Category: second life resident blogs

Even More Astonishing Arcade Happy!

Even More Astonishing Arcade Happy!

by Lisa Millar ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

The more photos that are added to The Arcade Flickr Group, the more I realise that the majority of my September will  be spent bouncing off sim walls wearing a low-lag avatar.  Dear me, are we in for an absolute TREAT!

I featured some, but absolutely not all, of the animal-themed items that are going to be available yesterday. Today I’ve spotted a few wearable’s that I want to share.  As I go to press more pictures  are being added to the group, so don’t  be under any impression  that what I’m posting will be the  entire selection because this round of The Arcade is going to be HUGE with even more vendors than usual. You may want to consider selling a kidney.

So, first of all, I want ALL OF THESE:

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Aren’t these simply exquisite? These cuddly Sci-Fi characters from HOPSCOTCH are absolute must-haves for geeks like me and I love every single one of them. I’m of course drawn to the Doctor Who dolls (who would have thought that The Silence could be cute?), but I’m also really taken by the Star Trek dolls too.  I just started watching Star Trek TNG on Blu-ray, and watched a few episodes featuring Q (the wonderful John De Lancie, also featured in My Little Pony as the voice of ….) last week, so it’s cool to see that he’s included.  Of course the Star Wars dolls are pretty astonishing too, as are the Harry Potter characters (especially Dumbledore) so I will be guaranteed many a happy return on my Lindens when I use this machine.  I expect there will be queues and tantrums at this Gachapon!

Up next we have  a collection that is deceptively simple but incredibly well executed: Headbands

My name is Kitty, I love cats, and occasionally I like to wear cat-ears.

Therefore I want ALL OF THESE from AUXILIARY.  Especially the ‘Unicorn’ rare. ‘Nuff said!

In total contrast to the above is my next selection, which is a wearable nightmare!

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These CURIO OBSCURA boots are completely mental and are, quite frankly, the stuff of too much cheese before bedtime.   You’re looking at the Abomination Boots, and never has an item been so aptly titled in-world before! They look astonishing don’t they? Pandora Wrigglesworth has created some very special footwear here, perfect for stomping around the grid.   The five different styles that you see above are available in twenty different colours, just in time for Halloween. What’s your favourite? I really like the teeth and the eyeballs, and I can’t wait to see how people incorporate these boots into their outfits. These ‘abominations’ are definitely  the kind of imaginative awesomeness that Second Life should be applauded for.  Nice one Pandora!

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Last but not least are these amazing items that will be featured in the REMARKABLE OBLIVION Snow Gacha. Ten stupendous snowboards designed for carrying on your shoulder and looking cool can be made even more impressive if you are lucky enough to win the rares, which are goggles and snow boots.  I already know my mate Mands has got her eye on these, let’s hope she gets lucky and wins the entire set!

Have I wet your appetite for The Arcade? I should ruddy well hope so, I’m drooling here! Remember to check out the Flickr group for more hints at the treats yet to come, and come back tomorrow when I will be featuring some of the astounding furniture items that are up for grabs!

 

 

Kitty Loves Warm Animation’s ‘Antique Outdoor Set’

Kitty Loves Warm Animation’s ‘Antique Outdoor Set’

by Lisa Millar ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

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WARM ANIMATIONS are an incredibly well established brand in Second Life.  Having been on the grid since 2009, they’ve grown into a loved and respected company excelling in poses and animated furniture items that help bring Second Life to, well, life! (Click on picture above for larger image, well worth a looksy!)

An item that I really do recommend wholeheartedly is this beautiful table and chairs, the ‘Antique Outdoor Set’.  It’s perfect for outdoor dining and activities, and comes complete with a menu bursting at the seams with Male and Female poses, as well as seated extras like, erm, knitting.

Being lucky enough to have a breathtaking view from the back of my house (not so much the front alas) I played about with my windlight settings and managed to come up with the photograph above. Imagine sitting here with friends and loved ones and enjoying a glass of wine…

Lovely isn’t it? This set is textured and finished extremely well.   The metalwork is a dark grey with minimal shine, and it complements the streaks in the marble tabletop and  the patterned fabric on the chair seat beautifully. In fact it struck me that it was an excellent  complement to the ‘Atelier Visconti Etienne Set’ that I blogged a few weeks ago.   (I have both on display at the rear of my fabulous home, and without sounding like too much of a show-off I must say it looks rather swell!)

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There are rezzable props too.  I rezzed some cutlery and enjoyed eating a fry-up whilst I checked the set out in store. I do like a good, hearty breakfast (hence my being called Kitty Five-Bellies on occasion!) When I returned home later I selected the wine animation from the menu and rezzed a satisfyingly large glass of vino to watch the sun set.  Blissful!

The ‘Antique Outdoor Set’ is available at The Designer Warehouse at The Cookie Jar for a mere L$250. (This is a 50% reduction on the normal price) You’ll need to hurry to get yours though because this is a limited time offer. Don’t miss it!

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!)

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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:

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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!)