Raindale – Page 2 – What a Beautiful Mess!

The Story of My Life

My story isn’t anything special, there’s no explosions or tender love stories. It’s not been like a Nicholas Sparks book, or a Stephen King novel either! It’s not been a fairy tale or anything like a true crime story. But, it’s mine……it’s my work in progress, my unfinished novel that hopefully takes many more years to complete. If each day of my life is a page in my novel, I have a few chapters done and included some footnotes to make it a little easier to follow. Maybe I should include a chronology of events so at least I can keep track, because over time it all kind of ends up in a jumbled mess. Luckily I have a few major events in my life that I can refer to reminiscing, and those chapters I’ll never forget. If my book is going to be made into a TV series those chapters would be the end of season cliffhangers, for sure. Everyone has a story and it’s not up to us to judge a person by what chapter we enter their lives at. I know I’ve had a few chapters that I’m sure most people would want to avoid. But, we all have those, and it’s times like that that the really good friends stick with us, and hopefully continue to! You know what they say about friends, the true friend is someone who knows all about you, but likes you anyway! At this point in my life I look back and know I’ve loved, cared, and shown compassion, I’ve learned and grown as a person, and I came through the bad times stronger. No chapter of my life has been in vain, it’s all happened for a reason. I don’t know what’ll happen in the remainder of my book, but I hope it has a happy ending.

OK……first off….the incredible new pose/prop set from Le Poppycock! This time of year I always look forward to the cooler weather so I can stay indoors and do some reading, and this set has completely put me in the mood for it! The ‘Book Lovers’ A & B’ pose/prop sets are incredibly well thought out. They have unique and interesting poses along with books and cats…who doesn’t want that? The books are texture change depending on what you feel like reading, today it’s a pulp fiction story about a nurse and her patient, hmmmm. *raises eyebrow* But anyway, there’s two books to choose from, both with multiple titles to choose from, and the cats are also colour change. I’ve always loved an orange or calico cat. This pose/prop set is available now at The Liaison Collaborative, which runs until the end of the month. Oh, btw, for anyone who loves books and reading the theme for this round is ‘Literary-ly Inspired’ so it’s a book lovers dream!

Also at The Liaison Collaborative is something every book lover needs! The ‘Bitterwood Bookshelf and Lamp’ are exclusive to TLC from Raindale and they both add a nice woodsy feel to a cabin or house. The bookshelf is loaded with books and the lamp’s shelf has some too, but the set does include a book free lamp, if you need somewhere to put your tea or coffee. Also from Raindale is the stack of 3 books in front of me, which is from the ‘Larimer Set’ and the ‘stack of books to the right, which is from the ‘Mauner Set’.

The chair, which has a huge stack of books beside it, and the little wagon with books in it are both from the ‘Storyteller’s Burrow’ gacha set from 8f8.

The house plants and the ‘Toasty Space Heater’ are both from {what next}.

The books to the left are the books from the ‘Bric-a-Brac Desk’ gacha set from aisling.

The award above the chair was given to me by a friend and I display it prominently at home to remind me! It’s the ‘Star of Fame/Best Photographer’ award from the ‘Star of Fame’ gacha set from Commoner. Thanks so much, Elle!

The carpet is the rug from the ‘Dark Oak’ gacha set from Bee Designs.

And last but definitely not least, is my cup of tea. It’s from the ‘hard to find vol.2’ set in mint, from keke. This cute set includes a bowl of lemons, with stacked bowls and also a full cup, a turned over cup, cream and sugar, and stacked cups.

And as for my outfit! The ‘Lazy Sweatshirt, Toronto, is from Stories&Co. by Flowey, the ‘Scrunched Sweats’ are from Tres Blah, the ‘SAYAKA’ hair is from Argrace, and ‘The Countess’ glasses are from Earthstones. As always, the ‘Luna’ skin in’miel’ tone is from Avada, on the ‘Lilo’ bento mesh head from Catwa, the ‘Lara’ mesh body from Maitreya, and the flat feet from SLink.

The Setting Sun

The setting sun, and music at the close,
As the last taste of sweets, is sweetest last,
Writ in remembrance more than things long past.

~William Shakespeare~

The writing of Shakespeare is stunning in rhythm and wording, but there are times I really wonder just what he’s talking about. But, regardless of whether I fully grasp it all completely and correctly, the beauty of his prose isn’t lost on me.

When I was planning this little setting I wanted to make it look cozy and inviting. I kind of fancy the idea of two rocking chairs set out to watch the setting sun. It’s been romanticized, you know, the old couple that have been through everything life could throw at them and they can still sit together and watch a setting sun, comfortable in being together and witnessing nature at it’s finest and maybe even holding hands. It sounds nice, I think, but just because I have no one to sit in the other rocking chair, I can still enjoy the setting sun. I’d have a tasty beverage and keep my book handy to read or maybe write in my journal. And as the summer wanes and the evenings cool, it’ll be nice to have a sweater on and enjoy the stars coming out. It makes me smile just thinking about it.

Okay, the ‘Eastmont Shed’ from Raindale is the focal point of this post, and it’s such a cute little dwelling that I really want to move in. I’ve chosen to show you the back door, it’s the less pretty of the two doors, but I love the rolling barn door at the back. I’m a country girl, what can I say! 😀 It has a footprint of 7x9m and a land impact of 23. The flower boxes on the window sill are included but optional and they add 1 to the LI. The doors are scripted with the ‘Kool Door System’ and have all of the access capabilities it offers. The ‘Eastmont Shed’ is available now exclusively at Shiny Shabby.

I’ve got a few things strewn about here, which is usual for me. To start with, I’ve added the ‘Twinkling Ivy’ from Dysfunctionality, I want to make sure everyone knows that it’s not part of the shed. 🙂

The rocking chairs are from [we’re CLOSED]. The pillows are colour change via drop down menu and they have lots of sits for both men and women. Also from [we’re CLOSED] is the ‘large shrub, green’.

The ‘Andretti Recycled Table, RARE’ is from Serenity Style and is available at the current round of the Tres Chic event There’s six common and one rare to play for.

The ‘Sunflowers Pitcher and ‘Sunflower Bicycle-Decor’ are both from {what next}.

The ‘Boho Guitar’ and the ‘Grunge Barrel Seat’ are both from the ‘Freak Shelter’ gacha set from THOR and should be at the main store now after it’s stint at Cosmopolitan.

The ‘Vouvont Pitcher, Dark Zinc’ is from Calm..

The ‘Wild Oak’ and ‘Norway Maple’ trees are both from The Little Branch.

And last but not least, all of the grass is from Raindale and available at the main store. I’ve used the Summer, soft and the dry grasses for this look.

New York State of Mind

I’ve always wanted to see the Big Apple, but I haven’t, yet. I’ve been to almost every major city in the US of A and although I was seeing everything from the driver’s side of a semi and I enjoyed sight seeing as best I could. I never got to see the nicest parts of these cities, it was usually the warehouse districts and industrial areas, but there was always something interesting to see. I’ve seen the streets of Chicago that no one talks about, where graffiti is everywhere, windows all have bars on them, and the streets are empty. I’ve seen San Francisco in the early morning with the sun rays forcing their way through the fog. Houston has a life of it’s own, teeming with people on a Friday afternoon. The route through Detroit from the Canadian border at the Ambassador Bridge to I 75 is interesting, to say the least! You get the idea, I’ve seen lots of places, never staying in many of them for very long, and no matter the scenery it was always interesting to me. But, in the years I was on the road, I didn’t get to New York City. I did have the opportunity, the company I drove for went there all the time, but the few times I could have had freight going there, I turned it down. NYC was one of two places it was OK to say no to. I went in to inner Chicago, and had no problems, but New York City always intimidated me. I know that if I’d gone I wouldn’t have seen what most people want to see when going there. I wouldn’t have seen Times Square or the George Washington Bridge, Madison Square Garden wouldn’t have been on my travel itinerary, and Coney Island would have been impossible. What strikes fear into the heart of any truck driver is short underpasses, corners that are to sharp for 82 feet of truck, and ending up somewhere you shouldn’t be. Maybe one day I’ll see NYC, who knows, I might get a bad case of wanderlust and take off with nothing but a suitcase and a full wallet! Anything’s possible!

In this photograph I’m a young woman who’s moving into a NY Basement Loft and enjoying an evening cup of coffee looking out on the street she’ll call home. The NY Basement Loft skybox is from KraftWork and is exclusive to the August round of Builder’s Box. It’s 100% original mesh with a footprint of 12 x 23m, and 172 land impact. It’s one room with a little courtyard out front to enjoy the evenings, and a fireplace with candles and a little added artwork to make it homey. The August Builder’s Box can be purchased at the Headquarters.

I’m enjoying the coffee and little sit down thanks to the ‘Landfort Tabouret’, that’s a stool to us English folks, from Raindale! It’s been redone with five pastel colours and ten poses and ten animations, for both men and women, it’s materials enabled, and adds props for your coffee drinking enjoyment, among other things. 🙂 It’s available until August 20 at The Avenue.

The ‘Shabby Easel’ in the corner is a great addition to a NY Basement Loft! It’s from [zerkalo] and available at the August round of The Chapter Four, and the one thing you may not know about this very nice piece of decor is that there’s an ‘adult’ version available, with 10 adult animations! It’s land impact of 5 makes it easy to sneak into a corner of your home. The Chapter Four runs until the end of the month.

The few things that I have unpacked are the Lemon & Roses Travel Trunk, including the guitar, which is from the Travel Trunk gacha set from Chez Moi Furnitures. Someone brought me the beautiful Vouvant Pitcher in Ivory from Calm. as a house warming gift! And it appears my toast is done and waiting for me in the Tea Toaster Radio from the Vintage Radio gacha set from KraftWork.

And as for me? I’m wearing the Summer Tank Top Skirt from Zenith and available at Collabor88. The SAYAKA hair is one of the newest releases from Argrace. And as usual I’m wearing the ‘Luna’ skin in ‘peche’ tone from Avada on the ‘Lilo’ bento mesh head from Catwa and the Lara mesh body from Maitreya.

Welcome, Friends!

Hi there, welcome to my happy home! Won’t you come in and make yourself at home? No? You have no time? That’s too bad!(not) That’s the thing about me, I can welcome people into my home, but no matter who they are, I’m always relieved when they decline my invitation! I think everyone knows this….I rarely have drop in visitors so I’ve got everyone trained well!

My home today is the ‘Kenwood Summer House’ from Raindale! It’s a cute little summer home available now at Cosmopolitan. With a footprint of 14×16 you’d think it’s tiny….but it really is roomy inside with it’s open floor plan. It comes with two versions, one with lights(seen here) and one without, this version has a land impact of 43 and the one sans lights has an LI of 37. The ‘welcome’ sign post comes with it, and the pack contains a blank texture for people like me who prefer to be alone! Moz Loordes was nice enough to point this out to me in his blog post, A Writer’s Summer. Moz includes an extensive tour of the house inside and out, which makes up for my one sided shot of it, which doesn’t do it justice! Thanks for the tip, Moz….I’m sure this gets the point across to any would-be visitors! You’ll noticed I dropped the ‘please’ you suggest, for a Canadian I’m not that polite, I guess! 😀 I wasn’t sure what ‘sod off’ meant, but a quick visit to the Urban Dictionary gave me a good idea! Also from Raindale in this shot is the Garden Bench and Garden Tree, both available at the Home Show 2017! The tree is HUD driven with options to change the bark and leaves along with a switch to turn the glow off/on for the leaves. The bench is loaded with 12 singles animations plus the options to read or use a phone, and there’s 9 couples animations. Available at the Raindale main store is the Meadow Grass, this is the ‘summer, soft’ version of it.

Here’s a rundown of all the other items that I’ve strewn around the yard!

Abandoned Memories Bicycle, Soy
Clothes Line w/clothes, Funky Junk
Wild Allium in pur pur, keke available at Collabor88
Primitive Birdhouse set, vintage garden hose, unrolled, ‘happy home’ sign, barn lamp all from hive
Forgotten Garden, tree from the Forgotten Garden gacha, Silas Merlin available at The Chapter Four
Daisy Pot, miwa’s airship
Retro Floor Fan, .:revival:.

My outfit consists of the Bella Tank Top and Scrunched Sweats, both from Tres Blah. The ‘Chungha’ hair from [monso] available at ~uber~. My whole look starts with the Lilo bento mesh head from Catwa, with the Alexa skin in ‘peche’ tone from Avada! Plus the Lara mesh body from Maitreya and the flat feet from SLink.

A Quiet Day

I’ve got lots going on in this post, so I’ll get started! First off, the June round of Collabor88 has begun and Ingenue has released another ‘must have’ pair of shoes! The ‘Lisbet Heels’ are fitted for the SLink and Maitreya mid foot and come in a dozen colours, all of them perfect for those summertime outfits! The chunky heel and the smooth lines of the straps really call attention to pretty legs and ankles!

The June round of The Avenue is on and Raindale has updated one of the earliest releases! The ‘Larimer’ set has been redone with added textures and animations for the cushions, the table and decor have been completely revamped, and the wall art now has five pictures to choose from! There’s two versions of the floor cushions so you can either change their colour via drop down menu or with a a HUD(10 colours for all) and the single cushion has 15 animations and the stacked cushions have 25, the light is on/off on touch, and the table and decor comes linked together for easy decorating or separately. The Avenue runs until June 20. Also from Raindale is the Apple Basket, one of my favourite things to have around, and the tea cup from the ‘Sugarvale’ gacha set! I always like to have a cup of something hot close by when I’m relaxing! Both of those items are available at the Raindale main store.

I want to take a second to bring your attention to a piece of art that I just had to have! While wandering around ‘The Last Forever‘ I took notice of an incredibly unique sculpture and after a quick check in edit mode I found out it was created by Silas Merlin! I wanted to see more from him, so I made a trip to ‘The Silas Gallery‘ and fell in love with his work! I brought home ‘Marrakech’, it’s the kitty on the wall for anyone not sure where to look, and I think it’s perfect for my little abode! I then made my way to the June round of ‘The Chapter Four‘ and played his latest gacha, the ‘Eerie Crew’ gacha! It consists of ten commons and one RARE sculpture, all showing Silas’s incredible talent!

Also in this shot is the RARE ‘Big Broadcast Radio’ from the Vintage Radios gacha set from KraftWork! It comes with two versions, one is a completely operable radio and the other is for decor only!

The row of books in front of the radio is from Balaclava and was on sale for Fifty Linden Friday this past week. It’s texture change with different genres of books, I’m into ‘new age’ right now!

The big pillow on the right is the ‘patchwork pillow’ from [we’re CLOSED]! It’s a group gift so it’s your for the taking if you’re a group member! The group is 250L$ to join, but it’s worth it!! There’s about 10 gifts there right now and they’re all very good quality!

I made quite a few purchases at Collabor88 when I was there! I was so shocked to get in so early in the round that I celebrated with buying lots! The ‘potted palm’ is part of the ‘Natural Habitat’ set of house plants from dust bunny! I just got the fatpack, and completely avoided the dilemma of which one to get! The fatpack has five really great house plants, and I can’t kill any of them with lack of water! 🙂

The ‘Feline Jeans Mini’ in navy is from Mimikri! It’s a perfect fit on the Lara mesh body from Maitreya, as you can see. It’s also fitted for the SLink mesh bodies!

My home is the JAC Boat Shack from Redgrave. I keep the sun out with the Carriage Blinds from ‘The Carriage’ gacha set from Scarlett Creative.

As always, I’m wearing the Luna skin in ‘peche’ tone from Sinful Curves Skins(soon to be ‘Avada’) on the Lara mesh body from Maitreya.

I’m using a pose from Pose Set 86 from Overlow Poses.