Home and Garden Expo-Darla Treehouse

The Home and Garden Expo is ending tonight (12am SLtime).  I've had so much fun with this event and had the best intentions of blogging daily-damn you rl.  With 14 sims, it's kind of hard to cover everything you love in two blog posts but I'm sure I'll be posting expo stuff after it's over.

One of my favorite rides/attractions at Disneyland was the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse (the other being Pirates in case you were wondering).  I have memories of when I was 5 or 6 going up the treehouse and imagined myself touching the stars at night.  The ride changed to Tarzan's Treehouse 15 years ago or so-lame but whatever.  

As some of you know, I'm a prefab whore so I had to have the Darla Treehouse by HomeKraft because yeah, any treehouse reminds me of the Robinson Family (Swiss).  I kind of went a little crazy styling this one.  How many different store items can you fit in one room?!  Quite a lot, actually.

Here is the rope going up to the tree and here is me climbing up the rope.  

Blue is my color right now.  I want everything in blue so I love that the Darla Treehouse is blue on both the exterior and interior. 

The room is quite big-I like to separate big areas into different living spaces.  

More great stuff from {what next} in the Living Room area. 

The adorable prints in the corner are by {Kiro} and available at UrbanARTs at the Expo.  She also has some stuff in the latest round of the The Gallery Gift Shop.

One of my favorite new stores I discovered at the Expo (new to me) is Melino Style on the UrbanizeD sim.  I love the Moroccan colors and style of their decor.

I have a ton of hodgepodge stuff from Lisp so I decided to use the boho bed for the bedroom space.

I was eyeing this sofa by [LeeZu!] all week and I finally got it.  The two prints are freebies from UrbanARTs.

Finally, I went a little crazy at the Zanzo store on the {what next sim}.  I bought several things by *KKPW* (Knick Knack Paddy Whack-by creators of Zanzo) including this awesome chairbarrow.

If you have any time today, try to spend a few at the Expo-so many great finds this year. Thanks to everyone who put on such a fantastic event!

Note:  I put a star next to all the items that I didn't get at the Expo
house:  Darla Treehouse
*landscape-UrbanizeD (my go-to place for grass!)

Deck
chairbarrow:  *KKPW*
*bistro set:  Dreamscapes Art Gallery
finch's birdbox:  *KKPW*-RFL item

Entryway
raindrop curtains:  Insight Designs
jardin magnifique sofa and studio fur carpet:  [LeeZu!]
wall paintings:  Piedra Lubitsch -freebies at UrbanARTs
antique book piles:  Sweet Sorrows
octagon side table:  Melino Style
shoji lamp:  *KKPW*

Bedroom Space
villa park door screen:  fucifino
hengsha cubby hole:  *KKPW*
love letters desk:  Thistle
wall tree:  Prime-RFL item
*hodgepodge bed-blue boho:  Lisp
*bookcase:  Tranquility Way Station (TWS)
row of books:  Sweet Sorrows

Kitchen Space
tiled block table and chairs and vivid silk rug:  Melino Style
Marmiton Collection, bowl and vase and tosta amore:  *KKPW*
*sweet moonstone frige:  LeBloom
*traditional hearth console, woodburning stove and fancy cake:  Lisp
retro kitchen prints:  {what next}
asian arte rug:  Prime


Chill/Music/Book/TV Space
loungin chair & a half, loungin floor pillows (RFL items), fleeftone retro record player, and pile of vinyl:  {what next}
*vintage tv:  Lisp
studio fur carpet:  [LeeZu!]
*estate sale bookstack:  Clutter-Retirement sale through June 10!!!
*messy stack of books:  Designer Prims
lost angel 1 & 2 prints:  [AH] at UrbanARTs
text art:  The Gallery Gift Shop

Door Corner
trash to treasures rug:  ~La'Licious~
*eastleigh yoga mat:  CP
lullaby sand timer table:  Lisp
eco cup (sound of coffee):  *KKPW*
*summertime bicycle pose prop:  {what next}
trouble and modern day dino prints:  {Kiro} at UrbanARTs-RFL items
*the fox panda duo print:  {Kiro}at The Gallery Gift Shop

bodhi bonsai:  .:buddhabeats:.-RFL item

light up Joe-chandelier:  elefantu

Fashion
top:  draped crop tee, ISON 
shorts:  frill shorts, *GF*
hair:  late at night, Exile at TDRB-New

Fibromyalgia Awareness Day-My Story

For many years I suffered from horrible headaches which eventually turned into horrible migraines (who knows-maybe they were always migraines.  I never got a true diagnosis in those early days).  It was horrible, horrible, horrible.  While I was living in New York City and looking for a job (which was pretty much impossible due to the economy tanking-thank you f'ing wallstreet), I was getting daily migraines.  A day didn't go by when I didn't have one.  Gawd, I was so scared.  I thought I had a brain tumor.  In addition to the migraines, I had pain in my shoulders and neck area.

I was diagnosed a couple years later with Fibromyalgia.  I went to a doctor that specialized in Autoimmune diseases.  I screamed "ouchy" when he poked and prodded me in certain points in my body.  When he finished he said, "You have Fibromyalgia."  There was other things he tested me for but that's a lot of blahblahblah and not that interesting (not to say that this whole unload is interesting).  Do you want to know how I felt when he said that to me?  I was relieved.  Sooo relieved because now I had something real, something concrete to deal with.  An actual diagnosis for my pain.

I found out about sl later through some article about virtual support groups.  All I was doing in those early days (meaning 3 years ago) was lying in bed all day with limited computer time (due to the headaches), so I decided to join sl.  I found some support groups inworld but only attended meetings for a short time.  But it did help me.  I also joined some rl support groups-those do help if only for the reason that you realize you're not alone in your suffering.

I don't tell many people in my RL about my disease.  I've had several friendships dissolve because of what they view as my "flakiness" problem which really is just me cancelling at the last minute because I feel like crap.  I've had several experiences where I've been honest with friends and other people in my life and the response from them was not supportive (hypercondriac has been used to describe me more than once) so I'm reluctant to be completely open with people.  I have 4 rl firends who know about it and they don't ever accuse me of being a whiner or anything and I can plan things with them at the last minute depending on how I feel-I'm so grateful for them.  I don't share that I have fibromyalgia on facebook (although I mentioned today on facebook that it was Fibro Awareness Day) or twitter etc.  I'm very private about the whole thing which isn't really true because I'm blogging about it right now.

People often want to know how I feel and if I can describe the pain.  I basically wake up every morning feeling like I have a mild case of the flu or a mild hangover.  Sometimes I have bad days where the pain is more severe.  It feels like I have a ton of bricks lying on my shoulders and neck area all the time.  And the migraines are so bad.  Luckily, I don't get them daily anymore but I wake up every morning with a slight to severe headache.  Yoga sometimes helps.  Magnesium is a must. A normal sleep pattern would be ideal but I haven't had a normal sleep pattern (normal meaning asleep by 11pm and up by 7am) for years.  I rarely get to sleep before 3am and then I'm a zombie the next day.

Anyways, it's Fibrymyalgia Awareness Day.  Wear purple!!  If you would like more information about all this check out the National Fibromyalgia Association.  Also, don't miss the Fibromyalgia Awareness Fair inworld through Sunday, May 13.  So if you suffer from Fibromyalgia treat yourself with kindness today and if you know someone who has it-treat them with kindness.

place:  Realm of Mystara
dress:  Shiki @ Culture Shock, Empire Dress, Purple Rain-New
hair:  Wasabi Pills @ Culture Shock, Shiori Mesh Hair-New
skin:  Style By Kira, Kohia Skin
poses:  Phresh, Movin' and To Be...

work Space

My name is Epione and I have a problem hoarding fabric, art supplies (especially watercolor paper, prismacolor markers and pencils) and beads!  Oh yeah, and art books.  I have a ton of them.

Of course I'm talking about real life because in SL I hoard hair, skin, and prefabs.  I don't think my fabric/bead/art supply habit will ever get me on a hoarders' show though.  I'll scale down before that ever happens.

When I sew in rl i have to do it barefoot.

Basically, I need more space.  And why not dream big-I need my own studio which actually is a possibility in the not too distant future (a little bird whispered this to me).  But for now, I will dream and create my own work space in SL.

As I posted the pics for the post, I laughed because I kind of crammed everything together which is just like my work space in rl.

Fashion
dress:  -tb-, Daydream babydoll@Collabor88-New
tights:  Vershe, Random Tights
hair:  Clawtooth, Kinda Shy @Collabor88-New
skin:  Curio, Jewel Gold Tones
pose:  Olive Juice, Stay Sassy

Home Decor
drafting table, closet:  Zigana
rugs:  Zigana @ Culture Shock-New
sewing machine and table:  Cleo Design
sewing supplies (fabric bolts, yardstick, patterns, piles of fabric and basket o' thread):  Second Spaces
cutting table and round rug:  Urbanized
umbrella lamp: Lisp @ CultureShock-New
Mathilde Sewing Basket:  Lisp
baskets:  theosophy
Mimi's Mannequin:  {what next} 
mirror:  [North West]
magazines:  OBF

Wall Art 
New York Bus Scroll, The Loft
Art Deco - La Chanteuse de Jazz, Qiao Ling Fashion @ Marketplae
Art Deco - New York, Qiao Ling Fashion @ Marketplace
Vintage Vogue Poster, O's Decor @ Marketplace
TA Van Gogh 1, msw Tomorrow @ Marketplace


Textures  
floors:  Limehouse, farmhouse
walls:  Insight Designs, Moulded Stucco