I should be out raking, really.

Qopi says I talk to much in my posts so brevity is the word for the day. Lot's of gorgeous new releases from designers I love!

Credits:
Drift: Cold Shoulder Dress: new release (so cozy and versatile)
Ison: Lace-Up Gladiator Sandals for Slink Med Feet: new release @ Collabor88 (badass)
Stockings: Izzies: Thigh High Knit Socks (incl. Slink applier)
Necklace: Bliensen + MaiTai: Time Loop Necklace: new release
Hair: Elikatira: Brenna: new release (YAY)
Skin: Izzies: Lucie - Pumpkin Pie: new release @ TDR Fusion
House: Trompe Loeil: Autumn Cottage: new release @ Collabor88 (cutest house ever!)
Garage: POST: Hurley Rural Garage: new release (was for The Neighborhood last week - if Post has something new I will be there!)
Walkway: Barnesworth Anubis: Flagstone Pavers
Mailbox: +sanctuaire+: Siouxie Mailbox
Pumpkin / Cornstalks: Deco
Wheelbarrow: Hayana

Apples in Autumn

Hi!! This post literally took me 3 days to finish due to continual crashing when I tried to take photos. I really need a new graphics card.  Autumn is my favorite season, a time when we return to our normal routines, which I find particularly comforting.  I'm also crazy about anything that looks vintage Halloween.  The season and the holiday just go together. I could not imagine Halloween in April, ya know?

Trompe Loeil's Apple Cart release for October's The Garden at The Liaison Collaborative round made me smile. I live in an area of Michigan that is on a high glacial ridge and is perfect for orchards.  Leave the city and within minutes you are in a rolling countryside rife with farm stands, hay rides, corn mazes set against a backdrop of changing leaves. Some of the markets are massive but you can still find Ma & Pa farms with small stands like Trompe's that work on the trust system where you buy your goods and put your money in a bucket.  It hearkens back to simpler, non-electronic days. The Apple Cart is actually quite a complex product: you can simply rez it and have a cute photo prop but it also comes with all it's individual components, including an empty stand that can be used as a stall for any kind of event you choose.  The hand drawn sign has 4 messages plus a blank so you can use your own signage.  The trim and body are separately tintable for your own color options. It's a must have.  Seraphim Social is hosting it's Book Club sales event and for the next week or so you can pick up some lovely items inspired by Neil Gaiman’s Coraline.  A popular meme are the buttons that the ghost children who had them sewn in as eyes. Atelier Visconti released the sweet Other Chair for the event. The chair, which is color change through a HUD, has both individual and couples poses, all adjustable.  The assorted vintage buckets are from my collection of both old and new pieces, including years of Schadenfreude's annual Halloween Bucket (alas none this year!) and Lark's perfect buckets for Candy Fair, which is ending today.

My skin is an exclusive version of PXL's new Jade skin. I love it and it was fun to wear dark hair on Eden for a change.  I wanted to get a decent shot of one of Bliensen+MaiTai's new nail appliers for Slink Avatar Enhancement hands and feet.  Brilliant and so unique they are only one of several awesome new releases for this month's Genre event which features a Steampunk theme. Nothing is over 100 L at Genre and I see many creators there that I don't normally see at other events. I've become a huge fan.  Lastly and I shut up, Wasabi Pills Stella hair for the Wizarding Fair is charming.  If you wish you can unlink the front braid, though I find it makes the hair!

Credits:
Cart: Trompe Loeil: Apple Cart: currently available at The Garden at The Liaison Collaborative
Chair: Atelier Visconti: Other Chair: currently available at The Seraphim Social Club
Halloween Buckets: older Schadenfreude buckets and awesome new buckets from Lark at Candy Fair
Hair: Wasabi Pills: Stella: currently available at The Wizarding Fair
Jacket: ISON: Leather Asymmetrical Jacket: currently available at Collabor88
Pants: TokiD: Rolled Chinos
Shoes: Bliensen + MaiTai: Industrial Revolution - brown: currently available at Genre
Skin: PXL: Jade PA: Halloween Group Gift (join fee required)
Nail Appliers: Bliensen + Mai Tai: Slink Nail Applier HUD: Industrial: currently available at Genre
Eyes: IKON: Destiny Eyes: Clarity
Balloons and the word HAPPY on the Apple Cart: Boogers for the Havenhollow event: free!
Hands & Feet: Slink: Avatar Enhancement Hands and Medium Feet

Collabor88: Bye Bye Lindens

Like every other budget-wise fashionista in Second Life, I adore Collabor88.  Lately, the collections have been simply outstanding and it becomes a true effort on my part to decide what to purchase and what I must live without.  It's not that I don't have clothes; my 100+ K inventory is a testament to that.  It's just that everything is so stinking well made and thus I would be a fool to wait and purchase it later at a higher price, and so my logic goes.  I must look good while hiding out on my platform!

R2 gets the win for the totally impractical but oh, so sexy kagaya bodysuit.  Mesh is nearly impossible to layer unless you have pieces from a set, but it reminded me of the skimpy clothing worn by the woman in the iconic Annie Lebovitz portrait of James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano, that woman with the legs that went on forever, thus I had to have it.  I should have bought the nude but I love black.  Gos introduced his new Isabella sandals at Collab and of course I had to get the 3 pack.  I love his shoes but they do take a bite out of the wallet and it's like 3 pairs for the price of 3.

I was and am a HUGE Sopranos fan and this photo is etched in my brain.

Clawtooth made me drool with his new Windswept hair, also new at Collabor88. I've been following Bubbles since he started and this style reminds me of one of his first, Lola's Big Date.  It was very glamorous and this one is even more so, with a few air-brushed layers that gives it a nice sense of depth. He also makes some of the best reds on the grid and I pretty much favor them over my usual blonde.  Glam Affair is selling even more skins that I cannot live without, especially as I am a sucker for a smokey eye.  Lastly, not at Collab but special right now are HANDverk's Lion's Tail necklaces that are at a steep discount at We <3 Roleplay.  Sales are your friend!

Credits:
At Collabor88:
Bodysuit: R2: kagaya - black
Shoes: GOS: Isabella sandals
Skin: Glam Affair: Neva - Arctic 02b
Hair: Clawtooth: Windswept - Strawberry Cream

At Other places of awesomeness:
Necklace: HANDverk: Lion's Tail Necklace - bright: discounted at We <3 RP event (50% off)
Cupid Motel: 7 Emporium: was at a recent FaMESHED and being a sucker for roadside Americana I bought at first sight with my awesome Linden shooting trigger finger. Now at the mainstore.
Hands: Slink: Mesh Hands - Elegant

Greetings from Charlevoix

I live in Michigan, which gets a really bad rap because our economy, which has been over-reliant on the auto industry, has really suffered.  However, I grew up on the west side of the state, i.e. not Detroit, less than a mile from Lake Michigan.  It is idyllic most of the year though the weather can be harsh.  There are so many great decor items and some can be had for a song.  The Nest has 18 items to be found as well as a few new dollarbies from floorplan.  All you need to add is imagination.

Credits:
From The Nest's Halloween Hunt:
Piano: +sanctuaire+ : Reclaimed Piano Bookcase - Gypsy
Hand Chair: [ Organica ]: Caress Hand Chair (red) - one of 3 colors
Cabinet: [Noble]: Harvest Time Cabinet
Chair: Cleo Design: Mystery Chair
Owl: Thistle: Owl Ceramic Biggie (cm)
Lanterns: Sway's: Paper Lantern [lampion] candy corn / string
Bowl: (on top of piano): Cleo Design: Halloween Candy Apples
Crate of Pumpkins: 11th Hour: Pumpkin Storage Crate

Other: 
Wine Bottles: floorplan: pumpklin bottles and ghost bottles - 1 L each
Plate: floorplan: nevermore plate - 1 L each
Shed: POST: Toimi Pole Shed
Star Light: POST: Ely Roadside Star
Wagon: artilleri : Old wagon (with pumpkins)
Tall bucket of Apples: artilleri
Spigot / small bucket of apples: POST: Old Spigot with Apple Bucket
Hay Bales: Botanical: Rectangle Hay Bale
Crates: 7: Lab Crates
Pumpkin Planter: 11th Hour: @ The Fantasy Gacha Carnival
Sign: 7: Portable Marquee @ The Men's Department
Bench: POST: Nisswa Pine Bench
Table: Lark: Dessert Table
Tins: vespertine: cookie tin/butter cookies
Apple Juice: vespertine- apple juice basket
Birch Trees: Deco
Conifers: Tree House Designs

The Men's Department: Talk Nerdeh to Me

The October round of The Men's Department (TMD) opens Saturday!  The event will be even bigger beginning this month with 40 participating designers, all who use original content. Most of the decor and some of the things I am wearing are new items for The Men's Department.  My cute bloomers aren't from TMD (bummer, right) but another cute item I got at The Fantasy Gacha Carnival.  They are from Yasum and the bracers and the bloomer itself are separate items available in all sizes so you can get the right fit for your avatar.  The Jade hair from Wasabi Pills includes a hud to change the headband color and is available at this month's FaMESHed round.  It's a really fun mid-length style.

I absolutely fell in love with Sorgo's Steam glasses which are available in Wood/Earth/Black (gold) colors at The Men's Department.  The glasses include both sunglass and regular lenses.  Also, if you find you cannot get enough of them, there are a white pair available at the main store in LIMITED quantities so I will include a link to the store as well in credits.  Ispachi item for TMD are the brilliant Attero Headphones and Music Player.  The set includes 3 versions: Head, Neck and Hand attachments as well as a fully integrated HUD that controls the color, size, and shine control.  The Headphones come in 15 base colors and 8 metal textures, as does the Music Player, which also has 8 LED options.  Sweet.  Deco has some badass Duck boots at TMD.  They come in 3 different colors and include both small and large sizes.

There are also some fantastic decor items at October's TMD.  Culprit's Leather Wingback chair is lush with it's aged leather effect so that it looks like it's been a well loved reading chair.  It includes animations for both genders (and no, this is not a lady animation).  Eleventh Hour's Hinge Shelf is a great set of shelves held on each end by ladder scaffolding for a nice industrial effect for any decor. The large photo space can be edited to hold your own photos but I kinda like the photo of River Stromfield.  Cheeky Pea's Driftwood Silhouettes just make me LOL, with iconic cutouts of Bigfoot, Nessy, a shark and a platypus, perfect for all the big, tough burlymen of SL.  Floorplan's funny Mustache Marquee let's you chose between 9 different color choices, some with various levels of aged effect for a nice vintage feel.  I can't wait to see what else is there when it opens Saturday, October 5.

Credits:
The Men's Dept:
Glasses: Sorgo: Steam Glasses - black gold
Headphones: Ispachi: Attero Vintage Futuristic Headphones
Boots: Deco: Legends: Duck Boots - Dirt
Floor Shelving: Eleventh Hour: Hinge Shelf
Cut-Outs: Cheeky Pea: Driftwood Silhouettes
Mustache: Floorplan: Mustache Marquee
The Fantasy Gacha Carnival:
Bloomers: Yasum: Babes Romper - #1
Planter: Eleventh Hour: Pumpkin Planter
FaMESHed:
Wasabi Pills: Jade Hair - Golden
Other:
Skin: LAQ: Ebba - Fair
Large Bookshelf: Lark -  Imaginarium Librarium - Sage (Sept Arcade)
Side Table and Misc Library Decor: Post
Hanging Bulbs: 7
Lamp: Artilleri - Tampa Table Lamp
Ladder: we're CLOSED: old Ladder dark (Group Gift!)