This has been by far one the hardest posts I have ever had to write. I have been blogging almost a year now and I guess this is my first case of real “Bloggers Block”! It seems like no matter what I do…or don’t do, I just could not make this look come together. And there are SO many things I LOVE about it. I have ALWAYS wanted to do a “corner shot”…something where I am sitting alone in a corner contemplating and this pose prop from ComPOSEure gave me the perfect conduit for that! There are a TON of poses that come with it and the rezzer engine that comes with it is REALLY nifty and will allow you to load ALL of your pose props from ComPOSEure in it and scroll through them at will! It is great!  The only problem I have with it, is that I am not entirely sure that ComPOSEure is still around.  I tried to TP in to the LM I found for it, but did not come up to any shop that looked like it.  So maybe it is just me…and I was having a bad day in SL…it happens…:/  But I hope that they are still doing business, I LOVE some of the poses in the prop.

The hair for this look is “Imika” from Ali & Alli.  It is kind of messy and unruly, yet structured…just the way I like it!   It falls down in my face, casting a shadow across my eye, making me feel very sexy. And I LOVE the shading of this mixed brown color.

This skin is from my very FAVORITE skin creator, YS&YS. The light pink lips blend in with the brown tones I am wearing and there is not another skin in SL that “fits” me like YS&YS. Their shading and skin textures are remarkable. When I wear YS&YS skins I FEEL like “me”. It is the “El” I have always imagined in my minds eye.

My light brown eyes are from Fashism. There is not another eye like Fashism in ALL of SL. I don’t know WHAT he does to get the depth that his eyes have, but it is definitely something that makes them stand apart from any other eye. You can always tell when it is a Fashism eye!

My lashes are from Ema’s Secret and they are some of the easiest lashes I have ever had to fit! And have such a natural look!

The nails are from Finesmith Designs and are their “Painter” nails. They have a drop down menu allowing you to change colors and textures of the nails, rings and gems for endless possibilities. Finesmith has moved recently and I am not sure what nails she still has in the store, as these were obtained quite some time back, but they are some of my favorite “go to” nails and are of exquisite quality, as is everything that Finesmith does.

These shoes are from Heart and Sole and they TOO offer an assortment of color and texture options, including the shoe texture itself, nails, skin, metals and 3 different gem textures. They are really a lovely shoe and one that I TOO have had in my inventory for quite a while. A quick trip to her shop shows that these particular shoes have been discontinued, but there are some VERY similar there with gems and for 99L what’s not to love?

Last, but not least is this adorable outfit from one of my FAVORITE clothing designers, AnneJoy Paine of aDiva Couture. It is called “JLo” and I have to admit, it looks like something that JLo would wear.  The sheen on the vest, lets you know that it is made of the finest materials and of course, there is NO shirt under that vest, just a cute little tie and some ADORABLE gloves that set it apart! The pants with sculpted bottoms, the belt and the thong are all included with the outfit and I thought it was PERFECT for this shoot. AnneJoy’s attention to detail and use of textures ALWAYS make you feel like a movie star, no matter item of hers you are wearing!

And so…what’s not to love? What has plagued me and put me WEEEEEEKS behind in the 52 WOCC?
It seemed like the harder I tried to take the pictures the worse it got. Kirsten’s viewer did NOT like the setting and I am not sure why. I am always “pushing” my little laptop to take the highest quality pictures it can and I had used a really dark WL setting with a “projector” (Thank you Cajsa) to get the look I was going for and for some reason it just caused me to crash…over and over…..and over. It seemed like every time I would get things JUST right and start to take a pic, I would crash. And so I spent a LOT of time, just looking at my avie and thinking. I could just imagine some big time star having just finished a concert…or a movie premier…or a televised interview and see her running back to some lonely hotel, late at night and wondering to herself what it was all for. I could see her taking a back entry way reserved for the rich and famous to “hide” from prying eyes and just falling down in the corner of a dark elevator and wondering…”When did all this stop being fun???”

My wonderful husband Vanish and I have talked at length lately about this subject. And while I am not sure we came up with any real answers, it felt good to talk with someone that could understand and had wondered the same thing himself. I have heard people say…and I have said it as well, “When it is no longer fun, then it is time to get out”. And I have to admit, that now I am wondering just HOW does one “get out” and is it possible that one can just be in a “slump” and will find the “fun” again someday?

Life has been challenging for me lately. It has not been horrible. And I am quite happy with my life and the changes that I am making, but it has, nonetheless, been challenging and as is the case with me most of the time when I “challenge” myself, my health usually suffers, making things even MORE troublesome. SL and my photo editing and blogging are usually the things I do that help ease some of those challenges, but recently with deadlines and pressures and difficulties I have had to stop and think….”HEY….isn’t this supposed to be fun?” Unlike the great superstar in the elevator, I get no pay for this, it is TRULY something I do solely for fun…and so…what do you do when it is not fun anymore? I wonder about some of the well known bloggers of SL…many that blog on a daily or quite near daily basis and I wonder…do they ever get tired and/or frustrated and wish that for just a little while they could have those quiet care-free SL days back? I remember when all I had to do in SL was chat with my friends, find the best sales and organize my inventory! Needless to say, that is NOT the way my SL life is now…but you know what? I really LOVE putting things together to make a look…and I really LOVE taking pictures and creating an idea. And I really LOVE editing those pics to turn an idea into a dream!

SOOOOO…I will pick myself up off the floor of the elevator, look around to make sure no one is watching, lay down on the settee for a moment and contemplate my life, who I am, what turns me on, what moves me…

OK….I may have to make some changes to accommodate the new stressors in my life. I will have to “allow” myself the ability to miss a deadline on occasion. I will have to remind myself…and maybe even those around me, that this is not rocket science or heart surgery. No one will die if I am late with a blog and a nuclear war will not ensue if I do not get around to blogging today. This is what I do for fun…and it is fun…and I love it. And if that does not work out for everyone concerned, then I can always go back to organizing my inventory, god KNOWS it needs some attention and I can always hope that my friends will still love me and let me yak at them every now and then. I am SO grateful to everyone that reads my blog and to the creators that trust me with their creations. I am thrilled that I can share what I do with others and maybe they will like it too! SO…off we go…to a new week….a new day…and a new outlook.Thanks guys…thanks for listening…and V….thanks for walking with me through it all…immer.

STYLING NOTES
Outfit: aDIVA Couture – JLo Animal Print Vest, Jeans, Vest, Animal Print Panty, Leather Belt, and Leather Necktie*
Lashes: -Ema’s Secret- Eyelash Snuggle
Hair: A&A – Imika Hair Mixed Brown*
Nails (rings included): Finesmith Nails – painter
Shoes: Heart and Sole – ROYALTY
Skin: *YS & YS* – Megan 09 Smoky Mat*
Eyes: FASHISM – ‘Sunrise’ Eyes – Light Incan Gold (L)*
Elevator Pose Prop: ComPOSEure

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