Lucky Gatcha

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Sheila Yoshikawa

The story starts with this stool in a lucky board and free necklace from Himehime Andel, (the glass case – without the food – and wooden trays on the counter are also freebies) at http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Parta/93/99/22. Unfortunately the adorable baked items in the case seem to be made by a resident who left SL. I looked to see who had made the cute Halloween cafe building and followed the link through to the gatcha palace pictured below. I’ve never seen so many gatchas in one place and they are all one linden per play. You see a couple of the items below, and it is certainly worth a browse if you want some unusual food items, or an odd article of furniture. The location is http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/ethmia/207/218/85

Now, it had a gatcha for the cafe building (bottom right in the picture above), but that doesn’t include teh halloween version. However, if you go out and turn right, there is a building with a huge array of lucky boards. They turn over every 3 minutes, and if you only stand there for 15 minutes or so you can gather a sizeable collection. The luckyboard in the top right corner has the Halloween cafe building (plus a pink version).

Hunting By Nacht

Posted on October 7, 2012 by Sheila Yoshikawa

Hunts can help you come across new designers, and one that was new to me was By Nacht. I went to them because of one hunt, but then came across another hunt item as well. The Autumn Retreat house is a free hunt gift in the Falling Leaves Hunt (hunt item is a fallen leaf). It comes furnished and unfurnished: I haven’t used the day bed, carpet or tea lights.
I didn’t use the bed because the other hunt gift in the By Nacht store was an even nicer bed. The Max bed is one linden in the Feast of All saints Hunt (hunt object is a blue heart) and is a tribute to “Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak. I love the trees that form the bedposts and the little boat on the bedhead.
Items in the picture above (looking through the window into the house) are: Pot of Zinnias by Zinnia’s (freebie), Rabbit (on floor) and croissant (on bench) by LUXus, Bottle of wine and chair also by Luxus (part of Falling Leaves hunt gift) Rugs by Y’s House (free, they are on display inside the main building), Locker desk set by Y’s House (at the Men’s Department, see below for more detail of the set).

Deckchair and basket from Luxus (part of falling Leaves Hunt prize), “The Raven” book by Kusshon, Stool is group gift from Y’s House; (on the right) Locker desk set by Y’s House (includes stools, light, books etc. in locker).

House (includes large tree and small tree in pot) by By Nacht (Falling Leaves hunt), Arbour, chair and bottle of wine by Luxus (Falling Leaves hunt); Autumn leaves by SHD.

West Lake House: 1

Posted on September 26, 2012 by Sheila Yoshikawa

Lots of people have flickrd and blogged L2 Studio’s West Lake House, and I’m going to join in. I will spread it over several posts. I didn’t mod the house (except to put in a couple of little ramps so my kittycats didn’t get stuck). The first picture shows two of the areas on the ground floor: a comfortable area by the window for curling up with a cup of coffee and admiring the view, and the bedroom. My favourite find for the bedroom was the canopy bed from Kopi. You can have any of the lace curtains either loose or bunched up, and the covers are texture change (I went with quilted cream satin).
Blue corner: Chair, blue flowers and blue bowl by Patron; Rug, potted candle, side table and mirror by Melino Style; Horse ornament by Shabby Shack; Floor cushion by LISP; Lamp by Barnesworth Anubis.
Bedroom: Bed by Kopi; Wooden sewing machine and folding screen by MMG’s; Artwork by Lindini2; Nieve lamp, photo frame and table by What Next; Carpet by POST; Curtain by Oyakin; Rose in vase by FLOWER SHOP USAKO; Hydrangea picture by Yoyo Quartz (plus, no longer available, dresser and stool by BP; chairs by Urbanized)

This is the side view of the house. The cute cart in the foreground has a swimming pool in the back and is by MMG’s. The waterlily arrangement, rocks and fountain are by Heart. The reeds and pampas grass are by Kidd and the ivy round the house is by Funny Honey. The big tree is by nocc (no longer available, sadly). You can see Abott’s airport in the background.

Autumn is arriving

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Sheila Yoshikawa

I have feeling a bit glum (some family illness) and so I decided to give in to temptation and have rented a small plot on the Sylvan sim. This is next to the Organica store which specialises in plants and landscape items (plus some furniture). For a while I have been dropping in to the ajoining sim which he has landscaped beautifully (of course) by Organica’s owner and which has nice plots for rental. Since I’ve already got my mainland plot that I love, this is just indulgence, but renting for a few weeks still costs less than going out for a non-virtual meal. If you want to drop by it is here http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sylvan/157/195/21

I wanted to use mostly items I already had, so as not to add to the cost, but there are a number of goodies that are still available. Firstly my only new purchase was the Asian Tea House from Bahia Tiki. Bahia has been around for years and years, and if you haven’t visited for a while you may want to revisit since they have some very nice stuff. As you would guess, they are particularly strong on tiki and beachside houses, but their oriental section is good (a number of nice little Japanesey shops, with accessories) and their prices are (I think) reasonable. For three hundred and something linden I got the house and the copiable table/cushion/teaset that is in the interior photo. It’s also a nice location; you can just chill out on the Bahia beach and surf.

Also in this picture you can the autumn arbour from Zinnia’s. This is one of my favourite autumn things: it has vibrant plants and branches, seating inside the arbour, and it blends into the landscape well; you could use it as a feature in itself or (as here) as a gateway. The only down side is that I can’t see it in her shop at the moment, but hopefully if someone wants it she may put it out The trees are from Alirium Gardens (AG), the autumn birch and Trees of Elf. There are purple asters and trillium plants from Organica. and the japanese stone paving is from Zacca.

Above is a shot in the opposite direction, showing the between autumn and spring bench from Art Dummy which includes several good poses.

This is inside the teahouse: as I mentioned the table, cushions and (separate) tea set are included with the tea house (and can be bought separately in the furniture shop). It doesn’t come with the tatami mat. I used three items from POST, the Freestanding Tokonoma (which has beautiful sliding doors top and bottom), the Latour Antique Telephone Stand (small table) and the Delft vase. Orchids are by Zoe’s Garden and Ikebana, and you can just see the spout of the pink porcelain Sakura teapot by Harima-ya. I’m afraid the cute bunny items & books are no longer available (they were all from shops or hunts on the Drowsy sim).

Finally, outside I propped Croire’s traveler’s trunks, and fished some geta and slippers from my inventory. You can get the slippers (in several colours) free at 2g http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SWITCH/117/47/27; they are in a basket on the front step. They are just like some slippers I have outside SL, and I have used them a lot in SL as decoration and to wear.

Patron House

Posted on September 7, 2012 by Sheila Yoshikawa

Just a few shots of the new Patron House by Eliza Wierwight. It is not for small plots, and would work best on ground level on water. I love the water features inside the house and the open structure, combined with her distinctive dark woods and bold artwork. These are a few of my favourite spots in the house: it comes with the water features and some surrounding rocks etc, and some fittings and fixtures (e.g. some bench seating). Visit the house at http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Patron/156/148/21
Above is the informal kitchen/ dining area seen through a water curtain. Below is the living room, and I angled the picture so you could see the starry starry night ceiling.

Below is part of the bathroom area: between the bath and the couch is one of the art works dotted round the show house (all for sale, too).

This is a view of one side of the house.

Tiny Place

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Sheila Yoshikawa

L&K prefabs have just brought out Tiny Place house (it was 55 Linden at the weekend – in fact it was still 55 Linden when I bought it earlier today.) I’ll take a couple of posts to blog it. In the picture above you see it: the cherry trees, cherry blossom ground cover and mossy rocks are from Forest Floor (and are season change). The grassy cover and white rocks are from Heart, and the butterflies from FIN.
On the porch there is the current worn chair on sale at Atelier Kreslo, the Baignoire table by Cheeky Pea (at the current collabor8) with some candles in bottles by LISP (part of an autumn set), spring planters by What Next, and some further plants by Ibizarre on the steps.

Here you see me washing up (using poses built into a wearable sponge and plate, which I got with a kitchen unit from Bitter Vanilla). There is a sale on at the Creators Pavilion until 15 April, and this sink (part of a kitchen set, 89 Linden in the sale) is from CoCo. The picture (Check Shirt) is by Lindini2 and is free in Atelier Kreslo, which is where I also bought the cup of coffee. This pictures gives you a better view of one of the What Next spring planters. The other things are: Jug of branches: La’licious; Wire basket of eggs: KOPI; Plate rack and dishes (in sink): Funky Junk (in Pasadena set); Plunger: MMG’s; Tray table: Zinnias; Expresso maker: TSG; Kitchen utensils and laundry basket: Bitter Vanilla; Morrocan lemons and bell: LISP (in Jewel set); Hodepodge carpet: LISP; Cabinet: Melino Style. I’ll blog the other side of the house soon!

Forever Yours

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Sheila Yoshikawa

Work has been mad over the last couple of weeks, so not so much time for blogging. However, I saw these 3 hunt sets in a new-to-me shop Forever Yours. If “adult poses” are your thing, the two love rugs are attractively done (and also contain tamer cuddle poses). Seen above is the Glamor Hunt prize (10 Linden for love rug, chaise (the chaise just has one normal sitting pose in it) and fireplace) and the Be Loved Hunt prize (free): a table for two with chairs, flowers and candles, plus some valentine bags and some balloons. This second hunt is only on for a few more days, and there is a hint giver and examples of the items you are hunting for, by the shop entrance. As I was in a hurry I just hauled the items out and snapped them, so no styling has taken place (the banner, park bench and trees are nothing to do with the prizes!).

Below you see the (free) prize in the Love me or not hunt: the Hideaway. This is about 60 prims in total, all linked together, including a chair and a “love rug”. I wasn’t so keen on some of the poses in the chair – seemed to be “violence against women” (or against men, if you swapped pose balls). The fur rug is pretty, though. The Forever Yours shop is fairly small, so finding the items is not a huge trial.

My Mini Foxgate

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Sheila Yoshikawa

The Foxgate house, and this smaller mini Foxgate (from L2 Studio), are not brand new, but I found that this house answered my need for something airy, but with a warm feel to it. The house has no internal walls, but there are two distinct areas in the mini version: the front room which is surrounded by tall windows, and then down a step to the back area, which has one set of shuttered windows (click to open and close). The floors are beautiful rich wood planking, and the walls of a warm brick, with pale plaster & wallpaper on two walls.

The house is 48 prims, so you could fit it on a small plot of land. This is the front of it.

I added a wooden platform under one of the side windows (see below). Following from a tip on Chic Aeon’s blog, I got this Asian table set (picture below: table, cushions with poses and teaset) free in the Year of the Dragon hunt. I discovered the orchid arrangement in my inventory … the designer’s inworld shop seemes to have disappeared, but her creations are available on SL marketplace.
RnB: Asian table (Year of the dragon hunt: RnB have a hint giver by the entrance); Ikebana: Zen Slippers vase orchid; Clutter: Comfort and Joy bookcase; Ambiance: Photo blocks

I am not very good at “less is more” in SL decorating, but I didn’t want to clutter up this house, so I restricted the amount of seating and tables. This pile of cushions in the back area of the house added colour, and it has a number of poses in it. The mobile is hung between the two “rooms”: it was difficult getting a shot that showed it off nicely.
Zigana: Hanging mobile; POST: Tokonoma; Ikebana: Simple orchid, red;
Melino style: Matryoshka owls (on the Tokonoma) and demask pillow pile; Hanaya: Autumn bamboo; Little boxes: knitting basket; Effulgent Brown: Songbird home japanese screen

I put a wooden platform under the bed as well, as otherwise it looked a bit lost on the floorboards. Everyone has been blogging this bed and tea set, but they are really lovely.
Art Dummy: Platform bed (Season’s gatcha); Y’s House: Tenugui – tea set on a stool (Season’s gatcha); LISP: open book; L2 Studio: new year vase (free)
(Outside, in this picture and the first one) Cluttered Flowey’s Hiberation Bench; New Trails’ Winterfeast tree (at the front), animated ice, snowy fern and flowing water; Sway’s bird house; GW’s silver birch; Cheeky Pea’s bird teacup (Season’s gatcha)

Finally, the window below is opposite the Asian table: the chess table was really cheap (there is a more expensive version with all the chessmen) and I think it’s a very attractive piece (also it reminds me of a chess table I have in RL, though I don’t actually use it to play chess with). My Kittycat Stone and I are enjoying looking out the windows.
Y’s House: round chair (fluffy); RnB: Chess table; MoltoBene: Pin Board (Season’s gatcha); LISP: open book

Christmas in the bunker

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Sheila Yoshikawa

I had seen a pretty Illuminated Tree on several sims. When I tracked it down, I found it in a shop, 19MC, that specialises in motorcycles and motorcycle gear. However they have some other things, mostly biker-related, including some good freebies. The sofa, table made out of a motor tyre, bucket (very well made, with cigarette ends floating in it), and packing cases were all free, and so is the white version of the tree. You get several copies, and it is mod, so you can shrink it down like I have in the first picture. You can also buy coloured versions of the tree (the only garden item) for 300 Linden.

I wanted somewhere suitable to display these items, and I rememered some dollarbie houses made by himehime Andel, that I came across in the Iced Gems sim, including this grungy concrete home. The second picture shows the house rezzed: there are a couple of the Illuminated Trees full size, and in the garage I rezzed another freebie I picked up in the cafe on Iced Gems. This is an ice cream cabinet: it dispenses poisoned ice cream, and when you wear the innocent-looking strawberry and vanilla ice you collapse onto the ground.

Might be good for Christmas parties, if you don’t really like the guests.

Illumination tree (modifiable), side table, bake-2 (bucket), sofa and carton case: all zero Linden from 19MC.
Treekun (tree-friend, wearable, free), Ice Cream cabinet (free) and h*+c+*h-01 house (1 Linden; 44 prims): all by himehime Andel; Seiya sign (worn, free) by dokinjou adamski. Sign and cabinet are in the cafe at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Iced%20Gems/92/137/25/; to find the tree-kun and houses, leave the cafe and go under the bridge, and there is a little shop on your left.

Under the tree

Posted on December 7, 2011 by Sheila Yoshikawa

I’m excited to be doing my first post for Home on the Grid! In fact I got so excited that I forgot to check whether the central focus of this picture, the tree from TSG, was still available. I like the texture of the branches, and the fact that it isn’t overdecorated. It turns out that although TSG (Tesh Gardens) don’t seem to have this exact tree, they DO have a very similar one with golden baubles instead of candles (and fewer prims, which is a bonus).
I’d recommend the advent hunt on Swayland: you have to go round the sim and find the boxes numbered 1-25. Each one gives a notecard with a code. Once you’ve got the codes, you go to the central Advent Tree, click the present with the right date on it, and type in the code for that date. You can only claim the present for “today”, so actually at this point finding boxes 1-7 is simply a frustration. Also you have to remember that the date changes at midnight GMT i.e. 8 hours ahead of SL time, so at 4.05pm 7th December SL time you are already on to the 8th December present and can’t get the 7th any more. Despite the fact that GMT is my real time zone, I got caught out on the first day. There are gifts from Sway’s, Nonino and others with shops on the sim.

What’s under the tree (referring to the numbers in the picture above)
[1] September sun house (includes birch tree decal on the wall): Vespertine
[2] Birdy Tin and [17] Pine cone gift box; [3] Little Girl card and [4] Vintage tin candle; all by LISP
[5] Bowl of pine cones and [6] Box of Christmas decorations; Dreamscapes
[7] Winter Snowglobe; Awesome Blossom
[8] Noelle candle holder; KOSH
[9] Full perms (untextured) parcel; Prefabrica (I added textures from Insight Designs)
[10] Butterfly gift box; Hanaya
[11] Christmas Candles (no longer available), [12] Christmas tree with candles and [13] Pine gift bag (no longer available); TSG
[14] Mosaic wood gift cask that contained jewelry from Zaara (some boxes are too pretty to throw away!)
[15] Advent gift Christmas stocking and [16] the box it came in; Sway’s
[18] Shanghai Club rug; POST
[19] One of my KittyCats, Stone.

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