Kitty In The Kitchy!

April 25, 2015July 13, 2015 by Lisa Millar ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I wanted to take a step away from blogging about skins (I’ve written so much about skins recently that I have developed a twitch), but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to tell you about. As I mooched around my skybox thinking of a blog post to write, it suddenly struck me; let me share some details about my virtual home. I love reading LOVE TO DECORATE so why not share my Kitty-space with my readers?

I’m going to share posts with you about my Skybox over the forthcoming few days. I’ll tell you how it’s decorated and hopefully show you why I love it so. I’ve lived many different places, but I always keep this skybox as my super-secret ‘Kitty Lair’. I’ve owned it for a number of years now and the place where it’s ‘moored’ is cheap for rent and out of the way up high in the clouds so that I am nice and secluded and never bothered by neighbours. I’ve lived on the ground until recently too, but I always come back to my skybox because it feels like home. The way this space is decorated and displayed is probably the most authentic representation of my real-life self within the virtual world that is my second home. I absolutely adore it.

The build itself is a BARNESWORTH ANUBIS creation, called ‘NYC Apartment Skybox’. It costs a cheap-as-chips L$400 ion the marketplace, and has a lovely low land-impact of just 30. It’s incredibly roomy and open-plan which makes for lots of fun when decorating. I have loads of skyboxes in my inventory but this one suits me perfectly, and I always come back to it. My only wish would be for perhaps an extra couple of rooms (or even a second level) but that’s not something that I am in desperate need of, just a dream that I file under ‘Nice-to-have’. Like all Barnesworth’s builds, it’s beautifully textured and the details are absolutely perfect. Oh, and because it’s a New York City apartment the view out of the windows is of the great city itself a place I will visit one day, but for now my skybox will have to suffice.

As you walk in the first thing you see is a large space with a kitchen clearly visible. Which is funny because the big tiled space is actually designated as a bathroom BUT for me it screamed out for a glorious kitchen and some suitably fancy decoration, which is just what I added. I have TWO favourite kitchens in Second Life. They are the BAZAR ‘Toronto Kitchen’ because of the modular options and ability to adapt it to many different designs, and this TROMPE LOEIL ‘Retro’ number. I’ve never had any issues fitting and adapting this to suit my needs. It’s absolutely perfect with a 1950’s feel and the animations that are incorporated make for some great photo opportunities.

Obviously, my thing is cats both in RL and SL. That’s no different in my skybox either, and as soon as you enter you’re surrounded by cats of every shape and size; some decorative, others who live with me. The kitchen space is no different, in fact, I used the TROMPE LOEIL kitchen cabinets to house my precious SCHADENFREUDE Chibi Cats collection. There are also four FASHIONABLY DEAD cats mooching around in the space, but that’s because I keep my HALF DEER litter tray and food bowls here too.
The window above my kitchen cabinets lets in much-needed light to illuminate the area but is also the ideal spot to grow a few culinary herbs too! This is where my ORGANICA’Hanging Bamboo Herb Planter’ really comes into its own. At night, the kitchen is illuminated by my ‘Addison’ chandeliers in Red by MUDHONEY. I love the shape and simplicity of these, and rather than just having one I decided to be super decadent and have four in my kitchen. Their colour brings the fiery red elements of the kitchen together perfectly and blends beautifully with my ‘Gerzzo’ chairs and table from THE LOFT which extend the retro vibe.

I decorate my kitchen according to the season; sometimes I have pots of warming soup boiling on the stove, or enormous pizzas bursting out of the box ready to be devoured. I use gacha prizes to decorate and bring the kitchen to life, and I’m rocking a pile of dirty dishes from HODGEPODGE next to my sink. My favourite Vice Jars from COMMONER have pride of place next to a brilliant animated BITTER VANILLA cutting board, which has a number of fruits, vegetables and breads available for selection. You’ll also spy a few items from NYLON PINKNEY (‘Sleepy Cat Pot’ in Red and CopyCat Art ‘Feed Me’ poster) along with a fabulous Industrial Baker’s Rack from SECOND SPACES that I’ve added a few pieces to. I have a great ‘Kitchen Element Sign’ in Red from CASITA opposite the most important part of the kitchen; the place where I make my frequent cups of tea and indulge in my favourite snack of hot, buttered toast. I love my ‘Gerzzo’ kettle (another THE LOFT creation) and my TARTESSOS ARTS animated toaster which pops the toast out in a violent manner similar to the till in ‘Open All Hours’ (British comedy, utterly brilliant). My favourite thing in this corner has to be my LARK ‘Teafor2’ embroidery though; it’s just so perfectly done and looks so sweet in the corner.

I serve my tea from a BEACH STREET Tardis tea-pot into NOODLES Doctor Who style mugs, gazing over at my wall art. It’s ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ from IONIC, a very old acquisition which I retextured to fit in with the theme of my kitchen, and it just works perfectly.

Last but not least my virtual day is accompanied by a soundtrack of tunes belting out from my SOY Vintage Boom Box, stowed away in the corner out of harm’s way ( I got fed up of the cats jumping up and knocking it flying!) So there you have it, my virtual kitchen. It’s the centre of my home and I absolutely love it, so if you’ll excuse me I have a pile of dirty dishes to wash, kitties to feed and brews to be made. Fancy a cuppa?

Why not share the details of your Second Life home or specific rooms that you love? I’ll feature the rest of my home over the forthcoming days..stay tuned!

So Much GEEK!!!!

November 29, 2013December 3, 2013 by Lisa Millar ♥ 1 Comment

So the Geeks And Nerds Fair, a hugely anticipated event, has finally hit the grid, and it is rather good indeed. If you’re a proud Geek or Nerd in real life then you will really appreciate the time and effort that has gone into producing this event, and the quality products that you’ll find on sale. There’s a predominately Sci-Fi vibe to the event, with nods to Star Wars and Doctor Who, as well as the obligatory Harry Potter inclusions and a few old school references as well.

I’m a total Geek so wasn’t really paying much attention to the Nerdy stuff but I can vouch that Nerds are well accommodated here, although the event seems to be predominately Whovian, which is to be expected because it began during the Doctor Who 50^th weekend. I sure as hell ain’t complaining! You’ll find all sorts of Who-related gubbins, from Tardis teapots, to necklaces as well as the celebrated range of Whovian inspired outfits from Damien Fate. If you want to be Doctors 11 and 12, or the companions Rose Tyler and Amy Pond, then at last , courtesy of Damien’s mad mesh skills, you can be. Damien’s costumes are fantastic re-imaginings of the clothing worn in the show and the ladies outfits in particular stand up to being worn in their own right. They’re pricey, but if you’re a committed Doctor Who fan these outfits are essential additions to your wardrobe.

This is quite a compact event , ripe for photographs (look out for the Dalek and K9!) and I came home laden with goodies. I particularly loved SECOND SPACES array of power strips and cables, joypads, cartridges and the Tardis pencil-holder. MISH MISH have produced two fantastic collectibles based on famous, nay, iconic Sci-Fi characters for the event, Mr. Spoon (NOT the guy from ‘Button Moon’) and Princess Donut. The best thing about these is they look just as awesome in their packaging as they do out! Something else that I really love is the ‘Bird Nerd’ set from LARK. As usual, Sienia has failed to disappoint with her creations and has used beautiful textures in her work. These have been applied with a delicate touch, which has added to the realism of this set. Everything a bird watcher would have in their fancy is included; Binoculars, field guide, calendar, and other assorted bird-watching finery, including an astonishingly pretty desk.ISON clothing are well represented at the event too. and the Wookie bag. I have raved about ISON before on these pages, and guess what, I’m doing so again. They’re selling a sweater/shirt combo at the event that you can manage via a hud. This means that you can change the shirt textures, and also choose to display an embossed logo on the chest area of your sweater. It’s fantastic; no issues when worn and fits straight out of the box, which is exactly what you need! I’ve never had any issues with ISON clothing and I don’t think I ever will, they’re just such a good brand:) Finally you MUST check out Elephante poses at the event. They’re super-creative, enabling you to suggest motion perfectly in your snaps. There are a number of pose-packs from Elephante (and other equally awesome pose-makers) at the event but I must draw your attention to the ‘When We Were Young’ pack which I am using for these images. These are Gacha winnings and evoke whimsy beautifully. You can take a cheeky peak at all of these items and more by checking out the Seraphim coverage of the event.

Finally, while we’re on a Geeks & Nerds trip, Strawberry Singh’s weekly Meme challenge was all about the same subject this week. Here are my answers!

1. What do you consider yourself to be? Geek? Nerd? Dork? None of the above? All of the above? I’m a Geek for sure; but there is also a nerdy side to me too. I adore History, and Archaeology, especially Ancient History. Egyptology is probable my favourite topic, and I pay an annual pilgrimage to the British Museum to get my history fix. (This year we saw an exhibition there about Herculaneum and Pompei which was pretty spectacular.)

2. What was the first computer you ever owned? The first computer I ever owned was a Toshiba MSX! It was BRILLIANT, but was a bit of a niche item in the UK. MSX never really caught on like Spectrum and Commodore, which was a shame because it was pretty superb for the time graphically if I recall correctly!) I used to buy MSX magazines and my Father and I would code in the games . It would take an afternoon to type in all the code and by the end all we would have achieved would be a crappy tank rolling across the screen, but it was a huge bonding experience. I used to buy my games on tape from a market stall on Chesterfield market. They were Mastertronic games, and I’d zoom home happily to insert them into my tape recorder and play them. To think, these days kids won’t experience the joy of loading a game from tape. Remember the sound it made? “Deeee-doop. Deeee-dodopdkddopdkdpskspsss….” There was nothing worse than waiting ten minutes for a game to load only for it to crash as well…

3.When and how did you first get on the internet? I think I first got onto the internet in 1996. I had a website and my own domain at one point that I just used to stick crappy photos and shitty gifs on! I used to use a program called ‘Pirch’ for IRC chat, and would spend my evenings chatting to people all over the world on that.

4. Which Geek fandom do you subscribe to? LOTS of them! I love Sci-Fi, and am a huge fan of Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who, Battlestar Galactica and Fringe. I also adore The Walking Dead, and Breaking Bad. I collect comics and Catwoman figurines, as well as erm…My Little Pony plushies! In fact I love so many things it’s scary! I wear tees and hoodies that declare my love to all around me and I am a very proud 40 year-old geek indeed.

5.Star Wars or Star Trek?

Are you kidding me?! BOTH!!!!!

6. How Geeky are you? Apparently I’m 74% Geek, and I’m quite chuffed by that result because it was a tough quiz! I don’t think I’ll ever change, indeed I hope that I don’t. I love being a geek and being passionate about it, even though it really can be very alienating. (never has a phrase been more apt!) Mind you, I live with a Geek. My fella collects Arcade Machines and is a World Champion after all, so I doubt that I’ll ever change!