RL there are also slim girls and all sizes and shapes hold beauty, no one shape or size is better then another.  So some of these  avatars may just be based on their RL counter parts..no biggie...but wheres the equal representation here?..Where are the fluffy girls hiding?.Where are the curves??   in RL we are bombarded wth images telling us that thin is beautiful.  It has been that way for any decades now...in recent years various campaigns  have started up trying to improve body image. They try to to teach us to love who we are and that beauty is in all shapes and sizes. But,you really have to wonder how effective these campaigns are against the tirade of media images that say otherwise, specially when we now have anorexic avatars.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Sky blue...


It is now week 20 of the Luna Jubilee Colour Challenge !  We have left the earthy tones on the gournd and have headed up into the clouds with this weeks colour sky blue. When I think of blue skies I think of the beginning of summer, nice warm days where everything is so alive and the dark winter seems something long past.  On those days I  love wearing clothes that are light and let the warm breeze through. I picked this Tess silk skirt set from Boho Baku , while I was at the Fashion For Life Fair. Its perfect for one of those summer days and I just love the free feel of the gypsy style skirt.  The FFL fair is running till the 22nd of March, so if you haven't already,  head on over. There are nine sims full of wonderful designers coming together for a good cause. Boho Baku can be found on the Arbus sim of the fair, also the jjewellery set I am wear I picked from MOOD while I was there.  Mood can be found on the Helmut Newton sim of the the fair.



Skin: Lara Hurley Skin - Leah Pale - Blue Gloss
Hair: LeLutka - Biel - Strawberry Blonde
Eyes: Poetic Colors - Moroccan Nights
Top and Skirt: Boho Baku - Tess silk skirt - Teal
Jewellery: MOOD - Mirage Glam Ensemble - Silver
Boots: Surf Couture - Olea Boots - Worn
Hat: Surf Couture - Straw Cowboy Hat  - Twig

Sunday, March 13, 2011

FFL Fair..


Do you remember when you were a kid and you used to spin like crazy?  You'd keep spinning faster and faster till you got so dizzy you would fall down. The best (if your a girl..lol) was if you were wearing a filly dress with a big full skirt and the skirt would spin out all around you while you did it..lol. That's what this Rickarack Sundress by Salt reminded me of. I love the embroidered  designs  around the top as well as the skirt. I picked this dress  up at the Fashion For Life fair that opened yesterday and runs until March 22. FFL is one of the longest running charity events in SL, with  all donations going to SL Relay for Life.  The fair takes place over nine sims which are all wonderfully decorated in this years theme of "beyond black and White". I only got a chance for a quick look last night but you bet there are more items to be blogged to come...lol. The FFL Salt store can be found on the Arbus sim along with many other fabulous designers.

Skin: Belleza - Erika - Medium (group gift)
Eyes: Poetic Colors - Moroccan Nights
Hair: LeLutka - Rain - Glucose
Dress: Salt - Rickarack Sundress

Saturday, March 12, 2011

A First Time For Everything.....





I have experienced two firsts this week, One of which is I got a brand spanking new ( never before owned by anyone else) computer! I've never had one that wasn't previously owned and its sooo much better then my old one, only down side is getting it set up. I have the computer skills of a monkey so its been a challenge to put it mildly..lol. With all this new computer stuff going on I haven't had alot of time to put much thought into this weeks Luna Jubilee colour challenge which is umber. So, I was more then thrilled to find out that Whippet and Buck put out a umber colour pack for Fifty Linden Friday this week. The pack contained this Cole Boatneck Top as well as a Hykova Buttoned Tank  and a Lizzy Cropped Boatneck top . Also in the pack was the Aemilia Necklace and Earring pictured above. All must haves for any inventory. The second of my firsts this week, as some of you may have noticed, I've gone blonde! I'm normally not a big fan of blonde hair, its just not my thing. But, when I saw the newest styles from LeLutka ...and the blonde was just so pretty I decided to give it a shot (can't promise it's gonna stay though..lol). The textures in these styles are really lovely and the darkened roots really make it look like a more natural blonde.




Skin: Belleza - Erika - Medium ( group gift)
Hair:  LeLutka - Rain - Glucose
Eyes: Poetic Colors - Moroccan Nights
Tattoo Make-up: M.O.C.K - Makeover Coffee and Strawberries
Shirt: Whippet and Buck - Cole Boatneck Top - Tobacco
Pants: Adiva - JayCee Reloaded ( part of an outfit)
Jewellery: Whippet and Buck - Aemilia Necklace and Earrings - west coast
 Shoes: Pixel Mode - Lady T - snake skin ( group gift)

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Learning something new all the time...



The colour for this weeks Luna Jubilee color challenge  is......Ecru?  I have to admit I had alot of difficulty with this challenge, for a couple of reasons. The first being that I had never even heard of the colour Ecru till Luna posted it as this weeks colour..lol.  The second reason, that as I searched for references for Ecru there seems to be a variety of opinions on it. Ranging from sort of a pale almost cream yellow, to a light grey brown.  I decided to go to the more brown scale of things as that's the one that seemed most common.  I love these Horizon Twill Trousers from Mon Tissu , they just look like they would be comfy to have on. The top is from the fabulous new DCNY collection if you haven't had a chance to check it out yet do so, lots of terrific items.


Skin: Belleza - Melissa SK 3
Hair: Truth - Florence 2 Streaked - Copper
Eyes: Poetic Colors - Moroccan Nights
Top: DCNY - Crochet Top - Wheat
Pants: Mon Tissu - Horizon Twill Trousers - Khaki
Boots: Mon Tissue - Provence Riding Boots - Chestnut
Jewellery: MOOD - Prato Ensemble - Cobalt/Onyx ( Disco Deals)

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Moonlighting....


I've decided to supplement my income by becoming a Crossroads Demon. Yeah..yeah I know...the hours suck and I've got a boss from hell ..but souls are a valuable commodity these days and the benefits package is excellent. So those shoes your just dying to get?.. you  know, the ones you said you'd sell your soul for?....come down and see me I'm sure we could work out a great deal :P

Hair: Truth - Odette Streaked - Copper
Skin: Belleza - Melissa SK 03
Eyes: Shine - Garden City Eyes - Buttercup
Eye lights: Anara - Drow Dark Elf
Jacket: Coco - Tuxedo Jacket - Black
Top: Phoenix Rising- Natasja's Seduction -Red ( part of an outfit, store is closed)
Necklace: Phoenix Rising- Natasja's Seduction -Red ( part of an outfit, store is closed)
Earrings: R.icielli - Eustaquia earrings (TDR)

 

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Garden City Relief Fundraiser


The designers/creators of SL are again setting a good example of generosity by hosting the  Garden City Relief fundraiser .  The fundraiser is currently taking place until March 5th, and there are a variety of items for sale from some really great designers. 100% of the proceeds are going to aid the victims of the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. Some of the items up for sale are exclusive to the fundraiser, so if you haven't had chance to check it out head on over and unleash your shopaholic for a good cause.

Hair: Elikatira - alright - Red 08 (fundraiser item)
Skin: Belleza - Melissa SK 0
Eyes: Shine - Garden City Eyes - Koru ( fundraiser item)
Tattoo Makeup: M.O.C.K Cosmetics - Makeover Coffee and Strawberries (fundraiser item)
Top: Fab.Pony - "Betsy" Cocktail Top - Black & White (fundraiser item)
Pants: PHILO - Be Mine - Dark Wash Jeans (fundraiser Item)
Jewelery: MOOD - Madame Royale (group gift)
Shoes: Maitreya Gold - Shanti - Black