Fancy Dinners at the Velvet Nocturne

It's my turn to cook dinner today and I'm really not in the mood for anything special... You know how some days it's "I'm really craving...", then there are the days when no one in the house can decide what they want for dinner and it becomes again of "I dunno, what do you want?", today I'm having one of those "I'll make something easy" kinda feelings... Something that reminds me of home and makes people in Holland look at me like I'm bonkers until they taste it! Nothing fancy though like I said...

Rudh on the other hand is going to one of those super fancy, masquerade dinners held by the local vampire elites... They've provided the most decadent of starters for our little sea monster... Pearls in the shell with caviar and oysters... 
The theme of the night is that of decadence... A party fit for Midas and his touch of gold, a place where the Greek Gods of old would feel welcome. Rudh is dripping in pearls, wearing the hands of Hermes - from Tentacio - as her mask and a dress of spun golden roses - which is actually the Rose Dress from AsteroidBox at this month's round of Collabor88, I'll admit as much as I loved the front, the BACK was just *chef's kiss* and I feel we need to give the back of garments more love sometimes LOL - and it's a perfect look for an evening at the Velvet Nocturne - from Synnergy.Tavis - don't you think? 

What is she wearing;
Hair: TRUTH & FAGA - Clarity in Redhead
Mask: Tentacio - Hermes Mask in Gold and Black
Skin: amara beauty - Freya in Ivory
Necklace: (Yummy) - Pearl Cascade Necklace
Body Pearls: Insomnia Angel - Body Pearls
Dress: AsteroidBox - Rose Dress (Available until August 30th at Collabor88)
Pose & Glass Prop: piXit - Ivory Whispers, Pose 3
Table Decor: [lilp] - Glitz n Glam, Fancy Decor - Open Caviar Tin in Orange (Past Gacha Item), DISORDERLY - Pearlized in Bowl (Past Gacha Item) & BROKEN ARROWS - Santorini in Shell & Pearls
Backdrop: Synnergy.Tavis - Velvet Nocturne {360} Backdrop

A Picky Tea for Dinner

It's dinner time... What do I want for dinner?? I'm not really sure, and on days like today I tend to go with a very British option... In the UK when I was growing up, we referred to this dinner as Picky Bits. It tended to be something I made with my sister when mum and dad were away, and now it comes under many guises... Picky Bits, British Tapas, a Picky Tea or the more straight to the point "We-need-to-get-everything-out-of-the-freezer-because-it-needs-defrosting" dinner... Today let me help educate you about the Picky Tea... 

I am not really the best for making a good description of the Picky Tea, I'll pass you over to someone on Social Media, Star Holroyd and her brilliant video on TikTok for the best description...
Roughly though, a Picky Tea is about 80% Beige Foods, 15% Posh Veggies - which works out to be any salad veg that has had some kind of cutting done to it therefore making it "posh" and the last 5% is made up of things that make no real sense with the rest of the foods on the table, has been stuffed in the back of the fridge and will invariably be put back into the cupboard without being touched... But likeI said, listen to Star, she explains things better hehe... 
80% Beige Food, 15-20% Posh Food "Any salad veg that have been sliced, therefore made "posh"", 5% makes no sense to the rest but has been hiding in the cupboard for over a year that is gotten out in the hopes that someone will eat it, although it is invariably put back into the cupboard to wait a little longer... 
For my SL Picky Tea I've gone all out... I have Steak Fajitas with Salsa and Guac, I got a special Thanksgiving Pizza and Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers. There's fresh veggies and Texas Rolls and cheese, and I even found some tins of fish AND some Aunt Bessie's Yorkshire Puds in the freezer. 

What is in the photo:
Veggies: Junk Food - Veggie Trays
Cheese: dust bunny - Summer Picnic in Cheese Wheel
Rolls & Butter: Junk Food - Texas Rolls
Caviar: Fancy Decor - Open Caviar Tin in Orange
Sardines: KittyRey 3D Lab - Canned Sardines
Jalapenos: Lucas Lameth - Bacon Jalapeno Poppers
Chips: random.Matter - Nostalgic Nights in Crisps
Pizza: Junk Food - Thanksgiving Pizza
Fajitas, Guacamole, Salsa & Tortillas: Junk Food - Steak Fajitas
Olives: Katy's Kreations - Six Olive Bowls
Yorkshire Puddings: Stockholm&Lima - Yorkshire Pudding
Backdrop: Synnergy.Tavis - Sotto Cafe {360} Backdrop

The Day of the King

Today is King's Day and it's the 10th anniversary of King Willem-Alexander being on the throne. It feels funny to think that I have been here to see his succession and pretty soon I'll be able to see a new King ascend to the throne in England... 
For those of you that have no idea what King's Day is, and what it means... Basically it a day in which the country celebrates it's nationality, perhaps more than the king's birthday as even people that aren't really in support of the monarchy seem to love a good King's Day celebration... The whole country goes a little orange for the day, there are parties and carnivals, street markets where people sell their unwanted items, foods are shared and enjoyed, and MASSIVE amounts of alcohol is consumed... It's a countrywide party!!! 

In the dark ballroom, I'm celebrating the national holiday of the Netherlands in a truly Dutch way... 
I dressed in some orange and ready to have a party, I've prepared some delicious Dutch Snacks like the Bitterballen - from DRD - a tompouce and a fresh bottle of jenever which is a little like gin and delicious... 
I know that it seems strange but it's the one day a year that I feel closer to being Dutch than normal... I am definitely a bit of a misfit in this country, and I have branded myself as such - with a cute chest tattoo from Adora-tions - I'll always be a Brit, but since we're celebrating a new king soon, and the Dutch are celebrating their current king, I'll happily wear, or perhaps sit in a crown - the Crown Bed from Krescendo - like a royal too...

What is she wearing;
Crown: Blueberry - Iconic Doll Gacha Item in Tiara Copper
Hair & Flower: Wasabi - Mathilda HW Ed. Hair in Absolute Pack
Skin: amara beauty - Freya in Ivory
Jewellery Set: Random Matter - Quyen Collar & Earrings in Cool Tones
Tattoo: Adora-tions - Misfit Chest Tattoo
Jacket: GABRIEL -  Vivid Off-shoulder fur in Orange
Top: Pixicat - Misha Top in Royal
Pants: imbue. - Rip Knee Flares in Dark Grey
Pose: FOXCITY - Comfortable, Pose 6
Bed: [Krescendo] - Crown Bed
Tulips: Fancy Decor - Dutch Tulipiere in Mix
Foods: DRD - Dutch Snack Table in Bitterballen, C L A Vv - Dutch Cuisine in Tompouce  (No Longer Available) &  Dutchie - Jenever bottle with glasses
Table: dust bunny - Woodland Dreams in Carved Table
Backdrop: FOXCITY. Photo Booth - Ballroom in Black

Happy Thanksgiving!

 HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all my American Friends and Family. 
It's not something that I celebrate since I'm a non-American myself, but this time of year there are so many people making huge feasts and spending time with family that I decided to take that opportunity and force HellBone to have a family meal with me... 

I put some delicious roasted veggies - from vespertine kitchen - and some stuffing and mash with a little bit of that delicious Dust Bunny gravy. I turned around for a moment to get the Turkey out of the oven, and as I turned back to put it on the table I noticed that the little shit was sharing mashed potatoes with our chunky butt, Scruffy Shepherd... 
I LOVE this set up, but I have to say that the poses are something I cannot take credit for... They actually come as a larger group pose that can be used as a single pose - with props - or as a whole for a fun family group pose... It's a pose called "Surviving the Holidays" from -Extra-, and it's perfect, not only for Thanksgiving but Christmas too, since it looks like the kinda family Christmases I'm used to in RL... Don't believe me, look at the pose ad for the whole group set and then try to convince me otherwise... 

Anyway, no matter what you're doing today, have a lovely Thursday and to the Americans out there... Happy Thanksgiving! 

What are they wearing; 
Rudh: 
Hair: Magika - Gemma
Skin: amara beauty - Freya in Ivory
Top & Apron: Tres Blah - Summer Fete Apron in Black
Mittens: Atomic - Critter Comfort in Orange Tabby (No Longer Available!)
Pants: sixx - Angi Jeans in Grey 
HellBone: 
Bird: SEmotion Libellune - Tropical Aratinga #10 UNCOMMON
Hair: NO.MATCH - No.Ride
Beard: [MAGNIFICENT] - Hobo Beads
Necklace: Tonktastic - Dogtags
Shirt & Top: Lapointe & Bastchild - Swear Ranger Plaid Shirt with Tee 
Pose, Turkey & Spoon Props: -Extra- - Surviving the Holidays
Dog: Jian - Scruffy Shepherds Gacha Items in 18. Held Tan Black
Place Settings: Fancy Decor - Blue Place Setting
Vegetables: {vespertine} - Woodland Dinner in Baked Veggies
Food Items: Dust Bunny - Harvest Feast Items in Gravy Boat, Mashed Potatoes & Filling

Leaving Home to Explore

HALLOWEEN is coming... Unless you're hiding under a very large rock I'm sure that you may have realised this fact,  but I cant help being more than a little excited by it. Décor is springing up everywhere and I'm trying to remain calm in my dark, macabre little boots... 
She can't wait to leave the house everyday looking for something Halloweeny to do!

In hindsight I realise she looks like she's trick or treating but no she's just going out for the day LOL the tricks and treats come later! 
Today she's playing the murderer, and I really hope she's not gonna get caught up in any plot because well, she's wearing quite an ominous tag LOL... The murderer top comes with an assassin version too, as well as the blade she has in her mouth, and you too can join in the murdering fun by grabbing the Murder Kit from PaperDolls at The Dark Style Fair! To add just a little more bloody murderer effect to the look I threw on a Bloody Razor Blade as a Choker - from Kibitz - and grabbed a butchers knife that I had just laying around from a store called Phi - which is available in a gacha collection of murder weapons, such fun! - before walking out the door!
Petting my Frankenstein Kitty and my Ghost Dog, I headed out to find something interesting and Halloweeny, there's so much going on I'm spoilt for choice!

What is she wearing;
Hair: MINA - Lily in Dip Dye
Skin: Glam Affair - Seya in Europa 2 
Choker: Kibitz - Bloody Razor Blade Choker 
Top & Mouth Blade: PaperDolls - Murder Kit (Available until October 31st at The Dark Style Fair) 
Pants: miss chelsea - Alva Leggings in Red 
Knife: Phi - Knife Hand Gacha Item 
Pose: Secret Poses - Photographer, Pose 1 (Available until October 31st at Pose Fair) 
Dog: {Your Dreams} - Happy Halloween in Trick or Treat? 
Turnips: Candle & Cauldron - Full Pack Turnip Lanterns 
Wreath: Apple Fall - Pumpkin Harvest Wreath 
Garland: Sway's - [Boo] Halloween Garland in Skull 4 
Cat: {vespertine} - Frankenstein's Chubby Kitty 
Light Pumpkins: Intrigue Co. - Bright Pumpkin 
Black Pumpkin: dust bunny - Studded Pumpkin 
Stacked Pumpkins: Fancy Decor - Pumpkin A in Orange 
House: Trompe Loeil - Amelie Cottage 

How do you want your Ice Cream?

It's Wednesday! A day that some people affectionately - or maybe not so affectionately I'm never sure - call " Hump Day"! It's a slippery slope down hill from today to a weekend of fun fun fun! 
Weekends are such lovely times, and they always make me think of happy things. It gives me good endorphins, a lot like other happy things... One of my favourite happy things is actually Ice cream though... I LOVEEEEEEE Ice Cream, especially the kind that you can make into sundaes! 

Rudh likes making Sundaes too... Only she's both a bit naughty and a bit clumsy lol - although I'm not sure she didn't do it on purpose today LOL... It was just too easy for her to " accidentally"  get whipped cream on either nipple and garnish them with cherries LOL. 
The entire reason for her deciding to make ice cream sundaes was the adorable katat0nik Cream Pasties, released for the anniversary round of The Project Se7en this month. It was the perfect excuse for her to pull out - from the mini fridge in her massive warehouse of an inventory - some of the hive's whipped cream, toppings and syrup that she usually reserves for the Banana Split Bar, to add to her FroYo - from Fancy Decor!
So before I scoff all of this ice cream... Anyone else want some? 

What is she wearing;
Hair: Magika - Heartbeat in 02 
Skin: Glam Affair - Seya in Europa 2 
Choker: BOOM - Precious Bow Choker in Marshmallow 
Necklace: [tea.s] - Candy Peen Necklace 
Pasties: katat0nik - Cream Pasties (Available until April 20th at The Project Se7en) 
Pose: Signature Pose - Sorry, I don't, Pose Set 13 
Syrup, Toppings & Whipped Cream: The Hive - Banana Split Bar Gacha Items 
Ice Cream: Fancy Decor - Cereal Swirl in FroYo 
Table: brocante - Grand Brocante Baking Competition Gacha Items in Storage Counter Blue 

Snaps to Start

The weekend is a good time to wake up slowly, drink a few cups of coffee and then perhaps spend a good few hours taking some pretty pictures and wasting a day lol... That's definitely my Sunday routine but this weekend I want a day of nothing-much-ness and I plan to do that by spending my time with my SL camera. 
Give me five minutes in my gorgeous little office to make sure my camera is all set up and ready to rock and roll... 

I love this new pose from Come Soon by the way. It's called My Lens and it's available now at The Chapter Four until August 31st. As per usual, the Come Soon Poses come with a full scene or the pose on it's own, and as nice as the scene is I had to use this particular pose in my office! It was too much of a temptation to resist. I spend time here working on blogging stuff, working on Gator stuff, and in fact working on anything that I have to work on too LOL... It's my quiet place to get things done in. I'm not gonna list all of my little knick-knacks but if you want to know something in particular please do ask me... I have been good and listed all the big furniture pieces though... 
This is the most relaxed outfit I will be wearing today too I'm sure, have a lot of crazy photo ideas that need to be put into place and none of them require me to look comfortable...Guess I should enjoy the comfortable but adorable Frayed Denim Shorts from Mon Cheri, the overly huge sweater from WONDERLOST and the super cute Celie Sneakers from FLG while I can hehe... 
Fact you know what, before I do anymore I'm going to jump in the shower LOL... Let Rudh enjoy her comfort for just a little bit longer huh?!

What is she wearing;
Hair: TRUTH - Loni in Reds 
Skin: Glam Affair - Melanie in Asia 05 
Tattoos: *PerveTTe* - Little Things for You 
Sweater: WONDERLOST - Emily Sweater in Attention 
Shorts: Mon Cheri - Frayed Denim Hotpants in Dark Blue (Available until August 21st at the Mesh Body Addicts Fair) 
Shoes: FLG Store - Celie Sneakers 
Pose: Come Soon - My Lens (Available until August 31st at The Chapter Four) 
Chair: HIDEKI - Chair 
Desk: Fancy Decor - Cubby Desk RARE 
Cabinet: Second Spaces - Monster's Study Gacha Items in Craft Trolley 
Clock: [nefarious.inventions] - Le Tic Toc Choc in RARE Unhanded (Available until August 31st at The Gacha Garden) 
Shelf: HIDEKI - Door Shelf 

Relaxing in my Blogging Room

Gosh this weekend was a hectic one... Aside from all of the RL stuff that went on, I had so much going on in SL that I barely had time to stop and think, let alone shop! It's shocking I know, but it's true... I mean OK I did some, but not as much as I should LOL... I mean I had to buy a costume for the opening party of the Gator Maze - I will talk about that more later though - but after all that craziness was over, Sunday was a chance for me to kick back and enjoy working in my NEW HOUSE!!!
I am now Rudh of two houses - the UBER CUTE play house, which I may have to feature properly in a post sometime, and the new more grown up but still whimsical tree house! I figured I'd give you a tour - gives me a reason to get it finished...

The first place I am going to show you seems to be a place that I may end up a LOT...
The house that I call my new house is in fact the Dust Bunny Auburn Tree House, which was available in the September round of The Arcade, and comes in two separate but linkable parts. I fell in love with this house as soon as I saw it, but was afraid I'd never be able to call it mine due to the rareness - and therefore high price of it at gacha yardsales! The smaller of the two tree houses is the one that I want to share with you right now... This has become my "Blogger Office", a place I can escape to so that I have peace and quiet to focus on writing here, and ensuring that my pictures are the same level of bonkers they have always been... I can snuggle up in my cosy Consignment Lazy Chair, with a cup of tea and while away the hours!!
But while I'm here in my office, and as I said I'd give you a tour let me share with you some close-ups...

Starting from the top left then working clockwise, shall we?
The Desk was something that had to be perfect... I wanted something large and that I could make a mess on, just like my RL desk, and when I spotted this one from Fancy Decor at a gacha yardsale it was love at first sight, this HAD to be my desk. Then I went to town with throwing things all over it, this will always be a work in progress however, and it may not stay like this for long... The scrap books from Aphrodisiac are one of my favourite items - you can add your own pictures to make it feel very personal, which didn't take me long, I knew just who had to be in it - then I added a Tarte Typewriter, a tres blah Catch All,  an 8f8 Secret Diary, posetcards from Dust Bunny, some hole punches from Second Spaces, an address book from Commoner, and a vintage camera that's also from tres blah... All the accoutrements of a good blogger hehe... With a hint of decoration in the form of the Oolong Teacup Planter from ARIA and the Zaara Block Prints...
The second picture - moving clockwise - is going to be a little easier to talk about as there is a lot less stuff in this one lol... The Inspiration Board is one from the tres blah Workspace collection that I spent hours editing to provide me the inspiration that I would need while working. I then decorated a little with an Apple Fall Dress Form and some Garbaggio Shoe Clutter!  
OOOOH onto a picture with one of my favourite items in the room as we move clockwise... This tres blah Tea Time set, with it's pretty tea tin of flowers and CRUMPETS!!! Love crumpets! The daffodils in the vase are also something special too - you can get these at Apple Fall - but I chose them because they remind me of my RL mum! These things are sitting on a table that Lilian found for me from Apt B, its a Country Living Metal Table that's probably not meant for an office but hey I LOVE it and it fits with my desk huh?!
Lastly, something I couldn't resist hanging up was this Chalkboard Checklist from Plethora. Wouldn't it be great if we had checklists like this for everything? I really could use something like that to help my brain Lol...
Wow, there is a lot of information there LOL... All those little details make a girl crazy, but for me it's the details that make the house feel special. I know a million people in SL have all the same goodies, but sometimes it's the way we put them together that brings out signs of our personalities right? I really enjoyed showing the room off like this, I'll have to do it with the rest of my living spaces hehe... Watch this space!

What is she wearing;
(I have not made a list of all of the items shown in the collage here, but I have mentioned everything in the bulk of the post, so if you are interested in something please read through or ask me in-world)
Hat & Hair: Besom - Roulette (Available until October 27th at FaMESHed)
Skin: Glam Affair - Lauren in America 07
Top: SPIRIT - Emma Top in Black Gray (Available until October 23rd at Uber)
Shorts: Blueberry - Lana in Faded
Socks & Shoes: Reign - Marlena Plats in White (Available until October 27th at FaMESHed)
Chair: Consignment - Lazy Chair in Red
House: Dust Bunny - Auburn Treehouse