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By Keliah Angelis | Monday, June 17, 2013 | , Leave a comment

Beachin' It


June seems to have been an official explosion of beach fun, bold, bright colors, and summertime goodness. Have you been to the Liaison Collaborative's 'The Garden'? I can't stress the amazing designs put out by the Grid's talented mesh makers of all things home and garden. The Garden has anything you could possibly want to make your SIM and home the perfect summertime getaway. One of my favorites of the bunch (they are all my favorites) is the Avalon Guard Tower by Breno. It comes with tons of options and animations as well as fun props and different color schemes.

I'm sure by now you've checked out Collabor88's newest round. I'm loving the 90's theme and the bright, fresh colors.

Lastly, do you like my little friend? The designer behind Bilo's creations showed me this cute puppy and puppy carrier. It's a fun, free gift from Tuty's.




Credits:
Top:    Tee*fy - Basic Knot T-Shirt (Yellow) New! ~ Collabor88
Bikini Bottom:    -jinXtimacy- - Bali Bikini (Model12)
Sandals:    SLink Aussie Thongs (White)
Necklace/Bracelet:    MG Maxie Gossamer - Rapture Rave & Love Heart New! ~ Collabor88
Sunglasses:    Izzie's Oversized Sunglasses
Puppy/Bag:    Tuty's Mesh Pet Carrier
Hair:    Truth - Siobhan (Red 02) New!
Eyes:    IKON - Ascension Eyes (Nymph) New! ~ Numerology
Hands/Feet:    SLink
Skin:    League - Jen (Medium Natural)
Pose:    Picture This! Poses - Model 01-05

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By Keliah Angelis | Thursday, June 13, 2013 | , , Leave a comment

Oceanside Blues


I've got the blues. No, I don't mean the sad sort of blues. Today, I'm inspired by bright, vibrant blues. Especially aquas, teals, and of course, red. I was looking for a lovely seashore to take my picture at and I came across Studio Skye's SIM, which is the store brand's location to purchase wonderful landscapes for your own SIM for pretty good prices. Even if you do not find something you wish to purchase, the SIM itself is a lovely garden of landscapes detailing their products.

In case you're wondering, my long hair comes from the batch of the latest Truth releases. It's called 'Tawny' and I love the length of it.


Credits:
Dress:    Drift - Zoe Maxi Dress (Romanc) New!~The Dressing Room Fusion
Hair:    Truth - Tawny (Red 02) New!
Skin:    League - Jen (Medium Natural)
Hands:    SLink
Pose:    BENT - Behind

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By Keliah Angelis | Tuesday, June 11, 2013 | 2 Comments

Breakfast at Keliah's


Blogger Strawberry Singh posted a fun challenge. Make a movie poster! I've always wanted to recreate a Breakfast at Tiffany's picture, but never got around to it. I initially tried to include Cat, but my zooby cat is just too big and a bit too orange. I almost lost this image, too. A random thunderstorm blew right through and just as I was hitting the 'save' button on my photo, my power flickered off. I hit save at just the right time!


Credits:
Dress:    (CM) Cracked Mirror - Audrey Dress (Black)
Gloves:   *BOOM* - Dame Elbow Gloves (Coal)
Jewelry:    DF Donna Flora - Mirella Set (Gold)
Cigarette:    [NikotiN] Cig_Lady_Black
Pose:    Self

194

By Keliah Angelis | Sunday, June 9, 2013 | Leave a comment

The Isle of Pandateria


I would guess that the most popular draw of Second Life is the role play community. I first learned of Second Life back when it first came out from the Gorean AOL group I used to play with, but I didn't join Second Life until 2010 - for RP. Pandateria is a new ancient times RP SIM, centered around, you guessed it, the Isle of Pandateria. 

Pandateria is also known as Ventotene, which was an isle made of the ancient remains of a volcano. Ventotene was a place of exile; a prison of sorts for nobles and commoners alike. 

From the Wiki: Pandataria is best known as the island to which the emperor Augustus banished his daughter Julia the Elder in 2 BC, as reaction to her excessive adultery, where she was to spend five years, and to which Tiberius banished his grandniece Agrippina the Elder in 29 AD. She perished, probably of malnutrition, on October 18, 33 AD. After Agrippina's son Gaius (better known as Caligula) became emperor in 37 AD, he went to Pandataria to collect her remains and reverently brought them back to Rome. Agrippina's youngest daughter, Julia Livilla was also exiled to Pandateria twice: the first time by her brother Caligula for plotting to depose him and the next time by her uncle, the emperor Claudius, at the instigation of his wife, Messalina, in 41 AD. Sometime later, she was discreetly starved to death there and her remains were probably brought back to Rome when her sisterAgrippina the Younger became influential as the emperor's wife. Another distinguished lady of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudia Octavia, who was the first wife of the emperor Nero, was banished to Pandateria in 62 AD and executed on the orders of her husband.


Pandateria was a vacation destination for Roman elite, but the isle proved to be too inhospitable for residence due to it's steady commerce of pirates and it's exposure to the sea. "Life on Pandateria was harsh.  There was little there. A prison, a few vacation villas and the sea. Nothing more."

The Second Life setting of this place in history takes off from the 37 AD, after Caligula collected Julia's remains. It boasts a small village, a few villas, a prison, and a den for the pirates. The build of the SIM is extensive, perfect with it's detail, and inspires the imagination. Players of Pandateria can choose from several 'classes', including citizens born to the isle, exiles, pirates, and prisoners. If you are interested in joining the brand new Role Play community, than check it out. Notecards on the different roles as well as a history of Pandateria are available at the welcome area. 



Credits:
Dress:    ::Elysium:: - Cleo Dress (Purple Plain White)
Armlet:    ~Soedara~ 
Shoes:    Slink - Ilena Sandals (Brown)
Hair:    Analog Dog .b - Five (Punch)
Eyes:    IKON - Destiny Eyes (Ice)
Hands/Feet:    SLink
Skin:    League - Jen (Sunkiss Natural)
Pose:   Picture This! Poses - Deux Models (1)








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By Keliah Angelis | Saturday, June 8, 2013 | , 1 Comment

Always Look on the Bright Side

Dreamscape at Twilight

It's been awhile. Real life dropped by as it is wont to do, shook me by the shoulders, and then left me wanting and disoriented. The truth is I had to put SL aside and figure out what was going on with my life - because it was going no where and I realized that if I didn't set my personal wheels in motion then I was going to wind up living in my car with no future. 

Those who know me know that I've been looking for work. I've been out of work since November. At first I was like, 'Oh, I'll get a job right away and everything will be okay.' I tried to not let it get me down as the first three months ticked by without anything. Luckily, I had - and do have still - unemployment. It barely pays, but at least it's something to hold on to to help along. However, as the months passed, the deadline for my benefits was coming dangerously to a close. I found myself wasting a lot of my time bent over my computer. In fact, I was spending probably 90% of my time online, if not more. I would wake up, not get dressed from my pajamas, drink a pot of coffee, and just be online. I neglected my home, my car, and my health. I sank so low into depression that I had to struggle to stay up on my hygiene - and when you're having personal arguments with yourself to take a shower, you know you have a problem. I had sunk low into depression (a condition I struggle with, but usually self manage just fine) and couldn't see any way out of my current situation. 

Luckily my graphics card fried. Without it, I realized SL was a big distraction from my misery, and I used it as a blanket to cower behind while the real world was  progressing to a bleaker future. The thing is, I have goals. I have a certain thing that I want to do pretty much more than anything - and that's move. But how is that going to happen if I have no money? How about when I get to where I want to be? My field is not in that state, there are no job prospects for me there and in order to move up to the state where my SL boyfriend lives, I have to have a job. See, I want to take care of me - not move up there and be a financial burden to someone. My outlook was so poor that I couldn't seem to make my goals come to fruition.
Today I am in a much better place. I just...sort of snapped out of it. No, the magical job fairies were not going to provide me with a job that 400-500 people in my county were applying for. No, that winning lotto ticket wasn't going to come into my possession. No, feeling sorry for myself and wasting my life wasn't going to make things better.

I decided while I was on unemployment, I was going to make a drastic career change after reviewing the Department of Labor Statistics. I re-enrolled in school. I've been going now for a month and I love it. Being in a place where I was actively making a change in my life raised me up a few notches on the feel-good-o-meter. Suddenly, I had responsibility again. I had a schedule again! Also, I have a job starting officially on Monday. What's best? It's in my new field and with a national company that, hopefully, will allow me to transfer when I am ready to move. These are two goals I set out for myself. Get accepted in this school. Get a job with this company. I have met them. I feel good! Life, I hope, is finally going my way.
 
Second Life no longer serves as a vice to hide with. It's no longer a wall between me and reality. Because of this, I feel I can return and spend more time here than I have been these past two months.

Credits:
Dress:    Indyra Originals - Elisne Tribal Dress (Santorini) New!
Earrings:    Indyra Originals - Slyph New!
Bangles:    Indyra Originals - Peacock bangle stack (Santorini) New!
Shoes:    SLink - Ilena Sandals (Brown)
Hair:    Truth - Bobbie (Red 02) New!
Hands/Feet:    SLink 
Eyes:    IKON - Destiny Eyes (Ice) New! @The Boutique
Skin:    League - Jen (Sunkissed Natural)
Pose:    Adorkable - My Hair

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By Keliah Angelis | Sunday, March 17, 2013 | 2 Comments

7 Things


I love the Secondlife Blogging Community. Have I told you guys that? Probably. I'm one of those types of people who freely verbalizes all the good feelings I have towards things (you just never know if you'll ever get the chance to later.) You all are such a fun bunch and come up with the best challenges. Recently, blogger Strawberry Singh did a fun little entry called My Seven SL Facts and encouraged the rest of us to give it a try.

SL Fact #1
I am a house/skybox junkie. My friends Blaise, Xomar, and Lexie showed me this gadget called a rezzer a long time ago. Ever since then I've been hooked on decorating homes. I just love it! It's so much fun to put it all together.

SL Fact #2
Going off of the first fact, the truth is I don't actually 'live' in all my beautiful homes. Most of the time, they stay tucked away in my rezzer and I 'live' on a platform with a white backdrop. Or Xomar's house.

SL Fact #3
My avatar was modeled after a roleplay character that I created in Rhy'din on AOL in 1997. She was a Red Sonja type of character from an alien planet my weird friends and I made up. Later I adapted her to Vampire the Masquerade. Later, later she was adapted to a forum for Vampire the Masquerade to be an 'alt' to my main character. In 2011 I imported her to SL. Her name has always been Keliah and so I carried that with me to SL.

SL Fact #4
I never warmed up to mesh eyes. Forever an IKON eyeball wearer.

SL Fact #5
Pianos. I collect SL pianos. Every house I decorate has to have a piano in it. When I afk, it's where I like the park myself.

SL Fact #6
I lost an alt. That is, I created her specifically to dress her up like Bella Swan. I loved that Bella skin from Redgrave so much that I just had to have it. I was going to name her Bella Flamingo. :) Anyways, I made her. Spent the money on the skin, picked her up an outfit and a hair from Truth, logged her off, and forgot about her. Couldn't remember her name and password for the life of me. I finally found her by digging into old cache logs of firestorm. Now she's a child alt which I use for pictures.

SL Fact #7
Speaking of alts, I have 6 alts. They all have very distinctive looks. One child, one blonde, one Asian, one man, one mermaid, and a petite. However, I mostly stay on my main.


Credits:
Top:    ISON - Oversized Top (Rose)~March Collabor88 New!
Necklace:    Cae - Sakura~The Boutique New!
Hair:    Truth - Kasia (Cranberry w/ roots) New!
Eyes:    IKON - Ardent Eyes (Blossom)~The Boutique New!
Lashes:    ::BB:: Beetlebones Dainty Black 
Skin:    League - Jen (Sunkissed Natural w/ freckles)
Pose:    Atooly


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By Keliah Angelis | Thursday, March 14, 2013 | , 1 Comment

Meet Sadie, a Mesh Hybrid


Second Life is still in the midst of a mesh revolution. Ruth, our SL standard avatar mesh, has experienced some serious upgrades over the course of the past two years. Sculpted feet became rigged mesh. Mesh hands replace the standard misshapen mess of system hands. Let's not forget mesh ears and, as of late, the mesh breasts. So, it's only natural that we now have mesh heads, perhaps the most notable being LOGO's 'Chloe'. This isn't about Chloe, though. This is about her sister Sadie, which was recently unveiled as Chloe's predecessor and will be for sale at Skin Fair 2013. 

Sadie and Chloe both are very fun products. After attaching all the appropriate parts (Lids, hairbases, lashes, eyes, brows..) you then attach the HUD. The HUD is an all in one tool for Sadie. It changes facial expressions, allows you to move the eyes,  and applies all the cosmetic changes to create your look. Plus, if you wish to purchase additional eyes or cosmetics they can easily be added to the HUD with the directions provided by LOGO.


Sadie comes with 6 body shapes. 3 Shapes for a size 0 body and 3 shapes for a size 16 body. In addition, there are different tattoo layers that you can apply to change the look of the abdomen, the nipples on the breasts, and the shading on the backside. I found the shadings on the skin to be very well done and detailed and enjoyed the options. I especially loved the sexy details of the neckline and collarbone. 

I do wish that the head was sized to standard size mesh. For instance, I wear XS typically, which has a body fat of 5. Small has a 7, Medium an 11. XS, S, and M are the more common shape sizes, XXS and XL being less common - so much that some designers do not make clothes to fit these sizes.

Another aspect I'd like to see added would be an add-on for freckles and facial markings such as beauty marks. 

Despite these minor woes, Sadie is beautiful. The rigging is perfect. If you buy the pack, it's really a steal considering the countless number of looks you can create. Add-ons are well priced. Check out LOGO at Skin Fair 2013. Not only do they have the Sadie and Chloe hybrids for the ladies, they have a good selection of men's skins. Maybe we'll see a men's mesh hyrbrid soon?


Skin Fair opens March 15th !

Credits:
Necklace:    Cae - Sakura~The Liaison Collaborative New!
Hair:    Truth - Delia Streaked (Cranberry w/ roots) 
Skin:    LOGO - Sadie Mesh Hybrid Avatar (Bloom)~Skin Fair 2013