With Luck–KittyCatS & Friends Advent Calendar, Day 21

“With luck, it might even snow for us.” ~ Haruki Murakami, After Dark

The is one of those late-in-the-season posts where nothing quite makes sense. A bed in the snow? A KittyCat lounging around? Candles? An igloo? Just chalk it up to SL and some awesome décor from gachas at Shiny Shabby from Serab and Superjaix. Those candles from Superjaix have all sorts of light adjustments for intensity, color, etc. And Serab’s bed has all sorts of yummy romantic poses but I used Luna Jubilee’s reclining poses from Shiny Shabby for this set of photos.

It all centers around those pajamas, Kimmera Madison’s gift today in the KittyCats & Friends Advent Calendar. With cats in glasses, they are the cat item for the holiday, the ones you wear to open your gifts around the tree, the ones you wear all day on those pajama days, your favoritest comfiest ones with the feets. They fit mesh bodies as well as system bodies so just throw ‘em on. Get some festive bows from Aikea Reiko at FROST for your ears, forgo the contacts for your glasses (from Glamistry) and snuggle up with the KittyCat.

Monicuzza Babenco has made another fabulous applier for the Logo Alex head, which I show here. I rarely like a parted mouth but with this gorgeous skin and the expression on this head, it’s sexy and totally believable. I wore Queue Marlowe’s wild and wavy new hair because it’s a day to let my hair down. And Santana Lumiere offers these great nail appliers at her store on sale right now for next to nothing, and if you purchase a special set she has at the front of the store, you are entered into a drawing to receive all 400+ of her nail sets. (Be careful what you wish for, hm?)

Hair: AD – eliza – LIGHT BROWNS by Queue Marlowe for Analog Dog *

Mesh head: LOGO Alex v3.0 Omega by Maximillion Grant for LOGO *

Skin applier: *YS&YS* Teresa Tone 02 – Skins Applier for Logo Mesh Head Alex by Monicuzza Babenco for*YS&YS*, available at Shiny Shabby *

Eyes: Weaponized Sugar Eyes – Azure by weaponizedsugar for Weaponized Sugar

Body: Maitreya Mesh Body – Lara V3.4 by Onyx LeShelle for Maitreya

Pajamas: Tres Beau 2015 KittyCatS! & Friends Advent Onesie MAITREYA by Kimmera Madison for Tres Beau, available December 21 for the KittyCatS and Friends Advent Calendar at the KittyCats Wonderland Sim *

Glasses: Glamistry: Sunglasses PU2001 by Glamistry for Glamistry *

Earrrings: :[P]:- Gifted Earring by Aikea Reiko for The Plastik, available at FROST *

Nail applier: [LB Let It Snow Silver] *Maitreya* Manicure by Santana Lumiere for La Boheme

Poses: !bang – recline poses by Luna Jubilee for !bang, available at Shiny Shabby *

Décor:

• Concept} 03. IceLove – Iglu – RARE by Serab for Concept}, available at Shiny Shabby *
• Concept} 09. IceLove – White SinteticFur Carpet by Serab for Concept}, available at Shiny Shabby *
• Concept} 10. IceLove – White Bed – RARE by Serab for Concept}, available at Shiny Shabby *

• xin + clavv / ice lantern candle by superjaix for xin., available at Shiny Shabby *
• xin + clavv / winter tree + RARE by superjaix for xin., available at Shiny Shabby *
• xin + clavv / side table by superjaix for xin., available at Shiny Shabby *

KittyCats – Janaye by KittyCats for KittyCats *

Christmas Cheer—KittyCatS & Friends Advent Calendar, Day 19

At Christmas play and make good cheer,
For Christmas comes but once a year
~Thomas Tusser

Kimmera Madison passed me her KittyCatS & Friends Advent Calendar gift a couple weeks ago with a smile—or perhaps it was a smirk—on her face. I opened the gift and carefully composed my face. A colorfully decorated sweater and green polka dotted blouse—how… delightful! This reminded me of so many holidays when my well-meaning but crazy aunt came to the celebration with an ostentatiously-decorated sweater, kittens and gifts knitted into the panels. It was the kind of sweater that could only be worn at this time of the year and only among loved ones where the humiliation would not be too great. Kimmera clearly worked hard on this—she made sure each button was a different color and even the back panel had gifts knitted in. Yep.

So when I had to pull this gem out to blog it, I needed a bit of liquid confidence. Conveniently, Cherelle Capra has made this decorative ensemble for the Black Dot event, a bar that issues white or red wine, a darling “tree” of ornaments and cute wall hanging. I served myself a glass of wine… or two… or three (really I have forgotten), and put the sweater on, donned the included knit cap with kitten ears (of course) and holly earrings, and pulled on Missqwerty Pevensey’s cute skin-tight jeans (hoping the cute butt would add the tiniest amount of sexy to this look). Senzati0n Domenitzo’s great little ankle boots add a pop of color.

Sawsan Secretspy has come out with a new golden skin tone that I have rather fallen in love with and the beautiful makeup is my saving grace for this ensemble as I can look at my face and kind of ignore those floppy ears on top of the cap. Chiaki Xue has generously sent out her holiday gift, this short hair that is conveniently modifiable so I can tuck stray wisps into the cap.

Find Kimmera’s gift—a perfect entry for the ugly sweater contest at your local club—in today’s door on the KittyCatS & Friends Advent Calendar. And don’t tell her I suggested it was ugly. She meant well.

Hair: *Dura* Christmas G-gift  2014 (Strawberry) by Chiaki Xue for Dura *

Skin: .::WoW Skins::. Monica Golden 04 by sawsan Secretspy for .::WoW skins::. *

Eyes: #adored – dawn eyes – light green by Constance Daehlie for #adored *

Sweater, Hat and Earrings: Tres Beau “KittyCat Christmas” Sweater, Tres Beau “KittyCat Christmas” Hat and Tres Beau “Holly” Earrings by Kimmera Madison for Tres Beau, GIFT available exclusively in the KittyCatS & Friends Advent Calendar *

Jeans: [AB] Frosty Jeans Blue by Missqwerty Pevensey for American Bazaar, available at FROST *

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

Nail applier: -{ZOZ}- Reindeer Colors White Polish (slink) Fingernail Hud by Zozicon for ZOZ, available at FROST *

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

Boots: Essenz – Brisbane (Fatpack 1) by Senzati0n Domenitzo for Essenz, available at Frozzen Fair*

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

Décor: [CIRCA] “Christmas Cheer” – Wine Bar Set by Cherelle Capra for [CIRCA], available at the Black Dot Event *

• [CIRCA] – “Christmas Cheer” – Wine Bar & Giver – Redwood (4pos)
• [CIRCA] – “Christmas Cheer” – Snowflake Twig Vase
• [CIRCA] – “Christmas Cheer” – Holly Chalkboard
• [CIRCA] – “Christmas Cheer” Stool 2 – Candy Stripe (15 pos)
• [CIRCA] – “Christmas Cheer” Stool 1 – Candy Stripe (15 pos)

[04:38] Barely (barely.texan): Are you that drunk chick at the office party no one could remember before the sweater and your Tour of Laps?

Tres Beau at Fashion for Life

Kimmera Madison is one of the most prolific creators in SL. Between her men’s and women’s lines at Tres Beau, her bridal line, and her RP lines, Kim is putting out content that elevates the standard of beautiful in SL.

Kim is one of the few designers on the grid who can provide a wide range of styles and do all skillfully. She is also uniquely able to combine prims, sculpties and system pieces in ways that are ingenious while maintaining the quality of her textures and the final proportions and vision of the entire ensemble. Shopping at Tres Beau is like shopping at a very high end designer in real life—all the details are attended to, top to bottom.

Kim also understands a woman wants a variety of looks offered and a lot of sex appeal, so her work shows off all a women’s best attributes while managing to get her around the grid from day into night. Kim clearly enjoys fashion and it shows in her vibrant artistry.

Kimmera has participated in Fashion for Life for several years. Last year, one of her beautiful donation dresses was the feature on all the posters and contributed a large amount of money to ACS. This year, Kimmera has furthered her generous giving by becoming a VIP Sponsor. Not only will she have four beautiful creations up for sale with all donations going to the American Cancer Society, but she will also added a generous contribution from her own pocket.

Make sure you attend the Fashion for Life, March 12-22, SL’s biggest fashion fair on 9 sims hosted by the American Cancer Society and SL’s Relay for Life!

Photo 1:

• Hair: Dark Mouse Sabrina/Black4 by Muose Mimistrobell for Dark Mouse, FFL Store Sponsor
• Skin: (AMD) Ava – Deep Tan – Lustrous *Pink* by Apple May for Apple May Designs, FFL Store Sponsor
• Outfit: Tres Beau “New Soho” by Kimmera Madison for Tres Beau, VIP Sponsor for Fashion for Life and FFL Store Sponsor
• Shoes: * Baiastice__stiletto black by Sissy Pessoa by Sissy Pessoa for Baiastice, FFL Store Sponsor

Photo 2:

• Hair: ::DBS::TossMeAround-Ebony by DBS Heart for BishWear, FFL Store Sponsor
• Skin: Shapes by Kira – Tomoko Skin 01E Tone A by Kira Paderborn by Kira Paderborn for Style by Kira, FFL Store Sponsor
• Outfit: Tres Beau “Champagne” Noir by Kimmera Madison for Tres Beau, VIP Sponsor for Fashion for Life and FFL Store Sponsor
• Choker and Bracelet: Black Onyx Pearl and Diamond Bow Tie  Choker and Black Onyx Pearl and Diamond Bow Tie Bracelet by Alyssa Bijoux for Alyssa Bijoux Jewelry, FFL Store Sponsor
• Shoes: N-core INFINITY XtremeHeel Black by Claire Messenger for N-Core, FFL Store Sponsor

Photo 3:

• Hair: .:EMO-tions:. * WINDBLOWN* /deepblack by Mirja Mills for .:EMO-tions:., VIP Sponsor for Fashion for Life and FFL Store Sponsor
• Skin: LOGO Babydoll Amber Skin – Moonstone Base (No Brows) with LOGO Babydoll Amber – L01 – Lips – Currant (Pouty) and LOGO Babydoll – L03 – Cat Eye Liner and LOGO Babydoll Amber – L08 – Brows Style 3 Brown by Maximillion Grant for LOGO, VIP Sponsor for Fashion for Life and FFL Store Sponsor
• Lingerie: Tres Beau “Idylle” Purple by Kimmera Madison for Tres Beau, VIP Sponsor for Fashion for Life and FFL Store Sponsor
• Shoes: *Deviant Designs* Black Envy by Rosie Lavochkin for Deviant Designs, FFL Store Sponsor

Photo 4:

• Hair: [e] Rush – Black 04 by Elikapeka Tiramisu for Elikatira, Sim Sponsor for the Bourke White sim at Fashion for Life
• Skin: Maverick-Skin-~-Wish-~-Tan-~SIlverBlue/cleavage-(hair) by Ivy Maverick for Maverick Design Shapes and Skins, FFL Store Sponsor
• Shape: Maverick Design “Wish” Shape V.1 by Ivy Maverick for Maverick Design Shapes and Skins, FFL Store Sponsor
• Eyes: TBA, FFL Store Sponsor
• Dress: Tres Beau “Amethyst” RFL 2010 by Kimmera Madison for Tres Beau, VIP Sponsor for Fashion for Life and FFL Store Sponsor

Rara Avis

Rara avis in terris nigroque simillima cycno. ~ Juvenal

The rare bird shows her face more often in SL. It’s a place that attracts interesting and amazing women—women who are not afraid of technology, women who want to exercise their creative and intellectual minds, women who believe in a bigger world beyond them, reachable by pixels and words.

For the rare bird, the designs of Kimmera Madison are a joy. Every single piece of Kimmera’s is new and refreshing—she doesn’t rely on old outfits and rebuild and redo. She enjoys exercising her creative energies in SL, using all her skills to make pieces that are well-constructed and interesting. The best part of this dress is the skirt, which has a weird alpha sculpty thing going on which could kill the dress, but Kimmera actually uses it to her advantage, decorating the surfaces with an embossed texture that looks terrific.

I donned a cutting edge hair from Olli Braveheart to make the look a bit edgier (and to keep it all under the stylish hat Kimmera made. My skin is one of Minnu Palen’s mixed with the tattoo lipstick from another skin. Since she did not color the edges of the lipstick with a skin tone (or not that I could discern), I could easily overlay the lipstick from my Lola Sunkissed fatpack over the Estelle light skin. I have seen some tattoo lipsticks employ the skin tone to refine the edges, I presume, and that always turns out to be a fail. This worked really well.

“A rare bird on this earth, like nothing so much as a black swan.” ~ Juvenal

Hair: [LCKY] Cait – Black by Olli Braveheart for [LCKY]

Skin: [LeLutka]-E/Estellelight-makeup9(D Brows) with [LeLutka]-LOLA -Lipstic_Dark by Minnu Palen for [LeLutka]

Dress: Tres Beau “Milea” by Kimmera Madison for Tres Beau *

Shoes: Maitreya Gold – Hana Black Leather by Onyx LeShelle for Maitreya

Polka Dot Princess

The princess, the girl who has everything, who can wear anything, who will wear anything and wear it as she pleases… that’s what I want to be sometimes.

It’s easy to be a princess in this dress from Kimmera Madison. With its sculpty puffs and bows, it’s not something just any woman can wear. Kimmera has always managed to make her textures so real with the right highlights and shadows and a richness in the material that is not easy to replicate. Our princess is definitely not wearing off-the-rack.

I show it with a lovely skin from Lorac Farella that I spotted in her remodeled store/sim. I love the subtlety of the skin, which could serve a blonde as well as a brunette. The lips are luscious, the eye makeups subtle and sophisticated, and especially nice is the collarbone, which is not a “stain” as I see on so many skins, but a drawn beautiful feature.

“Being a princess isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.” ~ Princess Diana

Hair: MIEL SUN HAIR – brown 5 by Mika Nieuport for MIEL

Skin: Pulse Skin Trinity/M 2 by Lorac Farella for Pulse Skins *

Dress: Tres Beau “Polka Spot” Brown by Kimmera Madison for Tres Beau *

Nails: [ Love Soul ] Posing nail*Oval-Natural* by BlueStarRUI Villota for [ Love Soul ]

Jewelry: Ear Candy ~ Chocolate Diamond Necklace and Earrings by Maeve Mortlock for Ear Candy

Shoes: [Armidi Gisaci] Barcelona Slingback  – Bole w/Gold by Nicole David for Armidi

Crazy

I’m crazy for crying
I’m crazy for trying
I’m crazy for loving you
~ “Crazy” by Willie Nelson

The song has nothing whatsoever to do with what I am going to show, but it came on the station I listen to and reminded me of how Eshi and I saw Willie Nelson exactly this time last year at Summerfest. <3 Eshi :)

This ensemble is less crazy than elegant. The dress, by Kimmera Madison, shows Kimmera’s standard excellence (how can I make such perfect work sound so ordinary?). From the sexy mandarin-collared halter to the split-leg skirt, the sexiness is more in what is not shown but hinted at than what is shown. Kimmera, in her typical fashion, pays equal attention to the details—check out the frog closures on the collar and the bustle, adding drama to the outfit.

I wear a new hair from Truth Hawks, who has clearly tapped into some grid-wide zeitgeist with his streaked hair. Every week I can’t wait to see what he’s streaking next! (That really sounds so wrong.) I show beautiful shoes from Lissa Maertens and Melanie Zhao that carry the brocade to the tips of my toes.

“I’m crazy for thinking my love could hold you…”

Hair: >TRUTH< Roxana Streaked – crow by Truth Hawks for >TRUTH< *

Skin: []::Tuli::[] Sayuri tone 1 :: 07a by Tuli Asturias for Tuli *

Dress: Tres Beau “Princess Aura” by Kimmera Madison for Tres Beau Designs *

Shoes: !!Cattiva – Strappy – Red Orchid by Lissa Maertens and Melanie Zhao for !!Cattiva

The Orchid Thief

In a previous virtual incarnation, my persona surrounded herself with orchids. She wore orchid perfume, lived in a “hot house,” had a black orchid tattoo on her shoulder blade. During my first year in SL, in fact, I wore a poorly (self) made black orchid tattoo on my shoulder blade to remind myself of my previous virtual being.

It was no wonder then that I would want to show this beautiful dress from Kimmera Madison. Named after Honey Fairweather, who is herself a very precious and unique blossom (as I have learned having met and worked with her), the dress is adorned with beautiful golden and brown orchids shaped like lady slippers and so exquisitely textured I can’t stop looking at them. The textures throughout the rest of the prims are also beautiful with translucency and alpha clash being used as a benefit. The wavy hem on the bottom is a brilliant touch and that one detail alone reveals how Kimmera’s work is a cut above the rest.

I show this beautiful dress with a lovely glowing skin from Mallory Cowen. Made specifically for blondes, this set includes several makeups and all have the light brow and coloring more appropriate for blondes, which is sometimes a hard find in SL. Another hard find is a decent blonde texture on hair. Bubbles Clawtooth’s is a beautiful honey blonde, elegant and warm without being too yellow.

Just as I wonder
whether it’s going to die,
the orchid blossoms

and I can’t explain why it
moves my heart, why such pleasure

comes from one small bud
on a long spindly stem…

…it’s
purely erotic,

pistil and stamen, pollen,
dew of the world, a spoonful

of earth, and water…

~Sam Hamill, The Orchid Flower

Hair: CBC: Mrs.Mittens – Bombshell Blonde by Bubbles Clawtooth for Clawtooth

Skin: LAQ ~ Pearl – 10 [Peach] Glow skin by Mallory Cowen for Laqroki

Dress: Tres Beau “Honey” by Kimmera Madison for Tres Beau *

Earrings: E! Twisted Earrings by Eclectic Wingtips for E! Eclectic Apparel and Accessories

Silver Screen

Ah, the life of a movie star. Evenings at the club, sipping Pina Coladas, days at the beach, showing off those long legs while reading a romance novel. (OK, I concede this fantasy is out of some late 40s movie.)

Masked

Sometimes we are masked when we love. We cover up parts of ourselves to intrigue our partners. Sometimes our partners are masked. The mystery is intoxicating.

Your Valentine might be such a lady—a mystery girl. If she is, this great little set from Kimmera Madison might get her going. With its lacy bra and reribboned corset (pulled tightly), it makes mystery so seductive. Release for Valentine’s, this is one of several different pieces Kimmera is offering. There is bound to be one for your Valentine (pun intended).

Just in time for Valentine’s, Bax Coen offers these sumptuous red suede boots as part of her Prestige series. With offerings from bright red to wine, all in one boot, the boots can be resized identically to your previously custom-fitted boots by simply making the old ones “speak” and pasting that chat for the new ones to “hear.” Bax offers such a ingenious set of scripts in these boots with gorgeous textures and to-do-for shape, it’s a wonder we ever take them off.

I show this with a devastating skin from Twilythula Sorbet. I went poking around on a sim looking at others and stumbled into her store. She doesn’t have a large collection and it’s not as developed as other skin makers, but what I see in this set is pretty nice. I look forward to seeing more from her.

A man gives many question marks, however, a woman is a whole mystery.
~Diana Stürm

Hair: Cricri-gShort02-B by Aska Watler for CriCri

Skin: .:Twilythula:. PaNina City/Tan by Twilythula Sorbet for .:Twilythula:.

Lace and Mask: Tres Beau “Drama” Black by Kimmera Madison for Tres Beau *

Boots: Bax Prestige Boots/Red Suede by Bax Coen for Bax Boots *

Analysis Sofa: Diesel Works – The Debutante Chaise – Cream by Rogan Diesel for Diesel Works Animations *

Happy Anniversary!

Today’s blog will be kind of unusual. First, because I am wearing a wedding dress. This is an unusual sight. Harper’s not really the wedding type.

The reason is, I don’t need a partner. I like my friends. I like my companions and dancing partners. But I have one true partner, and he’s my RL husband. He doesn’t play SL. (You may find this hard to believe, but dressing up is just not for him, so SL didn’t intrigue him.) However, he supports my SL and my activities.

Today is my 10th wedding anniversary. Ten years ago, I had a beautiful wedding. I had a wonderful reception. I had a gorgeous wedding dress, and we had great photos taken of my four bridesmaids and his four groomsmen and our flower girl and ring bearer and junior bridesmaid. We registered for china, we received a chip and dip set, and we settled our tiny home together. I don’t need that again, in SL or RL. Ergo, this is one of the few times you will see me in a wedding dress. I’m set, thanks.

He has given me so much: the home we live in, the security of our lives, his support and love, his reassurances and his comfort. Most importantly, he gave me our beautiful son and has provided for us a comfortable life with a loving and hard-working man in our home. Every day I try to remember gratitude for my life. Today that gratitude is for my husband.

Happy Anniversary, Dan.

Hair: ETD Goddess II – Mahogany by Elikapeka Tiramisu for ETD

Skin: Pulse Skin-Valeries T: Sienna/Champagne BRN by Lorac Farella for Pulse Skins

Dress: Pasha Wedding Gown by Kimmera Madison for Tres Beau Designs

Bouquet: Bride Bouquet Prim Autumn Roses by Monica Weir for MW Designs

P.S. The reason I have this dress is because I modeled it for a bridal show, not because I ever purchased it for SL use. I also have a Golden Flexi Wedding dress that I received as a newbie which is.. well… for a newbie (and why do I still have it really?). Remarkably, this dress looks somewhat like my real wedding dress so I wore hair that resembles how I wore mine on my wedding day. However, my flowers were not as pretty. This is how I *wish* they had looked.