Bunny Slippers

“Bunny slippers remind me of who I am. You can’t get a swelled head if you wear bunny slippers. You can’t lose your sense of perspective and start acting like a star or a rich lady if you keep on wearing bunny slippers. Besides, bunny slippers give me confidence because they’re so jaunty. They make a statement; they say, ‘Nothing the world does to me can ever get me so far down that I can’t be silly and frivolous.’ If I died and found myself in Hell, I could endure the place if I had bunny slippers.” ~ Dean Koontz

Another person who never fails to remind me of who I am is my friend, Blunt, who you see in these photos. He is more like a crappy little brother than anything else. He called the other night to ask me what I was up to and I said I was testing a new bed from Cory Edo while wearing bunny slippers.

He tp’d in and pushed me over, stretching out on the bed while a pair of boxers rezzed on him. We found the poses in the bed could be independently chosen for the single poses, so he mimicked whatever pose I chose. “Nice slippers,” he snorted. “And what’s with the pajamas? You’re not fooling anyone—you are hardly wild.”

I pouted. “Bonadea made these and she’s selling them in like 5 different animal skins. And she made me special bunny slippers cuz I wanted them. The jammies normally come with bear slippers and a bear.”

He ignored me, of course, and continued to click on the bed, changing all the pillow colors, the bed itself, the ottoman top. “This is cool! I can change all the pillow colors!”

He clicked through some more. “This thing has couples poses too,” he grinned. Don’t let the above photo fool you. While we were in this seeming romantic pose, he was threatening to let a big gob of saliva drop on me while he had me held down. (Just goes to show things are not always as they seem.)

I had a nice skin from Aida Ewing on, and I had been admiring how cute I was before he came in to hassle me. Luckily I had this ponytail from Queue Marlowe on—mesh, don’tcha know. He can’t mess it up (though he DID pull on it).

On Harper:

Hair: may (mesh) autumn with .b autumn hair base by Queue Marlowe for Analog Dog *

Skin: -Glam Affair – Giselle – MedTan R HB 03 by Aida Ewing for Glam Affair *

Eyes: IKON ‘Sunrise’ Eyes – Sand (ML) by Ikon Innovia for IKON

Pajamas: Ruca jungle time pj’s  boxed (cheetah) by Bonadea Avedon for Ruca Tease *

Nails: Leverocci – Round Nails_1FA_PastelPlain by Jin Elfan for Leverocci

Slippers: bunny slippers by Bonadea Avedon for Ruca Tease (made specially for this blog) *

 

On Blunt:

Hair: *Dura-Boy*24 (Black) by Chiaki Xue for Dura

Skin: *Birth* Fang Skin (straw) stubble_bodynormal_hair by Silent Alchemi for *Birth* *

Boxers: Armidi – Classic Midrise Boxers – Red by Hudsen Armidi for theWarehouse

 

Bed: Trompe Loeil – Tropical Scoop Bed – Blonde [mesh] by Cory Edo for Trompe Loeil *

Summer Dress

Summer dress makes you more beautiful than the rest
Loveliest girl that I know, and the sweetest

~ “Summer Dress” by Red House Painters

Holocluck Henly IM’d me to ask about sideburns. Turns out Holo is picky (like every other man in SL… grrr) and we went on quite a hunt for sideburns. It turned out to be very comical as we ended up in his.. holodeck with a Gorean warrior trying to fashion sideburns amid Holo’s many trophies. Only in SL…

Along the hunt I ended up in Cutea Benelli’s incredible store. She just keeps adding and adding, and it’s home to the most fascinating content to be found in SL. Amid the Victorian frocks, the cyber creatures, the old man skins, I found this fun, fresh patchwork dress for a pretty summer day. Click, I bought it, and promptly forgot about Holoclucks’s sideburns.

This sleek ponytail with bangs from MissAllSunday Lemon is a perfect match to the dress. In fact, this would work well under the hat that comes with the dress because of its low profile. Consider this hair for all your hat needs. A fresh pretty skin from Tricky Boucher, sparkling eyes from Ikon Innovia, and it’s summer! (And thanks, Kristopher Walpole, my new DJ friend, for your song suggestion!)

Says a prayer as she’s kissed by ocean mist
Takes herself to the sand and dreams

Hair: /Wasabi Pills/ Matchgirl Mesh Hair – Chocolate by MissAllSunday Lemon for  /Wasabi Pills/, available at Fairy Tales in 2012 *

Skin: -Belleza- Lily V1 SK 9 by Tricky Boucher for Belleza *

Eyes: IKON Horizon Eyes – Light Blue (ML) by Ikon Innovia for IKON *

Dress: rhapsody little boheme summer dress by Cutea Benelli for Grim Bros.

Nails: Leverocci – Round Nails_1FA_PastelPlain by Jin Elfan for Leverocci

Shoes: ! AUDREY2 / Fatpack – REDGRAVE (RGP0330003) by Emilia Redgrave and Maris Kanto for Redgrave

The Summer’s Play

Little Fly,
Thy summer’s play
My thoughtless hand
Has brushed away.

Am not I
A fly like thee?
Or art not thou
A man like me?

For I dance
And drink, and sing,
Till some blind hand
Shall brush my wing.

~ “Little Fly” by Esperanza Spalding (Poem, “The Fly” by William Blake)

Esperanza Spalding took a poem by William Blake and set it to music. Regular readers of my blog know how much I admit her work and how awed I am by her talent. This song is the actual poem set to music and if you click through, you will be amazed too.

And it’s the perfect song for a summer outfit like this one, a song for summer play. I mix a lot of mesh in this outfit—first LeeZu Baxter’s newest blouse that comes with a sheer component or totally opaque. I like how LeeZu is pushing what mesh can do without worrying about waiting for the deformer, which is what I guessed the most innovative designers in SL would do and LeeZu has. She carefully works around the limitations of mesh as it is now, finding opportunities for new design ideas. I love the colors on this top but also her able engineering of the textures on the mesh. My skirt is also a great mesh piece from charming Meiler with well done folds and textures that bring the mesh to life.

My skin is one of moon Meiyo’s newest—a sweet simple skin with a very pretty and neutral makeup. Sometimes in the summer you don’t want a lot—just enough to bring a bloom into my look. My hair with hat is fabulous, isn’t it? Onyx LeShelle brings her mesh skills to hair this time with this big floppy hat (with great color change hud) and wind-blown locks. She always throws a curve in there—this time wisps escaping in the wind (as I hold my hat down).

If thought is life
And strength and breath
And the want
Of thought is death;

Then am I
A happy fly,
If I live,
Or if I die.

Hair (with hat): Maitreya Siobhan (Mesh) – Caramel by Onyx LeShelle for Maitreya

Skin: B Cup[MyDear]Salma Skin- Medium 2 by moon Meiyo for [MyDear] *

Eyes: IKON Horizon Eyes – Hazel (ML) by Ikon Innovia for IKON *

Top: [LeeZu!] Souci Top /peach by LeeZu Baxter for [LeeZu!] *

Skirt: ::{u.f.o}::on a windy day – coral by charming Meiler for ur.favorite.one

Nails: Leverocci – Round Nails_1FA_RosyManicure by Jin Elfan for Leverocci

Shoes: [Gos] Espadrilles in Peach by Gospel Voom for [Gos]

Elena

I have been listening to the “50 Shades of Grey” series on Audible while I am at work. I had to find out what I keep reading about and hearing—yes, I will sway to popular culture if it’s that big a deal. A friend suggested it, then Katie Roiphe wrote about it, then I heard the rather chaste ladies in my women’s club talking about it. I had to see what the hubbub was about!

Let me say I find the text nearly unreadable. I previewed it on my Kindle and couldn’t get past the first two pages. It could have used a good editor. Therefore, I opted to listen to it on Audible while at work so I could save myself the pain of tripping over the tortured diction (metaphorical pun intended).

Nevertheless, the characters are provocative, albeit a bit cliched. The plot is definitely compelling. I opted to blog a look for Elena Lincoln, Christian’s former domme and lover. Now his business partner, she is tall cold blondeness, elegant, mannerful, and a little bit controlling and domineering (go figure). When I saw these amazing mesh pieces at Pixivor Allen’s store, I realized I could outfit Elena perfectly.

Pixivor has outdone herself on these pieces (which are priced relatively reasonably). The mesh ruffled top is the epitome of representation with a rich sheen to the bodice and a sheer quality to the ruffles. She even has little black buttons running down the placket.  The skirt, with its beautifully rounded booty (because that is sexy, darn it) shapes perfectly as a pencil skirt with a ruffled hem. The look is chic and courant, purely Parisian and a logical piece from a French designer like Pixivor.

My shoes are from Redgrave, made in collaboration between Maris Kanto and Emilia Redgrave (and undoubtedly others in that team). Using an updated version of the Kalnin’s hud, the ankle can be color matched to the avatar’s skin through a series of clicks. Additionally, the toe, vamp and heel can have combos of color. This elegant shoe, with its scripted color combinations, will serve many different looks.

I chose Tricky Boucher’s offering at Fairy Tales in 2012—the Evil Queen skin. The name alone was perfect for this character but also the look of the skin—absolutely beautiful, flawless and sparked with passionate color. I realize the incongruence of the dark brow with the light hair but I didn’t care bceause it all fit together so perfectly. The hair is MissAllSunday Lemon’s offering at Fairy Tales in 2012—a short bob with perfectly shaped locks—a perfect style for one like Mrs. Lincoln, who co-owns with Christian, several beauty salons. Her manicured red nails from Jin Elfan also fit the character.

“Laters, baby.” (Honestly? I hate that cheesy line.)

Hair: /Wasabi Pills/ Princess Mesh Hair – Powder by MissAllSunday Lemon for /Wasabi Pills/, available at Fairy Tales in 2012 *

Skin: -Belleza- Evil Queen by Tricky Boucher for Belleza, available at the Fairy Tales in 2012

Eyes: Mayfly – Deep Sky Mesh Eye (Twilight Steel, w4) by Arkesh Baral for Mayfly

Top: (AlaF) MORGANE BLanc chemisier by pixivor Allen for AlaFolie

Skirt: (AlaF) MORGANE jupe mi noir by pixivor Allen for AlaFolie

Bracelet: (Shiny Things) Glass Chunk double bracelet – black & white by Fallingwater Cellardoor for (Shiny Things)

Nails: Leverocci – Round Nails_1FA_ScarlettPlain by Jin Elfan for Leverocci

Shoes: ! Shoes Cathy – 12colors / REDGRAVE (RGP0340005) by Emilia Redgrave and Maris Kanto for Redgrave

Poses by Luth Brodie for Reel Expression

Hunting My Dress

When I was a young girl
I would sleep in a tall tree
On the down of bending boughs

And from the mount of his shoulders
I would traverse the valleys
Through his dusk
And dawning eyes

“I will let you in,” said the doe to my arrow,
“and you will wear my bones and my skin”

Hunting my dress
Love is ruthless

~ “Hunting My Dress” by Jesca Hoop

Egoisme has debuted this beautiful dress, a combination of system pieces, mesh and flexi, as part of their new couture line. Ramses Meredith is gathering some of the best designers in SL under his broad wings so he can provide a full-service business for avatar outfitting. Lady Stromfeld and Ramses worked on this sumptuous ball gown together, and it’s a partnership of beauty. With its gorgeous rippling brocade on flexis combined with an integrated mesh bodice and sculpty trim. This is how mesh should work—the outfit should not be about mesh as the thing itself but about the outfit itself with mesh, sculpty and flexi all employed to their best advantage to achieve an end result.

I show one of Queue Marlowe’s first releases in mesh. After considerable work and swearing, Queue has come out with two styles, very much in her aesthetic, with full sexy body and gloriously highlighted textures. In Queue’s defense on the appearance of this, I goofed on my photo taking and forgot my face shot. Even pixelated, Queue’s hair looks damn good.

Hunting my dress
Love is ruthless

And the tall trees all fall down….

Hair: veronica (mesh) cayenne by Queue Marlowe for Analog Dog *

Skin: -Belleza- Lily V1 Med 14 Hair by Tricky Boucher for Belleza *

Eyes: IKON Horizon Eyes v2 – Deep Antique (ML) by Ikon Innovia for IKON *

Dress: Egoisme Le Fleurs De Mal Suit #1 by Lady Stromfeld and Ramses Meredith for Egoisme *

Smitten

The good thing about seeing performances at SL9B is that you will chance on some DJs and musicians you may never have heard in Second Life before. Today Kristopher Walpole played on the stage I was managing, and I had a most blissful afternoon listening to him sing his original music and covers. He is all that and a bag of chips (and he sang Joni Mitchell—be still my heart). His voice is absolutely wonderful. I am smitten.

That being said, I acted highly uncool and got all fan girlish. I gave him fashion tips (“You’re missing a boot”) and then I pointed out that he had tape on his glasses. Really, Harper, can you be more dorky? He was very gracious—undoubtedly women do this all the time.

I was wearing this dress because I had put it together for a blog. The dress is a fantastic gift from a new club called “The Nest.” Go there, enjoy the great music and atmosphere and the friendly folks, and grab this beautiful dress. The hosts, Mr. and Mrs. O will welcome you with open arms and great dancing.

Again I show Tricky Boucher’s newest skin, which has his signature soft yet realistic look. This time I wore one of the many lipsticks included to brighten up my appearance, though these eyes could stand a neutral.

I wanted to go less traditional with my hair—who said you always have to have an updo with a gown, especially when the gown is as sexy as this one? MissAllSunday Lemon’s mesh short haircut here with its assymetrical cut gives a bit of grit to this look.

Also giving a new twist to this look is AvaGardner Kungler’s artistic and intricate jewelry. I always love to see whatever new thing Ava has invented—it is never traditional and never ever boring but it’s also not so ostentatious it can’t be worn. She evokes natural shapes—the graceful symmetry of insects, the sensuous drop of water off a petal, the shimmering movement of breaths of wind on fronds. She pushes past replicating RL jewelry to making something uniquely new.

Oh I could drink a case of you darling
Still I’d be on my feet
oh I would still be on my feet

~ “A Case of You” by Joni Mitchell

Hair: /Wasabi Pills/ Cookie Mesh Hair – Rouge by MissAllSunday Lemon for /Wasabi Pills/ *

Skin: -Belleza- Lily V1 SK 5 Hair with -Belleza- Lily V1 SK Lip 1 by Tricky Boucher for Belleza *

Eyes: IKON Horizon Eyes – Light Blue (ML) by Ikon Innovia for IKON *

Dress: Paris METRO Couture: The Sea-Ultramarine-Gown (c/m) by RFB Morport for Paris Metro, available as a gift at The Nest

Necklace: (Kunglers Extra) Phoenix  – Air by AvaGardner Kungler for Kunglers Extra *

Nails: Leverocci – Round Nails_1FA_FireworkGlitter by Jin Elfan for Leverocci

Shoes: ! Shoes Loona – 12colors / REDGRAVE (RGP0340004) by Emilia Redgrave and Maris Kanto for Redgrave

Poses by Valencia Southard for Marukin

Rebel

“A little rebellion is a good thing. ” ~ Thomas Jefferson

I have been doing Stage Manager duties at SL9B to help out Trouble and Loon this year so I figured I needed a more gritty look for such duties. Even though Doc insists we have to wear the t-shirts, I think the venue is just too hot for that, so I opted for this retro halter top from Antonia Marat and finely-made capris from Aleida Rhode (who is, incidentally, closing up shop soon to focus more steadily on her studies—good luck, Aleida!). Mesh boots from Gutterblood Spoonhammer complete the look, giving it the necessary Wastelands edge I want.

Tiffy Vella made these brilliant 50s glasses for a more retro look but I donned them for their intricacy and cool. With a color changing script in them, they provide an infinite variety of configurations between the lens, frame, pearls, and scrolls. I am sorry to say they cover some of Tricky Boucher’s newest lovely skin with its red hair brows and cat eyes. I will show more in subsequent blogs—I promise.

“Every woman is a rebel, and usually in wild revolt against herself.” ~ Oscar Wilde

Hair: *Dura* The 2nd year Anniversary hair (Sienna) by Chiaki Xue for Dura *

Skin: -Belleza- Lily V1 SK 1 Hair by Tricky Boucher for –Belleza- *

Eyes: IKON Horizon Eyes – Dark Brown (ML) by Ikon Innovia for IKON *

Top: /artilleri/ Ulrika top *leo* by Antonia Marat for /artilleri/

Capris: *FN* Gulu Capri – black used 1 by Aleida Rhode for Aleida

Glasses: Eclectica 50’s Glasses- Scrolls & Pearls by Tiffy Vella for Eclectica *

Earrings: Zaara : Sarayi hoops *wood* by Zaara Kohime for Zaara

Nails: Leverocci – Round Nails_1FA_ScarlettPlain by Jin Elfrin for Leverocci

Boots: DECO – MESH Jumpboots small (gravel) by GutterBlood Spoonhammer for DECO

Poses by Rogan Diesel for Diesel Works Animations

Tiny Dancer

Hold me closer tiny dancer
Count the headlights on the highway
Lay me down in sheets of linen
you had a busy day today

~ “Tiny Dancer” by Elton John

Recently All Songs Considered had a show “Remembering Mom and Dad’s Record Collection.” I giggled because the first song on the list was by Simon & Garfunkle and my parents were HUGE fans so we had a lot of that in the house, played on the Heathkit stereo my dad had made with the cylindrical speakers wrapped in some sort of space-age weave fabric. (My dad also had the Velvet Underground and Nico album with the peelable banana from Andy Warhol, and I peeled it so many times to see the sweet pink banana underneath, the top ripped off.)

When putting this blog together, of course “Tiny Dancer” came to mind and looking at the origins of the song, I realized hearing it brought back memories of my aunt’s cigarette-smoke filled Nova, bell bottoms and summers growing up. This outfit has nothing to do with that aesthetic, but this IS a tiny dancer in her very fashioned sculpted dress from Nevery Lorakeet and ballet shoes (complete with hud to match the skin).

I felt like I needed a porcelain doll style for this lovely skin from Inka Mexicola. She offers a very clean pretty palette with a subtle cat eye and luscious lips. I added her included blush to pink my tiny dancer up.

My hair is a anime-styled special from MissAllSunday Lemon, NOT a mesh but an older model she still sells. I love the subtle purple tiny to the texture.

“I don’t like nostalgia unless it’s mine.” ~ Lou Reed

Hair: /Wasabi Pills/ Ryoko Hair – Royal by MissAllSunday Lemon for /Wasabi Pills/

Skin: {.essences.} Moana skin – Rosy pale with {.essences.} Blush: nude by Inka Mexicola for {.essences.} *

Eyes: Mayfly – Deep Sky Mesh Eyes (Twilight Steel) by

Dress: *LpD* – *Carmen* Dress Pois by Nevery Lorakeet for Les Petits Détails

Ribbon: *C:K* Neck Ribbon by Ameshin Yossarian for Curious Kitties

Shoes: *LPD* – *Star of Ballet* Shoes Pink by Nevery Lorakeet for Les Petits Détails

You and Tequila

‘Cause you and Tequila make me crazy
Run like poison in my blood
One more night could kill me, baby
One is one too many, one more is never enough

~ “You and Tequila” by Kenny Chesney, featuring Grace Potter

When it gets hot out, I feel a little more country for some reason. Listening to Kenny Chesney’s liquid voice, I want to sit down and sip an easy cocktail on the porch. Day like today needs a loose light dress and some boots for walking in the meadow. I got this dress from Serina Lacava’s booth at the Summer Fashion Festival and love it. The shading is well done, the mesh fits me well, and it moves nicely with my avatar (see above pose).

My boots, I am told, are not “authentic” from sources in the southern part of Texas. I don’t care. They are awfully cute and make me look like a “Dallas girl,” or so I am told (especially with the flowers tooled into them). Miel Nirvana clearly cared, as I do, more about looks than whether shit can get scraped off them (which is apparently criteria for good cowgirl boots).

Someone in Skin Addiction said DeLa has hair and sure enough, I found it. Kuranosuke Kamachi is a true artist, always pushing the edge with different graphic technologies in SL (like sculpties), so it’s no surprise to see this sexy full hair in mesh.

My skin is one of Agony Helse’s newer skins. (She is pumping them out, it seems. Every time I turn around she has a new one out.) She is getting better and better, outpacing her partner in production, it seems. (Yes, a challenge to you KaoZ.) I love this color way—green liner with the freckled skin of a beautiful redhead. Sexy and sensuous.

One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor. ~ George Carlin

Hair: =DeLa*= Mesh Hair “Cerise” Brown 4 by Kuranosuke Kamachi for =DeLa*=

Skin: Akeruka Twiggy Medium Mk7 by Agony Helse for Akeruka *

Eyes: Mayfly – Deep Sky Eyes (Teal Hazel) by Arkesh Baral for Mayfly

Dress:  SLC Mesh Dress Country Charm by Serina Lacava for SLC, available at the Summer Fashion Festival

Jewelry: MTP Ladies Desert Rose [red] set by Jon Ree for Mustang Trading Post

Boots: MIEL DANDY BOOTS FLOR – (Viewer 2.0 only) by Miel Nirvana for Miel

Limits

My favorite page in the SL wiki is the one about Limits. It tells all the good stuff like, “Max. length of avatar name – 31 for first name, 31 for last name, 63 in total (including the space)” or “Max. # of prims in a linkset – 256.” I have a few things they missed:

Average day in length of partnerships in SL: 8

Percentage of prims in world named “Object”: 84.5%

Number of times an epithet can be uttered upon crashing without having to walk away from the computer: 4

Number of slices of birthday cake being “eaten” at SL9B: 23823

Number that taste like soy-based styrofoam: 23823 (Trick statistic—all food in SL tastes like styrofoam.)

Add your stats at the bottom. I need to tell you some stats about this outfit. First the top, from Corocota Torok, is mesh at its best—a puffy and flowy with a great texture and highlights where they should be on a terrific print (love this print!). I picked this one and another up at the Summer Fashion Festival, where I saw a lot of designers I had not seen before. I really enjoyed it.

Let me remark on these wickedly sexy boots from Tawny Mirror. First, they are purchased, yes, from an adult sim but located in their own store so you don’t have to be afraid of transgressing. Tawny has made some sinfully sexy boots in several colors (I wear “cherry”) in this stiletto style with a dangerously pointed toe. She gets every detail, down to the zipper pull. Rowr.

My skin is the lustrous Giselle from Aida Ewing. It seems in the past couple months, Aida has upped the ante with her skins, adding increasing detail, from freckles to beauty marks to finely plucked brows to her skins, bringing them up from the flat, yet couture look she once had to a deeper, more realistic and beautiful skin. I really like what she’s up to and look forward to seeing more.

My side part comes from Chiaki Xue’s boy’s line. I am never afraid to wear a men’s hair—especially one of Chiaki’s. They are always full of movement and terrific textures, from curls to waves to straight—just like real hair.

I close with a quote with one of my household’s heroines, Anne Frank. Today is the 70th anniversary of her first diary entry. This quote, from her diary, has special resonance for me. (Those who know me personally know why):

… in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart. I simply can’t build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery, and death. I see the world gradually being turned into a wilderness, I hear the ever approaching thunder, which will destroy us too, I can feel the sufferings of millions and yet, if I look up into the heavens, I think that it will all come right, that this cruelty too will end, and that peace and tranquillity will return again.

~ Anne Frank, July 15, 1944

Hair: *Dura-Boy*36(Dark Brown) with Dark Brown hairbase by Chiaki Xue for Dura *

Skin: -Glam Affair – Giselle – MedTan D 01 by aida Ewing for –Glam Affair- *

Eye: .ID. Brooding Eyes – Dark Brown by Audrey Lamede for Insufferable Dastard

Top: >>>Poison<<< Tulipana blouse 1_mesh by Corocota Torok for Poison, available at the Summer Fashion Festival

Leggings: M * A * ii * K * I  Long Legging Charcoal by Iki Ikarus for M * A * ii * K * I

Earrings: erratic / teardrop earings by erratic rain for erratic

Nails: Leverocci – Round Nails_1FA_ScarlettPlain by Jin Elfan for Leverocci

Boots: [DD] Elegance Boots – Full Pack by Tawny Mirror for Domina’s Duo *