From The Arcade, December 2015

Ah, The Arcade - how I love thee, and how thy machines hate me. *sighs*

To be honest, I would have a much easier time if I weren't so insistent on staying a redhead at all times. Only the Clawtooth machine cooperated and gave me a reds pack (the style didn't quite go with the dress, but I'll have to be sure to feature it soon).  Luckily I was able to trade for another one of the red hairs pretty quickly - thank you, Natalia Corvale! <3

Creepy, Kooky, Mysterious, Spooky

For the first time in quite a few Halloweens, I had more than one costume to plan! When we started planning a party, Himself said that as long as he didn't have to go shopping, he'd wear whatever I picked for him... so I started planning, and scouring Marketplace, and in the end just couldn't resist a blast from the past:

...Gomez and Morticia Addams. This outfit does break my usual guideline of $100L or under, but I'm weak-willed when it comes to Halloween!

October Marketplace Promo Finds

First of all, in a slight departure from discount SL fashions, I'm also going to be doing some blogging over at INSTYLE News. INSTYLE is a new shopping area that not only has some cool stores, but an entertainment venue as well. Sounds like they have some fun stuff planned, and the sim's calendar is linked from the blog. Give it a look! :)

A few days ago, I did my intermittent search to see what interesting things come up as promo items or freebies on Marketplace and found a few lovely things!

Antielle (who teamed with Tentacio to bring the "Rabbit in the Moon" set from this post to The Arcade Gacha back in June) have this sweet minidress up as a gift right now.

With it I'm wearing the <Rima> mesh hair from -FABIA, which is a dollarbie - yes, this gorgeous hair for all of $1L, plus it comes with a HUD containing 30 different natural hair tones!  And adorning my tootsies, a gift from Stelloane, their Rosa shoes for SLink High Feet.

From the Autumn Love Hunt

Uh-oh, look who's back! ;)

The Autumn Love Hunt opens today, and I've hit most of the stops already (yes, blogging early in the hunt for a change! *gasp*).

This cute dress came from a store I haven't been to before, SweetRed's Designs:

*BAD* RL, No Biscuit.

I've had another bad attack of RL, so it may be a little while before I manage any more fashion posts. :(  (Darn it, and I wanted to do the Atlantis Hunt, too... maybe I can still sneak a few stops of that in around the edges.)

Back soon, I hope!

Vixen in Blue

Kastle Rock Couture has a lovely new gown out called "Vixen," with two colors so far having made an appearance in their "My 60L Secret" sales. I'm wearing the first week's color, Blue; the current sale version is Purple and every bit as gorgeous.

Hair Fair Haul

I fought the lag, and the lag won - the first round, anyway. Then I buckled down and manged to get through the four sims of Hair Fair 2015 collecting a bunch of demos and gifts from the various hair vendors and admiring the items they put up for the event. (Once the crowds die down a little bit I'll make my decisions on which of the demos to buy. There are some lovely styles out there I probably won't purchase just because their reds are too washed out for me, which is a bummer.)

Almost everything I'm wearing in these photos (except for skin, eyes, and a couple of pieces of jewelry) was a Hair Fair gift! The first style is a mesh ponytail from ICONIC - one of several, which made me happy.

More Retro Glamor

This dress is one of the lovely group gifts from -siss boom-. I don't know why I'm such a sucker for the dresses that remind me of old-time Hollywood, but Lestat Reuven's Audrey in metallic taffeta has that feel to it.

Summer Stripes

Dressed by Lexi has a new group gift out - the Summer Chic skirt and top set in Stripes, which is a fun and flirty outfit.

Picture taken at the Baja Cove sim.

More Arcade, and the Advanced or Casual Hunt

A couple of the Arcade trades I was hoping for came through, and I've hit a few stops on another of the Fi's Creations hunts - this one is a dual-path event called The Advanced or Casual Hunt. (There's still 5 days left on the hunt AND the Arcade!)

Damaris is the other hair offered by TRUTH in the current round (same machine as Gilda from my previous post), and it includes the Hibiscus accessory. It made a good match for one of the Casual path dresses from {D.o.R.k.}

The Arcade Gacha, June 2015

I had a busy first week of June, so my first Arcade post is late-ish. I'm still trying to trade for my preferred color on a couple of items, so there should be more to follow.

The Exile hair styles for this round of The Arcade are even more "big hair" than the shopping guide made them look, so I'm not sure how often I'll end up wearing this one. However, I really like Tentacio & antielle's Japanese kimono-inspired "Rabbit in the Moon" minidress!

Fun in the Sun

Sunflowers, that is! This bright and cheerful dress is the May Group Gift from Kastle Rock Couture (the group has a 100L joining fee, but designer Spooky Mistwallow keeps well over a years' worth of prior group gifts out for members - well worth the cost!)  I wanted to photograph it as soon as the notice came out. :)

Waiting for my picnic partner ;)

More Spring Hunts

Three more outfits from current Second Life grid-wide hunts. (I kept skin/hair/etc. the same for all three to cut down on the credits - yes, after all the grid-hopping yesterday I'm feeling a bit lazy this afternoon.)

Boho Babes

Back to Brii Underground Wear again for this post - they've had a Woodstock/Hippy/Bohemian theme running for the month of April so I grabbed a couple of friends to help model some of the group gifts and outfits from the lucky chairs (which are for group members, but the group is still free to join).

Camped out at the music festival

Carry On...

...my Wayward Hunt! This post puts together some of the other favorite personal items from this hunt (which is still running through May 1st, so if you see something you want, go get it now!). I say "personal items" because there are also some nice furniture and decor stops but I'm not taking the time to set up any scenes right now.

The hunt has clothing, shoes (all for Slink add-on feet so far as I could tell), several skins, some nice hairs, makeup & nail polishes, jewelry, poses... a great variety. Mostly for female avis, though there is at least one jacket for the guys too.

And She Was...

Who finally snapped and got Slink hands? *points two beautifully sculpted thumbs back at her avatar* I know they don't quite fit in with my theme of fashion on a budget, but I did just get three polish sets for them from The Wayward Hunt - so that part does, at least?

Anyhow I'm just coming back from 2 weeks of being sick in RL, and decided to splurge on some more photogenic extremities.*  And having acquired them meant - picture time!

Who, me? Attitude?

Hands front & center!

Just Me, Myself and I

Another of Strawberry Singh's Monday Memes, done later than I wanted. (My tweak of the title comes, of course, from the inimitable Kelly Clarkson's song "Stronger")

Playing with Photoshop filters

Happy Trails

One of the current dollarbie gifts at Brii Underground Wear had me feeling all cowgirl-ish, so with a little help from a friend I saddled up for this. (Brii's dollarbies and lucky chairs are for group members only, unless you catch a special deal on Marketplace - but so far, the group is free to join and well worth using a group slot!)  Most of the Brii outfits come with accessories which may include makeup tattoo layers, jewelry, and shoes - though unless the outfit comes with boots, those shoes are designed for Slink high feet. If you (like me) do not yet own Slink feet, you'll have to match shoes on your own. ;)

Git along, little dogie...

Skin:  .::WoW Skins::. Erin Tan CL
Cosmetics: .::WoW Skins::. Aurora Pomme de Terre Lipstick; Flirt - Rawr eyeliner; [:Tuli:] Parted Lips 1
Hair: Exile: Give or Take Reds - Give (The Arcade Gacha, March 2015 round)
Eyes: Keshie: Mayfly "Deep Sky Eyes" Deep Sapphire w3
Outfit & Jewelry: **Brii Underground Wear** Beth Country Style Black Version Outfit

My friend (who requested to remain anonymous) is wearing the Breeder's Choice Quarter Horse Mare basic mesh avatar with its included tack. I very much appreciate her assistance - and patience! ;)

A Little Too Breezy

After a little bit of a warm spell, Real Life got all cold and wind-chill-y again; in Second Life I can pretend the winds are warmer!

I'm imagining this as sort of out "outtake" moment from a tropical fashion shoot  - the wind gusting at just the wrong moment to ruin the model's perfectly styled hair, and blowing sea spray to soak the hem of her dress

Whoops!

Skin:  7 Deadly s{k}ins - Group Gift Girls February 2015
Cosmetics: .::WoW Skins::. Eyelashes Pack 2013, #3
Hair: Exile: Windsong Dark Reds 
Eyes: Keshie: Mayfly "Deep Sky Eyes" Deep Sapphire w3
Dress & Jewelry: **Brii Underground Wear** Bernadette Hippie Style Outfit
 (from the Brii Underground Wear/RD Style Easter Hunt, $1L/item - 10 items available in each store)

2012 to Today

Another meme from Strawberry Singh's blog: "Meme instructions: Share a side by side comparison of your first blog picture beside a recent picture of your avatar."

I'm tweaking this one a little and comparing against my first profile picture, instead.

July 2012 vs. March 2015

Now, since I've been in Second Life less than three years, the differences probably won't be as dramatic as avatars who've been around longer. (I had a mentor in the friend who convinced me to try SL; she showed me where to go for freebie skin, hair, and clothes to upgrade from my starter avi right away - which I'm wearing in the 2012 picture.)  

Besides the improvements to the SL grid itself, I've also reversed my initial opinion on mesh clothes (of course, the clothes themselves improved dramatically in shape and fit!), joined a couple of skin groups, and at least started to learn about working with Windlight settings for my photos. There's still SO much more to learn, though!

Then: 
Skin: [Rockberry] Apple Natural
Cosmetics: .:Glamorize:. Revolver Black/Moderate Red
Hair: ""D!va"" Hair Ami Type A Garnet
Eyes: BNS Deep Eyes - bright blue
Dress: **GizzA** October Peacock Dress
Jewelry: Persefona Peacock Green Earrings (and some other odds & ends I don't remember)

Now: 
Skin:  .::WoW Skins::. Rosalia March Group Gift
Cosmetics: .::WoW Skins::. Eyelashes Pack 2013, #3
Hair: Exile: Give and Take "Give" 3. Reds (The Arcade Gacha, March 2015)
Eyes: Keshie: Mayfly "Deep Sky Eyes" Deep Sapphire w3
Dress: Prism Blossoms Le Jardin Rose (Summer in January Hunt 2015)
Jewelry: Babe Necklace 3; .:LC:. Wyll Diamond Earrings

Teacher, Teacher

This dress from ~Sassy!~ was part of last month's "Jack or Jill Hunt" (which I didn't complete because RL interfered, darn it).

(...hmmm, did someone give an apple to the teacher, or is teacher giving a lesson on Eden and temptation?)

I also took the photo long enough ago that I can't remember which skin I wore for it, bad me. :(

Makeup:.::WoW::. Eyelashes Pack 2013, #1
Hair: Amacci "Zoe"
Eyes:Mayfly "Deep Sky Eyes" Deep Sapphire w3
Dress: ~Sassy!~ "TeacherTeacher Dress"
Jewelry: ~XM~ Diamond Dew Drop Set

"Why Don't You Do Right..."

My (sadly belated) take on Strawberry Singh's "Movie Character Meme." - Jessica Rabbit.

Still looking for my Honey Bunny...

Skin: .::WoW Skins::. Eshe Tan CL (with Christmas Group Gift's Red eyebrows)
Makeup:.::WoW::. Aurora Hot Red Lips, Nicole Strong Eyeliner
Hair: (Chemistry) Hair - Layla (c) Reds - Crimson
Eyes:Mayfly "Liquid Light Eyes" Myrtle Green  w3
Costume: *Rag Dollz* "I'm Not Bad"

New from the Black or White Hunt

Yesterday I did a few stops of Fi's Creations' "The Black or White Hunt" - and being the contrary sort, I didn't go clear through one path or the other but browsed for a few items from each.

The dress is Fiona Scorfield's own contribution to the Black path, the more difficult of the two. I have a weakness for zebra print, and I love the keyhole neckline. The jewelry and clutch are the Black path contribution from Wicked by Syrdin Morrisey/

I had limited time for my first pass at this hunt, so you may see more items from it later when I have time to try again for some of them! ;)

Skin: .::WoW Skins::. Marita Darktan (with Christmas Group Gift's Red eyebrows)
Makeup:.::WoW::. Aurora Hot Red Lips, Nicole Strong Eyeliner
Hair: ~ Tableau Vivant ~ Writer Hair - Moning Red
Eyes:Mayfly "Deep Sky Eyes" Deep Sapphire w3
Dress: Fi's Creations "ZEBRA Dress" (The Black or White Hunt)
Jewelry & clutch: WICKED "Fiona" set  (The Black or White Hunt)
Shoes: Lindy "Audrey 2" Black Suede
Pose: *PosESioN* "Denisse 1"

Second Life Problems

Trying another one of Le Strawberry's Monday Memes - this one is her Second Life spoof of the #FirstWorldProblems hashtag. Behold, one of the things that frustrates me most about SL (but is still a petty complaint in the grand scheme of things):

...I feel like I really should have had a Trilby hat to wear for this shot. >,>

Skin: .::WoW Skins::. Kyle Bronze Nat (with Christmas Group Gift's Red eyebrows)
Makeup:.::WoW::. Aurora Peachy Lips, 2013 Eyelashes 3
Hair: Banpaia Creations "Cleaning Day Hair" Red
Eyes:Mayfly "Deep Sky Eyes" Deep Sapphire w3
Sweater: Lowkey Shawty Boutique "Cat Sweater" 
Jewelry: Lazuri Multistrand Earrings
Shades: Legal Insanity "Tartan Sunglasses"

More Free (and Nearly-Free) Fashion

Surprise - it's a fashion shot without a redhead in sight! I asked a friend to model for me this time, because I liked the look she was rocking - and everything she's wearing, from hair to shoes, was either a group gift, freebie, event dollarbie or treasure hunt prize. My kind of style!

Shar, ready to party!

Shape: Shar's custom shape

Skin: .::WoW Skins::. Mystere (past Group Gift)

Makeup: .::WoW::. Eyeshadow Catseye (included with Mystere skin)

Hair: Blues, "Crystal" (Hair Fair 2014 dollarbie)

Eyes: Beautiful Deluxe "Intense Eyes" - Deep Ocean (Peace On Earth Hunt 7 gift)

Outfit: **Brii Underground Wear** "Kalwadi Flower Version" (Group Gift)

Jewelry: Chop Zuey "Betty 2.0" Texture Change Set (freebie at store)

Shoes: !Drakke! "Wrapped" Stilettos Cyan (The Runway Perfect Hunt 5)

Pose: WetCat "Perfect Red f3" (The Runway Perfect Hunt 5)

Looks like I'm going to have to keep an eye out for the next Runway Perfect hunt! ;D

Walking With Dinosaurs

This morning I went poking around the Search "Destination Guide" hoping for photo inspiration, and found the "Prehistorica - the Dawn Kingdoms" sim.

The folks at Prehistorica sell dinosaur avatars (and also give away a basic one at the landing point, as well as a "Time Traveler" suit freebie), and have parts of their sim set up as different prehistoric eras with 'bot versions of their dinos on display. It's definitely photo-worthy, and I'm sure many of you could do it better justice if you chose to visit!

Landscape with background Ankylosaurus

Pteranodon flying over the lake

No dinos, just loved the moody landscape

Underwater with the Plesiosaurus

Triceratops <3

Might want to use your telephoto lens for the T. Rex...

All of these are raw shots (re-sized only), using the sim's own Windlight settings. I may have to go back another time - maybe to another "era" - and see what I can get by playing around with different WLs.  :)

Trying to Think Warm Thoughts

Right now, it is warmer in Nome, Alaska than it is where I live in the Lower 48. Doing everything I can to keep warm in Real Life, and using SL to imagine myself somewhere much warmer. This backdrop had a lovely New Mexico/Arizona-ish feel to it (and right now it's about 60 degrees F warmer there than here).

...don't look really convinced, do I?

Skin: .::WoW Skins::. Ines Tan Nat (with Christmas Group Gift's Red eyebrows)
Makeup:.::WoW::. Aurora Pomme de Terre lipstick, 2013 Eyelashes 3
Hair: Exile "London to L.A." London style, Dark Red
Eyes:Mayfly "Deep Sky Eyes" Deep Sapphire w3
Outfit: Kastle Rock Couture "Rogue Pants & Top" Champagnes - Cyan
Jewelry: Chop Zuey "The Lazy Mist Set"
Taken at Suzy's Garden Photo Studio

Marketplace Promo Finds

Went browsing through Marketplace, and even though I'm pretty much on a spending moratorium at the moment I found a couple of nice new things:

This gown is currently available as a freebie! (One minor drawback, the gown is fullbright and I didn't see an option to switch that off - so it could be a bit distracting in some Windlight settings.)

Skin: .::WoW Skins::. Jaz Tan CL
Eyes: Mayfly "Deep Sky Eyes" Deep Sapphire w3
Makeup: .::WoW Skins::. Aurora Makeups - Smokey Eyeshadow & Peachy Lips
Hair: Exile "London to L.A." (L.A. Style) - Dark Red
Gown: Onna's Boutique Sparkling Gown Promo
Jewelry: ELB Evelock Flora Amber Necklace, Darling+ HeartofGold Lg. Hoop Earrings

The daring green sweater shown here is a $1L Promo (at least for the moment)

Skin: 7 Deadly s{K}ins - Group Gift girls May 2014
Hair: Iconic -First Lady- Hair "Hot Sex Vamps" color hud
Eyes: *Inkheart* Hope Eyes
Sweater: ~monaLISA~ by 28hope, "Tanya Sweater - Green Promo"
Pants: [LG] DE.Boutique "Never Walk Alone" pants
Jewelry: (Yummy) Birthstone Ring - May, ~XM~ Celtic Maltese Emerald Cross earrings

Second Life Yearbook Smile

Trying one of Strawberry Singh's Monday Memes - the Yearbook Smile Challenge.

Not a big wide smile, but since it was all done with face shape tweaks and a parted-lips tattoo... *shrugs*  I've never been one for big toothy grins - hope this is still acceptable!

Skin: .::WoW Skins::. Jaz Tan CL (with Christmas Group Gift's Red eyebrows)
Makeup:.::WoW::. Aurora BabyPink lipstick
Hair: Alli & Ali "Lydzevere" Dark Burgundy
Eyes:Mayfly "Deep Sky Eyes" Deep Sapphire w3
Outift: Kastle Rock Couture "Private School 2" Wine
Jewelry: ~XM~ Diamond Dew Drop Set

Vintage Hollywood Glamor

Kastle Rock Couture has their new "Marlena" mesh gown out on the 60L Special this week; it has a 40s Hollywood feel, and I fell in love with it at first sight.

Full length view

Spooky Mistwallow always does a lovely job texturing her store's clothes, and the detailing on this particular gown is yummy.

...no devil in these details!

I was so excited about this dress I didn't bother fiddling with my makeup before taking the pictures!

Skin: .::WoW Skins::. Ines Tan Nat CL (with Christmas Group Gift's Red eyebrows)
Makeup:.::WoW::. Aurora Pomme de Terre lipstick, 2013 Eyelashes 3
Hair: Alli & Ali "Elise" Burgundy
Eyes:Mayfly "Deep Sky Eyes" Deep Sapphire w3
Gown: Kastle Rock Couture "Marlena Gown - Blue"
Shoes: ZC Pearl Diamond White stilettos
Jewelry: Chop Zuey "Gloriana" Diamond Necklace, Redrose Jewellry "Silver Flower" Diamond Earrings

Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot...

No seriously, should it be forgotten?

Straining my ponder-er

Or once you've walked away, are such things better "never brought to mind" again?

Skin: .::WoW Skins::. Ines Tan Nat (with Christmas Group Gift's Red eyebrows)
Makeup:.::WoW::. Aurora Pomme de Terre lipstick, 2013 Eyelashes 3
Hair: ChiChickie! Sherry
Eyes:Mayfly "Deep Sky Eyes" Deep Sapphire w3
Outfit: [LG] DE.Boutique "Never Walk Alone"

Happy 2015!

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year - I hope that 2015 is good to all of us!

Skin: .::WoW Skins::. Rima Bronze 02 (with Christmas Group Gift's Red eyebrows)
Makeup:Flirt "Rawr" eyeliner, Tuli Skins Parted Lips 1 
Hair: Alli & Ali "Stroika Hair" Brick
Eyes:Mayfly "Deep Sky Eyes" Deep Sapphire w3
Dress: [LG] {Ivy's Atelier} Fall 2014-Rock The Bells Dress 
Jewelry: Bracelet and earrings from Chop Zuey "Gloriana Set"; Blackburn's "Royal Wedding Ring & Necklace"