Where I come from

“Where I come from
Nobody knows;
And where I'm going
Everything goes.
The wind blows,
The sea flows -
And nobody knows.”
― Robert Nathan, Portrait of Jennie 

---

Credits:
Skin: Ugly Duck - Nana I
Hair: Analog Dog - AD - bangers - blacks (Free! at Hair Fair 2015)
Hair base:  Just Magnetized - Natural Hairbase - set 03 - tint 1
Eye Makeup: [White~Widow - Face Tattoo] Belle Black (at On9)
Lipstick: L.Fauna Starlet Makeup [Graphite]
Brows: .ARISE. Mana Eyebrows Dark (natural brown - tintable)
Dress: The Plastik - :[P]:- Amorie Dress [S-Noir]:// Batsy
Earrings: SIGMA Jewels/ Chantal earring (charcoal-silver) R
Headband: Mystic Tiger - [MT] Kitty Headband (Free! at Hair Fair 2015)
Eyes: .ID. Light Sensitive/Clean - Light Blue-Green

Just a Couple LOTDs

Just a couple LOTDs.  First up, I really enjoyed this month's Collabor88.  There are so many really beautiful things to buy, so be careful.  It's almost as bad as going to Disney - as in, giant vacuum sucking sound straight out of your wallet.  Taking a step away from my usual black, I tried to expand my clothing color wardrobe.  Red is good.  I like red.  My favorite wearables are:



Credits:
Skin:  -Glam Affair - Sia Artic tone (Sia is available this month at Collabor88 in other tones)
Makeup:  L.Fauna Starlet Makeup [Graphite]
Freckles/Moles:  [ MUDSKIN ]_Face Mole5 and _Freckles(Hard)
Hair:  Mithral * Lithium (at Collabor88)
Eyelashes: *NOYA* designs VAMP Eyelashes
Eyes: Mayfly - Deep Sky Eyes (Glacial River)
Dress: Tee*fy Freya Dress Long - M - Passion (at Collabor88)
Shoes: fri. - Marsali.Flats (Coal) - Slink (at Collabor88)
Necklace: POMPOSITY - Abstract Nature Necklace (from the Nature Walk Hunt)
Boy Parts: Slink Avatar Enhancement Hands - Casual & Slink Female Feet  Flat
Poses by Label Motion (at The Dressing Room Fusion) and Sari-Sari

---

Next up are some items from Fashion Fair 2015.  I have to say, freaking love these boots.  I think I'll probably be wearing them all the time from now on.  They come with a color change hud and can go from pink, to black, to animal print.  I've been dying or some flat soled over the knee mesh boots for awhile.  These are perfectly casual.  And, this cat face dress makes me so happy.  I love cats.  I can't have a cat in RL right now because of my dogs, but my SL cat, Malthus, loves this dress, too.  If you don't like cats, there are other style options via hud for the dress, but I'll judge you for not wearing the cat face.




Credits:
Skin: Skin:  -Glam Affair - Sia Artic tone
Eyeliner: Noya
Hair: Catwa Hair - Aimee (at Fashion Fair 2015)
Dress: Yasum *MESH*Goth Dress (at Fashion Fair 2015)
Boots: Emporium - Fiona Boots (at Fashion Fair 2015)
Necklace: lassitude * ennui - Batty necklace - black
Horns: Remarkable Oblivion - RO - Diable Band - Free - Group Gift
Lip Piercing: [ni.ju] - Chain Chop Piercing
Rings: Izzie's Midi Rings (silver)
Hands: Slink Casual
Poses by Label Motion (from The Dressing Room Fusion)

Just Popping In

I'm just waiting for this semester to end. This one is killing me.
I can't wait to have a little bit of free time again.

---

Credits:

Top: Fission: Leopard off shoulder top-Brown (Mesh)
Jeans: Fashionably Dead - (fd) Beat Up Jeans - Blue (at Collabor88)
Shoes: [DOCS] 8-Hole Female - Pristine
Makeup: L.Fauna Starlet Makeup [Graphite] 
Glasses: /artilleri/ gabriella glasses *black*
Hair: TRUTH HAIR Candy - Black&Whites04
Skin: Essences - Emma *ivoire* brunette
Eyes: .ID. Light Sensitive/Clean - Ice

Backdrop: Trompe Loeil - The Cortona Villas V1.1 (with greenery) (at Collabor88)
Pose by Kirin - Nina Pose 2

Lolapop is Back!

One of my very favorite peoples on the grid is back with a shop and with new designs! Lola79 Heinrichs of Lolapop will be releasing these outfits for The Elder Goth Macabre's release party. I'm so happy, because I love everything she makes and she's super nice, too!  100% mesh, this outfit will be only $150L until Tuesday, when it will go up to $375L.

---

Credits:
Skin: Essences - Emma *ivoire* brunette (The Dressing Room - Fusion)
Makeup:  L.Fauna Starlet Makeup [Graphite]
Hair:  LaViere The Vert/JetBlack
Necklace: Maxi Gossamer - MG - Necklace - Royal Khadijah Estate - Short - SILVER (FaMESHed)
Skirt: Lolapop Flirting with Danger Pencil Skirt (At Eldergoth Release Party)
Tops: Lolapop Flirting With Danger Top (Amor) (Muerte) and (Tripped Out) (At Eldergoth Release Party)
Shoes: The Little Bat -  !TLB - Skully Pumps
Belt: ...:::Scrub:::... Rosary Belt
Poses by Exposeur

Plurk Blogger Challenge - In with old

In response to the Plurk Blogger Challenge, I started sifting through my inventory.  Wow, do I have some horrible things in there.  It's frightening.  However, I did find some hidden gems from my noob days.  I'm not as old as many of the other bloggers - just about 1 1/2 years in SL, so I can't pull out the stuff from 2006 or 2007.  I did find some of my old favorites.  I was very thankful for one shop in particular when I was a noob, Dogyanya2 and their lucky boards.  It always seemed to hit "I" when I was there! \o/

I just went back and visited the shop again and all three dresses are still on the lucky board.  They're cute, well made, and don't look noobish at all.  I got my Tesla pumps from Free Dove and for awhile, they were my only shoes.  I couldn't stomach the blinging boots that seem to be so popular.  I don't remember how I found Dogyanya2, but I took all my friends there when they were new.  There is also a nice freebie area on the sim with some other cute dresses, shoes, and accessories.  

My very first skin purchase was this Chai skin by Launa Fauna.  This skin is no longer available, but Launa Fauna's shop has some beautiful new skins that are among some of my current favorites..  And my first hair purchase (after getting the obligatory free hair from Gurlywood and Diversity was the Milano style from Armidi.  I thought it looked a lot like my RL hair, and I wore it ALL the time in my 1st couple months in SL.

Credits:

Skin:  Chai Skin by Launa Fauna - Sugar - Tangerine Dream (no longer available)

Hair:  Armidi - Milano II - Midnight

Dresses:  Dogyanya2 - Lucky Board Prizes - still available!

Shoes:  Tesla - Elise2 Mary Jane Heels (at the Free Dove)

Eyes:  Pulse - Le Mystere Eyes - Emerald (not old)

BBBC Topic #3 - Relationships

Today's Big Bad Blogger Challenge question:

SL Bloggers - How hard do you think it is to find a relationship in SL? If you have an SL relationship, have you met in the physical world? Would you meet them? Do you think it would change your SL relationship if you met?

RL Bloggers - Would you start a relationship with someone you met online? Would you have a problem telling people that's where you met? Do you think it's easier to meet someone online rather than at work or at a club?

Alicia, what the heck are you trying to do to me?  1st you make me try to think positive, and now relationships?  Do you WANT me to end up in the mental ward?  (LOL).

BTW - the hat I'm wearing is new from Wretched Dollies and I absolutely love it.  Star Fairymeadow posted a picture of it on Plurk, and I saved the link to remember to go buy it, but before I could get online, she had already passed a copy of it to me. I just want to give her a special thanks.  I look up to her so much.  She really has a wonderful shop, and is one of my favorite designers in SL.

I know nothing about SL relationships.  I've never had one and probably never will.  I'm far too much of a hermit to meet people.  I wouldn't even know where to go to meet someone, and I'm very shy.  In fact, I wrote a blog post awhile ago about how to not get picked up in SL.  It's worked very well for me so far.  I'm not opposed to the idea of meeting someone, it's just that when you have a habit of running away whenever someone talks to you, it's kind of difficult.

Now, RL is a whole other story.  A long time ago, I met someone online. We lived 500 miles apart, but we would drive to see each other as often as possible.  The long distance part sucked, and the relationship didn't exactly end well, but it's a long story that no one would be interested in hearing.

I'm pretty much a failure at relationships.  I broke off an engagement over a year ago (which I seem to have a habit of doing), and I have no one in my life now.  There are no available men at work, I don't go to clubs, I don't meet people online, so I'm pretty much doomed to be that crazy cat lady spinster that chases small children off her lawn with a broom, and I accept my fate.  If someone wants to meet me, he's going to have a lot of walls to knock down to get to me.

Credits:
Hair - Fashionably Dead - Sparks - Nothingness
Skin - Launa Fauna - {Lapine . Pale 1} [Eve]
Hat - Wretched Dollies - Little Stella Hat Color Changing Rose
Dress - A Netherworld - Shining Star Dolly Dress
Choker - A Netherworld - Rose Choker
Shoes - Shiny Things - Hyasynths Black
Poses by [doll]
Location - Utopia4

BBBC Topic #2 - Being Positive

Today's BBBC challenge is to write about three positive things going on in your Second Life.  Well, now, that is a challenge.  I'm fairly curmudgeonly by nature, so this is going to take some effort.

Positive thing #1:  Operation Squeegee.  I am very excited to get to take part in Operation Squeegee.  One of the hardest things about disasters like the BP oil spill is that there is so little that one person can do about it.  But, if each person does their little bit, together we can all make a difference.  So, having the opportunity to take part in this worthy cause is something that means a lot to me.

Positive thing #2:  Ok, curmudgeonly Isa is already having trouble with this challenge.  I'm sitting here thinking, "Well, I have friends in SL and they're a positive part of my SLife, and I really like my little shop, as lame as it is, and um, I like making stuff and blogging stuff" and all I can think is, "OMG! that all sounds so dorky, goofy, sappy.  Barf!"  So, yeah, I guess positive thing number 2 is all this sappy stuff.   It's all positive.  *barf*

Positive thing #3.  Bite me!  I'm not going to even attempt a 3rd positive thing.  My mind just doesn't work like that.  All of you fluffy, butterfly, sunshine, happy, woo hoo type people with your high 5s and your squeals of joy can have your positive stuff.  I'm going to stick with my curmudgeonly ways.  You can't change me!  *shakes fist*

Credits:

Skin:  Launa Fauna - {Lapine, Pale 1}[Eve]

Eyeshadow:  Moonshadow - 2.0 Face Tattoos - Shadowy

Hair:  Ploom - Kewpie - Coal

Dress:  A Netherworld - Layered Dolly Dress

Collar:  Dreams - Skull Buckle Collar

Shoes:  Animas Designs - Lady Biker Boot

Location:  Macbeth

Poses by Everglow

Pink Shirt Day

Today is Pink Shirt Day.  It is a day to raise awareness of the impact of bullying.  I am one of the lucky ones.  While I received my fair share of teasing as a child, nothing rose to the level of bullying.  I did see it first hand, though.  My brother is autistic, and he was relentlessly bullied in high school.  He was an easy victim because he couldn't defend himself.  Back in those days, schools did little to prevent bullying or to protect children who were bullied.

It seems simple to say that bullying is bad and that it needs to stop.  What is more complex, though, is understanding what bullying is and what it isn't.  I know of at least four bloggers who hesitated to blog about Pink Shirt Day out of fear, and I think this fear arises out of some common misconceptions about bullying.  Being outspoken, opinionated, critical, or controversial is not the same thing as bullying.

We have rules in society.  Those rules are called norms, and they operate in our everyday lives.  Norms tell us how we should dress and behave, and what we should believe.  If someone violates those norms, they experience social control.  Social control includes all those things that people do in society to get people to behave.  From police arresting criminals to parents scolding their children, we have numerous techniques to keep people in line.  Norms and social control are both necessities for society to function efficiently.  There has never been and there never could be a society without rules and punishments.  While it may seem trivial to punish those who dare to step outside the norms, it serves important purposes.  It teaches us what the rules are, it builds social solidarity, and it paves the way for society to progress.

Social control includes public shaming, gossip, finger pointing, and teasing.  Those things are a normal part of life and a product of the way society functions. Just like there are norms regarding how we are supposed to behave, there are also norms about what the appropriate punishments are for violating those norms.  Bullying arises when someone goes above and beyond these norms.  For example, it is not appropriate for someone to make fun of an autistic person for being autistic, and it is not appropriate for people to throw things, push around, yell obscenities at, or rape a recent immigrant because she is different or new.  It is never appropriate to use violence, threats, or abuse to get people to do your bidding or to hurt people for your entertainment.

To me, the difference between bullying and engaging in every day forms of social control is clear, and while some bloggers are controversial and outspoken, they should not fear or shy away from taking a stand against bullying.  So, I say bloggers, go for it.  Continue to blog and state your opinion and be controversial.  Engage in the debates.  And, in the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson,

"Speak what you think now in hard words, and tomorrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said to-day. Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood."


Credits:
Eyes: ( DP ) Eyes - Light Blue (slurl could not be found)
Hair: I Love Olive - Betty Hair in Pink Flamingo
Skin: L.Fauna {Lapine . Pale 1} [Eve]
Outfit: A Netherworld - Glory to the Geeks (Pink Shirt Day Freebie)
Shoes: HOC Apparel - Knee Boots Female - Plain colors
Necklace: Lolapop! G33k Keys Choker
Glasses: .:*December*:. Glasses No.42 GropGift Kyouiku-Mama Megane
Poses:  Everglow

Out with the New; In with the Old

For awhile now, I've been pondering the direction of this blog.  I started it, not because I thought I had any sort of fashion sense whatsoever, but because I felt like I had something to say.  I began by mostly posting substantive ponderings about a year ago, but lately, it's been all about fashion.  That's a bit sad, sort of, because honestly, I have no sense of style.  I'm the type of person whose clothes are regularly thrown out on What Not to Wear, and I think, "Hey!  I love that outfit!"

So, I've decided to go back to my roots, to the origins of this blog, to actually saying something.  So, what can I say?  I wander around SL observing, mostly.  I've always been more of an observer than a doer.  People fascinate me, and what I find most fascinating about SL is the adaptation of real life phenomenon into the virtual medium.  I've already written about social control, the presentation of self, and building community. I think those posts are some of my favorites, but there are too few them.

I'm also a teacher, and that career path pushes me towards communicating to others what I know in ways that may be useful.  The teacher side of me led to posts like How to Hunt Without Driving Yourself and Others Crazy and How to Not get Picked up in SL.  The "how to hunt" post is the most popular post in this blog, and it makes me feel like I'm actually contributing something to the SL community.  I like that feeling, so I will be returning to that sort of blogging (while, of course, pretending to be all fashionista-like.  Bwahahahaha).

So, like, don't have a cow if you see something academic in this blog.  (Hey, I had to work that cow in somehow, didn't I?)

*Cheers*

~Isa J

Credits:
Hair - !lamb. Bang Bang Bob - Ink
Skin - L.Fauna{Lapine.Pale 1}[Midnight-FR]
Outfit - *~*HopScotch*~* Betty Dot - Red
Glasses - [Curio] Black Glasses (freebie)
Necklace - LacieCakes - Betty Natural Pearl Necklace (old hunt gift)
Shoes - [V] Vignette Betty Dots white/black (freebie)
Cow - Altya's Dream Creations - Cow (freebie - fell from the sky)

Just a Look of the Day - Cats & Dolls

I was just going through my inventory wasting time and re-discovered some of my favorite things.  I went with a little bit of a retro theme to go with this new release from Pheonix Rising.  The colors and detail are just gorgeous, and I especially love the rose chain belt.

Credits:
Hair - Truth - Sileny - Espresso
Skin - L. Fauna - Lapine. Pale 1 Mulberry
Outfit - Pheonix RIsing - Brace (Ruby)  (R)
Glasses - Air - Black Cat (free on xstreet)
Necklace - Violet Voltaire - Doll Face Cameo - Goth
Shoes - Meil - Hai Boots

Magical Fairy Friends

Evie's Closet has some wonderful new fairy costumes!  These costumes are absolutely darling.  They feature sculpted flowers and can be worn with silks and modesty pants or with just the flowers covering your cute little fairy bits.  After buying our outfits, Selena, Lily, and I visited our favorite AO shop - Creative Insanity.  They have an awesome set of fairy AOs that will have you flying around SL just like a real fairy would fly.  They're definitely worth a visit if you're looking for a creative or fantasy AO.

Then, it was off to Mermaid Temple to fly around the fairy forest.  We found this lovely little reflecting pool and admired our new fairy outfits.  Thank you Evie, for all your creativity!

Credits:

On Isabeal:
Hair - Deadkitties - Witchy Naturals
Skin - L.Fauna {Lapine . Pale 1} [Mullberry]
Outfit - *Evie's Closet* Ariel - Black

On Selena:
Hair - Sirena Hair - Flirtation Brown
Skin - Heartsick : Serenity : Illusion : Dark Shines (c) Freckle
Outfit - *Evie's Closet* Ariel - Blue

On Lily:
Hair -  Armidi - The rainy day- smoked nutmeg
Skin - Redgrave - tan Chloe smoky 4
Outfit - *Evie's Closet* Ariel - Valentine's Outfit

LOTD 1/25/10

I have a thing for cute little bobs.  This new hair from I Love Olive gives me a little bit of a finger wave in my bob.  It's a bit of a softer look.  To balance it out, I paired the bobbed hair with a skull tank from +grasp+ that I picked up during the Creator's Stamp Rally last month.  This new necklace is a hunt gift from LacieCakes.  I chew on my necklaces in RL, too.  :-)

Hair - I Love Olive - Ettie/Jet black
Skin - L. Fauna - {Lapine, Pale 1}[Mulberry-FR]
Eyelashes - Glow - Innocent, eyelashes - soft
Bracelets - Sn@tch - No. 9 Bracelets (Skulls & Metal)
Boots - Coco - Knee-Highboots
Capris - Aleida - Gulu Capri - dark black
Tank - Grasp - Stone Skull Cami/bk+rd
Tattoo - Oddment - batty little tattoo
Necklace - LacieCakes - Piper NomNom Necklace/Piper Necklace (Jubilee Sim Hunt - thank you SL Schnaeppchen Hunt)

LOTD 1/23/10

Today, I got two of my favorite things - a cute ruffly shirt from Lark and a violin from Satoko, so I decided to go serenade the moon at sunset.

Hair - !lamb. Bonjour Operator - Kit Kat
Skin - L.Fauna {Lapine . Pale 1} [Eve]
Shoes - KITTENISH - OMG It's Summer Ballerinas 
Necklace - {Violet Voltaire} Doll Face Cameo Necklace: Goth
Jeans - Emery - High Waist Pant
Top - Lark - Karen Blouse - Rose Garden
Violin - Satoko's Violin for Female V1.72 Fant and Electric Violin for Female (Free hunt items!  See http://satokoinst.wordpress.com/ and thank you http://sl-schnaeppchen.blogspot.com for the heads up!

LOTD 1/11/10

Sometimes, when you're hungry, you'll eat just about anything.  Microwave convenience store hot dogs are only for the hungriest souls.  So, what do you hunger for?

Hair - Tiny Bird - Love Love Love - Dagrees (50L Friday - tinted)

Skin - L. Fauna - Lapin. Pale 1. Eve FR

Leggings - Mischief - Everyday Leggings (Skipping Stones Hunt)

Dress - DYN Pop Dress (Red Roses) (R)

Boots - SD Wears Limited Edition Funeral Boots (R)

Necklace - Wretched Dollies - Fleur De Lis Black Diamond Necklace

Blogger Challenge - Then and Now

Here is my answer to yet another Blogger Challenge, this one from Sophia Harlow via Plurk.  She asked bloggers to post a picture of themselves in the past and now.

Here's me about 3 weeks into SL waiting for a concert to begin at Rhapsody Isle:

Hair - <TheAbyss> Hair - Aeon - Full Moon

Shirt - Ducknipple - Snabble Knit Top

Necklace - *AD* free love medaillon

Cat - *AD* black shoulder cat

Skin - *~{Frick} Retro Pinup: Peach Betty (I think)

And me now:

Hair - !lamb. Bang Bang Bob - Ink

Skin - L.Fauna {Lapine . Pale 1} [Eve-FR]

Dress - Jillybean's Black Sparkle Dress

Tattoo - >>> moloko <<< Stardust Tattoo Female

Piercings - [Miasma] Locked

Photo taken with FilterCam from Mechanized Life

Blogger's Challenge - Three Things

Three things in my inventory that I couldn't part with:

They are my three defaults and probably the three things I've worn more than anything else in my inventory:

Skin - LF Chai Sugar - Crush Freckle

Jewelry - Violet Voltaire - Glitterati Necklace and Earrings

Boots - Animas Design - AD Lady Biker Boot

I don't think the skin is available anymore, but Launa Fauna has some beautiful new skins out.  Her skins were some of the first ones I bought, and they are always the skins I go back to.  I absolutely love the freckles (something I've always wished I had in RL). Violet Voltaire makes wonderful jewelry.  I saw the necklace while doing the Twisted Hunt back in the spring.  I returned to her shop months later and bought the necklace and earrings set.  It's texture change and the cameo can either be a skull, a rose, or a crown.  I'm not a stiletto type girl in RL or in SL.  I much prefer my chucks or biker boots.  Even though heels don't hurt avatar feet, I still cringe at the idea of wearing them.  So, I clomp around SL wearing boots with dresses, jeans and leggings, just like I do in RL.

Other things in the photo:

Outfit - Mischief - **MIS** Hipsters n Leggings (Skipping Stone Hunt)

Hair - Analog Dog - Bet Jet

Photos taken using my newly purchased Filtercam!