Floundering Around SL

We haven't done any blog meme's in the past but Berry's Bucket List Challenge has captured our attention. Our friend Dulcie Mills posted her bucket list meme on her "Dulcie's Destinations" blog site and we decided to give it a try! SL is such a great platform for art, creating, friendship, and interactions that it was easy to dream big with this. So as we hang off the fish in the picture, maybe its time to stop floundering around and be more enterprising and challenge ourselves!

Verde's Top 5

1. Have a full sim Art Gallery/Museum/Learning Center complex much like Campus D'Art. I just learned about Campus D'Art from this wonderful and sad tribute to Cecilia Delacroix by Melusina Parkin. I am really touched by her story and it reminds me once again that SL and RL are not forever. I think that is what inspired me to do this challenge.
2. DJ at least once, maybe even at one of my fave clubs like The Velvet or Alt7. You know we love DJs and music. I enjoy making playlists for myself but I have been too shy to share them with many people. I would love to just be brave and see what happened.
3. Make something in mesh. I took the first step today and visited the Full Perm Fair -- today is the last day! SLURL
4. Go to a poetry open mike and read one of my poems. I guess I should try writing some new poems too.
5. Be involved in a successful SL business. I have always been fascinated by SL businesses and would love to learn more about what it takes to make it happen first hand.

Piedmont's Top 5   

1. Build/create a club with a theme that is low maintenance to run and DJ there. I am inspired by the desire as a musician myself to play music I like and share it.
2. Be a successful model without even modeling. OK! So we share a blog that has lots of fashion and posing and click-click from the camera but I want to feel like I'm a model. 
3. Have a group of friends that all have unique SL skills as mesh/script/animations and create things. I love the connectivity of peoples efforts together and think the possibilities would be fulfilling to me.
4. Have a business in SL where I design the clothing, skin, jewelry, and accessories that is good enough to gain respect from peers. Verde somewhat inspired me but I really like getting to a store that has everything that I like and looks high quality, I would love to have the talent to do that.
5. Have a public sim that is attractive to the eye and keep the look flowing through seasons. We had a few homestead sims before but never a full sim to create on. I would absolutely love to have the time to do the creating of it and have a beautiful sim to roam around! 

Pose Prop: Weather or Not - The Moon Flounder

Pie chasing Verde - happens all the time :)

Happy 2013 from Pie and Verde

Happy New Year everyone!

Love,

Pie & Verde

What Verde is wearing

Body:
Eyes: Poetic Colors - Summer - Lavender field
Lashes: Cake - Bedroom Lashes
Skin: Curio - Moonbeam - Lovely - Vintage Rose
Hair: Bliss - Mari Hair - Caviar
Manicure (glove): CaNDY NaiL -  #000 Basic Nail Silver
Shape: my own

Clothes:
Gown - Purple Moon - Odette Gown - Silver
Shoes: DECO - Mesh Distressed Heel - Licorice - Fifty Linden Friday

Jewelry: 
Earrings: EarthStones - Diamond Blizzard Earring
Wedding ring: EarthStones - Eternity Bridal Set - platinum

What Piedmont is wearing

Body:
Skin – KAI - Kai medium
Hair – Coma - Varsity
Eyes - .ID. Deep - colors brown
Shape - my own

Clothes:
Tuxedo - Hoorenbeek – Black pin stripe
Boutonniere – L&B– Rose Desire/Antique

Shoes – Redgrave -  Charleston Loafers

Jewelry:

Tie tack/ earrings -Chop Zuey
Wedding ring: EarthStones - Eternity Bridal Set - platinum

Pose prop: Aphrodite Restaurant

Merry Christmas!

Pie and I are all in the holiday spirit. We have sent out our holiday cards to all our SL friends and we wanted to send special greeting to you! And I promise to be more involved in the blog in 2013. Over the holiday break (no work this week, yay!) I will be showing off my holiday outfits and our decorations and more.

Back to The Grind...

Early days, in the Samjogo skybox

It has been a while since I visited this blog and for the love of all the devoted followers and readers, I am back!! Ha! Verde and I have been very busy in RL and the blog has kind of set on the back burner. So this is a warm-up, just posting some pictures of us and getting the feeling I want to post on this blog again.

At the Bad Monkey

Verde and I have kept up with a homestead property after leaving Seahorse Island and recently gave that up as well. We are at the Chelsea Hotel as well as Verde's Linden home and our Skybox. We still go out together occasionally and and end up dancing together in RL and keep the club music in the background. Sl is great but when your partner is here, It is all about that!

Verde at The Chem Lab

Verde and I decided to build a club from scratch last year too. We decided to load it with all the things we both love. SOOOO. Verde is a scientist in RL so that meant we had a scientific theme. Strange for a club but fun to build molecules, lab equipment, microscopes, all of that from scratch. Sadly we were built and never used the building as a club, so that will have to be a future endeavor. The Lab was packed away in my inventory! So it is good to be back posting here and look for more blogging from the Grind.

Spring Sim..The 50's Look

The spring sim has sprung! Verde and I discussed doing a retro look in the spring and we got busy as soon as the snow melted! The surround sim mountains bloomed in fresh green, our Linden trees are set to spring, and Verde and I set to put the "Bomp she bomp she bomp" to life!

50's house 

Our house was found on Marketplace, the Slurl does not work though, the sim is empty. The house is mod, copy, and134 prims. Its a decent build that we found needed some slight construction, worth it because we loved the look so much.

Living room

 We found great retro furniture and stores all over SL and put together a nice, real feeling 50's home. The sofa came from LP2 furniture.
The TV and most of the trimmings in the house are from Artillerie. Artilleri has so many great items to chose from, the detail is amazing, but so is the prim count at times! Be careful!

Kitchen

The Kitchen is also mostly from Artilleri. The light fixture came from a place called % furniture and Lighting. This place is awesome, it has wallpaper and other items for a retro build that are done in the correct fashion, quite affordable, and very detailed. We have two different light fixtures from this place and an old-fashioned glider on our porch that swings!

The Drive-In

We decided at the last minute to add an authentic working drive-in that has all the amenities! I got the sign on Marketplace and the Drive in at Eclectic Randomness. The Drive-in is actually a Horizon product. This was a great idea and a great build. There is a working playground fenced in that has many sit poses on, a projection booth and snack bar. It is 333 prims all total, but can be trimmed down as it is set up to be a sky box. Ours comes in at about 298 prims.

We have been enjoying the retro build this spring, and the fashion! I predict we will be doing a 50's fashion blog shortly as Verde and I have been ramping-up our wardrobe in this style as well! OK Daddy -O!

π

Wildlife on the Sim

In the summer, I had a great time shopping for, and building a realistic coral reef. As a person that is a salt-water-fish enthusiast and a snorkel nut, I am quite familiar with the species. So the reef was quite interesting and yes, Jaws did show up!

Now that we are into a frigid winter, the sim needed some wildlife. This seems to be becoming my trademark as in fall, I had a giant turkey vulture, and a huge brown owl. So the winter needed some wildlife and off to the stores I went. Not being a fan of the "static pose" one prim poster animal, I decided to look and make the choices fitting of our efforts on the sim. Here is what I found.

Animals on the Sim

 The animals on the left are from Sculpty Creation Animals. This store is absolutely amazing, the animals are life-like and low prim. All the animals shown in this blog are animated and move in a realistic manner. The price is within range for the design and quality of the product. I love flying around the sim watching or sneaking up as if I am in the wild myself and spying on these animals in their natural setting.



Pictured above are mountain goats, elk, white tail deer, albino deer, a squirrel, and a chipmunk. I have strategically placed these critters around the sim to appear as if they are roaming free. These animals do not roam around, they have movement and are still until you come withing 10 meters. It is amazing how some wildlife can add a bit of realism to the sim.

More Sim Animals!

There are even off-sim floating polar bears, and a seal Island with a few seals moving in place. The seals are on an island and are discernible to the viewer at even the lowest graphic setting. The snow owl in this picture is from Animania. If you like birds, you will LOVE this place. Animania has much more than birds, but this is by far their best animal. I had a bird aviary (for my Verde of course!) on Parrot Key in the summer and most of the birds came from this place. There are many free roaming, and a few that are perched and fly in a circle that is set in the menu by the owner.

The bald eagle shown in this picture is a free-roaming type that stays on your parcel, it is sculpty and is around 20 prims. This beauty comes from Glowing Heights. This is a great little shop that has quite a few different species of animal, all look the part. The menu allows you to rez 1 to 5 birds at a time, I only rez 2 at a time to keep the look real. Look closely at this bird and please go in-world to see it, you will want it.

Browny and Off-Sim Seal Island

The brown bear pictured above has a trout in its mouth that appears after he bobs his head up and down looking for a fish in front of him. The fish appears in his mouth after a few bobs! It is a real riot to watch, and prompted me to put a few free roaming trout in the area of this browny!  The off-sim seal island is also pictured here. I put a few seals on the bank inland to add a realistic feel. These guys are big and they are animated as well, both pictured animals are from Sculpty Creation Animals.

Check out the wildlife at these stores, it feels like a trip to the zoo for me! I cant wait till spring, I am already plotting and planning the return and addition of a few more critters!

∏

The Log Home

SculptyWorks Log Cabin on Seahorse Island

After shopping around on Marketplace, and visiting several of their recommended log cabins, Verde and I came up with a very simple log home that was just enough for the both of us. It was simple, and nicely texture. Of course...I derezzed it and got a three-story log home made by SculptyWorks

The Cabin is 115 prims unfurnished for 3000L. Furnished is 225 prims and 7000L. I got the unfurnished version and was allowed for the first time to furnish it. Of course Verde was out ill and entrusted me not to hang Black Sabbath posters or turn it into a man cave, so I did what I think is a "couple friendly" job.

I extended the back porch to accommodate our jacuzzi and was able to light the place up with great low prim nicely texture Victorian posts from Abiss Lighting.

The Cabin is cozy and nuzzled in a prime spot on Seahorse, I love flying around it and looking at its beauty. I am satisfied and hope that the desire to derezz does not overtake me until springtime, when Seahorse takes another new look and Verde and I look to adapt our look to our setting!

Stalled...

This post has been sitting in draft mode for a while. Pie had just rezzed a new log cabin for us to use as our winter home and I had started digging through my inventory to find some furnishings that looked rustic enough. I wanted to take a break and show you some new lingerie I just bought on sale at 5th and Oxford and take a break from rezzing, moving, deleting etc. Before I finished writing this post, rl work got really hectic and I came down with the flu. So here it is. A bit late... actually quite late. In the intervening time, Pie deleted this log house, found us another one and decorated it himself :) I am sure he will be showing you all he has done very soon.

What Verde is wearing

Body

Eyes:  Night Rain by Poetic Colors

Lashes: Bedroom Lashes by Cake

Skin: Misty - Pale by League

Makeup: Lipstain A - by Chelle

Shape: my own

Hair: Mavi - Mocha by Truth

Nails: Nail polish - Basic red by Candy Nail

Clothes

Alicia bra and panties by Luxuria (on sale 5th and Oxford)

Jewelry

Ring: Eternity Bridal Set - Platinum by EarthStones

The Winter Sim

The winter on the Seahorse Islands has brought a new look. Clark found a great raw file and we have some control of our terrain, I got a new set of off sim surround mountains that will change with the seasons. (some of the textures are lame...other are striking!)
It took some planning and trust, but the group has come together and made a very palatable winter Sim. There is flow and continuity now and no wasting valuable prims to make winter look like winter on a sandy beach terrain!
Our group has begun to gel an go beyond the boundaries a bit to create what has been our best look to date. I believe we are getting good at this hope the pictures are proof this group has class and great style. What a remarkable time it is creating in this world.
I have a feeling all the winter animals will soon be available to view in this blog, there are so many animated animals on the sim that it deserves its own post!
PIE

Pictures: All pictures are of the winter sim on Seahorse Island.

The Fall Sim

When we grew tired of our summer look, the neighbors of the SING group spoke about a possible change of season sim. Verde and I planned to do a Halloween look and tried to keep the appearance to a detail of Autumn. Our neighbors Clark and Dulcie did the same.

I put a babbling brook on our once palm-treed parcel, Verde used Linden trees that would give us a low prim detail tree. We also rezzed a new house that seemed to fit the look.

On our neighboring parcel once called Parrot Key, we made a spooky yet real feeling Vulture Key. I found some corn that I covered an area with, a low prim yet nicely textured house, a barn, and I assembled a grave yard under Verde's direction and taste. We both had great fun shopping at this time of year and had some extra add-on pieces by the time our neighbors decided to have a group Halloween party. A rusty windmill, a water tower and a pool filled with blood rounded off the parcel I had the most fun with till that point!
Changing the Sim with the seasons has been great fun. Building and shopping for items was equally as fun for Verde and I.

Top pic: Peacock Cove in Fall
Middle: The view from Vulture Key to Peacock Cove
Bottom: The scary house and water tower on Vulture Key

SING.......The Summer Sim

The beauty of having four parcels split with really like-mined people is there is a nice continuity on the sim. I started renting a parcel with my wife and her friends on Seahorse Isle and soon got to see that one bad neighbor could upset the flow and look of the sim. Our covenant wanted the sim to look the same and not too much terra-forming. Our neighbor made what looked like a giant purple chess set that destroyed the beauty that we had envisioned. After speaking to the landlords the tenant left and I took over the rental on that parcel. Above is what we all did.
We formed a group called SING that stands for: Seahorse Isle Neighbors Group. We dance together, have holidays together and even had a wedding together this last year.
Renting in SL can be fun, finding the right people for neighbors is key to having a great look and great times on the properties.

Above:Peacock Cove (left)
The reef on Peacock Cove (middle)
The parcels in summer (right)

New beginnings

Our wedding
Photo by Rex Requiem

Pie and I have decided to do a blog together for the new year, 2011. The previous year was very good to us. We rented some land together and moved in together, then we got engaged, and finally we got married on December 12th, 2010. Our SL is intertwined. So far we have been mostly having fun with friends, exploring and learning. This year we have some higher aspirations. I want to do some more writing and get my back to my photography. Pie.... well he can tell you himself but I think he wants to do more building.

So what will this blog focus on? Well, I guess the types of things we like. There will be fashion, because we both like to shop and dress. There will be lots of photos because we both have fun creating images. I think we will chronicle our Second Lives and our creative explorations. We may even recruit a few more people to help out. One thing for sure, we will do what we enjoy and what makes our hearts sing.
Happy New Year, Welcome 2011