Otherworldly

The 6th Midwinter Fair has opened its doors, welcoming visitors to a sample a mix of new releases, gachas and best-selling items from 50 creators. The line-up mixes well-known names such as Junbug, Faida, Fallen Gods and Bliensen+MaiTai with brands that I am less familiar with and it is one of those that I am featuring in these shots, together with some new jewellery pieces from the Plastik.

Trompe Loeil offers both a cottage and a sofa for the December round of Collabor88 and it was the sofa that caught my eye, with its elegant curved lines and rich leather textures. It also seemed like an excellent way to show off some lingerie from Luxuria and to get Ran down to his boxers.

Bento is finally here for real now that it has been added to the official SL client (and a non-beta of Firestorm with Bento should be just around the corner) and Damien Fate of FATEplay has released a couple of things he had been sitting on for a while. One of them is the Lanne cloak and to show it off more fully I decided that a video was in order. The video also showcases the Elven Throne from HEXtraordinary, a new release for We Love Role-Play as well as items from Senzafine, paper moon and the the Plastik.

Another fine winter day, and a chance to show off a couple of items that I’ve picked up to fit in with the season.

The second Deco(c)rate from MadPea Productions is out today and I have done another unboxing video to show off its contents. I also took the opportunity to show off the winter version of one of the Landscapes Unlimited mesh landscapes and matching off-sim surrounds that I bought on their recent sale and it made a great backdrop for the items in the Winter Nostaglia Deco(c)rate. In the video you also get to see new hair from Wasabi Pills and a new necklace from the Plastik.

In a couple of days (specifically, on the 9th)  “A Winter Solstice in the Mystic Realms” will open and offer a huge selection of exclusive items themed around either winter or fantasy (and, in many cases, both). The sim is fittingly enough a fantastic winter wonderland which really puts you in the mood for dressing up like an ice princess of one variety or another. You can get a preview of some of items in the shopping guide and I will be taking a closer look at the beautiful set by the Plastik.

It started with a fancy gown and a fancy hair, but then I slipped on a blindfold with a Cyclopean jewel and suddenly I was no longer thinking of fancy Christmas parties. A fortune teller, perhaps? No, too grand for that. And Ran had mentioned the “oracle queen” from the Artesia comic, which stuck with me even though the clothing is not at all right for it. But it still gave me the inspiration to dig out one of the thrones (I have collected a few) in my inventory.

A new month and a new round of We Love Role-Play means that I have a treasure trove of new releases to share with you. Since I picked up the fatpack of all Landscapes Unlimited items when it was on sale last weekend, I decided to setup one of the full sky landscapes and create a little village for my adventuress to stop by in, perhaps for a drink at the old well.

The holiday season here, and sims and designers both are turning themselves over to winter. I decided to visit one lovely winter sim, It All Starts with a Smile, to feature a couple of items I’ve picked up this last week to get my avatar ready for below-freezing weather.

I paid a visit (aka, I spent way too long trying to teleport there) to the Arcade yesterday and tried my luck on a couple of machines. Fortunately for my virtual wallet, which took a hit with the recent sales, there weren’t too many machines that tempted me (and some of those that did tempt me did not offer Slink sizes). But Blueberry’s Show Time set caught my eye and the machine was kind enough to let me put together a full look after a few tries.

Yesterday was one of those days where I had to indulge in some virtual retail therapy to cheer myself up, so I picked up some landscaping sets from Studio Skye that I have been eyeing for a while and did some rebuilding of the winter corner of our sim. I am rather liking the result and decided to use it as the backdrop for a new video, where I look at another animated/customisable hair from Little Bones and some new makeups from the Plastik.

Its time for that weekend of shopping madness again. In the last years, Black Friday has become a thing here in Sweden as well, even though its not a holiday weekend for us. I am not one to scoff at a good sale, but I have been trying to teach myself not to shop for the sake of shopping or just because something is on sale. I am not ready to move out into the woods and live an entirely self-sustaining life, but I have found that Second Life can be a good substitute for RL retain therapy. If I feel the need to shop just to perk myself up, much better if I do that in SL. Fortunately, there’s no shortage of excellent deals on virtual goods and if skins are your vice then the Skin Addiction Black Friday sale has you covered.

I am having hot chocolate as I type this. Christmas-flavoured (aka gingerbread flavoured) hot chocolate from Monbana. No whipped cream though, since it is the middle of the week and I plan to be a (mostly) good girl until Christmas, when I will eat entirely too much food and candy. But I had to at least have some hot chocolate today because it is cold and dark outside and my avatar is looking so very cosy with her mug of hot chocolate (at least, I think I picked the chocolate) and her cosy sweater dress.

Truth recently started up a VIP group which will be getting an exclusive hair per month. I believe the joining fee is lower for the first month (I think it was L$265 at the moment) and with two hairs already available for members that is a fabulous deal. I hadn’t been too keen on the first member style, but then this Sugar hair was added to the group and since I am always in desperate need of good updos it was an easy decision. It also turned out to be an excellent hair for showing off a pair of new earrings and also this new fantasy skin, both from the Plastik.

Time for another full-on fantasy look, combining pieces from three different but very creative designers: Aisling, Noble Creations and the Annex. It started with the pieces from the Annex gacha and grew from there into a truly frosty winter queen with a dark edge as evidenced by the armour-like pieces from Noble Creations.