What's in My Bag?? This challenge started at Shopping Cart Disco and has been picked up by some of the bloggers.
I carry three different sized purses/totes depending on what I'm working on. I usually spend my lunch hour sitting in the employee break room doing hand work - embroidery or beading, sometimes hand sewing re-enactment garments. If it's a little project, it will fit in this black leather Nine West bag I was given. If I have nothing going on, I read and carry either this bag for a hardback or a really little suede bag that must be 20-30 years old and still had tags on it when mom gave it to me last year! If I am working on a bulky project, I carry one of three larger totes made by Timeless Treasures and given to me by a fabric rep.
The contents are pretty consistent:
- mirror
- comb (use a brush at home)
- sunglasses case
- travel sized rolaids (don't use much)
- travel sized excedrin
- keys
- two house keys for friend's homes (I cat sit when they are away)
- four dimes
- pen, permanent marker
- lipstick (I prefer gloss, but it was a good color)
- wallet (2 gas cards, ID, 2 check cards, New York & Co card, sometimes a couple of general credit cards, list of fav authors for when when the library doesn't have the book I went for)
- 2 deposit slips for household and personal accounts
- candy sleeve? that brown accordion folded paper that holds a piece of boxed candy (shouldn't eat it...)
The lip balm (Neutrogena <--- good) and cell phone are missing.
Oh, and that's Eclipse, the third book in the Twilight series. First vampire books I've read. I've seen the classic movies and saw Bram Stoker's Dracula performed.
Ana Lutetia suggested the Dress Me Up challenge from Achariya Rezak of a long skirt from MG Fashion with a cute jacket from Dutch Touch. First I took a look at what I already have from MG Fashion - pants, a swimsuit, even a beret, but no skirts! My shopping trip reminded me of a jacket and at least one cute top I had intended to purchase.
The burnt orange shade lent itself well to the leaf motif and with my embroidery background, I'm drawn to applique. Dutch Touch has scads of tops to chose from. The belt has green in it, making me think even my mother, who is very matchy, matchy, would condone my choices. Yes, choices! A jacket ............
and then a cute top with a shrug. I don't have the tiniest waist; it's very slimming. The gap between the top and the skirt is too narrow to look like it is on purpose, so it is filled in with matching underpants.
Okay, time to start accessorizing. And here kudos to the Peace on Earth hunt, not because anything came from there (I've done a small fraction of it) but because hitting some of the shops caused me to notice that Eolande designed jewelry specifically for three of the hairstyles I wear. Yay! To wit - the hair pins have color change options and persimmon matches the skirt beautifully.
The back view of the top gives a tantalizing glimpse of the spine for a gentleman who might like to run his finger down it.
I switched hairstyles to show off the Dragonfly earrings. All accessories are seen more easily by clicking on the pictures.
Location for the shoot was the Avenues at Sunset Park. The colors make a lovely backdrop for the autumnal tones of my clothing choices.
The skirt even dances well! I went to Blue Fusion to sit on the pier and finish this post. I was surprised to run into Hevy and Dawni doing synched couples dances. Hevy invited me to join them and since he was the only male friend on just then, he even recruited a partner for me! My thanks to Restless for being so agreeable.
I'm quite happy with the results and have a new outfit to show for it. Thanks Ana!
Credits:
Skirt - MG Fashion - Winter Flower Skirt, Orange
Jacket - Dutch Touch - Leather Jacket Short, Green
Top - LaLa T-shirt Tank, Buff
Top - Dutch Touch - London Green top w shrug
Bracelet - A la Folie - Quincaille Fine (gauche)
Earrings - Earthtones - Dragonfly Earrings, Fire
Eolande - Hair Pins for Marisela
Hair - ETD - Marisela II - Caramel *tinted*
Hair - Calla - Ash - Golden Red
Boots - Insolence - Natasha Boots, Charcoal
RL Story Time Boys and Girls ---
I think my mother is unusual. An example: When my friends got bicycles, mom tried to talk me into a scooter - like the 13 year old neighbor boy had! I wanted to fit in and insisted on the bicycle. My brother and I rode our bikes together growing up.
Although dad wasn't a farmer, I grew up on a farm. Transportation was paramount. A family of four = four vehicles. The Christmas I was seventeen, car keys with my name were hanging on the tree. I started Drivers Ed a week later.
The first vehicle I bought for myself was a Firebird; the second was a small Honda motorcycle. I applied for a job. The application for the national chain had a silly question "How will you get to work?" Answer? motorcycle. As soon as the manager read that far, he pointed it out to the assistant manager and said they'd have to hire me - they both had cycles! I am a wimp, and would never touch a larger bike; I was convinced I wouldn't be able to stand it up again if it overbalanced.
I was working there when I met my husband. He came equipped with a cycle; but could never understand why I wouldn't ride on the back. Okay, I tried it once or twice. BOOORRRING
I could never be considered a Biker Chick though. Very atypical. My sister-in-law (husband's side of the family) was a biker chick. The night he met her, her future husband kidnapped her from a bar, put her onto the back of his Harley and rode off with her into the sunset for the weekend! She thought it was romantic!
I no longer own one, but I still have the permit. :D
When Cen suggested "Dress Me Up" as a Biker Chick, I never even thought about a personal connection! I thought about how to interpret the theme and came up with three scenarios!
1) Clubbing - Out for the night - leather pants, satin top, solid gold earrings, snazzy shoes and freshly colored hair.
2) Lookin' Good - jeans w studs, white lacy top, leather jacket, jewelry & boots with buckled straps and heels you can't ride in.
3) Hanging out at the shop - every biker I've met wears logo t-shirts, so....here's the king of all bikes. Typical for me, if I don't have something to do, I'll find something to sit on even if it's the floor or the ground.
With a pack rat mentality that half way prepares me for themed events and an inventory of 19,000, I was able to play dress up with my only purchase being the tattoo! This is one I would chose in RL if I had a tat!
Thanks Cen, this was a bit of a challenge, but loads of fun!
Credits:
1) Aitui Tattoo, invasion pants-Panache, dream girl bodice of dress-Alchemy(Christmas 07);konase shoes- R2;City Gurl Strawberry-GuRL 6
2) Ambrosia in Blood - House of Heart, Bubble Earrings - Miriel, "Silver Rockstar Jeans" - G.L.A.M., Empire Open Jacket, suede boots - SF Design, caraco - Attitudes
3) Signature jeans - Callie Cline, Bubble earrings - Miriel, Nadia in carmel - ETD,sorry no info on the t-shirt
Santa was in a really, really good mood when he stopped here last night! The cranberry oatmeal cookies, plain sugar cookies (probably already sick to his tummy with all of the frosting other houses foisted off on him) and milk must have hit the spot.
I am truly amazed. I received everything on my wish list, including a couple of things no one knew I wanted!! And I'm not the only one! Santa's little helpers were spot on for everyone!
Have fun this holiday season and have a truly wonderful 2009.
Thank you for reading about my adventures in Second Life (with a little First Life tossed in).
Hugs and Kisses - Love,
Cas
Cen suggested that we share favorite recipes for the holidays. Here is one with a good memory. I was little the first time I saw my grandmother make these cookies and I was fascinated that she made a sandwich cookie!!
Many people make a large assortment of favorite cookies for holiday parties and giving to friends. This is a Cherry Sandwich.
Cookie Dough -----
1/2 C Crisco
1 C sugar
2 eggs
1 lemon (grate rind)
3 C flour
2-1/2 t baking powder
1 t salt
1/4 C milk
Cream Crisco and sugar. Beat in 1 egg and lemon rind.
In separate bowl shift together dry ingredients. Alternate adding dry ingredients and milk to the Crisco/sugar mixture. Chill several hours.
Filling ------
1 can red cherries
1 C sugar
Stirring continuously, boil until very thick. Let cool.
Assembly -------
Roll chilled dough on floured board until thick. Cut into rounds. Put 1 t filling on round and cover with another round. Brush with egg white. Sprinkle with additional sugar. Bake 12 min at 375 degrees.
I'm going to offer to let you dress me up. Yes, I'm late. Especially at this busy, busy holiday time, I'm not the least bit sure I'll have any takers, but it looks like fun. Here is the link to Achariya's blog with the challenge guidelines. The potential damage to my budget kept me from volunteering earlier, so please hold potential purchases to no more than 250 lindens.
I play both as a human and a fae, so if you would like wings included, please say so.
This stunning lingerie set with the wonderful satin texture is from Chic boutique. Sadly it is no longer available. However, there are other offerings to tempt you. The pose is from Imperial Elegance
I regret disappointing anyone who looks to my blog for pictures of the Hump Day parties - I only have one!!!! I snapped pics, but only the first one is in the folder I set up! I did a search with the name and nothing else from the party was found! So I don't know what happened?? They aren't in the generic pictures folder with or without the right name either. Very Weird
Quaintly hosted the party and decorated for a Winter Wonderland theme complete with candy canes and snowmen. Some of us were bundled up for the weather, and some must have frozen. There was of course, lively chat with lots of bantering among friends.
An unusual sight at ETD!!
This AV took several pictures while I was watching!! of reactions maybe?
Laleeta started a meme "Things I Do When I Log On". She thinks the bloggers have been too quiet lately, so to comply with her request - but probably not of interest to anyone - here is my start up routine :D
1. Online I read the news headlines and click on stories of interest
2. Check my AV's email. I usually check my personal email later, after my first cup of coffee.
3. Read new posts on the blogs I follow.
4. Look at sidebars on a couple of blogs to see if any post titles catch my eye and follow those links.
5. Log into SL
6. Deal with notices, inventory offers etc to clear the upper right-hand corner of the monitor
7. Look at, and respond to, IMs
8. Check to see who's online. I know what state a few friends live in, so sometimes I'm surprised to see ____ on so early! There are some people who are usually on when I log on and even if we don't usually speak, it feels friendly because they are available if we want to. silly isn't it?
9. What I want to do determines what I wear, so .....
10. Follow up on anything that caught my fashion eye from the posts I read
11. Start working on what I planned to do that day. For someone that is not involved in anything major (not a designer, only assists in a occasional role play, not a fashionista, etc) I'm still fairly busy.
My goal today is to fix a door on the house that swings too far open - half of it disappears into the wall!
During my evening in SL, I often change again - either for choreographed dancing with my friend Emy or with the Funky Feats. Or I'll become a fae for role play, although frequently very few people are around when I finally get to Aglarond. So I usually explore a bit or relax at the huge tree near the village or at Balsidhe na Uiamh, the household holdings of the fae King, Creag.
Merrick handed out his Big Christmas Antlers to the Ch'Know group yesterday. I just had to try them on right away. I thought the way I looked was amusing enough to share! :D
For Thanksgiving I "searched" for decorations so that I could discover new-to-me designers and not just fall back on my favorite shop for Christmas goodies.
I knew I wanted a garland for the porch and deck railings. These colorful maple leaves are from "The Little Thanksgiving Shop". They're set up for Christmas too.
After looking through six or seven shops, I headed for PondLife. I picked up cute sculptie pumpkin candles, a centerpiece and a cornucopia.
Back at the house, the centerpiece and candles went out nicely. I hit a snag with the cornucopia - it left my inventory, but didn't rez! I really hate it when things disappear into cyberspace. LL was not reporting difficulties, it wasn't laggy, it just poofed. It's not under the table, I can't locate it under the foundation, or at the edge of the sim boundary. And no, it's still not in my lost and found hours later.
I will IM/notecard designers with questions, problems, desires. And I've spoken with Eladon a few times, but I'm not going to ask him to replace something minor. So back I went to pick up another.
Here I am lamenting the disappearance! What I'm really hoping is that those prims aren't floating around somewhere; I want every prim in use for maximum effect!
My I'm Grateful List -
1. I am thankful for the good health my family and I enjoy. In RL & SL I know quite a few people who either don't now, or haven't had, good health.
2. My husband and I are both overworked - he much more so than I - however we have good jobs in RL. We are both are appreciated by our employers and the people that we help every day and that means a great deal to me.
3. I am grateful for my extra good friends in SL, for the ones that I am always, always thrilled to hear from.
4. My friends in both worlds - there are so many wonderful people that have enriched my life, that I would have missed knowing if we hadn't moved to this area and if I wasn't in SL.
5. I delight in the change of seasons. I wish this area had a bit more snow though. The colors of autumn makes it my favorite.
6. I am continually amazed at how creative the content artists of SL are! What fertile imaginations create the wondrous world of SL!
7 & 8. When I was introduced to SL, the first man I met said the thing he liked the best was being able to fly! Strange..!? He said the world was so big you had to fly and teleport to get around!!! Wow! I always wanted to be Peter Pan. Part of my time in SL is spent as a fae - pretty wings and all! As a sci fi/fantasy fan the only bad part about TP'ing is not getting to see special effects for it. I know they are available, but I'm not going to lag everyone to do it.
9. The Ch'Know group. I was quite surprised when Cen invited me, and still don't really feel like I should be in it. But I love how the group are friends that just talk. Talk about anything and everything at anytime someone feels like saying hi, how they share their happy times and their sadness and just stuff and junk. It is so refreshing to be in a group where talk is welcome, where as soon as someone asks a question, they aren't jumped for spamming.
10. And of course, my blog readers. Thank you for taking your time to read of my life and adventures in SL. I know I have readers outside of America, I hope you have a really good day. To my fellow Americans, I hope you have a very enjoyable Turkey Day. Don't eat yourself sick, ok?
*group hug*
