inTrospection and neon carroT

Someone I know died this weekend in sort of a freak accident.  He wasn't my best friend or anything but I know his family well.  He was a good man, a good father and a good husband.  I'm so sad because I have no idea how his wife or children (all adults now) will cope.  But you do.  Cope.

I haven't been on SL much.  I got rid of my skyland about a month ago because it seemed silly to be paying rent when I wasn't there all that much.  The truth is, I think I fail at Second Life.  If this were a game (*yes, I know this is not a game*), I would probably lose.  Or if this was Survivor, I would have been eliminated the first week. But one of my passions is writing and for some reason, I really love writing this blog.  I write stuff here that I would never share with my rl family or friends.

I deleted my facebook account a couple weeks ago.  Basically, I suck at all aspects of this social media/communication phenomena (but hey, I can sew!  And I'm running 2 miles now!).  This all came about because of two experiences.  I was in Starbucks one day (my usual order is a grande soy iced mocha no whip) and as I was looking around, I noticed how people were sitting across from each other but not really talking to one another.  Everyone seemed to have their heads down, looking at their phones.  The other experience was that I reunited with my best friend from college that I haven't seen in 15 years.  I was a little nervous because I had no idea if we would have enough to talk about.  But it was great-we started talking as if we had just seen each other the week before.  It was fun just hanging out.  I've missed her.  We also talked about how the whole art of communication is fading.  Will we know how to carry on a face to face conversation in 10 years?  Of course, we both majored in Anthropology so we tend to look at life through primate lenses.  My friend Alana has never been on Facebook.

Needless to say, I immediately went home and deleted my facebook account.

So what is the point of this long winded post and what does it have to do with my friend dying this weekend?  I've been off and on sL for 3 years.  I came back this time around to start blogging.  It's amazing how your thoughts can seem like a rambling mess of confusion but can become calm and sensible after you sort through and write them down.  So I will continue to write here once in awhile at 3am in the morning when I'm struggling with insomnia (one part of sL success is to probably be on when your friends are and not at 3am when no one is around and all the coffee house events are long over).

Life is fleeting.  People you know today could be gone tomorrow.  People you want to know or who want to know you could be gone tomorrow.  This past weekend proved this for me. When something like this happens, especially when it's unexpected, you start evaluating your own life.  At least I do.  It's early Monday morning and I'm trying to figure out how to accomplish all I want in life.  And instead of texting my sister all week, I'm going to pick up the phone and call her.  And instead of catching up with friends through their status updates on facebook, I'm going to suggest meeting for coffee.  I don't want them to be here today, gone tomorrow.

The only thing I really know for certain is right now.  I tend to think about tomorrow, plan for tomorrow, worry about tomorrow way too much.  And regretting what happened yesterday?  Yep, I'm all over that.   Rarely am I able to just live today.  Well, fuck it. I'm going to live for today...at least today I will.

hair: Lamb, Mess
dress: Snowpaws, Array Mini
poses: Olive Juice

she comes in Colors everywhere + Prefabulous 3

So it started out as a simple post of trying to catch up with the color challenge but that wasn't really that simple since I am 6 weeks behind. And I wanted to combine the colors: cerise, green, emerald, etc. with ONE room of decor. Of course, that ended up being a whole house of decor. Luckily, the adorable and cozy Pretty Litzi from estetica has only two rooms.

Since I'm incredibly tired tonight, I'm going to be short on words and big on images.

Emerald

Taupe

Indigo

Sienna

Silver

Green

Cerise

Fashions
All poses from MNK*Shop except where noted

Emerald
skirt: MNK*Shop, **nikukyu**, Retro
top: Sari's, Zeerys Silk Sari
hair: Truth, Yolanda 2

Taupe
shorts: MNK*Shop, **nikukyu**, Stripe PantsSet
knit: MNK*Shop, **nikukyu**, Spring KnitSet
hair: Truth, Layla

Indigo
jumper/dress: Yome Shojo, *Yey*
tights: Miao, Ribbed Tights
hair: Truth, Akira

Sienna
leggings: Orion, Flower Denim
sweater: Orion, Loose Sweater
shoes: S@BBiA, Flower Pumps
hair: Truth, Heather

Silver
dress: *Boom*, Why Not Dress
hair: :BC, Ariadne (couldn't find TP)
stocking: ROtten Toe, moth stocking

Green
dress: **DP**yumyum, Velours Dress
hair: Truth, Paloma

Cerise
dress: Has Been, Dottie 2
hair: Vanity Hair, Lola
Pose: aDORKable, Spunky Dork

Home Decor
*all Klimt paintings can be found on SL Marketplace

Outside
Landscape (trees, bushes, grass): Sea Hole Garden
chair: LISP, Autumn Shades in Olive
gardenbench and crate with plants: FacTs
winter pretty blue: Designer Prims

Front Room/Kitchen
breakfastable: FacTs
dexter fridge: artilleri
island: Clutter
waffle maker: Reek
plants, white curtains and rug: Designer Prims
phone: Second Spaces
klimt painting: Water castle

Back Room
pink and brown rose rug and wall shelves: Yome Shojo
crafternoon corner table and butterfly shadow box: [croire]
blue and brown sofas: *KOPI*
rope trick lamp: LISP
klimt: Avenue in Schloss Kammer Park
Klimt: Music
bed and squared table: *Tatty Soup*
elephant wall hanging: Tasty
berwick console b: {theosophy}
flowers: Flower Power
shabby shelf: Designer Prims
book pile: [ARIA]

Prefabulous 2: Zacca Lodge

How many woodsy cabins can one pixelated girl own? Never Never Enough! When I got a notecard last week that Zacca had a new release, well, I could hardly contain my excitement (don't worry, I contained it).  For those of you who don't know me or this blog (most of you probably!), I'm a prefab whore. I buy many houses. I own many houses. Sometimes I forget what I have and end up with two of the same prefab. You get the picture.

Check out my welcome mat. How cute is that? and it's a freebie!

I'm not a builder so my descriptions might seem a little elementary. The new Zacca Lodge (see here) comes in a small and large version and also a courtyard version which is what I am showing you today. Plain and simple-it's just lovely. The textures are gorgeous and this girl is all about textures. The courtyard is 122 prims which gives you enough space (if you have a plot of land with at least 400 prims or so) to have fun with decoring (is decoring a word?) and landscaping. When you walk through the door, you are greeted with an awesome window seat. I love the windows too btw.

The front room (see above) is large enough to separate into a kitchen and living area. Oops, I need a refrigerator. And more plants and chotskies! I love the ceiling and the the detailing of the beams (see below). If you like a rustic feel to your home than I'm sure you will be very happy with the Lodge.

There are two side rooms. I made one into a bedroom and yes, that is a bedroom set from UrbanizeD (And please take your shoes off in RL before you lie on a beautiful new bedroom set!). Enjoy this moment coz, well, it just might be your last. Live for today!!

The other room is kind of a kick back, relaxed, let's listen to some tunes, type of room. I'm hanging with Emerald on the MudHoney Rustic Spring set that she gifted me. Thanks Em! And yeah, that is a a fortune teller table in the corner. Stay away from Ouija Boards folks, stay very far away.

I love going outside and looking at all my lovely landscape loveliness from the Sea Hole.

On the other side of the courtyard is a nice area to put more decor or have an easel and canvas ready.

Thank you for letting me show you around this great lodge. CROSS Jupiter, the creator and owner of Zacca, is so nice and is great with customer service. Kudos to him for such a lovely build!

Zacca Store: Zacca
Zacca Demos: Zacca Demos

Outside
Landscape (trees, bushes, grass): Sea Hole Garden
easel and canvas: Marketplace
chairs: LISP, Autumn Shades in Olive and Rust
welcome mat: Pestique, FREEBIE!!!

Kitchen
table and chairs: *Tatty Soup*
paisley decal: [croire]
stove: ![CoCo], CozyStove, red
side table and cake: LISP, Traditional Hearth Console and Fancy Cake

Living Area
beanbag: ::Ragdoll's cut::, Beanbag Fading Violet
bottle light: *Art Dummy!
wall hangings: [croire], Buttefly Shadow Box, 'rainy day' and and 'in bloom'
curtains: *Tatty Soup*
birdhouse: [croire]
side table: {theosophy}, Berwick Console A
plant on table: Flower Power

Bedroom
bedroom set (bed, bedside tables and lamps): UrbanizeD, "Heavenly" Bed Set
enjoy this moment decal: :CP:
curtains, tv and stand, bookcase and couch: *Tatty Soup*
tv and stand: *Tatty Soup*

Kick Back Room
Rustic Spring Set: MudHoney
record player: artilleri
bookcase: ~La'Licious~
fortune teller table: .:Stone Misery:.
wall hanging: *Smudge*, Elephant Sun (*note* being rebuilt at time of this post)

Fashions:
tees: terri.tees, she's got newness out people!!!
denim: *Boom*, Gettin Low
hair: Vanity Hair, Imani

PreFaaaabulous! (1)

My name is Epione Serendipity and I'm a prefab whore! This didn't happen overnight, mind you. No, it took me several years to figure out that I should be renting land, and not renting existing plots with already established houses. I kept seeing and wanting all these great homes on the blogs so about three months ago I found my own little piece of skyland.

The first house I want to share with you is the SeaFair Cottage by Liz Gealach from Thistle. How do I love Thistle? Let me count the ways-one, two, no, four-I have four houses from Thistle! If you like sweet, whimsical homes with a cottage feel to them then I highly recommend Liz Gealach's creations.

The SeaFair is a beautiful two story cottage with a soft blue exterior and yellows and blues on the interior. There is more than enough room to satisfy all of your decor desires but keep in mind that it's 231 prims. Here I am playing Chopin on a beautiful piano by Maar Auer. Can you believe I actually forgot that I even had a piano?!? I'll get my inventory organized someday.

The living room space is huge so you can totally separate and design different areas for whatever interests you. I'm showing off some holiday finds including the Cozy Nook set from Second Spaces.

I've always liked the little alcoves that you find underneath stairs. When I was little, I had one of these nooks in my house. I used to hide there and read ghost stories. The white tree and chairs are from {What Next}. I grew up having a fake white Christmas tree and I loved it! The only reason I looked forward to Thanksgiving is because I knew the next day we would put up the white tree.

Here is another great cookie making set from Just My Imagination. My cookie frenzy will start on December 26. I will be making chocolate chip, oatmeal (without raisins!), peanut butter, lemon and pecan, chocolate brownie, snickerdoodle and some sort of ginger concoction. In the background is the sanded wood dining room set by [croire].

My favorite part of the SeaFair is a space upstairs that I made into an artist type loft. I love to paint and draw and it would be so awesome to have my own studio...someday. The blue woodcutter patchwork chair is from one of my favorite shops, LISP.

The bedroom area was a great space for me to display the owl decal, another find from [croire]. Yes, that is a chinchilla from Neon Frog, sitting on the couverture ichacora bed.

There is a great upstairs back deck too!

It's December 25 so that means it's Christmas! I hope you have a wonderful holiday and please enjoy these last few days of 2010!

fashions
dress 1: Wretched Dollies, Candy Cane
dress 2: Wretched Dollies, Winter Angel
hair 1: Vanity Hair, Holy Night Special (group gift)
hair 2: Vanity Hair, Vanity Umber (group gift)
poses: Clique, Starry Eyed set

house and garden
house: Thistle, SeaFair Cottage
piano: Maar Auer, Concert Grand Piano

living room area: Second Spaces, Cozy Nook set in blue

alcove area: {What Next}, white tree, presents and cosy slipper chairs

kitchen:
Just My Imagination, On a Christmas Day cookie making set
[croire], Sanded Wooded set
plants: MBMO

artist loft:
LISP, Patchwork Woodcutter Chair
Second Spaces, Drafting Table
BP*, Canvas and Eazel

bedroom area:
couverture, ichacora bed
[croire], Owl decal
Neon Frog, chinchilla
Artilleri Home, TV Time
*Tatty Soup*, The Bibs Chair Faded in pink and turquoise

snowmen:
Facts, Elise
MBMO, Snowman with black top hat
Never You Mind, Mr Snowman
GG's Home and Garden, plaid snowman

ugh!

Let's get right to it. I've had a crappy week. No, I'm not a starving child in Africa. I don't have a fatal disease but can I have a bad day or week or year and feel...just sad? And just so you know, I do think about the starving children in Africa. I volunteer year-round not just during the holidays (I needed you to know this for some reason).

So what's the basis for all this angst? People, relationships...does it ever get any easier? When I solve one problem with someone it seems that another situation always pops up. And I can't just ignore it and run away from these obstacles. I used to do that but not now. No more. No way. The latest thang is a power play I'm having with a woman that for some reason has a deep dislike of me. She's almost a bully in her actions and words towards me. I'm not a child anymore. And she's definintely too old to be bullying (is 50 too old to be a bully? maybe not). She has MS and is in pain most of the time which is no excuse to be an angry mean bitch. And in my defense, if she didn't have MS, I think she would still be angry, still be mean and definitely still be a bitch! I almost confronted her months ago but she was going through this cancer scare and me being me, which is someone who genuinely cares about other people, I put it off.

But I'm ready to go off on her this week if necessary and I might just video it and put on youtube! When I blow up, people in my rl tell me it's a blast to watch (some have even called it sexy). I don't go off on people often but when I do, it's like Mount St Helens eruptus. My problem is that I wait to long to deal with these situations and my anger builds and builds and builds which isn't good either. But hey, I'm working through it.

The other angst is...men....*sigh*. Enough said. So painful. Like someone has ripped every ounce of your heart and soul and put them both down a deep dark hole, never to be found again. Sometimes hugging a teddybear really helps.

Enough angst. On to happier stuff. I logged on tonight and started sorting through all my holiday/Christmas stuff. I have lots but unlike Halloween where I managed to build a small inventory of about 200 items but never did a final decoration, I am determined to have a holiday theme on my land! As you can see, I have started quite a decent collection but it's already December 12 and my land basically looks like a junk yard not a lovely Christmas scene.

Hey, do you see the purple tree in the background? Purple fake trees are out-of-stock at both the Walmart and BigLots near me. There goes my plans for a whimsical Christmas.

When I finished sorting through my closet (inventory), I got out of my footsie pjs (footsie pjs are amazing in both lives!) and went shopping for all things fabulous! I started at Has Been which is having an awesome red sale (50-75% off) on selected items through Friday, December 17. I love Terrie Dreadlow's style-a mixture of vintage, funk, goth, punk with some elegance and beauty thrown in. I bought some items that had a holiday type feel to them.

I've been looking for a winter/holiday type of cabin or cottage but haven't found one yet so I decided to get the next best thing.  Something that always puts a smile on my face (and boy do I need one)- Gingerbread Houses! I bought four of them which I'll be sharing throughout December. This one is called the Gingerbread House by *LS* and can be found at the marketplace.

We will get through the  holidays unscathed. And the New Year always brings new beginnings, new ideas and new goals. Here's to unlimited potential in 2011!

pajamas: ((:Bleh:)), FabFree Xmas Shopping Tour
dress: Has Been, Margie in Black/Burgandy
hair: Clawtooth, Sugar Biscuit
gingerbread house: marketplace

Autumn Shelter

I have no idea how I've missed the Spruce up Your Space (SUYS) each month. In case you have been living under a rock like I've been, SUYS is a monthly event where furniture and home designers offer great decor for discounted prices over one or more weekends. This month's theme was warm and cozy. 14 designers offered some great pieces and I managed to be good and only purchased six of the 14. You can find more information about SUYS at Second Spaces.

This adorable home is the Autumn Shelter from Herbalys and it was only L150 for the SUYS!

Herbalys is a charming indoor/outdoor decor shop and after I bought the Autumn Shelter, I had to pick up some other things to go with my new house. I had to-really I did!

This is my first post where I will be presenting a room with decor. It's not great but I'm learning.

Clothes:
tee: terri.tees, Autumn one tee
pants: *Boom*, Seaman Pants
hair: Clawtooth, The Morning After
skin: Uzuri, Nawel

Home Decor:
Outside
house: Herbalys, Autumn Shelter (SUYS)
tree: Herbalys, Abe Tree 2
mushrooms: Herbalys, Happy'spore

Inside
bookshelf: Lisp, Woodcutter's Bookshelf (SUYS)
chair: Lisp, Autumn Shades Chair
table: Herbalys, Wood Table
books: Designer Prims, Messy stack of Books
basket: {theosophy}, Rogart Basket
print: Buttons, Live Love Laugh
tea: SL Marketplace
sofa: Lisp, Boho Sofa
side table: YomeShoujo, *DoT2*
birdcage: {theosophy}, Action Birdcage
barrel: Herbalys
flowers: Designer Prims, Vase of Flowers Coral and White
plant: Herbalys, Herba Vibrissae
fireplace: The Sea Hole, Relaxing Fireplace
rug: KOSH, Vintage Flutter Rug