And How Much Do We Love This One???

I fell in love at first sight.  The richness of the color catches the eye, and the shading on the textures is perfect.  Lapointe & BastChild make some of the most beautiful gowns in Second Life, and this, among others in my wardrobe, is the proof of it.  Plus, for the same price you pay for most well-made gowns in-world, they've given us options.  First, a flirty mini, then a long, fitted gown.

Finally, the piece de resistance -- the ballgown.  I think it's just heavenly, and it makes me wish L & P would make a new gown every single day....just so I can fill my closet with them.

Fashion Newness

I'm highly anticipating Paperdoll's opening of their lingerie and swimwear line, but since it's still not out, I decided to go see what was shaking in some of my other favorite stores.  Here's what I found:

First, I hit Hucci, 'cause it's still new to me (and I'm lovin' it!).  I'm not sure how long this piece has been on display, but I fell in love with it -- I'm a big fan of prim clothing, and if you ask me why, I'll refuse to tell you.  ;)  This set is called Love Machine, and though it's supposed to be lingerie, it's great paired with a little skirt or a pair of jeans.

Next I went to Miamai.  I received a notice Saturday that they were finally releasing the new Black Label avantgarde collection, and though I really wanted to go, I had a bit of a blond moment and forgot when it came time.  :P  The theme of the line is Spleen and Ideasm: Rise with the Army of the Dark King, and the advert runs like this: "Reach out to escape the burning light, lose yourself in the sweet temptation of darkness.  Are you human, are you machine -- or are you prepared to become both?"  I have to say, though many of the pieces are seriously odd looking, I really enjoyed the artistry of the whole collection.  It's fresh and dark and really quite wonderful.  However, not all of it is really geared to be worn by an ordinary girl like me.  :)  Still, I found three pieces that mostly work with my lifestyle:

This piece is called Morgane.  I love the leather texture and the bodice ruffles.  It's quite exquisite up close and personal, and I'm looking forward to taking it dancing -- and seeing if it attracts dance partners or scares them away! 

This next dress is Monarcha -- I'm thinking that's due to the butterfly look of the bodice.  Now though I think the dress is beautiful, I had to mod the crap out of it.  First, the skirt didn't fit remotely close to my shape.  Then, I removed two skulls from the hat -- which I found creepy.  Finally, I went to remove the skull from the neck piece and discovered it's no mod.  WTH???  (Looking at the piece in my inventory, it shows "no transfer," but when it's rezzed, it says transfer only.  How does that work?  Anyone?  I had the same problem with two pieces from the next outfit, too.  Very very strange.)  Here's a close-up of the neck piece:

Okay, the skull on this one is relatively small compared to the ones I removed from the hat, but does anyone else think the skulls are creepy?  Is it just me?  I haven't really been a fan of the skully movement that's been going on for the last few years, so maybe I'm just out of touch with the "skull love" thing.  

I love the post-apocalyptic look that's going on with this jacket (BTW, I put the censor bar there myself -- the jacket lets it all hang out, which I love, but I don't want to have to make this a restricted blog just yet).  However, the torso and hip pieces can't be modded, so they're a bit too big for my frame.  The jacket came with a very simple pant (which I hated), so I paired it with my new Bombom pants from Sweetest Goodbye.  I think it makes a much stronger statement (and I really love saying Bombom!).

And speaking of Sweetest Goodbye, I also picked up this adorable Drive jacket/vest while I was there.  The detailing is brilliant, and it's a nice piece to take into fall.

Finally, as I was walking out the door, this shirt and armwarmer set caught my eye.  I'm not sure I'm completely in love with the shirt portion, but the armwarmers are total cuteness, so I had to get it (and it helps that it was pretty cheap).  I only wish I could wear the armwarmers separately...there are so many outfits I own that they would enhance.

So, that was the end of my shopping spree, and I can't wait to show my friends all this cool newness in-world.  If you read this or see me out and about, either comment or IM me and tell me what you think.  

Draaaaama, Drama, Drama, Drama, Drama...

Lately there's been altogether too much drama in my Second Life.  I know these things come and go, but I'm spending an inordinate amount of effort trying to ignore the dramatics in the last few days.  I used to spend quite a bit of time wondering why people just can't be decent to one another, respectful and considerate.  Now I've come to accept that some people just don't know what that means... and others simply prefer the head games because it's their own personal form of entertainment.  I'm not sure how much gratification can ultimately be had from that way of life, but it really doesn't suit me well -- not in either of my lives.

So if the drama-makers are lurking, I'm simply asking you, please, stop the offensive behavior.  I'm neither amused nor entertained, and your recent activities aren't really necessary.  I'm not going to respond in kind because that's not how I roll.  It'd just be nice if we could shake hands and be friends and not announce our personal lives to the rest of the world.

Peace, peace, let there be peace.

You Can Dress Her Up.....

...but you just can't take her anywhere!  :P

Shopping Therapy and a Genuine Letter of Love

When a girl is sick and she's just made a decision that has shaken up her life, she needs her best girl around to help sort things out.  Such was the case with me recently, and since Cova is my bestie, she and I hit the grid for a little shopping therapy.  Shoe shopping is more than a hobby with me -- it's a zen experience! -- so we took off for SLink, a newly discovered shoe shop, and cut loose the purse strings.  First, we bought some oh-so-sexy real-toed sandals.  

Then we shopped for bare feet -- of which, amazingly, there were several choices!  

Finally, we couldn't resist the adorable toe socks there, so we each bought a pair, went back home, and had a little pajama party and photo session.  Good friends are the essence of life, real or second.  I'm so glad to have a wonderful friend like my girl Cova to share both the good and the bad.

So Cova, for being the one that always stands by me, for picking up the pieces... even when I don't know I've lost them, and for all the little things you do to make my world bright and brilliant and beautiful, I thank you.  Lotsa' loves....  MWAH!

                     Always, Your Savvie

Beautiful Places...

We get caught up in our crazy lives, even in SL.  Sometimes we need to remember to get away from everything and go see something beautiful.  Today was just such a day for me.  I went to visit one of my favorite sims...the beautifully rendered Straylight.  The verdure here is gorgeous, not to mention the lighting and insects (visit the store, and you can buy all that beauty for your sim, too!).  It is arguably one of the most beautiful places in SL.  If you haven't seen it, you must go.

A few highlights from my visit:

Standing in the falls was fun!

No Alpha Eyelashes? No Kidding!

A few weeks ago I wandered into Miamai, just for a look at what's new, and discovered something truly revolutionary in our second world -- no alpha lashes.  I've been disliking prim lashes for a long, long time because the alpha layers interfere with both hair and sunglasses.  But this idea of making each lash from a prim was too good to be true.  

In fact, it isn't.  Now, you do have to have some good editing skills to make these lashes work for you (unless your eyes are exactly the same shape and size as the creator's), but there's definitely an improvement in the definition of the eye that you can't get with even the nicest skins (and the artists at LAQ really do a lovely job to imitate lashes on their skins, as you can see in the top picture).  

As a bonus, you get an option to wear the lashes with or without face lights - lights which aren't nearly as harsh as most of the ones you see out there but do add a certain radiance to the skin when worn.  I adjusted the lights on mine just a tad, to give my face a little more shine right down the center.  I definitely think this was a good purchase and worth the 20 to 30 minutes it took to fit them to my eyes.  

THE DRESS

I enjoy reading SL style blogs each week -- it keeps me abreast of what's new in the world and also helps expedite my shopping experience.  Recently one of my blogs mentioned a store I'd never heard of, so, of course, I had to hop onto the grid and see if there was anything there I "needed."  I don't spend a lot of my online time getting dressed up in gowns and going out on the town, but when I saw this gown in-world, I just had to have it.  It appeals to my love of "old Hollywood" nostalgia, and it even has a HINT of sheerness to it that satisfies my need to show off unmentionable body parts.  Ahem. 

In addition to gowns, this store had a lot of great jewelry to choose from, which is why I first set off to check it out.  I found this beautiful necklace and earring set that goes perfectly with what I'm now referring to as "THE DRESS" (capitals intended).  Wearing THE DRESS makes me feel truly gorgeous, and I'm now looking for a reason to keep wearing it.  Perhaps a night on the town is in order real soon!

Body Art Debacle...

I've never been a fan of the SL viewer 2, but I've loved the idea of a dedicated tattoo layer, as I often find myself having to pick between tattoos and clothing.  No one should have to make that choice.  I’ve recently moved to the Imprudence viewer and was happy to discover Imp has added the tattoo layer code.  Yay!  Now all I needed was to shop for new tattoos. 

Imagine my surprise when I started shopping my favorite tattoo establishments, only to find that most of them haven’t bothered to add the tattoo layer option to their products.  I was crestfallen.  As a businesswoman myself, I’ve often had to go back to old items and update scripts and color options in order to please customers, and if I were a tattoo goddess, I know I’d be furiously working to get those tats on the new layer, so my product meets the new expectations and needs of my customers.  Shame on those tat stores that haven’t even started, especially the ones charging exorbitant prices for their wares and are still touting them as being “on all layers.”  Bad form.  Very bad form.

Conversely, I give kudos to those who recognize this as an opportunity to one-up the competition, advertising their products as “in process of updating” (or those who have finished the updates!) and offering their customers the choices some of those expensive tattoo parlors can’t be bothered to do.  Wicked Tattoos springs to mind, as they keep a running list for their customers of all the tattoo layer updates – so we know when we go into the store exactly which of the purchases we make will actually include that lovely new option.  For this I am soooo grateful (thank you, Wicked)!

Recently I found what appears to be a fairly new tattoo store, just ripe for exploring.  The tats are great…truly artistic…and I was excited to add some to my growing collection.  I tried to peek into the vendor to make sure I was getting the new layer, but the vendor showed only scripts – I really hate those vendors, BTW.  :P  Anyway, I took the chance, spent my 500L for the fancy tattoo, and discovered within seconds there was no tattoo layer.  Needless to say, I was miffed.  Granted, the tats are beautiful, but it’s a new store…and the tattoo layers should now be a given for any tattoo parlor.  Even worse, so far the inquiry I sent to the creator’s general manager has been ignored (three days and counting).  This is not good business, folks.    

So this is my new soapbox.  It doesn’t seem right to ignore something as exciting as a brand new layer, so I say, “THE NEW TATTOO LAYER FOR EVERYBODY!  NOW!!!”   

(whispering to my favorite tattoo creators):  Please, please, please (!!!) add the tattoo layer to your products.  

Inventory Woes

In the last week I’ve had conversations about inventory management with more than one friend.  It seems that everyone’s complaining about organization, and often LL gets blamed for losing something when it’s really just a lack of recollection on the user’s part as to where he/she put it (or what it was called).  Early in my SL days, I struggled with the same issue.  I dumped all my outfits into the clothing folder and could never find those all-important items when I really needed them.  So…I devised a filing system.  It’s not a radical concept, just a simple way to keep track of my outfits, so I never miss a party. 

When I get dressed, I usually have a clothing type in mind – a mini skirt, a pair of shorts, a tank top, whatever.  Consequently, I organized my clothing folder to expedite finding those items quickly.  I started with basic clothing types, then made subfolders for all the sub-types in those categories (click on the pic below to zoom in).  For some of those sub-items, I still had too much to sift through, so I made more categories for sorting them.  For instance, under Shirts/Jackets/Sweaters/Vests in the Tanks folder, I had an inordinate number of tank tops, so I separated those further to include the jacket length, shirt length, and cropped tanks (long, mid, short).  Now if I want to wear a tank with a belly ring, I head to the short tanks folder and quickly find something that works for me (or, well, you know….I go shopping!).

The system doesn’t seem that complicated to me, but I hear so much moaning about messy inventories, I thought I’d share my simple organization process…just in case it helps.  If you have as many items as I do, you have to know where they are in order to use them when you need them.  And if your inventory is really a mess, consider how much more you’ll enjoy SL if you spent just ten minutes a day sorting through it and getting it back under control.  You’d be amazed at how much time it saves you in the end…and you won’t miss another party just because you can’t find what you want to wear!

Blessed...

I went shopping with friends late last night, and had a great time.  This morning, however, has been pretty lazy.  There's nothing like a Saturday morning hanging out in SL, putting around the house and enjoying the solitude before everyone starts logging on.

This morning I did a little meditation and then headed for the hot tub to soak with a glass of wine and some soft tunes.

It's amazing how a small amount of "me" time can really improve my outlook and make me appreciate the wonderful things in life....a great dog, fabulous friends, and the best bf in both worlds.  I am blessed.  

Where Did All the Little Green Men Go?

Recently I went to visit the Greenies. Now I haven't been to the Greenies Rezzable for eons, but it used to be one of my favorite sims in SL, and I was really looking forward to dragging my bf through it. So you can imagine my surprise when I discovered the sim had closed. I just couldn't accept that all those adorable green aliens no longer resided inside my second world, so I kept looking on the profiles of those who used to be attached to the sim, and then I hit SL search looking for something, anything. Finally, I discovered some greenies out there -- 1000 meters in the air! The sim I visited was a sad representation of what used to be a near-magical experience, but I was elated to see my little green friends again -- even minus the setting of the big house or flying my very own UFO.

I had a lovely visit with an iPod addict, and one of the aliens even showed me a new way to approach email that he'd discovered. The whole experience was, if not satisfying, at least comforting, knowing the little green men are still on the grid, and I hope someday they find a sim of their own again. I hope it with all of my tiny avatar heart.