The Summer Wind

Posted on by cejalaval

http://The Summer Wind

The end of summer is just about here.  Down south where I live the kids are already back at school; soon the snowbirds will begin to return (which means so will the traffic lol and the crowded restaurants).  And here on the grid, it definitely won’t be long before we’re sporting fall styles in the midst of swirling autumn leaves.  Part of me is sad to bid summer goodbye, but part of me can’t wait for all the crispness and colors of fall… of course, living in Florida like I do, the crispness is more in my head than in the actual weather lol, but I have a good memory and can easily recall all those years up in NY…  But for now, the summer wind is still blowing gently, and it’s time to “take a dip”!  Happy shopping!!!!

  • Bathing Suit:  United Colors – Goldy All-in-1 Swimsuit.  Awesome detail, awesome cut, & the fatpack has a totally awesome HUD that lets you choose one of 20 colors/patterns for the right side, one for the left side, & one of 5 metals for the straps, the “connector” between the two halves, & the hip chain/strap for the bottom.  Sized for Legacy, Maitreya, & Reborn.  EXCLUSIVELY available & absolutely perfect for Takin’ A Dip, the current round of The Liaison Collaborative, open Aug 18th through Sept 10th.  Demo available.
  • Pose:  Nantra – Beach Illustrated 2022.  Set of 8 bento poses, with mirrors.  Includes hide/show pose stand.  See below for the ad showing all 8 fabulous beach poses.  EXCLUSIVELY available at the current round of The Liaison Collaborative, themed Takin’ A Dip, open Aug 18th through Sept 10th.   Be sure to try them out!!! Demo available.
  • Cabana:  Dabble Home & Garden (formerly known as Tylar’s Treasures) – SURFRIDER Beach Shack.  Animated with bento animations for male, female, & couples in either PG or Adult versions.  Includes 6 color texture change menu.  Perfect for that special spot on the beach!  See the ad below for more details.
  • Palm Tree:  Dabble Home & Garden (formerly known as Tylar’s Treasures) – Starfish Cove Palm Decor (shown on right).  Includes palm tree with the loveliest lights, ground palm, & starfish.  Available only on Marketplace.
  • Head:  LeLUTKA – Nova Head (EvoX)
  • Body:  LEGACY – Mesh Body Special Edition, Feminine
  • Skin:  DeeTaleZ – Esra in Sunkiss
  • Hair:  Argrace – Tokiwa
  • Freckles/Moles:  DS’ELLES – Charm Moles
  • Tattoo:  Horl – Chest Orn Tattoo; SAXO – Sandy Leg Unisex
  • Sunglasses:  KC Couture – Diva Eyewear

 

Farm living

Posted on by cejalaval

http://Farm Living

I’m a city girl, born and bred.  I’ve had minimal exposure to farm life, but I really wanted to do something a bit different, a bit fun, because it’s been a tough few days.  First I started making some big changes in sponsorships for my blogging.  Then I changed the SL memberships for my three avatars, and in moving land ownership around a lot of things got returned on my fantasy land (and I just finished tweaking things to where I wanted them lol)  Turns out that I had been doing something wrong for years, and it finally caught up to me.  No harm done in the end, but it was frustrating, and looking for a solution (that turned out to be totally unnecessary) was time-consuming and stressful.  I think a large part of why it was such an issue for me is that my emotions were already running quite high. My mom died a year ago, and although I know rationally that I did all that I could, the fact that I was unable to see her the last week of her life due to COVID lockdown at her memory care facility (I had just finally gotten permission for a “last visit”) makes me feel like I failed her.   And this undercurrent has been running through everything all last week, and it wasn’t until I finally recognized it that I was able to let it go.

BUT I was unable to get my act together enough to put together a shoot/blog post.  Now, my land issues are settled, my emotions have settled down, I’ve started building again which I LOVE LOVE LOVE to do (a possible business idea is starting to hatch lol), and I am back in the swing of things… I still wanted to get myself back by doing something FUN, and after driving past a bunch of farms and various grazing farm animals on my way out to dinner the other night I knew exactly that I wanted to feature my newest sponsor’s extremely adorable farmyard (which I of course supplemented lol)…  Though for some reason, I have the theme song from Green Acres running through my brain lol… Enjoy!

CJ Creations – Chicken Coop with Weathervane.   NEW RELEASE!  As I said above, I’m a city girl, so I may not know much about farms but I definitely know a lot about cute!  And this is just soooo cute!!!!  The detail (which is WHAT always gets me!!!) is just so perfect, with both the pecking hen & the little sparrow on the roof animated by touch; sounds touch on/off.  And the dogs!!!  One with a bandana, & one promoting eggs for sale… cute, cute, cute!!! And of course, it’s all copy/mod so you can move things around or add more chickens, etc. if you want.  Just a fun item to add to your backyard (especially if you like those fresh eggs in the morning lol!)… On display at the main store.

Also shown:

Fae at Orb Practice

Posted on by cejalaval

http://Fae at Orb Practice

I’ve been such a busy fae!  For some reason, I got the urge to redo my land, so I’ve been digging through storage, unearthing lost treasures, tossing out other items that no longer capture my imagination, and just taking a fresh look at everything around me.  I’m considering some extensive renovation, lowering a large section of my mountain, but that definitely requires more thought than the quick impulse that had me about to start demolition, because once started, there’s no going back!!!! (Why isn’t there an UNDO button when it comes to editing the land????)  Just as well though… I needed more practice working with my orb so that I know how to harness its power when needed.  And then of course I’m off to all  the new and soon-ending events, because what fae ever has enough???

  • Outfit:  Petrichor – Gaelinne.  Another gorgeous fantasy look by the amazing design team of Petrichor & Ersch!  Gaelinne is the epitome of a flowy elven goddess, with sensational adornments included.  Available in 10 single colors, 5 full color packs (Shine, Floredge, Fades, Fabrics, & Worn), or a megapack of all these fabulous choices.  Each HUD allows you to pick a color for each element (the top & vest, long skirt, waist wrap, ribbon sleeves), & the adornments have their own HUD with a ton of choices for each individual adornment; additionally, all parts are show/hideable.  See below for a closeup of the fabulous detail & textures. Sized for Legacy + Perky, Lara + Petite,  Reborn + Mounds, & Kupra, Gaelinne is part of the 7th Birthday Sale for The Epiphany Event, which runs through August 12th.  Sadly this is the last Epiphany, & with this final round, all items are only at their mainstore locations.  Demo available.
  • Prop:  Petrichor – Castanys Kel Orb.  Originally part of a gacha set, this fun little orb includes a holding animation of tossing/rolling the orb… such fun! And of course it includes a HUD to change the textures…  See the closeup below for better detail!
  • Head & Ears:  LeLUTKA – Gaia Head (EvoX)
  • Body:  LEGACY – Mesh Body Special Edition, Feminine
  • Skin:   Unholy – Poppy Pink Fairy (Velour Ipanema body skin)
  • Hair:  Magika – Monarch (includes crown)
  • Eyes:  Gloom – Tirel
  • Horns:  Eclectica – Crystal Satyr Horns
  • Makeup:  ND/MD – Adinkra Face Tattoo; Zibska – Michi White Overlay
  • Wings:  –FAS– Bento Faery Wings
  • Pose:  Stardust – Magic

Feelin’ Good!

Posted on by cejalaval

http://Feeling good!

So I don’t know about you, but sometimes I’m completely blown away by certain pics  I see on FlickR.  Yes, there are plenty of good and some even really good shots amidst a lot of what I consider mediocre shots at best, but there are also true gems that completely floor me.  Those pics make me totally stop and look and try to figure out exactly what it is that grabs me and makes me say “wow” so that maybe, just maybe, I can learn something new.  Now sometimes it just comes down to the photographer’s eye, and I hate to say it but that’s one of those things you either have or you don’t.  Yes, hard work and practice will improve your eye, but that basic sense of the absolutely most perfect perspective and framing, well IMHO those abilities can be finer tuned but simply can not be taught.  In other pics though, it’s a definite sense of technique, a lot of which is applied in edit.  Now some of that I can figure out WHAT they did if not HOW, but since I use Corel and not Photo Shop, I can only try so far to teach myself.  But there’s always been other things that I just knew were being done inworld and I had absolutely no idea how to even attempt them.  Well I just watched a video on photography through Second Life University of all things, and just in minor playing around I can see that (hopefully anyway) I’ll be able to do a lot with this.  If nothing else, I discovered much simpler ways of doing what I already do in setting up my shots and playing with angles, so it could be a huge time and frustration saver.  I also learned to be very very careful about changing ANY settings, even the most innocuous seeming, without writing down what I had before and exactly what I did because I just spent an inordinate amount of time trying to get out of some weird perspective issue that I somehow locked myself into.  Lesson learned!!!  Now to move on to playing with some of what I’ve seen… I hope to be able to share some improved results in the near future!!! In the meantime, happy shopping!!!!

  • Outfit:  Allure Couture – Akeri Wrap Dress.  Akeri is one of those seemingless effortless looks, with a deceptively simple, ankle length hip-wrapped very low-cut sundress with matching panties & flat sandals, & is available in 7 individual colors, a HUD-driven 7 texture Slimpack, or a Fatback of 14, all with 100% Original Textures.  She’s sized for Legacy, Hourglass, Tonic, Freya & Maitreya, & is EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE at FABLE, an Evil Bunny Production, open August 6th – 31st.  Demo available.
  • Head:  LeLUTKA – Nova Head (EvoX)
  • Body:  LEGACY – Mesh Body Special Edition, Feminine
  • Skin:  DeeTaleZ – Esra in Sunkiss
  • Hair:  Doux – Bellami
  • Freckles/Moles:  DS’ELLES – Charm Moles
  • Tattoo:  Juna – Milly
  • Jewelry:   IT! (Indulge Temptation) – Victorian, Set 2; Chop Zuey – Bel Aire Gold Women’s Wedding Band
  • Pose:  FOXCITY – Bird of Paradise
  • Location:  Dusk Point Beach

Fae, Interrupted

Posted on by cejalaval

http://Fae, Interrupted

A bit deep in thought these days; not sure why, but just not feeling particularly social.  I’m enjoying my time just wandering through somewhat wild places I’ve never seen (this sim is just awesome for that!), tweaking my home to capture more of that wild & colorful essence, and communing with nature and its denizens.  A little private time seems to be just what this fae needs, and she is definitely making the most of it! (Of course, that does NOT impact my shopping… that would be downright sacrilegious lol!!!)…  looks up startled at a sound entering the glade, before settling back to my ruminating on the beauty of the play of light on the water…

  • Outfit:  Poet’s Heart – Solar Panties & Pasties.  Definitely a LOT more revealing than my normal wear, but how could I resist? She is sized only for Maitreya, although an unrigged version of the pasties are also included  (NOTE: she fit my Legacy body with just the lower deformer).  Solar’s HUD offers an incredible range of individual choices in light, mid, & deep tones for fabric 1 (the panties), fabric 2 (the drape), metal 1 (the pasties), metal 2 (the hips), & the pastie gems. Demo available.  There is matching jewelry (necklace & headpiece, not shown) which is sold separately.
  • Skin:  Petrichor – Vareni Muted.  Highly detailed, gorgeous muted tone skins in your choice of 15 colors (see below for these awesome textures; I’m wearing Mylaela).  Both male & female versions feature all new shading & details, in BOM/default layers only plus EvoX.  Includes Vareni ears, & new brows in 10 colors for both classic & EvoX.  Demo available.  
  • Head & Ears:  LeLUTKA – Gaia Head (EvoX)
  • Body:  LEGACY – Mesh Body Special Edition, Feminine
  • Eyes:  Gloom – Ghoul
  • Hair:  Lamb – Heart, with Roses & Crown
  • Horns:  not a peep – Lilian Horns
  • Makeup:  Loa – Ninsar Warpaint  (cheek dots, forehead stripe, lip brush stroke)
  • Wings:  Seven’s Selections (now Vaengi Wings) – Irid Light Wings
  • Pose:  LW Bento Poses – Hopeful
  • Location:  The Wylde

Unicorns Support Inflation

Posted on by cejalaval

http://Unicorns Support Inflation

No, I’m not getting political; I’m introducing the first of a new sales event for Dreamland Designs!!!  Called slept on sales, it will always start Thursdays at midnight and will end Sundays at midnight.  Kicking off with an absolutely adorable item for everyone’s backyard or deck, the cutest inflateable pool with UNICORNS (and of course it’s filled with animations)!  And since this is our debut, there’s also a free gift for you this round from Dreamland Designs (an olive branch basket of original mesh).    Here are the details:

Dreamland Designs:     Inflateable Pool.    Setup includes the pool, the water pipes & hoses, & the unicorn floaties.   The pool comes in Adult & PG; bento animations with speed control.  The floaties are only single anims, are not linked to the rest of the set so can be moved super-easily, & will fit 4 avatars.  Material enabled & copy/mod. On sale for just $L99 during the Slept On Sale, July 28th-31st. 

Also shown:

Late day in late summer

Posted on by cejalaval

http://Late Day in Late Summer

And we’re back to stress IRL! Construction has begun on the lanai renovation, and of course we ran into a problem on the very first day.  It seems that the existing irrigation lines go right where the footers need to be for the concrete, so we had to watch the concrete guys pack up and go while we resourced an irrigation guy to quickly come and cap off the lines (quick, easy, not too expensive) so that the concrete work can resume next week.  Hopefully, all we lost was the one day in our schedule.  Of course now we need to get all new lines put down… an unanticipated expense (not even estimated yet).  But what’s a secondary issue is that it means we have NO irrigation until then… and in Florida, it’s the dry part of the rainy season, so if go without irrigation, our lawn and plantings would suffer and potentially die.  So it’s back to the old-school way of hooking up a hose to a sprinkler and then manually moving it around the property… definitely not as effective but hopefully it will keep everything alive if not thriving.  Never a dull moment!!!  All this added stress and necessary paperwork/research/etc has impacted my SL schedule, and now I’m desperately trying to get a last few posts in for the month.  I’ll apologize right now that I’ll be hitting the tail end of events, but as always, the status of “exclusive” and “sale” may end, but the featured items are always available after that at the main store (generally with a delay of one or two days).  Let the weekend officially begin!!!

  • Outfit:  Allure Couture – Melody Shorts Set.  Melody includes a corset top, midcut short shorts (both with fabulous lacing, up the front for the top & down the sides for the shorts), & matching flat sandals, & is available in 6 individual colors, a HUD-driven 6 texture Slimpack, or a Fatback of 12, all with 100% Original Textures.  She’s sized for Legacy, Hourglass, Freya, Kupra & Maitreya, & is EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE at the July round of the WOW Event, closing TODAY July 30th.  (After that, it will be at the main store.) Demo available.
  • Head:  LeLUTKA – Nova Head (EvoX)
  • Body:  LEGACY – Mesh Body Special Edition, Feminine
  • Skin:  DeeTaleZ – Esra in Sunkiss
  • Hair:  TRUTH – Eclipse
  • Freckles/Moles:  DS’ELLES – Charm Moles
  • Tattoo:  Carol G – Fleshly
  • Hat:  ZOOM – Luxury Windbreak Hat
  • Pose:  STUN Poses – Bianca

Margarita Time

Posted on by cejalaval

http://Margarita TIme

Lace.  I appear to have it on the brain this month; I just noticed that I keep being drawn to outfits that utilize it to maximum advantage.  I’ve also realized that the same thing is happening in my real life lol, with a few new lacy things finding their way into my closet.  It’s just so feminine and so versatile, though with the caveat that it must be done well.  And of course, I’ll be the judge of that lol!  Well, it’s hump day, and as the saying goes, it must be 5 o’clock somewhere, so it’s margarita time, sometimes a necessity to get over that hump!  And after that, well, who knows???  Enjoy!

  • Outfit:  COSMOS Apparel – Gill 3-Pieces Set Lace.  The lace top, solid bra & tight little skirt can all be worn separately, but oh my, what a look they create together!  You have so many choices with the HUD… I prefer wearing a solid bra of the same color as the top, but with a contrasting silk edge on both pieces that matches the skirt.  I also added some contrast piping on the skirt to match the top… what an awesome look, I just LOVE IT!  And the textures!  The play of light on both the top & the skirt is subtle, but oh so lovely & realistic!  Available in a 12-texture fatpack with HUD.    Sized for Legacy, Hourglass, Freya, Tonic, eBody, Maitreya, & Kupra.  EXCLUSIVELY at the July round of the Swank Event, open through July 31st.  Demo available.
  • Head:  LeLUTKA – Nova Head (EvoX)
  • Body:  LEGACY – Mesh Body Special Edition, Feminine
  • Skin:  DeeTaleZ – Esra in Sunkiss
  • Freckles/Moles:  DS’ELLES – Charm Moles
  • Hair:  bonbon – morina
  • Makeup:  GOREGLAM – Heartseeker
  • Nails:  Avanti – Petra
  • Sunglasses:  BONDI – Tony
  • Jewelry:   IT! (Indulge Temptation) – Gipsy Rose Earrings; Chop Zuey – Bel Aire Gold Women’s Wedding Band
  • Pose:  Le Poppycock – Into the Afterglow; ChicChica – Margarita
  • Location:  Essencia Hotel

Catch the Wind

Posted on by cejalaval

http://Catch the Wind

My mind has been blank today in terms of “blog content.”  Life has just been rushing past, as it tends to do, with many hours lost due to migraine, and others spent doing a little of this and a whole lot of that.  It boggles my brain how quickly weekends seem to come around, and yet how little I sometimes seem to accomplish.  Yet I don’t begrudge any of my time spent inworld… I happily create a look, tweaking and tweaking more, and then the next stage of fun begins, setting up a shoot.  I originally went off on a “tribal” kick with this one (my mind went from “tribal print” to “safari”), did a whole shoot but had that niggling feeling in the back of my mind that something just wasn’t right; I showed the final (but thankfully still unedited) shot to my partner, something that I rarely do… thankfully he has always been honest with me in everything, and told me that he didn’t get the connection with zebras and tigers and felt it was overly busy.  That niggling concern verified!!! So into the garbage it went, and off I went on a whole new tack, and voila, I went out and caught the wind!  I’m much happier with the result, and since it truly is a great outfit, I’m happy to feel I’m showing it at its best!  Happy weekend!!!

  • Dress:  Kitty Creations – Tribal Glamour.  Sexy gold-trimmed outfit in a fabulous tribal print, with matching stilettos as well as a gorgeous hammered gold choker, earrings, & bracelets.  Available in 8 colors or as a fatpack with HUD.  Sized for Slink HG/P, Belleza F/I/V, Tonic, eBody, Maitreya, & Jomo F/D/T/W.  Also available in Tropical Prints, all EXCLUSIVELY at the July round of the Swank Event, open through July 31st.  Demo available.
  • Head:  LeLUTKA – Nova Head (EvoX)
  • Body:  LEGACY – Mesh Body Special Edition, Feminine
  • Skin:  DeeTaleZ – Esra in Sunkiss
  • Freckles/Moles:  DS’ELLES – Charm Moles
  • Hair:  Doux – Joya
  • Makeup:  Sugarose – Magda; Dernier – Eyeliner Set #4
  • Pose:  Hopscotch – With the Wind
  • Location:  Shamatha

Chantilly Lace and a Pretty Face

Posted on by cejalaval

http://Chantilly Lace and a Pretty Face

It’s so strange that even with the summer heat, we are cooler here in central Florida than in so much of the world right now.  One primary difference is that in this country the majority of homes and businesses are air-conditioned, and down here every thing is built for the heat since we don’t have to worry about snow and ice in the winter.  Then again, if climate change continues to turn this world’s weather topsy-turvy, then we could be in real trouble if it goes the other way and gets cold down here for prolonged periods, since we are definitely NOT built for that.  Medical procedures all done now but migraines were triggered by the local, so I’ve been taking it easy in my air-conditioned comfort the last few days.  Today is the day I get back to my “regular” activities… which is pretty funny actually because most of them are on hiatus or still in the “I should really start going to” category.  But I was able to spend some quality time inworld, and create this ultra-feminine and tantalizingly sexy look (my partner said he couldn’t take his eyes off the top, wondering how something like that would “really” stay down lol)… It has been fun!!! Happy shopping!

  • Outfit:  Vulnus – Falerae.   Such a sexy look, but toned down to almost (though totally impossible lol) demure because of the fabulous lacey texture.  Sized for Legacy, Reborn, & Maitreya, EXCLUSIVELY available at the July round of the Swank Event, themed Island Tropical Heat, open through July 30th.  Demo available.
  • Jewelry:  Heartsdale Jewelry – Krystanna Heritage Collection.  Includes this stunning gorget-style necklace plus earrings in a “hammered” look.  Can be resized. EXCLUSIVELY available at the July round of the Swank Event, themed Island Tropical Heat, open through July 30th.  See ad below for details.  Also worn:  Chop Zuey – Bel Aire Gold Women’s Wedding Band
  • Head:  LeLUTKA – Nova Head (EvoX)
  • Body:  LEGACY – Mesh Body Special Edition, Feminine
  • Skin:  DeeTaleZ – Esra in Sunkiss
  • Freckles/Moles:  DS’ELLES – Charm Moles
  • Hair:  Doux – Kiara
  • Makeup:  Sugarose – Magda; Dernier – Eyeliner Set #4
  • Pose:  Le Poppycock – Side of the Road
  • Location:  Frogmore