Chic at Phil's Place

Six years old I am.

Working towards old lady status.

It has indeed been fun.


Hair: Flawless by Vanity Hair
Eyes: Mayfly Deep Sky Mesh Eyes (Deepest Purple Shadow)

Pose by: Beehive

This month's theme for The Challenge is Glass.  Two early arrivals worked very well together.

The chairs, table, very cute candy cane coffee cup and books are from "Just My Imagination" -Cleo Design.

The extremely well made daisy in glass container is original mesh from Kuro.



20.FIVE has a lot of new releases out with my favorite being MESH UNDIES. Who knew? The tank could certainly be worn as outerwear. A color change hud lets you pick between three colors plus black and white.

Poses by: furniture and Diesel Works

It is Thursday.

I have no Op Ed post written for Sunday.
What to do?

Well I don't actually HAVE to wax poetically each weekend, but since folks appear to enjoy my musings I will once again.

A forum post on another grid lead me on a thoughtful journey. The writer was mentioning the money he had made on that platform and that he typically, being a creator, made what he needed and hadn't spent any money in that world.

Now I am not a big shopper on any platform, real or virtual. I honestly don't believe much in "stuff"; I think many of us have too much "stuff" :D. I don't shop much in Second Life as I have a plentiful and ever expanding inventory from some of the best creators on the grid. I haven't shopped much in other worlds because, "A" there was nothing I wanted to buy or "B" I have been too busy building.

Berry asked in a meme some time ago what one item you would save from your inventory if you could only keep one thing. I am not sure what I said at the time, but in actuality it would be ----

EYELASHES.

I have only purchased one item in Cloud Party, mesh eyelashes. Truth be said I would have been very happy with traditional old fashioned eyelashes but I really did want those fluttery appendages even if we don't bat them all that much virtually.

In InWorldz my first (and only so far) purchase has been eyelashes.  There was a time when the typist would never, NEVER, leave the house without earrings. With no holes punched, I had to remember to clip something on as I exited the door. I am not sure I wore earrings going to the gym, but for every other outing, they were a must.

We are a vain bunch, most of us anyway. We have our quirks and our ego needs.

Mine, in the virtual world, are from Amacci.

Once in awhile a new hair comes along that really feels like "me".

This is Flawless by Vanity Hair. I can feel a new profile picture in the future *wink*.

Chandra gave out a very special holiday gift to her group. I am not in her group, but I am "special". NO, she didn't say that, but I know I am. Anyway we were joking a lot in IMs the other day and she asked me a question about "smut". I told her I didn't do smut except for her.

Now this is very tasteful "smut", I mean don't I look like a candy cane? But in the interest of Iheartsl's safe for work policy, I am adding a cut here.
This is the !dM Shibari - ropeHarness (simplest version). Checking the group, it is free to join. Stop by deviousMind or look up the group in search.



See those pretty feet? They are in great part a gift from the GOS group. The holiday gift was a very generous store credit. I added a little more to get these bare feet. The color matching of skins on the web worked great (I am SO not good at that). So happy girl with happy feet.




Poses by: Everglow

The Collage has opened its December round. If you haven't journeyed over, it is a fun place with a very creative layout.  Not only is it arty and inventive, it is super easy to see the items out.

With fantastic details, this {CE} Cozy Cuddle Bed Set is outstanding. Click the bed; the covers roll smoothly back. Sit in the desk chair; the computer and other office items appear.  SIT on the bed and start dancing. I kid you not, the first animation that comes up is a very nice dance. There are plenty of other choices of activities. The bed features singles, couple's cuddles  and parent with baby.

This set is copy only.


From Bellarose - the Italia Navy Living Room Set which also includes a very nice sofa table that would also work as a buffet.  I especially like the decor items. The couch has a large variety of PG animations as well as an XPOSE menu. Most items are transfer only; the couch has no permissions.


For the bargain hunters, check out this Shutter Field Country Coffee Set which includes teapot and muffins.


You might be a tag tired after exploring the streets at The Collage (nope, I am not giving any more info out). This Serenity Chair from Dreamscapes Art Galley might be just what you need to wind down.

Outfit by PARADISIS; GOS boots; Raspberry Aristocrat hair (old)

Poses by the furniture.

Now I knew I would love Gothmas by Gaslight but it took me until Christmas eve before my expectations were realized. Dark buildings against the snow covered hills. Constant, very realistic falling snow; it is indeed lovely.


Two very pretty releases can be found at this venue.

The lassitude & ennui Batty necklace is a "cute & gothy little necklace, with a bat wing pendant on a ribbon and a large bow at the side. Ribbon and pearl are texture-change, and there are 6 coordinated textures. Comes in silver, gold or black metal".

The Bliensen + MaiTai Drusilla Earrings come in three colors of globes with a choice of either red or black bows. Don't let the delicate nature fool you, those are skeleton hands holding the globes *wink*.

Find them both at the event.

My dress is a new release from Blue Blood, Themi. It comes in black, blue, pink, purple and red.



Poses by: Diesel Works

After three weeks of gathering and pictures, the Advent Hotlist comes to an end. We wish you all a wonderful holiday.

* 22769 - Holiday outfits for gals and guys

*EMO-tions - blond hair, earrings and dragon necklace for males


* Ginza - bunny outfit    (hair voting present from Alli&Ali)

Also of note:

* Formanails - color change nails and bangle set

* Vivanne - very nice gray zip jacket

KittyCats was once again empty so go later as you can only click once.

My Advent list is here: http://chicatphilsplace.blogspot.com/2013/11/advent-second-life-2013.html


Poses by: aDORKable and Vista Animations

Just a simple pretty picture this morning.

New from BAIASTICE for the holidays -

* Grace dress

* Rajah jewelery set

Classic and lovely.
Find the color perfect for you.


Hair by Vanity Hair

Pose by Diesel Works

OK. I admit it. While Bee did HER job in a timely manner, the blogger was sleeping in. But never fear a plethora of wonderfulness awaits you today.

On the Advent Hunt from LaRosa, this very lovely holiday gown. It comes with jewelry and nails. Small reindeer; large store, Bee says to look in a room with jewelry.





* EMO-tions - punky brown hair for girls, dragon earring for guys (or gals)

* Vivanne - handkerchief shirt in turquoise

* LC Fashion - a long skirt with COLOR CHANGING HUD


* Loordes of London - a simply gorgeous short dress don't miss it.


In the home, garden and prop arena the winner is StoraxTree with this very pretty vintage set.  Oh, ALL the StoraxTree gifts will be available the 24th and 25th. So if you missed one, you will have a chance to pick it up.



With so many great things, I would check all the places but here are some of note:

* 22769 - small cabin skybox room with misty mountain view

* Abranimations - couples piggyback set (I don't want to miss this)

* Fallen Angel - large white angel wings

* Ginza - tennis bracelet bangles in various colors

* KittyCats (Callie) - diamond kitty ears

* Kinzart - plushie for your collection

* Sway's - Christmas fence (better check my answer list - very cute)


My advent list (you MUST have it bookmarked by now) is here:

http://chicatphilsplace.blogspot.com/2013/11/advent-second-life-2013.html

Poses by: aDORKable

Busy busy gal lately I have been exploring both inworld and outworld. So I thought I would give you a little lowdown on what I have seen. These are of course only opinions and I am not any way advising you to "jump ship" and leave your grid of choice -- indeed it is mine too.

Second Life - I think I will be six in a week; I don't keep track any more than I do in real life. That's plenty of time to see the world change. There is no doubt that the best content creators are here. They may be other places too of course but many are JUST here and busy enough in one world. Our platform is vast and encompasses almost anything you could think of.

And that's part of the BAD side LOL. It does just that. It is a big world and you need to pick your corner of it and for me -- not stray too much. Generally I am in the fashionable, arty areas and that works fine for me. Now and then I somehow get off the path and out of my personal comfort zone and note that parts of SL have not changed since my birth. Poseballs are still in use; garish signs clutter the landscape.

Materials and alpha blending (sorting? I haven't looked at the SL build menu in awhile) are wonderful options to have. Prim size limits (both large and small) and the PHYSICS for mesh that so don't work without a lot of work-arounds are NOT good. Much of the nicest furniture out there has bad physics. We just ignore it, but it "could" be correct on upload with not a lot of effort (at least it is correct on several other "lesser" grids).

Cloud Party - With wonderful tech albeit very different than what we are used to and a browser based experience (no viewer uploads or updates), the ability to send your mesh back to your computer and unlimited free land of humongous (four sim) size -- you would think that CP would be further along the acceptance path than it is.

The two stumbling blocks seem to be the PG status and no money out issue. It seems like in limiting the issues of running the world, the devs have also limited the growth. And they have been on a one month "quiet period" (nope, the citizens really don't know what is going on) which seems to me a very bad plan. Hence the world pretty much stopped. The boards are quiet; I haven't made a sale since the beginning of the month when it became apparent (OK, "I" posted on the forums) that we had seemingly been deserted.

I have great hopes for Cloud Party. So many very good ideas there. Time will tell what happens.

Avination - I checked out this grid again briefly a few weeks ago. I had been there as a guest (another body) when it was young. Now, you can't currently (I didn't check this today but this has been true in the past) take money out of Avination -- so there is that.

My biggest gold star goes to the default avatar which really looks better than most. I am there, in my own shape with my name saved. I did some exploring but found that most of the shops were not taken care of by their owners. Very old signs and advertisements for events long past were often found. Checking the forum posts, it had been a VERY long time since they were active. Hence, I moved on.

Kitely - Getting a lot of press these last couple of months, I wanted to see how Kitely was. Now the biggest alarm bell for me with Kitely is that it isn't really FREE. When I was there you got 2 hours a month for free except in the sandboxes where you could upload your products to a Marketplace that can sell to many (not sure about how many) Open Sim worlds as well as Kitely residents.  My brief stay in another body didn't have me wanting to go through all the work to list products on the Marketplace once I saw that there is a 45 day waiting period for cashing out.

InWorldz - I am now two days old or maybe three in InWorldz. There is a long story here and I want to in part thank Berry for her post on The Knitting Circle and InWorldz in general.

I need to preface my musings on InWorldz with the revelation that I had past issues with some of the gird owners. It was in another lifetime before I even came to Second Life. But it was nasty and premeditated and I will likely never forget that. STILL, in the spirit of one of my latest Sunday posts, I am making every effort to put that behind me.

So just how did I get to InWorldz? Well a SL customer wanted a product of mine. She waved many real life dollars in front of my eyes (well, everything is relative) and on a morning when my todo list was shorter than usual I ventured over.

I had been there in another body a few months ago when the TOS fiasco was in full fumes. I can say, things seem much better now. Horray.

I logged in, found a sandbox, uploaded some parts of the build she needed (free happily since I had no money) and then set out to see if I could improve my avatar's look. I wasn't planning on staying but I like the adventure of putting together a new me.

I headed over to The Knitting Circle which indeed is a very PRET-TY build. I was in the Singularity viewer at the time as I had that installed. I made a complete circle of the two sim complex, doing what any good newbie does -- looking for free stuff.  I picked up a really cute mesh top from Bilo by joining the group. I do have to say that it looks like many of the folks joining The Knitting Circle haven't actually moved in; there was very little there in many of the shops. I hope that improves soon as it is a lovely place.

By using the Explorer Hud that you can pick up at the welcome area, I found a really nice free skin at CMC, some eyes, a lovely set of underwear as a holiday gift at the GLAM Mall, and hair at both EMO-tions and Mimi's Choice (Bryce guy hair but works for gals too). All decked out at the end of day one, I looked like this for my newbie profile picture.

Yesterday eve I was talking to my new friend (yes a story there too) who told me where I could buy some eyelashes. So while not in fashionista status, I DO have eyelashes not shown in this picture.

I uploaded my own Ug Boots from Cloud Party to finish up my completely free not-such-a-newbie wardrobe. I was a VERY good girl this morning and sorted my inventory in the new V2 InWorldz Beta Viewer which is working well except for taking off my mesh top on single clicking another object. Happily I have my snazzy undies on.

Now somewhere along the way I am setting up a shop in InWorldz, certainly not my intention but I am having fun and that IS the point. Oh, I forgot to mention one of the reasons I am willing to move my items over to IW -- the PHYSICS WORK THERE automatically much like in Cloud Party. Not only that, you don't need to mess with any of the uploader functions. In fact, so far as I know they don't work at all which was pretty frustrating until I just said, "what they hey, it's free" and let the uploader make the choices (something you SO do not do in SL).
The uploader actually DOES work just like SL, but truthfully it doesn't matter so much on bigger builds. For small items it would be best to work with the sliders or custom LODS.

Perfect physics (no walking through walls or being shut out by invisible ones), long distance viewing and TINY land impact count on some things (a mystery still). Oh my! My exact IM quote at the time was "DAMN it worked!" LOL. I guess I should add that there are three times the amount of prims per sim (two times for mainland) than in SL. So land impact isn't such a big deal. Still it is easier on the server and that is always good.

So that's my news of the week on the personal side. There were some really fantastic new releases this week so if you missed any posts, cycle back through a bit.

See ya Monday.

Busy day for me so this will be a short on prose post.

* KittyCats (Silken Moon) has a fun pack of goodies including these legging on many layers

* EMO-tions - hair for gals and guys (brown short)

* Loordes of London - hot pink hoop earrings (cute and sorry you can't see them well here)


* 22769 presents you with a rustic rocker.


 * StoraxTree's gift is a traditional couch

Also of note:

* Sway's has a pretty armchair in brown with pillows in holiday colors

* Ginza's gift box holds a delicate butterfly necklace

* LC Fashion's stocking gives a very cute table tree with particles

Pose by: aDORKable

New releases are out from BAIASTICE. Now I have to admit the the one you are NOT seeing in this post seemed the most "me". But I was feeling romantic and feminine this eve -- a place I don't go all that often. So instead of the obvious choice -- which you will likely see later -- I give you Gemma. With tons of colors to choose from I picked "green". Actually I think of this as kiwi, one of my favorite colors.


This is a lovely gown that wraps enticingly in the front, but for me it is all about the view from the back. So gorgeous. Most of you wont really care but for anyone who has actually made mesh clothing (mine are very simplistic but I have still gone through the motions), the inside of the bodice is also textured. That means that the tiny gaps between skin and dress don't show that nasty transparent effect. SO realistic! Very lovely.


I needed the perfect ladylike and demure jewelry to go with this dress. No big surprise, I found it in my Eclectica folder. Look for the Vintage Rose set, not new; still exceptional.

My backdrop in case you are wondering is an older release from Barnesworth Annubis. Standing the test of time beautifully, it is. 

Hair by Vanity Hair.

Poses by: aDORKable and Diesel Works

I can remember traveling in the tourist areas of Mexico long before I became a "traveler". The word on the street from the vendors was often "Almost Free!". They really wanted to sell their goods.

This is the Trompe Loeil Willoughby Lakehouse in warm (there is a cool version also). Now I don't know the story behind this build but it is for COLLABOR88 and it is just now out. The notecard mentioned the words "FINALLY".

It really doesn't matter. This is a great medium size house. 129 land impact with the snow (119 without) you will probably need a 64 x64 ish plot. It has a complete wrap around deck, a cosy second story bedroom and it is beautifully made.

Wait for it ---- $88 while at COLLABOR88. I seldom mention prices, but I wanted to get your attention.

Did I?

This pretty coat (navy jacket for the guys in a SEPARATE BOX) is today's prize on the Advent Hunt (look for a reindeer in this case a SMALL one) from {REVERIE} @ {Elysium}.  Hair is one of the RANDOM prizes at Alli&Ali.


* EMO-tions - dark mesh hair for gals and curly pony (non-mesh) in black for the guys.

* Vivanne - skirt and top as a dress (one-piece)

Also of note:

* Sway's - floor pillows with 5 animations

* Abranimations - Hobby horse

* Kinzart - another full avatar

* Loordes of London - pretty copper collar with gold insets

* Kittycats - a very cute chair (3 colors) from MALT  [Yesterday's gift from Somnia is now out - really nice kitty beds which are actually low stools.]

* Formanails - gold snake armband

* 22769 - fireplace

* LC Fashion - some fancy gold and diamond hoop earrings



Poses by: LAP (nla)

I am playing "what's in my inbox" this eve. It is Wednesday as I type this. Auto accept is a wondrous thing EXCEPT that you miss the text that often accompanies the review copies.  But tonight I think I have it.

From Bliensen + MaiTai - Mazurka - Ankle Boots for Genre in December.  LOTS of color combos are available.

From Second Spaces - "Not Ready for the Holidays" goodies which are SO much fun. There are three different decor items; presents, lights (includes all white version) and ornaments.   I marvel at the creative efforts of Elle Kirshner.



Poses by: aDORKable

I am standing outside in the snow in front of the new Barnesworth Anubis "cottage" for COLLABOR88. Now it is so not a cottage; it is a very roomy family home. Well I guess the super posh folks might possibly call it a cottage *wink*, but certainly not I.

My new hotpants and tartan top outfit from ArisAris isn't going to keep me very warm, but we don't need to WORRY about that! Ain't it great? "Get In" comes as a set but you could wear the items separately. Together they are just darling. So darling that I the tomboy shaped gal adjusted my measurements to comply with the curves needed. So cute!

I also love this delicate leaf necklace from Bliensen + MaiTai. Look for Dewdrop at We Love RolePlay.

My hair is a brand new release from Vanity Hair, La Latina -- perfect for Salsa dancing or pretty much any other activity. Tons of great colors to choose from of course.


The [ba] home features a patio and multi-paned windows (happily we can enjoy those without the washing detail). Inside  details abound and there is -- of course -- a built in fireplace as well as a large wall hutch.



But as I said, this is a BIG house and there is plenty of room for a second traditional heating source. How about another one in a bedroom?

This is the new set from Atelier Visconti for The Garden. The textures are gorgeous and the details superb. I especially like the decor pieces; check those out even if you don't have need for bigger furnishings at the moment. Texture change huds let you match fabric to your decor.


Poses by: Wetcat, !bang

* 22769 has a really lovely holiday hutch out for today.

Several places had empty boxes or yesterday's gifts still out so later in the day may bring YOU better results.

See ya tomorrow morning!

A lover of retro, I couldn't pass up showing you this stunning cocktail dress from Sonatta Morales (# 088) on the Peace On Earth Hunt.

Hair by EMO-tions



Rounding out my picks for the hunt, I give you a very pretty dress from [LivGlam] Boutique (#004); a very lovely and feminine present.

These pumps from Tonic (#162) work very nicely as a pairing.

That's my top ten. Oh, you say it's only seven? Ah, but there were three more posts (plus a few highlights here and there) before the top ten report started.

So I am calling those as three *wink*.

There were also a very nice selection of jewelry in this hunt, so don't overlook those stops. 

Enjoy the hunting!


Poses by: !bang, aDORKable

There is plenty going on over at The Garden these days.  One of my favorite releases is a collaboration between Consignment and Cheeky Pea, Quiet Night.


Along with the general comfortable feeling of the set, there are the details -- and you know how I love details!



Both couch and -- wait for it -- HIDE-a-Bed come in fabric as well as leather, both in neutral shades to blend with many decors.  Adult and family versions are available. There are sitting poufs and a rug as well.  I added a different floor covering courtesy of Storaxtree as it went so well with the wall decal from Little House of Curios.


The set includes a very detailed entertainment area with lots of built in decor. If you don't actually watch videos, you can easily replace the video prim with a painting or photograph.


There are pose props and gatchas outside the entrance and lots of furnishings indoors. One item I particularly liked was these marquee letters from 7. 

Find your "must haves" from today's Advent countdown gifts. There are many to choose from.

* Ginza - flower earrings that match the necklace of a couple of days back

* LC Fashion - a pack of blush makeups perfect for any time of year

* Vivanne - Cute Spring dress in blues and neutral print



* EMO-tions - belt for gals; necklace for guys (resizes for gals attaches to hand so needs to be reattached :D)

* Formanails - long zebra stripe in brown and black


* 22769 has a holiday sofa with many poses for singles and couples

* Le Cock has three TRANSFER holiday boxes for gift giving



Also of note:

* Sway's has a darling Santa Cookie tray today. Unfortunately I didn't find the clue and Bee had no better luck. Good hunting!

* Abranimations has a robot dog avatar

* Falln Angel has a lovely red ribbon (modern) holiday tree with particles

* KittyCats has SLink sock appliers if you have SLink feet

* Kinzart has another full avatar

Poses by: aDORKable

Fun and futuristic -- hoodie and vest from [sYs] (#035) and printed mesh jeans from *TuttiFrutti*  (#074)

It's good to be young on the POE6.

Boots by Prim and Pixel.

Pose by: Diesel Works

It's an eclectic Advent Day; something for everyone I suspect.

*KittyCats (*Funky*Junk*) - gorgeous holiday pergola. Beautiful detailing.



*EMO-tions - hair (one for guys also)

*StoraxTree - Reindeer and decorated tree decor

*Needful Pixel - latex outfit with Xcite! and Sensations

*Formanails - black with hot pink details -  optional bangles


*Sway's - padded stool with animations

*22769 - rustic side table



Also of note:

*Loordes of London - multicolor flats (shoes)

*Kinzart - another full avatar (M and F)

*Ginza - pretty butterfly earrings

*Le Cock - nice gray beanie with badges (doesn't resize well)

Not all gifts were out; not all places accessible this morning.


My advent list is here:  http://chicatphilsplace.blogspot.com/2013/11/advent-second-life-2013.html

Pose by: Sugar Mill (nla)