Author: Lisa Millar

Look Of The Day: As Summer Moves On..

Look Of The Day: As Summer Moves On..

by Lisa Millar ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

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Unlike most Brits, I have no issue with the American description of Autumn as ‘Fall’. In the UK describing this most beautiful (in my opinion) of seasons as such is nothing short of heresy, but I really like the phrase.

I’m a Fall Baby, and it has always been my most beloved time of year. There’s something in the air; the way that the coldness starts to creep in and the light grows thin. As the season changes the Earth seems to throw one last hurrah to the sun by turning a multitude of festive colours before gradually starting to fade and wither into Winter.

The colours of Fall are my favourite too. The Summer sorbet shades have now changed into a darker hue reflecting the fruits of the season. The darker greens, the radiants reds and the berry shades are as delicious to the eye as the jams of the harvest are to the palette.

For this look of the day I wanted to find something that bridged the gap between the seasons. September is just a few days away yet we’re still having really good weather in the UK, so I wanted something that would warm when the wind bites yet still allow my skin to catch the few fading rays of Vitamin D as they caress the ground.

I found exactly what I was looking for in this rather excellent mesh body-warmer from NS CUTIE SHAPE. It’s called ‘Emotion 1 Padded Vest’ and is available in a variety of patterns and is a scarily reasonable L$50!  Not only that, it includes matching wristwarmers too.  I opted for a glorious dark red and green tartan combo with a luxurious chunky grey fleece collar. It’s very well textured actually, considering the price. I teamed it with my shorts and tights combo (which you can’t see in the picture but trust me, it’s there, I’m not bottomless I promise!) and set off to trudge around some Autumnal sims.

The hairstyle that I am wearing in this picture is the rather bloody awesome ….. by DURA. I confess I haven’t been to Dura for ages, so when I dropped by earlier I was delighted to see an influx of styles ripe for the picking. This is unisex hair, and is far removed from my semi-regular bob preference, but it just works perfectly on my avatar. It fits like a glove, and the shape is perfect. I really love styles that cover the eye like this, although in real life I wouldn’t last five minutes because I’d find myself totally irritated by the hair obscuring my vision. No such problem in Second Life of course!

Even though this style lends itself to a more casual look you can actually dress it up very effectively, so don’t be put off from giving it a try if it’s not your usual fancy. I also opted for a shade a little lighter than my normal choice of darker hues, and coupled with my Kaelyn 20’s skin I think it really looks the part.

Summer is moving on, and Autumn is on her way, but I’m more than ready for the change of season!

Kitty wears:

Skin – Izzies’s Kaelyn 20’s Skin Dark Red Lips/ Kaelyn Eyeliner – C88

Ears – ‘Steking’ Ears – MANDALA

Eyes – ‘Ascension’ Eyes in Sahara M –IKON

Lashes – ‘Flirt’ – HUSH

Bodywarmer – ‘Emotion 1 Padded Vest + wristwarmers’ – NS CUTIE SHAPE

Hair – *Duraboys&girls46* (Sienna)  – DURA

AND…

Pose –  [Clinic] ‘Vintique’ – MARUKIN

Location – Japan Tempura island

(Feeling quite pleased with myself for actually remembering to include the above for a change!)

 

 

The Arcade Is Coming!

The Arcade Is Coming!

by Lisa Millar ♥ 5 Comments

September is my favourite month.

Why? Well, it’s my birthday month for a start, and this year is going to be a special one, it’s my 40th. But what has made it even more ruddy fabulous is that The  Arcade gacha event will be hitting the grid again,  and if you have been living under a rock for the past few weeks then you’ll have missed the teaser images featured on Plurk and on various Flickr pages.

To be perfectly honest, it would have probably been more beneficial to my health if I had been living under a rock, that way I wouldn’t have seen any previews of what this round has in store for us. The last round was amazing enough, but bloody hell, when I first saw some of the pictures of what this round had in store for us, well, I am embarrassed to admit that I actually cried!

Seriously dear reader, I blubbed. 

I confess that I am cringing as I write this, but my emotional response to the goodies on offer was nothing short of visceral. I sobbed when I saw the collections of critters, furniture items and accessories that have been promised to us for this round.

Why? Well, I could say it’s hormones seeing as I officially hit middle-age in a few weeks, so you could forgive me if I was feeling a little mid-life crisis like. But I actually don’t have an excuse, other than I was totally moved and completely blown-away out of the park astonished by the creations that I saw.

Bear in mind I’ve only seen these on the official ad posters, too, so goodness knows what condition I will be in when I actually hit the machines!   Unfortunately, I have no doubt that this round will be jam-packed 24/7 for days on end, which will drive me round the twist. I’ll be one of those poor dots that you see on the map hovering pathetically at sim borders, pleading at my monitor for someone to leave so that I can get in!

So what am I especially looking forward to?  I’ll post some of my favourites over the next few days, but first of all I want to tell you about some of the fantastic animal-themed items that I have seen and simply MUST have. 

The first images that made me misty-eyed were the pictures of the INTRIGUE CO. Puppy Pals….

Puppy Pals

..see what I mean?

Why did I blub? Well, first of all, PUPPIES! But also because I’m a big fan of the INTRIGUE CO. plushies collections, and these are without a doubt in my mind the best examples yet. I love the way that these guys are crafted.   Not only do they look like the breeds that they are representing, they are perfectly coloured and feature irresistible breed-unique detailing, like the bow on the Yorkie’s hair. It must have taken ages to make these, but what an absolute joy they all are to behold.

Do I have a favourite?  I do have a few to be honest, but I’m going to try my hardest to win all of them!

Now, let me introduce you to the SILENT SPARROW ‘Pwnies!’

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Now, if you know me in real-life (unlucky!) then you’ll know that I have a bit of a thing about a little show called ‘My Little Pony-Friendship is Magic’.

Yes readers, Kitty is a Brony, with no fucks given.

I have a collection of ponies on my desk, as well as an ever-expanding  (like my waistline) family of plushies courtesy of my local ‘Build-A-Bear Workshop’.  You could say therefore that I’m a bit of a fan, and I’d barely finished wiping  my eyes when I saw the poster image of the pwnies, and started blarting all over again! I mean JUST LOOK AT THEM! They are utterly perfect; a multitude of poses and colours and patterns and you would have to have a heart made of the coldest steel to not fall into a messy puddle of happiness at the sight of these.

They are just so much fun, and I am especially taken by Dash (for obvious reasons) and of course, Matt and David (seeing as I’m a bit of a Whovian as well!) To be honest, yes I want all of these as well, and I’m already starting to panic about how many prims I’m going to need to free up to accommodate all of this Gacha awesome. (My house is pretty darn near perfect for me in-world, but I’m going to have some epic rearranging to do to accommodate all of these wonderful things!)

Yummy Fish

But let’s not stop there! It looks as though I am going to have to find the room for an aquarium too, because YUMMY! have created a piano-shaped aquarium and a collection of fish to inhabit it and boy are they are super-cute.

I don’t have the space or time for a  fish tank anymore so this will be the next best thing for me.  I’m looking forward to seeing how these fish work too,  because apparently each one is animated with unique movements so I’m anticipating something very special indeed. I haven’t really selected a favourite fishy, but I am very taken by the ‘Spotted Weirdo’, as I feel that I have a lot in common with it. (I fear that the acquisition of this tank will lead me into ridiculous games of ‘Find The Fish’, which is sure to drive everyone around me bonkers, but no shits given!)

Not only that, but the packaging for this particular Gacha prize is pretty special too!

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Last but not least are my absolute critter must-haves from this collection. They are, of course, cats, and this is when my tears REALLY fell. Because just LOOK AT THEM:

Cats

 

Now, a fact that you possibly don’t know about me, apart from my obviously being cat obsessed, is that I collect Maneki Neko and images of the Egyptian Goddess Bast.  In fact, I am completely Bast-obsessed.  I have statues, jewellery and books about the cult of the cat in Ancient Egypt, and I also like to make trips down to London to see the Gayer-Anderson cat in the British Museum. (Mine in a previous life, obviously 😉

So you can imagine that when I saw this collection and  spotted ‘Isis’ the Egyptian puss, as well as not one but three Maneki-Neko, I almost had a heart attack from excitement.  But there’s more; there’s a chibi-cat for everyone in this set; for example there’s ‘Pumpkin’, who obviously appeals due to my Witchy persuasions (and also because I had an amazing cat called Pumpkin too!) and ‘Sweetie’  is another Whovian reference and an absolute must for my in-world Doctor Who collection. There are so many fabulous felines here to adore, and then there is ‘Fatman’, who reminds me of my much-missed ginger lad (for whom I confess I am still mourning).

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Allegory, if by chance you’re reading this, I thought your ‘Voubou’ collection was outstanding and have them proudly displayed in my home, but these are on a whole different level. Every one of these cats is perfection.  They’re shaped so sweetly and decorated so perfectly. I cannot wait to get my paws on them; I just hope that I don’t have to wait too long because I know EXACTLY where I’m putting them. Well, I *think* that I do…GAH!

The Arcade opens on September 1st (that’ll be Sunday then) and I shall be clawing my way into that sim with all the strength and power I can muster so that I can get my mitts on all of these wonderful  creations, and I expect that you will be doing exactly the same!  I fear it will be a battle, but so long as I can get my critter-fix within a reasonable time frame I’m sure I’ll be fine!

Do check out the official blog and Flickr groups for updates on this event, and tune in tomorrow when I’ll be sharing some other favourite picks of mine. (These didn’t make me cry, but they are just as outstanding!)

 

The Perfect Chair For Over There..

The Perfect Chair For Over There..

by Lisa Millar ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Reading

For that corner over there I need to find the perfect chair for getting comfortable while I read, surf, chat, knit, you know the kind of thing! Well, I don’t actually have to look very far to be honest, because BAZAR have created two stunning chairs for the 24 event I was talking about yesterday, and they will more than satisfy your comfy chair needs. 

The ‘Summer 24 Chairs’ are available in either leather or fabric styles. There are also versions featuring a delicious fur throw, just right for covering your knees while you become engrossed in your latest read.  As with all BAZAR products (and come on, by now you KNOW that I am a fan) they feature perfect texture choices and styling and are top-notch build quality.

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The fabric version has a classic scallop-style print in neutral tones. The leather version features a really brilliant leather texture, perhaps the best I’ve seen in-world yet, and is a dark, chocolate colour. The wood for both is dark and modern, with a dusky pink cushion thrown in for good measure. The seat is deep and comfortable looking, which is important because there’s nothing worse than a sore bum when you’re enjoying a good read.

At the rear there are a couple of metal rivets to hold everything in place; not really an important detail I know, BUT the fact that this is paid attention to and treated with the same care as the rest of the chair confirms that this is quality work indeed. The fur throw is casually tossed to one side of the seat and features an exquisite fur that you just know would be super-soft and warm to the touch.

Like most BAZAR seating this comes complete with an array of poses for male and female avatars, and also features a great selection of prop-led poses, including this great telephone number…(Change your expression using an Anypose HUD and you have a great photo opportunity!)RAHHHH!!!

Land Impact is a pretty damn negligible 2 points, and chairs are MOD/COPY/NO TRANS.  Because they’re going to be featured at ‘The 24’ I assume that there will be limited quantities available of each chair, so as per my recommendation yesterday, be sure to get there early to bag yourself one of these seats!

Smashing aren’t they? Check out ‘the 24’ blog for more details.  It’s going to be quite an event; I’ll see you there!

 

Under The Fountain Bridge..

Under The Fountain Bridge..

by Lisa Millar ♥ 2 Comments

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It is always a humongous honour when a creator drops something on me to feature on my blog.

I try my level best to blog everything I receive; but real life has a way of interfering with my blogging plans so I don’t always have the time to write a post that will do something special the justice that it rightly deserves, but when Stephan Visconti dropped his latest creation on me I KNEW I had to find the time to tell you about it, because it is a thing of beauty and you will probably want one.

Reader, I present to you the Atelier Visconti Fountain Bridge.  Bloody lovely, isn’t it?

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If you have land you NEED one of these in your life. It really is a lovely thing to behold. Uber romantic and whimsical,  I can think of a zillion builds where this would make a wonderful addition to the sim. If you have a store somewhere this would look gorgeous incorporated into the landscaping. Guys, it’s a must-have.

Like everything created by Stephan, this is crafted to incredibly high standards and features excellent texture and detail. Despite being a relatively simple item,  a bridge over a fountain base, it is incredibly effective. The shape looks realistic and in proportion, with the textures chosen for the stonework (and especially the railings) very satisfying to the eye.  The fountain element is just right too because it doesn’t overpower the structure yet offers subtle enhancement to a very effective piece of mesh architecture.

Imagine this placed on your land with some sympathetic tree and plant placements surrounding it and I’m sure you can visualise just how sensational it will look.

But it doesn’t just look nice, it features some really neat poses too.  In fact, there are 21 poses including individual unisex, male and female poses as well as a lovely little selection of couples poses that Jez and I enjoyed playing around with very much.

Sadly, I don’t have enough land available to me to do this structure the pictorial  it deserves, so you’ll have to forgive me for that.  I headed over to a sandbox though and tried my best because I really wanted to demonstrate to you a few of the poses and how good they look.  You will capture some wonderfully romantic moments using this bridge as your backdrop, as I hope the shot below demonstrates.  (Jez did throw me in a few minutes after this shot was taken mind. but he is a git like that!) It strikes me that this would be a wonderful Wedding backdrop and would capture some very precious memories for your album..

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What else can I share about this beautiful bridge? Well it’s MOD/COPY/NO TRANS for a start, meaning that you can resize and make whatever changes you require. However, there is a catch..

There will be just 100 Fountain Bridges available as part of ‘The 24’ event which begins on  Friday 23rd August, so you will have to be quick to get yourself one of these limited edition items before they sell out, and they will, fast!

If you want to find out more about the event then CLICK HERE to read all the details on the official blog. I really cannot compliment this build enough and genuinely think that if you have a build that needs a finishing touch to make it extra special then you’d be wise to purchase one of these beautiful bridges.

I’ll be featuring some more content from this exclusive event tomorrow…don’t miss it!