Road Trip, Stop Two: Los Angeles

 ...no, I didn't stumble into a starring role darn it!, or crash a Hollywood event.

Rand, on the other hand, did have a supporting role in a film, and invited me to the premiere. (To be honest, I think his offer was mostly to prove to his ex that he isn't pining away, but let's be real - how many chances does a non-actor get to walk a red carpet? Of course I went!)

Rand's Outfit:

Body: Legacy M
Head: LAQ "James"
Skin: leLAPEAU "Mario Skin NF" Medium
Hair: WINGSDG "gift 06 Male Hair B"
Clothing: ONEDAYs "CHRISTOPHER OUTIT /// LEGACY" (Access 8th Birthday Gift); 
            T&C Creations "Men's Dress Shoes" Black
Jewelry: Romazin "Chain <Sinbad>"

My Outfit: 

Head: LOGO "Christina"
Eyes: S H I M M CDVI Set [BOM] 4
Skin: leLAPEAU "Dallas Skin" Rosekiss
Hair: WINGSDG "EF0108" BLondes & Reds HUD
Makeup: VELOUR "DREAMIN'" Eyeshadow - Gold; Navzar Beauty "First Kiss Lipstick 2," 75%; 
            Sera "She Basic Glitter Dust Undereye"
Manicure: e.marie "Laila Nails" Neutrals 
Clothes: Pixicat "Selena Dress" SL23B Gift
Jewelry: "Ordem da Rosa Diamond Choker," Chop Zuey "GLoriana Diamond Earrings;" 
            Kibitz "Mia's Rings" Gold

 Background: Moonlite Backdrops & Poses "Walk of Fame" (SL23B Shop & Hop gift); 
            Drama Libre "Studio Crew NPCs"

Road Trip, Stop One: San Diego Comic Con

 I had planned to start my road trip in New England, Susan's stomping grounds, in honor of her help in choosing the next theme.

When I get a call from Mei Lin, it turns out to be a good thing I didn't make my travel arrangements yet.

"Tarra, I need help! I wanted to do a C-Drama cosplay at San Diego Comic Con, but the friend who was going with me got sick and had to cancel at the last minute!" she says.

"That's awful, I'm so sorry," I tell her. "But how can I help? I'm no doctor - don't even play one on TV."

"Noooo, but you are almost exactly the same size as Valerie, who was going to wear the other costume. Any chance I can talk you into coming out to model it?" Mei wheedles. "You won't even need to wear a wig!"

...which is how I find myself in California, dressed as a nine-tailed fox spirit and loyal companion to Mei's young goddess going through her tribulation.

 "Are you sure it's okay to wear this here?" I ask. "It's not really comics related."

"Neither are Forrest Gump or the Phantom of the Opera, and they've both made appearances," she says with a laugh. "Anyway, if anybody complains, just tell them we're from a Shang Chi AU." 

I'm not sure exactly what that means, but I guess I'll just have to trust my young goddess!

The Idea

"I don't know, it's just staring to feel... stagnant?" I said. "Put together an outfit, snap the picture, post, then lather, rinse repeat. I'm just afraid if I don't find a way to shake things up, I'll lose interest and dip out of the grid again."

 

"Hmm." Perched beside me on the picnic table, Susan stared across the yard in thought. "What kind of things are you thinking of to shake it up?"

 

"Well, I don't want to just give up again. I've considered doing portraits for other people?" I offered hesitantly.

 

She tilted her head. "Okay, and what are the downsides of that?"

 

"Logistics, for one thing." I shrugged. "You know how long it took just for the two of us to meet up in-world. Also, having to advertise to get people interested - I'm not great at promotion."

 

Susan nodded. "And working with an agent or manager would run into the same logistics problems. Okay. What else?" 

 

"Add in some scenery shots?"

 

Her eyebrows went up. "That could work, especially if you come up with a 'fit that goes with the location, instead of finding a location or making a backdrop that goes with the clothes."

 

"Or at least vaguely goes with," I admitted. "So basically... SL Road Trip? Around the Grid in Eighty Days?"

 

"Like that! But don't limit yourself to a specific number, in time or number of locations."

 

I thought about it. "Yeah, and there are some areas of the Grid I'll probably skip rather than trying to get everywhere. This could help, though."

 

It would take more research than the stufved been doing, and probably more Lindens since I'd have to dress appropriately for the location instead of just working with whatever was on the weekend sales at any given time. But - this just might work.

 

"Okay, Road Trip it is!"

When Inspiration Strikes

 I stumbled across a painting class set-up while touring an in-world winery, and decided to give it a go. 

While I can't say I'll ever become a skilled (or even mediocre) painter, some inspiration did strike while I was there. After talking it over with a friend, I'll probably start setting up and posting the results of that inspiration soon!

Head: LOGO "Christina"
Eyes: .:|Profect|:. "BOM Cati Eyes_blue"
Skin: Not Found "Vaelis" L007 B
Hair: Monso "Gara" Black & Red
Makeup: Cazimi "Fae Eyeshadow 11 Pink to Gold"; Alba "Essential Eyeliner - 5"; Miamai "Donna Lips Evox_02"
Manicure: e.marie // "Gia Nails" Pinks
Clothes: Carol's "Gemma" Top & Pants, Light Blue

Location: Pour Up Winery & Vineyard

 

First of Her Name

 

When you find a gown that makes you feel like a queen, you might as well run with the theme!

Head: LOGO "Christina"
Eyes: .:|Profect|:. "BOM Cati Eyes_blue"
Skin: Not Found "Vaelis" L007 B
Hair: Ade "Isla" (on Mirja "Hairbase 3.0")
Makeup: Cazimi "Fae Eyeshadow 11 Pink to Gold"; Alba "Essential Eyeliner - 5"; 
              Miamai "Donna Lips Evox_02"; Sera "She Basic" Undereye Glitter
Clothes: :Dernier: "Carmen" Gown and Cloak; :DBL: "Aphrodite Gloves"
Jewelry: Earthstones "Lora" Earrings; Zibska "Vionica" Headpiece

Backdrop: EVHAH "Eternal Flame" set (on private land)

(I had this photo taken ages ago, but that darn first life has a nasty habit of interfering with my time...)

Happy Half-Price Chocolates' Eve!

 Hey, a gal has to have her priorities, right? 😉

(This shot does use a few more items from the February Shop & Hop; the delicious box of chocolates was part of last weekend's sales.)

February Shop & Hop Goodies

 I have a different idea in mind for the 14th, but did want to show off some fun gift items from the February Shop & Hop. (Not everything in the image is from there, but most of it is!)

Dance the Night

When the night's here, I don't do tears
Baby, no chance
I could dance, I could dance, I could dance

 (Thank you to friends P, X, M & D for helping out with the dance party vibes!)

A Little Natural Zen

Not all of SL gets taken over by winter decor to match the actual-world season, and I'm very grateful for that when I need a virtual summery break. There are so many areas of the grid I still haven't seen, and new ones popping up all the time.

(In this case, I just searched "nature" and landed in this lovely spot called "Buddha Garden")

Winter Wandering

I finally hopped over to LeLUTKA to check out their new "Vela" gift head. I don't think it'll usurp the number-one spot of my usual Christina, but it is nice to get to use some the LeLUTKA-only makeup appliers I've gotten from events, that won't work on the LOGO head. 

I will keep wearing the Vela for a few photos, to see if she grows on me.

(Also? I much prefer walking around in the snow in SL to doing so in RL!) 

Welcome to Another New Year

 My area got snow for New Year's Eve - far from the worst of the storm systems that night, but it did accumulate enough to keep the NYE party small. 

We had a good time, though! ...I only regretted the lack of sleep when I had to work on the 1st.

On Christmas Day in the Morning

 Christmas Morning was the quietest part of my holidays, with a little time to relax and enjoy a hot beverage. And the holiday is one of the very few days of the year my RL workplace closes!

Granted, neither I nor my bedroom looked this glamorous in non-pixel reality. (Maybe the pajama top is just a wee bit too apt tho'?)

Fall (Down On The Job)

 

Once again, RL has interfered with my posting. (Bless the full-time job for keeping the bills paid and computer running; curse it for being...well, full-time. Really takes away from my ability to SL!)

Took this shot before Winter struck, and I still have so many outfits to style and get pics of! I might have to ban myself from the weekend sales until I get caught up a little bit. 

Happy Belated Hallowe'en

 What happens when the rest of the "meddling kids" forget and leave you behind? Well, I guess you take a solo pic instead.

(I had this costume well before Hallowe'en; even had it on for over a week ahead of time. But life and yes that cozy game still got in the way of finding a good location, taking the photo and editing it. (No, Scooby-Doo was never a favorite cartoon, but the costume is just too good for a redhead.)

Head: LOGO "Christina"
Skin: Gloom - Veruska Skin (Rosekiss)
Hair: Stealthic - Beam

Clothes: Mug - Dallene Costume

Pose: STUN - Belinda 4

Location: Frogmore

 

Daisies and Bunchberries

 This photo was originally intended to go up back in Spring, but the Typist got hooked on a cozy-style video game that still has a very strong hold lol. As a result, blog posts got pushed aside, and while I have a nice backlog of items from the various weekend sales over the months for more photos, it's going to take a while to style them all and get the shots. 

(I also haven't been on Primfeed much, and sincerely regret not seeing everyone's pictures and giving likes there!) 

Head: LOGO "Christina"
Skin: [Glam Affair] "Foxy" L006A 
Hair: TRUTH "Linger" - Redhead
Makeup: Velour "Dreamin" Eyeshadow (Gold), Cazimi "Holiday Glam" Eyeliner 80% and Warm Lt Nude 60& Lipstick

Clothes: ::pm:: Paula Set -cream-, [M.O.D.A.N.] "Anais" Heels
Jewelry: *Avaway* HUMMINGBIRD Earrings Set, ~~Ysoral~~ "Ariane" Bracelet, Evelock "Flora" Amber Necklace

Pose: versuta. melly // 9

Location: Dutch Pavilion 

February Fugue

 The second half of February kind of went by in both a rush and a daze for me; the anniversary of an emotionally fraught event falls in there, some RL stuff (helping a friend move, being even more short-staffed at work due to co-worker medical issues, etc,, and The Typist getting hooked on a new video game. possibly in reaction to some of that stuff). 

There's no location for this shot, as it's a set put together on a friend's bit of private land, with items from the February Shop & Hop, and items from a couple of weeks' worth of weekend sales.

SL's 13th Birthday at Hairology

Apologies if I'm rushing these posts a bit, but the 13th Birthday event runs through June 26th and I want to show off some of these items while people can still grab them!

Yesterday I hit the Hairology event for its load of freebies and oh my pixels were there some lovelies in the mix!  With only a few exceptions, the hairs come with multiple color options and/or HUDs which make them suitable for most avatars. (Sorry guys, I only saw one vendor there specifically for men's hair - but at least one of the other gifts is unisex.)

With no further ado, here are a few of my favorite scores!

Happy 13th Birthday, Second Life!

SL is having a birthday, and we can all get presents!  There's a list of current shopping events at which some of the designers have put out free gifts for SL members; just look for the tall birthday cake and click on it!

So far I've hit two of the events, and have soooo many other things to try on and take pics of!  For this entry, I'm focusing mostly on items from Whimsical (with a couple from We Love Role-Play thrown in for the second photo.)

Photo One shows a lovely maxi-dress and lots of accessories:

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.