The Outdoorsman

My brother, Peter, is an outdoorsman. He has a hard time being inside the house—says it makes him claustrophobic. You can generally find him outside puttering around, putting out salt licks for the deer or tinkering with the Gator (some ATV thing he’s gonna break his neck on) or chopping wood for Mom and Dad or checking his deer stand for the 20 millionth time. He’s a quiet guy but pretty restless. He says the air is clearer out there. The rest of us think winter stinks; he thinks it’s a fine opportunity to throw on a sweater and walk around outside.

I managed to catch him out in the back field, going to shovel some path for the bunnies or something. He has on his new favorite sweater, one he got from mappy Handrick, which is a great turtleneck normally, but he is wearing a scarf he picked up from Jon Ree, hiding the neck. His jeans are from mappy Hendrick too; plain and versatile, they have a nice blue tone that isn’t all washed and wussy. Boots are his trusty worn Somas from Eponymous Trenchmouth.

My brother is actually a handsome guy (he’s related to me, of course). His skin, from Maximillion Grant, gives him the manly look he needs. The thing is, Maximillion has been making men’s skins in SL for a long time so he knows what a guy needs. He even looks great in a dorky hat, this one from Sienia Trevellion. (“My hat is not dorky! It’s so macho you can’t even understand because you’re a girl,” he told me.)

I convinced him to take off his sweater (when I told him some of my girl friends actually read this blog). He wants to make sure you see his ripped abs from all the woodcutting. (He refuses to acknowledge that Maximillion has given him these abs.)

It snowed last year too:  I made a snowman and my brother knocked it down and I knocked my brother down and then we had tea.  ~Dylan Thomas

Hair: >TRUTH< Ben – cocoa by Truth Hawks for >TRUTH< *

Skin: LOGO Eternity Tristan Skin – Chestnut – Stubble Bk by Maximillion Grant for LOGO*

Sweater *ARAI* High neck knit_black by mappy Hendrick for *ARAI*

Jeans: *ARAI* Nonwash Denim by mappy Hendrick for *ARAI*

Hat: sur+ [trapper cord grey] by Sienia Trevellion for sur+

Scarf: MTP Warm Scarf Saddle Blanket [mens] by Jon Ree for Mustang Trading Post

Boots: SOMA 2 Gray/Black by Eponymous Trenchmouth for Jeepers Creepers

Shovel: -RC- Snow Shovel (red) by Redd Columbia for RC Cluster

A Chill in the Air

Fall has come in too quickly. I am still staring at the shorts and t-shirt in my drawers, wondering if I will ever be able to wear them again. It’s not so bad because fall brings back the best part–snuggling up.

So I have snuggled up to .. myself. Yeah, that’s my male alt modeling for me. I needed a hunk in a pinch and there he was, chilling in his box, so I pulled him out. (Yeah, really, what kind of loser snuggles their other doll except me?) The reason was this adorable seasonable skybox from Gin Galtier. She has made 50 only to be sold on Marketplace and for that alone, it’s worth considering. I don’t normally do “on location” shoots, but the colors in this skybox are so pretty and autumnal, I wanted to show something cozy.

Check out the sweet desk in the corner with Gin’s eclectic styling. The skybox comes complete with all decor, which is also modifiable and removable. So you can hack this skybox as you please and still have a cozy nook for warming up. At 215 prims, it’s a lightweight packed with a lot of goodness.

And if nothing else, it’s chock full of great photography opportunities. (How humiliating—being cute with myself… *sigh*. What I do for “art.”)

My outfit is the kind of cozy I need on a chilly day. Doc Eldritch knitted up this beautiful sweater last year that comes with a hood or this great cowl. My jeans are comfy and sexy and made by Anyusha Lilienthal. And I love these boots from Ansor Hoorenbeek (who does women’s as well as men’s.. hello), which come with three different leg options. The great leg warmers make me feel cuddly. My boy is dressed in a great sweater from mappy handrick, jeans from machang Pichot and shoes from Guu Nishi. But really, this is all about the skybox…. and the girl ;)

“Then summer fades and passes and October comes.  We’ll smell smoke then, and feel an unexpected sharpness, a thrill of nervousness, swift elation, a sense of sadness and departure.” ~  Thomas Wolfe

Featuring elefantu [October Song] Limited Edition Skybox by Gin Galtier for elefantu, sold on Marketplace *

On her:

Hair: Meredith – Dark Copper by Calico Ingmann for Calico Ingmann Creations

Skin: LAQ ~ Julie – 02 [Peach] Glow skin (red hairbase) by Mallory Cowen for LAQ

Sweater: DE Tango Fall 09 Sweater – Toffee by DoC Eldritch for DE Designs

Jeans: Ibizarre Lolo Jeans by Anyusha Lilienthal for Ibizarre

Boots: [ hoorenbeek ] Warmleg Boots – Brown by Ansor Hoorenbeek for Hoorenbeek

On him:

Hair: LAQ ~ Radiant M05 (L) – Midnight by Winter DiPrima for LAQ

Skin: no.07 :: Demetris – Natural :: Goatee 01 – Hair by Aeon Jiminy for no.07

Sweater: *ARAI* Nit_gray by mappy Handrick for ARAI

Shirt (underneath): *ARAI* Jersey_black by mappy Handrick for ARAI

Jeans: AOHARU_BT_VintageDenim_Black by machang Pichot for AOHARU

Shoes: HOC Industries – Easy Striders by Guu Nishi for HOC

Heartthrob

I have been writing my blogs while watching “Coffee Prince,” a Korean sitcom/drama. It’s hilarious. A rich bachelor is being encouraged to get married by his battleaxe grandmother. In order to get out of being set up on dates, he hires a young woman delivery person to be a young man he can be seen with so the rumor is that he’s gay. At one point he dresses the young woman up, and she learns how to “be a man.”

I had the same experience styling myself for this blog. While I found the jacket and jeans myself, I was critically assessed for my bad shape and hair (and my lack of “smooth” with the ladies) by a male. The jacket with shirt comes from mappy Handrick, who is currently having a very generous sale on men’s items. The jeans are my favorite boys’ jeans—loose where they need to be and tight in all the right places. The bracelet is from Jon Ree, who has some awesome pieces for men as well as women. I think these could pass as manly, right?

The skin is from Aeon Jiminy, one I have been wearing a lot in these blogs. I like this skin a lot—it doesn’t look like all the other guys. It’s masculine and sexy with a youthful look and great whiskers. My revised shape helps it greatly. The hair is amazing—from Winter DiPrima, it’s a great offering for men who want to look sexy and cosmopolitan. My stylist was right on about this hair–it’s packed with “smooth.”

Words have no wings but they can fly a thousand miles. ~ Korean proverb

Hair: LAQ ~ Radiant M05 (L) – Midnight by Winter DiPrima for Laqroki

Skin: no.07 :: Demetris – Natural :: Goatee 01 – Hair by Aeon Jiminy for no.07 *

Jacket: *ARAI* Leather Jacket_black by mappy Handrick for Arai

Jeans: AOHARU_BT_VintageDenim(Pack A) by machang Pichot for Aoharu

Bracelet: Bracelet — Men’s Domingo silver links by Jon Ree for Mustang Trading Post

Shoes: HOC Industries – Easy Striders by Guu Nishi for HOC Industries

Foot Fetish

Feet in SL are … well the system feet are so so bad but really, can you expect them to be perfect? I can’t imagine it would make sense to have little separate toes and all that on avatars and making more graphics complications than is necessary.

But.. that causes a problem when you want to walk in the pixel grass with your bare feet. So the answer is prim feet, but honestly? Most bare prim feet don’t do anything for me. But.. oh… these feet changed my mind. Siddean Munro, one of the sponsors for this year’s Shoe Fair, has made these lovely tootsies and is selling them at the fair (which should be called Foot Fair, imho). Check these lovelies out: pretty little toes, actual real veins and not that putty look, ankles (!!) and even the creases around the achilles tendon. These feet are the next best thing to real.

Let me add that I STINK at matching feet in SL. I lack the patience to make it just right. But Siddean makes it pretty easy with her hud, which includes base foot textures over which you can color the foot. That makes a world of difference in matching the feet, frankly. The texture and variation in the foot appearance make much more sense, especially when you are matching to high end skins that also pay attention to realism down at the ankles. And her resizer is awesome. As my friend SC would say, “Love love love!”

Of course, the whole outfit is an homage to bare feet so it’s appropriately casual. I start a tank top from Janie Marlowe, who I believe is still having a sale over at Mischief before she clears the place out. I wear it with cutoffs from mappy Handrick and a cute little anklet from Leilani Siamendes.

Then we have the baseball hat that tops darling ponytails from Ageha Albatros. The cap has over 1000 variations, once you change the colors, the rivets, the button on top, etc. And it has that lovely.. foamy feeling. And a ring of dirt around the inside of the cap but that’s just in my imagination. I wear a fresh and young skin from Mallory Cowen, who has the corner on “glow” in SL.

Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. ~ Kahlil Gibran

Hair (with hat): ((JUNWAVE))MESH CAP*Rio*D-BROWN by Ageha Albatros for *JUNWAVE*

Skin: LAQ ~ Julie – 01 [Peach] Glow skin (red hairbase) by Mallory Cowen for Laqroki *

Top: **MIS** Afternoon Tank – Cherry by Janie Marlowe for Mischief

Shorts: Vacation denim_baige by mappy Handrick for *ARAI*

Necklace: Bliensen + MaiTai – Necklace Sleeping Flower by Plurabelle Laszlo for .Bliensen + MaiTai

Anklet: hula anklet red bronze left by Leilani Siamendes for Hula

Feet: SLink Jolie Pied Barefeet Low by Siddean Munro for SLink, and available at this year’s Shoe Fair