It All Starts With A Smile

Double Date

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1 Double Date sm

If you have been struggling to find that special someone to accompany you to the beach – you know, to rub sunscreen on your back, brush the sand off your tush – fear not; you can find the perfect date (or two) at Summerfest ’16! Hey, they will even work as a life raft in case you get a cramp while swimming!

Katat0nik Pidgeon is one of the more creative designers in Second Life, and she hasn’t disappointed at this year’s Summerfest. This event always has some very playful items, but these Pool Toys from *katat0nik* are definitely going to be a hit! There are three different versions (sorry, but clowns freak me out, so I couldn’t bring myself to include him), and you get both a male and female version, plus large and small pool toys. Yes, that’s right…POOL toys. Got it??

Intrigue Co. is also another creative designer, and you can find a variety of kitschy goodies at Summerfest, including this fruitilicious necklace. Perhaps you’ll prefer a flamingo or umbrella hat or a bum bag, but hey – they’ve got you covered!

After the cut there is a closeup of the necklace, plus I’ll fill you in on my tat and the sand that my boyfriends haven’t bothered to dust off of me yet!

Oh yeah, and my boobs. There’s a closeup of my boobs :O

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Y Is For Yellow

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1 Y is for Yellow A

I can’t believe the Inventory Alphabet Challenge is almost over. This has been a fun challenge, some letters tougher than others. I knew from day A, though, that Y would be for yellow. It is a happy colour full of warmth and sunshine. And I knew from day A that I would use this flower-filled hill at It all starts with a smile. The rest was just details – I have a LOT of yellow stuff in my inventory.

I have already taken the photo for Z…I just have to process it and write the post. I have a lot of other pictures I took during the course of this challenge that I just haven’t had time to blog; I may slow down on shooting more pictures until those have seen the light of day. Or maybe I’ll just save them for a rainy day.

Sometimes I feel the pressure to blog only new things. But is an outfit that I put together from pieces that were new a couple of weeks ago really old? Unless it is a limited edition item, the dress or shoes or pose is still available for sale in the creator’s store and a later post is a reminder of this. I admit I do a lot of my shopping at sales events, rather than going to individual stores. I also blog for a few events, and while I have a responsibility to show items while the event is running I try to use the things I have been given later on, just so my readers are aware of something pretty they may have missed the first time around or I wasn’t able to show during the event. I am grateful to the designers who provide review copies to event bloggers; we aren’t their hand-picked bloggers and I do appreciate the trust they place in those of us selected by event coordinators. I have gotten past the point where I feel pressured to blog every single item that I receive; not everything is my style and I refuse to blog something that I can’t make look as good as I possibly can.

There is a point to my rambling. This challenge has reminded me of a lot of lovely things that have been languishing in my inventory for a while, and even a few things I had forgotten about or hadn’t even opened. Other than the hair I am wearing in this photo, everything is an older item. Yes, probably only a few months old, at most, but in the world of Second Life blogging, that is practically ancient history. Going back through my belongings during this past three-and-a-half weeks has given me an opportunity to remember that “new-to-me” can be just as exciting as “new-to-everyone.”

Pretty stuff I’m showing off:

Dress: Baiastice_Ayoun dress-yellow by Sissy Pessoa
Necklace: Cae :: Promise :: Necklace by Caelan Hancroft
Earrings & Ring: Cae:: Promise :: Earrings & Ring by Caelan Hancroft
Hair: TRUTH HAIR Fleur (Reds) by Truth Hawks (available at The Seasons Story Spring 2014)
Skin: [PXL] Creations [PXL] JADE NAT PetalPink MEB C2 by Hart Larsson
Hands: Slink Mesh Hands (av) Casual by Siddean Munro
Hand appliers:[PXL] Creations – [ PXL ] Slink Hand Appliers NAT by Hart Larsson
Nail polish: Flair – Fingernails Applier Slink A/E – Set 101 by Sasy Scarborough
Eyes: Amacci Gaze Eyes – Ocean Blue by Carina Larsen
Lashes: Mon Cheri *MC* “Falsies” Eyelash by Freya Oliveri
Elephant: Kirin Pose Store – My Little Elephant Yellow by Carolina Sautereau

Pose: {Imeka} Poses Kirsty-Pose 2 by NatWilliams

Location: It all starts with a smile

Ramblings Of A Smiling Blogger

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1 It all starts with a smile

I took a day off of my world travels to visit a familiar location, It all starts with a smile. I have loved this sim since I first saw it about a year ago. Owners Kaelyn Alecto and Maxxster Resident have generously opened it to the public and it is refreshed seasonally. It is a lovely, whimsical place with rolling hills, paths to wander and all sorts of adorable and surprising vignettes around every corner. I thought about doing a full photo shoot of the sim, but to be honest, I was tired and that just taxes my little brain too much. I do love taking landscape photos, but it is not an easy task for me. Too much thought has to go into camera angles and lighting for it to be relaxing. So in order to just kick back and enjoy myself, I just shot a couple of selfies 😉

Before I started shooting I had sent an IM to my blogger mate, Cougar Sangria, who had mentioned she had been trying desperately to get the black hair pack from Exile in this round of The Arcade. Being a redhead, I naturally had it tucked in my inventory, gathering dust and in need of a good brushing. I offered it to her and we ended up trading – she got her coveted black hair and I ended up with the dark reds. We chatted a bit, discussed the need for a Gacha Anonymous group in world and then parted our ways, both intent on finishing work on our blog posts.

That got me to thinking. I have become friendly with several bloggers in Second Life, but with very few exceptions I have only met a few in person, and then only when bumping into them while shopping or when doing a blog-related photo. While I continue to have conversations with many of these amazing people via blog comments, I haven’t yet really gotten to know them well in the world we all call home and report on pretty much daily.

I admit that I have become more solitary while I am in Second Life since I started blogging. Or perhaps I started blogging in part because I had begun to spend more time alone. While I used to be at home pretty much just to change clothes before hanging out at a club or going shopping, it is now where you will find me most of the time. I do visit other places more frequently now, but I am almost always on my own and there for the express purpose of taking photographs.

Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily. I DJ two sets a week which forces me to be social and I almost always have fun. The times I enjoy it less are when the crowd is quiet, more content to keep their conversations in private. I like to entertain – to get the group involved in local chat, laughing and teasing, picking up on a song that they might like to keep them involved. So I can’t say that I am an isolationist. But my days of just hanging around with a lot of people for the sake of being around others has passed.

Last night was one of those nights when I had a really fun time DJing. The crowd wasn’t big, but they were engaged and I laughed and chatted all night. There was rarely a pause in the chatter, which was quickly filled by someone making a joke or comment which started the group talking again and I found myself grinning all evening.

I have rambled a lot in my post today. I didn’t have a clue what I would write when I sat down to blog. But like so many others I publish, it all started with a smile.

Pretty stuff I’m wearing:

Top: Tee*fy Basic Tucked Tank Sand by Azure Electricteeth
Jeans: Maitreya Zipper-Skinny Jeans * S #3 by Onyx LeShelle
Boots: {Sleepy Eddy} Engineer Boots (Brown) by Metro Moonwall (gacha prize)
Necklace: Cae :: Promise :: Necklace by Caelan Hancroft
Earrings & Ring: Cae :: Promise :: Earrings & Ring by Caelan Hancroft
Holster bag: ANE Holster Bag Brown 01 Leather by Anemysk Karu (available at The Chapter Four)
Headband: *LODE* Headwear – Boohoo [dry grass] by Chirzaka Vlodovic (gacha prize at The Chapter Four)
Hair: *ARGRACE* MIZUKI – True Red by rika Oyen (New release)
Skin: [PXL] Creations – [PXL] JADE SK Peach Lips MEB C2 by Hart Larsson
Eye Makeup: [PXL] Creations – [PXL] JADE SK Smokey Eyes by Hart Larsson
Hands: Slink Mesh Hands (av) Casual by Siddean Munro
Hand applier:[PXL] Creations – [ PXL ] Slink HandApplier SK by Hart Larsson
Eyes: Amacci Gaze Eyes – Ocean Blue by Carina Larsen
Lashes: Mon Cheri *MC* “Falsies” Eyelash by Freya Oliveri

Pose: Eternal Dream Poses – *ED* Runway Love 09 by Fata Boa

Location: It all starts with a smile