New release by Atomic, sweater and leggings (sold separately). Lots of sweaters and sweater dresses right now, this one is my favorite so far. The leggings have bows that rest at about calf length but I had to toss on my favorite boots from Kitties Lair instead. Pose by the ever awesome Glitterati, hair by Truth and glasses (oh how I love these glasses) by Persenickety.

Sometimes a quicky is in order. A beautiful gown, one of many, by Nardcotix. I've blogged their shoes before, and a shrug, but love their gowns and other pieces as well. They also offer gift versions which is perfect for the holidays this year.

Dina's Duds
Dress: Nardcotix
Glasses: Persenickety
Hair: Truth
Skin: Belleza

So much to do, so little time, and the little bit of time I had last night was interupted by a power outtage. Luckily Kerra remembered it was out and gave us a call this morning to give us a kick in the butt and get everyone off to school. We never had power outages, really, in California, so this snow and freezing cold and no electricity thang is all new. I can handle all of it,but leave me my power, I had plans with Sands last night that I was exteremely bummed to miss out on! Tonight though, I don't care if I have to get out there and create the power myself, I'm not missing out on another planned evening. I hope you all are out there staying warm, and dry inside with your loved ones. To think, winter has only just begun!

Dina's Holiday Duds:
Dress: Ingenue
Photoble: Mudhoney
Shoes: =L+R+W=
Hair: Truth
Skin: Belleza
Glasses: Persenickety
Poses: Diesel Works,

I am confident it is going to end up on the feeds and blogged by a few people, and normally I tend to shy away from things that may end up flooding said feeds but I had to have this one. The sweater is by AOHARU and comes in 8 colors. I was tempted by the pink or even the red or green for the holidays but I figured the blue would be perfect for me this season. Doesn't mean I wont go pick up another one. but for now this will do. I stood around in just the sweater for a while but decided that wasn't exactly the warm wintery look I was going for! Tossed on jeans from Decoy, one of the many fabulous tanks I've gotten from Miel and my favorite boots from Pixel Mode and was better armed against the cold of my new home.

These pieces from MB Creationz are absolutely my favorite holiday decorations so far this year. I created a mini skating rink and set them out for visitors and friends to enjoy. I love the amazing detail, the crisp colors and textures and the sit animations are as fun as the holidays are going to be this year! I didn't get a chance to pick them up yet but I will be heading back for their gift boxes to slip under the amazing tree they have (you will see more of that tree in upcoming entries, no worries) for my friends to open. I don't have a chance to decorate as much in RL this year since we wont be here most of the holiday season, so this gave me the perfect setting to let out my passion for Christmas.

A couple of weeks ago I sat and chatted with Sands about the holidays. We each have had some pretty bad seasons the last couple of years and promises, with firm devotion, that this year was going to be vastly different. So far, its been amazing. Getting quality time with him each evening, and well into the morning, has already proven to make my holidays much brighter and I am very thankful for it all. I have had to make some tough choices in regards to SL in the last few days, but I think in the end those that I settled on with his help, as well as a couple of friends, is going to make SL the fun place it needs to be when I have time to log in. When SL becomes more work and stress than just fun it means you need to take a step back and do some adjusting. No, you weirdos, this doesn't mean there was drama, people can be stressed without it involving drama. Can you belive it? With how much people assume I was all drama for a bit there (because heaven forbid I have a bit of it once) isn't it just simply amazing how those same people are continually involved in drama while I am nowhere in sight? I must be causing it from a distance, yep, that must be it, shame on me. This must mean I am going to get coal in my stocking this year from Santa! Oh noes!

Sigh. In all seriousness, it is really disappointing to see so many people that are causing others problems come through and leave traces of pain and confusion in their wake. I see it from a safe distance in plurk, in SL, on the feeds, and then am disappointed in even myself for staying out of things I wish I could just speak up about. Others openly speak up, are encouraged and applauded for doing so, even when they are actually just causing more issues in their vocal outbursts. They are tearing others down and being rewarded for it, and its causing that great divide among friends through plurk and SL again. It was calm for a week or two, wasn't it? I suppose that good hearted nature so many were trying to foster, posts that were uplifting and positive towards people couldn't possibly last long in this community. So, why is that? In a time when people are supposed to be happy, spreading joy and all that sappy stuff, why are some of the very same people that asked 'why do we have to tear each other down' doing just that? Is it acceptable to tear certain people down? Ok to rip them apart when others are? These people arent even people I know really, on either side, but where did the 'tis the season' part of the holidays go for everyone else?

I know where it is for me, and I hope you do. I have had a fantastic weekend and wish it for everyone else too! Sands has the day off and we are just starting to play, make plans for the evening and such. I haven't really said it in my blog lately, but goodness sakes alive I love this man to pieces. You know what I wish for people today? Take a chance on someone new this season. That's right, step out of your box, out of your safe place, don't worry about what other people may think or say and just reach out to someone without pre-judgments based on what you may have 'heard'. Everyone has altercations with someone at some point, but there are indeed always three sides to a story. It might backfire, sure, but you might be surprised. I may have to hunt out someone new to do this with as well. Over the last few months I have met a handful of people that I might have judged by what other people said or thought of them and I am extremely thankful that I did not! Try it. Go on. You are braver than that, right? Right!

Dina's Duds
Sweater: AOHARA
Tank: Miel
Pants: Decoy
Boots: Pixel Mode
Pose: So Many Styles
Hair: Truth
Skin: Belleza
Glasses: Persenickety
Furniture: MB Creationz

There simply isn't a day that goes by that I don't get to spend time lost within my inventory. Yesterday I managed to unpack and organize about 50 things, and for me that is a huge accomplishment. Between kids, butterflies (I'm easily distracted), things like plurk and chatting with Sands whenever I get the chance, I tend to get things started inventory wise but never finish anything. There is a lot of newness in this post, and I am pretty excited to be able to blog new people today! I can get stuck in the same ole same ole but have been trying to step out of my own box lately.

The furniture in the above and below images is absolutely fabulous! Extremely low prim, which makes my prim sanity happy, and amazingly detailed, this set includes the chairs, rug, table, lamp and platter of cupcakes! I snagged one of them right away, before someone TP'd randomly into my home (they do that, all the time, its a good thing I don't mind them seeing me naked as I sort inventory huh) and stole them all! The furniture is by Plum Berry and the chairs were filled with sitting poses too! I also was trying a set of poses by someone new as well, new to me that is. These were made by (pda) Penny Dreadful Arcade, a set I picked up on 50L friday last week and they are adorable! Always on the lookout for new poses, these are not only in a stand in my studio now but included in the 'in the field' folder for random snaps.

Beyond a typical Truth hair, Belleza skin and Persenickety glasses kind of day I tossed on an outfit by [ Cynful ]. The corset overall set comes with a fabulous lace undershirt but I have an issue with bare shoulders in the winter. I'm odd like that, my RL weather affects my comfort level in SL so I tossed on this adorable shrug gift by Nardcotix. I'm also wearing those fantastic boots by R2 that I picked up at the shoe fair, I cant seem to pry them off my feet yet. I finally figured out why. I had picked up another pair of boots that ended up a huge disappointment because they were no mod and didnt include a resize script. This is extremely frustrating as my shape is not a skinny stick thin one and the calves show in the back of said boots. However, that isnt an issue with the R2 boots because they include an invisaprim that covers any and all areas that might have an issue! I LOVE THIS! It also solves another problem by yet another pair of boots I purchased. In order to have none of my leg showing I have to either resize my shape (which I hate, seriously) or resize it to the point of looking stupid and huge. So, from the shoe fair alone I ended up with two boots I just most likely will never wear. Sad, really, because they are adorable too.

All of this was just the ending of my day, yesterday was an adventure from the moment I woke up and went to breakfast. Kerra and I always manage to sneak off in RL every once in a while and have breakfast at one of our favorite places and yesterday? Well, yesterday bought us a random preformance by an up and coming band! When we first arrived there was a table full of these guys just laughing and having a good time. Having had an amazing evening/morning with Sands I was in a great mood. Kerra was in a great mood for her own reasons...and I think its contagious because we all just started chatting. Next thing we know, one of them runs out and comes back with a guitar and they are standing by our table asking if the others in the place would mind if they preform! They were pretty good too! Find and visit Kerras blog on my blogroll to see the video she managed to get too.

The last picture is of course my favorite part of the day. Sands spent the entire day installing (and making a mess from what I hear so far) new entertainment insanity over at his place. This simply meant a lot less time together than we had originally thought, so I spent most of my day missing him like a goof. We finally got to spend a couple of hours together and though I havent had a chance to do so much often, I managed to get a few pictures done of us last night. Or rather, 2 am this morning. I've always loved how our av's look together, and its best nestled safe in his arms while we watch a movie and just chatter at each other about our day. Not long after, I got to lay and just be with him until he finally fell asleep. 8 months later and I still smile listening to him fall asleep and snore...I mean uh, breathe deeply. He doesn't snore, really, no honest *cough*. Funny, I know he is going to read this at work and I know for a fact he will think or even say out loud 'I dont snore!' but he will smile. I can always tell when he is smiling.

Dina's Duds
Corset Overalls: [ Cynful ]
Shrug: Nardcotix
Hair: Truth
Skin: Belleza
Shoes: R2
Glasses: Persenickety
Furniture: Plum Berry
Poses: (pda) Penny Dreadful Arcade

Now, shoes. I was seriously surprised at my lacking in the shoe department as I love shoes! I love pretty shoes, flat shoes, high shoes, frumpy comfy shoes. Let's buy some shoes! I have been working on that a lot faster thanks to things like the Shoe Fair and new stores that are adding shoes to their list of accomplishments. The shoes today are from Nardcotix, I think I own a majority of their shoes now! I was so tempted to pick up all the fat packs but I resisted. How long that will last, I have no idea. I will probably just end up picking them up a color at a time as I need them! It would have saved me money to just give in to fatpack heaven. These are amazing, I cannot get enough of them!

Yes, finally back to my natural shopping tradition, clothing and hair. The outfit is from Phoenix Rising, and its perfect for my 'naughty librarian' look. I don't know why, don't ask. The naughty librarian thing has been an ongoing joke for years with my friends and I, it started in There and has followed me ever since. It's always the prim, proper, or quiet ones you have to watch out for, right? This up do from Truth and the glasses from Persenickety sealed the deal on a new Naughty Librarian. I should read something just to make the occasion complete! Or I could keep working. Lets guess which wins.

Added a handful of new fun areas on the sim today, one of which Kerra and I had to test out. See, she loves the shoes too! Now, we are each off working on pictures, me the blog, but mostly...just missing Sands to pieces today. I swear, even after literally hours talking we still have things to say and going to bed at night gets harder and harder. With the holidays he is super busy and I am seriously missing him. Loving someone isn't always just easy and carefree, the missing and longing part kind of sucks so I'm staying as busy as I can. I've filled a bit of my time doing holiday shopping for my closest friends in SL and having a blast doing it, I can't wait to hand these things out and am going to be on the lookout for a tree for our sim today. I love the holidays, and intend to make these as amazing as I can for everyone I love. If thats you, be excited, because I am!! If thats not you, um, uh, well...lets pretend it is and have a great holiday season too!! That works for me, on with the aniticpation!

Dina's Duds:
Clothing: Phoenix Rising
Shoes: Nardcotix
Hair: Truth
Skin: Belleza
Stairs: Luth, Reel Expression
Birdhouse: =HooT=

I was going to leave this one for tomorrow, but this way I get to do another LOTD instead! I actually went through and attempted to organize my inventory after the last couple of months of pure shopping, no organizing. I found this adorable (and my favorite, PINK) skirt from Elate to start off with then dug through my shirt folder for this innocent n sweet top by Pink. Tossed on the fastest pair of silver shoes I could find, by Armidi and thought this was of course the perfect look to slip on my favorite Persenickety glasses. All links and store names will be updated next time I log in, this is just a quicky! Today started out a bit rough, but is going to end perfectly, I know it. Wishing you all a fabulous evening and beautiful Sunday!

Dina's Duds
Shirt: PINK
Skirt: Elate
Shoes: Armidi
Skin: Redgrave
Hair: Yuki
Glasses: Persenickety
Pose: LAP

Earlier in the week I made a stop over at Naive to pick up the 'Karma Whore' shirt I had seen in a few different places and paused to do a bit of shopping. I am not exactly sure why, but up until now I have very rarely worn shorts in SL. Maybe its the way the mesh tugs at the material on the inner thighs, or the fact that I actually don't have many pairs of shorts to begin with. So I decided to snag a pair and couldn't resist this t-shirt either. Sorry, my Limited Time Offer isn't a blog notice about a sale, just the awesome shirt. I was still wearing it while attempting to clean up my inventory, another easily procrastinated event, when I tossed on this long sleeved sweater by Twosome and just loved the way it looked. I need to go sock shopping for this spring and summer, but I managed to find these by Ducknipple and even wore my new shoes by UBU. I was a bit shocked to find I had absolutely no shoes to go with outfits like these and went out right away to get the Drunks by UBU, they have about a million different ways you can texture and color them, a must have as far as I am concerned.

The furniture included in the above two shots was sent to me by a designer of GREENE concept and I love the pieces I received, even though I haven't had a chance to do pictures with all of them. Each couch cushion or chair, comes with multiple textures and colors for you to fit it into your decor, or for a bit of variety. Texture changes are a snap with the drop down menu and each piece also comes with multiple poses. I hope to include another piece in an upcoming blog post as well. If you are looking for versatile furniture, be sure to give them a visit in your shopping adventures. The pose in my final picture here is from Diesel Works, always worth a visit when hunting down the perfect pose.

By now everyone on my plurklist, at least, knows how excited I have been about being able to move my home and landscaping adventures to a new sim with a new dear friend. It should be no surprise when I feature the land in most of my pictures, keeps me from lingering on other peoples sims while half afk or knee deep in inventory cleansing. Every picture in todays entry is on Waffle island, changes being made constantly, partially by me. I've always enjoyed having a lot of land to play with and my new landlord is absolutely awesome, letting me play and tweak things a bit. My neighbors though, will have to keep an eye on them. Trouble makers, every single one!

Dina's Duds & Credits

Limited Time Offer T-shirt and Shorts: Naive
Undershirt: Twosome
Socks: Ducknipple
Shoes: UBU - Ubran Bomb Unit
Furniture: GREENE concept
Belt in image 2: CatNip
Glasses: Persenickety
Skin: Redgrave
Hair: Zero Style
Pose in final image: Diesel Works
Location: Waffle Island