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

Loxodromic

A quick post for now as my son chose the very moment I sat down in front of the computer to beg me to take him to the movies.  As we have been holed up in our thankfully air-conditioned home in this ungodly heat, I will willingly oblige...trading one sanctuary for another from the swelter.  

This is the last round of Stumblebum.  I've always enjoyed the event and look forward to what the current operators, Tyr Rozenblum and Ivy Graves, cook up next. I like that name...Stumblebum.  I also have huge love for [HANDverk], that I learned about at Culture Shock.  [HANDverk] joined Stumblebum and I will miss seeing what they offer for the event but thankfully they are also involved with FaMESHed.  Daphne Klossovsky and Tobias Convair make a brilliant team and seem to have this mesh thing down to a science.  Each new release is unique and artful. The new Loxodromic jewelry set is offered at 25% less than it's normal price for the course of this round, which runs through the 28th of July.  The set is offered in 5 different band colors and is unrigged mesh so you can edit the fit.  PLEASE NOTE: The Landmark to the [HANDverk] store is INCORRECT in the Stumblebum list.  I will provide the correct one in credits.

Toki-doki is also participating in the final Stumblebum round and is offering this fab mesh tank.  It comes in standard sizes and has a stunning back detail that sets it apart from others.  I wore it one size up from my usual size because I like the shirt a bit off my body.  I could do that without the alpha messing with my look (poorly fitting alphas make me insane).

I also want to show you some more items from two events that are near and dear to my heart: Hair Fair and One Voice.  Hair Fair is one of my favorite events each year and I'm like a kid at Christmas.  I fell in love with !Ohmai's new hair releases and think the "messy" version of Myer is simply brilliant.  The hairpiece also comes in a clean version but I have to be real and say that I rarely am put together like a prima ballerina and I love the whispies.  The hair-bases for this style have a sparkly effect to it and all the names have a cosmic theme which suits.  I will show more styles later.  One Voice continues to go strong and the skin and pants I am wearing both come from that event. AV!SAGE's Jayda skin is brilliant and I particularly love the strong brow and the perfectly placed mole.  The sari pants from One Bad Pixel come in 4 gorgeous jewel textures and have a perfectly, I mean perfectly, wrinkled effect so much like real silk.  Both these events are charity events, with Hair Fair benefiting Wigs for Kids and One Voice proceeds going directly to our dear Gala Phoenix for her legal defense fund.  I've detailed this several times so won't belabor it again.  I'm off to eat popcorn and hopefully avoid some horrible summer blockbuster!

Credits:
Jewelry: [HANDverk]: Loxodromic set: each piece can be purchased separately at 25% off the normal price.  This is the correct landmark.
Top: Toki-doki: Mari top: available in many colors
Hair: !Ohmai: Myer: available at Hair Fair 2012
Skin: AV!SAGE: Jayda skin for One Voice
Pants: 1bp: Sari Pants - green for One Voice

A Boy of Summer

I love pretty boy hair.  I love it when I want a look that is completely at ease.  One of SL's most popular events, Hair Fair 2012, opened it's gates today and I fell hard for [INK]'s new Yoke style.  The designer, nontroppo torii, very wisely made this hair with cross-dressers and men that love to style by making the sideburn tattoo separate from the hair base.  It's one of my favorite items I picked up yesterday at at walkthrough and am tempted return once the sims are not full.  Regarding events, One Voice has been extended through the 22nd of July.  I will mention the charity aspects of the events at the end of the post (I can get a bit tangential).  I bought a lot at this event including the mesh shorts and shirt and the skin I am wearing at One Voice.

Boom has a great little cropped baseball tee at One Voice. The item is mesh and comes in standard sizing.  I went up a size from my usual because I liked a baggy look.  It comes in two black/red and 2 black/white versions.  The adorable black leather shorts from Toki-doki also come in standard sizes and fit perfectly.

I think I might have been the very first person to purchase LAQ's special version of the Elena skin at One Voice.  I busied myself with other shopping while Mallory Cowen was setting up but as soon as she left, my bff, Whisper Despres, and I ran over to her display and demo'ed the skin.  I only demoed in an attempt to be prudent but it was basically an insta-buy.  The skin is a completely natural look and I've not added anything but lashes and LAQ freckles for this shot.  The brows are dark, so if you prefer super light brows you might want to think otherwise; otherwise its the pure, creamy look I love from LAQ.  

OK, now...what's up with these events.  Most blog readers are already in the know but I feel it's my blogger responsibility to talk about the purpose of both events.  Hair Fair IS a charity event and has chosen Wigs for Kids for it's charity for many years now.  Each designer is responsible for at least 3 new releases and 15% at the minimum must go towards the charity.  I saw many designers who donated more than the minimum.  There are 4 sims of fantastic hair.  The Hair Fair blog has slurls to all locations as well as tips to make your trip enjoyable.  My hat goes off to the Committee for creating such an elegant but simple build.  I love being able to just run through the phantom walls! A round of applause to Mel Vanbeek for all his efforts with scripting and invisible shoppers to keep the lag bearable.  At all landing points, there is a map...touch it and you will receive a folder with landmarks to all the stores. I found that once I arrived at a sim I could tp around using my map.  There is also a free low-lag outfit at all landing points, graciously provided by DCNY and Exile.  If you want to demo hair ahead of time, please join the Hair Fair Demo group, for free demos from all the designers (some are not free at the event).

The One Voice event is probably one of the kindest and most worthwhile events I've seen in all my years in SL.  Many designers are offering items where at least 50% of the sales go directly to Gala Phoenix of Curio, to help cover legal costs resulting from an unfair copyright claim by another person who sells skins.  I've wrote a lot about it on the Free*Style blog, including links to other blog articles that contain both facts and castle intrigue so I am not going to belabor that here.  Many designers have also set up their One Voice item at their store and there is a complete list at Salome Says, which wins my vote for bravery and devotion to the cause.  What has happened with Gala scares me right out of my pants on so many levels, from the very actions and decisions made by of Linden Labs to how this has affected the real life income of a very popular SL designer.  

Shop wisely and selflessly! 

Credits:

Hair Fair: [INK] - Yoke - Amber

One Voice:

     Boom: Twenty-Three Tee

     Toki-Doki: coroco shorts (black leather)

     LAQ: Elena - Natural Edition (milk)

Prop: Diesel Works: Baseball Bat: free prop

Eyes: IKON: Sunrise Eyes