I’ve been randomly going through a few of the current hunts whenever I’m around with a few minutes to spare. While hunting for a Cheshire Cat scarf from the Chase of the Beast hunt, I found myself in Panda Express, a shop I hadn’t thought of or visited in quite some time. After finding the adorable scarf that brought me there, I couldn’t leave without buying the Oh Deer! Tribal Horns with the great curved horns and multi-colored feathers. There’s also a version of the horns that’s plain along with ears and skins in both tribal and plain versions.

I know my last post featured a variation of this vest from silentsparrow, but it’s another limited edition, and I wanted to blog about it before it goes away. Hyasynth created this Oh Deer! version of the Fenris vest for the StumbleBum Brigade this past weekend, but that was postponed at the last minute because so many of the designers were busy with the Melt event. These vests are still out for the week though, so hurry over to silentsparrow if you like them.

If you were wondering why they’re also named Oh Deer!, then just take a look at the backs of the vests, and the answer will become obvious. My favorite is the faded version because I like the way it blends with my faun fur, but the regular and amanita versions are great too.

Body
Hair: Exile Ada / earth
Skin: Leafy Miso Lune Wicker – DB
Faun: Titania’s Court Female Faun – Chestnut
Antlers: Panda Express Oh Deer! Tribal Horns
Eyes: Shine Silent Lucidity Gasoline (large)

Clothing
Vests – silentsparrow (oh deer!) Fenris Leather Vest in 3 styles – regular, faded, amanita

Poses
Close-up: Glitterati Headshot 2
Other photos: Reel Expression Curvy AO and Shoes 02 – Curvy

Through the course of my education in real life, I’ve been a student at a handful of universities, but hands down, my favorite university experience has been, and most likely will always be, at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks. The mascot is a polar bear, and the sports teams are called Nanooks, so you’d hear cries of “Go Nanooks!” at all the hockey games I loved attending, and along the way, I started collecting everything I could find that had a polar bear on it. So that should explain the post title at least once you see my silentsparrow goodies from Melt. And if you’re curious about the word nanook, it’s a form of the Inuit word for polar bear (also spelled nanuq).

As you might guess from that intro, I was really excited to see the items at Melt after reading this quote from Radio Signals. “This project is a study of translations. I presented 25 artists within Second Life with a concept of creating art with these words in mind: Drowning. Melting. Polar bears. Arctic. Culpability. Corporate greed. Inevitability. Extinction.” The designers truly rose to the occasion with a wide array of creative, thoughtful items.

I picked up a number of items, but I thought I’d focus on just a couple of favorites because I’ve been wearing them since I bought them. My love for silentsparrow and hyasynth Tiramisu is no secret, and it was no surprise to me that I had to have her creations as soon as I saw them. When you buy the tattoo, you actually get 3 versions – regular, faded, and iced. I’m wearing the iced version here because the blues bring out the broken icy hearts and spirals and the polar bears drawn in hya’s whimsical style. The tattoo extends all the way down the right leg. I didn’t think about much I was covering with my jeans until I started this post, and I’m sure the tattoo will be shown off more here in the future. The blue of the Fenris leather vest is striking on its own, but the addition of the broken heart and polar bears seen in the tattoo is what made it a must-have for me.

Body
Hair: Exile Carlotta / blizzard
Skin: Tuli Hope goth 07
Eyes: Shine Silent Lucidity Sky (large)

Clothing
Tattoo: silentsparrow iced Ursala Glacies Tattoo
Vest: silentsparrow ursala Fenris Leather Vest
Jeans: Decoy Dana 76 jeans – Dark
Shoes: **DP**yumyum Shoes

Props and Poses
Poses: Reel Expression Shoes 01 – Curvy and Arty V2 02 – Curvy
Backdrop: Frick Winter Scene Skybox

Exile released 3 new hairs this morning, and I’ve spent most of my time in world today flipping from style to style and color to color. Some hairstyles just seem more one color than another, and then I also have my favorite colors in the new textures. Of course, my favorites change from moment to moment, but still I have my favorites.

I thought I’d do a quick post today to show off the new styles in my favorite color of the moment in each color pack, and I matched up Shine eyes and Leafy Miso skins in the Lune tone to go with each one.

Credits
Top Row Left: Exile Lucia / natural (light blondes pack); Shine Silent Lucidity Ice; Leafy Miso Icebox

Top Row Right: Exile Odette / wheat (dark blondes pack); Shine Silent Lucidity Sky; Leafy Miso Nude

2nd Row Left: Exile Cassie / hazelnut (light browns pack); Shine Silent Lucidity Slate; Leafy Miso Wicker

2nd Row Right: Exile Lucia / whiskey (dark browns pack); Shine Silent Lucidity Grass; Leafy Miso Seabreeze

3rd Row Left: Exile Odette / russet (reds pack); Shine Silent Lucidity Kiwi; Leafy Miso Salad

3rd Row Right: Exile Cassie / violetdawn (blacks pack); Shine Silent Lucidity Violet; Leafy Miso Scarlet

Bottom Row: Exile Lucia / garnet (wildcards pack); Shine Silent Lucidity Gasoline; Leafy Miso Sky

Today’s look has several new pieces in it that are a lot of fun. I think I’ll start at the bottom and work my way up. The ravewarmers aren’t new as far as I know, but they’re new to me, and I love the little glowing vials that hang off the side of them. Moving up a bit, the pants are new from Toxic, and I think the tartan patches add a bit of color and funk to black pants. When you visit Toxic, you’ll notice that the designer really doesn’t shy away from color, and I guess you can tell I follow the same philosophy.

The skin is Miso, a new release from Leafy. Can you believe it’s her first skin? I think the lips are really cute in particular, and you can tell she has a lot of fun with color when she’s designing the makeups. Definitely check out her demos to see if they work on your shape!

The last piece of newness is hard to miss. It’s that big mass of purple hair on top of my head. Kavar released the new textures at Exile earlier today, so everyone should run over there right now to try them all out. Zoe remains one of my favorite hairs, and it’s such a big and fun hair that I usually wear it in one of the wildcard colors to just kick it up that much more.

Body
Hair: Exile Zoe / astral
Skin: Leafy Miso – Lune Rainbow
Eyes: Shine Silent Lucidity Aurora (large)
Lashes: Worldwide Industries Rainbow Hearts on my Lashes

Clothing and Accessories
Sweater: Exile Undone purple/green
Pants: Toxic Skinny Tartan Patch Hipsters Purple
Legwarmers: Plastik RaveWarmers – Montmartre
Shoes: Treads Kboots
Lip Piercing: ellabella No Rain Here

Poses
Reel Expression Expression 3 – Curvy

Kavar has been working so hard on creating new hair textures and retexturing hairstyles at Exile. You may have already seen a preview of them from Gogo, and of course, you’ll see them scattered throughout my posts because if I’m wearing hair, then I’m wearing Exile. I’ve actually been wearing the new textures for a bit, so if you think you’ve spotted them around here or in my Flickr stream, then you probably have. Soon, very soon, you’ll be able to check them out for yourself at the shop.

Since Kavar first started handing me sample colors, I’ve been changing my hair color daily. I still can’t decide on a favorite though I do love my darker shades and purples of course. With that in mind, I have to say that the violetdawn shade that I’ve always loved is even better now. Just look at all that shine and the layers of color in the purplish black. My current RL hair color is currently inspired by the previous violetdawn shade, and I’m going to have to go back to my stylist with this headshot or another photo to see if my RL color can get a boost too.

I’m also wearing my new collar from Plastik. I had the hardest time picking one out because there were tons of colors and patterns. Each pack comes with two textures, and then you get 4 collar styles in each texture, so for just L$269, you get 8 collars. I was a little worried about how they would look on me since I have a shorter, fatter neck, but the fitting was quite painless and quick, and I like the end result a lot.

The rest of the outfit is mostly from silentsparrow and uses a mix of hyasynth’s recent Kurai Tart release (bodice and arm warmers) and one of my favorite skirts, the Gutter Glitter scrap of a skirt. Hyasynth has made me love arm warmers with some of her recent releases, and these in particular have a great shape, and I adore the bits of lace over the hands and the big bows.

In most of my outfits, I’m not a big fan of exposed midriff, so I covered up a tiny gap between the bodice and skirt with a sash from the Gabriel set at Bare Rose. That set, as you might expect from Bare Rose, contains 4 colors of this sash, and I use them a lot to add some color to an outfit or to help me cover up. Because the outfit was mixing a lot of purples, I kept the rest black with tights from Luck Inc and heels from Periquita. The heels are one of my wardrobe staples because they’re scripted for a ton of colors, and the oil color I’m wearing here is a great black with a bit of an almost purple sheen.

Body
Hair: Exile Ada / violetdawn
Skin: Pink Fuel Skye – Kaoru (dkbrow)
Eyes: Shine Silent Lucidity Violet

Clothing
Top: silentsparrow (dusk) Kurai Tart bodice and arm warmers
Collar: Plastik Recluse Collar – Buckled – Resonance
Skirt: silentsparrow (bruise) Gutter Glitter scrap of a skirt
Belt: Bare Rose Gabriel (optional sash) Purple Jacket
Tights: Luck Inc Wool Panty black
Shoes: Periquita Stiletto in oil

Poses
Reel Expression Sassy 06 – Curvy and Casual 06 – Curvy

I think I’m a bit late on this Community Spirit challenge, but really it’s never too late to highlight a wonderful person like my friend Phire Zuhra. Phire blogs at Style Genesis with her best friend Sakuradawn Lei, and I grabbed the cute photo of her from her Flickr stream.

Anyone who knows Phire knows that she has a wicked sense of humor and is quick with a hug when someone is feeling down. These things are all part of what make her amazing, but the reason she came to mind for this challenge to highlight someone who builds community and encourages people is her support of creators. She’s guinea pig extraordinaire for Lazy Places, the shop owned by Sakuradawn and her partner Sven, and that’s a very important part of the process that keeps bringing Lazy Places cuteness to our inventories. We all owe a debt of gratitude to Phire for that alone. Phire is also friends with Lola79 Heinrichs of Lolapop!, and I know from seeing them on Plurk that Phire encourages and supports Lola through praise, suggestions, and blogging.

I also have to say that Phire has been a huge supporter of my shop Shine for ages now. She was at the Covet sim grand opening and was one of the first people to buy jewelry from me, and then she was the very first person to blog my jewelry. I’m not a prolific creator, but with every release, Phire is right there with kind words and great ideas like adding more rings to my sets. Phire’s enthusiasm is contagious, and I think any community should honor those who bring so much joy to those around them, so I hope I’ve done Phire some justice with this post. Thank you Phire for all that you do for us.

The first bit of February has really flown by for me. It feels like the first of the month was yesterday, and I’m not sure where all the days have gone. I guess a bit of it has been eaten up by my Ozimals bunny addiction. They’re so cute that I just couldn’t resist any longer and had to get a few to keep me company.

I originally intended to just have a couple as pets living in my house, but then I decided to let them breed, and I needed a new plan. For now, I have a very simple meadow area set up in the sky for the bunnies to roam, and then I thought it was a perfect excuse for me to actually use one of the many prefabs tucked away in my inventory. I wanted something small and cozy and immediately thought of the red bungalow from Chez Toi.

You may recall that my last post highlighted a little beach cottage from Chez Toi, and at that time, it was the only item in the store. Now I’m happy to say that the shop has added this bungalow, a mattress covered in pillows and blankets, and a small cabinet to its inventory. I like mixture of colors on the mattress, and it also comes with 5 poses scattered in 3 parts of the set.

As I spend time with my bunnies, I keep going back to comfortable separates that seem good for spending lots of time in the grass and flowers. My Fusemelon sweaters in a variety of colors are getting a lot of use as well as these sweat pants from Cynful. The purple camo is a February special, available for just L$1, and there are lots of other colors in both solids and the camo pattern. The pants come with a low-rise option as well as 2 types of tube tops, but I find that the high-rise pants here are perfect for my casual days.

Body
Hair: Exile Ada / astral
Skin: Pink Fuel Skye – Girly (Valentines Bazaar)

Clothing
Lazy Places Jax Feathered (feet parts only)
Fusemelon Vneck Jumper Licorice
Cynful Sweat Pants Camo – Feb Special

Props
Chez Toi Floor Matty 3 person, 5 animations
Chez Toi Red Bungalow

The HodgePodge Mall is having an event this month with many of the shops there having exclusives just for February. Chez Toi is a new store that’s still moving into the mall, and their first item is an exclusive shabby chic beach house for only L$150. Now that price would be awesome just for the cottage, but it’s even better when you realize that it comes with a deck that has 5 animations built into it in 2 different spots. The very end of the dock has 3 lounging animations, and the middle of the dock has 2 sitting animations on the side.

Our sim is still in the midst of winter, so just try to ignore the snow and icy trees and focus on the promise of summer in the form of the cute little cottage. Even though I was dressed for colder weather, I still enjoyed the dock and swinging my feet over the water.

I’m such a hermit that I’m never sure how to invite people over, but maybe I can entice you inside my new little house with a cupcake? This cupcake and pose is just one item from the Pink Fuel I <3 Cuppycakes Pack that's part of the Snacks and Sweets Hunt. Just go to Pink Fuel and look for the big yellow arrow pointing to the pink cupcake to get the set for yourself.

I was in such a hurry to show you the house that I didn’t have a chance to decorate. That made me a little sad, but I was glad to have my handy Sad Purple Popsicle from Lolapop! to help me show my emotion. The Popsicle Emotions set is Lolapop!’s gift for the Snacks and Sweets Hunt, and Lola’s main shop is at the HodgePodge Mall, so you can go grab that while you’re picking up the cottage from Chez Toi.

Sharing so many deals with you has made me happy again, so please note the big smile on my Lolapop! Kawaii Popsicle Emotions necklace now. The trapped heart lip piercing is also from Lolapop! The skin is one of the Valentine’s Day Bazaar exclusives from Pink Fuel, and it’s such a steal at L$50 that I ran over there as soon as I got the notice. There are lots of other great deals at the bazaar, so be sure to check it out.

Body
Hair: Exile Amelia / duskwood
Skin: Pink Fuel Skye – Pink Sugar – Flushed (dkbrow/hair)
Eyes: Shine Silent Lucidity Gasoline

Clothing
Sweater: Boom Hickey Hider – Powder
Jeans: Decoy Dana 76 Jeans – Dark
Boots: Kookie Pomski Coffee Candy Boots
Jewelry: Lolapop! Sad Purple Popsicle, Kawaii Popsicle Emotions Necklace, and Trapped Heart Lip Piercing

Props and Poses
Poses: Reel Expression Curvy Casual AO
Cupcake Pose with Cupcake: Pink Fuel I <3 Cuppycakes Pack
Cottage: Chez Toi Lake Cottage

It seems like every time I’m digging through my inventory for something to wear, I end up with at least one piece from silentsparrow in the mix. I guess it’s not that surprising since such a large portion of my inventory comes from silentsparrow. Today’s mix ended up being almost all silentsparrow and in my favorite color purple, and I feel all cute and cozy in it. Wearing something from silentsparrow is like wrapping my av in the artwork of one of my favorite artists, which is a pretty amazing thing to be able to do.

The purple henley I’m wearing in this outfit was a 50L Friday exclusive, but white and black versions of it are available in all the Chapiteau corset sets. The Chapiteau ruffle skirt is one of hyasynth’s more recent releases, and like everything she sells, it comes with a ton of options. In one pack, you actually get 3 skirt styles and a pair of bloomers with ruffles.

Body
Hair: Exile Laya / violetdawn with braid attachment in astral
Skin: Tuli Bella (pale/br) F.Y.E.O. night (PU1)
Eyes: Shine Silent Lucidity Violet (large)

Clothing
Tattoo: silentsparrow (dusk) belladonna:lepidoptera tattoo
Corset: silentsparrow (dusk) Datura corset
Top: silentsparrow (grape) Chapiteau Henley (50L Friday exclusive)
Skirt: silentsparrow (Dollie) Chapiteau Ruffle Skirt
Shoes: Scribble Candy Flats (Marshmallow Rosettes)

Poses and Decor
Poses: Reel Expression Shoes 02 – Curvy and Casual 04 – Curvy
Top Background: silentsparrow (grape) StarForest Wall Sticker

I have a folder in my inventory that’s called Everyday Brandy, and it’s a simple outfit that I can switch into quickly after wearing a complete avatar or to kind of reset my appearance if I’ve been inventory sorting and have on a random mix of things. I update the everyday outfit every couple of months to include new favorites, and I thought I’d share a quick look at my current look. This is also a good time for me to encourage all gacha machine lovers to run to anuenue for the boots at just L$60 a try. Anuenue also has other cute gacha machines with scarves, arm warmers, and mesh glove/sock sets.

Body
Hair: Exile Amelia / duskwood
Skin: Pink Fuel Skye – Leafy
Eyes: Shine Silent Lucidity Gasoline

Clothing
Tank: Mischief Bow Tank – Olive
Cardigan: Mischief Spring Chill Sweater – Leaf
Jeans: Decoy Dana 76 Jeans – Dark
Boots: anuenue patchwork knit boots *green*

Poses
Reel Expression Casual AO – Curvy