Recently in Home & hearth Category

The sim I'm on turned snowy for December, and I did up my land for winter because my usual landscaping looked totally out of place. Took these pictures ages ago but was so lazy about blogging!
 
 

 
 
The pond got iced over for the winter. When I was trying to do this, I realised I hadn't any idea what a frozen pond looks like, because heck Malaysia is next to the equator and I wouldn't know what it is like to have weather under 22ºC. Actually most of the time it's more like 27-30ºC, all year round!
 
So Peter came over and helped me choose the texture to use for the pond, and adjust the transparency and repeats, because living in Germany, he'd have a lot better idea of what a frozen pond is supposed to look like than I do :p
 
I needed some seating for people who come to visit, and added a snowman, my favourite snowman out of the many that I have. He's copiable and he's soooo cute! The trees and rainbow are a staple. Those trees are one of my favourite things in SL, although I wish Lilith Heart would update them now that there are one-prim 8-plane sculpts :p
 
 

 
 
Next to the pond I made a little snow mound and put fir trees from Organica to block out the palm trees from the beach behind. No way was I going to mess with the beach after putting so much effort into getting it just right, but the palms didn't mesh with winter so I had to camouflage them, lol!
 
I love Organica's stuff, it's all copy/mod so it's worth it to buy, even though this set of fir trees cost L$750 (that's a lot in my book!).
 
 

 
 
More camouflaging... I made snow mountains to block out the palm trees -- not entirely successfully, as you can see, but I didn't want my mountains to be like Everest. Those ornament balls were a hunt gift from MudHoney last year and are still one of my favourite winter decor. Each of them has a fun pose inside! The bell changes colour slowly and is very pretty if you see it in person.
 
 

 
 
I saw a nativity set on Xstreet and decided I wanted one, but then ran out of prims so I could only put out Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus :)  The snowglobe is from Xstreet also, I love the background, makes it different from other snowglobes I've seen. One day I'm going to try to make one ;)
 
More snow mountains to block out green trees in the background, and also more seating for visitors. But I needed flowers -- can't survive without them. Wasn't sure what would pass as winter flowers, so went for something fantasy-like. So pretty ‹3
 
 

 
 
And finally, the pièce de résistance!
 
I got a bee in my bonnet about wanting a teddy bear to sit on. I told Heidi, "For some reason I want to put it on my land because it'll make me feel warmer in the midst of all the snow, does that make sense?" and she replied, "Cuddly teddy is the next best thing to a cuddly guy," which actually summed things up for me. Like I've said, I was feeling a li'l blue and that's exactly what I wanted, a warm cuddle.
 
Didn't feel like having a "normal" tree this year, because that's what everybody else has. So when I saw this tree I thought it was perfect, and added some mushrooms because, for some reason I can't explain, I just love mushrooms; and then some other seasonal decorations, and to top things off, the gift box pose prop from Sugar Mill. I thought that was singularly appropriate for this time of the year ;)
 
You're all welcome to visit and take photos or just hang out. Come on over!
 
 
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Picture 1:
Snowman: Christmas Snowkid 1 from Cyanic via Xstreet
Bench: Bench - wood from Lear via Xstreet
Rocks: Sculpted rocks from AG-Styles via Xstreet
Trees: Ash Illuminated from Heart Garden Center
Rainbow: Bought on Xstreet a long time ago
Ice pond: Made by me with texture from Katerina Lytton via Xstreet (Snow & Ice pack)
 
Picture 2:
Trees: Spruce 2 - Snowy from Organica (Spruce 2 pack)
Snow mound: Made by me with sculptmap from Pixel Labs - Reef n' Islands pack
Ice sleigh with horse: Romantic Ice Sleigh & Horse from Lilian Laville via Xstreet
 
Picture 3:
Christmas tree: Christmas Deco Tree Patina Gold from Mabe Pearl via
Round ornaments: MudHoney Designs [last year's hunt gift, no longer available]
Bell: Giant Bell - Colour Change from Christmas Market by Lainy Voom/Pandora Popstar
Snow mountain: Made by me with sculptmap from Pixel Labs - Reef n' Islands pack
 
Picture 4:
Bench: Garden Bench from Supplee
Flowers: Scattered Ferry 4 by sva Michalak
Snowglobe: Medium Snow Globe by AeoNik McMahon via Xstreet
Nativity set in snowglobe: Nativity Set from Flowers & Petals (display is only part of set)
Trees in snowglobe: Snowy from Organica (Spruce 2 pack)
 
Picture 5:
Candy Canes: Candy Cane Sculptie from Sculpties Up In Here [full perm, FREE]
Nutcracker man: Nutcracker Ornie from =SzD= via Xstreet
Gingerbread men: Part of set from Yummy Christmas House by Love Littleboots via Xstreet
Tree: Gingerbread Tree from N~Chanted Holiday Store
Mushrooms -
Teddy bear: Christmas Teddy from Scottie's Room
Snowflake: Made by me with sculptmap from Talin's Workshop (Sculptie Snowflakes pack)
Large open gift box: It's My Party! by Sugar Mill [no longer available]
Rug: Horn Rug from Heavenly Treasures via Xstreet
Snow mountain: Made by me with sculptmap from Pixel Labs (Reef n' Islands pack)

I love trees. I can't explain why. In RL I'm not even much of an outdoor kinda girl, although I could blame that on the Malaysian weather -- hot & humid all year round... except when the tropical thunderstorms hit. Either way, the prospect of going out isn't very encouraging :p
 
In SL I'm always looking out for trees. My favourite is the HPMD "very big tree with poseballs", but it is 42 freaking prims. I've run out of prims on my land and had to take it back into inventory. *sobs*
 
So imagine my excitement when I visited a store today and saw a wonderful sculpted tree that used only 9 prims! I immediately TP'd to Garden of Dreams and got even more excited when I found that the copy version costs only 200L!
 
*bounces up and down*
 
 

 
 
One of my biggest joys in life is reading, so what better thing to do than laze under the tree with a book? I got the book with pose from Maximum Toys for 100L -- it's something I've always wanted too, but never really tried to hunt down. Seen it around in SL, usually sold with a cushion, but this is perfect. Ah, bliss...

I've been busy the past few days trying to terraform and landscape my land. CT agreed to give me an extra 320sqm, so I moved my pond and decided to try creating a beach once again. Most of you won't remember, but the last time I tried this, almost exactly a year ago, it ended up in epic fail.
 
But this time I was determined. The first problem was finding some sculpty sand. I have sculpty ground covers, but they all seem to undulate in strange ways or are too square and I needed something that was relatively smooth with a curved edge. First I bought a stretch of beach off Xstreet but that didn't really work:
 
 

Click picture for larger image
 
 
The sculpt was too long and narrow. It might have worked for a straight stretch of beach, but I was trying to create a little corner, so the shape wasn't ideal. And since it was on a megaprim, I couldn't stretch it or alter the size in any way. Back to the drawing board.
 
Then I got the bright idea of using one of those popular off-sim island thingies. Only, I thought, why does it have to be off-sim? I could use it on land to create a little beach! I found one on Xstreet that was copy/mod, put it down, and started modding it like crazy - moving the plants around, adding extra copies of plants, and putting in some rocks, also from Xstreet. The rocks are copy/mod and come with a set of textures too. Fantastic stuff. (Whaddya know? Never thought I'd get excited about rocks :P)
 
 
Click picture for larger image
 
 
Seemed to me I was about done, except that I needed some waves. Now all the while, I'd been plurking about terraforming, about looking for a good sand sculpt, about trying to create a beach, and finally, about needing waves. Ted Cornell offered to come over and help me out. I didn't realise it, but he loves beaches and happens to be somewhat of an expert on building them! And if I hadn't plurked about this, or hadn't been on plurk, I would never have gotten to know this or met Ted ever... scary thought!
 
But since I am on Plurk and I do know Ted... he kindly took some time away from other friends and Halloween parties to come over today and have a look at what I'd done. Once he'd seen the set-up, he suggested some modifications. I gave him the go-ahead and he proceeded to add some wet-looking sand, making it so that the sand dips in the water (notice in the previous picture, the sand is above the waterline). Now I could not only walk in the water, I could even laze around on a floating lounger... which he gave me, too! *dances*
 
He even helped me to terraform. I thought I was in heaven!
 
 
Click picture for larger image
 
 
I'm so happy with the beach now - the only thing missing is waves. I want the Las Islas waves but they cost a bomb, so I'm still thinking about them. Been TPing everywhere, but none of the other waves I've seen look as pretty or realistic as the Las Islas waves *sobs*
 
Here's Ted and I consulting about the beach. The blanket on the sand has some pretty good cuddles in it and cost only 99L on Xstreet... and yes, I did indeed wear a dress and heels to do landscaping! Well, actually, the truth is I was just lazy to change :P
 
 

 
 

I never thought I'd have a bathroom in SL. What for, when my avi never gets dirty and doesn't need to shower? But then Karl & I partnered. And I suddenly looked at bathrooms in a whole new light. *smirks*
 
So now I, or rather we, Karl & I, have two bathrooms. One in the city house, and one in the country house. From zero to double! Never say I am incapable of changing my stand and admitting that I was wrong... especially when there is something in it for me. *licks lips*
 
Originally I bought a jacuzzi from Abiss which I liked very much because it looked so classy and had great cuddle anims. But then I found this set at Aimesi, and liked it because it has both a shower and a tub; plus, the tub has massage animations! Just what we need after a long hard day at work (or a long hard week; Karl & I mostly meet inworld only on weekends).
 
 

 
 
Yes, we are both fully clothed in the tub, because I told Karl his bare chest is for my eyes only. RAWR. *winks*  He indulges me, and covered up even though we both look ludicrous wearing so much, sitting inside the tub. Oh, and the shower is to the right. We haven't tried it yet :P
 
...Although, on second thought, after trying out the tub last night, I realised the Abiss jacuzzi had MUCH better cuddles... hmmmmm. And Karl liked it better too. So back in it goes... (arrggh note to self: adjust the position of that bath mat!)
 
 

 
 
How did I not realise that the Abiss jacuzzi cuddles were better? Well, like I said, Karl and I only get inworld together on weekends, and our time together is precious; I don't particularly want to spend that time shopping, when there are other more enjoyable things we might be doing. *coughs*
 
So I tend to shop for things on my own, test them out as best I can, buy them and plonk them in the house for him to find. I worried that he might feel I'm making too many decisions without consulting him, but he tells me he doesn't mind, that he loves my style... which, come to think of it, is a very good thing. Imagine the problems we'd have if I liked modern avant-garde furnishings and he liked old-fashioned country-style furnishings. OMG.
 
But since we have two homes, we get to have the best of both worlds anyway. The city skybox is more sleek and classic, the country home on Envision more comfy and cozy. So in the other home, we have a more old-fashioned bathtub, from The Loft:
 
 

 
 
Isn't it cute? And YES we are dressed in this picture, you pervs! In swimming gear! :P  Also, notice I am totally hiding Karl's chest. *smug look*  Belongs to me! RAWR *giggles helplessly*

So, I let go of almost half of my land. I kept thinking to myself, "My house is just sitting there, taking up space. I never go inside it. I never have friends visit me there. I'm always hanging out in the garden, and my friends visit me in the garden too. I bet I could remove the house and let go of that land."
 
And then cost became an issue, which helped me firm up my decision in a hurry. I decided I really didn't need 3904sqm, and had Tiyuk reduce the size to almost half: 1660sqm. Now I'm back to counting prims...
 
I'm sad to say goodbye to my house -- I really loved it, it was so pretty and so unique. But I couldn't justify having it there. It's going to sit in my inventory until such a time as I have occasion to bring it out, I guess. My magical garden stayed, of course, but I had to redo it a little:
 
 

 
 
This corner of the garden remained essentially the same except that I added the huge tree and changed the flowers. And have a lot less clutter, to save prims :P
 
 

 
 
This corner is completely new, except for the tree with the little round chair. I love the flowers, the ones in both the pictures are from Organica and are copy/mod, 1 prim only (sculpted) -- they come in various colours, so pretty!
 
Aaaaaand... once Karl & I partnered, we needed privacy (*smirks*) so up went a house in the sky. I looked around for something low-prim, not too large but not too small either, and not ugly or boxy. (Yes, I know, picky, much??) Finally I found the perfect house at Aces Spaces. *dances*  Even better, Karl likes it! \o/ Which is a lucky thing, since I didn't check with him before I bought it...
 
 

 
 
No, I am not going to show you the interior! :P  It made sense for Karl and I to share a place, since he didn't already have a home in SL -- he has a build platform and a store, but never did put up a house. I wanted to give him a place where he could relax and unwind, even if I'm not inworld. A sanctuary or oasis from any troubles or worries that might be plaguing him. That's why it's called Karl & Quaintly's Sanctuary <3

Happy New Year!
 
With the new year, Envision went grassy again, and I determined to do something with my lawn. I have a huge expanse of lawn that I've never known what to do with. I like the space -- I always hang out there, using the area to rez stuff, standing on a tree stump pose stand to sort inventory, etc. -- so I thought, since I'm always outside, I should do something with the outside :P
 
Inspired by Laleeta and Sai, I decided to create a pool and decorate around it. Both of them have lakes on their land. Well, Sai used to ;)
 
Further inspired by Aisuru's mystic grass (which I've had for ages but never used), I decided to make a pretty garden that I could relax in. Here it is by day:
 

 
 
And here it is by night:
 
 

 
 
So that's what I've been busy with lately. I keep adding to the garden... looking for cute or fanciful or whimsical stuff to put there...

I finally figured out what to do with the last corner of my house yesterday. I've been stumped because I have this HUGE hall space, and already had a living room set taking up the opposite corner:
 
 

 
 
So I couldn't figure out what to do with the other corner. The problem was that both sides face doors leading outside, so it wasn't like I could turn the other corner into a hot tub area or something... not unless I wanted visitors to enter the house and be greeted with a hot tub the very first thing :P
 
Then I went to MudHoney, who had announced they were putting some stuff on sale, and got a corner sofa (which was, most emphatically, not on sale). After rezzing it and positioning it, and trying to combine it with a lounger I got from the Barnesworth prefab 'hunt', I decided I needed two of these sofas instead. It was no-copy, so I had to go back and purchase another one, and prevailed upon Elora to help me decide upon a carpet colour... behold the results!
 
 

 
 
I've also gotten the piano corner all done up, with Penn's piano taking pride of place, of course ;)
 
 

 
 
Now I just need to finish making the fireplace for the middle area, and I'll be done \o/