Put a Bird On It

“In Portland, you can put a bird on something and just call it art.” ~ Portlandia

One of my favorite skits from “Portlandia” was “Put a bird on it!” Bryce Shivers and Lisa Everman go into a gift shop in Portlandia and liven everything up by putting birds on them—from tote bags to toast. It’s a trend that deserves a little laughter. When I received this dress from ValentinaEvangelista, I couldn’t help myself. With a darling shape—perfect for wearing around this summer—the dress is made even better with this retro bird print. Suddenly I couldn’t help but put a bird on everything, including my necklace from Caroline Apollo and a cute little ring from Ayumi Cassini. Cory Edo’s infamous birds are hanging above me, creating that lovely shadow.

Tricky Boucher has generously given a skin for the celebration of Cynful’s business and sim. This beautiful skin (in one tone only but well worth grabbing) is available for a limited time, only at Cynful. My hair is Marisa Karu’s latest work for Collabor88. With removable hair pins that can also be colored, this updo shows off Marisa’s best work with wispy strands framing the face and an easy style.

“What a sad little tote bag…. I know. I’ll put a bird on it.” ~ Portlandia

Hair: “”D!va”" Hair “Sayaka3″ (Type A)(Garnet) by Marisa Kira for D!va, available at Collabor88

Skin: -Belleza- Cynful Gift by Tricky Boucher for -Belleza-, available at Cynful’s Birthday

Eyes: IKON Lucid Eyes – Eucalyptus (M) by Ikon Innovia for IKON *

Dress: :V.e. Betty Dress Birdy by ValentinaEvangelista for Valentina E. Couture *

Necklace: (Caroline’s Jewelry) Free as a Bird (gold) by Caroline Apollo for Caroline’s Jewelry

Ring: [MAGIC NOOK] Fly Little Bird Ring by Ayumi Cassini for Magic Nook

Anklets: p e a c h i – anklet beads by Peachdrip for p e a c h i *

Shoes: {Cherry} The Alice Cullen Ballet Flats – aged bronze by London Dailey for {Cherry}

Birds (creating the shadows): Trompe Loeil – Flying Bird Display – Group Flight no wires by Cory Edo for Trompe Loeil

Poses by Trieste Minuet for !bang

Dancing with Change

The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance. ~ Alan Watts

Flickr recently changed their format, allowing users to have 1 terabyte of storage space free for their media. A lot of people flipped out. Some had the hubris to make a critical analyses. I went, “Yay!” One terabyte is a lot of pixels, and I didn’t have to sell my soul for storage. I changed my personal account from Pro to free and got a prorated refund in less than 24 hours. Yahoo has to make money. Better off advertisers than me.

Change happens. It’s part of living. Either I can spend my energy squawking about it or I can dance along. I choose to dance. Today I am dancing in this great set of silks from Solange Cerveau. With her characteristic intricate textures and perfect system pieces and absolute sex appeal, the silks give me the look of a gorgeous dancer. (Because if I am going to dance, I am going to do it looking good!) How does Solange manage to pack so much into such a small set of pixels?

With the advent of mesh in SL (another change some people have problems with), we are seeing hybrid avatars, made of the system avatar and mesh enhancements. Heads, boobs, even butts have come out. And of course, we have hands and feet. The queen of this is, of course, Siddean Munro, who recently adopted the clever open-source texturing used on mesh boobs by allowing creators to develop “appliers” for her hands and feet for both skin and nails. I used a set of her “Elegant” hands to hold zills for dancing, just to make the dancing more rhythmic and musical.

Sachi Vixen, who has survived just about every change the grid has tried to throw at her has created a set of appliers for Slink’s hands and feet like other creators as well as gloves and now the lovely foot jewels you see on my opening photo. Made of mesh, they come with a color changing HUD that allows you to choose from six different metal colors. I looked on MP and found these terrific french nail colors in an applier from Nicole Twigvald and click, click and my manicure and pedicure were complete.

Sachi’s appliers would not work right if I weren’t wearing her skin as well. The transition from hands and feet to the rest of the body is truly seamless. I had to make no adjustments once I had put the appliers on. And this skin is gorgeous. With well-developed features from top to bottom (not just the pretty face we see on some skins), Sachi’s latest skins have been a gorgeous addition to the grid and perfect for wearing with revealing silks.

Truth Hawks is another creator on the grid who has rolled with the punches. When mesh came out, he converted his hair factories from sculpty to mesh. His latest mesh work is gorgeous—he gets better every day. Recently he chose to redo his color selections and in so doing, forgo the metaphorical names for simple colors and numbers. Most of us embraced the change. Change happens. Dance along.

Life is like dancing. If we have a big floor, many people will dance. Some will get angry when the rhythm changes. But life is changing all the time. ~ Miguel Angel Ruiz

Hair: TRUTH HAIR Lotus – Reds04 by Truth Hawks for >TRUTH< *

Skin: AE Skins – Carolyn T3 Bare by Sachi Vixen for Adam n Eve *

Eyes: IKON Lucid Eyes – Eucalyptus (ML) by Ikon Innovia for IKON *

Silks: GREEN/MOSS Innocence by Solange Cerveau for Solange! *

Hands: Slink Mesh Hands (av) Elegant by Siddean Munro for Slink

Feet: Slink Mesh Feet (Av) Flat by Siddean Munro for Slink

Skin appliers: by Sachi Vixen for Adam n Eve *

Nail applier: Orc Inc. : Slink Avatar Enhancement Hand and Toe Nails by Nicole Twigvald for Orc Inc.

Zills: Finger Cymbals by Anthonys Republic for Sculpty Republic

Foot jewels: Adam n Eve Foot Jewel Emerald by Sachi Vixen for Adam n Eve *

Poses by Rogan Diesel for DieselWorks Animations *

Delight

She was a Phantom of delight
When first she gleamed upon my sight;
A lovely Apparition, sent
To be a moment’s ornament;
Her eyes as stars of Twilight fair;
Like Twilight’s, too, her dusky hair;
But all things else about her drawn
From May-time and the cheerful Dawn;
A dancing Shape, an Image gay,
To haunt, to startle, and way-lay.

~ William Wordsworth

When I saw this gown from Ariadna Garrigus, I knew I wanted to show a contemporary look with a classical poem. This gorgeous sequined dress from Ariadna is a delight with a beautiful mesh shape and a sexy glittering texture. Check out the sexy criss-cross back, which will make you look great coming and going. Adorned with deco jewelry from Maxi Gossamer and new shoes from Babette Ultsch, this look is almost perfect.

Circe Ishtari creates the beautiful that is skin deep. This is her latest skin which is not made up and is a perfect base skin for eyeliner from Tricky Boucher and lipstick from Mocksoup Graves. I love being able to combine makeups like I can in RL, dipping into my cosmetic bag for just the right berry for a pretty pucker. Kavar Cleanslate has come out with a few new hairs, including this gorgeous side-swept style, dusky and elegant for a twilight look.

 

 

A perfect Woman, nobly planned,
To warn, to comfort, and command;
And yet a Spirit still, and bright
With something of angelic light.

Hair: Exile::Hearts Don’t Breakeven by Kavar Cleanslate for ::Exile:: *

Skin: Tokyo.Girl Skin Hye Sue SK . Shade A by Circe Ishtari for Tokyo Girl *

Makeup: [mock] Cosmetics Blackberry Lip Gel (Lipcolor only)  by Mocksoup Graves for [mock cosmetics] and -Belleza- Eyeliner 1 by Tricky Boucher for-Belleza- *

Eyes: IKON Lucid Eyes – Coffee (ML) by Ikon Innovia for IKON *

Dress: ***Armony Igs70 Gown Carressa Silver by Ariadna Garrigus for Armony *

Jewelry: MG – Necklace, Bangles, and Earrings – Copacetic Tallulah by Maxi Gossamer for Maxi Gossamer *

Nails: [PM]Pixel Mode – Diamond Edt. Mesh Nails : Regular by Tya Fallingbridge for Pixel Mode *

Sandals:  *KL* Sandal Yvy Color Set01by Babette Ultsch for Kittie’s Lair *

Poses by Rogan Diesel for DieselWorks Animations *

I Love the Way You Move

I like the waaaay you move
I like the waaaay you move (Whoo-o-o!)
I love the waaaay you move
I love the way, I love the way.

~ “I Like the Way You Move” by Outkast

This sexy song with punctuations of brass is a perfect piece for this outfit. Start with the sexy mesh shoes from Babette Ultsch. The pack comes with eight color choices, chosen via hud and a standard skin selector with a variety of nails. This is what I like about Babette’s work: she does sexy well. The shoes have a funky curvy platform and great shape and they seduce as most of her work does.

Then I have this sexy wrap dress from Poulet Koenkamp. This IS a template dress—I have seen it and shown it in various different ways—however Poulet makes it her own with her spectacular textures and HUD, allowing you to switch between them. I chose the warm reds and oranges of the button on the top row, third from the left. No one does textures like Poulet.

My skin is one of the great ones Aida Ewing is offering at Collabor88. I realized I had blogged this very skin before but with a red brow and in blonde, with Ikon Innovia’s hazel eyes, it looks completely different. My hair is one of Truth’s new ‘dos, blonde with waves and curls. I like how the curls vary as they would in real life and love the bangs.

I love the way, I love the way.

Hair: TRUTH HAIR Abra – LightBlondes03 by Truth Hawks for >TRUTH< *

Skin: Glam Affair – Margot – Europa 01 – Blonde by Aida Ewing for Glam Affair, available atCollabor88 *

Eyes: IKON Lucid Eyes – Hazel (M) by Ikon Innovia for IKON *

Dress:  :: PM :: Luisana Dress in Black Retro by Poulet Koenkamp for PurpleMoon Creations *

Hands: Slink Mesh Hands (av) Casual S Left by Siddean Munro for Slink

Skin Appliers: Glam Affair – Slink Hands Skin Appliers ( Europa) by Aida Ewing for Glam Affair

Nail Appliers: Izzie’s – Slink Metallic Nails Applier Huds (hands & feet) by Izzie Button for Izzie’s

Sandals:  *KL* Sandal Yvy Color Set01by Babette Ultsch for Kittie’s Lair *

Poses by Rogan Diesel for DieselWorks Animations *

The Default Setting

The capital-T Truth is about life BEFORE death. ~ David Foster Wallace, Commencement Address to Kenyon College, Class of 2005

Watch. It’s important.

I have spoken David Foster Wallace in this blog before. I absolutely love his work. His felicity with language, his ability to slide between formality and colloquialism, his earnest desire to examine himself and in so doing, life. He builds a compelling argument in his speech to the graduates that their education gives them the ability to change how they think about things, to move beyond the “default setting” of being self-centered. I find it a beautiful speech and I really want to share it.

My outfit has nothing whatsoever to do with the speech except the joy of this green matches my mood lately—spring is finally here. This joy comes courtesy of ValentinaEvangelista and her wonderfully homemade mesh dress with a bold polka dot print and contrasting belt. Valentina makes her own mesh and textures and has a unique look, which is funky, fun and sexy.

Peachymuah of has released a new face. There is a combo of the sort of Japanese/anime glossy pouty lip and a smooth but complex skin with lovely made up eyes. The skins are made to be “younger” and so offer a smaller breast option, which I like knowing. I do hear lots of people ask for smaller breast options in skins (believe it or not). My ponytails are Queue Marlowe’s whimsical new fluffy curls, which I have been hopping all over SL wearing, loving how cute they are.

If you’re automatically sure that you know what reality is, and you are operating on your default setting, then you, like me, probably won’t consider possibilities that aren’t annoying and miserable. But if you really learn how to pay attention, then you will know there are other options. It will actually be within your power to experience a crowded, hot, slow, consumer-hell type situation as not only meaningful, but sacred, on fire with the same force that made the stars: love, fellowship, the mystical oneness of all things deep down.

Not that that mystical stuff is necessarily true. The only thing that’s capital-T True is that you get to decide how you’re gonna try to see it. ~ David Foster Wallace, Commencement Address to Kenyon College, Class of 2005

Hair: bea cayenne by Queue Marlowe for Analog Dog *

Skin: Lily Olive bigger breasts by PeachieMuah for [Fresh Face] *

Eyes: IKON Ardent Eyes – Blossom (ML) by Ikon Innovia for IKON *

Dress: :V.e. Berries Dress Lime by ValentinaEvangelista for Valentina E. Couture, available at The Boutique*

Necklace: (Yummy) Fluorescent Lettuce Stone Necklace by Polyester Partridge for Yummy

Tote: !KKBB!! Deidre Shoulder Tote  – Green Flowers by Delia Linette for kisskissbangbang

Flats: MEOW – Hope Laced Flats by paperfairy for MEOW, available at The Chapter Four Event

Poses by Willa Whybrow for don’t freak out!

Changes

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Don’t tell them to grow up and out of it

~ “Changes” by David Bowie

In every part of life, there is bound to be change. SL has gone through some changes lately and will have more soon, and as always, some folks gripe, some ignore them and go on, and some embrace them as they can. For example, most people are glomming on to mesh when there is still a lot of life in system pieces and flexi. Mami Jewell has made this gorgeous dress, using flexi to her advantage by having a swirl of color around the skirt in beautiful, semi-translucent prims. Her system pieces still gleam with satiny perfection.

But then you have someone like Mirja Mills, who has totally embraced mesh, coming out now with just as much jewelry as hair, it seems. (I think Mirja just likes stringing all those beads together.) And BabyChampagne Sass is creating her own mesh as well for shoes and accessories. This pair of eclectic, couture shoes is her latest offering for L’Accessoire.

The big change everyone is talking about now is Truth Hawks decision to switch things around a bit. First he has gotten rid of all his “named’ colors and gone to a numbering system for his colors. So the hair I am wearing is now Red03 instead of something like “Cherry.” Additionally, he has new packaging that self launches when you wear it. I have heard a few complaints about the changes but I am guessing this makes things more streamlined for Truth, who has a huge inventory of hairs to deal with and produces them like a mad man. As long he doesn’t change the quality of the textures or mesh and never loses his sunny disposition, I am completely happy.

I said that time may change me
But I can’t trace time

Hair: TRUTH HAIR Gattina – Reds03 by Truth Hawks for >TRUTH< *

Skin: -Belleza- Ava Med TLC 1 r by Tricky Boucher for -Belleza-, at The Boutique *

Eyes: IKON Lucid Eyes – Gray-Green (ML) by Ikon Innovia for IKON *

Dress: -AZUL- Alicia /Amethyst by Mami Jewell for –AZUL- *

Necklace: .:EMO-tions:. * DAWN * necklace by Mirja Mills for .:EMO-tions:. *

Shoes: {{BSD Design studio}}Toiles de Jouy Disco green simple by BabyChampagne Sass for {{BSD Design studio}}, available at L’Accessoire *

Poses by Mavi Beck of Ma Vie *

My Soulful Dress

I’m gonna put on my dress
with that slit way up one side
with that tight thin waist
and that low neck line.
Lord, I’m going to the party,
gonna have some fun,
gonna shake and shout until the
morning come.

~ Sugar Pie DeSanto, Soulful Dress

I often find SL is the place I can party like I would in RL if I were younger, fitter, and more able to handle crazy dancing and loud music. And if I had legs this long I would probably wear a dress like this one from Ariadna Garrigus. With “a slit way up one side” and “that thin tight waist,” this is my soulful dress. Paired with sandals from Nuria Augapfel and Claire Messenger and an Asian-themed jewelry set from Dita Tran, I put a little Eastern spice into my look.

Of course, no dress would do without the right skin from top to bottom. Tricky Boucher offers the complete look in this skin being offered at the 100 Block. Not only do you get the tropical warm makeup but you get the detailed body including those luscious legs (and there is something to be said about the roundness of a woman’s thigh). A short cut from Chiaki Xue, who still rules the grid for short cuts like this, finishes my look, the one “I’m gonna shake everybody” with.

Lord, I’m going to the party.
Mmm, looking’ good.
I’m gonna shake everybody
Like I knew I would.
Don’t you girls go getting’ jealous
if I round up all your fellas.
I’ll be at my best when I put on my
Soulful dress

Hair: *Dura-Boys&Girls*42(Black) by Chiaki Xue for Dura *

Skin: -Belleza- Ava Med 100Block by Tricky Boucher for -Belleza-, available at 100 Block *

Eyes: IKON Lucid Eyes – Silver (ML) by Ikon Innovia for IKON *

Dress: ***ArisAris Igs65 Fans Dress by Ariadna Garrigus for ArisAris, available at The Garage Fair *

Jewelry: FuLo – “Wen Ling” Necklace and Earrings (carnelian) by Dita Tran for FuLo *

Nails: [PM]Pixel Mode – Diamond Edt. Mesh Nails : Regular by Tya Fallingbridge for Pixel Mode *

Shoes: N-core OMEGA “Black” by Nuria Augapfel and Claire Messenger for N-Core

Poses by Tutys for Tutys

Amplification

If you ask me what I came into this life to do, I will tell you: I came to live out loud. ~ Emile Zola

What does it mean to “live life out loud”? Sometimes it means enjoying the beauty of being bold and today I am relishing my bold look. Start with the chainmail dress from Ivy Burner, being offered at the Whore Couture monthly event. (I’m still wondering about the name of the event but getting used to it, I guess.) The mesh build of this dress is fine but even better is the work that Ivy has done with texturing and sexy straps wrapping around the torso and hips.

My shoes are Redgrave’s newest sexy leather-strapped sandals, wrapped around a dainty thin foot with nails. The brilliance of these shoes is the colors included with your purchase—you get over 10 colors you can put across the straps, the inner sole and the heel, which is a huge bargain. It’s ostensibly a fatpack for the cost of one pair of shoes.

I am wearing one of Aida Ewing’s new skins from Collabor88 with loud and lovely makeup. Orange and purple may have never worked anywhere else quite as well as they have on this skins. Aida makes it happen—a discord that makes a lovely noise. Mirja Mills’ new wild ‘do seals the deal here with crazy sexy locks and shape with lots of volume. I am amplified.

My optimism wears heavy boots and is loud. ~ Henry Rollins

Hair: .:EMO-tions:. * CARLA*/darkbrown by Mirja Mills for .:EMO-tions:. *

Skin: Glam Affair – Margot – India 01 – Dark brown by Aida Ewing for Glam Affair, available at Collabor88 *

Eyes: IKON Ardent Eyes – Chocolate (ML) by Ikon Innovia for IKON *

Dress: ~Sassy!~ Love is a Battlefield – black by Ivy Burner for ~Sassy!~, available at Whore Couture *

Collar: Leather Buckled Collar by Kya Eliot for Hexed (no longer available)

Nails: [PM]Pixel Mode – Diamond Edt. Mesh Nails : Long by Tya Fallingbridge for Pixel Mode *

Shoes: – Shoes Helena – 12colors / REDGRAVE by TeamRedgrave for Redgrave

Poses by Rogan Diesel for DieselWorks Animations *

Happy Mothers’ Day to Service Moms

No “fashion” today. I am taking the day off as a mother. I just want to give my two cents worth as a mom.

This week I spoke to my doctor, who was once a physician in the U.S. Army. We were discussing a service project I am doing for an organization that is sending the children of fallen service people to summer camp for fun and counseling. He remarked that many “servicemen” came out of their time overseas with psychological issues. I interrupted him and said “servicepeople.” I reminded him many women have served, and he agreed. (Indeed, my son’s classmate’s mother still serves in the Reserves as a pilot for a refueling plane. She’s a nice petite lady who bakes cupcakes and has a pretty flower garden but when she has to get in that big plane and do her job, she’s there.)

Over the past decade, women as well as men have had to abruptly leave their lives because they were called up from Reserve or called into action as servicepeople—and rightfully so. They signed a contract and willingly took employ with the military. However, little honor is given to the fighting mothers—those who sacrifice the daily struggle to bring up their children to struggle on behalf of their country.

Combat is hard. Add to it the additional concerns many women have to face. Consider this: over 30,000 single mothers were deployed to Iraq alone. Imagine worrying about the care of your children with a spouse you may not trust or with relatives you are not certain have your values in place while you are in combat. Forget the enemy on the ground; the enemy may be in your head as you think about whether your kid is getting the upbringing you want for him.

Additionally, according to Newsweek, women in the military are more likely to be assaulted by a fellow officer than be killed in combat. The documentation of women being sexually assaulted in the military is horrifying. Sen. Susan Collins of the Armed Services Committee said “What does it say about us as a people, as a nation, as the foremost military in the world when but surely our women soldiers sometimes have more to fear from their fellow soldiers than from the enemy?”

I get tired of the flag waving and empty rhetoric of “supporting the troops.” It seems to pander to some P.C. notion of patriotism that rubs me the wrong way. I never wanted our troops to go to Iraq in the first place and have wished for a long time that they were out of Afghanistan. My support of the “troops” is to never have asked them to go.

Nevertheless, they went. They served. They sacrificed. Thank you, Servicemoms. You were the real tiger mothers.

Au Soleil

When the sun is shining I can do anything; no mountain is too high, no trouble too difficult to overcome. ~ Wilma Rudolph

The sun has been shining the past few days and it has lifted everyone’s spirits. It’s been one hell of a long winter and spring. Donning a dress from SamanthaSJones is the antidote. With the sexy brown and orange print on this haltered mini, I am wearing warm colors to beckon the sun. Gospel Voom’s latest Ursula heels in gold reflect the warmth of the ensemble and look beautiful against my tan, sun-loving skin.

Aida Ewing has not only mastered pale skins but she does darker tones pretty well too. This is one of her Collabor88 skins with a blonde brow. The makeup is golden and rich, sunny and tropical and works well with Queue Marlowe’s dark blonde braided ponytail. I offset the warm colors of the dress and skin with turquoise on Maxi Gossamer’s gorgeous jewelry for Collabor88. The sun motif in the jewelry is how this blog entry got named.

Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you. ~ Charlotte Whitton

Hair: pip dark blonde by Queue Marlowe for Analog Dog *

Skin: Glam Affair – Margot – India 04 – Blonde by Aida Ewing for Glam Affair, available at Collabor88 *

Eyes: IKON Ardent Eyes – Parchment (ML) by Ikon Innovia for IKON *

Dress: {Liv-Glam} K Collection Louise2 Mini Dress by SamanthaSJones for LIV-Glam*

Jewelry: MG – Earrings – Isis Solar Magic – GOLD and MG – Necklace – Isis Solar Magic – Long 2 – GOLD by Maxi Gossamer for Maxi Gossamer, available at Collabor88 *

Shoes: [Gos] Ursula Wedge – Classic Collection by Gospel Voom for Gos Boutique*

Poses by Torrid Midnight for *TorridWear* (no longer available) (Yes, really I still have such old stuff in my inventory and it still looks good!)