Luck Be a Lady

They call you lady luck
But there is room for doubt

~ “Luck Be a Lady” by Frank Sinatra

I am one lucky lady. I have this sexy little dress from Ariadna Garrigus, these longer than long red vinyl thigh high boots from Bax Coen and my own showgirl sign, advertising my luck from Agustkov. The dress comes in black with red or white but I chose the red because it’s my lucky color. The boots come in several colors—they were recently released in vinyl because, well, every girl in SL needs a little kink in her SL. And the sign is a great one with texture change, on and off marquee lights, and seven poses—some of which I show here except lying on my back, which is one of Rogan Diesel’s new “Erotique” poses.

It seems lady luck is what you need at the gachas. I thought SL banned gambling but a little gumball machine stuffing doesn’t seem out of the question. I am lucky because I got Queue Marlowe’s rarest hair offered at the Arcade, this fresh-out-of-bed sexy ‘do with a queen of hearts crown. And my skin is one of Umazuma Metaluna fresh faces from the Arcade. I love the cat eyes and the bright cherry lips softened by a freckled face. Sexy as heck—get them all!

I would be remiss in telling you about the gift for the fourth day of the KittyCats Advent Calendar. It’s such a sweet gift, it just didn’t fit in with my Lady Luck, but you’d be lucky to get it. Dellybean North has lovingly recreated the KittyCats in a music-playing snow globe. Click the globe and snow falls while a sweet lullaby plays.

Lets keep this party polite
Never get out of my sight
Stick with me baby, I’m the guy that you came in with
Luck be a lady tonight

Hair: AD – queen of hearts – dark browns (rare) by Queue Marlowe for Analog Dog, available at The Arcade *

Skin: [theSkinnery] Maya 6 (honey) BB CL1 by Umazuma Metaluna for the Skinnery, available at The Arcade *

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

Dress: ***ArisAris AA14 Connection Red dress by Ariadna Garrigus for ArisAris *

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

Hand appliers: [theSkinnery]Slink Skin Applier HUD-Hands-honey by Umazuma Metaluna for the Skinnery *

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

Boots: BAX Regency Boots Red Patent Leather by Bax Coen for Bax Coen Designs*

Sign: 7 – Lady Luck Vintage Sign by Agustkov for Seven Emporium

Pose from the “Erotique” series by Rogan Diesel for DieselWorks Animations *

PuddyTat Lullaby Snowglobe 1 by Dellybean North for True North Designs, available at the KittyCats 2013 Advent Calendar at KittyCats Winterland

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

 

Winter Wonderland

Sleigh bells ring
Are you listening
In the lane
Snow is glistening
A beautiful sight
We’re happy tonight
Walking in a winter wonderland

~ “Winter Wonderland” (this one by Bing Crosby)

I managed to squeak through Thanksgiving and Black Friday without injury and now I am in the middle track to the rest of the holidays. I have almost all my holiday gifts purchased. The cookies are baked and hidden away. The house is clean. What can I do with myself?

It’s time to receive and the generous folks at KittyCats and their friends are opening the advent calendar for yet another year. Touch down at the calendar, click on the door, and receive a gift from one of the generous KittyCat friends each day. The first gift is a KittyCats trap, a cute box for your KittyCat.

The rest of the sim has been decorated for winter enjoyment with beautiful picturesque spots for your snapshots and a great huge skating rink to enjoy alone or with a partner. I snuggled up in Kavar Cleanslate’s ingenious sweater/hair combo. The hair comes on top with the hood with a color change for hair and the hood. The dress is a separate piece that also has a color change and the special rare is the Glimmer dress. I wore the icy blue because I love it. I paired it with Babette Ultsch’s sexy off white boots, which are available at her store now (after Shoetopia). A pretty knit scarf from Rebeca Denbow keeps my neck warm. (I purchased because I can knit something like this in RL. Really!)

I went shopping the Black Friday sales for Skin Addiction and wandered into Tuli Asturias’ store and fell in love again. I think I already had this skin but I had to get it again because I still like it. Even with the changing lighting in SL, the skin holds up. The make ups seem a bit bold but I know Tuli is up to new styles and looks to be released soon. I have always been a Tuli girl.

When it snows
Ain’t it thrilling
Though your nose gets a chilling
We’ll frolic and play the Eskimo way
Walking in a winter wonderland

Walking in a winter wonderland
Walking in a winter wonderland

Hair with dress: Exile::First Snow – Dark Browns with Glimmer Dress addon RARE by Kavar Cleanslate for ::Exile::, available at The Arcade *

Skin: [:T:] Gina / sunkissed :: 02 Lagoon by Tuli Asturias for Tuli

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

Scarf: _CD_Cold Scarf Snow – by Rebeca Dembow for Candy Doll

Nails: Nailed It – Prim Nails – Medium by Giela Delpaso for Nailed It *

Boots: *KL* Boots Eve Off White by Babette Ultsch for Kitties Lair *

Poses by Valencia Southard for Marukin

First day advent gift: A.D.D. Andel! Kitty Trap!- KittyCatS Advent Gift 2013, available for FREE (a gift, duh) at the KittyCats 2013 Advent Calendar at KittyCats Winterland

Winter Is Coming

“Still … in this world only winter is certain.” ~ George R.R. Martin

How did this happen? It seems a week ago I was on my bike, pedaling to the store. And now there’s snow on the ground, frost in the air, and jingle bells on my mind. I have pulled out my boots, my wool coat, my 200 scarves and mittens and have stashed my bike in the back of the garage. Winter is coming!

In SL it’s not such a big deal. A woman can walk around in a short skirt and not feel the chill. I went to a redone sim from Jac Mornington, with a definite Japanese feel (think Hokusai without the wave). The air was brisk but not enough to keep me from shooting a few photos in a cute dress from Lilly Juno, which I warmed up with a scarf from Jammeh and Nena Janus’ cute platform boots that were her fund raiser for Shoes4Soles at Shoetopia.

Izzie Button’s pumpkiny pretty skin from TDR Fusion and gorgeous hazel eyes from Isabella Requiem still let me cling to the last bits  of autumn before the harsh winter winds blow. I love this hat and hair combo from Mina Nakamura. The hat has a color change option in the HUD where you set the hair color.

“Nothing burns like the cold.” ~ George R.R. Martin

Hair: MINA Hair – Carlijn BB by Mina Nakamura for MINA *

Skin: Izzie’s – Lucie Pumpkin Pie fair DB by Izzie Button for Izzie’s, available at TDR Fusion

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

Dress: Immerse Sequoia Red by Lilly Juno for Immerse *

Scarf: Toro. Striped Yuppie Scarf  F by jammeh for Toro.

Hands: Slink Mesh Hands Casual S Left and Slink Mesh Hands Casual S Right by Siddean Munro for Slink *

Hand appliers: Izzie’s – Slink Avatar Enhancement – HANDS by Izzie Button for Izzie’s

Nail appliers: Orc Inc. Fingernails – Cream Basics Fatpack by Nicole Twigvald for Orc Inc. *

Boots: *League* Lauren Wedge Boots -Rigged- Purple Medium by Nena Janus for League, available at Shoetopia

Poses by Valencia Southard for Marukin

Photos taken at “Yuki No Yume”.. A Dream of Snow. built by Jac Mornington

Pink Polka Dots

“Round, soft, colorful, senseless and unknowing. Polka-dots become movement… Polka dots are a way to infinity.’ ~ Yayoi Kusama

The Rockabilly Fashion Fair is still on for another week and with lagless and less-crowded shopping, it’s pretty fun and has a lot of great fashions. Ivy Burner’s contribution is this darling halter and capri set, pieces sold separately but perfect for matchy matching. Ivy includes with the set a HUD for changing the textures of the materials and trims so you can get both solid colors and polka dots. I went for the pink polka dot look, as you can see, to match my new shoes.

If lag isn’t such an issue to you, repeatedly try to tp to Shoetopia, which just opened two days ago, to pick up the shoes I show from Aranel Ah. Built for the Slink feet (yep, you can’t avoid ’em), the shoes are reasonably priced and darling. I just had to get a pair and proceeds from this color (if I recall) benefit the chosen charity, Soles4Souls.

Chiaki Xue has released a beautiful wavy flip, reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe. I pair it with one of Shyla Diggs’ and Tricky Boucher’s newest skin releases—Nina—and beautiful blue-brown eyes from Isabelle Requiem. A quick visit to Marketplace found me polka dotted jewelry from Ayumi Cassini to match my look.

“I don’t think there is ever a wrong time for a polka dot.” ~ Marc Jacobs

Hair: *Dura-Girl*51(Strawberry) by Chiaki Xue for Dura *

Skin: -Belleza- Nina Sk 8 BL with -Belleza- Nina SK Gloss Lip 3 and -Belleza- Eyeliner 1 by Shyla Diggs and Tricky Boucher for -Belleza- *

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

Halter: ~Sassy!~ RockaDoll halter – all colors by Ivy Burner for ~Sassy!~, available at the Rockabilly Fashion Fair *

Capris: ~Sassy!~ RockaDoll capris – all colors by Ivy Burner for ~Sassy!~, available at the Rockabilly Fashion Fair *

Jewelry: [MAGIC NOOK] Shoo Be Doo Bracelet (Pink) and [MAGIC NOOK] Shoo Be Doo Necklace (Pink) by Ayumi Cassini for Magic Nook

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

Hand Appliers: -Belleza- Slink Hands – SK by Shyla Diggs and Tricky Boucher for -Belleza-

Nail Appliers: Nailed It –  French Manicure by Giela Delpaso for Nailed It *

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

Feet Appliers: -Belleza- Slink Feet – SK by Shyla Diggs and Tricky Boucher for -Belleza-

Shoes: *BOOM* Posey Pumps (salmon) by Aranel Ah for *BOOM*

Poses by Rogan Diesel for DieselWorks Animations *

The Shoe In

“You can’t by happiness but you can buy shoes, and that’s the same kind of thing.”

I have been to Heaven and back, and I’ll tell you, it’s quite a trip. Shoetopia opens today, and while I’m not an “official” blogger for Shoetopia, I was given early access and blogger samples with a bunch of other great bloggers, so I feel obligated to tell you about my visit and share some celestial enlightenment.

In true form they have made a literal shoe Heaven in the two sims. A path wanders through the clouds leading from gazebo to gazebo—a paradise of shoe shopping with some of the best shoe makers in SL and even a few designers who have dipped their toes in shoe-making (rather successfully, I must say). Highlights in my memory include Gos, N-Core, Lapointe and Bastchild (some to-die-for men’s shoes), Boom, Bax Boots, Pixel Mode, G Field, Slink, Baby Monkey, League, Kittie’s Lair, Ingenue, ArisAris, and BSD Design.

My first shoe is from BSD Design, one of the participants in Shoetopia. BabyChampagne Sass is donating 100% of the proceeds from the sale of one her shoes to Shoes4Soles (no link given in the Shoetopia blog), which is a generous donation for the caliber for BabyChampagne’s work. In fact, it seems each designer is giving 100% from one item, which is pretty damn generous. (Not positive how it works—donation details haven’t been posted on their blog and the press release they sent out was TLTR.) I pair it with a handbag from Juno Martel, proceeds going to the victims of Typhoon Haiyan from the Water Lantern Festival.

Let me tell you my impressions. First tip: Just get the Slink feet already. You can buy them right there as I did. Many shoes being sold are built around the feet. Of course, the price tag on some of those shoes is a bit high considering they don’t include a foot or the fancy HUD work that makes a footed shoe or the Slink foot cost 600 or 700L. You can get a nice Gos shoe or N-Core for the same price without having to mess around. (In other words, I willingly pay Gos and Nuria for development costs for their HUDS and webhosting. People who build shoes around a Slink foot shouldn’t be charging as much because their cost is simply not as high.) However there are a few darling and reasonable shoes that fit the Slink feetsies. I gave up and got the feet myself just so I could wear the cute shoes I keep seeing.

Second, be prepared for this event: lag is gonna be a huge issue–more than it should be. Graphical lag may well be a factor–I am not sure if textures from the vendors have been enforced at 512 or less. However, sim lag is definitely gonna get you because of the build. None of the structures or vendors are phantom and of course, all the charity vendors are scripted as well as the gacha vendors. Avatar scripts had not been turned off as of my visit there.  If the organizers experience sim lag—and they will—it’ll be about the massive amounts of collision. There’s so much folks can do before opening without asking customers to dress like newbies. They haven’t done it all.

Finally, let’s be frank: you’re not going to get in right away, kids. Agent limit is 45. That’s ok! Shoetopia goes on for TWO weeks. Don’t rush it. You don’t have to be the first one in. The shoes aren’t going anywhere and your size won’t be sold out. They are passing demos out in a group and a map is being posted on their blog so you can find the creator you like quickly. Besides, the lag during the opening days should be enough to discourage you. Take your time and wander over during the next week when you hopefully can enjoy the shopping with less lag.

Give the organizers a hand. It’s a lot of work. And goodness knows, they mean to do well because they have been at it for months. And the designers really showed up for this event. Hit Shoetopia before it ends on November 30 and drop a few on Shoes4Soles.

“Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world.” ~ Marilyn Monroe

Hair: MINA Hair – Tabita by Mina Nakamura for MINA *

Skin: -Glam Affair – Elvi – America – 06 E by Aida Ewing for Glam Affair *

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

Outfit: [LG] Boutique-[ FALL-13] Drinking From The Bottle by SamanthaSJones for LIV-Glam *

Handbag: Fire Blossom Handbag Pastels by Juno Mantel for Junbug, available at The Water Lantern Festival

Hands: Slink Mesh Hands (av) Bag Right and Slink Mesh Hands (av) Casual Left by Siddean Munro for Slink

Hand appliers: Glam Affair – Slink Hands Skin Appliers ( America) by Aida Ewing for Glam Affair

Nail appliers: Nailed It – Prim Nails – Dark Set by Giela Delpaso for Nailed It *

Shoes: {{BSD Design studio}}surreal gold by for {{BSD Design studio}}, available at Shoetopia *

Poses by Rogan Diesel for DieselWorks Animations *

QTπ

Somehow it’s O.K. for people to chuckle about not being good at math. Yet if I said, ‘I never learned to read,’ they’d say I was an illiterate dolt. ~ Neil deGrasse Tyson

I’ve been off a few days, nursing a cold and taking care of RL, and.. well… indulging in math. I know that seems weird. Who likes math? Well I do! The Khan Academy has a great site for working on math skills and it’s the kind of puzzle gaming I love to do—with the added benefit of improving my mind. Look, if Danica McKellar can do it, so can I!

Simple math tells me if I put together a great top with terrific jeans, I’m going to have a fabulous look. Erratic Rain has recently released this mesh top that fits perfectly over any mesh bottoms you can come up with. That’s saying a lot because, if you haven’t noticed, mesh from different creators doesn’t always play well together. But Erratic has designed the ultimate sexy but casual blouse in several colors that does the trick. Shai Delacroix has recently released these bootylicious jeans with a color changing HUD that includes 8 shades. Who needs a separate mesh booty when you already have it going on? Moonbubble Gothly made the darling mesh sneakers I wear with this casual look.

A pale and lovely skin, Aida Ewing’s latest skin line is a knock out. With her finely drawn brows, beautifully defined eyes and gorgeous lips, she has once again given the grid beauty. M4r1lyn Magic offers this sexy mesh hair with one of four color HUDs for your most gorgeous hair-down looks. It all adds up to wonderful!

Doing math is like going to the gym – it’s a workout for your brain and it makes you smarter. ~ Danica McKellar

Hair: ~Tableau Vivant~ Vlodovic Hair by M4r1lyn Magic for Tableau Vivant *

Skin: -Glam Affair – Vera – Europa 01 A by Aida Ewing for Glam Affair *

Eyes: 2moro* Be the light eyes – blue by Reira Islay for 2moro, available at the Halloween Mini Market

Shirt: erratic / keira – shirt / pink by Erratic Rain for erratic *

Jeans: *Shai* Slim Jeans Mesh by Shai Delacroix for Casa del Shai *

Bracelets: BoHo HoBo Three Friendship Bracelets together by Trill Zapatero for BoHo HoBo *

Socks: [Crash Republic] stripey knee socks – blue by Isabelle Requiem for Crash Republic *

Shoes: [ bubble ] Mesh Sneakers – Bloom by Moonbubble Gothly for [bubble] *

Poses by Valencia Southard for Marukin

The Best Days of Our Lives

I remember when
You told me all the joys in life
The simple things
Pleasure they would bring
When in troubled times

~ “Best Days of Our Lives” by Weekend Players

How can you not think these are the best times of our lives.. well our second lives. We have mesh, we have new rendering, we have a plethora of great content creators. C’mon, folks. Enjoy it! I put together an outfit with mixed textures today to compliment my furniture feature. An older shrug from Cerberus Noel (quality always looks good) keeps my shoulders warm over this top from Isabelle Requiem, which she is offering at She & Him. I tucked little shorts from Sanura Snowpaw underneath and work butterfly garter socks from Nena Janus. Group gift boots from Jaimy Hancroft complete this look (with clocks etched in the leather if you look closely).

My whole exercise in showing so many prints and colors in the outfit was to compliment the fabulous new furniture set from Cory Edo, which she is offering at FaMESHed this month. It’s no secret I am a *huge* fan of Cory, not only her work, which is artistic, well made, and top notch but also her attitude, which is practical, cheerful and intelligent. She loves mesha nd it loves her. I love how this latest set revels in patterns and colors, allowing the owner to mix them and match them with texture change scripts in the furniture and enough poses to make any virtual interior decorator happy.

My blushing beautiful skin is one of Peachiemuah’s newest releases for her Fresh Face line. With darkly lined eyes and full sensuous lip, this is a bit more mature look for her skins and quite welcome. My updo is one of Truth Hawk’s newest and so much easier to wear now he has a texture change hud. Audrey Lamede is generously offering these eyes and another pair as a gift in her store—no group needed but you should join to see her marvelous releases. And Maxi Gossamer’s acorn necklace and ring add a touch of fall to my look.

These…
These are the best days of our lives

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

Skin: (FreshFace) Heather Olive Bigger Breasts by PeachieMuah for [Fresh Face] *

Eyes: .ID. September Gift – Fall Eyes 2 by Audrey Lamede for Insufferable Dastard

Jacket: *GF* Ruffle Bolero -pumpkin- by Cerberus Noel for G Field

Top: [Crash Republic] Ivy Dress – brown by Isabelle Requiem for Crash Republic, available at She & Him *

Shorts: .: Somnia :. Button Flap Shorts {Teal} by Sanura Snowpaw for .: Somnia :. *

Necklace:  MG – Necklace – Royal Autumn Forest Acorn –Short by Maxi Gossamer for Maxi Gossamer, available at FaMESHed *

Ring: MG – Rings – Royal Autumn Forest Acorn – R by Maxi Gossamer for Maxi Gossamer, available at FaMESHed *

Socks: *League* Side-Gartered Stockings -Butterfly -Brown Garter by Nena Janus for League

Boots: drd rigged worn combat boots by Jaimy Hancroft for Death Row Designs

Furniture: Trompe Loeil – Ashdon Living Room Suite PG [mesh] by Cory Edo for Trompe Loeil, available at FaMESHed *

• Trompe Loeil – Ashdon Chair with Blanket PG
• Trompe Loeil – Ashdon Coffee Table Scripted
• Trompe Loeil – Ashdon Couch with Pillows PG
• Trompe Loeil – Ashdon Chair with Pillow PG
• Trompe Loeil – Ashdon Pillow Basket 3
• Trompe Loeil – Ashdon Fabric Screen High LOD 6LI
• Trompe Loeil – Ashdon Wall Illustration Grapes
• Trompe Loeil – Ashdon Wall Illustration Italian Rose

Rug: ::GUDU::  RugRug_n by Bersten for GUDU

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

Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes

She’s a rich girl
She don’t try to hide it
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes

~ “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” by Paul Simon

She’s a rich girl, don’t try to hide it. She can wear the best so she wears Avagardner Kungler’s stylish shift dress, one of the pieces featured at the Avenue Fashion Week. With a sexy silhouette and a bold geometric design with gems bespeckling the top yoke, this dress is high fashion for a girl who can have whatever she wants. Combined with mixed media shoes with spikey gold heels and a stylish handbag from Babychampagne Sass, the look is tres chic.

Sawsan Secretspy has created a set of skins for the Candy Fair that are absolutely delicious. With pretty features, a gentle blush and candy-flavored eye shadows, these are a fashionable look for any rich girl. Chocolatey eyes from Umazuma Metaluma, also available at the Candy Fair, sweeten the look. MissAllSunday Lemon gives us a darling curly do with a color change hair band and winsome bangs at this month’s FaMESHed.

People say I’m crazy
I got diamonds on the soles of my shoes
Well that’s one way to lose
These walking blues
Diamonds on the soles of my shoes

Hair: /Wasabi Pills/ Jade Mesh Hair – Dark flame by MissAllSunday Lemon for Wasabi Pills, available at FaMESHed *

Skin: .::WoW Skins::. Donna Sunkissed 3 RB by sawsan Secretspy for .::WoWSkins::., available at Candy Fair *

Eyes: [theSkinery] Chocolate eyes – Sea Salt by Umazuma Metaluna for the Skinnery, available at Candy Fair

Dress: (Kunglers) Milla shift dress – Ivory by AvaGardner Kungler for Kunglers, available at Avenue Autumn/Winter Fashion Week *

Hands: Slink Mesh Hands Bag Right and Slink Mesh Hands Casual Left by Siddean Munro for Slink

Hand appliers: .::WoW Skins::. * NEW Sunkissed slink applier hands by sawsan Secretspy for .::WoWSkins::. *

Nail appliers: Nailed It – Love Donna Flora! by Giela Delpaso for Nailed It *

Bracelet: [Crash Republic] Strappy Bracelet – copper trio RARE by Isabelle Requiem for Crash Republic, available at OMG, Oh My Gacha *

Handbag: {{BSD Design Studio}}Urban chic model handbag giraffe by BabyChampagne Sass for {{BSD Design studio}} *

Shoes: {{BSD Design studio}}Statement shoes cow skin- trio by BabyChampagne Sass for {{BSD Design studio}}, available at the SL Fashion Week *

Poses by Valencia Southard for Marukin

Hema

“The key to your happiness is to own your slippers, own who you are, own how you look, own your family, own the talents you have, and own the ones you don’t. If you keep saying your slippers aren’t yours, then you’ll die searching, you’ll die bitter, always feeling you were promised more. Not only our actions, but also our omissions, become our destiny.” ~ Abraham Verghese in Cutting for Stone

I have been mostly absent from SL the past week because I have been absolutely enraptured by a novel I have been reading by Abraham Verghese called “Cutting for Stone.” The author, a professor and surgeon at Stanford, interrupted his career about the same time I was in grad school to go to the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, and good thing he did, because the novel is magnificent. Narrated by Marion Praise Stone, a twin born with his brother in a hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, it traces his life through the years—a rather dramatic life in a third world hospital. His adoptive mother, Hema, is an ob/gyn who, with his twin brother Shiva, create a scholarship about fistulas. (The book is stuffed with medical stories, information, and details—it’s amazing). Hema is, as you would expect, a wonderful mother, and it’s after her I name this entry.

I found this beautiful set of top and leggings at the Marquis Market, made by uklea Resident using template mesh pieces. I love how she has combined a bright and royal purple with gold and turquoise for this stunning display of color and texture. Also clever, she has used an East Asian silhouette (the cheongsam) with a more West Asian motif (kind of Indian). I decided to go the Indian route with a nose piercing, bindi, bangles and slippers from Zaara Kohime.

Tricky Boucher has just released the full Leila skin and I opted for the deepest skin tone to make this look. The eyes, while not specifically kohl-lined, are smoky and darkly shaded and the lips are a succulent though muted red. Mirja Mills’ gorgeous full ponytail completes the look, making my Hema as beautiful as the one Ghosh fell in love with in the novel.

…As she bent over the child she realized that the tragedy of death had to do entirely with what was left unfulfilled. She was ashamed that such a simple insight should have eluded her all these years. Make something beautiful of your life. ~ The character Hema in Cutting for Stone

Hair: .:EMO-tions:. * ALISHA*/black by Mirja Mills for .:EMO-tions:. *

Skin: -Belleza- Leila Mocha 7 by Tricky Boucher for -Belleza- *

Eyes: [Crash Republic] Rebel Eyes – brown by Isabelle Requiem for Crash Republic *

Top: LavandaChic*Indian Fashion Dress (P/T) by uklea for LavandaChic, available at Marquis Market

Pants: LavandaChic*Indian Fashion Pants (Turquoise) by uklea for LavandaChic, available at Marquis Market

Bindi: ZC : bindi purple by Zaara Kohime for Zaara

Bracelets: ZC : Indra painted stacked bangles *gold* by Zaara Kohime for Zaara and Boho Bangles – Laquered Gold and Diamonds by Maxi Gossamer for Maxi Gossamer *

Earrings: Zaara : Anjami Chandelier earrings *gold* by Zaara Kohime for Zaara

Nose piercing: Juiced Up Stone Nose Piercing by Ameshin Yossarian for Curious Kitties

Shoes: Zaara : Ilaida Mojri *turquoise* by Zaara Kohime for Zaara

Poses by Valencia Southard for Marukin