Sunday, May 31, 2015

Dangerous



Do you ever get inspired by a song, a word, a thought, an image, and something forms in your mind..a scene...almost like its playing out a movie scene in your mind. That thought..that imagery..overtakes you, and you just have to get it OUT somehow.

That is what brought on this blog. I had a long day yesterday RL - cursing the airlines up one side and down the other - a lot of time in the car listening to pop music from the last 5 decades. One stuck in my head - Coolio ft. L.V. - Gangsta's Paradise . This inspired the *look* in this blog. Of course, i had to make the *G* a little more...SOA. Just more my style...

As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I take a look at my life and realize there's nothin' left
'Cause I've been blasting and laughing so long,
That even my mama thinks that my mind is gone
But I ain't never crossed a man that didn't deserve it
Me be treated like a punk you know that's unheard of

While I was taking the photos, another song was running through my mind, mostly inspired by a story crafted by a close friend - David Guetta ft. Sam Martin - Dangerous

You take me down 
Spin me around
You got me running all the lights 
Don't make a sound 
Talk to me now 
Let me inside your mind 
I don't know what you're thinking sugar 
But I just got that feeling sugar 
I can hear the sirens burning 
Red lights turning 
I can't turn back now 
So hold on tight 
I don't know where the lights are taking us 
But something in the night is dangerous 
And nothing's holding back the two of us 
Baby this is getting serious 
Oh oh oh 
Detain The Dangerous 
Oh oh oh 
Show me your soul 
I gotta know 
Bet that you're beautiful inside 
Toes on the glass 
Car moving fast 
Come take the wheel and drive 
It's dangerous, so dangerous 
I wanna do it again 
Come on baby 
It's dangerous, so dangerous 
I wanna do it again 
It's dangerous, so dangerous 
I wanna do it again 

So...lyrics say a lot, don't they? Here are the pics that were the result of all this..inspiration...Hope you enjoy! Credits at the end, as always!









Poses ::WetCat:::Smoke" Window w/Props - @ Cosmo May round #2
WL: Jay 2.0


INVICTUS - Open Jeans / Dark - weapon > black belt @ Cosmo May round #2
^^Swallow^^ Revolver Necklace @ Cosmo May round #2
7mad;Ravens Journey Sunglasses @ Cosmo May round #2
PBM Genetics Pierced Nipples
[ h ] Chelsea - men - black - short boots (Hoorenbeek)
#TMP Deluxe Body, hands, feet
***Just You Jewels*** I Love You v3 Bracelet
7 Deadly s{K}ins - Judas B5c t2
:: envi :: Ailin Ear Piercing
::Exile:: Give away your Secrets_Veil
::Hebenon Vial: MALE MOD: Against the Stream [Decay]
[TS] Goatee - brown
AP Friendship Ring with Blue Diamond Heart
IKON Sovereign Eyes - Forest
SUGAR - Key Ring

FINALLY!! A TMP tank top that looks decent!!

Ever since I got my TMP body, I've been on the lookout for simple clothes - shirts, mostly - that look halfway decent on the planes of the body. The pecks, neck muscles, and shoulders on the TMP body are somewhat exaggerated, and regular system layer-esque appliers don't lay over it properly. Most designers haven't yet figured out how to adjust for the TMP upper body shape. However - one designer - [Lazybum] - figured out a work around! 

It seems if you make the shirt on a tattoo layer, it somehow lays on the body properly, preserving the original design of the template, rather than trying to lay over the angular planes of the body. I'm not sure exactly how or why it works, though Sass said it made sense to her, but hey - IT WORKS!

I - of course - went shopping to a few fairs and grabbed a few interesting pieces to showcase for this blog. My favorite part, however, was the LAZYBUM shirts I got on marketplace, of all places. Luciano Enoch is a genius!

The LAZYBUM shirt, I paired with a pair of long shorts - also found on MP - from E.Storm, and a rare pair of TMP tennis shoes that actually fit! 


Poses: The pose shop. broken wall 1& 2 - MOM may
Build: [PM]Pixel Mode - Dorthy's Shed - Shiny Shabby May

Shorts outfit:

[Lazybum] White Tank (TMP Edition)
[BLK 2.0] WASSUP - Male TMP #BLACK&CAMO w/ socks @ TMD
E.Storm* breeches summer black TMP
#TMP Deluxe Body, hands, feet
***Just You Jewels*** I Love You v3 Bracelet
7 Deadly s{K}ins - Judas B5c t2
:: envi :: Ailin Ear Piercing
::Exile:: Give away your Secrets_Veil
::GB:: Key Necklace_brown
::Hebenon Vial: MALE MOD: Against the Stream [Decay]
[TS] Goatee - 
AP Friendship Ring with Blue Diamond Heart
IKON Sovereign Eyes - Forest
NOMA // Dreamer Bracelet - MOM
SUGAR - Key Ring
Tree of Life -Relic Ring
Unorthodox Eyebrow Piercing Double Left

The second outfit was an awesome COLD ASH shirt I found at one of the fairs (see below pics for credits), paired with their jeans. COLD ASH is seriously one of my all time favorite stores for menswear. Casual, sexy, masculine, and just good quality clothing. 



Cold Ash Outfit:
COLD ASH - Woodlake Shirt - Olive - UBER
COLD ASH - Nevada Jeans Dirty Style Straight Fit & Belt
7mad;Ravens Cutter necklace
7mad;Ravens Journey glasses (@ COSMO
!APHORISM! leather Ankle Boots Male Dark brown
#TMP Deluxe Body, hands, feet
***Just You Jewels*** I Love You v3 Bracelet
7 Deadly s{K}ins - Judas B5c t2
:: envi :: Ailin Ear Piercing
::Exile:: Give away your Secrets_Veil
::GB:: Key Necklace_brown
::Hebenon Vial: MALE MOD: Against the Stream [Decay]
[TS] Goatee - 
AP Friendship Ring with Blue Diamond Heart
IKON Sovereign Eyes - Forest
NOMA // Dreamer Bracelet - MOM
SUGAR - Key Ring
Tree of Life -Relic Ring
Unorthodox Eyebrow Piercing Double Left

Stay tuned for more fashion finds from both myself and Angela! 

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Kitty Korner: A Breath of Fresh Fashion

The best part of SecondLife weekly sales is the great opportunity to meet new designers, see new brands, and snag great deals.  The Lazy Sunday Sale on May 24 introduced me to a one-stop shop Sim that I have fallen in LOVE with.  MyFashion is home to Aushk'a & Co and [Breathe], which offer SL fashionistas a gorgeous assortment of clothes and shoes right next door to each other.  What more could a girl want?

Aushk'a & Co

      My first stop was to Aushk'a & Co - a cute, mesh cloth clothing store with classic formal, cocktail and casual options.  The store is laid out in an easy-to-follow floor plan, which made shopping, and dropping $L, very easy.  A&Co, as the brand abbreviates themselves, offers their shoppers 13 freebies and 4 dollarbies.  Unlike many stores out there, A&Co's freebies and dollarbies are "wearable": no weird colors or patterns here.  The outfits look cohesive with the clothes for sale, so I could easily see myself integrating them into my wardrobe.  All you have to do is join the group, which also is free, and knock yourself out.


Who knew FREE could look so expensive and chic?!
Hair: Truth Hair - Harmony (Bun)
Skin: Glam Affair - Amberly - Jamaica 08 BL
Shape: Mine
Body, Hands: Maitreya Mesh Body - Lara (Nails short length, french manicure)
Eyes: IKON - Lucid Eyes - Indigo
Lashes: *BC Designs* Free Mesh Eyelashes (set 1 and 2 worn together)
Earrings: ~Raven Parnas~ Sterling Silver Medium Hoop Earrings
Nose Piercing:  JCNY - Saryh - Hyper-Gems - Diamond Nose Piercing
Coat: A&Co - Winter Coat
Shoes: [Breathe] - Sensuous - Black with Red Sole

      Also, each mesh fashions here include with my favorite thing in SL - color change HUDs!!!  Most pieces come with a choice of 3 color change HUDs: brights, jewel tones/darks and lights.  Within each set of color change HUD are 8 options.  Given that the price of the outfits hovers around $L199 - they are a steal.  The colors are rich and beautiful, and the texturing is well done, although fairly plain.



 I love this cheeky little sundress!
Hair: Truth Hair - Demelza (without Headband)
Skin: Glam Affair - Amberly - Jamaica 04 BL
Shape: Mine
Body, Hands: Maitreya Mesh Body - Lara (Nails short length, french manicure)
Eyes: IKON - Lucid Eyes - Indigo
Lashes: *BC Designs* Free Mesh Eyelashes (set 1 and 2 worn together)
Earrings: ~Raven Parnas~ Sterling Silver Medium Hoop Earrings
Nose Piercing:  JCNY - Saryh - Hyper-Gems - Diamond Nose Piercing
Ring: C'est la vie! - Manon Ring - Blue 
Clutch: Reign - Cloud Clutch - White
Dress: A&Co - BellaVita Mini Dress - Lights HUD 
Shoes: [Breathe] - Candice - White with Cream Sole
 
      The shapes of the designs aren't the unique, and I have seen many of the dress silhouettes before, but that doesn't make them any less stylish.  The mesh are unrigged, which poses a few conflicts with my mesh body, so trying on is required.  The outfits come in usual 5 standard sizes though.  Also, some of the pants' shapes really flatten out a lady's curves, so as a girl who appreciates her hips and butt, I am sticking to the dresses and tops.


Flat butts AREN'T my thing! 
Hair: DeLa - Lala 
Skin: Glam Affair - Amberly - Jamaica 05 BL
Shape: Mine 
Body, Hands: Maitreya Mesh Body - Lara (Nails short length, french manicure)
Eyes: IKON - Lucid Eyes - Indigo
Lashes: *BC Designs* Free Mesh Eyelashes (set 1 and 2 worn together)
Earrings: ~Raven Parnas~ Sterling Silver Medium Hoop Earrings
Nose Piercing:  JCNY - Saryh - Hyper-Gems - Diamond Nose Piercing 
Ring: Cae - Phases Ring - Star
Clutch - Zenith - Bow Clutch - Black
Romper: A&Co - Chic Rock Romper - Darks
Shoes: [Breathe] - Sensuous - Black with Black Sole

[Breathe]

      [Breathe] is situated right next to A&Co, so shopping for matching shoes to go with my outfits could not have been simpler.  Each style is original mesh and very stylish.  They cost between $L250 and $L300 for a single color or $L1500 for a fat pack of all dozen or so colors.  The owner even separated the shoes compatible with both Maitreya and Slink from those just compatible with Slink into two separate locations.  (Side note: Is there anything worse than falling in love with a pair of shoes, just to find out they won't work for your body???)  


Sexy and Strappy
Shoes: [Breathe] - Sensuous - Black with Black Soles





Sweet Stilettos
Shoes: [Breathe] - Candice - White with Cream Soles

      [Breathe] also has a handful of cute mesh dresses for sale.  Like A&Co, the dresses are pretty simple and standard silhouettes, but well-textured and lovely in their simplicity. Unlike A&Co they are $L200+ per color, and not sold with a color change HUD.

     I had a blast shopping at Aushk'a & Co and [Breathe]!  Even though I walked away from the Sim with a considerably lighter wallet, I feel like a million bucks with a refreshed summer wardrobe with tons of color options and new kicks to put some bounce in my strut.

See you around the bargain bins!

Hugs and Kisses,

Angela

Introducing....Angela!!

So one of my oldest and best friends in SL - and RL, for that matter, Angela Mulgrave, has returned to SL on a (hopefully) long term basis. As I've already written a lot about her, I'll copy what I have in my profile:

Ang - the little lost kitten came back home to SL after way too long away. Not exactly a stray, not exactly a pampered pet - she falls somewhere in between - moods and personalities ranging from the sweet playful kitten batting a feather around, to the fierce mama lion chasing off the grizzly bear hurting her friends. Welcome back, sweety! Love you!!

Ang has become a very dear and trusted friend to Sass, and is often out and about dancing the night away with us - teaming up with Sass to pick on me, or critiquing the fashion choices of everyone in whatever club we happen to find ourselves in.

Ang, in addition to being sweet, sexy, and a wonderful friend - is wickedly intelligent, and a wonderful writer. She's also bored. So she is combining her love of fashion with her wit and intellect to guest blog on my blog for awhile, while she gets her feet wet. For now, I'm editing her pics, but the rest of her posts is ALL Ang :) Here is the intro from the kitten's own mouth:

Kitty Korner Bio: Angela Mulgrave has been the consummate consumer since her birth into SecondLife over 8 years ago.  Her style is eclectic: classic and classy, skimpy and sexy, nekochic, sci-fi slutty, and pretty, pretty princess-wear.  She loves shopping for clothes, shoes, hair, accessories and even kitschy home goods.  You will find her at weekly sales, doing hunts, browsing fairs, and dancing at SL hot spots.

Below, a few pics of us to get you all acquainted:





Be nice to the sweet little kitten - or else. Those claws come out at the drop of a hat!!

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

.Sass. - Sass's New In-World Store - shameless promotion ahead!!

So Sass opened her first actual in-world shop - on the CLEAVAGE sim. Its called .Sass. She got a PRIME location, right between Forever Young and F'n'Hawt. She spent the past few days getting it set up, and now she is all open and ready for shoppers with deep pockets!! Below are some pics from the shop. Out the front door are some steps off to the right - that is the Lubbly Jubblies area - like I said, prime location!! She even has a dollarbie / group gift out on the reception desk. You can click below it to join her new group as well and get updates on new products. She is hard at work on a new line of dresses for summer as I type! Go check it out!!









Sunday, May 10, 2015

Considerations

No pictures in this blog post - just getting some thoughts out of my head so I can sleep.

There are some things weighing on my mind of late, and on Sarah's I know - moreso than they should be. I have a potential health issue that could impact our future, to the degree of preventing us from having one outside of SL. While this possibility hurts like hell, as there is nothing I can do to change it at this point, I have little choice but to resign myself to that potential reality. I know it is devastating to Sass.

We've known each other going on 4 months now, and this has been the happiest, most fulfilled, most...LIVED 4 months of my life. While there is quite honestly nothing I would like better than to be able to be the man she needs me to be, to be able to realistically be with her, hold her in my arms, kiss her, make love to her the way we dream of everytime we are together in SL...I have to accept that it might not happen that way. That sucks - admittedly - its a cruel twist of fate and it really fucking sucks - just...BEYOND sucks.

But...there is a silver lining, and one that I have to look at, if I'm to have any hope of getting through this. The past 4 months with Sarah have been incredible. We've had our ups and downs, we've bickered, we've fought, we've made up, and we've grown closer with each passing day. Each hurdle and speed bump brings us closer together, and makes us grow as a couple. All of my friends have commented that we are so good together, and so good for each other - and I have to agree. What we have - its amazing. Wonderful. Incredible. Mind blowingly intense and...I just don't have the words to express how awesome being with Sarah is, sharing our second lives, our first lives, spending time together.

When I am upset, I want to hold her, to hear her voice, to snuggle up with her in one of our cuddle spots on our sim, because she comforts me. When I am happy, I want to share it with her, because its usually because of her, and I want her to know how she makes me feel. When I am angry, I want to talk to her, because she calms me. Every moment of every day she is on my mind, in my heart. She is part of me, part of my soul. I can't imagine life without her in it, at least to some degree. I don't want to. It brings me to tears just thinking of that possibility.

I have to be realistic, though. I can't expect to tie her to me if this isn't enough for her. If its going to hurt too much, be too hard, to JUST have SL together. Its not that I would ever expect her to not seek out a relationship in RL if we couldn't be together like that, I would encourage her to, because I know she needs - and deserves - that type of intimacy. That said, however, I want to be a part of her life, and I want her to be a part of mine. A very significant part. The MOST significant part. I live for the times I can spend with her.

Sarah has been worried of late that I'm pulling away, or pushing her away. We have taken to limiting our time together in SL, to give her more balance. Time to spend with her family, time to get RL things done, time for her art, and even time to work on stuff in SL for her new store that she is starting on the CLEAVAGE sim - do check her profile and go check it out please! MissSassySarah Resident - or check mine, I'll have it linked by morning. The reality of how I feel about this couldn't be farther from her worries. It is painful being away from her. I want to spend every moment I can with her, especially with an uncertain future looming before us. BUT - I know she needs a push to get her life back on track - and I am trying to give her that. She is stubbornly fighting me every step of the way, but I am still sticking to my guns. I want her to have everything she wants, everything she can possibly have, to be happy.

Sarah brought up the topic of engagement today, and my heart leapt with joy. For a moment. Then reality sunk in. I had to tell her that I am waiting to make that step until she has all the information necessary to make an informed decision. To decide whether she wants to tie herself to me in Secondlife if all I can ever offer her is what we have right now. What we have right now is absolutely amazing, but I know its not what she wants - its not her end game - its not enough to satisfy her. If worse comes to worse, it will be up to her to decide if she wants to continue what we have, knowing that SL is all it will ever be, or if she wants to cut her losses and move on as friends, seeking out what she actually needs. That choice is hers, and I will not make her more obligated than she already feels to decide one way or the other. If she wonders at all how I feel about her, or where my heart lies, or whether I would even WANT to be completely committed to her in every way we can be in SL - she has but to look at the two rings she wears. One to tie my heart to her...the other to tie my soul. She owns both, as I do hers. But she needs to know that I will support her in her decision, whatever it might happen to be. She needs to know that she will ALWAYS have me in her corner. That she will ALWAYS have my love and support. ALWAYS and unconditionally.

Ok...I feel calmer now. I think I can sleep.