As it happens, this morning my throat was raw and icky and my entire body had that wonderful Several Dock Thugs Beat Me With a Lead Pipe All Night and Left Me For Dead feeling. After croaking my predicament on the machine at work, I slept another 4 hours. Unfortunately I woke up hot and my ear had pasted itself to the side of my head. Stupid dock thugs.

Anyway, despite my noble efforts to suck it up, I was told that if I tried to go into work, I’d be unceremoniously thrown back out. So here I am on my couch, surrounded by tissues, orange juice and various pills, blogging.

When I first moved back up to NorCal to live in my mother’s basement while interning for Chronicle Books (*snort snort push glasses up nose snort*), she procured for me a little two drawer dresser that was about a foot and a half wide. One drawer barely contained all my panties and bras. All my bedclothes? Kind of a joke. I have that horrible disease where I feel guilty for throwing away any t-shirt that someone gives me, regardless of how ugly or ill-fitting. “I’ll just wear it to bed!” I cheerfully say to myself. And so my bed shirts are vast, both in size and quantity. Either everyone thinks I’m remarkably fat or that I’m a prodigy tailor. One is debatable, the other is an outright over-exaggeration. I’ll let the viewers figure out which is which.

That being said, this sad little dresser has been vomiting out bedclothes and panties for about a year and a half. I’ve schlepped this damn thing from my mom’s basement on Mt. Crumpet to Redwood City and now to Mountain View. And for some reason it took me until yesterday to be over it. So we decided to go to Ikea so I could get a Big Girl dresser and M Fox could look at lights.

M Fox and I agree on two very major points about the place were we live, wherever it may be: it must have plants and it must be well-lit. I hate dark houses. And plants are nice. We agree on many other things as well (obviously), but those are two pretty big deals. I would add “books, food, and pets” to that list, but that’s me. Just to clarify, M Fox has nothing against books, is pretty ambivalent to food (skinny jerk) and loves our cats, but I don’t know that they’re necessities in his eyes. Well, the cats are at this point. Gah, I’m losing control of this train of thought.

Anyway, my favored boyfriend does widen the concept of “well-lit” past my wildest imagination. You see, he has a vision. He wants to negate the current light switches in the house and set up every light on a remote control. This seems bizarre, but it makes sense, I swear it. Understandably, the apartment was designed in such a way that every convenient plug is attached to a light switch. That’s great and all, except that convenient plugs are often used for computers. And that got obnoxious really quick. So yeah, remote controlled lights, I’m on board, I can see that, whatever you want honey, you figure it out and let me know. But then I found out that this is only the first step to his master plan.

The next step is that he wants lights to recognize you when you walk in the door, know your exact lighting preferences, and turn on to that setting automatically. When there are two people in the room? The lights will adjust to the average of the two settings. Three people? TOTAL NUCLEAR MELTDOWN! Actually, I don’t know, maybe a poison dart will just take out the third person to avoid confusion. In the immortal words of Anthony Cohen, perhaps slightly rephrased, “Yeah, and I’d like a robot that eats garbage and farts perfume.” Except that the favored boyfriend has figured out a way to do this. No fucking kidding, folks. He has the technology. He has the dream. And now it’s time for the gathering of the parts to make his journey toward the Light Side complete. Ultimately, he wants also to program in personal temperature preferences. Whoa.

Maybe it’s because my dad is the kind of person who until only the last few years learned to trust email. Maybe it’s that I’m not as much of as technophile as M Fox. Or maybe it’s just because I’ve seen Terminator. What I know is this. However irrational as this sounds, I don’t like the idea of a light bulb knowing my lighting preferences. Call me crazy. Honestly, I don’t even know what a bulb could do with that information. Sell it to Google, start sending me spam about greener fuses or political rants about the irrelevant nature of candles, I just don’t know. But I’m deeply suspicious. I’ve told M Fox my feelings. I think he finds my concerns more cute than rational.

Seriously, though, I think that it’s more about how I watch technology strip people of the ability to think on a daily basis and I feel like I’m lazy enough without having a lightbulb pre-dimmed for me. For Mike, this is obviously about a new toy and the thrill of advanced technology, which I totally understand (hey, I just bought $90 worth of children’s books to read a week ago. . . so touche). But honestly after we had schlepped the 80 pound box of drawer parts (YOU READ THAT RIGHT!! 80 POUNDS!! WTF!!! FOR A CHEST OF DRAWERS!) up to the apartment where I painstakenly put the whole damn thing together, scraping off skin, hammering my thumb, putting the stupid fucking wooden dowels in the wrong hole and having to dig them out, etc etc etc, I have to admit that I was still glad that humans could still do this by themselves without assemble-bots.

Well, except when I hammered my thumb. Then I wanted a bot. Or at least for the favored boyfriend to do it.

lashes: [ glow ] Flutter lashes – flutterby  (nose) by Anemysk Karu
pants: . Minni Me . RiseUp Jeans Beige by Minni Fall (NEW)
eyes: MADesigns NATURALS – brown studio eyes (less veins) by Maddox DuPont
hair: >TRUTH< Elysium – cherry by Truth Hawks
suitcase: [[SHADE THRONE]] ST SUITCASE -  (mid) /brand new by Undo Hermano
shades: [AddiCt]Brooklyn Glasses Snake by Kianna Noel (NEW)
skin: candydoll Andrada Maron PAle by rebeca Dembo (NEW)
boots: [LeLutka]-Shavon Ankle Boots (Bronze) by Minnu Palen
belt: (osakki) Leather Snakeskin Belt [ Mocha ] ( Stomach ) Small by Kaysha Piers
shirt: R.icielli – LUCIANA bodysuit / limajournal by Antonietta Pelazzi (NEW)
jacket: R.icielli – MISSEILING jacket / maroon by Antonietta Pelazzi (NEW)

pose by TorridWear
picture taken @ AM Radio at IDIA Laboratories

hairbow worn as brooch: . Minni Me. – Cherry’s Collection black LACE (: by Minni Fall (NEW)
shirt: *COCO*_SleevelessBlouse&Cuff_White by Cocoro Lemon
Cardigan: -Phoenix Rising- Ilan Cardigan (Purple) by Danial Guisse (NEW)
cuffs: -Phoenix Rising- Replay Cuff [Bronze/White] by Kieran Debevec (NEW)
flats: . Mini Me . Diamond Flats Purple Demin by Minni Fall (NEW)
hair: >TRUTH< Akira – chestnut by Truth Hawks
skirt 1: R.icielli – ANITA High Waist Skirt / black by Antonietta Pelazzi (NEW)
skirt 2/poof attachment: part of Baiastice_Bice black dress (group gift) by Sissy Pessoa (NEW)
skin: Candydoll Andrada Purple Pale by rebeca Dembo (NEW)
socks: Aoharu by machang Pichot

pose by (pda)

here a close on my background decoration:

candles shelf: {theosophy} Lavenham Shelf by Trace Osterham
console: {theosophy} Berwick Console A by Trace Osterham
watering pot w/flowers/fuits: part of (iTuTu) garden tray set /A 02 by toraji Voom
suitcase: Picnic trunk case [blue] sit (old winter choice n/a) by nyasyousa Oh
shoes: DUBOO*Supermarket shoes [Icecream] by Newreem Waffle
glasses: DUBOO*100% Circle glasses (designers united III N/A) by Newreem Waffle)
portrait frame/books/letter box: m.fox collection (N/A) by Miabella Foxley

CandyDoll released more skins, they are called Andrada, comes in 3 skintones which are pale, tan and darktan, 6 make-up options, some more basic and some more bright and very juicy lips. and here showing pale and tan.

poses: Ks2cool, glitterati

hair: VALERIE MOCHA/ I LOVE OLIVE HAIR

I saw Hot Mood on the Fashion Feed and I was struck by its potential. Some of the dresses at the shop are a little hoochie for my tastes. There is this one dress that has fish netting down the ass crack. I guess for easy farting? I dunno. *giggles* However, this dress got me with the SPARKLES! I love sparkles. It comes with two versions; one is shinier than the other. I think it’s good to broaden your horizons and get in touch with your inner disco. Do it up, yo.

The other bit that I wanted to discuss was Y HOUSE. This is one of the coolest furniture shops on the grid. The poses yacchan Clip gathers for the furniture are fantastic. They human, sweet and totally adorable.

Damn Japanese have the market CORNERED on cute.
*kicks pebble*
I wish I COULD BE CUTER!!!!
GAHHHHHHHHH!

/me fail.

dress – Hot Mood …………. Disco Dress – blue sparkle
leggings – Ohmai…………. Basic Leggings – eggplant
bra – Pacadi Jasha…………. Oona Lingerie – bra
glasses – NALA…………. reading glasses – red
necklace – Dustarrz…………. Antique Necklace – coin & key
bubble gum – m.fox …………. pink taco
shoes – MIEL………….ANT FLATS – banana mania
eyes – Umedama…………. Koi Blue
skin – IMAGEN…………. Norte – Irene Deep Gloss
hair – booN…………. AML887 – gold

seat – Y House…………. Pouf [v2010/choco]

-AWKWARD-

This is my ode to the work Christmas Party! I matched it up with some great vintage pieces and snow boots to complete what I call “The Nerd Girl Goes To Her Work Holiday Party Look” or TNGGTHWHPL for short. This dress is ONLY a 100 linden at G Sloane Couture, so it’s a great way to get your TNGGTHWHPL going on!

G Sloane Couture SLurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cedarwood/217/45/23

dress – G Sloane Couture…………. Christmas Eve
glasses – artilleri…………. Gladys Glasses – black
eyes – m.fox …………. blue
boots – DUH! …………. Snow Booties – white
skin – IMAGEN…………. IRENE NORTE – deep gloss
hair – Clawtooth…………. Goodbye Horses – sunny days red
poses – Olive Juice

(Above) SHIKI Crane dress, Hair by Kin (Nova), Earrings by chuculet (Sophia),  Skin by Tuli (Hope – Kitten), Daybed by m.fox

(Above) SHIKI Crane dress , Hair by Kin (Nova), Skin by Tuli (Hope – Kitten), Pose by Striking Poses (full tilt)

SHIKI Blog

TP to SHIKI mainstore

Happy Love Thursday everyone! <3

Credits:
Skin: [LeLutka]-EclatUmber-makeup2 (Minnu Palen)
Hair: (Another Level) Aphro – Black Only (Izabell Babii)
Shoes: – TESLA – (bag) Vixen Desire *Black* 6 Inch Pumps (Tesla Miles)
Skirt: Kyoot – Loathed High-Waisted Mini- Black (Saeya Nyanda)
Top: [LeeZu!] Valerie Blouse /turquoise (LeeZu Baxter)
Bra: INSOLENCE Alice Black Outfit – Black Bra (camilla Yosuke)
Earrings: [glow] Folk Round Blue Mosaic Earrings (Anemysk Karu)
Bracelet (r): Zaara : Vyomini chained bracelet *turquoise* (Zaara Kohime)
Bracelet (l): Paper Couture Spring Multi-Stone Cuff (Cora Lu)
Poses: Long Awkward Pose (Dove Swanson)
Eyes by Miabella Foxley <3

When I saw the new loose sweater from Arai (SLURL), I knew I had to have it. Arai is a men’s clothing store. In RL, wearing men’s clothing is easy, but the nature of prim attachments in SL often means pieces need fine tuning. I shrank the prim sleeves and body to fit, made sure I was wearing the shirt layer to make the sweater loose, and put together an outfit. With my favorite pair of Zaara (SLURL) jeans and Slanted Fox (SLURL) sneakers, I was comfortably dressed.

The girly accessories from Yummy (SLURL) and Scribble (SLURL) softened the masculine look, making it seem like I just stole my boyfriend’s sweater before heading out. Let’s just hope he doesn’t remember all the band t-shirts I already “borrowed”!

ROTTEN TOE
A new forerunners in gothic circus fashion is a modest shop called ROTTEN TOE, owned by elsa Liebknecht. The Moth Hunter Dress, one of my favorites, is a tribute to the book and novel Silence of the Lambs. As soon as I saw it, I pounced all over elsa in instant message swooning over the design. We gushed over how Dr. Lector was rather dreamy. The texture is beautifully shaded, I could kiss elsa a thousand times. It comes with two versions (one moth and one not) and is priced at 280 linden.

OLIVE JUICE:
IsabellaGrace Baroque offlined me with an announcement that she now has a pose shop! I was totally stoked and eager to see them in action. First off, her poses are ONLY 25 linden! On top of that, they are so fucking cool! She’s got a zombie series of poses that are hilarious! You must check out her new shop, Olive Juice!

Well, there you have it: two amazing new designers in Second Life. Go out and explore these shops and make your neighbor foam at the mouth of jealousy.

dress – Rotten Toe …………. Moth Hunter Dress (b)
shoes – J’s …………. Real Toe Studded Wedge – brown
jewelry – DECO …………. Black Diamond Set
eyes – m.fox …………. lit gray
skin – MIASNOW …………. Rainbow Goth 3 Freckles – lt brow
hair – W&Y …………. Hair20 – type A
poses – Olive Juice

Dewey was born in Adams Center in Jefferson County, New York. He attended Amherst College, and graduated in 1874 with a bachelor’s degree. He received a master’s degree from Amherst in 1877.

Dewey is considered to be the pioneer of American librarianship. He is best known for the decimal classification system that is used in most public and school libraries, but the decimal system was just one of a long list of innovations, among them the idea of the state library as the agency best suited to see to the development of school and public library services within a state. Dewey is also known for the creation of hanging vertical files, which first premiered at the Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago.

Thank you Mr. Wikipedia Internet Encyclopedia Thingy. You can read more about Mr. Dewey, here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melvil_Dewey He was a pretty stellar guy. Support your local library.

top – Shai …………. Alma Mater – white
bottom – LeLutka …………. Shoreline – coffee
shoes – MIEL …………. Zebra skirt – forest green linen
necklace – Miriel Everyday…………. Find Your Way Necklace
glasses – VW …………. Classic Frames – black
eyes – m.fox …………. hazel
skin – fleur …………. Lotus – shoujo 4
hair – booN …………. SKN152 – chestnut
poses – Long Awkward Poses

Bettiepage Voyager – *BP* Old Library Card Catalogue

Miabella Foxley has got to be one of the most talented people on the grid. What can’t this woman do? From her stunning portraits, to beautiful jewelry at Lelutka and of course the m.fox collection @ The Loft. She’s so creative!

My favorite is her gumball machine and her bubblegum that comes with face animations. It’s adorable!

When I was shooting I ran into my friend Puma and she decided she wanted to blog Miabella too. So check out Puma’s more detailed m.fox blog post @ Curduroy!

Happy Love Thursday everyone!

Share your Love Thursday post on your flickr/plurk/blog, wherever you like, and please remember to add it to the group! www.flickr.com/groups/sllovethursdays

credits:
Furniture and decor from The Loft: m.fox red gumball machine, the Avery collection and m.fox (FT) collection – shabby chic (Miabella Foxley)
Bubblegum: m.fox- gumball pink taco flavor w/mouth animations (Miabella Foxley)
Skin: :: DUTCH TOUCH ::DUNe:: Cocoa – CatsEyes by Iki Ikarus
Hair: Truth; Grazia 2 – chocolate by Truth Hawks
Shirt: Mother Goose’s pink st T Jacket by milok Hermit (Thanks Dovey! <3)
Shorts: [Whippet & Buck] Stein Tailored Shorts FINCH by Twiggy Whippet
Shoes: MK Fashion : Bella Sneaks – Hers V1 (color set 1) by Mason Kingsford
Ring: TOSL *Fruitylicious* Ring v1.4 Cerises by Quinlan Quimby
Earrings: (turnstyle) Fanta Can Earrings, Mango by Kingston Augustus
Necklace and bracelets: *::UM::* Colorful_Necklace&Bracelets by Umeko Shan

Anyway, meet Eugenia and Eugene! They are going to introduce you to a couple of furniture stores, which caught my eye during the Skipping Stones Hunt.

The first one is “m.fox” and as I already mentioned in a previous post, I love the store interior. The store itself contains a couple of giant furniture items, making normal avatars seem tiny. The picture above was taken in the huge bookcase. All the furniture is set up in adorable little rooms – in cardboard boxes!

Eugenia is delighted that it is going to be a hot summer day. She is wondering whether to change into a lighter and brighter dress. The sweet smell of the roses which she picked in the garden the day before fills the room.

The evening sun is through the window and Eugene is lost in thoughts. He would like to call the girl he met last night but he isn’t sure if he should wait a bit longer. He looks at the roses and remembers that she had little roses on her dress too. It was a pretty dress.

Eugenia really should finish the gift she is working on and tidy up her room a bit. Instead she is daydreaming. She imagines herself at the seaside, digging her toes into the warm sand and feeling the salt on her lips. A seagull shouts and she is smiling to herself.

Eugene is bored. He cleaned and tidied his whole room, put away all the laundry and can’t think of something else to do. The bunny at the wall stares at him. “Stop doing that”, he says loudly and hates the sound of his own voice.

The second store is called “Second Spaces” and you must go and check out Elle Kirshner’s weblog, which is an amazing directory and style guide to the best SL furniture! “Second Spaces” sells a lot of cute and unique pieces, which are not too expensive either. Eugenia and Eugene are sitting on the “Gossip Bench”, which comes with the phone and three seating animations. Waiting for your call…

This bed lives in a closet during the day and is assembled with one click. Great for small skyboxes! It comes with six seating animations, allowing you to stretch your legs or count the threads on the blanket.

Eugene is going back to the drawing board. There is a hidden mistake somewhere, but it is midnight and concentration is at an all time low!

Which is exactly how I am feeling now – have a good night!

Credits:

m.fox: Daybed $L550, hutch $L300, desk $L200, sewing stool $L125, bed $L650, most of those items contain several animations. Sewing machine by RC Cluster.

Second Spaces: Gossip bench (available in light and dark) $L175, Murphy Armoire with vintage posters $L300.

These two images were taken at (*chanimations, where you can find an abundance of awesome poses and pose props. The quality of textures and designs is amazing!

Abandoned Isle is a sweet and playful place with a touch of the macabre (some of these bunnehs have suffered an unfortunate fate).

Surprise!!

Hi there! Yeti found a new friend at i love 13.

Yetis also need to eat – as do octopodes! Now, I even checked Wikipedia to make sure I was using the right plural form and Wikipedia states: “There are three forms of the plural of octopus; namely, octopuses, octopi, and octopodes. Currently, octopuses is the most common form in the US as well as the UK; octopodes is rare, and octopi is often objectionable.” See, Dorks can also educate – that is your knowledge for the day. Before I forget, the picture was taken at “This is a Fawn“.

Beautiful scenery at 6pi.

Having a picnic with friends at D-LAB!

Phone….home….m.fox has the cutest little rooms, all set up in huge cardboard boxes! The quality of the textures and the furniture is stunning! This Tinybot avatar was created by Joshua Nightshade, unfortunately he closed his store now as far as I know .

So long, gotta skip more stones!

Icing is really a wonderful vintage shop. Miko Omegamu takes greatest care with her textures, color schemes and overall integrity to the design. She’s a great artist and has a true understanding of what looks good on a female avie.

I bought the hair from Squinternet Larnia’s shop Donna Flora. I love the entire look of this hair. The only down side is the price of the hair: one wig in one color costs 200 linden. However if you’re a true-blue vintage-phile, I think it’s worth the price.

I will be featuring an outfit from Donna Flora shortly, be on the look out!

dress – Icing …………. Garden Party Redux
earrings – LaGyo …………. Imagination
stockings – DARE …………. Lace Stockings – salmony
shoes – Periquita …………. Wedges – olive
eyes – m. fox …………. hazel – *reg size*
skin – Rockberry …………. Uma – light
hair – Donna Flora …………. Lois – platinum
pose – Penny Dreadful Arcade & DARE

Here we are at the skybox while Clear was at work sleeping!

On Charlotte

EARS & ANTLERS – Gritty Kitty – WHITE Fawnication
NECKLACE – Gritty Kitty – Stiched Heart
HAIR – Gritty Kitty – Pride/Blonde
SHOES – Kboots – Black
TOP – ATOMIC – Leopard Love Cami/Teal
PANTS – ATOMIC – Journey Jeans, Ripped Low Faded/Black
TATTOO – EtchD – Tatsu/Partial Washed
BANGLES – Zaara – Melange Bangles/Blue

On Shane

Gum- m.fox- gumball- Banana Chocolate Smoothie 2
Blazer- Armidi – (f) Classic Pinstripe Blazer [Black]
Jeans- *League* Garage Jeans – Cool Blue
Sneakers- UBU PornStar Lo-Tops
Hoodie- fri.day – Henley Hoodie (Gray)
Hair- Gritty Kitty: BROWN Bubble Gum
Headphones- Gritty Kitty: Studio Headphones

Ey its Linda heeuh, so im gawnna do thuh intro tuhday since Gina is mixin dah grown up drinks.  So we’ve invited yuh to a little cookout at our cousin Carlas house.  Since its all hawt n’shit out we thought we’d take a dip in dah pool.

Oh… You didn’t bring a swimsuit?

Well dats awlright we always bring extras!  So lets see… The bikini you want to wear depends on yuh body type, lets see what kind yuh need.

LINDA’S TIPS
Alright, so if your a little bit “fluffy” like me, yaw gawnna want a swimsuit dats gawnna covuh up dah spawts yuh want covuhd, and show awf thuh good tings awn yuh bawdy.  In dah case daht you gawt a bawdy like me yuh gawnna want a bikini dats gawnna keep yuh big buhbbies in place (you dont want em bouncin’ awl ovah thuh place, aw even worse yuh puppies might want to come out n’play).  And wear some bottoms dat ah gonna hide g’ya cellulite and make yuh bawdy maw proportional.  Awlso, dont fawget tuh tan and wear a swimmin’ cap so yuh dont mess up yuh perm!


Wut Linda’s Wearin’ -

Skin: Cooked Rare – Russian Wedding, by Nylon Outfitters
Bathing Suit: Nyna Bikini – Blue, by artilleri
Glasses: Catasrophe Shades – Neutral, by epoque
Swim Cap: Made dat myself

Ooooh i tink Gina has thuh drinks ready, ill let her take ovah so i can get SAWCED.

GINA’S TIPS
AWLRIGHT. So now dat we got da drinks out. Time faw some tips. If ya shaped like me, with a nawmal size a implants and some curves ya wanna find a nice two piece dat covers just the right amount, y’know? So the numbah one tip faw swimweh is that the lighta the coluh, the tannuh ya LOOK! It’s a neat little trick, y’know? My lipstick is a hundred n a kajillion times wawtahproof n shit, so I can weh it in the wawtah. Tie’n ya heh back is anothah way ta keep it nice n awduhly when ya in the wahtah. And make sure ya got a raffft so you cuh drink in the pool n shit.


Wut Gina’s Wearin’ -

Skin: Leona Tan – Cherry, by Redgrave
Hair: Babys on Fire – Ink, by lamb
Bikini: Joia Verao – White, by Armidi [Intimizzio]
Earrings: Camie’s Camboo Bamboo Earrings – Gold, by Kimberly Casanova

CAHLA. Take a break from tannin’ and help this gurl out, capisce??

CARLA’S TIPS:
Ayyy yo its’a new chick. Me casa es su casa an sum shit — welcome to StRoNg IsLanD, gurl. You know you find the classiest shit out here in Mastic Beach, righhh? None uh’dat Staten Island n Howard Beach shit, gurl. It aint da Hamptons but itz close enuffff. Anywayz, if homegurl wasn’t so busy buyin out all the best shit gurl she’d have a mansion all up inna’ Hamptons n shit.

So itz like I alwayz say when you getting all done up fuh luxuriatin’ at da’ pool, gurl. Youz gotta have ya lashes popping and ya booty bustin’ an I dun caare if can swim or not – youz gotta have ya heels on. No reaaal man gonna holla at’chu if yo fat ass is wearin sum flip flops or sum shit like dat.

Oh, an one more thing gurl. Always be chewin on some gum or summ’p'tn. Men likk’a see a lotta action in the mouthal region like, joo know what I mean? It makes em tink about sex n shit and whatever. When you hot like us, gurl – its all about bringin’ the sex whe-eva you go. We high class rollin.


Wut Carla’s Wearin’ -

Skin: Misty, by League
Hair: Ashlynn – Espresso, by Truth
Swimsuit: Ete Sangle – Silver, by Arimidi [Intimizzio]
Shoes: Basic Heels – Black, by epoque
Earrings: Camboo Bamboo Earrings – Silver, by Kimberly Casanova
Nails: Metallics – Platinum, by Detour
Gum: Pink Taco w/Mouth Animations, by m.fox

Manatee McMillan of [twee] has just opened Narwhal today and I’m so excited about it! [twee] is one of those shops that makes über-cute, well-priced clothing and you can expect the same from her offerings at Narwhal. I’m wearing her lacy tank, but if you want more previews, check out what Uma and Lili did with the collection. I’ll certainly be mixing and matching these cutie pieces a million and one ways! Go visit her store now, and keep an eye out for new things to come every few weeks!

Also, I want to add in how much I love this dress by SD Boutique. They have some awesome pieces there and I can’t wait to show you more! <33Love, Abra

details…

- – -

*OUTFIT DETAILS
hair: !lamb. Unbirthday Redux in Granny (get it at Tableau…limited edition for Bubbles’ Botox Bonanza!)
crown: (Gypsy) Antler tiara in chocolaaate
skin: [Curio] Beach Osprey Moonbeam frex light (Harajuku Box skin fair limited ed…but there is a whole series at the mainstore!)
lashes: [ glow ] studio Rhapsody
tattoo: Aitui Sakura Night in faded (coming soon, to be released Aug 6th)
tank: Narwhal White Lace Stappy Top
dress: SD Boutique Rose Chiffon Dress (I LOVE THIS DRESS!!!!! *happy sigh*)
bag: (Polina-Kaestner) Vintage Petit sac in Noir
shoes: ~~Sakka’s Studio~~ Flat / Ribbon TC (sweet, adorable shoe shop, thanks for the reminder elka!)
gum: m.fox gumballs in cotton panties (coming eventually!)
poses: couverture

*CURRENTLY: The fan is on, the popsicles are in the freezer mah mouth, I have The Dead Weather playing (slightly ironic if you count the name…or maybe not, it’s dead hot here).

*SL WISHLIST: More poses for prim skirts…couverture‘s are fantastic and soo smart!

Her Maya skin line is gorgeous. Beautiful hips, elegant makeup options and reasonably priced. You receive two skins for 900 linden. Her skins have an excellent intensity about them and are AMAZINGLY photogenic.

I matched up the skin with a whimsical collar by Putrid Gloom, owner of Show Me on the Doll. There is something fabulous about a new skin, circus inspired clothing and a handful of gumballs.

Do stop by Blowpop and check out her Maya skin line. It’s only sale today.

shoes – Shiny Things…………. Classics – black/cheer
collar – Show Me on the Doll…………. Little Carnival Lady Ruffles – b/w
gloves – Sprawl………….Dirty Gloves – midnight
lingerie – Insolence…………. Lilly Black Satin
bracelet – VonD…………. Classy Bracelets – white
eyes – Silhouette Eyes…………. Topaz
lashes – Milk Motion………….basic
skin – Blowpop…………. Maya – tone C 4.1 Queen of the Night
hair – W&Y…………. Fair – Type A
poses – DARE & Long Awkward Pose
gumballs – m. fox

Make-Up Song: Jolin Tsai – Dancing Diva

Credits:

Outfit (Pic 1 & 2)

Hair: (Dernier Cri) Kim – Brown Shades

Skin: :GP: Sundust [Dark] April-Pure 2

Vest: Kenzie & Co. – Sequins Glamour Vest

Shirt: *aN* Tattered Tank_F(WHITE)

Inner Shirt: *CUPCAKES Simple Shimmer Tank – White

Skirt: .:MALT:. Fashions – Pascale Dress

Belt: (Part of) **DP**yumyum:romantic sweater/navy

Gloves: (Part of) *Beauty Avatar Couture* Cleo Dress Gift

Socks: Maitreya Sculpted Socks – Seashell

Tie: MIEL – RE TIE for girls

Glasses: (Yummy) Mom Glasses – Classic Tortoise

Bag: Slanted Fox DRAAG PURSE – PINK

Shoes: .::Mother Goose’s ::.~ button sandal Yellow & Pink

Pose: Torridwear (Pic 1), ks2cool (Pic 2)

Furniture (Pic 1)

Table/Bed/Luggage: (Part of) m.fox – (Avery Collection)

Plants: Mudhoney

Lanterns: The Loft

Then we remembered it was Easter and nothing was open: two paint stores, Costco and Victoria’s Secret (I had a coupon, okay?). The only other two things left on our list were shoe polish and more matzo. Admittedly, I’d put off buying the stuff early this year, mostly because I didn’t want to buy the 5 box pack since I’m the only Jew I know in a 50 mile radius and I was too stingy to buy one box for $5. God, that looks so bad when I write it out. Oh well. I ended up with one box of whole wheat matzo the night before Passover started, which taste-wise wasn’t too bad, but only lasted me half the week. Breakfast was slightly confusing for my psyche this morning: leftover turkey, mashed potatoes and charoset. Good, but I was cravin’ some cardboard and peanut butter, so it didn’t hit the spot as I had wanted. ..

Anyway. This was the dilemma in trying to find a box of matzo on Easter Sunday. In general, asking for matzo in a predominantly not-Jewish area after the first day of Passover is a little like asking for a burger at a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. No one’s really sure if you’re serious or not and they don’t know how to help you except to quickly answer your question wrong. My favorite experience of this was when I asked if the Safeway in Santa Cruz was going to be getting any more matzo. The friendly employee responded, “We don’t have any in back, but don’t worry, we’ll have plenty before Easter Sunday.” Awesome.

We went to two Safeways (knowing that the Safeway closest to our house was out). The employee from the first one acted like I was speaking another language and fearfully shook her head, worried I might ask for goat’s blood next. Unsurprised, we left. At the second Safeway, located in a ritzy part of town next to Stanford (I figured there hadda be a bigger Tribe population near a university, right?), after finding the kosher section as barren as the water aisle during Y2K, I went straight for the manager, figuring that this person would at least know what I was talking about. The woman heaved a laborious sigh. Because, you know, I was BOTHERING her. Imagine. A CUSTOMER asking the MANAGER about FOOD PRODUCTS sold in her GROCERY store. In a voice tinged with the pain that I was clearly causing her by politely asking a question, she pointed back toward the kosher aisle and said, “Over there.” When I mentioned I had already been there, she interrupted me in a louder voice and said pointedly through gritted teeth, “OVER THERE BY THE WOMAN WITH THE BLACK SHIRT. MAKE A LEFT. Anything I might have left will be on the Customer Service counter.” The irony did not escape me as I made a beeline toward the counter, ignoring her rudeness and heading for the prize.

Stupid woman. It’s not like I was asking her how to preform a lobotomy, although her minuscule capacity for human compassion might have suggested she was acquainted with the subject.

There they were. The last two boxes of matzo in San Mateo County. Streit’s Matzo. Then I saw they did have two Manischewitz megapacks left. Remembering my “$5 off any Mani products” coupon, I thought, what the hell? Mani is good, it’ll only be $7. Let’s just do it. I get to the counter, racking my brain for how on earth I’m going to get rid of 5 boxes of Matzo in three days, and hand the cashier my coupon. Except it wasn’t a coupon. It was a “You COULD save $5 on Mani products, IF you buy another $25 worth!” piece of paper. I was annoyed. I was REALLY annoyed. Especially when the bagging lady said in a bewildered tone, “What the heck is this? Crackers?” Usually, I would use this as a “Teach the Gentile Something About Culture” moment, but I just glared at my PIN number as she continued reading the package and said in a hushed voice, “It says here these are for Passover. . . Oh.” I grabbed the huge orange box and my poor boyfriend and marched out of there. Twelve bucks for five boxes of matzo. It would be a deal, if I didn’t know I would only eat one before the holiday was over.

We went to a few other places looking for shoe polish. I bought an oven mitt (which we’ve sorely needed) at Rite Aid, but they didn’t have the kind of shoe polish M Fox wanted. Then we went next door to Lucky’s, our last shot to get something right.

He should never have pointed it out to me.

Mani Matzo. On sale. One box each. $3.50. And next to it (I kid you not)? The exact same oven mitt I had just bought. For 20 cents less.

I don’t know that anyone has ever been filled with the amount of self-righteous rage that boiled in my Chosen blood. I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. M Fox wisely bought his shoe polish and ushered me out before I could create a scene. He kept trying to make it funny. “Isn’t this crazy? You couldn’t write this stuff! Oh man, what a silly thing!” He’s such a sweetheart and he was right. It would be funny. Maybe in a couple weeks after a couple of drinks, it would be funny. But not right then. The poor kid had to listen to me rant and rave and say unflattering things about uncultured human beings on the car ride home. As I took a deep breath to unleash some more, he cut in brightly, “Well, you said that you didn’t have the time to get the horseradish to represent the bitterness. So here it is! You got everything after all!”

That, actually, made me laugh. Yes indeed. Well done, my darling.

A few episodes of the Simpsons, some matzo pizza and snuggling later, I was in a good mood, but chagrined. Some more kisses later and I was just in a good mood. It would be bold of me to call it a Passover miracle, but I’m pleased nonetheless. Maybe the moral is simply, “Lucky’s Has Everything.”

I leave you with this touching, domestic scene that happened moments later:

The Dame sits at the kitchen table on her laptop, preparing to blog. She faces the large mirror that reflects their modest kitchenette behind her. M Fox walks to the fridge, opens it and takes out the orange juice. He removes the cap and raises the bottle to his lips before he notices that The Dame can see his every move. He smiles sheepishly and puts the juice back.  She laughs.

“Do you want me to pretend that I’m not looking so you can do it?”

“No. It’s alright,” says M Fox happily as he exits, his satisfaction renewed with a bubbly hiss as he pops open a can of Miller instead.

Recently M Fox and I reminded each other of a very funny incident that occurred one balmy September evening as he picked me up from the airport. I was still living in Ventura at the time. M Fox had invited me to be his date at B&L’s wedding, two of his friends whom I barely knew at the time (actually, I didn’t meet the bride until the day before her wedding!). I was excited to meet more of his friends and especially honored to attend the event since I was such a nube to the group. My anticipation was high; best friend’s wedding, new relationship, new dress, first impressions. Exciting stuff! I even bought a plane ticket instead of driving. Cus that’s what grown-ups do.

In order to get to LAX, I decided to not make my dad drive me all the way into Los Angeles. So I found a shuttle that would take me from a local hotel to the airport. I figured Dumpy Hotel Shuttle + Driving to LAX + Rush Hour Traffic = Leave Early To Avoid Missing Flight to Lover. Sounds reasonable, yes?

Oh man. The shuttle driver did not get on the highway once. Yes. That’s right. The guy took back roads from Ventura to LAX. I don’t know if people not from SoCal can truly appreciate what this means. For you NorCal folks, it would be like driving from Gilroy to SFO without getting on a freeway. Possible? Yeah, sure. But WHY.

We ducked down alleys, rumbled through weird residential neighborhoods, drove across parking lots; Santa Monica was the driver’s personal carnival. I’m surprised we didn’t use the Pier somehow. I swear to God the man had every streetlight timed so that we never once had to stop. And, dag nabbit, we arrived at the airport an hour and a half earlier than I expected. Which meant that after I had taken off my shoes and put them back on again, my flight still didn’t leave for another two hours. Lame. Even more lame is that I was slightly nauseous from sliding back and forth across my seat like an apple at the bottom of a ship and therefore didn’t have the mind to write down the route, as I would have liked to map it for future reference. Getting to LAX from Ventura in almost an hour is not only a miracle, but is practically magical.

Anyway, so after ricocheting around a bus, sitting at the airport for longer than my flight would last and then sulkily realizing that the final amount of travel time would actually equal more than it would have taken me to drive (sucks), I finally arrive in San Jose. (It was seriously the longest flight of my life and it only took an hour. Although, I was pleased that Southwest brought back peanuts). M Fox and I found each other at the baggage claim, had a little Lovers Meet at the Airport After Not Seen Each Other for Weeks scene and then got into his jalopy so he could drive us back to Santa Cruz. It was such a relief to finally be on the last leg of the journey.

Of course traffic getting out of San Jose Airport was hell. I fought feelings of guilt for making M Fox drive to get me as we inched our way out. We tried to make the best of it, awkwardly joking about the huge SUV in front of us with the word “Kitty” on the license plate. Suddenly filled with romantic giddiness, I leaned over the seat for a kiss as we rolled forward to fill in the gap. We neared Kitty, closer and closer. One of my eyes popped open, sensing something, and before I could disengage, we bumped the car in front of us.

A small Asian woman got out of the car, hair piled high, aqua stretch pants and pink lipstick shining in the light. I think her shirt was floral, as well. Her plucked eyebrows were extremely concerned. She looked at her car, then looked at M Fox’s and said reproachfully in an almost stereotypically high voice, “You hit Kitty. Why you hit Kitty?”

I was truly too busy trying not to burst out laughing to A) hear what M Fox said in response or B) to figure out whether Kitty actually did refer to the car or if Kitty was this woman’s name. There was no damage done to Kitty, fortunately, and M Fox’s car is so war-torn that we probably wouldn’t have noticed even if it had been crunched a little.

To sooth egos, we unfairly mocked the woman for awhile, giggling nervously at the close call and both feeling stupid that my wanton lechery had caused Mike to get in an accident and that Mike had gotten too wrapped up in the moment to push the breaks.

Needless to say the wedding was wonderful, our relationship blossomed and we all learned a valuable lesson about the importance of abstinence while driving. But there were definitely a string of nights where one of us would suddenly start chuckling and murmur, “You hit Kitty!”