Fantastical Adventures

If you enjoy role play or fantasy in SL, there are multiple events going on right now that you should definitely not miss! First, I want to point out Fantasy Faire because this RFL event is for a great cause (to raise money for cancer research), and it ends on Sunday! There are a LOT of sims to this event, but fortunately the organizers have created a great page on their website that will help make navigation a bit easier.

The dress I am wearing in the picture below is from Luminary. This is the RFL donation color, and the dress is named Annette. Augurer of Luminary wrote “Why I Relay” notecards and put them in each demo box. Each outfit she did has the name of someone close to her, someone who has battled cancer. These personal stories really tugged at my heart, and the dress I’m wearing was named in honor of her cousin who has twice beaten breast cancer. I think this story resonated with me because in the past three years my grandmother’s beaten not one, but two separate types of breast cancer (and also a third cancer, a rare form of lung cancer). I plan to share why I relay soon, but in the meantime, please be sure to check out this fabulous event. Luminary is located on the Hopes Horizon sim.

The beautiful table set is Senza from Pixel Mode for The Garden’s Tuscan inspired edition, which ends on the 10th.

Also, from The Garden is this beautiful wine platter from Ispachi. I figured you can never have too much wine, fruit and cheese! The hair you see in both of these pics is from Calico for We ❤ Role-Play.

The Fantasy Collective’s current round has a pirate theme. It’s a lot of fun, and it gave me an excuse to go buy this awesome dress from Junbug. You’ll find the hair from Tableau Vivant at the event, as well as the table and the grog and gold (which came from the O.M.E.N/Moi collaboration item). The food is from Ginger Line’s Farmers’ Snacks set, which is available at We ❤ Role-Play. It's We Love Role-Play's first birthday, and if you've not been to this event you're definitely missing out!

~Lucie

Fashion Credits
Pic 1:
Glam Affair: Mokatana skin – The Diva (former FLF item)
IKON: Promise Eyes – Mahogany
Mon Cheri: Falsies lashes
Calico: Rym hair – Ginger Reds We ❤ RP
Luminary: Annette dress – Purple Fantasy Faire 2014
SLink: Mesh hands – Casual & Relaxed
Marukin: gaze poses – the grey lady

Pic 2:
Lara Hurley Skins: Ivy – pale – sweet smokey eyes w/moles & brick lipstick tattoos
IKON: Promise eyes – Industrial
Mon Cheri: Falsies lashes
Tableau Vivant: Drake hair – Fall The Fantasy collective
Junbug: Lady Leather – blue
SLink: Mesh hands – Flat & Casual
A:S:S: SLink nails – chipped matte
Letis: SLink hand tattoo – rosary
Rustica: Instant Pirate Kit – eye patch The Fantasy collective
Adorkable: Nippy pose – 10m

Decor Credits
Pic 1:
Dysfunctional Designs: Medieval Utility Building – Inn
Dysfunctional Designs: Quaint Tavern Hearth
Pixel Mode: Senza Tempo set (table, benches, tray w/wine and grapes, lights, rug) The Garden
ISPACHI: The Odyssey – Vineyard Platter The Garden

Pic 2:
Dysfunctional Designs: Medieval Utility Building – Inn
Frogstar: Salty Pirate Tavern table and stools – Dark The Fantasy collective
O.M.E.N: Grog and gold coins, mugs and pitcher The Fantasy collective
Ginger Line: Farmers’ Snacks We ❤ RP
POST: Humboldt candlestick – stump

Spring at The Arcade

It seems that spring has arrived, at least if The Arcade designers have their say in it! You’ll find lots of things “spring” if you stop by, assuming you haven’t already.

One of my favorites is the Happy Gardener set from Pixel Mode. I love the details on this set, right down to the garden hose!

I wanted to show some of the details, particularly on two of the three rares in this set. The toolbox and the seed box are both rares. The birdhouse I just love so much (shocker, I’m sure, given my name and blog title!). The potting table is the third rare.

Sway’s released this adorable little summer house, the fence set and the cute little garden gnomes as part of The Challenge recently. I thought they’d make a perfect little scene for a couple of other Arcade items. First, the gorgeous rare bicycle from Lark’s Farmer’s Market set, and also the clothesline from Tres Blah’s Spring Living set.

You can see full details on all the Arcade items using the shopping guide located here.

More Arcade from me soon! I’m still sorting through all my winnings!

~Lucie

Credits
Rustica: SkyMoon Environment
Pixel Mode: The Happy Gardener Set The Arcade
Lark: The Farmer’s Market bike (f) – Rare The Arcade
Tres Blah: Spring Living clothesline The Arcade
Sway’s: Andersen Fence, Andersen Half Timbered Summerhouse, Zwerg Garden Gnome (M), Zwergin Garden Gnome (M)
Alouette: Garden Party set
Organica: Cosmos flowers – pink
[DDD]: Frilly pines, Garden bed flowers – square end
Post: Old Garden spigot
Pilot: Garden tools
What Next: Garden Cafe
Alchemy: Little log pathway
Botanical: Aspen trees

My Bungalow: Part 2

If you missed part 1 of this blog post, you can find it here. The Barnesworth Anubis Carraway Bungalow is so gorgeous, and because of how big it is I knew I’d need to break this down into two posts. So, without further ado, here is the final part. As always, please click through to Flickr and hover over the pics to see where each item is from. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask!

This house has two bathrooms. I left the upstairs bathroom as it is when you buy the house, so you can see what the bathrooms look like if you’d rather not retexture. However, in the downstairs bathroom I did a lot of tinting/retexturing. I call the upstairs bath the “rustic bath” because I decorated it with more old fashioned feeling furnishings, as you can see here.

For the downstairs bathroom, I wanted a sense of luxury. So, while it still has a bit of a vintage feel (I tend to like vintage/rustic in home design/decor), it also has lots of lush amenities.

They say the kitchen is the heart of the home. I don’t know how true that is, but in SL I do love to have one! Here are some pics of the cozy kitchen I put together.

The Carraway Bungalow has four bedrooms. I only photographed two. One of them was designed as a den, and the other as a guest room. Below is a collage of the den.

The guest room wound up being my favorite room in the house, and after that I struggled with what was going to be the master bedroom for weeks. I finally decided to just stop so I could blog everything else and transition to my autumn home. Here are the pics of the guest room.

I had to make sure my KittyCatS made an appearance, so tucked into the nooks and crannies of this adorable cupboard bed from fri.day you will notice Meowzers and tiny Strawberry Milk.

Finally, this spot was my absolute favorite in the entire house… it’s also a part of what I designed as the guest room, and I will end my blog post with this pic.

If you’re looking for a versatile home that is suitable for a family, I definitely recommend checking this one out. It’s a winner!

~Lucie

My Bungalow: Part 1

I fell in love with the Barnesworth Anubis Carraway Bungalow that was part of Collabor88 in August. It’s a big house, so it took me a while to decorate it! I have a LOT of pics for this house, so I decided to break it down into two posts.

I modified this house a good bit, in terms of textures. Some of the walls I just tinted, and some I used wallpaper on. Unlike some mesh houses, that was possible with this one. It took some trial and error, but it was a lot of fun to do. I like customizing houses, so that they feel more “me.” I never used to do this, but my BFF Rosa got me hooked, and now I love it.

So, here are the pics… or at least the first batch. I’ll try to keep my comments to a minimum. As always, please click through the pics to see them bigger in Flickr. You’ll also find notes on each pic with where each item is from. If I missed something (I hope not!) or you want more info, feel free to ask in the comments here or on Flickr, or IM me in world.

I have to say this… the Carraway comes with several gorgeous built in cabinets and shelves. The best part? They are all functional, meaning they open!

I wanted to particularly point out the adorable Friends artwork seen in this next collage because it is an item from Sway’s for the current round of The Arcade, and you only have a few more days to go try to win it!

This college shows the dining room built in, which I photographed with some doors open, so you could get a better idea for what I mean about what an awesome detail this is.

The second post will be coming soon, so keep an eye out for it!

~Lucie

There’s no place like home!

A while ago, I promised to show you more of what has become my favorite ever home in SL. This Lodge from Zacca has such a dreamy quality to it, and yet I can absolutely imagine a home like this existing in the real world. It makes me think of something you’d find in some old little village in the UK. I admit, this house was a challenge for me to decorate. I was fortunate that one of my friends told me about Dysfunctional Dolly Designs, which helped me keep some of the”old world meets new” vibe I wanted. This is the front of the house. My tulips are from Organica and I love how detailed they are.

This next pic features a couple of items from the current round of FaMESHed. The hair from Exile combined with the adorable shoes from LaRoo inspired a look that made me think of Dorothy from The Wizard Of Oz. I love heels with socks, and I fell hard for these shoes. I had a really hard time debating a color, but ultimately went with one of the florals because it’s (nearly) summer and I wanted something summery! The odds are very high you’ll see these shoes again in a darker shade come autumn. My skirt is from DCNY and the top is from Coco, which was a “new to me” store. My look isn’t exactly identical to Dorothy’s, but rather just overall inspired by that.

Here’s a close up collage, of both the LaRoo shoes and the adorable Greymoon bag I’m holding. There are multiple colors and styles, and they are in a gacha, so you’ll have to try your luck to see which one you get! I’m wearing one of the Rares. It features art from Alice In Wonderland. Given all the recent hoopla over copyright and IP infringement, let me say first hand that the designer is a dear friend who researched thoroughly to make sure she was using art that is no longer under copyright. These bags are so cute, and they fit my mood. Maybe it may seem odd to mix Alice In Wonderland with something sort of Oz-ish, but I’ve been watching a lot of Once Upon A Time recently… so it felt perfectly fine to me!

Oh, and since my skin is one the new Pink Fuel Harley skins for The Arcade, I had to take a close up shot of it. I still need to go try to win the rare!

Now, back to the house… you’ve seen the outside. Let me show you inside. This is what you see when you open the front door… this gorgeous window with the build in daybed (complete with poses) that looks out on the courtyard.

My living room is decorated primarily with items from LISP. As always, you can click through on any of these pics and hover for notes on where each item comes from. If you want any specifics, just ask me!

This house has two rooms, one of which I made a kitchen. Here are a few pics of that. I have to comment on the dining set because I coveted this set for months… and I finally caved and got it because nothing I had was right for this kitchen (or so I convinced myself). It’s from LAQ Decor and you get a bunch of colors. The table has rezzers and a ton of options for what to have out (if anything). There’s even a funky timer setting called Auto Clear, so you can have it set to de-rezz on its own!

The other of the two rooms I made into the bedroom, with space for reading and writing because I can’t not have books and pads or typewriters, even in a virtual world!

The typewriter in this collage pic is from Floorplan, and it’s one of the items you can snag at The Arcade. This is the rare floral version.

If you’re looking for an unusual house, this is definitely one worth checking out. I am so in love with it that I’m having a bit of a tough time breaking it all down. I rarely stay attached to houses once I’ve decorated and photographed them, but this one is something pretty darn special.

~Lucie

Fashion Credits:
Skin: Pink Fuel – Harley 06 (The Arcade)
Lashes: Gaeline Creations – Fantasia
Eyes: IKON – Destiny – Nymph
Hair: Exile – Hold On Loosely – Dark Reds
Top: Coco – Cropped Sweater – Pearl Grey w/lace collar
Skirt: DCNY – A-Line Skirt – Basic Grey
Shoes: LaRoo – Ellie – Yellow Floral (FaMESHed)
Bag: Greymoon – Alice Manuscript – Striped – Rare (The Thrift Shop)
Pose: Embody – Stand Out 5

The one with the controversy

Recently, someone said to me “how can you blog (X designer)!?! (X designer) is such a JERK.” No, I will not name names. It’s not really my style. But in this particular case, I don’t personally know X Designer. Funny thing is, neither did the person telling me X Designer is a jerk. That person heard it from a friend. That friend’s friend dated X Designer (supposedly). Now, I’m sure the person who told me this believes it to be true. I’m sure the friend of that person believes it. Maybe even the original source believes it. But I don’t know any of those people, and I don’t know the designer. The designer is incredibly talented, and I love the work… and that, my dear readers, is why I blog X Designer.

I don’t personally know a lot of the designers I blog. Even many of the designers I officially blog for, I really don’t know. I have plenty of people I consider friends that are designers, and these are people I know, but that’s more the exception than the rule. I have like 65k in my inventory. I’ve probably never even spoken to the majority of the designers who have made these items, let alone gotten to know them well enough to judge for myself, firsthand, what kind of person they are.

And here’s the shocker, and the part that’s likely to be controversial. I am not blogging the creator, I am blogging the creations, and so I honestly don’t really care very much. So X Designer is an asshole. If X Designer is a talented asshole, I’m unlikely to stop shopping at X Designer’s store, and I’ll probably keep blogging their items. There are several reasons for this, not the least of which is that “asshole” is something we all personally define. What one person considers rude or unacceptable behavior, someone else may consider sarcastic wit. It’s really hard to know anyone in a virtual world. Hell, it’s hard enough to really know anyone in the real world! But there’s also the simple reality that what people say in writing can be very hard to parse. Tone, emotion, context… these things can all be translated very differently by different people when you’re dealing with written words. Someone may not mean to say something offensive, and they may not mean something to sound sarcastic, but because we don’t hear the words said, it is often hard to truly know how people mean the things they say.

We also all have our own “hot button” issues. I’m a bisexual, anti-dieting, Libertarian atheist. As I’ve repeatedly said, both in my virtual life and my real life, if I couldn’t “agree to disagree” I’d have like 3 people to talk to in the entire world. I welcome debate, as long as it is respectful. I admit I get frustrated by ignorance, but I also am not going to stop shopping at someone’s store because I think they hold ignorant opinions. So, are there lines that can be crossed, where I will not shop at someone’s store anymore? Of course. We all have that proverbial “line in the sand” that, once crossed, is really hard to ignore. There are some designers (and no, I will still not name names) who have managed to personally irk me in some way, usually by behaving in a way I consider intolerable on Plurk. In these cases, I’ve seen the behavior firsthand and I decide based on that evidence. We all have to know ourselves, and know what we consider behavior that crosses our own threshold of “acceptable.”

If someone tells me, “oh, I refuse to blog X Designer,” I respect that choice, even if I still blog that person. I’m also never going to make a choice with secondhand information. I don’t work with hearsay. Every story has at least two sides, if not more, and words are easily – and often accidentally – taken out of context. I’m the same way with my friends. I need to see bad behavior firsthand before I stop speaking to someone. It’s not that I don’t believe the people who tell me these “bad” things about the other people. I’m quite sure that in most instances, what I am being told is 100% believed. But I still can’t make a decision based on secondhand information, because maybe it’s all a horrible misunderstanding. Or maybe X Designer or person is really a horrible twat. But I’m always going to need firsthand evidence because, well… that’s just how I work. If you don’t work this way, that’s okay, too. We all have to make our own choices in life, and no one has the right to tell you that your choice to blog or not blog (or to shop or not shop at) a specific store is “wrong” or “bad.”

Ultimately, we live with the consequences of our own choices. Maybe someday, somehow, I’ll discover that X Designer really is a jerk. Likely, I’ll be annoyed I wasted money on a jerk, but whatever. We move on. It should be the worst thing to happen to me, and if X Designer’s a big enough jerk – in my opinion – then I’ll stop shopping there and blogging items from there.

Anyway, all this rather serious thought so early in the morning had me wanting to have some fun. So, I grabbed this adorable trampoline from Hopscotch for the current round of The Boutique, and put it in my pretty little courtyard garden and jumped away the stress!

More from me soon… I know I’ve been quiet lately. Just not feeling well and also trying to keep up with my current grad class.

~Lucie

PS. This house from Zacca is one of my favorite ever houses in SL, and I’ll have more pics of it soon! Click through to the pic on Flickr, and hover for notes to see where garden items are from. Or you can just ask me!

Credits:
Skin: League – Isla – Medium
Hair: Truth – Sadie – Reds04Fade
Top: coldLogic – jacobs – sage
Shorts: coldLogic – pitt – cotton
Feet: SLink – Bare feet – Mesh
Pose: Hopscotch – Jump, Jump multipose prop

More from Skin Fair!

If you haven’t been to Skin Fair yet, you still have time! The even runs through March 31st, so be sure to get there before it closes. Today I have two skins available at Skin Fair to show you. One thing I love about blogging events like Skin Fair is the chance to discover great stores I didn’t know before the event. I wasn’t familiar with either of these stores, but I will definitely be checking them out regularly now!

First up, from Anymore, is Hazel. This skin is so pretty and soft. It has a youthful feel, and I decided to capitalize on that with a quirky, semi-dorky look. My glasses are from Mon Tissu. The gorgeous necklace is from Cae and is called Sakura. It’s currently available at a new event called The Boutique, brought to you by The Liaison Collaborative. The eyes I am wearing in both of these looks are also a new item, from IKON, at The Boutique. Also, if you’re curious about the decor items, they are tagged with notes if you click through to Flickr, and you can feel free to ask questions.

I paired the skin with hair from Exile, the adorable saddle shoes Tres Blah has out at Collabor88. A lot of people have complained the Tres Blah shoes were too expensive. I have to admit I hesitated when I saw the L$388 price tag on them, but I am a sucker for saddle shoes and these are so cute and unique. They are well done, and I am likely going to go back and grab another pair. No, they aren’t “cheap,” but the quality and creativity is very high, and that counts for a lot for me. My pants are from Greymoon and were available at The Outlet. I’m not sure if that round is over, but if it is, Lyssa usually releases her items in her mainstore after, so either way look for them! My top is so cute, right? It’s from One Bad Pixel’s recent release, and I am in love. It has a hud that lets you change the color of the belt and the shirt that’s under the sweater (just to clarify, it’s all one piece – you can’t wear just the sweater or just the shirt). I’m a sucker for any item that has this sort of control. It makes a piece so much more versatile and an “investment.” Oh, the cute pose in this pic is from Grafica and is part of their Pose Fair release called per donna! I’m excited for Pose Fair!

The second skin I want to show you is from Envious. Bella is appropriately beautiful. I love the purple eyeshadow on this one. I love purple. The blushing cheeks on this skin inspired me to blog it as a bride! Plus, I’ll use any excuse to marry Rad again, even if it’s just for pics. 😀 The gorgeous gown I have on is from Sakide. The dress is mesh, but the lacey, sheer top part is a jacket layer you wear under it. The dress works without it, too. But I loved the look, it was so soft and detailed. I felt utterly feminine and girly wearing this gown!

The gown has a secret, seductive side, though… and I had to be sure to show you that, too.

Finally, in this last pic you can see the LaGyo headband I have on with the alternate veiled option. It felt so retro and mysterious, so I knew I had to use it. I will warn you that I had some trouble finding hair that worked, and only came up with this LeLutka option after I saw the lovely Oakley Foxtrot wearing it with the same headband (so ty Oakley!).

And last… I have to share this one, even though for blogging purposes you can’t really see anything. I just loved this WL so much, I had to snap the drama shot, too.

What can I say? Our RL/SL wedding anniversary is coming up (April 6th in both worlds)… I guess I was feeling sappy!

~Lucie

Credits
Look 1:
Skin: Anymore – Hazel – Honey
Eyes: IKON – Ardent – Parchment
Lashes: Gaeline Creations – Fantasia
Glasses: Mon Tissu – Readers – Cream
Hair: Exile – Call Me Maybe – Sin (tinted)
Necklace: Maxi Gossamer – Patience – Heart Watch Necklace
Top: 1BP – Sweater & Blouse – White Cable
Jeans: Greymoon – Swirly Embossed – Light
Shoes: Tres Blah – Saddle Shoe – Blue Floral
Poses: Built into the What Next Novelle Study Chair (pic 1), Grafica – Per Donna 1

Look 2:
On Lucie:
Skin: Envious – Bella – Purple – Sunkissed
Hair: LeLutka – Lillian – Jessica (tinted)
Eyes: IKON – Ardent – Parchment
Lashes: Gaeline Creations – Fantasia
Headband: LaGyo – Angelie – Headpiece (both with and w/o veil) – Bridal
Necklace: Cae – Sakura
Dress: Sakide – Pearl River Gown – Cream

On Rad:
Skin: Belleza – Johan 3E – Medium
Eyes: Poetic – Classic – Dark Soil
Tux: Rebel Hope – Carlton – Black

Poses: Embody – I Do (couple pics), Roses By Res – purple bouquet – built in pose (individual pic)

Gazebo & Schoolhouse by Funky Junk