De-me-loooooh! ;)

So yesterday was my Rezday. (Four years in SL - W00T! happy dance) I celebrated it by having my RL counterpart go and make me a chocolate Rezday cake, complete with purple frosting of course! Then my RL counterpart took one for the team and ate my slice. ;-) We can't have Viola consuming unnecessary calories, now, can we?

Especially when she wants to look good in her newest acquisition, "Disco", from D-Factor!

(Warning! Display of inferior photography skills below!)





Why D-Factor? Well in addition to making gestures, I decided to try my hand at the affiliate thingie. And D-Factor seemed like a good place to begin.

In short, if you like the above LBD, and want to check it out in other colors, as well as other D-Factor designs, then TP over to Fashion as a Second Language. It is situated inside the beautifully built Midnight Lotus satellite location, located in the Adult (Oh-là-là!) sim of Demelo.

To me, Demelo sounds like the name of a certain cough drop, but what can ya do? I didn't pick the name ;)

Much more to come! Stay tuned! :)

A-hunting We Will Go! \0/

It has begun, kiddies! :) The Gesture Abuse Hunt is finally open! Visit Amaya Ashbourne's blog for all the juicy details!

This is a great opportunity to check out the products of some really talented animation and gesture makerers (Yes, I said "makerers"!) Not to mention score yourself some very cool freebies ;)

Laissez les bon temps roulez! :)

Edited to include vital info: What you're looking for is a PINK Music Note! Duh me! Sometimes I get so excited I forget to mention things like what time the revolution starts and which palace we're storming.

Edited once again to shake her fist at the e-vil interwebs ppl responsible for taking down the cute Elmer Fudd photo. But fear not! Should you wish, you can turn your google homepage into silly Elmer Fudd-ness! So there!

"Here I Am!!" \0/

At least, that's what this new vendor would say, in a Bunny Wigglesworth -like way, if it could talk ;)

And much like a bunny, said new vendor will soon multiply with at least one more brother or sister! :)

What in God's name am I on about?? New content from Gesture Wars of course! I finally got off my lazy arse and made new gestures! (Well, technically, yes, I did sit on my derriere while I worked, but, you get the point =P )

One other thing I want to mention about the new vendor, all the gestures contained within are $L29 each. No more, no less. Why? Two reasons. First, things kinda stink right now financially for a lot of people, quite frankly; no one wants to spend more than they have to. Secondly, remember the above reference to my lazy nature? Yeahhh, that had a lot to do with it, too. *looks sheepish*

However! Before you say, "29 Lindens?? That's a great deal!" ;) I'll do you one better! The very first gesture and animation Hunt is scheduled to kick off the 1st of February and will span the entire month. It's called the "Gesture Abuse Hunt" and it is spearheaded by the amazing Amaya Ashbourne! (Why, yes she is amazing; she had to deal with all my dumb questions lol!)

I have to say, since this is the first Hunt ever that yours truly is participating in as a merchant and not just as a hunter, I'm very excited :)

Speaking of participants, Zak Volare, longtime friend and closet gesture maker, has also entered his store in the Hunt. :)

For more info about the Gesture Abuse Hunt visit Amaya Ashbourne's blog or TP to her store. :)

More to come as well as updates about the Gesture Abuse Hunt. So stay tuned! :)

Look of the Day: "Maneater"

It's January, which, IMO, is the Monday of the year, (ugh!) and I am already sick of winter! So I looked for the hottest outfit I could find in inven, and took pics of myself in what I deemed, albeit virtual, Fairly Warm Environments.



This alluring attire is called "Maneater", which, if you've played SL long enough, you might have recognized from Solange's tongue-in-cheek "Hawt Couture" line.



I absolutely adore this Coco Chanel-esque getup. While it's perfect for the boudoir, I see no reason to not romp 'round the grid in it :)



Unless, of course, you come across a hungry, P.O.'d leopard who assumes your clothing came from a distant cousin of his!

While hiding up in this tree, let me take this opportunity to show you the back of this ensemble. From the feathers, to the jewelry, to the velvet insets, I really do love Solange's attention to detail in her fashions.



Wait, what do you mean, "leopards climb trees"!? O.O

Right!!! Um, while I find a way out of this pickle, which is your fave "Maneater" song: this one or this one? ;)

Until next time! Assuming there is one....eep!

Bai Bai, 2009! :)

(Considering how cold it is here in my corner of the world...26 °F! Eeek! I *wish* I were in Fantasy Island lol)

Wow! It's been quite a 2009, and quite a decade! But, if you are reading this, chances are, somehow you survived it! Yay!

FYI, there is a new, FREE, Happy New Year-themed gesture that can be found at all my locations: in Whiskey, Midnight Lotus, and in Torch.

I purposefully made the gesture a lil louder than usual, so you can be heard while partying in those boisterous clubs on New Year's Eve ;) (I do so hate it when gestures are drowned out by music.) ;)

Now I won't tell you what exactly inspired me to make the gesture, but here's a hint ;)



As always, Gesture Wars! thanks you for your patronage! I will toast to your health come midnight! Here's to a fresh, spankin' new decade! :)

OH! My free Christmas gesture is also still out and can be found at any of my locations ;) I will keep them both on display for a little while longer.

PS:



*Hugs*

Ya Caught The Tater!

"It's a fair cop" ;)

It's amazing how cluttered and confused one's inventory becomes (or at least mine does) after a year passes by, when one stumbles across an item they've forgotten all about.

The above dress, called "Tater-Tot", is from The Dollhouse by LVS & Co., Ravenlynn Templar's "dollies and lollies" line. I found this little confection last Season when it was either a dollarbee or a freebie (to be honest, I forget which). So, into my mess of an inventory it went. When I stumbled on it today, I went to find a good background environment to explore and to photograph (or at least attempt to photograph) it in.



Behold: Winter at Fruit Islands. I found this lovely place under the Showcase tab in Search. With a snow castle, skating poses, crystallized trees, animals, snowmen, and other whimsical wintry elements too numerous to mention here, it's nothing short of delightful.



Even hitched a ride with the Jolly Old Elf himself so I could get a better view of things. (Wouldn't it be nice if Santa was a designated driver?) ;)

I should mention, however, when you and your friends visit Frosty Fruit Islands, keep three things in mind that should optimize your experience there: 1) Set your draw distance to about 200 (more if you have a good computer),

2) Make sure your Environment Settings are set at region default; you will not be disappointed if you do so. (One of my biggest gripes in SL is that it's all very well and good to put down a snow emitter, but then you have snow falling from a blue sky! And that's not how Mother Nature works lol!)

Lastly, 3) make sure your local lighting is turned on. Simply go into Preferences, then choose Graphics on the left menu, check the Custom box, and it should open a dialogue where at the bottom are Lighting Detail options, click the radio button that says 'Nearby local Lights'.

Now that I think about it, were I to return here again garbed up, I believe I'll opt for an ensemble that's more Narnia or Snow Queen-esque, rather than something Toyland-ish. Tried looking thru my inven again to find something that resembled the former, but came up empty. If, dear reader, you know of a good White Witch dress or gown that matches my description, please point me in that outfit's direction :) Cheers!

"Oh Mah Gaahhhh!" or "Let's See How Many Xmas Images I Can Shove Into One Post =P"

Talk about coincidencescesces! Remember this blog entry from yesterday?

Well today I was Google Image searching for a desktop wallpaper, just using the words "Christmas wallpaper", when I landed on this! Squee!

Anyway, so I went over to Balderdash today when I received a notice about the new Christmas trees. And they truly are very lovely. If you haven't seen these yet, here's a shot of them:



Eeenie, meenie, miney, moe...

Sigh...once again, my photo-taking skills (or lack thereof) have failed to capture the beauty of yet another creator's products, which is all the more reason for you to go see the trees for yourself. While you are at it, join Saiyge Lotus' group, if you haven't already! Since it's a convenient S-O-M, I would call this a no-brainer.

I love coming here to shop and explore, and I'm fairly certain that was why all the hard work was put into this sim. ;) If I were to classify Balderdash, and the Oubliette sim itself, under a genre, I think I'd put it under the "high fantasy" category. But I'm afraid that if I do that it would dash my hopes of finding such an enchanting, lovely environment in my too cold, real world.

There are elements to the sim that aren't just imaginary! Here's a pic of the aurora borealis I stumbled on fairly recently! Obviously, that's not imaginary! It's very real indeed! So maybe I can still have that hope.


(Plz see previous comment regarding crap photo skills)

3) Now *this* is what a log cabin should look like!


Actually this is the "Winx Redwood Cottage", which is a very charming house built out of a very large log and is available for purchase, should you decide to take home some of the fantasy found in Oubliette and live in it!

Lastly, since I'm on the subject of "fantasy", here is an image I worked on today that highlights 2 things: Terry Pratchett, and one of my favorite times of the year ;)

Vizon? Narray? Ayivanca? Directive?

I am so, so pleased to have stumbled upon this! :)



Earlier this month, I watched "WALL-E" on DVD for the very first time, and it just charmed the pants off me. :) Since then, I had casually searched the grid for an EVE (Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator) avatar....and I found it! What's funny was, I found it when I wasn't looking for it, which was a bit of a "DUH!" moment for me, considering I located the avatar in the Greenies sim!

I'm not sure what I love most about this product, the fact that it's FREE! (Coadey Concord, creator of the EVE avie, you are an amazing human being. THANK YOU!!!)

Or the fact that it is HUD-based:



and has all these neat buttons you can push, (yes, I like to push buttons =P) which enable you to do all sorts of cool EVE-ish effects and animations, consistent with the movie:



Or the fact that the avie is full-perms!! Which means you could either do simple things with it, like resize and re-color, OR, if you're technically-minded, make "new animations, HUD additions, and attachments" to use with it, as suggested in Concord's included notecard.

If, like me, you live under a rock and don't watch movies all that much, I highly recommend you go buy, download, rent, steal (well, no, don't steal; that would be wrong).....whatever your preferred (legal) method is of obtaining movies, do invest in this Pixar gem :)

Then go onto Xstreet or TP over to the Greenies sim (Personally, any excuse to go to the Greenies sim is a good one) for your free copy of the EVE avatar.

Seriously, dooo eet naougghh!

Attention! Hear Ye, Hear Ye! Oye! Atención! Achtung Baby!

Please read this amazing post (of course it's amazing; I wrote it! =P) regarding important and exciting news about Midnight Lotus and Égoïsme! Yay! \0/

That is all....

"Vay-nee-tay Ahh-Dor-Ayyy-MOOSE!" or "Check Out My Rack" ;)

Perched atop my head are a set of Rudolf Antlers from Rebel Hope. These were a group gift from last Christmas. The antlers came in TWO sizes, along with a pair of matching slippers. Because Heaven knows every sophisticated SL socialite simply *must* have coordinated bedroom slippers to go with her Holiday-themed antlers, right? ;)

I had forgotten all about these when I was rummaging thru my inventory this year, in the hopes of finding something festive to wear.

(Did I mention I've been wearing these since Black Friday? I guess I should look over my shoulder now and again, lest I get attacked by some big rogue stag)

Anyway, I was so inspired by this group gift that I went and made a NEW gesture! It seems like ages since I've worked on new product. (Mea culpa) Anyway, it's not just new, it's FREE! (yay for free lol) And in keeping with Holiday tradition, your gift is under the tree outside my shop in the Whiskey sim.



If you'd like to hear about the latest and greatest to come out of Gesture Wars, slap my S-O-M board while you're getting your free prezzie!

BTW, the first pic was taken at Khargo Furniture, one of the really nice shops that are taking part in the Peace On Earth Hunt.

Speaking of peace on earth, Steve Martin and I would like to wish you and yours the very same this Holiday Season. Cheers! :)

"Lyndzay Meili Is A Frickin Genius!"

*Plays a breaking news teletype sound thingie*

Today I'm reporting LIVE here in the aptly Xmas-themed Thistle sim, from inside Lyndzay Meili's gadget and animation store: Lyndz-Matic. Why? Because, like many of you, I've been on the Peace On Earth Hunt and learned about many of the awesome hunt gifts available to us.

Upon discovering Lyndzay Meili's contribution to the POE hunt, which were her snowball poseballs, and considering she scripted the snowballs to BE the poseballs, I concluded that they were just the cleverest & cutest PB's ever! I then scooted over to Lyndzay Meili's shop to grab them for myself.....



And found her equally clever and cute shop, Lyndz-Matic, "Home of the Lyndz-Matic Flaming Toast Launcher" (Now in version 2.0!). Lyndz-Matic is laid out like a retro Americana diner, the kind of establishment you stop in for a quick bite in between your Holiday shopping trips.



Like most AO shops, you'll find product vendors on the walls, which feature a varied assortment of stand and sit poses, you will also find her products to be priced in a nice and reasonable range. What's different about Lyndz-Matic is that instead of demoing the poses on scripted platforms, you hop up onto these darling napkin dispensers, in keeping with the overall diner theme! I replayed my Grandmother's voice in my head, telling a much younger, RL version of myself to get off the table at the local Horn & Hardart she used to take me to :)



"You can keep your antlers on" ;)

So if you haven't gone to Lyndz-Matic yet, either via the Peace On Earth Hunt or other means, I suggest you do so soon.

"It's A Nice Day For A 'White?' Wedding" or "Better Late Than Never"

I know it's terribly late in the month of June to post a bridal outfit review. Bad me. Bad blogger. I had actually typed this up some months back and I'm just getting 'round to posting it. Hope you enjoy! :)

I rezzed Viola's avie waaaay back in 2006 A.D. ;-) Before the SL fashion industry was inundated, saturated, and impregnated, there were a few--a happy few--designers on the grid that existed for my shopping pleasure. (At least that's how I like to put it =P). Two of those designers were Fallingwater Cellardoor of Shiny Things and Hyasynth Tiramisu of Silent Sparrow. Since then, I've happily shopped in both stores with great frequency.

But what's odd is, for as many times as I've gone into Shiny Things, I was shocked to learn that, *somehow*, this ensemble had always eluded my field of vision:



Then again, I do play Oblivious Wench Extraordinaire a *bit* much and may never have noticed it before. So I guess it's not that big a shock that I noticed Silent Sparrow's "White? Wedding" dress and Shiny Things' TWO "Wilted Wedding Bouquets" for the first time this year!

However, maybe I'm not the only one who missed this cadaverous confection, in which case, I am glad to present these items to you, if for no other purpose than to make you aware of their very existence.

Textured with blood splatterings, old lace & embroidery, the "White? Wedding" is perfect for the goth bride who is uninterested in the typical meringue style on her wedding day. It will also work well if the bride is getting hitched on All Hallow's Eve, or enjoys partaking in Lily Munster, vampyric Lucy Westenra, or Bride Of Frankenstein roleplay. ;)





There is wonderful attention to detail going on here, from the ripped stockings, to the jacket-layered "extra blood", to the crowning glory of the veil, made by Calico Ingmann Creations.



As I said, there are TWO "Wilted Wedding Bouquets":





which match the dress in a beautifully grim fashion, and are available in "dark" and "pale" hues. What Fallingwater Cellardoor did that's Really Cool was add not only a hold script to the Bouquets, but ALSO a walk AO! Brilliant idea! After all, I don't care how non-traditional the bride is, ain't no way she wants to do the duck walk down the aisle!

Speaking of Shiny Things, I am also wearing Fallingwater's "Spring Stilettos" in white in these photos. But that was just my preference. Feel free to get creative! For example, if you wish to be A Very Gritty Bride, go with Fallingwater's "Old Laceup Boots" under "White? Wedding" instead!

Between the Dress and the Bouquets, I am reminded of three bridal archetypes: First is the apparent "undead bride" style. Second is the "heirloom" variety as if the dress was your grandmother's. And the third archetype is the poor jilted Miss Havisham from Dickens' "Great Expectations." Not that I wish that kind of misfortune on ANYONE, mind you. Rather, if you are one of the few, the happy few, who are fortunate enough to get hitched here in SL, I wish you and your betrothed lots and lots of Happily Ever Afterness, no matter how flamboyantly freakish your wedding ceremony! ;)