Whatchu hiding?

Pose : FOXCITY. Mannequin-2m

 Propthings : LAGOM - Springmist @ Collabor88

JIAN Peacock 

[DDD] Twinkling Flower Bush

The theme of the day is Peacock.

Did you guess?

It all started with this gorgeous tattoo available at this round of Bodyfy from Wild Roots, which I absolutely adore. It has a little of everything - delicacy, colour and it's placed along my thigh and up to my tummy... which I've always found incredibly sexy. Next thing you know I made it my mission to become the Peacock Lady of SL, while showing just enough of the tattoo to keep an interest haha.

Luckily, these Bueno shorts are coming to Kustom9 on the 15th just in time, and show off more than enough flesh while managing to stay cute and hide all your naughtybits!

Some of these items may be a little older (the Zaara earfeathers, for example), but what's the point of them sitting in my inventory if I can't use them sometimes?

On another note, I briefly explained yesterday that the Hello Dave appliers I use for my Astralia nails have been discontinued. I did notecard the creator, and received an IM back from her today stating that she no longer  makes for Astralia nails (a personal choice to go along the Omega/Maitreya route), but would be super glad to pass the Astralia appliers out, should anyone still need them - and as they were a gift, they will always be free. Yaaaay!! So, for the record, her name is Maia Gasparini, and I am so impressed with her customer service, I might just wander back over to Hello Dave and pick up some appliers for some other nails now, too, just to try them out of course. I mean, you can't have too many nails, right? :P

xoxo

All of the things : 

Body, Hands & Feet : Maitreya Mesh Body - Lara

Head : CATWA Magy

Skin : LOTUS. Fiona Skin Applier 02 (Catwa) @ The Seasons Story

Eyes :  LOTUS. Tenshi Eyes (catwa) (Gacha) 

Eyebrows : Bossie. Annie eyebrows [catwa] 

Ears : [MANDALA]STRETCHED_Ears_Season2 HUMAN

Ear Feathers : Zaara : Aletta ear wings *peacock* 

Hair base : Just Magnetized - Basic Hairbase - set 03 for CATWA

Hair : [RA] Jas Hair 

Jacket : Tres Blah - Denim Jacket @ Collabor88

Tattoo : Wild Roots - Peacock Tattoo @ Bodyfy 

Nails : Astralia - Compatible mesh nails system

Nail Polish : Hello Dave - Nail Appliers - Astralia - The French One

Shorts : BUENO-Nin Shorts @ Kustom9 (Opens 15th April)

Shoes : "Fashion Addiction" FASHION DANY SHOES @ Bodyfy 

Lost again.

Pose : FOXCITY. GSits VOL2-1m 

Props : Tableau Vivant \\ Yatai sideboard (Gacha)

Tableau Vivant \\ Yatai banners (red) (Gacha)

I had the absolute gall to post a rant on facebook two days ago. I'm not sure why I chose facebook, perhaps I wanted people to see I was more than just a spam bloggy type and that I actually had half a personality... or perhaps I just needed to vent and it was there, so that's what I did.

I believe I received more support than I thought I would, but I also noticed a lot of "faux positive" posts -never linking directly to mine but definitely encompassing the subject I was discussing.

Fair enough, say I.

Still, it saddens me that I can open a subject for discussion and rather than getting a discussion, there are these ridiculously petty "blasts" that in actual fact I don't disagree with on principal, but if I were to respond I would probably be branded as "sensitive".

This is why I generally shut the fuck up and don't say much unless it's here.

Or with close friends who have all heard the rant before. :P

It'll probably happen again in around a year, assuming my facebook is still there.

If you're at all interested, you can find my ridiculous rant >here< Feel free to add me to friends, should you wish, but be aware I only really use it for blog or consent spam! You're also well within your rights to disagree with me completely, or hate me immediately upon reading said rant. Either way, it'd be lovely if you left a comment or opened a door to a conversation whether it's in agreement or not!

xoxo

All of the things : 

Body, Hands & Feet : Maitreya Mesh Body - Lara

Head : CATWA Magy

Skin : LOTUS. Fiona Skin Applier 02 (Catwa) @ The Seasons Story

Eyes :  LOTUS. Tenshi Eyes (catwa) (Gacha) 

Eyebrows : Bossie. Annie eyebrows [catwa] 

Lipstick : Bossie. plush matte lipsticks [catwa]

Hair base : Just Magnetized - Basic Hairbase - set 03 for CATWA

Hair : Tableau Vivant  // Dakota hair @ Collabor88

Tattoo : -Endless Pain Tattoos- Akuma @ Bodyfy 

Lingerie : .Oppa. Soft Touch Underwear @ Blush

Nails : Astralia - Compatible mesh nails system

Nail Polish : Hello Dave - Nail Appliers - Astralia - The French One (Note, a reader IM'd me, and let me know they couldn't find any Astralia appliers in store @ Hello Dave. I popped over and looked myself, and sent a notecard to the owner. Hopefully we'll get a response soon!)

Pasties : from the JACKALOPE / Strap Harness+Pasties top

Shoes ; #EMPIRE - Pandanus @ Collabor88

A little guard.

Pose & Tiger : Poseidon Savage Lands 10 (Gacha) @ Fantasy Gacha Carnival

Staff : Dahlia - Umrae - Staff - RARE @ Fantasy Gacha Carnival

Background items & Necklace : Violetility - Mordred Gacha @ Fantasy Gacha Carnival

This is a post I've had in my head for a while, and I actually tried super hard for about 6 hours one day to make this happen, but that day my face just wasn't having it. Today, I'm surprised because this came about with ease. Sometimes it's just like that and you need to pack up and try again later.

I'm showcasing a lot more items from Fantasy Gacha Carnival, and this amazeballs tattoo is from this round of Bodyfy. Both of these events have been longstanding sponsors for my blog and I'm super proud to have them on my list.

Making this about me (because this is my blog and I can), I try to apply for stores and events that I know I will have a genuine love for. I don't apply willy-nilly to every store that pops up on my feed looking for bloggers and every time I get accepted I really see it as an honor, and I strive to showcase any product I am given honestly and in their best light - that being said, if I truly disliked any product, it would not be featured on my blog. I'm aware I'm a very lucky girl to have such wonderful store owners supporting me so that I can support them with my silly little photographs. I just hope that you, dear reader, can see the quality of the products on show, too.

However, being a "blogger" regardless of your "sponsors" or the length of time you've been doing it, is definitely a labor of love. You can't jump into blogging and expect to be given things immediately. You can't start a blog and then have ALL of your clothing, skin, hair, shape, backgrounds & accessories provided for you through the kind donations of sponsors, you actually have to purchase items. Add to that when you do manage to gain a few sponsors the fact that you will need to showcase their items, it can be quite pricey - and that's sort of where i'm leaving this. I believe the expectation is that as a blogger you get a bunch of awesome stuff for free and then you're set for SL Life because yanno, you're a bigshot! But there are SO many bloggers, so much competition and such a high expectation now, it is becoming harder and harder to stay focused, relevant and on trend.

I hope you find some pleasure in my work, because I do. Rest assured if that feeling of joy ever dissipates, I will move on, but for now and for the forseeable future this blog is going to remain a big part of who Pickle is.

All of the things : 

Body Hands : Maitreya Mesh Body - Lara

Skin : Moccino - Catwa Skin Applier - Maria

Head : CATWA Lona

Eyes : CATWA Mesh Eyes 

Eye Applier : LOTUS. Kitten Eyes

Ears : Random.Matter - Haruhi Ears

Hair : .:EMO-tions:. * LATY * (Gacha) @ Fantasy Gacha Carnival

Headpiece : Dahlia - Umrae - Headpiece - RARE (Gacha) @ Fantasy Gacha Carnival

Tattoo (Upper & Face) : IMMODEST::Primitive:: @ Bodyfy

Chain Bikini : [V-Tech]Azagh (Gacha) @ Fantasy Gacha Carnival

Nails : Astralia - Compatible mesh nails system

Nail Polish : Hello Dave - Nail Appliers - Astralia - The French One

Play me for a while.

Pose : ARISE Be Mine Pose 2 @ Romp

Bed : -DRD- Evening Romance -  White Clouds 

I'm not the greatest when it comes to keeping up with people in world. I can be distant and very introverted, hiding away on my platform or my farm (maybe I'll explain that one day, but for now I'm just going to drop that there) and doing my own thing. I tend to stick to a very small circle of friends who have proven over time that they are reliable and personable and I think that's the case with a lot of SL users now.
However, I'm also of the belief that if you make a commitment to someone, or a cause, or event, you should 100% follow through with that commitment, or vocalize the fact that you no longer want to be a part of that, yet sometimes it seems that communication can be an issue for people, and that is what starts to become frustrating.
In terms of blogging, there have been a couple of instances where if I hadn't spoken up, I would have lost some amazingly creative "sponsors" (I kinda hate that term and I'm noting this down to speak about at another date too), and there's also been at least one notable moment where I have 'lost' sponsorship over a misunderstanding, and upon attempting to find out more information have come up against a brick wall.
I suppose it's important to learn when it's a good time to back away, to rethink, rebrand and reboot part of your life, be that SL or RL and though it is always nice to receive a reason as to why someone has 'let you go' or moved on, it's not a pre-requisite, and sometimes you will not get the response you hope for.
Other times, you'll get just enough to learn from and improve on, and it'll give you the boost you need to grow, so I guess it all evens out in the end. ♥

All of the things, Santi :

Body, Hands & Feet : [SIGNATURE] Gianni - Mesh Body 

Skin : Skin (& Beard) : [theSkinnery] Javier (Catwa Applier)

Body Skin : Clef de Peau.Body 

Eyes : -SU!- Ophelia Eyes Fatpack /ULTRARARE/(Gacha)

Head :  CATWA HEAD Stanley 

Hair : Dura - B77

Undies :  Mossu - Kevin.Underwear

All of the things, Pickle :

Body, Hands & Feet : Maitreya Mesh Body - Lara

Skin : Glam Affair - Deiene ( LeLutka Applier ) @ Collabor88 

Head : LeLutka Bento Head-CHLOE

Eyes : LOTUS. Blossom Eyes 01 @ Chapter Four

Ears : Random.Matter - Haruhi Ears

Hair : [RA] Andrea Hair (Purchased @ The Fetish Fair)

Tattoo : *Queen oF Ink - Marins B&W Tattoo @ Bodyfy 

Panties : Luder! Miyu Microkini

Follow through.

Today, things just wouldn't do what I wanted them to do.

For some reason, I slept forever last night. I mean, it was obviously needed, and when I woke up I had ALL the ideas for a completely different post. However, sometimes things don't go quite as planned. Instead of doing what I've been doing normally, I tried far too hard to push myself outside of my comfort zone, and because of the amazing capacity I have to overthink, I somehow managed to completely spin myself in circles and thus NUFFIN' was happening the way I'd envisioned it.

I ended up scrapping that first idea I'd spent 4 hours on, and hurrumphing around like a sad puppy for about 30 minutes, ran around a few stores with half-an-idea and bought some things I'm never going to wear, and then really started over. For real.

I guess that's sort of how I feel about this picture.

Unintentionally, it became a piece i'm actually really stinkin' proud of. 

I hope it speaks to you, just a little. I hope you see that even when it's raining, when there seems no way out, there's still a light. There's always something positive to focus on, and there's always another way to look at any situation we're forced into. Things will get tough - likely, they'll always be tough, whether that's actual life, or secondlife. I just hope you find the strength to continue doing what you love, because the results can lift you more than you thought possible. ♥

All of the things : 

Body, Hands & Feet : Maitreya Mesh Body - Lara

Skin : Lara Hurley-Rie Milky 

Head : LeLutka Bento Head-CHLOE

Eyelids : L'Etre - Natural mesh eyelids

Ears : Random.Matter - Haruhi Ears

Hair : Tableau Vivant \\ Rain hair  (7 styles mesh hair!!) @ Collabor88 (Opens 8th Feb)

Earrings : :: SAGA :: Dalia Earrings (Mainstore)

Nails : ::SG:: Karm4 BENTO MESH NAILS @ Bodyfy (Opens 8th Feb)

Rings : *PKC* Barbwire Bento Rings @ Bodyfy (Opens 8th Feb)

Chest Piercing & Tattoo : !TLB - Tristar Dermals + Tattoo @ Bodyfy (Opens 8th Feb)

Bodysuit : Foxes - Kendall - Bodysuit (gacha) @ The Epiphany

Move in closer.

Pose & Held Gifts : *!R.O!* 'Tis the Season

Props : Gifts on table : {moss&mink}  All that Glitters - Gift Pile (classic) @ The Arcade

Table : {anc} NOEL. :  feather table (Gacha)

Rug :  {anc}  NOEL. :  frilled furrug  (Gacha)

Stool :  {anc} NOEL. :  hoofs ladder chair (Gacha)

Candles : {moss&mink}  All that Glitters - Candle Red @ The Arcade

Frame : BALACLAVA!! Milton Gold Frame

Fireplace : ChiMia:: Ephemeral Fireplace 

Tree :  {anc} NOEL. :  tears tree / 9Li RARE (Gacha)

Pup, Sled & Reindeer : O.M.E.N -Christmas Morning @ Tannenbaum 

"Don't get your tinsel in a tangle!"

I understand that this season means different things depending on your religion and culture, and I'm okay with wishing people "Happy Holidays" or "Seasons Greetings" if it means they feel included, because ultimately, that's what this season is all about.

I also think it has a lot to do with being kind, giving not receiving and if you do receive, receive gracefully and gratefully.

I don't think it takes much to be a pleasant human. Maybe a little more effort, and though I'll be first to admit I've made bunches of mistakes in the past, I'm going forward with the notion that it's worth the effort. We just need to know when to draw the line, which for me is a constant work in progress. 

Please take this as an opportunity to love each other, to pass on the spirit of joy and happiness to those around you. Winter can be a tough season to get through, and sometimes it's easy to fall into a grumpiness or a depression, so remember that when you're talking to people. There's so many reasons to be sad, or melancholy. Be the reason for someone to smile today.

All of the things, SantiClaus : 

Body & Hands : [SIGNATURE] Gianni - Mesh Body 

Skin : Tableau Vivant \\ Fabio applier 

Head :  CATWA HEAD Daniel

Eyes : -SU!- Lythion Eyes

Hairbase : Stealthic - Male Hairbase

Hair :   Stealthic  - Like Lust

Ears : L'Etre - Ringed mesh ears

Tattoo : Isuka : Drifter

Undies :  Mossu - Kevin.Underwear

All of the things, Pickle : 

Body, Hands & Feet : Maitreya Mesh Body - Lara

Skin : Essences - Rachel 

Head : CATWA Catya

Eyes : CATWA Mesh Eyes 

Eyes :  LOTUS. Lovely Eyes @ The Chapter Four

Brows : Viena :: Perfect Eyebrows Grey @ Bodyfy 

Blush : Izzie's - Winter Blush (Former Gift)

Ears :  ^^Swallow^^  Pyramid Ears

Lipstick : [PF] CATWA LIPSTICK Applier - Glossy Pout

Hair :  #Foxy- Mondaze.

Antlers : Astralia - Funny holidays gacha (the holidays deer) RARE (Gacha)

Tattoo : DAPPA - Sasuke Tattoo. @ Man Cave

Panties : .:villena:. - Red Thong  (Group gift)

Lights : :Moon Amore: FALALALA Socks&Lights @ Collabor88

Socks : fame femme: Winter socks - Maitreya - RARE (Gacha) @ Liaison Collaborative

Drain my heart.

Pose : Lushish Poses - Spank me Daddy f (Note: This is NOT a bento pose. I used my ao, but you can find a bento hand pose hud on Marketplace, too!)

Props : Fireplace : LISP - Mesh - Artemis Fireplace

Cat : *HEXtraordinary* Nope Cat - Mistletoe Hat (Gacha)

Chair : dust bunny . my plaid chair

Side Table :  dust bunny . round end table

Cookies :  dust bunny . tree cookies

"The empty vessel makes the loudest sound."

It's pretty easy to find quotes to relate to any moment in your life, such is the beauty of the interwebs. I'm guessing even if my opinion was different, I would be able to find an appropriate quote to fulfill that, too.

I do love me some Shakespeare though!

This is a very brief write-up today because my spoon count is low, but just remember kids, unless you've walked in the same shoes, the same footprints as someone, you don't know them. 

And most of all, consider your sources.

♥

All of the things : 

Body & Feet : -Belleza- Freya 

Skin : Insol 'Peach' 

Lingerie & Pearls : *MC* Naughty & Nice Lingerie For Bound Box December

Hands : Slink Hands - Dynamic

Nails : Astralia - Compatible mesh nails system

Nail Polish : Hello Dave - Nail Appliers - Astralia - The French One

Butt Applier : W:6 Red Ass and boobs Xmas Special @ Bodyfy 

I choose to believe.

Pose : *!R.O!* Renew BENTO Pose (Note, this pose comes with a bird, I just swapped it out)

Robin : MishMish - Robins in the snow 

Location : Luane's World

Spoons.

Many of my friends know and understand the term and I feel like it should be a universal term for, well, everyone.

The original article is >here< and it's written in relation to Lupus. However, I feel like it should be noted that no matter who you are, you have a limited amount of spoons, daily.

The basic gist of the article is that you need a physical representation of the amount of energy you use each day. This could be spoons... this could be coins, basically, anything you can easily find multiples of. Each day, you are assigned a certain amount of "spoons". Let's say today, you have 12. That's a fair amount of spoons! Now what are you going to do with them?

For every activity you do today, you're going to give a spoon away.

Got out of bed? I'll take a spoon.

Brushed your teeth? I'll take another.

Showered? More spoons!

Gotten dressed? Yep. That'll be a spoon, please.

And the day kinda goes on like this.

The idea is to end up with no spoons, and no activities left to do. If you run out of spoons but for example, still need to take the rubbish out of the house, or a friend calls around unexpectedly and you have to act as a host for a while, you can borrow against your spoons for the next day - but that's going to leave you with less activities available for you tomorrow.. so you need to be extra careful you're not running on empty!

Sometimes, you have to do just that, which kind of leaves you in a difficult position.

Do you continue trying to do everything? Or do you take a rest-day and recover your spoons?

I love the idea of this "Spoon Theory". For me (and many around me) it makes mental illness, pain management & general day-to-day life so much easier to explain. Within my little group of people, if we're not in the mood to talk, we just use the term "I don't have enough spoons today", and we instantly understand each other and give the space that's needed, or offer support if necessary.

I like to think you can earn spoons back, too. Say you ask for help, maybe it's something as simple as you're hurting when you're putting your coat on, or you have a nagging issue you'd like some advice with. Having someone to help you with your coat, or offer a friendly ear could be a way of making you feel better, and thus grasping at a shiny new spoon to spend elsewhere that day.

It's really helped me in terms of having people understand why sometimes I just can't people. Hopefully, it'll help you, too.

All of the things :

Body, Hands & Feet : Maitreya Mesh Body - Lara

Skin : Essences - Rachel 

Head : CATWA Catya

Eyes : CATWA Mesh Eyes 

Eyes :  LOTUS. Lovely Eyes @ The Chapter Four

Brows : Viena :: Perfect Eyebrows Brown @ Bodyfy 

Blush : Izzie's - Winter Blush (Former Gift)

Ears Hairband : Included with the +Spellbound+ Honey hair

Hair : Tableau Vivant \\ December @ Collabor88

Collar : Kenvie - Gold Ring Choker - Brown (You can get a version of this collar FREE @ Consent!)

Dress & Cardigan : =Zenith=Cardigan Sweater with Shirt Dress @ Kustom9 (Opens 15th Dec) (Note : If you have ANY type of boobs, this dress is going to flatten them. I mean pancake flat.)

Nails : Astralia - Compatible mesh nails system

NailPolish : alme.   Fall Palette II - Shiny 

Rings : Amala - The Lumi Stacking Rings 

Bracelet/Watch : E-Clipse Fiocco Watch (Former Gift)

A fate resigned.

Pose : FOXCITY. Milk Bath VOL2-6m

Location :  Consent (Adult)

Bodyfy opens today. For those who aren't aware of the event, it's a tattoo/body modification/scarification event, and it's been running for over a year now.

I'm always trying to find new ways to blog and photograph full tattoos. I feel like it's important to keep the creativity while showing as much of the body-art as possible. I'm not a fan of throwing my nips&bits out there willy nilly in photography, so hopefully what I've done here has managed to keep an element of class.

I'm really proud of my last few pictures. I'm not naturally talented, and often they take a lot of effort and a bit of wiggling. Today I added the ripples in the bathwater, and I got so ridiculously happy about it that I MAY have squee'd to myself!!

I hope you enjoy this little postie!

All of the things : 

 Body: -Belleza- Freya 

Skin : Lara Hurley- Beth

Head : CATWA Lona

Eyelids : Slink Mesh eyelids (No longer available in store, but if you ask really nicely in a note, you MIGHT get them from slink customer service like I did on an alt *coughs*)

Hairbase & Hair : *barberyumyum*P02(anime)

Freckles & Moles :  Bossie. freckles & beauty marks [catwa]

Piercing :  -SU!-Medusa Piercing (I think this is a group gift?)

Tattoo : [ATI] Jayce...@ Bodyfy (open NOW!)

Indigo nights.

Pose : .HG. Coy 2

Music, and the poetry of words hits you right in the feels.

The song I'm using today is "Satellite" by Gabbie Hanna. Apparently, she's a semi-well known youtube vlogger, but honestly, I'm not entirely aware of her presence there. 

Her song, however, hit me hard.

I've already described myself as slightly anxious, but I often have issues with social settings too. I'm convinced that as we start to rely more on the internet to socialize this is going to become a common problem. However, online I tend to be slightly more outgoing than that of the real me. Whether that's because i'm subconsciously masking the parts of me I don't like, or I have more confidence behind an avatar, I'm not entirely sure. What I do know, is that sometimes, I just CAN'T people.

I say the wrong things from the beginning. I forget new people don't know me, and don't understand my humor, so I backtrack and confuse myself and them.

Listen to the lyrics of this one, please. She might not be Beyonce, but give it a chance. Maybe you'll relate too.

All of the things : 

Body: -Belleza- Freya 

Skin : Lara Hurley- Beth

Head : CATWA Lona

Eyes : CATWA Mesh Eyes 

Eye Applier : LOTUS. Lovely Eyes @ The Chapter Four

Frosty Face Appliers : Izzie's - Face Snow 

Hair & Hat : Action Inkubator HAIR Lulu

Tattoo : -Endless Pain Tattoos- Dawn @ Bodyfy (Opens 8th Dec)

Shirt : _CandyDoll_ Mala Bodysuit White (Gacha item)

Hands : Slink Hands - Dynamic

Nails : Astralia - Compatible mesh nails system

Nail Polish : Hello Dave - Nail Appliers - Astralia - The French One

Rings : (Yummy) Serena Rings @ N21

My heaven, my hell.

Pose : *!R.O!* Beginning BENTO Pose w/ Mesh Parasol & Rose

Location : Arranmore

All of the things : 

Body Hands & Feet : Maitreya Mesh Body - Lara

Skin : Essences - Tawny Group Gift (Note : There is a 100L fee to join the group. There's also a 100L SALE going on in store right now. You do NOT have to be in the group to take advantage of the sale, so head over and throw your money in that direction, skin whores!)

Head : CATWA Lona

Eyes : CATWA Mesh Eyes 

Eye Applier :  Go & See * Monster * Catwa Eyes @ The Dark Style Fair 

Face Tattoo :  PMS - Skeleton Face #2 Tattoo @ Bodyfy

Hair : [e] Olivia - Essentials

Hat : .AiShA. Dia De Los Muertos Hat @ The Dark Style Fair 

Collar : *{Junbug}* The London Ruff [Pink] 

Tattoo : *Bolson / Tattoo Mr. Hyde  @ The Mens Dept.

Skeleton & Panties : CURELESS [+] Anatomic Doll / Skeletal System / RARE (Gacha) @ Epiphany  

Gloves : Hypnose Lace_Glove Maitreya

Nail Applier :  Go & See  * Maitreya Nails * @ The Dark Style Fair 

Boots :  #EMPIRE - Crown Imperial  @ Uber