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

Sweet Jane

But anyone who ever had a heart
Oh, they wouldn’t turn around and break it
And anyone who’s ever played a part
Oh, they wouldn’t turn around and hate it

~ “Sweet Jane” by Lou Reed (this performance with Metallica)

Lou Reed passed away this weekend, so in remembrance of him and with a sad heart for his wife, Laurie Anderson, I quote his famous song “Sweet Jane.” My sweet Jane wears an LBD—“little black dress”—this one from Kim Lysette for Liv Glam, a cute mesh skirt with a cleverly made lace system top with a criss-cross back. Sexy shoes from Nuria Augapfel and Claire Messenger are the simple accompaniment to this easily elegant look. AvaGardner Kungler’s earrings from The Dressing Room Fusion go perfectly.

Shyla Diggs’ and Tricky Boucher’s gorgeous work on their recent skins makes a beauty of any avatar, especially with the gorgeously lined eyes and sensuous lipsticks that can be interchanged for variabillity. Truth Hawks continues to set the standard for hair-wear with this tousled up-do, new this week. And Lano Ling gives us a sweet treat for Halloween with his gorgeous autumn gift eyes, featured at his store right now!

Sweet Jane, come on, baby
Sweet Jane, sweet Jane

(this version by Cowboy Junkies)

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

Skin: -Belleza- Leila Sk R 1 with -Belleza- Leila Sk Gloss Lips 7 by Shyla Diggs and Tricky Boucher for -Belleza- *

Eyes: PC Jaded Eyes – Autumn Song – medium bright by Lano Ling for Poetic Eyes

Dress: [LG] Boutique-[ FALL-13] LoveGame by Kim Lysette for LIV-Glam

Earrings: (Kunglers Extra) Medusa earring – TDRF #025 Silver by AvaGardner Kungler for Kunglers Extra, available at TDR Fusion

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

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

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

Shoes: N-core SUBLIME “Fatpack” by Nuria Augapfel and Claire Messenger for N-Core *

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

Crème Brûlée

“Some of us are crèmes brûlées, unfortunately in the presence of those who would rather have corn dogs. We can try to degenerate into corn dogs to make them happy, or we can just accept the fact that we were made for Paris!” ~ C. JoyBell C.

Crème brûlée—that sweet creamy confection with the hard outer shell—a better metaphor for some personalities than mushy strawberry shortcake or fluffy angel food cake or fussy soufflé. It’s an elegant dessert with a subtle reward of richness and sweetness. This look gives the same—with a cream colored dress, criss-crossing over the chest with tiered ruffles on the hips, it’s a sleek look from LeeZu Baxter.

Look closely and you can see how LeeZu uses the materials feature in the SL Viewer to make the dress have a more matte material, especially compared to the glossy leather handbag from Goucchi/Steffen Garcia and my strappy gold sandals from Gospel Voom (both available at Collabor88) and my glossy gold earrings from Anastazja Brimm. It’s this juxtaposition of textures—just like the hard carmelized top of crème brûlée is broken open to find a creamy custard—that makes this look pure confection.

Chiaki Xue has just come out with this side-swept curly short style. No one does shorter, curlier styles like Chiaki, and the textures and curls in the hair add a humanness and complexity that many hairs lack in SL. My skin is Umazuma Metaluna’s newest offering, a rich beautiful visage with an optional glow and gloss for the lips. I added eyeliner from Ekilem, which is being offered at TDR Fusion, to pop the eyes, which are chocolatey confection from Umazuma.

Hair: *Dura-Girl*50(Dark Brown) by Chiaki Xue for Dura *

Skin: [theSkinnery]Runa-Bare face(brownie) DB CL1 with [theSkinnery] Runa Face Glow 1 (dark skin tone) and [theSkinnery] Runa Lipgloss by Umazuma Metaluna for the Skinnery *

Makeup: MONS / Makeups – Eyeliner Velvety – bronze by Ekilem for MONS, available at TDR Fusion

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

Dress: [LeeZu!] Metropolis Dress (mesh,rigged,material) /plain nude by LeeZu Baxter for LeeZu! *

Jewelry: A&Ana F.J. Only Triangle Gold Earrings and A&Ana F.J. Only Triangle Gold Bracelet by Anastazja Brimm for A&Ana, available at TDR Fusion

Handbag: MOSS by Steffen Garcia, Ankh (Hand) by Goucchi for Steffen Garcia, available at Collabor88

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

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

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

Shoes: [Gos] Isabella Sandal – Magic Collection by Gospel Voom for Gos Boutique, available at Collabor88

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

Picasso Baby

“I’m not afraid of dying. I’m afraid of not trying.” ~ Jay-Z

Jay Z, the rap star, the husband of Beyonce and daddy to Blue, is not just a rapper, entrepreneur, record producer, and rich man—he’s also an art collector. Recently he decided to do his own form of performance art called “Picasso Baby” at the Pace Gallery in New York. I first read an article about it in Vulture by Jerry Saltz and then found the video a couple weeks later. The critic, Jerry Saltz, loved it. “Maybe I was smitten by fame. I stayed for just about the whole six hours, and all I can say is that I don’t think I saw one instance where Jay-Z was not totally there, in the moment, working the energy.”

I was impressed by his summary: “I went in doubting. I left elated.”

That has nothing to do with what I have on except the idea of energy, giving and getting. The article said Jay Z would not put up with schmaltz—he wanted genuine energy and he fed off it for his performance. I really liked that idea. When I see stuff I want to blog, I am looking for that authentic energy… and joy in creation. Ariadna Garrigus continues to produce joyful work, it seems to me. This nightclub dress—translucent with shimmering silver stitchwork—is a case in point. She pushes her expertise with mesh by making this body-conscious see-through piece with matching mesh panties.

This sexy posing chair is Rogan Diesel’s contribution to FaMESHed. My skin is Tricky Boucher’s contribution to The Boutique. My jewelry is Maxi Gossamer’s contribution to Limited Bazaar and United Fashion Project. And my eyes are gorgeous peepers that Isabelle Requiem has for sale at TDR Fushion. My hair is Catwa Clip’s newest, a sexy up and down ‘do with wisps around the decolletage and face and a great HUD for changing hair color.

“I’m not a businessman. I’m a business, man!” ~ Jay Z

Hair: ^;^CaTwA^;^ Mesh TNT by Catwa Clip for ^;^CaTwA^;^

Skin: -Belleza- Ava Med TLC 3 by by Tricky Boucher for -Belleza-, at The Boutique *

Eyes: [Crash Republic] Melanie Eyes – light green by Isabelle Requiem for Crash Republic, available at TDR Fusion

Dress: ***Arisaris Igs85  Gersemi Disco Dress by Ariadna Garrigus for ArisAris *

Jewelry set: MG – Necklace, Earrings and Bracelet – Bridget’s Faith Heart Ring by Maxi Gossamer for Maxi Gossamer, available at Limited Bazaar *

Ring: MG – Rings – Talia Cluster by Maxi Gossamer for Maxi Gossamer, available at United Fashion Project *

Nails: Nailed It – Prim Nails – Chevron Set – Cool Colors by Giela Delpaso for Nailed It *

Shoes: [Gos] Lauren d’Orsay – Jewel Collection by Gospel Voom for Gos Boutique *

Diesel Works – Bella Chair by Rogan Diesel for DieselWorks Animations, available at FaMESHed *

Charmed Life

When I hold you in my arms,
And look back on my charmed life
My charmed life
I hope, I hope if nothing more
That one day you’ll call your life
A charmed life

~ “Charmed Life” by Divine Comedy

When I listen to the radio, I hear about the economy struggling, the problems in the Middle East, the poverty in my own country, and it’s really depressing sometimes. But then I think, well, oppression is less in this world, more people than ever have access to food, technology, medicine, and beauty. And certainly I live a charmed life. It’s something I keep reminding my son too—we’re lucky.

I am lucky in SL too because I can see so many beautiful creations people make and wear them! Start with this darling dress from Maya Levane, which she is offering at the Dressing Room Fusion. With a lovely William Morris kind of print and a brown belt, it’s a simple shape with a great texture. I show it with shoes from Onyx Leshelle, who is having a half off sale on ALL her shoes, hair and clothing until mid-July, when they will put up a new mesh build.

Alexandra Barcelos has reopened Filthy Skins and she is back! The news was greeted with great happiness in the Skin Addiction group, and everyone rushed to get this group gift, which has well defined features and a lovely cupid bow mouth. One thing I found with her skins was they could be a little blurry at times around the features—that’s gone and I am very pleased. Check out those great brows! I pair it with one of Truth Hawks’ new-color styles—a high banged ponytail. Secret: it’s one of my favorites for every day wear.

Well I never really worried that much
About making lots of money and such
And I always seemed to land on my feet.
Though there’s been some difficult times
The good times where never far behind
I snatched all of my victories from the jaws of defeat

Well sometimes this life is like being afloat
On a raging sea in a little row boat
Just trying not to be washed overboard
But if you take your chances and you ride your luck
And you never, never, never, never, never give up
Well those waves will see you safely to a friendly shore

Hair: Truth Delta – Reds01 by Truth Hawks for >TRUTH< *

Skin: :F: Group.Gift#1.2013 ___( Beach ) by Alexandra Barcelos for Filthy

Eyes: IKON Ascension Eyes – Sahara (ML) by Ikon Innovia for IKON

Dress: (TokiD) Mira Dress_S (raspberry) by Maya Levane for TokiD, available at TDR Fusion

Necklace: // the egg // Torus (necklace) by Yolks Resident for // the egg //

Ring: ..:: BenS Beauty ::.. Anabella Ring by Snow Martiel for BenS Beauty, available at Fi*Friday

Shoes: Maitreya Gold Shiki * Cargo by Onyx Leshelle for Maitreya

Poses by Darling Monday for fri.day