Month: August 2021

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And as August draws to a close, I find myself somewhat shocked that it’s already September.  And even though I now live in the Sunshine State IRL, September means just one thing in SL… fall blogging is on its way! I’m already seeing so many fall items at events and in the sales.  Usually I can’t wait to jump into fall (it was always my favorite season!), but maybe because I’ve been so out of it the last few months, I’m just not ready to let summer go!  I’ve therefore struck what I consider the perfect compromise for this shot… lightweight summer clothing but where there’s a breeze and no brutal heat… just the warm winds at end-of-summer!

• Outfit:  Allure Couture – Gina Linen Pant Outfit.   Like a fresh breath of summer heat, Gina includes a cropped one-shouldered top with long hanging ties at the side, matching loose palazzo style pants laced up with a waistband, & high-wedged sandals, all with a very subtle pattern on the linen texture.  The whole effect is airy & light, exuding ease & confident sexuality. Sized for Hourglass,  Belleza F/I, Legacy, & Maitreya.  This is one outfit I wish came in my size IRL!!!  She’s available in 5 individual colors, in a 5-texture Slimpack, or a Fatback of 10, all with 100% Original Textures where you can choose the top, pants, & sandals separately. EXCLUSIVELY at the Eclectic Event, August 24th – Sept 18th.  Demo Available.
• Jewelry:  IT! (Indulge Temptation) – Pinwheel Earrings.  Hanging delicately on long stems, I almost expected these to start spinning in the breeze!  HUD driven with 10 metal versions & 2×8 gem options (choose separate textures for the center gem & for those on the wheels!), 100% resizable mesh.  Available in 6 different color sets (see one example below). EXCLUSIVELY available at the August round of Swank Event, August 7th – 31st, ending TODAY!!! Matching necklace also available. Also worn: Chop Zuey – Bel Aire Gold Women’s Wedding Band
• Head, Hairbase & Eye Makeup:  LeLUTKA – Nova Head (new 3.1 update with EvoX)
• Body:  Slink – Hourglass
• Skin:  Nuve – Hope in EvoX
• Freckles:  Magnetic – Beauty Moles EvoX
• Eyes:  ARTE – Green Eyes
• Hair:  Argrace – Haruka
• Makeup:  Beaumore – Sparks Lipstick
• Pose/Prop:  Merak – Summer bicycle

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I’ve always found that August is a challenging month in which to blog.  The traditional end of summer just naturally brings a level of ennui , and with views (and therefore faves) way down on Flickr I find that I suffer from a bit of a “why bother” attitude.  This year is way way WAY worse.  I’m still highly affected by the circumstances of my mother’s death on the 14th, and that I was unable to see her for more than a week prior due to COVID lockdown.  Although I know that I couldn’t do anything about it, I still feel guilty.  And that’s compounded by the fact that due to administrative incompetence (don’t get me started on the rolling ball of incompetence that has surrounded everything with my mom for MONTHS), the death certificate is STILL not signed, so we are left dangling in limbo, unable to make any final plans and put her to rest. It’s wrong, it’s infuriating, and I am left feeling helpless, hopeless, depressed, and very very angry.  We’re thinking it’s time to get both a lawyer and the state involved, because we are at our wits’ end.  Blogging is just not a sufficient escape for all this… I’ve been working at it in little dribs and drabs, but the resulting creative efforts have rarely reached the levels of acceptability, and instead end up in the trash bin.   Every post is therefore taking way more time and effort than usual.  My first priority is to get out pix that I took weeks ago (this is the last one). That said, I’m still working at new shots (albeit at a snail’s pace), because I’ve made commitments and even 15 minutes of quality escape time is better than none.  I do find that the time spent putting together a look totally absorbs my brain, especially if it involves doing some shopping for the finishing touches.  Shopping therapy at its best!!!!  Sighs, I do love those moments of discovering fantastic finds!  Happy shopping!

• Outfit:  LUXE Paris Fashion House – African Top, Shorts, Heels.  The texture, the styling, the fit, the shoes!… I can’t say enough about this outfit.  So different, such a fabulous addition to any closet! Sized for Slink HG/P, Belleza F/I/V, Legacy, & Maitreya, EXCLUSIVELY available at the August round of the Swank Event, open Aug 7th – 31st.  Demo available.
• Jewelry:  Heartsdale Jewelry – Dhoom Mila Earrings.  Big, chunky bohemian-style earrings, that are also available with pale beads. EXCLUSIVELY available at the August round of Swank Event, August 7th – 31st.  See the closeup below for greater detail.   Also worn: Chop Zuey – Bel Aire Gold Women’s Wedding Band
• Head, Hairbase & Eye Makeup:  LeLUTKA – Nova Head (new 3.1 update with EvoX)
• Body:  Slink – Hourglass
• Skin:  Nuve – Hope in EvoX
• Freckles:  Magnetic – Beauty Moles EvoX
• Eyes:  ARTE – Green Eyes
• Hair:  EMO-tions – Keisha
• Pose:  Fashiowl – Kira
• Tiger:  AnaSTyle – Sheena GACHA, Tiger
• Backdrop:  PALETO – Sarai Bawari

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Since my mom passed over the weekend, I find I’m spending quite a bit of a time remembering things that claim a hold in my memory.  It’s not quite reminiscing… more like reviewing all the little things that made her who she was.  For example, I’ll never forget her support the first time I lost a job. I had resigned a safe but boring job to try my hand at advertising.  It was a great position working for a fabulous boss in a brand new department… all was well until a few months in when the powers that be decided that they really didn’t want this new internal advertising department after all and we were both out on our tails.  I was in my early 20s, and I was devastated, wondering how I was going to make the rent on my little NYC apartment and starting to panic. My mother’s advice was to go shopping and buy myself something special, something that would make me feel better and more confident.  I thought she was crazy, that I needed to save every penny until I had a new job.  She didn’t relent, saying her favorite phrases — “Life goes on” and “This too shall pass”.  I listened and took myself shopping, buying the most fabulous pair of black boots… boots that indeed boosted my confidence and feelings of self-worth, so that when I wore them on my job interviews I was coming from a calm center of strength rather than one of desperation.  To this day, I believe that it made all the difference and made me a strong believer in shopping therapy (read “therapy” not “spree”).  Maybe that’s why I’m a fashion blogger??? Who knows, but the fact is that I love to shop, and shopping therapy works! Happy shopping!

• Dress:  anny’s Fashion – LeeH Sexy Cotton Dress.  Definitely sexy, high-style, sleeveless  cotton dress with an infinity scarf (looks like a cowl neck!), hip-hugging belt & an asymmetric hem.  Sized for Slink HG/P, Tonic, Belleza F/I/V, Ocacin, Voluptuous, & Maitreya, LeeH includes a HUD with 12 colors for the dress in a fabulously realistic texture, plus 8 for the belt & 5 for the buckle.  EXCLUSIVELY available at the August round of Swank Event, August 7th – 31st.  This round’s theme is Around the World, & all I can say is that putting on this dress made me feel like I’d transported to Paris!  Demo available.
• Jewelry:  WILD Fashion – Maya Jewelry Set.  Big, chunky necklace & earrings, the perfect accent for a dress like LeeH.  Includes two separate HUDs, one for the necklace & one for the earrings, each with 15 fabulous colors. EXCLUSIVELY available at the August round of Swank Event, August 7th – 31st. Demo available.   Also worn: Chop Zuey – Bel Aire Gold Women’s Wedding Band
• Head & Eye Makeup:  LeLUTKA – Nova Head (new 3.1 update with EvoX)
• Body:  Slink – Hourglass
• Skin:  Nuve – Hope in EvoX
• Freckles:  Finer Threads – Sasha Beauty Marks EvoX
• Eyes:  ARTE – Green Eyes
• Hair:  Shi Flagship – Medusozoa
• Pose:  Image Essentials – Holiday Shopping
• Location:  Backdrop City

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Well, those of you who follow my blog may have noticed that I haven’t posted in almost 2 weeks.  I haven’t even been inworld much in all that time either.  The break wasn’t a voluntary one… real life just got real difficult for a while there, which didn’t just eat up my time but put me in a frame of mind that just wasn’t suitable for doing much of anything, let alone being creative.  It’s hard to watch your parents fail and turn into helpless children where you’re their parent.  And when the system fails them — which is what’s been happening repeatedly to my mom — you are their only advocate.  It’s draining, it’s depressing, it’s confusing, and it’s exhausting.  And although I have emotional support from family, the actual handling of everything (and there’s been a lot of handling!!!) has fallen squarely on my shoulders and on my shoulders alone.  The bottom line is this, and it’s a frightening one… our healthcare system is NOT set up to help seniors with severe Alzheimer’s behavior problems… every facility seems to think the solution is to provide 1-on-1 care 24 hours a day.  Since where I live that costs $24/hour, that’s $576 a day or $4,000 a week it’s completely out of the question… and mind you, that’s on top of the already insanely high monthly costs for memory care!  Thankfully, I have a good friend in the healthcare system who urged me to check into hospice.  I always thought that was only for terminally ill patients, but I’ve happily learned their services go well beyond that.  Although my mom was originally rejected for hospice care, somehow the fact that she’s now falling several times a week (even daily) got her accepted, and it’s made all the difference.  She no longer is sent to the ER every time she falls (where they do nothing, I have to then go and drive her, and she’s so fragile that she often ends up an additional skin tear from the transport) and nurses go to see her almost every single day.  For the first time in years I feel like someone is actively trying to help her as opposed to just managing her.  And now that the healthcare system down here is in active lockdown, that makes a HUGE difference since I can’t even get into the building to see my mom and reassure both her and myself that things are ok.  Needless to say, it’s been a tough go.  It felt amazing to work on a blog post (for an outfit I put on weeks ago lol), to play with lighting, to feel some creativity emerging from the dark, heavy cloud that’s been weighing me down.  I’m sure I’ve lost some sponsors… most blogger-managers will understand, but some only see their own needs and are blind and uncaring to the real life struggles that we all must deal with from time to time.  And you know what? That’s ok, because I couldn’t have lived with myself if I let anything be a bigger priority than taking care of my mom.

Going back into SL with fresh eyes I was struck by how amazing some of today’s fashion finds are…  the little details, all the options, and so much more.  Here are just a few… happy shopping!

• Outfit:  Allure Couture – Ember.  Casually sexy & just oh so cute, Ember includes a cropped corset top with contrast stitching along the top edge & on the lacing, denim booty shorts (& they are SHORT!!), & the cutest high-heeled wedge sneakers.  Sized for Hourglass,  Belleza F/I, Legacy, & Maitreya.  She’s available in 5 separate colors, in a 5-texture Slimpack, or a Fatback of 10, all with 100% Original Textures where you can choose the top, shorts, sneakers & laces separately. EXCLUSIVELY at the 2Much Event, July 29th – August 16th.  Demo available.
• Head & Eye Makeup:  LeLUTKA – Nova Head (new 3.1 update with EvoX)
• Body:  Slink – Hourglass
• Skin:  Nuve – Hope in EvoX
• Freckles:  SAP Beauty – Beauty Marks/Moles
• Eyes:  ARTE – Green Eyes
• Hair:  Doux – Peach
• Jewelry:  Glint – Gemmed icicle drop earrings & necklace; Chop Zuey – Bel Aire Gold Women’s Wedding Band
• Location:  Elvion