On the Sidelines

Hello, loves!  It's been a while... for a number of reasons.  I think I burned myself out a bit being on Second Life all the time during the summer.  I simply needed a break, and real life work offered the much needed vacation from my 'second existence.'

I'm not sure if I have mentioned it before, but my husband was laid off from his mining job last February and hasn't been able to find a job since.  Needless-to-say, money has been a bit tight.  I never felt bad about spending money on Second Life since it was pretty much the only entertainment I spent money on (minus television and books of course).  I have never been one to go out and party or to sporadically go shopping in real life.  But, with only one household income, I have felt a bit guilty spending money on something that isn't an absolute necessity.  So, after some consideration, I think the focus of my blog is going to change.  I will always want to showcase fashion that I personally consider to be beautiful, but I most likely will not be blogging a lot of full priced items in the near future.  With the US economy in the shape that it's currently in, I know that my family isn't the only one out there effected by lay offs and a lack of extra cash.  I've always been a bargain hunter, and I plan to put those skills to use in my Second Life shopping.

I'm sure that most of you have already spotted the outfit I'm wearing on other fashion blogs since Collabor88 has been open for over two weeks this month.  But, I haven't been around and had to go check on the newness for myself.  I love the high-waist shorts by Igenue; at only 88L per pair, Hetty is very affordable and comes in seven pretty colors with standard mesh sizes.  The jacket, also available at Collabor88, is a tad bit more expensive at 188L each from House of Fox.  I consider jackets to be versatile pieces and don't mind spending a little extra on them.  The same concept goes for jewelry... especially texture change jewelry like the Mother's Pearl Necklace (188L) and Mother's Pearl Earrings (88L) by LaGyo also at Collabor88.

I'll admit that the lighting I used for my photos isn't necessarily one of the best for showing off skin, but since we are talking about bargain hunting, I had to use it and definitely had to mention it.  I know that producing a quality skin for Second Life takes a lot of time and a lot of skill; so, I understand why most of them are very expensive.  Izzie's is one of the very few designers who offers quality skin at a great price.  For a little over 1000L, you can purchase Faith, her latest creation, which includes a modifiable shape, freckles, four eyebrow colors, cleavage options, a nail base, twelve lip shades, ten eyeshadows and an eyebrow shape.  Anyone who has purchased a full price skin in Second Life will know how great of a deal that is!  It is easily 1/3 the price of most quality skins.


Credits
Clothing: [Jacket] Color.Me in Purple by House of Fox @ Collabor88, [Shirt] Intrinsic Tank in Brown Truffle by JANE and [Shorts] Hetty in Coffee by Ingenue @ Collabor88
Jewelry: Mother's Pearl Necklace and Mother's Pearl Earrings by LaGyo @ Collabor88
Shoes: *Ute Mesh Pumps in Coffee by Baiastice
Hair: Briony in Mocha by TRUTH
Skin: *Faith Skin Pale DB by Izzie's
Makeup: [Eyeshadow] *Faith Eyeshadow Brown by Izzie's and [Lips] *Lipstick Dark Rose by Izzie's
Pose: *Bag Lady 1 by aDORKable Poses
Location: Warrumbungles

* Denotes promotional copy.