Namaste

“Your little boat goes west and you congratulate yourself, “What a navigator I am!” And then the wind blows you east.” ~ Katherine Boo, Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity

I have been reading Katherine Boo’s book about a “slum” in Mumbai, which is on the edge of the airport behind an ad for ceramic floor tiles, advertised as “Beautiful Forever.” It’s an amazing book, both in the writer’s understanding of the many influences on one group of people in a small community in a very large and diverse city in an even larger diverse country. It won the National Book Award for good reason. It’s an enjoyable read if nothing else. She writes fabulously.

We tend to have a very monolithic view of India in SL (and I speak of “India” not as a country as it is now but as that region, which could include Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka). My Indian friends in SL, the ones who live in India or abroad, seem to have no qualms about this, possibly because India is just too damn big to wrap their heads around much less expecting anyone else to. Whether you speak Marathi or Tamil or Bengali or Urdu or English, whether you eschew eating cows or pork or believe in many Gods or One or a Holy Trinity, you can be Indian.

So I gathered all these items from this month’s Genre, which is themed “South Asian,” and assembled them in a celebration of this amorphous beautiful place that spreads itself not only over South Asia but throughout the world. (My son’s Urdu-speaking preschool teacher grew up in Uganda, for example. My Hindu-speaking friends spent their childhoods in Singapore.) First, Hadarah Steamer’s beautifully textured set in mesh with glorious patterns and colors and jewelry and even a bindi! Add Plurabelle Laszlo’s slip on wedges and a nose ring from Photos Nikolaidis and the outfit is complete.

Lumiya Rae has made a sublime skin for this round with luscious chili-spiced lips and beautifully defined brows. I added Constance Daehlie’s gorgeous eye makeup, also available at Genre. My lovely wavy locks are MissAllSunday Lemon’s hair for Fameshed, which worked perfectly with the head scarf from Hadarah’s set.

Genre is all about entire immersion, so gorgeous furniture from Spooky Mistwallow and a scattering of pillows with poses and rugs from Cherelle Capra completes the South Asian theme. Namaste.

Hair: /Wasabi Pills/ Roberta Mesh Hair – Black coffee by MissAllSunday Lemon for Wasabi Pills, available at FaMESHed *

Skin: L ~ Eliana : 5 – Caramel / Priya {Mid Cleavage} by Lumiya Rae for Lumae, available at Genre *

Makeup: #adored – kali eyeshadows – gold by Constance Daehlie for #adored, available at Genre *

Eyes: #adored – dream eyes – black coffee by Constance Daehlie for #adored

Outfit (with bracelets and bindi): Saima Golden Outfit by hadarah Steamer for Sweet Lies Designs, available at Genre *

Nosering: A:S:S deLuxe – Mayur by Photos Nikolaidis for A:S:S, available at Genre *

Hands:Slink Avatar Enhancement Hands – Elegant and Elegant1 by Siddean Munro for Slink

Hand tattoo: Jalwa – Khaliji 5 Henna Applier Hands by Chandra Masala for Jalwa

Feet: Slink Female Feet (AvEnhance) – Mid by Siddean Munro for Slink

Shoes: Bliensen + MaiTai – Giddha – for Slink Mid – black by Plurabelle Laszlo for .Bliensen + MaiTai, available at Genre *

Poses: {NanTra} Bollywood Dreams by Nancoix Urquan for {NanTra} Poses, available at Genre *

Background: =Mirage= India Wall Unit (9LI) by Spooky Mistwallow for =Mirage=, available at Genre *

Furnishings by Cherelle Capra for [CIRCA], available at Genre *

• [CIRCA] – “Journey” – Floor Pillow – South Asian Green
  [CIRCA] – “Journey” – Floor Pillow – South Asian Brown
  [CIRCA] – “Journey” – Floor Pillow – South Asian Red
  [CIRCA] – “Journey” – Floor Pillow – South Asian Autumn
  [CIRCA] – “Journey” – Floor Pillow – South Asian Khaki
  [CIRCA] – “Journey” – South Asian Area Rug Set

One Thousand and One

On Sun and Moon of palace cast thy sight,
Enjoy her flowerlike face, her fragrant light.
Thine eyes shall never see in hair so black
Beauty encase a brow so purely white.
The ruddy rosy cheek proclaims her claim,
Though fail her name whose beauties we indite.
As sways her gait, I smile at hips so big
And weep to see the waist they bear so slight.

~ “The Arabian Nights” by Sir Richard Burton (1850)

Genre is open this month with “Arabia” as its theme. I searched the four corners of the event to find you the best in exotic treasures to create the look for today in the spirit of role play. I piled on the treasures to share here, including this darling outfit from Nahtasha Uriza, who has paired a gathered halter with loose, flowing pants with a cut up the leg. The pattern is subtle, which is good because it allows lots of embellishment, which I took advantage of.

On my feet are Tiffy Vella’s exquisite slippers, bejeweled and beautiful. These alone are worth the trip to Genre if just to wear them and admire them. Then I decorated my skin with Chandra Masala’s lovely henna tattoo, which works on my Slink hands, nails painted by Ravenna Rossini’s great metallic nails.

Jewelry is essential for this look, and I really took advantage of attachment points. My bindi from Draconias Timeless includes an elaborate color change hud and additional jewels that lie over the brows. My nose ring from Amilia Zabaleta includes a tiny gem and my choker from Jalynne Ohmai has great textures for a more antiqued treasure look.

Truth Hawks’ newest long curly hair is ideal for this look. I can almost smell the cinnabar fragrance in his beautiful locks. Lumiya Rae (also know as Amesha Jewell) is offering this luscious seductive skin with all her characteristic artistry at Genre and I chose Constance Daehlie’s bold makeup to intensify my look. Poses from Nancoix Urquan from Genre give my dancer beautiful form and I posed under the gorgeous gazebo Kerryth Tarantal has made for Genre.

“Orientalism can be discussed and analyzed as the corporate institution for dealing with the Orient—dealing with it by making statements about it, authorizing views of it, describing it, by teaching it, settling it, ruling over it: in short, Orientalism as a Western style for dominating, restructuring, and having authority over the Orient.” ~ Edward Said

Hair: TRUTH HAIR Hope by Truth Hawks for >TRUTH< *

Skin: L ~ Odette 4 – Honey/Arabian Nights {Mid Cleavage/Freckle} by Lumiya Rae for Lumae, available at Genre *

Makeup: #adored – sura shadows – winter by Constance Daehlie for adored, available at Genre *

Eyes: [Buzz] Ardent Eyes – Angel by Eleri Catlyn for Buzzeri

Outfit: Painfully Divine Shazadi -blue- by Nahtasha Uriza for Painfully Divine, available at Genre *

Bindis: ~*S.E.*~ Sweet Sheba (Bindi) by Draconias Timeless for Souzou Eien, available at Genre *

Nose ring: AZE Bedouin Sands Gold Nose Ring by Amilia Zabaleta for AZE Jewelry Designs, available at Genre *

Necklace: [UN] Desert Zephyr Necklace by Jalynne Ohmai for Unrepentant, available at Genre *

Hands: Slink Avatar Enhancement Hands – Casual by Siddean Munro for Slink

Nail appliers: Frogstar – Nasira Metallics Fingernails HUD by Ravenna Rossini for Frogstar, available at Genre *

Hand tattoo: Jalwa – Khaliji 5 Henna by Chandra Masala for Jalwa, available at Genre *

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

Shoes: Eclectica ‘Scheherazade’ Arabian Slipper-yellow by Tiffy Vella for Eclectica, available at Genre *

Poses: {NanTra} Scheherazade by Nancoix Urquan for {NanTra} Poses, available at Genre *

Gazebo: Spyralle Pearl Gazebo by Kerryth Tarantal for Spyralle, available at Genre *

#WithSyria

“It’s the children the world almost breaks who grow up to save it.” ~ Frank Warren

It saddens me to say that the people of Syria continue to be at war with themselves with thousands of women and children, no part of the political sphere, dying each day as a result. The situation is complicated; there is no easy solution or intervention.

Today is my son’s 11th birthday. He has a life of unusual comfort and privilege, especially compared to the boys of Syria. Where he has food, they may not. Where he has a superior education, they may not be able to read yet. Where he can feel safe going to bed at night, they may fear death. His drinking water is safe and clean. His mother can cuddle him and assure him all will be all right as I know it will. I have been so fortunate to be able to give my son a wonderful life.

As a mother, my heart aches for the mothers who have to move their children to save them from violence, to feed them, to find shelter for them, sometimes without the assistance of their families or spouses. I feel helpless in the face of this. So all I can do is send my heartfelt wishes to these mothers and children that the crisis in their country will soon end, a wish sent out on my sons’s 11th birthday—from both of us.

That doesn’t mean we can not care about the people of Syria, particularly the children. An international movement, #WithSyria, has gotten attention, and the artist Banksy has made a simple statement by redoing a piece of his/her artwork to reflect this:

It is a revision of this piece of work Banksy created:

A statement on the website reads as follows:

On the 6th March 2011 in the Syrian town of Daraa, fifteen children
were arrested and tortured for painting anti-authoritarian graffiti.
The protests that followed their detention led to an outbreak of violence
across the country that would see a domestic uprising transform into a
civil war displacing 9.3 million people from their homes.

If you want to learn more, check out this Upworthy link, which inspired me.

Skin: Jalwa – Meenakshi – Cardamom – Black Eyebrows by Chandra Masala for Jalwa, available at Skin Fair 2014 (Sim 1) *

Eyes: PC pearl – bog wood – medium dark by Lano Ling for Poetic Eyes

Outfit: ::Sakinah:: Blue and Grey Abaya by Syngen Sohmers for Sakinah

Hands: Slink Mesh Hands (av) Elegant Right and Slink Mesh Hands (av) Gesture Left by Siddean Munro for Slink

Shoes: *COCO*_Thong Sandal by cocoro Lemon for COCO

Pose by Olaenka Chesnokov for oOo Studio (custom)

Glamorous

“I don’t mind being burdened with being glamorous and sexual. Beauty and femininity are ageless and can’t be contrived, and glamour, although the manufacturers won’t like this, cannot be manufactured. Not real glamour; it’s based on femininity.” ~ Marilyn Monroe

Being glamorous in SL is a lot easier in SL than RL because there are so many with a glamorous vision to give us beauty. Mami Jewell recently created this gorgeous dress with her unique lush satin textures and shaping. She combines a beautiful off-the-shoulder dress with translucent flexi prims (notice how they don’t cast a shadow) to create a dress with true old-fashioned glamour. Worn with AvaGardner Kungler’s newest jewelry set, inspired by the colors of Brazilian carnival, and accessorized with a beaded clutch from Yula Finesmith, the look is drop dead gorgeous.

Chandra Masala is showing two new lines at the Skin Fair 2014. The Meenakshi skin comes in 5 tones with eyebrow variations, 6 lipsticks and 6 eyeshadows, and even an optional bindi plus cleavage and all the standard appliers. Chandra has touched this skin with her own spiciness and added elegant touches such as well-groomed, shapely brows (that can be altered quite drastically with her included bald heads.) Her skin is devastatingly elegant with an underlying sexiness. Deep dark brown eyes from Lano Ling (and brown eyes are not easy to pull off in SL) make the skin even more beautiful. I have worn one of Mirja Mills’ elegant up-dos, a gorgeous variation on the French twist, dramatically swept up and over.

“Some day the laws of glamour must be discovered, because they are so important that the world would be wiser now if Sir Isaac Newton had been hit on the head, not by an apple, but by a young lady.” ~ Booth Tarkington

Hair: .:EMO-tions:. * YASHI* by Mirja Mills for.:EMO-tions:. *

Skin: Jalwa – Meenakshi – Cardamom – Brown Eyebrows with Jalwa – Meenakshi Brows Straight, Jalwa – Meenakshi Makeup – Blue and Jalwa – Meenakshi  Lipstain – Apricot by Chandra Masala for Jalwa, available at Skin Fair 2014 (Sim 1)

Eyes: PC pearl – bog wood – medium medium by Lano Ling for Poetic Eyes

Dress: -AZUL- Rita /Sapphire by Mami Jewell for –AZUL- by Mami Jewell for –AZUL- *

Jewelry: (Kunglers Extra) Manacah necklace and earring – Lavender by AvaGardner Kungler for Kunglers Extra *

Clutch: FINESMITH CLUTCH BAG- SEQUINS NATURAL MESH by Yula Finesmith for Finesmith

Hands: Slink Mesh Hands (av) Elegant1 Right and Slink Mesh Hands (av) Flat Left by Siddean Munro for Slink

Nail Appliers: Nailed It – Pastels Set by Giela Delpaso for Nailed It *

Poses by Dove Swanson for Long Awkward Pose (no longer available)

The Little Fairy

Let the little fairy in you fly! ~ Rufus Wainwright

Genre’s new event is all about fae and so I did my best to wear the gorgeous pieces that they are offering to find the little fairy in myself. I started with this cute dress from Augurer with its sparkly otherworldly pattern and matched Plurabelle Laszlo’s darling little fairy slippers. Gorgeous fractal wings from Kerryth Tarantel add a shine to the whole look (remember when wings were SO in?) and a lovely little mesh blossom necklace and earrings from Ellantha Larsson complete the look.

Cherelle Capra has made a lovely vanity with cosmetics (which I didn’t rez) and stool for fairies to use for beautifying. (It is said fae are vain little creatures, apparently, who like to look their best as they flit around doing lovely deeds.) Little butterflies flit around the mirror. Of course, to be most beautiful, a fae needs to have an etherial skin and eyes. I picked up Hlin Bluebird’s darling skin at The Dressing Room Fusion. The brilliant part is it comes with ALL appliers you could ever need for a ridiculously low price and a lovely subtle makeup, perfect for fairies—or spring. I wore Constance Daehlie’s lashes from Genre to pop my eyes, which are gorgeous—bright fairy colors from Chandra Masala. And Mina Nakamura’s casual, wind-tossed style completes my look.

Everytime a child says ‘I don’t believe in fairies’ there is a a little fairy somewhere that falls down dead. ~ James M. Barrie

Hair: M I N A – HUD – Nikky – Essentials by Mina Nakamura for MINA, available at the Dressing Room Fusion *

Skin: al vulo- Cara*  ice blonde brow fairy by Hlin Bluebird for Al Vulo, available at Dressing Room Fusion

Eyes: Jalwa – Wisp (Sea) by Chandra Masala for Jalwa, available at Genre *

Lashes: #adored – ka-pow lashes by Constance Daehlie for #adored, available at Genre *

Dress: .Luminary. Ella Dress – Blue by Augurer for .Luminary., available at Genre *

Jewelry: .:ellabella:. Dulcina – Blueth by  Ellantha Larsson for.:ellabella:., available at Genre *

Wings: Spyralle Fractal Wings Series 12 Mint by Kerryth Tarantal for Spyralle, available at Genre

Shoes: Bliensen + MaiTai – Brennil – Shoe f. Standard Feet – Green by Plurabelle Laszlo for Bliensen + MaiTai, available at Genre *

[CIRCA] – “Enchanted Meadow” – Fae Vanity Seat and [CIRCA] – “Enchanted Meadow” – Fae Vanity Table by Cherelle Capra for [CIRCA], available at Genre *

Poses by Trieste Minuet for !bang

A Christmas Carol

“There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.” ~ Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

I am so PLEASED to congratulate Fabfree for winning the Avi Choice awards for best blog. I sincerely think there was no better blog for the title. (I am not being gracious here—I mean it.) I was good friends with Renee Lowenhart when she was running the blog, and I know how much work she put into building Fabfree. Love Trill and the other ladies have taken the baton and run with it, keeping up the fine standards Renee set and making it even better. They work DAMN hard on that blog, bringing people news of great items, keeping the free area at the Wash going, and running a ginormous group of freebie hunters. And they put slurls on EVERYTHING (and I know how much work that is). I know I refer new people to the blog at least three times a week. I am so pleased they got the award.

That being said, I am also pleased that I ranked in the top 5. Of course it’s not scientific and of course it’s all about some crazy poll on a website but dang, let me gloat just a little here for being in the top 5. I was thrilled to be nominated, so of course for this I am so honored. Thank you for voting for me! And congratulations to the other blogs!

That being said, I will now take you back in time to the Victorian era when Christmases were festooned with holly and velvet and delight galore! Actually, I’ll take you over to Genre, whose theme this month is “Victorian Christmas,” and a ton of creators are participating. I am actually amazed at some of the work because I can tell it’s original mesh, not templates, and it’s been done with the event in mind.

Take for example the skirt I wear from Kaliope Karas in plaid with a green hem, which I separated from a whole outfit she is offering so I could show Kerryth Tarantal’s gorgeous jacket with her distinctive complex textures. Kerryth has grown by leaps and bounds, looking at this, having drawn in all the fine detail—buttons, shadows, piping. She’s not just laying a fractal on a prim anymore. It’s gorgeous. And you can barely see but Tiffy Vella has made the most darling mesh shoes with a Victorian brocade print and a ruffled vamp.

The accessories at the event are exquisite. The gorgeous choker and earrings from Ellantha Larsson are simply a taste of what is being offered and Synjari Myriam’s top hat is one of many toppers up for sale. Chandra Masala offers this porcelain and pristine skin with a hark back to bygone days and I wore one of Helena Stringer’s makeup tattoos to get a deeper lip.

You will also find a variety of Victorian creations to furnish your house including this curio desk from Morgana Brid, which includes texture change features to change the wood and upholstery. And Lashae Karsin used her posing talent to make a stately Victorian chair that also has a few standing poses. Abathyr is generously offering the Christmas stocking I show with a texture change script to allow different names to be embroidered on the stocking for a mere 10L. In fact, almost every creator offers one 10L item so being Victorian this holiday won’t break the bank.

“And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!” ~ Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

Hair: TRUTH HAIR Fernanda by Truth Hawks for >TRUTH< *

Skin: Jalwa- Zahida – Victorian – Eyebrows by Chandra Masala for Jalwa, available at Genre *

Makeup: *TSM* Mistress Lips -Last Kiss by Helena Stringer for The Stringer Mausoleum, available at Genre *

Eyes: PC Eyes – Christmas Tale – medium medium by Lano Ling for Poetic Eyes

Jacket: Spyralle  Snowflake Lace Jacket Red by Kerryth Tarantal for Spyralle, available at Genre *

Skirt: KaliKo – Joanie Christmas Caroling Skirt by  Kaliope Karas for KaliKo, available at Genre *

Choker and earrings: .:ellabella:. Bygone Medusa – Yule by  Ellantha Larsson for .:ellabella:., available at Genre *

Top hat: .:SF:. “Memento Mori” Mini Top Hat – Thulian by Synjari Myriam for Senzafine, available at Genre *

Shoes: Eclectica Victoriana Shoe for Genre-red by Tiffy Vella for Eclectica, available at Genre *

Décor:

• Christmas Horn w Foliage COPY MOD by Pamela Galli for La Galleria
• C&F Burg Xmas Stocking w/ Texture Switcher by Abathyr for Cog & Fleur, available at Genre *
• Flash Friendly Poses – Victorian Salon Chair by Lashae Karsin for Flash Friendly Poses, available at Genre *
• {A} Curio Desk Set by MorganaBrid for Arcana Antiques & Oddities, available at Genre *
• .jamais201XXmas.Snowy fruitcake & Swan biscuit by Quark Fallen for Arbres Obscurs

The Gift of Appreciation

“

You… You really like me!” ~ Sally Field

I got an email from Doctor Gascoigne today that said, “I voted for you,” in the subject line and nothing else. I had to email back asking what he was talking about and he pointed to me the Avi Choice Awards, where I was listed as a candidate for best blogger. I was really surprised! Wedged between such heavyweights as Fabulously Free in SL, Hamlet Au, Inara Pey and Juicybomb was little old me. I am, needless to say, very honored just to be among their company and if you are planning on voting for Hamlet and have a shaky hand, well I won’t stop you from accidentally clicking on my name. Thank you for nominating me. It’s a true gift that warms my heart. Vote here (click on the here).

That being said, I am behind on my blogger duties due to SL weirdness and oh, sleepiness. I’ll admit it. I couldn’t stay up last night to finish my photos. So today you get Days 2 AND 3 of the KittyCats Advent Calendar goodies. First are a set of poses by Veridian Frog, designed to be used with the KittyCats Megapuss. Created to be used with the built in poses on the KittyCat, the poses are darling and picture purrfect. Imagine what kind of cute holiday cards you could make with your Megapuss.

And Barnesworth, an old old friend of the KittyCats, is offering this gorgeous mahogany fireplace with candles and a special pet feeder. The good news is if you missed yesterday’s, you can go today and get it. The previous days’ gifts stay open. The gifts are available to anyone—not just KittyCats fans. However, only one per avatar. How many fireplaces do you need anyway? And the Kittycats friends are doing this in appreciation of you as customers and fans of Kittycats.

AvaGardner Kungler is offering this elegant dress at the Winter Trend. I love the studs on the front—usually I hate studs on mesh but these are like jewels sparkling on the dress. My darling boots are Pixieplumb Flanagan’s answer to sexy winter wear. I got my gorgeous skin from Chandra Masala during the Skin Addiction Black Friday sales. (Bet you wish you hadn’t missed this one.) Chandra imbues her skins with beauty and a sort of spiciness (she who “puts the ‘desi’ in ‘desire’”). And my sassy chic ‘do is one of Mirja Mills’ latest.

Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well. ~ Voltaire

Hair: .:EMO-tions:. * COLLIEN 2 by Mirja Mills for .:EMO-tions:. *

Skin: Jalwa – Zahida – Carom – Brown Eyebrow by Chandra Masala for Jalwa

Eyes: [Crash Republic] Moon Eyes – hazel by Isabelle Requiem for Crash Republic *

Dress: (Kunglers) Milla shift dress – Abalone by AvaGardner Kungler for Kunglers, available at Winter Trend 2013

Boots: BM Mirari Boot by Pixieplumb Flanagan for Baby Monkey *

Poses: Megapuss Poses, MoodSwings by Veridian Frog for MoodSwings, available at the KittyCats 2013 Advent Calendar at KittyCats Winterland

[ba] mahogany fireplace with candles and fancy pet feeder – KittyCats advent 2013 by Barnesworth Anubis for Barnesworth Anubis, available at the KittyCats 2013 Advent Calendar at KittyCats Winterland