Otherworldly

The best event in Second Life for ponies and now also pooches is back! The big Teegle event of the year, now renamed to the Dog & Pony Show, opens on September 29th and it is jam-packed with coats, accessories and everything else your four-hoofed/pawed friends might need. Or yourself, in case you prefer being the horse to riding the horse! The event will run until October 23 and in addition to tons of cool new releases, it will feature a packed schedule of events and demonstrations. As well as, of course, the immensely popular One Of A Kind auctions.

I am thrilled to have the chance to blog this event and for my initial post, the teaser before the event opens, I went straight for the brand new riding arena from The Domineaux Effect in which I setup a small jumping course using the English Show Jump set from Simply Shelby. As my mount for the day I selected the Tennessee Walker and prettied him up with a new coat from the Cozy Den and added Polo Wraps from Cinnamon. The tack set is Cheval D’or’s Pinnacle Saddle Seat, a previous release.

In the words of Siddean Munro:

“I am holding a huge 50% off everything in the store sale - Slink, One Bad Pixel and Cinnamon and Chai - from RIGHT NOW until 11:59 on November the 28th. This sale includes everything. EVERYTHING IN THE STORE. I’ve never had a sale like this, and I never will again! Now’s your chance to grab that thing you have been dreaming about! Only at Slink (Marketplace not included).”

As I have no doubt mentioned a few times, the Slink Physique Original body is my favourite body for a realistic shape. Slink Physique Hourglass is a bit more exaggerated, but I am still very fond of how it handles the stomach and hips. The very best stomach and hips, however, can be found on Cinnamon & Chai, which is the entirely separate body that Siddean launched some time ago. This sale seemed like a good excuse to take a sexy shot of each body, dressed up in clothes and shoes from Siddean’s brands as well.

Be My Mannequin has a new set of three single poses out for the Grid event, opening today. Exclusive to the event is a fatpack called “Sing to Me” which gives you a 10% discount over buying the poses individually. I made use of two of the poses, both which have a very moody feel to them. Someone who never went to the party after all, but stayed alone at home, brooding.

I haven’t worn the Chai body from Cinnamon & Chai for a while but the addition of support for the body to various Slink and One Bad Pixel releases made it easy to expand my wardrobe for her quite a bit. These red pants, for example, are available for just L$75 right now as a promotion for the addition. And if you already own any of the pieces now getting a new size added, simply redeliver them to get your hands on the update.

The Bubbles hair is the latest from Wasabi, out for Access. The style includes three style options, optional bangs and a lot of hairpins which can be texture changed or turned off.

The Home & Garden Expo runs from February 26th to March 20th and raises money for Relay for Life. I will be covering one of the nine sims, Hope 6, and giving you a taste of the merchants that can be found there and what their new releases and donation items are. The main sponsor of Hope 6 is Teegle and so my first post focuses on new releases from Teegle and Teegle-associated brands. The two big ones are undoubtedly the Quarter Horse Teeglepet and the Western riding system from Mythril. But there are also two new coats from Teegle and three new decor/home & garden items. And Cheval D’or, which also has its store on Hope 6, has fitted all their existing sets to the Quarter Horse as well as released a new wavy mane and tail set. They also have a 20% off sale at the Expo. To give you a good look at these items, I’ve put together a video on location. I even tackled showing off the gaits from the Western riding system and managed to keep from crashing into the fence too many times. ;)

We brought the tree in today, though haven’t dressed it yet. Instead, I dressed my virtual tree today, setting up my little Christmas corner with various pieces from Libertine. I love the aesthetic of Libertine, especially the Christmas collection which really captures the feel of old-fashioned Christmas card. If I could have my Christmas looking like that IRL too, I’d love it. No modern minimalism for me. For this year, I picked up the dark and snowy foliage add-ons for some variety and also a few extra ornaments, both interactive and unscripted. The Christmas Collections have been rearranged following the ban on gachas and Alia has put up a detailed post about how they are now being sold.

I also decided to get a little holiday festive with a new dress for my Chai body and a pair of heels that make my feet hurt just from looking at them. But in Second Life they’re no problem and the red leather does look very nice. The Wasabi hair is the second of their styles from the Arcade, very sleek and elegant, and I am wearing the new gift head from LeLutka.

You still have a couple of days left until the SL Christmas Expo closes on the 14th of December. My final post from the event takes a look at the latest Teeglepet release, the majestic Andalusian horse.  And of course he gets a little video to show him off. Apologies in advance for my steering, apparently I can’t ride and talk at the same time in SL. ;)

In the video, I mention that there is a One of a Kind Andalusian up for grabs at the charity auction, and if you want to know more about that, check out this link. The auction ends tomorrow, Sunday the 12th, so don’t miss your chance to bid!

Below the video I’ve included a couple of shots of the horse on its own, to give a better look at both him and the beautiful Cantara tack set from Cheval D’or. And the full credits are at the end, of course.

I am still enjoying my new, spicy self thanks to the Cinnamon body. Siddean Munro has a very nice starter wardrobe out at the Cinnamon & Chai store and I thought this little casual crop top and hotpants set was perfect when putting Cinnamon through her paces with some Nutcracker-inspired couple poses from Be My Mannequin. These are available at the current round of Enchantment; the second couple pose (Perfect Balance) and the two single poses (not shown) can be purchased individually or as a fatpack. The first couple pose (Pas de Deux) is only available in the event-exclusive fatpack, so make sure not to miss out on it if you like it. We did need to adjust our heights a bit for Pas de Deux, too large of a height difference was particularly noticeable in this pose, but that is unavoidable in that position and no fault.

In a few hours, there will be a new girl in town and I think quite a few of you might want to be just like her. Cinnamon (and her “sister”, Chai) is a new mesh body from Siddean Munro, the creator behind the Slink brand. This is NOT an update of the Slink bodies, nor does it mean those are being retired. Cinnamon & Chai is a completely separate brand and these bodies have been built anew from the ground up.

Why another body, you might wonder? What does it offer that we don’t already have plenty of in Second Life? Well, I am glad you asked and to answer, I prepared a little video. Note, there is pixelnudity in it.

If you prefer to read about the bodies, I urge you to check out the Cinnamon & Chai website, which has an excellent FAQ. As for the quick version of my opinion of the body (there’s of course a more in-depth review in the video),  I love the lower half of the body but would have preferred smaller or at least more natural breasts. I also think the new UV is a really cool and bold move and the seamless waist and ankles look fantastic. And the animated feet are great.

I’ve also included some shots of the body below, if you want to get a quick look at it without seeing the video. Again, pixelnudity follows. The poses used for the nude shots are from XTC and available at the new round of La vie en pose. Full credits are at the end, but since the store is not yet open the landmark will be added later. To be notified immediately when the release happens, I suggest joining the Cinnamon & Chai group.