Money is Such a Problem: Food Challenge

When Teagan Blackthorne posted the Food Challenge on SL Fashion Avengers, I absolutely had to partake. As seen in my Fashionable Relay Challenge entry (and many of my Freebie Telegraph posts, which will be posted at the end), edible items are just one of those things that underscore happiness for me. Naturally, I was caught up in a dilemma- what the heck do I focus on?! In my Mary Poppins’s bag of an inventory, I have a mountain range of candy, a full feast of fruit, and possibly a few too-many sushi-themed pieces. Putting them all on the menu would require me to open up another blog, so ultimately it came down to one sweet splurge: the strawberry.

Where I live, the weather is absolutely neurotic, going between days cold enough to snow (and actually following-through, in some cases) to hours of bright sun and warmth. As one of my friends said, we’ve completely missed spring and gone straight to summer- thanks, global warming! In lieu of these insane developments, I’m leading the post with a mixture of ice and heat by way of /artilleri/’s strawberry delight bikini and a bunch of treats from !* REBEL XTRAVAGANZA *! The sky-blue base contrasts playfully with the rich red of the berries in the swimwear, pushing the wearer into a sunny light; you’ll also be pleased to know that set is only L$1 at the GNUbie Store in Powder Mill. Blue hues continue to support the day with the Strawberry FROSTED prop-stand by Rebel -X- (an exclusive that is/was at Axis Mundi for L$25), while its cousin Strawberry Backpack continues the fun by providing an easy transportable and sharable snack to the beach or a handy-dandy sweet to hit-on cuties with (more or less literally, depending on your tastes).

Finished at the ocean’s side, a more relaxed, everyday look is needed. Fulfilling the job are pieces by *Fishy Strawberry*, as doing a post about the little red treat wouldn’t be complete without them. I selected a simple but bright top and shimmied on some Valentine leggings before accentuating the gummy-esque goodness with some adornments from a few of my favorite designers. The cake-jewelry is by {Violet Voltaire}, who is currently having a 50% off sale at her main shop through May 16th (I’ll go more into detail about my love for her later), and the adorable Spoon Full Of Love~Cupcake Doom is from [Lazy Places]. I don’t regularly wear attachments in my mouth, but Sakuradawn Lei and Sven Okonomi cook up such beautiful and intricate delights that they’re hard to resist. This guilty pleasure in particular not only has the berry of the hour but cradles a little skull at the tip of the silverware. Of course, they have less morbid spoonfuls, too, but it goes so sweetly with the Cake or Death: Strawberry Necklace I’m wearing. And I guess my overall insane nature, but that’s really a trifle, isn’t it?

The strawberry is far from limited to the casual realms, as seen with “LUXURIOUS WORLD”‘s latest camping gift for the month of April. The flowing top and capri ensemble could be worn to a summer day at the office or a company picnic (minus the giant floating strawberry, of course). The simple print and clean, crisp shades work beautifully with darker complexions, such as Efe from [PXL]. She, the girls at LF Chai, and Frick’s Chocolate are really the only rich-colored ladies I will wear regularly,as the detail is amazing. I’m paritcularly in love with Efe because of her head-fuzz. Unfortuantely, us pale gals tend to look like crazy skinheads if we try a cut like that. We can all partake in the deliciousness of this outfit, though, and its accessories- the fruity flats are another product from [Lazy Places], and the long-silver chain with its ripened strawberry by Eolande’s is part of the free Welcome Gift at Ohana Isle.

Just as strawberry can be dressed in multiple styles, the flavor can be attributed to more than one color. As taught by Starbursts and ice cream, pink can suit the berry flavor just as well as red can. Exemplifying this is {Violet Voltaire}’s wide range of elegant gothic lolita jewelry, featured here in the Lollipop Guild in the strawberry flavor. While Violet’s work is focused on this genre, I’ve found that her pieces can be worked into a number of styles, including punk and formal; with copy on all and modify options on a number of her products, they are one of the most flexible and customizable accessories I own. Many others feel the same way, as love was showered upon her when she announced she was closing her main shop in order to pursue jewelry creation in real life, so while she may not create as much, Ms. Voltaire may still release a few delicacies in the future at one of her three satellite shops: ~silentsparrow~ shoppe, the Starlust Motel boutique, and a spot at *Katat0nik* (which I haven’t exactly located just yet). She can also be found on XstreetSL if you’re looking to send a gift to a friend or just browse the growing collection at your online leisure. I let my joy for these creations burst all over me like a huge gum bubble and dressed in ~momo~ and Canimal’s seperates to maintain optimum tooth-decay level, using {Frick} as the base-level. Now, just drop me in a costume-fashion district and watch the sugar-spurred insanity!

Winding down from the candy mayhem, *Katat0nik* has a lovely lolita style dress of Lucky Chairs past that cannot be overlooked. Prior to having a huge prompt, I was thinking of doing a Look of the Day type post featuring it with many strawberry items I splurged on over at [ Love Soul ].  One of the reasons I’m probably such a fanatic about this edibble ruby is a strong childhood memory of attending a strawberry festival with my family: we had recently moved north for my father’s work, and after months of rain and overcast, the sumemr celebration of rides and food was absolutely refreshing. My mother and I even bought matching bright red shirts; I’m curious now where those got to.  The fact that it is red and green naturally and doesn’t immediately prompt ideas of Christmas is also a plus.

Finally, we have a look that would have continued to linger in my mind if a little luck hadn’t blessed me again while at +Fallen Gods Inc.+, and I’m so pleased with the results- I’ve been wanting to create a look of overgrowth, a beauty caught amongst the flora. With the Fleurs prize from the lucky fortune teller, I was able to grow a little strawberry garden about a sleeping beauty. There’s a serene, innocent magic to the sleeping beauty being gently entangled by berry brush, and I’m personally going to take a cue from it and crawl under my green comforters now. As my audience, I hope you enjoyed yourself and feel inspired to dive into your own inventory pantries and rise to Teagan’s challenge. You might cook up something wonderfully surprising yourself. Until then, sweet dreams. ❤

UPDATE: More food-related stores and products, plus posts that feature food by me.
lurveBite
SySy’s Designs – Fruitbasket dresses
~silentsparrow~ – meat cake dresses

LotBaN – Money is Such a Problem: Fashionable Relay Challenge
FT: Cha Cha Cherry
FT: Green and Fantasy Things from Lemania & Co.
FT: Double Gumdrop Delight at Lemania Indigo Designs!
FT: Chocolate Covered Lemania
FT: Double Tall Lemania with Indigo
FT: Urban Dinner ala Lemania Indigo Designs
FT: Green Sleeves and Barbie Things @ Lemania Indigo Designs
FT: A Forest of Lemania
FT: Sugary Blue Sweets form Lemania!
FT: Part of this Lemania Breakfast
FT: CUPID’s ARROW Hunt Treasure Peak – Cherries

Swimwear
Outfit: strawberry delight bikini from /artilleri/ [GNUbie store dollarbie]
Footwear: Shoes after an Epic Fail from Wot? [subscriber gift]
Neck: FREE Strawberry Necklace from !* Rebel -X- *!
Hand: Strawberry Backpack from !* Rebel -X- *!
Hair: OMGWTF Barbecue (Crayon Red) from PUDGE [group gift]
Eyes: Eyes – Mirror Green from *Celestial Studios*
Skin: Timeless-Treasure Hunt Freckled from *Ashia Designs*
Prop: Strawberry FROSTED [Axis Mundi] from !* Rebel -X- *!

Relaxed-Casual
Top: Passion Fruit Tee from *Fishy Strawberry*
Bottom: MyFunkyValentineLeggins from *Fishy Strawberry*
Mouth: Spoon Full Of Love~Cupcake Doom (Wear Me!) from [Lazy Places]
Ears: Cuppycake Bracelet Two – Strawberry from {Violet Voltaire}
Neck: Cake Or Death Necklace: Strawberry from {Violet Voltaire}
Wrists: Cuppycake Bracelet One – Strawberry from {Violet Voltaire}
Ankles: Cuppycake Earrings – Strawberry from {Violet Voltaire}
Hair: Hair – Lindsey – Strawberry Blonde from (Mirada) [lucky chair]
Eyes: Eyes – Mirror Green from *Celestial Studios*
Skin: Rainbow Skin from SkinSane
Prop: Ichigo chair (4p) from *Monaca*
Pose: SP_Playboy Cover 1008 Greece from Striking Poses

Business-Casual
Outfit: April Item Chair Goodie by LW* from “LUXURIOUS WORLD” [monthly item camp]
Footwear: Cute Fruits Strawberry Flats (BOXED) from [Lazy Places]
Neck:Eolande’s Happy Strawberry Necklace – silver from Accessories by Eolande [Ohana Isle Welcome gift box item]
Eyes: Eyes – Mirror Green from *Celestial Studios*
Skin: Efe Green Makeup Hair 3 from [PXL]
Prop: Flying Strawberry (Wear me) from [ Love Soul ]

Candy-Harajuku
Top: meltingCandyPink & UnderMilk from ~momo~
Bottom:FooFoo TuTu (pink) from Canimal
Ears: Lollipop Guild Earrings – Strawberry from {Violet Voltaire}
Neck: Lollipop Guild Necklace – Strawberry from {Violet Voltaire}
Wrists: Lollipop Guild Bracelet – Strawberry from {Violet Voltaire}
Back: Lollipop Guild Doll Key – Strawberry from {Violet Voltaire}
Hair: Cani – black from Gritty Kitty
Eyes: Eyes – Mirror Green from *Celestial Studios*
Skin: Succubus – Pink from {Frick} [old freebie]
Prop: Ichigo cake Big (130p) from *Monaca*
Pose: Fresh New from [Long Awkward Pose]

Lolita
Outfit: (silver) Strawberry Dream Dress – LUCKY CHAIR from *katat0nik*
Footwear: Strawberry Flats- RFL from 50 Flats
Face: Cream-Mouth*On Nose* (Mod OK) from [ Love Soul ]
Mouth: Strawberry+Fork (wear me) from [ Love Soul ]
Ears: Pierce*Strawberry* from [ Love Soul ]
Hand: Tray of strawberry pudding from [ Love Soul ]
Hair: Lesley – Flaming Midnight from Calico Ingmann Creations
Eyes: Eyes – Mirror Green from *Celestial Studios*
Skin: Schaden Bisque Lang Sin in my Heart, black nail (anat) from Schadenfreude [Valentine hunt gift]

Fantasy
Outfit: FLEURS outfit Female & FLEURS PG covering from +Fallen Gods Inc.+ [lucky chair]
Footwear: Stiletto pumps*Strawberry* from [ Love Soul ]
Ears: Pierce*Strawberry* from [ Love Soul ]
Hands: Ring*Sweet Strawberry* from [ Love Soul ]
Skin: FLEURS female Spring SKIN from +Fallen Gods Inc.+ [lucky fortune teller]
Prop: Strawberry Bed (Wear me) from [ Love Soul ]

~ by Terry Toland on April 25, 2009.