Project Everybody: Beneath Your Beautiful

1 Project Everybody A

Would you let me see beneath your beautiful
Would you let me see beneath your perfect
Take it off now boy, take it off now girl
Cause I wanna see inside
Would you let me see beneath your beautiful tonight?
Tonight, see beneath your beautiful
Oh tonight, we ain’t perfect, we ain’t perfect
Would you let me see beneath your beautiful tonight?

From “Beneath Your Beautiful” written by Emeli Sande, Timothy Mckenzie & Mike Posner

This is Peep, the normally long-legged and willowy avatar you see featured on this blog. Today, though, she is a more realistic version with substance and curves. Isn’t she beautiful?

No, I haven’t changed my shape in Second Life permanently. But today I am highlighting a very different Peep for Project Everybody. Lucie Bluebird-Lexington has created this project and in her words, “I wanna see your brave.” The challenge is to portray ourselves as we normally wouldn’t and explain why. Please click the link to read fully about the challenge and check out the links to other posts in the comments section.

I, like a lot of women, have a body image issue in real life. We are conditioned to believe that slim, sleek and fashionable is the ideal. Peep normally fits this mould; she is my ideal and everything I am not. Tall, sleek, even graceful. I developed her shape over a lot of years, and she, in her current form is based on a mesh standard size small. She looks great in clothes, but to be honest, I have always believed she is too skinny in the nude or even lingerie and swimwear, which is why you rarely see her portrayed in those ways.

For this challenge, I adjusted her shape so that she is a mesh standard size large. Additionally, I made her shorter, widened her hips and shoulders and rounded out her face. When I completed the transformation, I dressed her. To show my brave, I went out shopping, rather than hiding her away on the island. But to be honest, I didn’t like the way she looked and even moved in a pair of jeans, tank top and jacket. I even had issues with the clothes fitting properly. All of the sliders were adjusted exactly to a size large, but bits of her were popping out all over the place. The one-size-fits-all alphas that normally work perfectly with my size small didn’t seem to do the job. I was disheartened.

However, I was committed to completing this challenge. When I returned home, I decided that rather than hiding her behind clothing I would dress her in a bikini. And you know what? Even though the alpha didn’t work at ALL, I loved how she looked baring her curves. She looks womanly, rather than like a waif. She looks healthy, rather than underfed. She seems to actually glow with a beauty that comes from within.

When I finished shooting the photo, I went back to my size small shape. But, I kept the roundness of the face and the shorter stature. I didn’t keep the full hip and shoulder width of my more ample figure, but they are broader now than they were before. And I like the changes. This is the first time I have ever made a change to Peep’s face. I always thought it was perfect. I was wrong.

I like this version of Peep. And you don’t have to look beneath to see her beautiful.

Pretty stuff I’m showing off:

Bikini: *BOOM* Hampton Bikini/anchors (sugar) by Aranel Ah
Hair: *ARGRACE* HARUKA – True Red by rika Oyen
Skin: [PXL] Creations [PXL] JADE NAT PetalPink MEB C2 (FR) by Hart Larsson
Hands: Slink Mesh Hands (av) Casual by Siddean Munro
Hand appliers:[PXL] Creations – [ PXL ] Slink Hand Appliers NAT by Hart Larsson
Eyes: Amacci Gaze Eyes – Ocean Blue by Carina Larsen
Lashes: Mon Cheri *MC* “Falsies” Eyelash by Freya Oliveri

Pose: aDORKable Poses: Ella 6 by Adorkable Peapod

My Blogging Journey Challenge: Bloody Blogger

1 Bleeding Blogger

It has been about a year since Miss Berry asked us about why we blog. I was truly a “baby blogger” then, having only created this site three months prior. I have changed a lot since then, not just in terms of what and how I blog. There are times I have thought about just giving it all up; I am sure I could spend my time more productively. But then, I have an inspiration for a post or get caught up in a challenge or just crave sharing the photos I have taken and those thoughts just disappear.

Here is what Miss Berry has asked us to do this time around:

Meme instructions: Copy and paste the following questions and answers to your post, delete my answers and input your own. Don’t forget to leave a link to your post in the comments (of this post) so others can come by and read your answers as well!

1. Which electronic devices do you use to blog with? I only use Esteban (my pc) to blog. I have the WordPress app installed on my phone, though, and I use that sometimes to reply to comments, particularly when I wake in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep.

2. Do you have a mission statement for your blog, if so, what is it? No, I don’t. A mission statement seems too corporate to me. This blog is strictly for enjoyment – not something I associate with the corporate world!

3. How do you feel about blogs that use their platforms to spread negativity? I don’t read them, unless a particular post is pointed out for some reason. As for how I feel about them, I guess ambivalent is the best term to describe it. It is their blog; they can write whatever they want.

4. Are you a grammar junkie? Do you thoroughly check your blog for errors before posting and/or do you judge other people’s posts if they contain errors? I am a good speller and have a strong grasp of grammar, but I don’t consider myself to be a grammar junkie. I do write in a certain style and some of my stylistic choices would be considered grammatically incorrect. However, I always make sure my posts are readable. I do proofread my posts and I have been known to correct very old mistakes if I spot them much later on.

I am not generally bothered by spelling and grammar errors on other blogs. Many I read are ESL writers and knowing one language only, I admire them. I think the one thing that annoys me is when writers of any kind are lazy and don’t bother to do any type of proofreading and have constant misspellings. Yes, anyone can make a typographical error, but WordPress has a spell-checker and I’m pretty sure Blogger does, too. Use it! *Edit: 12 hours later and I just edited to fix a grammatical error *facepalms*

5. If you could switch blogs with another blogger who would it be? Whiskey Monday. Although she is no longer active, I always loved Whiskey’s blog. Her photos are true works of art, as is her writing. I got to know her a bit in Second Life and she is one of the smartest, funniest, most sincere and truly creative people I have met, in either world.

Thank you, Berry, for your Facebook link to Ziki Questi’s blog post on the upcoming closing of Whiskey’s gallery in world. I was struggling with a photo for this post and I was actually about to give up for the day when I decided to go see Whiskey’s work before I logged off. That is when I saw the artwork that is the background for my photo and I knew what I wanted to do. I know I don’t hold a candle to her talent, but I wanted to pay homage to her creativity.

6. Has your blog/blogging style evolved over the year(s)? How? I don’t know that it has. I have only been blogging for a little over a year so it is a bit early in my evolution as a blogger. I didn’t do credits when I first started and there was more focus on client work. It is still a blog about whatever I feel like sharing on a particular day.

7. What is the most extraordinary thing that has happened to you because of blogging? I am happy to say that I have a rather active group of commenters on my blog. I have developed some very special friendships with some very special people through blogging. Some have been bloggers I have met while doing challenges but mainly it is through blog comments. I only wish Blogger would put in a simpler comment approval system; I find it hard to engage in that format, so I am sure I am missing out on many more friendships and acquaintances just because of their Captcha system!

8. When it comes to Second Life blogs, there are different styles: Fashion bloggers, Lifestyle & Travel bloggers, Informative bloggers, and more. Which style do you prefer and where do you feel your blog fits in? LOL well, I guess a little of each. I probably am more of a fashion blogger than anything else, but I have dipped my toe into each of the aforementioned types at one time or another. I am a bit of a blog junkie; I read a bit of each style. I guess the only type I am not crazy about are strictly look-of-the-day blogs. There is a place for them, certainly; they are just not my cup of tea.

9. What has blogging taught you? Blogging has taught me to be a better photographer – one who still cringes occasionally at a picture, though. It has taught me that when I am having a crappy day there will be someone out there who will leave a comment or hit Like on my blog to cheer me up. And it has taught me that my inventory can reach epic numbers and NOT explode!

10. Share your top 3 tips for new bloggers. 1.) Do your very best to reply to comments and comment on other blogs. It is a great way to network and make friends. 2.) Don’t beg creators for items to blog. Check their picks or store for their blogger’s policy and follow it. 3.) Be prepared to spend a LOT of money!

Pretty stuff I’m showing off:

Jumpsuit: ISON – v-cut jumpsuit – (black) by Harry Hyx
Shoes: ieQED chacha.sandal.red hots by SigiFaust (previous 21Shoe exclusive)
Necklace: Pure Poison – PP – Leah Necklace – Gold by Shaleene Kenin (Group Gift)
Earrings: Pure Poison PP – Triandre Gold Earrings by Shaleene Kenin (Group Gift)
Ring: Cae :: Promise :: Ring by Caelan Hancroft
Hair: *ARGRACE* Akane – True Red by rika Oyen
Skin: [PXL] Creations [PXL] JADE NAT PetalPink MEB C2 by Hart Larsson
Hands: Slink Mesh Hands (av) Casual by Siddean Munro
Feet: Slink Mesh Feet (Av) High by Siddean Munro
Hand & Feet appliers:[PXL] Creations – [ PXL ] Slink Hand & Feet Appliers NAT by Hart Larsson
Eyes: Amacci Gaze Eyes – Ocean Blue by Carina Larsen
Lashes: Mon Cheri *MC* “Falsies” Eyelash by Freya Oliveri

Artwork: Writing by Whiskey Monday (available at The Viewing Room for the next few days ONLY)
Typewriter: floorplan. typewriter gacha / red by Tegan Sara

Pose: aDORKable Poses: Touch Me 5 by Adorkable Peapod

Z Is For Zee End

1 Z is for Zibska

I talked yesterday about how much I have enjoyed doing this challenge. Today it’s just about the last letter in the alphabet.

I had to spell out “Zee” in the title because if I had said “Z End” most of the English-speaking world would have thought it read “Zed End.” Pronouncing Z as “zed” is the part of the Australian vernacular I have resisted most. It makes no sense to me; D is not pronounced “ded”, nobody says “ged” for G nor “ped” for P. So why is Z any different? Although zed is a derivation of the original Greek zeta, B isn’t called “bed” (the Greek is beta).

I could have just called this post “Z is for Zebra & Zibska” but then I wouldn’t have been able to get into this phonetic phenomenon to complete this curiously quizzical conundrum.

Pretty stuff I’m showing off:

Outfit (dress/hat): Zibska ~ Idonea in Zebra by Zib Scaggs
Necklace: [MANDALA] KABUKI NECKLACE/ Shangri-La PINK by Kikunosuke Eel
Earrings: [MANDALA] KABUKI Earrings/ Shangri-La PINK by Kikunosuke Eel
Shoes: ::HH:: Hucci Xayabury Sandal – 21ShoeSpecial by Eboni Khan
Hair: Amacci Hair Gloria ~ Sangria by Carina Larsen
Skin: [PXL] Creations [PXL] JADE NAT PetalPink MEB C2 (FR) by Hart Larsson (available at The Skin Fair 2014)
Hands: Slink Mesh Hands (av) Casual by Siddean Munro
Feet: Slink Mesh Feet (Av) High by Siddean Munro
Hand & Feet appliers:[PXL] Creations – [ PXL ] Slink Hand & Feet Appliers NAT by Hart Larsson
Eyes: Amacci Gaze Eyes – Ocean Blue by Carina Larsen
Lashes: Mon Cheri *MC* “Falsies” Eyelash by Freya Oliveri

Screen: {what next} Vintage Dressing Screen (updated) by FrankLee Anatra
Stool: {what next} Vintage Stool by Winter Thorn

Pose: oOo Studio Poses – oOo surface_eleven by Olaenka Chesnokov