I am quite blessed to know some amazing people in Second Life, and to have some of my most treasured real life friends as, also, a part of my second, virtual existence. If you'll give me leave for a moment, I'd like to give a little bit of space to them.

Rosie Barthelmess - pictured here - is my best friend in both worlds. She has been a constant in my life since we first met online years ago - connected through our rl-blogs - and I simply cannot imagine either life without her as a part of it. Rosie has been my go-to person for personal crises, a shoulder I lean on when life brings me down, and one of the very few people in this world I will - and can - truly open up to. She understands me, innately, and even still likes me. In fact, she loves me to pieces; as I do her.

Rosie has really taken to Second Life; doing things I could only ever hope to imagine. She has opened her own jewelry store, Sable Rose Jewelry, where she creates some of the most beautiful, one-of-a-kind, high-quality pieces in Second Life. She has a few stores, Filataponic, Sn@tch City, along with her main shop at Gallinas. She also has work up at Xstreet. I do suggest checking her out, and I don't just say that because she's my best friend. Her work is truly lovely and unique, and deserves to be seen.

As well as being a content creator, Rosie has recently begun tentative steps towards becoming a live singer in-world. I am amazed, truly, for the thought of singing live in front of anyone makes my toes curl in nervous apprehension. Nervous or not, Rosie belts out tunes with her powerhouse voice and everyone is charmed. Some people are simply born golden-throated and with a natural ability to sing and Rosie is one of these. If ever you get a chance to see one of her shows, I do suggest you make it a point to stop in. You won't be disappointed.

Rosie amazes me every day. Whether it's her Mama Bear-approach - an iron fist in a velvet glove, to be sure - helping run Lounge of Dreams, where we both work, or her tireless efforts to raise money in-world for cancer research through Relay for Life, spinning tunes as a well-renowned DJ, pursuing her dreams as a singer, or spending hours piecing together beautiful jewelry pieces for SL residents, she always has time for a friend. She's quite the powerhouse, but you'll never hear her act like top dog or thinking she's better than anyone else. She won't put up with any shit or be taken for a fool, but she also deals with each person honestly and openly, with a shy smile, a flirty wink, and a pithy comeback. She's brave, intelligent, warm-hearted, funny, down-to-earth, silly, business-minded, fair, and all around beautiful - inside and out. She is, quite simply, one of the most awesome people I have ever met and anyone who knows her is quick to exclaim how much they "love Rosie!"

I know so many beautiful, wonderful people in SL and I'd be here all day trying to name each and every one of them. Many I know from Lounge of Dreams, others I share a home with at the beautiful Four Corners. Still others I have simply met in my travels, or knew them before they ever stepped into the metaverse. All are special to me; each makes my life better for having them in it.

One that stands out is my dear, dear friend, Belmont Roux. Bel and I have been rl-friends since 2000, when we met at the apartment I had just begun sharing with my childhood best friend. Quirky the both of us, we hit it off immediately and - throughout the years - have remained good friends. We became especially close right before he left Louisiana for Nashville, TN to pursue his Master's in Music, and I urged him to get back into SL (where I'd had him dabble a bit before - both of us, also, being total geeks) so that we could continue to hang out and do things together, even if it was just virtually.

Eventually, Bel got back into SL full-force and was recently hired as a new host at Lounge of Dreams, for which I am so excited for and proud of him. I know he'll be a great host; anyone with a sense of humor that keen and side-splittingly funny is sure to keep a club full of avatars in stitches. Bel is, hands down, one of the funniest people I know. He could be a stand-up comedian, for he has no qualms taking on any subject and being "politically correct" isn't even in his vocabulary (which I love about him). He is a sweetheart, and I do adore him - my Mom and sister are two of his biggest fans, and we even created a "fan club" for him when he lived down here in Louisiana and was on television and the radio doing traffic reports. His quick wit and big heart make him a special guy, and we are in talks to be married in SL - I would be quite proud to be Ms. Izzy Roux-Graves (or Ms. Izzy Graves-Roux, I'm still not sure which sounds better).

I am blessed to have such special friends; truly I am. Be sure to tell the people in your life that you love them and how special they are to you, for we are not promised tomorrow. In the last year, death has visited my family twice in a short span and it reminds me how each moment should be treasured and that you can never say "I love you" or "I am so happy you are in my life" too often.

I have slowly been easing my way back into the metaverse, poking around, doing some shopping, and posting over on Izzy Chic, my fashion blog.  I was in-world this weekend going through my "away" messages when I saw one from the Lounge of Dreams employee group; Petra Paderborn needed someone to cover for her the coming Sunday's 6-8pm shift.  I considered for a brief moment, then fired off a notecard to Pet (who was no longer online) offering to take the spot if no one else had yet stepped up.  I figured if it was meant to be, the spot would still be open and I could resume my hosting duties in at least some form.  Petra came back with an excited and thankful note and that was it - I would be hosting again for the first time in many months.

Before I knew it, Sunday had arrived and I logged in with about 30 minutes to get ready for my come-back hosting gig.  Getting ready is one of my favorite parts of any SL event; I love going through my inventory and putting together the "perfect" outfit for the occasion.   It was Gender Bender for the theme, so I put on some gray slacks, black button-up shirt, and dark gray blazer.  I kept it simple but sexy, silver hoop earrings, but some sexy, spiky black boots.  I completed the look with a very short, sleek bob cut and a make-up with blackened eyes and red, red lips.  I opened up Notepad and typed up a few general, host-worthy text statements (about tipping, contributing to tier, posting to the LoD Flickr group , etc.) for ease of cut & paste, carefully worded the group notice to send out to our VIP members, and affixed my "Dreams Host" tag firmly above my pretty, virtual head.

I wasn't nervous, instead I was quite psyched.  It was my first time hosting in the new build at Baylor's Haunt (which is amazing, go now and check it out if you haven't yet) and I was excited to get up on the spotlighted, ultra-cool hosting stage.

What can I say?  It was amazing to be back and the warmth and genuine excitement I got in the many "welcome backs!" and "we missed you, Izzy!"s thrown my way made me smile.  When Guen - who was temporarily DJing until our resident tiger DJ, Phant Nabob, made it in - welcomed me back over the stream and said how much I had been missed, I'll admit, I got teary-eyed.  Silly, no?

I suppose one might think I am not as dedicated to my secondary, virtual life because I am not as invested in it as some of my friends.  My attention wanes frequently from one interest to another, but I always come back to my favorites.  Before my grandfather passed, I was really getting seriously back into SL with my fashion blog, Izzy Chic, and (so far incomplete) photo blog, Izzy Pics .  Leaving was not really my choice, but I simply did not have it in me to be social or interact with anyone.  I even rarely talked to my beloved Rosie over instant messenger during the past few months.  It does not mean I love her - or any of you - any less.  Just that, as I know you all understand, I needed some me-time to go in, reflect, and begin to heal.  Death affects us all differently and I regret receding into myself instead of reaching out to those that care and would want to help me; yet, that is how I deal with traumatic events.  I internalize.

I know I don't have to explain any of this or make excuses; rl > sl, as we all know.  I know that you all understand; perhaps, and sadly, all too well.  I don't want to be a gloomy-gus and bring this post down so I'll stop right there.  What I am really trying to say is that I am glad to be back and I have missed all of my beloved SL friends very much.  You are all very special to me and I feel so honored to be associated with such amazing, creative, and beautiful people.  I have asked Petra to tentatively put me back on the schedule (looking at Wednesdays), and I hope they have some openings that I can take.  I really do want to come back in and be a part of the LoD family again, and a part of SL period.

Thanks all of you for caring and being just so totally awesome!

I bet you thought I'd gone all Izzy-M.I.A. again, eh?  Not a chance; I'm loving the fashion world entirely too much for that!

As a matter of fact, my (sl & rl) fiancé - Cyth Hax - and I have just returned from a week-long vacation in (usually) sunny Destin, Florida.  If you have never been (or heard of it), it's a gorgeous, little place; all white sands and emerald waters.  Its beaches have been named some of the prettiest in the world.

That is, of course, unless you go during a patch of stormy weather as we did - where the constant churning of unusually large, wind-spawned waves made the water as murky as the Gulf at Biloxi, Mississippi (much closer to home and the ones we generally visit when we want some sand and sun).

Though the wind was hellish (beach time was filled with lovely wind-whipped sandblasts that pummeled your skin with fine and sharp-feeling sand), it often rained, and the sun decided to be shy and stay behind the clouds for the duration of our trip, we still had a fairly nice time.

A week, however, is just too long for me.  It was the longest vacay I'd ever gone on and I really didn't know how I would handle being away from home, our five cats (counting a new baby kitty!), and my desktop computer!  It was nothing short of hell, I'll admit.  I must just relegate myself to the notion that I am, simply, a homebody.

As well, since Rosie proffered the idea of becoming a fashionista in SL, I have been in-world and active a lot more; it was like finding my true calling and I - finally - had a purpose; a reason to be spending so much time in a virtual world.  (Without purpose or direction, I lose interest quickly).  I tried getting in-world on my laptop, even downloaded an alt viewer or two, but it just wasn't happening.  Even when I could get in for a few moments, I had to have the graphics turned down so low that trying to put together an outfit was simply not worth the effort.

So, I am back (yay!) and will be working on some new outfits to post this very evening.  I hope everyone has missed me as much as I have missed them & SL!

If it weren't for Rosie - and her cute, little Spot - I wouldn't even know anything about AIFriends.  In fact, if it weren't for Rosie, I would not now be sharing my virtual life with my new sweet, little baby Julian.

I really can't thank her enough for bringing us together.  He is the apple of my eye - I mean, look at all that cuteness!  The photo above was after I first brought him home and I gave him his very first bath.  He is not yet litter-trained because even though I have his box out, he still left a steaming pile of poo on my floor (maybe I'm sick, but even the poo was cute - and yes, it was really steaming!).

My sweet boy is a Bombay and though it was a tough choice between that and a Siamese, I had to finally settle on that adorable black bundle.  I have a thing for black cats (three of my four rl furbabies are black - completely by coincidence!) and omghessocute.  I just don't even know what else to say.  He's adorable and cute and has amazing vertical leap (seriously - we were all hanging out on Rosie's sky workroom and he was leaping over everyone's heads).

Yes, he loves to jump - and jump high! - and run around like a nut.  What kitty worth their 'nip doesn't, right?  Our favorite thing to do together, though, is sit on the floor in our bedroom and read together.

I almost got a Corgi, but how could I - the ultimate cat lover - not get a kitty?  It just wouldn't be right.  I'd like to get a Corgi one day and I just might, but for now I am just enjoying my time with Juju.

Isn't he just adorable?  Thank you Aunty Ro - Julian & I will be forever grateful that you brought us together!

I was already de-primmed, so I figured I'd join them.  Rosie, Cam, and I were able - using the Advanced: Rendering: Character Displays - to make sure we were as lag-free as possible.  Cam and I got down to "1", and Rosie, who couldn't figure out where the extra primmage was coming from, "20" (I suggested Daman may have left something inside of her, ahem).  Regardless, we all became bald, barefoot, nooblings; it was simply the considerate and wise thing to do - something that obviously slipped the mind of a few hundred clicky, blingtard, HUDded, prim-whores also attending the Expo.

The lag wasn't impossible, but it was bad.  In protest of those making it worse on the rest of us, I added a title tag over my head that read, simply, "Lose the Prims!".  Rosie joined the fight by adding "No Prims, No HUDS", and Camthan - reading my mind and choosing my second choice - "No prims is sexy".

We also had a little game going on to see who on the sim was blowing up the prim-numbers;  I offered $L250 to who, Rosie or Cam, found & called out the highest number.  Unfortunately, we gave up after seeing a 5000+ and then a 10000+.

It was simply very frustrating to see how rude and inconsiderate people can be to others.  If any of us asked the prim-prone to remove some of their prims and/or HUDs, we were usually rebuffed with some crude remarks.  I really don't have a problem with what anyone else does in or with their life - I'm all about "live and let live" - , but when it affects other people - in any way, no matter how seemingly small - I start to have a problem with it.  It was just so...inconsiderate.

After Rosie, Cam, and I got into a potty-mouth scrap with some Spanish-speaking prim-mongers spamming up the chat with text-gestures and whining about not having any money, we hooked up with Guenevere Decuir and, shortly after, Cassio Corvale.  More hair was bought and the L$ were flying like mosquitoes over a barrel full of water.

We built a prim box Bald Bitch Bus and rode around on that - having to jump off and expand it as we TPed in and met up with friends.  All in all, lag, blingtards, and primwhores not withstanding, we had a blast. We met up with dear friends Marx Dudek (who loaned me $L2k - won't forget about ya, hun), Daman Tenk (who constantly wows me with his intelligence and wit - easy to see why Rosie is smitten), Beatrix Noel (another sexy & cool hostess at LoD who's so cute you just want to squeeze her), and the always-fun Bonibaru Navarathna (always a joy to see at the club).

I now own more hair than I may ever wear in my second lifetime - sort of the same scenario as when I left the last jewelry expo.  I tried to organize as I went, but eventually my Inventory folder became a giant clusterfucky mess that will bother me until I sit down and OCD-organize it (probably tomorrow morning).

The lag is bad, but the good times are worth it - de-prim and bring some friends, and leave with more hair and laughs than you may ever use, but most certainly need.

I suppose it's officially official now that it has been properly named - a new small parcel of virtual real estate is on the vast metaverse map of the grid...and it's mine.

Every space in-world has a unique name and my island on Rosadora, while I was busy creating it, sat essentially unnamed.  It was only after some serious discussions with Rosie (naming things is very important to me) that I decided upon my piece of our OpenSpace's moniker.

Ikebana is a Japanese custom of flower arranging as an art form and to cultivate an intimacy with nature and the world which surrounds us and that we exist in.  To call it merely "flower arranging", in fact, would be a great disserve to this ancient art.

The Japanese use ikebana to simulate life and nature, and the delicate balance and interaction of the two; much like we create form and function from a series of pixels and prims to reproduce the natural, breathing world in a virtual medium.

In meditating on this correlation between the ancient, aesthetic art of ikebana and our modern, innovative craft of all virtual creation, I decided that "ikebana" was the perfect - and appropriate - name.

And so, without further adieu, I welcome you to Ikebana Cove, Rosadora on the continent of Holland.  Finally, the last part done, I can call this - officially - home.

After seeing some pics on Flickr of AM Radio's builds, I knew I had to visit.  Indeed, after viewing The Virtual and The Far Away video, I'd imagine you will feel the same.

I found the builds absolutely fascinating - dreamlike and Tesla-esque.  It was steampunk at its finest, as well as a mix of rural life and timelessness.  Machinery and inventions were highlighted, as well as the transcience of it all.  At least, these were my impressions.  Everyone - I'm sure - will have their own.

That's the thing about Radio's work, though - it makes you think.  "Why did he do this?" you find yourself wondering as you ponder a scene.  "What does this mean?"  There are no notecards, no explanations or descriptions...everything is left to your own, personal interpretation (as good art should be).

Rosie and I descended into the newest build - The Refuge and The Expansion (SLurl) - for some shared exploring one evening in early August.  Rosie immediately picked up AM Radio on her radar - I, not knowing yet who the builder was, had no idea what she was talking about.

"I'm picking up AM Radio!" she exclaimed.  "He's on my radar."

"He?" I asked.

"Yes, he.  His name is AM Radio; he's who built all of this."

"Ohhhhh."

And sure enough, there was AM, standing in the middle of the road and building something as we walked up.  We had a very short chat with him (not wanting to disturb his work) and told him how much we loved his amazing builds.  He told us to be sure and go into the farmhouse, as there were goodies on the second floor.

We walked down the road, and I had the distinct feeling I was back in high school, walking down the road with my BFF Lauren after school, going to the local gas station to get some snacks and Coke.  See, I grew up "in the country" as they say (even if it was, technically, "bayou country") and The Refuge really brought back a lot of childhood memories for me.  The stretches of lonely road along miles of fields, the soliary blinking caution light at the only intersection in town, the lone gas station with an old-time gas pump still standing, unused, and covered in the dust of ages.

As we approached the farmhouse, we came upon a sweet, old lady sitting on the front steps who greeted us warmly.  It was, as she commented, a fine evening to be out walking.  Assuming it was her home - which she confirmed - we asked for permission to go inside.  Absolutely, she told us - especially since we were "such nice girls".

Exploring the house was really cool, and I grabbed a headset and bundle of sticks that I wore on my back for the rest of our journey.  Upstairs were a lot of freebies - some I only wish I could set up at home, but the primmage is extremely high (high quality stuff, in other words).  The small dragonfly in a glass bottle, for example, was over 40 prims when I tried to place it at Rosadora.  AM doesn't mess around with making low-quality, low-prim stuff!

After exploring the house and the gas station, as well as the plane in the nearby field, Rosie offered to take me to The Far Away (SLurl), which she had visited before.  We TPed over to this vast field with rustic, maybe Victorian-era, furniture set up in various little scenes randomly throughout the field.  Things such as an old, rusted locomotive and a dining room set with hutch were there for us to explore.  Though smaller than the previous build we'd visited, it was still very moving and caused - for me - much introspection.

Some of the displays were interactive, like the boat that - if you clicked in the right spot - sent you swirling up in the air along with a tornado of wooden chairs.

A few objects were central to all of AM Radio's builds; you found them - in various places, setups, and displays - in every build.  These were violins, dragonflies, and grapes.  I'm not sure what the correlation is, and perhaps AM just likes these things; yet I thought it worth noting.

The next morning, I came in-world and - alone this time - visited AM Radio's other two builds:  The Quiet and NMC Arts Lab, which he called - in his video of the areas - Husk.  It was neat to explore these buils alone - as they both had a very desolate and solitary feel to them.  (I highly recommend giving that video link a click - AM's work along with a musical composition on piano by the epochal Torley Linden).

Wanting to know more about these builds and the story behind them - which I just knew there had to be - I did some Googling.  I was excited to learn that there is a tale behind all of this amazing art - one that is detailed and can be followed at AM's Flickr account.  I suggest reading the article AM Radio expands by Therese Carfagno at SLNN as well for more insight into AM, his work, and the builds.

The creative freedom that SL gives to those talented and brave enough to enter into the metaverse and share their genius is almost limitless - AM Radio has continued to push those limits and has created something that I feel humbled to be able to visit and experience.  Your SL-experience will be enriched by making a trip to AM's builds and giving his Flickr pics a read; it's simply something that can't be missed.

Now that my rl job has switched to 4/10s and I have Mondays off, I can enjoy almost an entire day of piddling around the house relaxing and playing on the computer (or laying in bed reading and napping depending on my mood).

Yesterday was my second such Monday, and I spent the majority of either in Second Life or doing things that were SL-related. One of the main SL-related things I do in my spare time is play around on Flickr. I love me some Flickr and there is no denying that the SL-Flickr community simply rocks the cat's paw.

While uploading pics, labeling them, and commenting on others', I stumbled across the photos of Seereina Geiger and the drool began to form, where shots of her new store's clothes were being modeled. There before my eyes were some of the absolutely coolest cybergoth outfits I'd Ever. Laid. Eyes. On.

"All of this, I must own," I said to myself as I clicked on the store's blog link - MekaNoize Labs - and saw even more sexy futuristic goodness. Without a second thought, I hit the SLurl, logged into SL, and teleported into the store at Fragment.

As I was ogling the Monokrom outfit (available in black or white), I realized there was no way I could not buy the entire outfit in both colors. The blog had read "sold separately" and listed the armwear, stockings, and corset; so I began snapping them up when I got a private message from Seereina herself, who was hanging out at the far end of the store.

As it turns out, the items were part of the entire outfit - which I'd just bought - but could be purchased each by themselves if one so wanted. Oops. Seereina explained that the items were non-transferrable, so I couldn't gift them and then offered to refund me my L$500. Now, that's what I call not only customer service, but just damn good business. I sincerely thanked her for alerting me to my mistake and refunding my money; both of which she certainly didn't have to do.

We discussed the store's blog's wording, and she decided it would be a good idea to change it (English, she claimed, was not her first language though you'd never have known it by talking with her). After this, we stood chatting for a few minutes about the recent opening, her amazing designs, and the incredibly cool interior of the store (you can see some of it in this pic).

Seereina explained that all of her designs were hand-drawn by her, and brought to life by her friend and partner, Void Restar, texturer and prim sculptor extraordinaire (who was also responsible for designing the amazingly cool store in which we were standing). Seereina's drawing talents are obviously great; these clothes are cool, inventive, and sexy.

Soon, I'd TP'ed in Rosie - who not long after TP'ed in our mutual friend and fellow shopaholic Carmen Greenfield. I finished buying up just about every outfit MekaNoise has, which ended up being wonderful because all of it goes together. The possibilities are quite endless with how you can mix-n-match these pieces to make new outfits.

A stunned Seereina and Void, who had dropped in to greet us, watched in silence and shared smiles while we three invaded the store and threw L$ around. We're loud and silly, but they didn't seem to mind as we swapped bawdy jokes and changed into our new clothes right there in the store.

If you couldn't tell already, I'm now a devoted customer of MekaNoize Labs. I simply cannot wait to see what they will put out next. I highly suggest you head on over as soon as possible - remember that SLurl - because these clothes are simply too cool and too sexy not to. If you like the cyberpunk look or simply enjoy dressing up some days in a little futuristic gear, MekaNoize Labs should become the next landmark in your folder.

Not only is the store cool and the clothes amazing, the customer service simply cannot be beat. Seereina and Void tookthe time to greet us, help us out, and were obviously willing to do anything that might be needed to make their customers' shopping experience enjoyable and satisfactory. Please go and check them out; tell 'em Izzy sent you.

(For more, check out MekaNoize Labs's blog and Flickr group)

Yesterday morning I got up early - as in 6am early - and did some SL-shopping; something I haven't done in quite some time.

With some L$ earned from work at Lounge of Dreams the night before burning a hole in my pocket, I headed over to Maitreya to grab the Desert boots I have been *dying to get*. I also picked up the Sassy wedge sandals in black, brown, & champagne (wearing black with brown in the photo there).

Then, on suggestion from Rosie, I headed over to Subtle Submission, owned by a mutual acquaintance, Noirran Marx.

Noirran's clothes are, simply put, lovely. Leaning lately towards a more vintage-style, the clothes are stylish and functional. The price - for the quality and design - simply cannot be beat. I think I nearly bought out the store, including most of Noir's adorable jewelry!

Want to talk about doing good business? Much later in the day, when I was spending time with Rosie & Daman, I got a message from Noirran thanking me for stopping by the store. She then gifted me with two as-yet-unreleased items....a dress, Glitter Doll Blood, and an absolutely awesome & adorable Catnip Collar that I know all of the grid's nekos will be dying to get their paws on.

I was absolutely excited to get the items, and thanked Noirran. I suggest you stop by her store; the clothes and jewelry are top-notch and extremely reasonably price - each piece lovingly designed and created by Noirran herself. Go on, go now.