Nothing To Hide

1 Nothing to Hide sm

Why should I? Everything in this photo needs to be seen.

Maybe I’m crossing my fingers behind my back, but not because I’m negating telling a fib. Maybe it’s because I’m hoping you are excited as I am about all of these amazing things!

More from The Liaison Collaborative and [ keke ] this post. The dress is an adorable peek-a-boo sundress from Vinyl. Peek-a-boo meaning, you’d better wear panties underneath! The Petal Eyelashes from Izzie’s are dramatic and unexpected. They certainly jazz up a spring outfit.

From [ keke ] comes the clipped artwork. They, along with nine other designs, will be available at The Seasons Story when it opens on April 10th. Using public domain works of art, she has yet again created the most wonderful accents for your home.

Check out the credits for the rest of the goods; like I said, I have nothing to hide.

Pretty stuff I’m showing off:

*Dress: Vinyl – Charlie Sundress – Maitreya by sukoshitosuto (available at The Liaison Collaborative until April 30, 2016)
Hair: Lamb. Foxygen by Lamb Bellic (available at Collabor88 April, 2016)
*Skin & Maitreya Applier: Elysium – Candice skin (red brow) – creme freckles by Aleida Rhode (available at Skin Fair 2016, Sim 1 through March 27, 2016)
*Lips: ::JOLI:: Giselle Lipgloss #4 by Aisling Caiben (available at Skin Fair 2016, Sim 2 through March 27, 2016)
*Eyeliner: ::JOLI:: Basic BOLD Eyeliner by Aisling Caiben (available at Skin Fair 2016, Sim 2 through March 27, 2016)
Body, feet and hands: Maitreya Mesh Body – Lara by Onyx LeShelle
*Eyes: Mayfly – Luminous – Mesh Eye (Ghost Persian Blue, w3) by Arkesh Baral
*Eyelashes/makeup: Izzie’s – Petal Lashes (Mesh) and makeup (teal) by Izzie Button (available at The Liaison Collaborative until April 30, 2016)

*Artwork: [ keke ] clipped print floral 4, 3 and 2 by Kean Kelly (available at The Seasons Story from April 10, 2016)
Build: dust bunny . gardenia shed by xlNoel (available at Collabor88 April, 2016)

*Pose: oOo Studio spring_seven by Olaenka Chesnokov (available at The Liaison Collaborative until April 30, 2016)

A Certain Kind of Alone

1 Waiting at Home

Yesterday was a very busy day for me at work. I was on the go from the moment I arrived until the moment I escaped the office doors at five. It was one of those days where I had seventeen things on the go at once, and still had another dozen to complete. There was a constant murmur of voices, the phone was ringing, my inbox was humming and every time I looked up, someone was standing at my desk, needing something else from me. A typical Monday in my working world.

At lunch, while most people had fled for a well-deserved break, I made a sandwich and sat in my cubicle, trying to catch up in the relative quiet. I was succeeding, until a distant memory pricked the back of my mind and before I knew it, I was staring into space, remembering another time. A time when I was young, barely more than a child growing up on my parent’s farm. I was taken back to a place I loved to go to be alone. Under a tree in a field far from the house where I would sit and read or daydream, where a brood of newly-hatched quails discovered me as I discovered them. To a moment of a certain kind of alone that I now cherish.

I have never wanted to be in a time and place so much as I wanted to be back there, protected by my father, loved by my mother, with my whole life ahead of me, marveling at the newness that was as much an everyday thing then as spreadsheets and deadlines are to me now. To be that child, discovering that quail’s eyelids blink up instead of down. Feeling the warm summer breeze on my face and listening to the cries of the doves, settling in for an afternoon nap as the baby quails discovered as much of me as I did of them. I was content with a small smile settled on my lips.

All too soon, my colleagues returned, another assignment landed on my desk and the reverie was broken. The breeze became the air conditioning, the cries of doves transformed into the quiet bell of my email notification, but the images I relived remained in my thoughts as a reminder of that certain kind of alone.

Pretty stuff I’m showing off:

Top: Blueberry – Laced Crop Shirt / Clean / – Maitreya – Pixie by Blueberryxx
Jeans: Vinyl – Oakley Jeans – Light Blue- Lara by Sukoshitosuto
Hair: “”D!va”” Hair “Kelly” (Red amber) by Marisa Kira
Tattoo: [White~Widow] Midnight in Paris – Maitreya Mesh Body by Julie Hastings
Skin: -Glam Affair – Summerv3 – America 02 E by aida Ewing
Body, hands and feet: Maitreya Mesh Body – Lara V1.0 by Onyx LeShelle
Eyes: IKON Promise Eyes – Maldives by Ikon Innovia
Lashes: Mon Cheri *MC* “Falsies” Eyelash by Freya Oliveri

Swing: Soy. Dreamy Hanging Chair by Soyoy (available at Collabor88 August 2015)
Stone wall: Mesh Plants – Full Perm Ruins Wall Piece_3 by Reid Parkin
Plants: Studio Skye Alligator Apple Bush (small leaf) by Alex Bader
Trees: HPMD* Garden Tree05 – white 2A+2B by Sasaya Kayo (recoloured)
Building: junk. the poor gentleman’s club shed. white. by Tab Tatham
Table: junk. recycled road sign table. trespass. by Tab Tatham
Chair: junk. recycled road sign chair. dumping. by Tab Tatham

Pose by the swing

Photo taken using the LumiPro HUD by Stefan Buscaylet

I’m Not Afraid To Look Down, But I Won’t Let Go

1 On a Swing

Balancing my life is not akin to walking a tightrope; instead, it is more like teetering on a swing, not quite ready to let go, but getting to the point where I can at least look down. Slippery slopes and all that (yes, I know I’m mixing my metaphors like a Kansas farmhouse in a tornado!)

It is a challenge to keep my equilibrium and composure some days. Hell, most days. Traffic woes, work stresses, wild and sometimes frightening dreams, broken sleep and aches and pains all push me to my limits. But then a cuddle from my (usually) stand-offish cat, a chat with my sweetheart and a photo that I am happy with are the counterbalance to the distress I allow to cloud my day.

I am learning, slowly, not to fear looking down, but I still won’t let go.

Top: Addams // Sophia Tank Top // Maitreya by AmaliaRainwood (available at Collabor88 August 2015)
Jeans: Vinyl – Oakley Jeans – Light Blue- Lara by Sukoshitosuto (available at Uber July/August 2015)
*Earrings: Salt & Pepper S&P hippie earrings gold (gacha prize at The Gacha Garden August 2015)
Feet wrappings: fri.day fri. – Aisling.Wraps (Blush) – Maitreya High by Darling Monday (available at Collabor88 August 2015)
Hair: *ARGRACE* NAO – Ginger by rika Oyen (New Release)
Tattoo: [White~Widow] Midnight in Paris – MeshBody Appliers by Julie Hastings (New Release)
Skin: -Glam Affair – Summerv3 – America 02 E by aida Ewing
Body, hands and feet: Maitreya Mesh Body – Lara V1.0 by Onyx LeShelle
Eyes: IKON Promise Eyes – Maldives by Ikon Innovia
Lashes: Mon Cheri *MC* “Falsies” Eyelash by Freya Oliveri

Chair: {anc} le cirque de reverie .8/ blanc / pink / hangingchair 2Li by aki69 (gacha prize)
Tree: HPMD* Garden Tree05 – white 2A + 2B by Sasaya Kayo (recoloured)
Daisies: The Little Branch Marketplace StoreLB_Daisy{Rounded-Field} by Cari McKeenan
Grass: [we’re CLOSED] grass field lush by Wendy Xeno

Pose by the chair

Photo taken using the LumiPro HUD by Stefan Buscaylet