Donna di Mondo

“Everything you see I owe to spaghetti.” ~ Sophia Loren

My travel budget is kind of slim this year so I am relying on travel within SL to sate my needs. Addy Hax and several others from her community built a lovely little parcel based on their pretty sim in SL. You get a taste of little Italy right at SL11B (which still has the sims open). And what a taste it is!

Which brings me to Italian women. How do they manage to eat all that pasta and still stay so chic and lovely? I think it’s the lifestyle—the cobblestone streets, the pretty views, the refreshing air. (Yes, I realize this is a very imaginary Italy but I think the attitude of enjoying life, of seeing beauty, of feeling the invigoration of living is certainly an Italian way of being.)

I decided to go chic with one of GraceHaddington’s newest designs, which she is soon to release to the public for her summer line. On July 5 and 6, LivGlam is hosting a fashion show at which the entire collection will be released. Grace is terrifically excited, and I can’t blame her. This piece, with translucent top and skirt, has Grace’s signature luscious prints and her inimitable style. I can only imagine a dress this chic in Italy.

I accessorized with Erratic Rain’s new slingbacks for Summerfest. Erratic does her own mesh and she’s painstakingly meticulous about it, so when you get a pair of her shoes, it’s like buying handmade Italian shoes in Milan. Every single pixel is perfect. She offers these in a variety of classic summer colors and prints. Abraxxa Anatine’s dangling semi-precious stone earrings with a texture-change HUD allowed me to find the perfect look to match.

Shyla Diggs’ makeup for her latest skins at the Liaison Collaborative is lovely—deep and sensuous and as usual, we see Tricky Boucher’s great work on this lovely skin. My hair is a twisty ponytail from Shylah Honey from the Manga Fair, a great look for a manga style, I am guessing, with its corkscrew shape, but also chic enough for this look with wispy bangs pulled to the side.

“Sex appeal is fifty percent what you’ve got and fifty percent what people think you’ve got.” ~ Sophia Loren

Hair: *~*Damselfly*~*Campbell Rigged-Mesh Big Pack by Shylah Honey for:::Damselfly Hair:: , available at Manga Fair *

Skin: -Belleza- Nina Sk TLC 1 Br by Shyla Diggs and Tricky Boucher for –Belleza, available at The Liaison Collaborative *

Eyes: [Brixley] Spring Eyes – evergreen by Isabelle Requiem for Brixley *

Dress: [LG] Boutique-[ SUMMER14] Sliced Tomatoes by GraceHaddington for LivGlam (available July 5) *

Earrings: EarthStones Chianna Earring – Fatpack by Abraxxa Anatine for EarthStones *

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

Nail appliers: Nailed It – Ombre Set HUD (wear) by Giela Delpaso for Nailed It *

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

Shoes: erratic / sarah – wedges / cyan by Erratic Rain for erratic, available at Summerfest *

Poses: KaTink – Chanel Runway Fat Pack 1-15 by Annemarit Jarvinen for KaTink *

Taken at A Little Dream of Italy at the SL Community Celebration (still open!)

A Tourist at Home

“I live in my own little world. But its ok, they know me here.” ~ Lauren Myracle

I am so ready for a vacation. I have been running the website over at SL11B, posting the schedules and slurls and blog posts and then running around and enjoying the sights, being a tourist at home, as it were. I found the Oceania parcel that Harlequin Rhode and Nephelle Lanate built, which was a perfect site for showing off this amazingly glamorous mesh bathing suit from Zaara Kohime that she is featuring at Summerfest. In Zaara’s inimitable style, the suit is gathered in the middle in a vintage styling made modern and the silhouette, a mesh made by Zaara, is sexy but not crass. Zaara has also made beautiful bejeweled sandals with an Indian influence to be worn with Slink flat feet.

Belle Roussel is celebrating the summer as well with this luxe jewelry set she is offering at the Summer Fashion Festival. With Belle’s characteristic animated gems to represent light sparkling off the facets and her multiple attachments to allow versatility in styling, the pieces make my simple swimsuit more elegant. I am keeping the sun off with a hat by Vivienne Darcy at the Art in Hats even Quan Lavender organized to benefit Feed a Smile. The pairing of hats with photos was ingenious though I found even better was the idea a few designers had of being inspired by RL art, as they do at my museum’s Art in Bloom each year. A portion of each sale of a hat helps feed a child in Kenya so while you enjoy wearable art, you are also giving a child nourishment.

My hair, which I love, is one of the newest from Shylah Honey and Tommy Fairplay. I really like the blonde texture but even more, I love how they made the mesh fall across the front in tendrils as real life hair does. It’s a very subtle difference from other mesh hair but I noticed it right away. Aida Ewing is offering this luminous skin at creation.jp and it’s lovely with a few innovative makeups for different sorts of looks, but I wore this one with its luscious pink lips and blush.

“You can’t go home again.” ~ Thomas Wolfe

Hair: *~*Damselfly*~*Khaleesi by Shylah Honey for:::Damselfly Hair:: *

Skin: -Glam Affair – Cassia – Asia – 05 B by Aida Ewing for –Glam Affair-, available at creation.jp *

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

Swimsuit: Zaara : Latika swimsuit *aubergine* by Zaara Kohime for Zaara, available at Summerfest *

Hat: Miss Darcy – Picture Hat by Vivienne Darcy, available at Art in Hats 2014

Jewelry: Sea Mist Necklace and Bracelet by Belle Roussel for Chop Zuey, available at the Summer Fashion Festival *

Hands: Slink Avatar Enhancement Hands – Casual L & R by Siddean Munro for Slink

Nail appliers: Di’s Opera – Fingernails and Toenails – Dark Berries by Di Hoorenbeek for Di’s Opera *

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

Sandals: Zaara : Janya jeweled sandals *lilac* by Zaara Kohime for Zaara, available at Summerfest *

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

Taken at the Oceania exhibit by Nephelle Lanate and Harlequin Rhode at the SL Community Celebration

Timestretched

There’s not enough hours in the day
To say all that I want to say
There’s not enough days in the week
And weeks go by quicker than drunks knock back liquor

There’s not enough weeks in the month
To do all that needs to be done
There’s not enough months in the year
And years disappear like the bubbles in my beer

~ “Timestretched” by Divine Comedy

So.. I am a little stressed out. I am doing a number  of things in SL and RL that have me a bit stretched. First, I am the behind the scenes person for the website and other stuff at the SL11B Community Celebration (see http://slcommunityclebration.com). (And for all that I get this badge!) Then, Fashion for Life (http:ffl.iheart.com) is about to open and while Cajsa Lilliehook and Grace Loudon have carried the heavy load, I have tried to be there to clear the tables, chop some vegetables, and dry some dishes.

With membership come privileges, and I am grabbing the privilege to take my blog photos today on the parcel I am going to be working on with Tutsy Navarathna for the SL Community Celebration, in front of the Cake Stage. I spoiled myself by getting one of the dresses Lybra Rage was selling at the Penumbra Fashion Week (though I suspect this one is in the store too). I had a hard time choosing but went for this red number, which is a great ruched mesh piece with a gorgeous reversed rose and black texture with flexi prims to create movement and sparkle.

My skin is one of Shyla Diggs’ gorgeous makeups from Arcade, a berry-lipped glowing skin with lovely eyes. I don’t need to tell you all to go to the Arcade. I will ask you to save some of your allowance for Fashion for Life later this month, however. My hair is one of Truth Hawks’ newest with comely bangs and curls. It comes with optional buns with or without chopsticks but to maintain the elegance of the look, I opted not to use them.

 

There’s not enough notes in this scale
It feels like I’m chasing my tail
There’s not enough beats in the bar
And [sims] get too busy with folks asking, “Is [s]he?”

Fashion for Life goes from June 7 to June 20 across 10 sims

The SL Community Celebration goes from June 22 to June 29 across 11 sims

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

Skin: -Belleza- Suki Makeup 7 Br by Shyla Diggs and Tricky Boucher for -Belleza-, available at The Arcade *

Eyes: [Buzz] Ardent Eyes – Chlorine by Eleri Catlyn for Buzzeri, avilable at Kustom 9 *

Dress: !:Lybra:! Maddelena Gown by Lybra Rage for !:Lybra:!, available at Penumbra Fashion Week

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

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

Shoes: erratic / ira – platform pumps / red by Erratic Rain for erratic *

Poses by Dahriel for *PosESioN*

Badge: SL11B – Social Media Lead by SullyBaby Gomez, exclusive to ME