Ancient.Scripts.and.Sinking.Ships.

For some off reason, perhaps it’s because I not only live in Florida, I also live very near the the oldest city in the United States, but at this melancholy time of year I always seem to think of pirates. Did you know pirates rarely buried their treasure? Kind of sad because when I was young I used to always dig on the beach hoping to find a treasure chest. All that digging was in vain. Well, I probably would have blown it all on ice cream and stuffed animals, but thats okay, the needs of a young pirate are so few. I suppose that is how I am most like a pirate, because pirates never buried their treasure because they would rather divide it up and spend it right then. Ah, the life of a pirate. And before you shake your finger at me and say “silly girl, everyone knows girls can’t be pirates” I should let you know, yeah, they can. I know of ten such women, one of which, Grace O’Malley, an Irish pirate, commanded 3 galley ships and over 200 men. Their pirate heritage is forever written in history. But, well, I’m not very strong, or fierce, I’m just a Cao, so all I do is think about being a pirate. Oh, or digging to China. Yep, that was big too.

I think this is how I dress on most days in SL. Not too flashy, and well, either in knickers or men’s pants. What does that say about me? I don’t know, I’m scared to ask. This tuxedo jacket and shirt are for women and are made by Coco. Coco has lots of new things instore so if you’re not too busy digging, check them out. The pants are for men, but I don’t care. They are the men’s tuxedo pants from Gizza, I’m tall and skeeeeny, so I can pull it off. Do I want to look all masculine, no, of course not, I am a girly girl, so I wouldn’t be caught dead without a few pieces of Finesmith’s Edina baroque jewelry, and my fave Mandala Rushana Chopsticks. Kiku San is my soul mate, he just doesn’t know it. 😉 As for the foots? I think there is nothing more divine than to feel your way in your journey thru life, that way you remember the feel of the hard times, the moments that barbed you and the times in life that soothed you.

Take from? yeah. Don’t ever let anyone tell you you can’t do something. Only you can limit yourself that way. If I’d a kept digging I’d probably be half to China by now. Just think about it, it will come to you.

Outfit: (SLURLS in Last Known Page)
Hair: Miamai, Luna
Sticks: Mandala, Rushana Chopsticks
Jewelry: Finesmith, Edina Baroque *NEW* and LOVE!
Jacket: Coco, Tuxedo Jacket
Pants: Gizza, Tuxedo pant
Chair: Art Dummy! Drafting Chair
Pose: DelMay, Chilled sit

Being.There.

I love milestones. It creates the little reasons for celebrations amidst a life of drudgery. It’s the pat on the back that a job was well done. I especially love milestones when they are not mine, but belong to the people I love. Those who have followed my blog for a while know about year and a half ago, the quiet and solitary wanderer (and wonderer) Cao, was adopted by a rather loudly boisterous, rather large and kindly loving Italian “gypsy” family. In typical fashion they not only stole my quiet solitude, they stole my heart. I love each and every member of my gypsy family, they have taken my 8-bit colored Second Life and made it the entire technicolor visual feast that it is today.

But I digress, (as usual), early in December Mila silently had one of these milestones. My busily scurrying, always creating seamstress of dreams celebrated the 2nd anniversary of her passion, the *SoliDea FoliEs* line of apparel. One year in the cutthroat SL design industry is amazing in itself. Two years? That is a feat worthy of probably just a few dozen SL businesses. Congratulations my sister, my friend, my Mila. I am so proud of you!

Take froms? yep, there always is one. In true Mila’s giving heart fashion, she wants to celebrate this day now, after the making of so many MVW dresses, after the week of 2lei, after the construction of a brand new mainstore at Salimar, after the confetti has been swept away by BOSL’s Miss Virtual World contest. The birthday celebration is now. But whats a party unless it is a celebration surrounded by family and friends? Won’t you please come celebrate this joyous occasion with us? Won’t you come so we can thank you, our patrons, our friends, our family, for all of your support in these two wonderful years, because without you, there would be no true celebration. Come, be with us December 20th at noon (12:00PM SLT) for our grand-opening, runway show and party. I can’t wait to see you there! Won’t you stop by? See? I’m so nice, I even included the caravan for you: Taxi:

Fashion.Can.Be.Bought.Style.One.Must.Possess. ~Edna Chase

L’Accessoire’s Earring: Handverk, Cake Chandelier Earring. Hat: Bliss Couture, Saline. Other elements: Hairs: Boon PKJ371, Blazer: Ison, One button blazer. Necklace: Handverk, Bolo

The quote is so sad, and yet so true. I think style is something in ones genetic makeup, you either have it or you do not. It is noted in a person who just has a natural knack for colors, materials, and the positive way of mixing them together but, in others, they just never seem to “get it right” or, at the least, like me, have to dig deep, and work harder to get there. I think in its base sense it is controlled by whether you are prone to thinking with the left or the right side of the brain. The wonderful thing about the brain though is the fact that you DO indeed have both sides. And you can use the influence of either side with practice.

L’Accessoire’s, Crown: Lassitude and Ennui, Dreamer Tiara. Shoos: Miamai, Carmen Savage. Other elements: Pants: Peqe, Snake Leggins,Top: .Shi, Circular Tank, Hairs: Lelutka, Rykiel, Makeup: Zibska, Pose: DelMay, Ring: HOF

I wasn’t going to say anything, but I’ve been told a couple of times, I need to offer more guidance to beginning models, so I will. I recently judged something with the theme of “Cubism” and though I know it is a difficult to interpret subject, I went away more than a little disappointed. Cubism at the most basic is to take a natural form and fragment it into something abstract. Period. How do I know? I researched it, I researched the words, I researched images. Took maybe 5 minutes to figure where I would have gone with this theme.

L’Accessoire’s, Head piece: Azoury, Animal, Other Elements: Hairs: Madesigns, Raven. Necklace: Rozoregalia, Gemma. Jacket: Gizza: Biker jacket

You get out of your Second Life Modeling career, exactly what you put into it. So if what you strive to do is lead, and create something bigger than yourself, in a virtual sense, the first step is always, stop and think. Where do I want to end up, how do I get there? period. Start with a concept, build the steps to how to succeed. It’s not like these “themes” happen every day, so when you DO have them, take a little time to get it right. I’m not talking about the pics of a blog, sure, like my pics here, the stylings need to be simple, because you are bringing a set item(s) to the attention of the viewer. I am only speaking of the mix and match theme projects we get asked to do for mags, or contests, or, like in the above “cubism”, a casting or class graduation.

L’Accessoires Necklace: Drift, L’Bow. Other elements: Hairs: Vanity Hair, Sunday Kind of Love. Blouse: Gizza: Lola

As an example, the winter elf from yesterday. I created a look, and sent a pic to Skip, so he would know what was coming. I hate to show it, but here it is: Link: But then, I sat back, thought, what a load of crap. So I did it right, where do I want to end up, what do I want this winter elf to look like? How do I get there? And then went about putting the elements together, in what I hope was a more pleasing way. And yes, sometimes, it takes time. But why bother, if you aren’t going to give it your best? Jumps off Soap Box.

L’Accessoires, Collar: [Cherry], Georgia Collar. Eye Piece: SoliDea FoliEs, Stella Cometa. Other elements: Hairs: Boon

YAY! And the take from, there always is one. Don’t be a hater because someone always seems to be styled perfect all the time, they actually can’t help the way they are anymore than you can, its genetics. Use their styles to learn, network and learn from them WHY they put certain aspects of their styles together that way. And really, there is no penalty for researching the style you want to create, especially on theme based castings. Sometimes, even when I don’t have a theme to style, I research and pull from the Internet pics I like, styles I like, items that catch the eye, or “things to try” and pull them aside. Just ask Skip, sometimes I send him four or five pics with a “do you want to do any of these?” before I style. It’s okay to borrow imagination, just add your own flourish to it.

L’Accessoires, Boots: BDS Designs Studio, Minimalism Boot. Other elements. Hairs: Vanity Hair, Sunday Kind of Love. Shirt: Apple May Design, His Place

I know, this is a long one. I hope you read parts of it and took out what you wanted. If its all rubbish, then I am sorry to have wasted your time, but I hope, for at least a few of you, it was a help. I just want to leave you with the words of Coco Chanel. “In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different.” For a taxi to L’Accessoire’s just click on their logo found on the right side of the page. See? right side rather creatively has made it easier for you to get there from here.

Channeling.Charlie.

Amazing pose by Del May ❤

I oft wonder if it would be amazing to be one of those really famous people? You know the ones, not these current hollywood types who make their names by being more and more outrageously bad in behavior. No, I wouldn’t want to be known for anything like that, they are all too generic these days. I mean someone who 35 years after his death, if you saw a picture of him, or even just a pose, you’d know that’s Charlie Chaplin! I can’t say I’ve ever even seen one of his moving pictures honestly. But he has been often imitated, just because of his “face value.” I just wonder, do you think its possible to live right, be honest and kind and still be famous? Or has notoriously bad replaced famous in modern culture? Hmm, sad, but seeing how many in Hollywood act, perhaps it has. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if most of the movies we are force-fed these days were the silent type? Not a soapbox comment, just a quiet observation.

As an aside, Shay Sibrian and Jade Art of Celoe are just amazing at making mesh products, especially jackets. Even though I do not blog them all, I do wear them. I think I have bought them all in fact. If your looking to update the winter wardrobe, its a great place to check out! I enjoyed the SIM, Mayfair (ala Central London), and the store so much, I’ve included the hackney carriage for ya. Taxi:

Outfit One:
Hat/Hair: D!va, Chiaki
Scarf: Tram, silk scarf
Jacket: Celoe, Maru
Pants/shoos: Maiterya Mceht Leggins
Cane: Adjunct, gentleman’s walking stick
Pose: Del May, Charlie Chaplin 3

Outfit Two:
Hat: Tram, Cat beret
Hair: La Viere, Natasha
Jacket/belt: Celoe, Rossi
Skirt: Gizza, Maxi skirt
Bag: Dumani, Guise bag
Ring: House of Fox, Forever Young
Pose: Del May

Lonely.Hearts.Club.

okay, okay. So I snoogled a piece of a title from an awesome classic rock album. Thank you Sergeant Pepper and the Beatles. I hope it will make sense. I never can tell when I get in this mood, sometimes I ramble, sometimes, when I am lucky, I get it just right. I woke up worried last night. I don’t know why, it just happens that way sometimes. It bothers me that we, well some of us anyway, walk through life with tunnel vision. We wander halls, grocery stores, sidewalks, never bothering to look at the faces around us. It’s as if we are scared to read the graffiti, the words written on their faces. “Life. Friend. Care. Sister.” No matter the content there, we glaze our eyes and our hearts so that we remain uncommitted to the passing, unencumbered, no time wasted. What if, by saying “hallo, how are you?” and actually listening to the answer, we learn someone or something new? What if, by forgetting the minutes lost, we help someone, even if its just by showing we care? What if, in that small moment in a life of years, you meet your soulmate? And all that useless graffiti becomes rock solid compound words? “Life.Time” “Friend.Ship” “Care.Free” “Sister.Hood” Wouldn’t the world be just a little brighter place in which to live?

Outfit One:

Hat: Azoury <33, "La Casquette Laly" at L'Acessoire's
Hairs: Vanity Hair <33, "Tubular Bells"
Jacket: Diram <33, "Sophie"
Epaulet's: Lelutka, "Mithra" shoulder tassles
Skirt: Leezu, "O'LaLa" mini
Socks: Maitreya, "Moxie" over knee sock
Boots: Gos, "GTFO"
Makeups: Mons, Just fell in love in the store!
Pose: Del May, "David"

SLURLS in the SLURL page at the top! <33

Tallyho.Divinely.

Another week gone. Where do they all go? And why are they always in such a hurry to leave? Don’t get me wrong, I love a “casual Friday” that wanders into a meanderingly complacent weekend as much as anyone, but when it flies by at the expense of becoming older and older, I’m not sure I want my gravitational pull to be so hefty all the time! Ah, but well, it’s Friday again, I dug deep into my closets for some old, nicely worn clothes and I’ve mellowed out nicely. You know the clothes, they are worn to a softer fabric in all the best places. Perhaps time flying lamentations is a more appropriate topic for a high gravity Monday. So, this Lil Cao is going to wander away now, spend the weekend outdoors enjoying the beach and all who surround me. Everyone have a gorgeous weekend cloistered away with friends, family and most of all love. xo

Outfit One:

Hair: Plume, “Jeux d Enfants”
Earrings and Necklace: [Mandala], “Leather Feather” and “Milky Way”
Shirt: Mon Tissu, “Ruffled Shell”
Pants: Trap’d, “Blood Hakama Pants:
Makeup: Zibska, “Cleo Eyeliner” My fave, fave, fave! ❤
Makeup: [K] (Kooqla), "Ojen 02" Perfection in an eyeshadow ❤
POSE: Del May, "Penguin Chic"

Playing.With.The.Paparazzi.

Just kidding, hehehe I don’t have paparazzi. Well other than a Dragon who likes to stalk me all the time. But honestly, I’ve just wanted to wear this kick arse mask for a long time. Oh! and trying something new, throwing in a microblog every once in a while. Just trying to save you from constant Ear pollution, I’m kinda green that way! ❤

Outfit:
Hat: La Gyo Taxi:
Hairs: Tuty’s, Mathilda Bob Hair, Taxi:
Mask: Oh Mai Groucho Mask, –.– couldn’t find a SLURL, I think I picked this up at a previous Chic event, and I think they hit Zombie Popcorn every once in a while.
Dress: Ison, Shift Blazer, Chic Management Vintage Fair! get there before its all gone! Taxi:
Bag: *LpD*, Shopping Bag **New** and so Cool! <333 Taxi:
Boots: Maitreya, Radical Boots Taxi:
Jewelry: LaGyo, Macula bracelet, Domi Bellique Necklace Taxi:
POSE: Del May Taxi:

Make.Life.Memorable.

We live in such a stellar time in history. Everyone is connected, knowledge is instant, and information is power. It’s so easy to stay attached to the outside world, moreso than ever before. It’s no longer surprising to see five year olds playing with cell phones. Say what? But I hope with this technology, we still take time to unplug the phones, pads, computers, and all other gadgets to take the time to just be still. Just sit a minute, close your eyes and listen to your soul, to your mind and to your heart. It’s in these still, quiet places that we create, and the ability to create is something that sets us apart from other creatures on this Earth. And this ability is hidden within each and every one of us, so find your abilities in this moment of quietness and give yourself the gift to create, to make your lifes journey more memorable. Because we each have a history, an inheritance that we will pass on to future generations, so lets not get so spent by technology we forget to create lasting memories for others. Our journey through life may not be written in the tomes of dusty history books, ferreted away in some library, but surely we will have our pages written in the hearts of those who love us. Our words bound in silk, folded gently and tucked deep inside them, just as our fingerprints are etched on their faces. So in this life, unplug and do, just, Be. Nothing wrong with a life worth living, right?

That’s why I love being a model, because in a way, I am the clay from which a designer can display their creative art on. And I am always amazed at the realistic “feel” and visual feast that is Second Life Fashion. The leathers, velvets, wickers, silks, feathers, metals, satins, laces, and even hairs, all of it amazing! And it starts with a person sitting down and creating. Thank you Second Life, thank you designer’s for giving me a hobby to play with in the moments when I am done being still for the day. I know so many of you, from so many countries, and I hope you all know how much I adore you, how much I appreciate and respect you and your visions. Especially the ones I work with all the time, the ones not necessarily in this picture, but the ones I talk to all the time, the ones who know I love them because I tell them so. 😉 I wish you all and all of my crazy fun creative readers, friends, models, associates, well just everyone in this technologically “in touch” world, a beautyful weekend!

Hair: Boon, “WMO003” Boo Nakamura
Jewelry: [Mandala], “Utamaro” “Anuttra” “Motsumame” “Hokusai” “Leather Feather” Kikunosuke Eel
Leather Vest w. belt: Drift, “Cosmo” Kallisto Destiny Enimo *New* and the anchor piece the entire outfit was created around
Skirt: Gizza, “Leather pencil Skirt” Giz Seorn
Purse: Toki-Doki, “Wicker Elephant bag” Maya Levane
Shoos: Similar Italian Footwear, “Poison” Larisa Tylman
Photography Pose Chair: Behavior Body, “Chic Sit Series Poses” Antosperandeo Allen I can’t say enough about how great the photography poses are here
Pose: Del May The most Amazing Editorial Poses! Del May