Elua
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There have been a number of lovely memories inspired within me this last week, and perhaps my favorite was recalling the time I spent in Ireland while I was at University, a ten day tour with my small chamber choir as we toured several cities, stopping to sing at churches, pubs, and even a castle or two. I felt so bestirred by emotion during that trip, yet unwilling to take for granted a single moment. In my head like a gentle mantra, I kept remembering a concept attributed to Confucius in my philosophy courses: “No matter where you go, there you are.” To be true, no matter where we visited in Ireland, I was so present in that place and time, I could almost feel the passageways of my mind taking careful, ardent notes of my surroundings and experiences, in order to paint the most meaningful memories.
And one particularly lush recollection I have of Ireland is its bodies of water, how unique they felt to me. The North Atlantic Ocean lapping the shores of Galway was the same one I’d swam in whilst visiting New Jersey as a girl, but it felt so profoundly different: stoic and serene, worldly and wise, as though it was regarding this young woman with its thoughtful blue-gray eyes, asking her to stay awhile, maybe have a pint, and please: feel right at home.
The other day, I wrote that: “the most simple and poetic way I know how to describe it is that when you find your place here, Second Life feels like coming home.” I would expand upon that to say that it’s so much more than the platform that inspires this feeling, but truly the people and experiences we share within. I feel as though I’m emerging at last with grateful clarity from the occasional storms that have paused for a while on my prairie these past few weeks, and I have a number of wonderful SL residents to thank for that. Because without you, kind souls, this virtual world is like a harbor without a lighthouse. Or to borrow a beautiful sentiment from my favorite poet, Pablo Neruda: “You occupied the house that darkly awaited you, and then you lit the lamps …”
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“Relieved … I’m so relieved
The tables are turning
Don’t sacrifice this feeling
Home, is this my home?
Been starting over
Bathe in the water …”
Look
Slink Body – Hourglass v1.5.1
Genesis Lab Head & Skin – Melissa
Mandala Ears – Steking Ears Season 5
Avi-Glam Eyes – Elysian Eyes (Sunrise) *
Elua Hair – Oceana (Blonde HUD)
Style & Pose
TETRA Lingerie – Sporty Bra & Panties (fatpack for Maitreya Lara, Slink Hourglass & Slink Physique) New Release @ Kustom9, through August 10th *
!Bang Poses – Tease 3
Destination & Inspiration
✈ Sights: Black Basalt Beach
🎧 Sounds: Engineers – Home
Into the Mystic
Do you ever have those moments in life where it feels like your karmic balance has reached its peak, and wonderful people, experiences, and happenstances begin flowing in? That’s the best way I can describe these last few weeks, really since right around my birthday, which is especially poignant and profound, considering the passing of the baton from one year to the next is often cause for strife or worrisome self-reflection. But no, not this year. I’m feeling uplifted and energized, awoken and alive, as though wildfires have been stirred from the quiet ashes that had been slumbering and smoldering inside. It’s all sounds very poetic and romanticized, I know, but sometimes those are the only words that speak to my heart. Perhaps better borrowed from the lush lyrics of Van Morrison, I feel like the world has on a mission to “rock [my] gypsy soul”, and now I’m on the most magnificent flow I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing for a long, long time. ♡
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“Hark now, hear the sailors cry
Smell the sea, and feel the sky
Let your soul and spirit fly
Into the mystic …”
Look
Maitreya Body – Lara v3.5
Genesis Lab Head & Skin – Melissa
Damien Fate Eyelashes – FATELashes v2.0
Inkheart Eyes – Astral Eyes (Garden) for A Midsummer Night’s Dream Hunt, through July 21st *
Elua Hair – Daria (Browns HUD)
Nanika Tattoo – Anika (in White for Maitreya, Belleza, Slink, Omega & System Layers) New Release @ On9, through June 28th *
Style & Pose
SlackGirl Jewelry – Farah Earrings New Release @ On9, through June 28th *
Mimikri Swimsuit – Joli Leather Bikini (Nude) New Release @ On9, through June 28th *
AlaskaMetro<3 Anklets – Jess Fringed Anklets (Metallics Pack) New Release @ On9, through June 28th *
Label Motion Pose – Iggy Pose 4 New Release @ Tres Chic, through July 5th *
Destination & Inspiration
✈ Sights: The Trace Too
🎧 Sounds: Van Morrison – Into the Mystic
I also want to take a moment to thank the amazing people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting in Second Life since I returned in late April. Some were friendships rekindled and renewed from last year, while others are newly formed, and all are so incredibly dear to me. I mentioned to a friend that I had been making an especial effort to get out and enjoy the grid, and she noted with some regret that she needfully finds herself spending so much time in her skybubble taking photographs and writing, sorting inventory and getting organized, in order to stay atop her blogging commitments. I know this tendency so well that the words felt as though they had been pulled from my own experience.
But for my own enjoyment and well-being, and after such an encouraging response to what I wrote weeks ago about the anxieties of making new connections, I’ve come to the realization that for me to genuinely and sincerely express appreciation for the virtual world, I need to get out there and experience it. It may mean blogging with slightly less frequency, or getting a bit further behind on keeping up with Flickr, but after such an extraordinary month and a half back in Second Life, I don’t want to risk those impassioned inner fires burning out once more. Even if that means something so simple as being folded in a relaxing pose on a kindred spirit’s boat, my heart bestirred by the sound of the waves and the gaze upon a beautiful vista, it still makes me feel feel as though I were soaring.
“And when that foghorn blows,
I will be coming home …”
The Beat in My Bones
The blog post and picture I shared on Monday have received such an amazingly warm, generous, thoughtful response that I’m truly overwhelmed. To everyone who left me a comment here on my blog or on Flickr, thank you so much for your unbelievable kindness! I can’t thank you enough or find all the right words to say what it has meant to me; I’m incredibly touched and brimming with appreciation and gratitude. So much love for you all! ♡
***
“‘Lover’, she said
‘you put the beat in my bones,
it’s your light here in my hand,
you make it easy to see it flow’ …”
While I was writing about being a sensualist the other day, I thought about how I would distill it down to a single fascination, and the answer was immediately clear to me: if given only one sensual pleasure in life, even above carnal delights (rawr), my heart would belong to music. And one of the wonderful things about Second Life is that it’s a fascination so many of us share.
Whether waxing poetic about favorite songs with my intriguing friend Alex Monty, rhapsodizing over indie musicians with my beloved soul-sister Chloë-Dakota, or sitting in rapt appreciation as I read Serene Footman’s wonderful posts about Radiohead (a band we both love dearly), I always feel drawn like a moth to a flame to those who share the same musical passions. I’m even in the early stages of cultivating an idea that would marry my interests in both SL and music into an ongoing collaborative project with other souls who beat the same drum. I can’t promise it will ever come to fruition, but even just the lush and lovely thoughts of it have been something worth savoring.
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I keep a playlist in Spotify called “Sparks”, and I add songs to it almost daily that have titles or lyrics that catch the tendrils of my mind as inspiration for future blog posts. This is another thing that has thrilled and delighted me: that people are genuinely enjoying (or at least, very kindly tolerating!) my more meandering, rambling style of blogging. I’m a lover of words first, and a photographer second; the bloggers who put together gorgeous looks and pictures daily in ways that seem so easeful and effortless have my endless admiration. I hope I don’t ever do a disservice to the designers I represent or feature on my blog, and I thank them graciously for their patience. I try to get to the goods eventually! :)
The spark for this look was set alight by the amazing Feeling Myself Headphones by Foxes, a gacha item I found on the Marketplace when I was finally thunderstruck with the realization that I could find sought-after gachas there without having to try (and fail) my luck at the machines themselves. I don’t know why I never thought to look there before, but that kind of charms me too: I feel like I learn a new trick, find a new place to explore, or discover an interesting new facet of SL every day! The lingerie is by MoDANNA for AnyBody (an amazing event if you have a budding interest in sensual wear, as I’m cultivating myself) and the lovely necklace is by Yummy for Collabor88.
Look
Body // Lara Mesh Body v3.5 by Maitreya
Head & Skin // Melissa by Genesis Lab
Hair // Kira (Red HUD) by Elua
Lashes // FATELashes v2.0 by Damien Fate New Release!
* Eyes // Ardent Eyes (Hazel v2) by Avi-Glam New Release!
Style
Headphones // Feeling Myself Headphones (Black/Silver) by Foxes Gacha Item
Necklace// Layered Chain Choker (Fatpack) by Yummy for Collabor88, through June 6th
Lingerie // Beaune Collection Lace Lingerie (Maitreya, Belleza, Slink, and Omega appliers) by MoDANNA for AnyBody, through May 31st
Pose & Inspiration
Prop // Kendall Bed by Tarte for Luxe Box May 2016
Pose // Recline 2 by !Bang Poses
Song Spark // 2:54 – Scarlet
Casual Grace
Isn’t serendipity in Second Life the most wonderful thing? When I picked up the flawlessly-fitted Elina Shorts by Blueberry the other day, I knew straight away what kind of picture I wanted to take. Then I spied the beautiful, summery-colored Tied Up Camis by Eaters Coma at Kustom9, and they worked out perfectly. Then as I was once more eagerly strolling around at Blueberry to pick up their latest release, pondering at the time if I had any shoes in my inventory that might work for the pose, I quite nearly stumbled right into a wall that advertised the Georgina Work Out Shoes as a free gift for group members! And to top it all off, Nanika had a surprise 40% off sale last week, which is where I found this divine tattoo and pose. I just love when everything falls into place so beautifully!
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Look
Body // Lara Mesh Body v3.5 by Maitreya
Head & Skin // Melissa by Genesis Lab
Hair // Oceana (Blonde HUD) by Elua
Eyes // Janus Eyes (Coral) by Inkheart
Tattoo // Vasanta (White) by Nanika
Style
Top // Tied Up Cami (Fat Pack) by Eaters Coma for Kustom9, through May 10th
Shorts // Elina Side Tied Shorts (Black) by Blueberry
Shoes // Georgina Work Out Shoes (Group Gift) by Blueberry
Pose & Destination
Poses // Deanna Std 4 by SKBIO Animations, and Ballet 3 by Nanika
Location // 0 0 Adore
The region 0 0 Adore is filled with pretty little gardens and picturesque sights. When I was growing up, my brother and I were climbing rascals, getting up on everything and anything that we could so we could feel mighty and tall like our parents. So with a cheeky smile, I glided up atop the stone wall surrounding these lovely flowers and eased into my languorous ballet pose. No flora or fauna were harmed in the taking of this picture, honest! ♡
By the Seashore
Happiest of weekend greetings, dear friends! This is quickie (rawr) to get the word out for the dear and lovely Deesselle, who designs skins, eyes and more for her brand DS’ELLES. The skin I’m wearing in my look today is available as part of the Fifty5 Thursdays weekly sale event, which is brand new to me; I’d honestly never heard of it until Deesselle sent me the notecard! A huge number of stores put out special items for sale from L$55 to L$100, and the offering from DS’ELLES is a special edition Mathilde skin in the Colorado skintone, which is a perfect golden-tan that makes you look like you’ve just vacationed for a week in the French Riviera. It may be found at the mainstore for just L$99, but only through Sunday!
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Look
Body / Maitreya | Mesh Body – Lara v3.4
* Skin / DS’ELLES | Mathilde – Special Edition (Colorado) | L$99 in-store through August 16th
Hair / Elua | Oceana – Blonde HUD
* Eyes / DS’ELLES | Apocalypse Eyes – Bleu
Lashes / Mon Cheri | Falsies Mesh Eyelashes – Upper
Eyeliner / Glam Affair | Couture Eyeliner No. 02
Style
* Jewelry / Baubles! by Phe | Night Lace Earrings | WearHouse Event, through August 28th
* Outfit / Angel’s Designs | Saint Tropez Bra, Panty & Over Dress – Night (Maitreya Lara Fitted) | Mesh Body Addicts Fair, through August 21st
* Shoes / KC Couture | Andria Heels (for Maitreya, Belleza, TMP and Slink High feet)
Poses & Destination
Prop / Kalopsia | Dolce Vita Scooter (with built-in pose)
Location / Endless Summer
I’m also wearing a fabulous bikini and dress set from Angel’s Designs for the Mesh Body Addicts Fair, and I was truly impressed when I slipped it on and it fit perfectly. Fitmesh for the Maitreya Lara body is still experimental, so designers always recommend trying demos to ensure that their items fit as intended, and I’ve found a few times where the standard size version of a fitted mesh item was still a better option for me. But a hearty “well done” to Angel’s Designs for their work, as the bikini fits beautifully and the lovely lace dress just skims over top so nicely. Perfect for a stroll on the beach!
Speaking of summery pursuits, I’m off to enjoy my sunny Saturday. Sending lots of love and wishes for a marvelous weekend to to all! ♥
Happily, Ever Afterr in Second Life 