Save a Boyfriend for a Rainy Day

Time-honored and fashionista-approved, a lush leather piece is more than worth adding to your spring shopping list.

and another in case it doesn’t rain. ~ Mae West . Well it’s that time again. At least I can’t blame my mum this time. This time it’s all my brother’s doing. This is some friend of my brother’s wife’s, brother thing. It gets really scary when it’s that many people removed from people I can actually trust. I can just hear the report on the news when I show up missing, “we aren’t sure who she was last seen with, I think it was the stepfather of her third cousin twice removed,” or some other red-neck sounding thing like that. The last guy I dated that was set up this way, I bought him a down jacket from the local outlet mall, I told him it perfectly matched his personality. He didn’t “get” it. Sometimes, I hate date night. I broke my standing rule too. He is taking me to dinner at some swanky reservations only restaurant. I hope he chews with his mouth closed, I somehow think if I look over at him lovingly and have to stab him with something, they probably won’t have a plastic spork anywhere within reach. I suppose I can bring my own…

Minimalistic shapes, rich colors, and a no-fuss approach to the hair, makeup, and accessories make this look seem like they’re from 2013, not 1983.

The worst part about a blind first date at a fancy reservations only restaurant is you have to dress up. When I dress up, to hide those lines on my slinky cocktail dress I’ll probably wear spanks. (Spanks:) Have you ever worn them? They are wonderful for looking svelte, but you might as well forget eating or drinking much. Both of which kind of negate a first date at a posh restaurant. The eating relates to the restaurant, the drinking to the first date. The first time I wore a pair of spanks, I made the mistake of wearing them to a cocktail party at a friend’s house. I was surrounded by friends, oh and that one guy I was meeting for the first time, you know the poor soul picked to attend just to meet me? Luckily, all but THE guy know me and expect oddities in behavior here and there. To put Spanks on you practically have to lie on a bed and pull and wedge, grunt and coax them up. And I am terrible at consuming alcohol while wearing these things honestly. I guess since I have so little room inside, once I start to drink I fill up fast. It was okay the first few hours; I was the only one going to the bathroom. But by midnight, on my, I don’t know, twelfth or so visit, I ran out of luck. As I was struggling to pull the blasted things up I was groaning and grunting, maybe a little cursing as sweat popped out over my brow. When you’re in the midst of doing this, you aren’t listening to yourself, your just working, you know? Finally redressed, I walk out the door not only to find a line of three hugely smiling friends, but first in line is THE guy, with the oddest expression on his face. .. I wonder if its bad form to call tonight’s date and claim sick? I’m beginning to feel a case of the intentional flu.

Take from? Why not, at this point. When meeting someone for the first time, always be yourself, not some fake version of you. For one thing, it lets him see you as you truly are and there is no reason to keep up an artificial charade if there is a second date. Build a relation on an honest foundation and it creates a familiarity right from the start. Besides, sometimes it’s best to get the worse out there first because then things can only get better. Right? I hope that’s not famous last words..

Outfit One:

Hat: House of Fox, Roller Hat ❤
Hair: Tuty's, Bob
Glasses:House of Fox, 1960's glasses
Lipstick: Mons, LOVE!
Shoulder piece:House of Fox, Lita's shoulders
Belt: Anubis, Leather belt
Jacket: House of Fox, Scarlet Blazer
Shirt:House of Fox, Crop Corset
Skirt: Ricielli, Hi-Waist skirt, python
Shoos: [whatever], CG Spiked
Handbag: House of Fox, Steffani Lux tote
Jacket:

What A Wonderful World

Today’s blog will be a quick one. “YAY!!” Say’s my besty, Draakje Dailey. Ah heck, and probably 99% of you out there. This Spring, when you are playing with colors, don’t forget your Color wheel! Ever wonder how some of your favorite fashionistas put colors together to create eye-catching and fabulously colorful outfits? Well, The color wheel is an excellent wardrobe tool!

For a positive success, it is best to make the following combos using the color wheel as your guide:

1. Colors directly next to each other (i.e. yellow and yellow-orange; yellow and lime-green; violet and blue-violet, etc.)
2. Colors that form right (90 degree) angles with each other (i.e. yellow and red-orange; blue and crimson; green and orange, etc.) *I find the crimson a bit of a misnomer as the colors are more in the purple shades, but will call it this since it’s on the color wheel that way.
3. Colors directly across from each other (i.e. yellow and violet; blue and orange; red and green, etc.)
4. Colors that form a T (i.e. blue, orange, and crimson; yellow, violet, and red-orange; green, red, and orange, etc.)
5. Colors that form an X (i.e. blue, orange, crimson, and lime green; yellow, violet, turquoise and re-orange)

Since brown is a neutral, it will go with virtually any color on the color wheel. I love to pair a chocolate brown with cobalt blue or fuchsia for a fun and bold combo. Of course white, black, and the hues of blue found in denim are also neutrals that go with just about anything.

As for all of those accessories we as fashionista’s wear? The color wheel also applies to them. Go crazy with colored hats, bags, shoes, or scarves. When choosing jewelry, pair gold (or gold-toned) jewelry with your warm colored outfits. Warm colors have a yellow, gold, or orange undertone to them. Wear silver (or silver-toned) jewelry with your cool colored outfits. Cool colors have a blue, pink, or red undertone to them. Always remember though since colors are broken down by hue, temperature, intensity, and tone any single hue can be either warm or cool. You will have to look at the undertones.

Take from? See? Color isn’t something to fear, just keep a color wheel handy and take the power into your own hands! Get out there and Color your world! I was amazed how much color I saw available when shopping for this blog yesterday! All SLURL’s should be under my “last known SLURL’s” page to the left, if not, give me a holler.

Orange and Blue Outfit:
Hairs: Boon, YNO 421
Lipstick: Lovely Mi
Glasses: Emery, Era Taxi:
Earrings: Mandala, Leather Feather
Watch: Mandala, Hokusai
Necklace: Bon Kings
Shirt: Ricielli, Summer Mini **So many colors and prints, a virtual color wheel on its own!* Taxi:
Shorts: Ricielli, Summer Mini Top *ditto*

Lime-Green and Crimson Outfit:
Hair: Boon, BNG331
Sunglasses: Emery, Leopardess
Belt: Emery, Fuschia
Top: Emery, Candy
Skirt: Emery, Running Free
Purse: Ricielli, Mesh Gia (In Easter egg)

Living in Color

I simply love when Winter decides to recede and Spring finally takes hold, don’t you? A friend and I were corresponding just the other day about the gorgeous green showing on the oak trees this year. You’d think this a silly conversation, right? But not really, colors are one of the things in life that constantly reminds me to slow down and look around, to relax and just view the happiness of the colors around me. I blame it on where I live, Florida is consistently a plethora of color. One only has to look at the implausible color of a flamingo to know the Gods have a keen sense of humor. My home state is such a cacaphony of deep bright colors, it’s a wonder we don’t all go blind over here. I think it is the unique blend of cultures, especially the Caribbean influence. In all ways though, I feel blessed to be a part of this melting pot of flavorful colors and look forward to exploring some colors available right now in SL.

Today I am wearing *SoliDea FoliEs* Carla in a yummy cotton candy pink. Pale hues were spotted in practically every real world designer’s spring-summer 2013 collection, is there any reason we should not share this trend as well? Colors with very low saturation, what I think of as sorbet’s or sherbets, are a big trend this spring. Ranging from very pale to warmer shades, our Second Life wardrobe simply cannot go without pastels. Valentino, Louis Vuitton, Ellie Saab all have brought these colors to the forefront of their 2013 lines and hopefully soon inworld designers will follow suit because there is just something so ultra-feminine about these soft colors.

Take from? Sure it’s easy to get mired in what’s “available” in Second Life, but if you look a little deeper, there are a lot of treasures out there to wear. Don’t fear color, I can’t think of a single skin tone that doesn’t have some complimentary color besides red, black and white in its seasonal color line. Be brave, let your avatar look happier and brighter by choosing the colors that best fit you. In other words, You are now free to teleport around the world in living color. Tomorrow, YIKES! the color wheel… Have a low gravity Monday!

Outfit One:

Hair: Maitreya, Saar
Hairpiece: SoliDea FoliEs, special for Cao (I’m kinda spoilt that way 😉 )
Dress: SoliDea FoliEs, Carla
Glasses/lipstick: Mons, Round glasses
Ring: Mandala, Motsumame

When Fate Hands you a Lemon

It happens, it’s a fact of life. One day you are cruising along thinking you are on top of the world and Whammo! Your knocked so flat on your arse all you can do is sit there and stare at the clouds. Heck it happens to me weekly! Naw just kidding on that, but it does happen and sadly, the moment can come so quickly you are basically blind-sided. I certainly don’t know the ways of the world, perhaps we are given these moments so we can take a moment to quit running pell-mell forward and just stop, reflect and decide what other options you may have. Because often, by pushing forward with blinders on we miss out on so many other, possibly more lucrative or satisfying solutions.

The take from? When fate hands you a lemon, stop what you are doing, take your experience from the negative event (the lemon) and blend it with some of the other life experiences you’ve had, and make it better by creating lemonade. Life can be rather sour at times, but with the right ingredients and experiences, including the good and the bad, you can create a rather satisfying means to quench your thirst for life. I chose this outfit, Gaia, from *SoliDea FoliEs* (available at Avenue Spring Fashion week) to start off my week of color because it’s one of those outfits I call “colors I can smell or taste.” With such a refreshing lemony color, I can feel Spring creeping up on me, bringing an automatic renewing smile to my face. The headpiece is also *SoliDea FoliEs* and found at the mainstore and this adorably chic hair is brand new from Dura. It is Dura Boy/Girl 42. The hairs wonderfully accentuate the face, are resizable and available in all of the normal hair colors. In fact I loved the new style so much, and they fit these new styles from *SoliDea FoliEs* so well I will be wearing a blond version in a blog later this week. The amazing clutch is from Ricielli, but hurry, it’s hidden in an Easter egg and comes with about a dozen color choices. (Thanks for the tip Dragon! As always a Font of Knowledge!)

SoliDea Folies: Taxi:
Dura: Taxi:
Ricielli: Taxi:

Ambergris.And.Madame.Tussauds.

Life always seems to be about thin lines, doesn’t it? There is a thin line between love and hate. Empty and full. Madness and genius. My mind travels far in a day, my body seldom follows. They are incompatible to say the least, I have the mind of a world traveler, but the body and heart to stay hidden from the world. It is one of my greatest tortures. On days like today, it is best to hide. When I write, I misspell the simplest of words by transposing letters. I think with clarity but it is lost between the brain and fingers. With each misspell, erase, rewrite slower, I slip into sullen madness. There is no explanation, I know not the trigger, I just tell my self, as I oft say when I am here, “you can’t cure crazy.” I slip lower until I am unseen, resting, shielded from the worlds view. Will you wait for me, my friends? I often think not, but I surely hope so.

Take from? And yes, even today there is one. What’s the relation between Ambergris and Madame Tussauds? Ambergris is a waxy substance found floating in or on the shores of tropical waters, it is believed to originate in the intestines of the sperm whale. But in itself it still has purpose and is used for beauty, it is used in perfume. Perhaps at one point in our existence we are all a blob of wax, floating in the bowels of some heavenly body. Life gently shapes and moulds us to the beautyful creatures we become. And beautyful we DO become, each and every one of us unique and gorgeously defined, worthy of any exhibition in Madame Tussauds. Bet you wondered how I was going to get there from here.

Outfit:
Hair: Loovus Dzevavor, Beret
Jumpsuit: Ricielli, Papi
Earrings: Indy and Company, Sylph doorknockers
Ring and Necklaces: Ryca
Bracelet: La Gyo
Shoos: Whatever, CG Spikes *New*
Purse: Swallow, Rockstud *New*