Tiny post, hunt, gift, no it is not breedable, and thanks

Because milk churns are CUTE and decorative and I have too much RL work to get other stuff out... here they are, out at Vent du Sud.

The set of smaller ones is a gift to say thanks for supporting Doctors Without Borders last month. The bigger trio is a massive 1L. Copy, modify. 

Just think, you could have churns everywhere. You think there's a market for breedable churns?

OK, no. Sorry.

(and if you didn't buy anything last month then please still help yourself... and join the subscribo. Please. Thank you. I have lots of stuff nearly ready to put out). 

Grab the milk churns right outside the Vent du Sud mainstore, and pssst, new hunt gift also for the Perfect Couples Hunt.

Go... hunt. Sign outside the store too. It's a nice gift but no, not saying what it is. 

Back to work (yes, I know it's Sunday. Tell my clients that, huh?)

Ode to eggs (and coffee / Internet withdrawal)

Back from 3 days away: plastic hotel with disgustingly watery coffee and soggy mattress.

Ah, the glamour of it all.

Worse, no Internet except in the (open, busy) office, so no building or blogging or even chatting.

Back last night to finish this little Easter treat. Grab the basket at the Vent du Sud mainstore for the usual price of 1L (mod copy).

Yes, I did think of making it a freebie but some time next week I am going to calculate the  Vent du Sud revenues since 20 March and donate them to Doctors without Borders...

 So how about popping in and buying it? Hm?

And if you need somewhere to put your eggs, or other pretties... here are a couple of other ideas.

Battered table and frames to put your own photos in...

Or a round, glossy table or an unusual bookshelf.

All available at the Vent du Sud mainstore

All for 1L.

And now, after this extremely boring post, I am off to work so I have time to finish another bunch of Vent du Sud goodness (which is cluttering up my work platform but out very soon when my brain has been suitably caffeinated again)

How to be totally frustrated (involves flashers and pink violins)

Do not let your other half choose a laptop for you in your absence. Ever.

(Have a photo, read about new wall art at Vent du Sud below, but first let me scream, please?)

This is a computer which, when you read up about it, (he didn't) is the buggiest, crashiest model in the known universe. And I have hated it for the last six months because of it.

Mr RL's original theory was that it is all about SL (no, it isn't. It crashes on Google. It crashes on everything and does for thousands of unhappy owners on several continents. Hmph.

"Flash your bios", say all the forums, usefully linking to a new one.


So I shall have to go and find a flasher.  Soon.

Not the type you find on back streets, no, but somebody who can save my sanity. (Tenuous connection in terms of back streets, but here's another bit of wall art).

Mind, I still want to collect as much for Doctors Without Borders as possible until 20 April soooo.... despite a particularly Bad Computer Week I have at least uploaded some of my own photos, taken one morning at the market in the town I live and photoshopped the crap out of them skilfully.

Yours, obviously, for 1L.

Smart 2-prim version version of a couple in the mainstore, and in the big summer cabin, a small selection on a one-prim base with rather pretty frame that you can resize, turn on full bright, etc.

Don't you love this guy with the pink (electric)  violin?

OK going now in the hope that today there will be fewer blue screens of death and cursing and general bad humour. 

But here's the mini-expo and of course two sizes of cabin for just 50L.

Sky blue / rant about charity in SL and more new stuff (52 weeks of colour)

Sky blue... first the SHOES, which are Françoise flats from Shiny Things and although a couple of years old, wonderful.

Second, sky blue like the summer cabins, which are out at Vent du Sud (as is this 1L , 3-prim easel with brush and palette on the deck of the bigger one). The smaller one (pictured below), is 50L (Vent du Sud build price), a tiny 19 prims, and comes in both sky blue with yellow roof and and yellow with sky blue roof.

Direct link to the cabins here (but close to the main tp). 

And read on for the rant!

And the bigger cabin is yellow with sky blue but still 19 prims.

Ummm... I like sky blue...!

I also love all the people who have come to Vent du Sud and bought stuff, knowing (or not) that my sales are going to Doctors Without Borders for a month. Thank you and keep coming!

 And before I rant (oh boy, she's ranting again), another tiny new thing in the Vent du Sud mainstore, right up front. Standing photo frames, 1L, add your own images.

As for the rant, I saw a couple of disturbing things about donations for Japan yesterday.

As in comments about vendors 'only doing it for publicity and for themselves'. Personally, I think the important thing is that people are aware that people need help, and anything that brings in donations is not all bad. Sure it might be added publicity for the vendor too, but - so what? Sure people could give personally rather than through SL, but if it's about a few Lindens that people could well spend inworld anyway, why not try to do some good with them?

As for how much, certain creators are giving of their SL income, I don't think anyone can stand in judgement about who can offer what percentage. Not your damned business!

I also saw a comment reminding people that Japan is not the only disaster area.  This is why I support Doctors Without Borders. It does NOT accept donations specifically for any disaster but tries to deploy resources where most needed, and its overheads are low, low, low. But yes, I see the point in that reminder - except that Japan is a major disaster so its resources - rapid and concrete - are needed. 


And last, yes I do hope people show their donation receipts, and can understand some cynicism about whether people will (and yes, I will), but until the chosen period for a charity item is over then you take your chance. Sad, but true. But should it make you refuse to buy charity items 'in case' it's a scam? I think that is also up to the individual. Also sadly...

... it is being used as fodder for personal bitchiness which seems to have very little to do with Japan, or any charity,  at all. 

Rant over. And I shall get around to Umber... late. My photos of the outfit were terrible (so what's new?) so will have to do them again.

52 Weeks of colour, teal. And SPRING

Slowly, slowly catching up after travels and tribulations. And best of all, yesterday felt like spring.

The warmer weather also led me to haul out THIS, which I made last year. Click to get different types of spring flower in each pot (meaning lots of combinations).

Go splurge ONE WHOLE LINDEN for it here at Vent du Sud, near the subscribo?

And if you DO mosey on over there, and are not signed up, then please do so because a couple of spring flowers will be popped in there within a day or two.

But back to teal. I love the soft, muted teals as much as I dislike bright turquoise (and bright lime is going to be a challenge!).

The sweater from Fishy Strawberry was perfect, then, and those boots from J's match it perfectly. Tinted white socks from Ducknipple and pants from Coco.

OK, going to use my energy and freedom to get going with all the promised newness at Vent du Sud (and look for something in lime).

Perplexed of Provence (and 52 weeks of colour, Emerald)

No, the post has nothing to do with the pictures, but I really AM perplexed.

Like many bloggers, I do look at my stats. And like any blogger, I am intrigued to see where most visitors come from.

And, well, maybe I shouldn't have done that lingerie post. Or the school uniform post.

Because I am getting a relatively HUGE amount of hits from...

... what could best be described as an 'adult meeting site' in a Big Town Near Me.

So here is a little hint to my faithful readers...

Yes, I am female. But no, I do not look like my avatar. And I am not looking for 'adult meetings'.

(Oh, and I rarely wear evening gowns, my schoolgirl days are long over and my lingerie is... well, we won't go into that. My business). 

Credits. Romantica evening gown from Adam N Eve, which was gold and a freebie, and being broke frugal, I tinted it. It is VERY nicely done, not sure if still available. And the necklace from Alchemy Immortalis, which is also stunning (as is the sim).
This setting however, is (of course) Vent du Sud, with its remarkable 1L decor and 50L builds.

So bye for now, faithful readers -  and for those using that meeting site, good luck?

Chaos, etc.

What I wanted to do on SL this month (OK now last month) was to redo the Vent du Sud main store, finish a whole line of new stuff, and dance a little.

RL turned out otherwise so I have been on and off planes (and not for a vacation).

I did, however, get these out... easy to find in the (not redone) main store.

9 prims, TRANSFER... and 1L

Yes, OK, it's a little early but I have to get on a few more planes over the next couple of weeks. In fact, on 14 February I shall in fact be flying from France to an obscure part of Africa for a few days.

10 prims, TRANSFER, and 1L

 Transfer, for a change so you can give them to somebody (no really?).

Do drop by, and remember that all Vent du Sud decor is at 1L.

Always. 

Clean pantaloons: indigo. 52 weeks of colour

 

A girl needs a nice clean pair of undies for a special date, no?

 There we go. Washed and dried. Just have to wait for the ship to come in. .

 And wait, and wait...

And nothing but a lonely, indigo sea.

Credits:
Dress, Barerose Velvetica
Washboard, Menthal Oh
Hair, fri.day Joanna
Earrings, suffering from invisible prim glitch, Zaara
Lighthouse, 50L from Vent du Sud (3 sizes, low prim, also offsim version)

And now for something completely different

I've talked about Menthal Oh's superb gizmos before. Boats, planes, smoke emitters, tanning beds, snow bazookas, etc.

But...

Suddenly I hear 'Hey ARI! New build! Come look'

So I did. 

 'I just need some sexy girl for photos now, to put it on the marketplace', he said sweetly.

'No way, Menthal. Go get undressed. NOW'

'Uh...'

'You want this blogged or not?'



So here it is. The ultimate pole dance... gizmo.

And here he is. Wiggling most impressively.

Not only does it have the animations, it changes colour, gives out particles, smoke....

 ... and works perfectly well for both men and women, no?

Find it for sale at Vent du Sud, on the square.

Yes, you may try it. Yes, you may ask Menthal for a personal demo. I am sure he will be delighted.


(Running away before he or his girlfriend kills me)

The mystery of the mas, spraying wine, and lemon-sucking mouths

Vent du Sud Mas du Soleil, 50L, HERE

 "Excuse me," a delightful lady said, "but your mas is not copiable".

Having sprayed my keyboard with wine (I do like a better class of liquid to spray with), I grabbed a friend, threw the farmhouse at him and said "Rezz that NOW, please..."

Not copiable. Despite having given it an alt to check, despite the fact that I'd been through and applied mod / copy perms to every prim, every script.

Bah.

More wine. Repeat bulk permissions operation, all the while apologising profusely. And this time, it worked. And the buyer was extraordinarily gracious about it all (which of course called for another glass).

Those who bought the mas before I replaced it with a copiable version will be getting a new copy this lunchtime, plus more profuse apologies. Should have done it last night but after the wine, they could have ended up with a lighthouse instead.


So instead, I grabbed yet another glass and skimmed a couple of blogs on my reader.

Momo had a post up which reflects exactly what I said on my, er, Plurk last week (yes yes I know I don't need more distractions but as always, blame Journey).

I just don't get this idea of having models that look as though they've been sucking lemons. SURE I agree that SL is a place for self-expression (even if I am still not going to be a Gorean slave or a furry but hey, choices). I just cannot understand the appeal of looking so goddamned miserable on a fashion shot.

No, I am not copying a photo to prove the point, as skimming any feed reveals a bunch of them and singling one out would probably bring out the screaming as it did on Momo's blog (and was dealt with beautifully).

So have another photo of the Mas (farmhouse) instead.And the cute mezzanine and retractable ladder.

And one of me (ah vanity)

... no, not smiling either (I loathe that anim that makes avatars do a sickly blingy smile every ten seconds too) but I don't look like I've been sucking lemons.

What I DID notice when I got changed was that I had the black collar on the brown jacket. And without the help of wine to befuddle my brain.

Credits: Aoharu tailored jacket (brown and black!), Zaara Isis shirt (white, but modifiable so a much-tinted staple).

Vent du Sud - new French farmhouse for only 50L

As a couple of people have noticed, there is a new 50L build out at Vent du Sud:

the Mas du Soleil.

A mas is a stone farmhouse typical of southern France, regularly snapped up and renovated by foreigners or those from big cities these days.

It's an airy build weighing in at 48 prims (fully linked, no rezzer, mod / copy and yes, 50L). 

A certain friend by the name of Sunshine pounced on it early, and unwittingly gave it a name: the Mas du Soleil, as in the Sunshine Farmhouse. 

Thank you, Ms Kukulcan for support and laughs and latex moments (the latex being hers, not mine). 

Simple, however, still means you get windows that change to opaque on a single click (see on some of the photos), a retractable ladder to the roomy mezzanine, and superb textures. And of course that spacious terrace for dancing, dreaming and maybe grabbing some superb patio furniture from Vent du Sud!

 

Included in the pack,  for this week only*, there is the French stove that tucks into the lovely rounded nook AND the 1-prim standard lamp graciously sculpted and scripted by a friend. 

(also available separately, at the mas, for 1L each)

Again, it's HERE, and it's a tiny 50L (*and the extras are because it's my rezz day 'release', just a couple of days late)


(PS and indigo coming up later).
(PPS and the lovely Em of Sleek home decorated it superbly here)

Calling bloggers, building and BOOOOOOOTS

First up, a call for any bloggers interested in receiving new Vent du Sud items (including builds).
As some of you know, I sell decor for 1L and builds for 50L and am crap at marketing.

Example build, Lighthouse, here

So if any blogger would like to have new releases or other specials or even older builds, please ask (and no, no pressure to use anything at all).  Also, let me know of anything you are particularly interested in such as colours or styles or... whatever.

An IM to Ariadne Korda with a link to your blog would be perfect. I will then put you on the (so far small) list of people who get pre-releases.  Thanks! I do reserve the right to say no, but... it's unlikely.

I have in fact just boxed up a new build and a couple of things for you to look at, including this house plus some decor that goes with it. There will be more to come.

New release about to go on sale here

This is intended mainly for house and garden bloggers but also any fashion bloggers interested in using my furniture or builds as props or settings.

Detail of a 1L fireplace available here

And the boots? OH THE BOOTS.

One of my chairs, in the mainstore. Various colours / poses on touch.

But um yes, the boots.

Never have I spent so much time dithering in front of boots but I am absolutely THRILLED with those I finally chose. Seriously, it was probably the best 420L I have spent in a loooooooooong time. Lia, by Miel and yes I know they have been blogged to death but... they are fabulous and lots of colours INCLUDED (oh dear upper case alert).

And of course I had to get the dress and the tights too. For a frugal shopper, this was a BIG deal but...

... happy Ari.

Look forward to hearing from some of you!

52 weeks of colour, silver: Vent du Sud goes underground

Ah silver. I tend not to do 'shiny' that much (being boring) but I remember I just could not resist this Helena cape from Mimikri. And then never wore it because gorgeous as it is, it is... not (boring) me.

But then, I had a thought, which involved Jeddin Laval's Underground City - something I have been intending to blog forever.

Goodness, I could write a ten-page essay on this (but won't). Jeddin is a writer, a scripter, an inventor, an idealist, and a great, great friend.

He built his city (complete with HUD and guides and a wealth of things to see and do)... because it is the setting of his story 'Descending Road': a fantasy work but there is more to it than that. He even invented a new way of reading on the Net: more about that in the city too but also on his site.

Jeddin isn't in SL for profit, but to share his ideas, his literature, and his incredible enthusiasm and sense of adventure. There is something to discover around every corner (and the place is BIG). From nightclubs to living quarters, from descriptions of the inhabitants to various features that come alive thanks to sheer scripting genius.


This, for example, is how the race of people he describes in his story sees colour (how appropriate): all with explanations, of course.

But one of the most spectacular parts of the City, to me, is the Birthing Chamber.

Pipes, platforms... and although it's stunning in terms of a build, just to visit, it is another focal part of Descending Road.

The place is really worth seeing. Grab a visitor hud or drop Jeddin Laval a quick IM and share his enthusiasm for a little while. Because to me, he is one of the very, very best parts of SL.

Other credits: free dress from Kunglers, hair from MrS and that stunning cape from Mimikri. But if you'll excuse me, I need to get back into jeans.

But do, please, go visit the City (yes I know I am repeating myself). But you won't be disappointed.

Vent du sud gifts in the subscribo

A very HAPPY NEW YEAR from Vent du Sud. 

As promised, this is in the subscribo.

Four small but pretty frames. Touch the background to choose from one of the four colours.

24 hours only... but also on sale at the mainstore for a MASSIVE.... 1L.


See you next year!

Sailing into 2011, grab a dinghy, gifts, and rather too many links

If you feel like a quiet (romantic) break from parties and champagne and New Year celebrations... here's an idea.

I've blogged about R0bin Helsinki's fabulous Sea Fever exhibition before (here), which is why we are cheerfully sailing through a photograph in the photo... but since then we've added a few touches.  Such as this superb (free) boat ride.

... plus some seabirds and fish and a dolphin who escaped... and which if you look closely, is posing as a killer whale about to attack Menthal (over by the Vent du Sud rustic lighthouse *cough plug 50L*).

Back to the boat, though. Menthal Oh made the dinghy specially for Vent du Sud (thank youuuu). Rezz one HERE and go zipping along the rivers and the whole island (mind your head under the bridges).

The drawbridge near the BIG lighthouse (*cough plug also 50L*) raises to let you through - just click (admiring my buildery genius as you do so and buying it (mod copy) for 1L if the fancy takes you).

Drawbridge. Favourite Argrace hair 'modern rail

This is NOT a normal dinghy. It's sleek and sophisticated, has spray and a wake and can seat up to four people. Great build, as always. 

You can BUY the boat by the rezzer too, without the Vent du Sud flag, don't worry. Or contact Menthal when he gets back after the weekend for a personalised version, or even a rezzer for your land.

And finally (*cough again*) I will probably be blogging again later today since I have some cute gifts for my subscribo people, which will only be in there for 24 hours.

And why yes this post has way too many links so see below if you are totally confused.

Off to rescue a dolphin...


Link reminders (or just fly around!):
- Vent du Sud boat rezzer / purchase and rustic lighthouse here
- Art café entrance here (also Menthal's latest gizmos on the square)
- Subscribo and Vent du Sud main store here
- Big lighthouse here