C88 May 2013

The 8th has arrived and a new creatively charged collabor88 has opened!  May is a month that merges from Spring to Summer, warmer weather, and visions of sunny afternoons spent at the beach.  The continually impressive Cory Edo brings to this round a gorgeous beach bungalow and decor.  I am not a beach person but this beautiful bungalow is extremely versatile, sitting on a beach or on a waterfront plateau, you will want to add this to your Second Life

With matching decor, you get a fabulous Summer color palette.  Hanging planters and antique cabinets will fill this bungalow with charm and comfort.  Check out the great life preserver decor, it hides the controls for doors and windows!  For more amazing images of the bungalow, please visit the official Trompe Loeil website.

In this interior shot, I am wearing a few items from The Mens Department May collection.  Belleza has brought a special edition of Jonas to this round of TMD.  Jonas was the first skin I purchased when I joined Second Life  so to see him back in action was a great blast to the past and a reminder of how much I have always liked this skin.  For a mere 150L, I suggest you get on over to TMD and snatch it up!

My retro shirt is from bleak who have quickly become a favorite of mine.  The pattern of this shirt was just too hard to resist and fit perfectly with my nostalgic mood.

Check out my realistic hat from DECO!  I usually do not wear baseball caps in Second Life because I have yet to find one that I like.  I’m very picky about ball caps, they can’t be too high or too big of a brim.  I like a cap that is fitted, snug and soft.  This is just that cap!

What I Am Wearing:

Skin-Belleza- Jonas SK THE MENS DEPT Available May 5th @ The Mens Dept)

*Eyes- .ID. Essentials TMD / Mesh Eyes / Blue-Green (Available May 5th @ The Mens Dept)

Hat-DECO – MESH Ratty Ballcap (navy) (Available May 5th @ The Mens Dept)

Hands-[CheerNo] Hands_M#11 L [Mesh] & [M#12 R [Mesh]

*Shirt-bleak .MrNiceGuy Shirt- GoldTimes  (Available May 5th @ The Mens Dept)

Pants-[ JP ]:dsg. Manoa JNS. // blue //

Shoes- XIAJ  Low Chucks

*Structure & Decor: (All Available @ Collabor88 May 8th 2013)

Trompe Loeil – Beach Bungalow Teal and Yellow
Trompe Loeil – Hanging Tri-Planter Orange
Trompe Loeil – Beachside Cabinet Teal Plain

Pose-Expressive Poses – Derick 7

*Promotional Copy – Thank you!

Take My Hand

Spring is blossoming rather beautiful, the birds are chirping, the bees buzzing and a sense of newness has filled the air.  Over at FATEwear, this newness keeps abounding and we gents are surely thankful!  Damien Fate has just released the Spring line part 2, containing fresh textured shirts, shorts and light pants for our Springtime to burst into color.  You can see the entire line on the official blog.

The lovely Springy pose is from Exposeur and available for Pose Fair 2013.  It was perfect for a little time with Mrs. Raynier which has been admittedly scarce with our busy schedules.  Treasure even the smallest moments, they are worth every second!

Take My Hand

What I Am Wearing:

*Skin-*Birth* Vince Skin (straw) stubble (Available @ Skin Fair 2013 March 15th)

Hairbase-Entente B&W – Midnight black

Eyes-.ID. .ID. Glare [TMD] / Mesh Eyes / Aqua / (Available March 5th @ The Mens Dept)

Hat-Mason Flatcap (Available @ faMESHed April 1st 2012)

*Shirt-FATEwear Shirt -Taylor

*Pants-FATEwear Shorts - Steve

Shoes-Monso Studded Oxford – Silver (Available @ faMESHed April 1st 2012)

*Pose-Exposeur Trying To Hold On (Available @ Pose Fair 2013 March 29th!)

Location-MOSP

*Promotional Copy – Thank you!

 

 

 

FATEwear Spring Release

Damien Fate just released a HUGE Spring line for FATEwear just in time to kick off the great weather!  So gents, get your Winter wear and pack it up, Spring is here and lively colors abound.  Snag up the great new HUD enabled items which have multiple parts to tint differently to make unique to your style.  Get the FATEpacks aka fatpacks to have up to 18 colors on the items! Damien truly has kept offering the customer more and more of what they desire and that speaks volumes.

Here is a taste of the new Spring releases.  Check out the official site for the entire blast of colors and styles!

FATEwear Spring Line 2013

What Chase Is Wearing:

Skin-Belleza Dylan SK 

Hair-Atro Patena Cleon_Black

Hairbase-MADesigns BLACK Hair Base ~ Tribe 1

Facial Hair–NIVARO Beards – goatee_black

Ears-MANDALA Plug(Hole_size_1/R) Stretched ears-Omimi

Eyes-.ID. Heterochromia Blue/Green

Necklace-KRASH Karma Necklace -male

Tattoo-[Sleepy Bozer] Alice (Available March 5th @ The Mens Dept)

Shirt-FATEwear Shirt – Shaw – (UT) Scripted

Pants-FATEwear Pants – Marty – (R) Scripted

Shoes-Adjunct Canvas Sneaker – MENS – Blue

What I Am Wearing:

*Skin-*Birth* Vince Skin (straw) buzzbeard (Available @ Skin Fair 2013 March 15th)

Hair-Exile AJ:Midnight

Hairbase-Entente B&W – Midnight black

Eyes-.ID. .ID. Glare [TMD] / Mesh Eyes / Aqua / (Available March 5th @ The Mens Dept)

Glasses-K_gs Domino 1.00 (Available March 5th @ The Mens Dept)

Hands-[CheerNo] Hands_M#11 L [Mesh] & [M#12 R [Mesh]

Jacket & Shirt-FATEwear Jacket – Andy – (F) Scripted

Pants-FATEwear Pants – Marty – (R) Scripted

Shoes-[ JP ]:dsg. Sneaker Varial

What Cameron Is Wearing:

Skin-BIRTH Thor Skin (light)

Eyes-poetic colors classic gen4 – last sun 

Hair-Exile 6th Avenue Heartache:Hollywood

Shirt-FATEwear Shirt - Henry – (P) Scripted

Pants-FATEwear Pants – Marty – (R) Scripted

Shoes-2Real HOLBROOKZ Shoes

Pose-D.Luxx Poses – Boyband

88 Man

Events are a blast in SecondLife, I enjoy them greatly, and have gotten pretty methodical about my shopping.  You see, I not only go shop for myself, but I make a list of all the things I want to buy Mrs. Raynier.  It is always a great perk when a vendor has gifting options that way I can send her all the things!  We then head on over to the event and shop together, pointing out what we like what colors or patterns we prefer.  If the event is ultra crowded we wait a few days so we can go together.

I have had conversations here and there with other residents about events in SL and often they do not know where to keep track of what is going on, or haven’t heard about certain events on the proverbial SL street.  I always point residents to SeraphimSL and urge them to add Seraphim to their RSS reader or subscribe in some fashion to keep up to date with the events they cover.

Another hang-up some residents have mentioned, and this is mainly the guys, feeling there is nothing at those events for the dudes.  Not true!  For example, this round of Collabor88 has Atro Patena putting out a new version of Nicholas, aptly named Nicholas II.  We also of course thankfully have the amazing event The Men’s Department which has been a fantastic event for men BUT not limited to just the male gender.  That’s what I love about events, you can find a little of everything at most of them, it just takes a little looking around and often the courage to look outside the box.

Take this great bow-tie necklace from Yummy, you may approach it with the thought that it is for girls only, well I challenge that and say nay, it’s for anyone that it fits their style, and we all know how much I love my bow-ties in real life and SL, so for me it was a must wear.

Think outside the box and dare to be yourself, no matter what the packaging shows, if it appeals to you, wear it!

88 Man

What I Am Wearing:

Skin-NIVARO Crow Skin summertone

Hair-[Atro Patena] – Nicolas II_Black (Available @ Collabor88 March 8th 2013)

Eyes-.ID. .ID. Glare [TMD] / Mesh Eyes / Aqua / (Available March 5th @ The Mens Dept)

Ears–MANDALA SIMPLE_EARS_HUTUU

Glasses-K_gs Domino 1.00 (Available March 5th @ The Mens Dept)

Necklace-(Yummy) Vintage Bow Charm Necklace (Available @ Collabor88 March 8th 2013)

Shirt-22769 ~ [homme] asymmetric shirt black/red (Available March 5th @ The Mens Dept)

Pose-STAKEY

Structure-*[ba] haight apartment skybox (Available @ Collabor88 March 8th 2013)

Respite

Respite

The Mens Department opened today!  What a great round, full of fun items, lots of decor and a theme that says to me games and relaxation.

Since I am laid up with a back injury on top of all my other illness related  stuff, I’ve had to make a cozy spot in my room to watch movies, play video games and above all else keep iced up and drugged out.  Like my SLife space, my real space pretty much looks like this just substitute the cozy chair for my bed and the pin-up girls for Catwoman inks by Jim Lee and you have the Chance recovery ward!

I hope your week is going grand and if it isn’t yet, here’s hoping it does soon!

What I Am Wearing:

Skin-NIVARO Crow Skin summertone

Hair-Dura 41

Eyes-.ID. .ID. Glare [TMD] / Mesh Eyes / Aqua / (Available March 5th @ The Mens Dept)

Glasses-K_gs Domino 1.00 (Available March 5th @ The Mens Dept)

Facial Hair-Fruk face fuzz – Free goatee (Available March 5th @ The Mens Dept)

Hands-[CheerNo] Hands_M#11 L [Mesh] & [M#12 R [Mesh]

*Shirt-D R O P . Mesh V/N  Sweater w/Shirt PInk (Available March 5th @ The Mens Dept)

Pants-[CheerNo] Jeans Black_SK Low MFit_ Wash #1 (Available March 5th @ The Mens Dept)

Shoes-2Real HOLBROOKZ

Decor:  All (Available March 5th @ The Mens Dept)

*{vespertine- cubistic sidetable/carbon}

*[kusshon] its a mens world dresser & private screen

*MudHoney Ryan Club Chair, Pool Ball Candles, Magazine Holder

*:CP: Playing Games Console

Structure-PILOT  Trautmann Skybox

(Available March 5th @ The Mens Dept)

The Mens Dept – Hemingway Dreams

March 5th brings us a new round of the Mens Department!  What a round it is too, with just about everything you need for a new look, a fresh set of accessories and furnishings.  I love the variety we get at TMD, it just feels like being a kid in a candy store.

Hemingway Dreams

I am wearing this great jacket from villena, which comes in male AND female sizing!  A great texture HUD is included for the scarf and it also comes in moss.

You likely know by now I love facial hair, and the more realistic to how I like it in real life the better.  This TMD round FRUK has a great skin line for us, but they also put out this FREE facial hair.

Insufferable Dastard is my choice for eyes for mine are aqua and it is not the easiest shade to find.  This round they are offering the Glare series in many different colors to suit your eye needs.

Uw.st joins the TMD family this round bringing two hairstyles this month.  I am wearing the Seth, it has a nice swept back motion but I did have to wear a hairbase with it or it was a bit too far back for my shapes forehead.  Keep this in mind when you try the demo so that you can get the feel of  how it will lay on your avatars skull.

K_gs is back with a very stylish set of glasses.  I am a huge fan of K_gs for eyewear because the creator has so many options, from changing the texture of the frames to the lenses and that makes it so versatile for the wearer to go sunglasses or reading glasses with each set.  This particular pair is very much like my 2nd pair of glasses I wear in real life so it was a must have.

HANDverk has some great chairs and home accessories this round.  I am only showing the Swan chairs in red and white but there is a nice brown available also.  The side table with lamp and coffee made me think of Hemingway for some reason thus my blog post title.  Great detail to add to any home, shop or whathaveya!

These great animal prints are from vespertine which never fails to create fun items for your SLife.  I really love the cat one the most, I am a cat lover after-all   You really do need to see these in person, they have such great detail and the color palette’s are divine.

That’s all I have for you today, hopefully if I can find some energy later I’ll bring you a bit more of the great items from TMD.  Have a great week!

What I Am Wearing:

Skin-NIVARO Crow Skin summertone

Hair-Uw.st    Seth-Hair (Available March 5th @ The Mens Dept)

Eyes-.ID. .ID. Glare [TMD] / Mesh Eyes / Aqua / (Available March 5th @ The Mens Dept)

Glasses-K_gs Domino 1.00 (Available March 5th @ The Mens Dept)

Facial Hair-Fruk face fuzz – Free goatee (Available March 5th @ The Mens Dept)

*Jacket-.:villena:. – coat M [M] camel/dkbrown (Available March 5th @ The Mens Dept)

Shirt-A:S:S Slick v-neck – Aqua

Pants-.:villena:. tucked up jeans M/M dark blue Henninger Jeans

Shoes-2Real HOLBROOKZ

Decor- All (Available March 5th @ The Mens Dept)*[HANDverk]Swan Chair.red
*[HANDverk]Nelson Side Table.black
*[HANDverk]Half Nelson Lamp.chrome
{vespertine- animalia paper print

Structure-[AF] NEW YORK Studio Apartment

Pose-Poseology Rodney 5

*Promotional Copy-Thank You!

Call Me Maybe!

Call Me Maybe

What I Am Wearing:

Skin-Belleza Jacob Tan BBB 0 (Available for 400L until March 3rd)

Hair-Redgrave Jacob

Eyes-.ID. Warrior Mesh Aqua

Glasses-[Iruco] gacha / blow glasses (bk) (Available March 1st 2013 @ The Arcade)

Watch-(Yummy) Polyex Sports Watch – Red (Available March 1st 2013 @ The Arcade)

Necklace-.Olive. the Folded Golden Paper Letter Necklace – C (Available March 1st 2013 @ The Arcade)

Pants-.:villena:. tucked up jeans M/M dark blue

Socks-Schadenfreude Sheer Dark Rainbow Amortentia Stockings

Shoes-The Secret Store – Vintage Roller Skates – Red Leather (Available March 1st 2013 @ The Arcade)

Backpack-~Tableau Vivant~ Backpack – Black (Available March 1st 2013 @ The Arcade)

What Gabriella Is Wearing:

Skin-Belleza Elle Dark Deep

Eyes-Mayfly- Deep Sky Mesh Eye (Red Mahogany)

Hair: TRUTH Crys – espresso (Available @ faMESHed  March 2013)

Glasses-[Iruco] gacha / Butterfly sunglasses (red) (Available March 1st 2013 @ The Arcade)

Jewelry-Cae :: Bejeweled ::  Set (Available @ faMESHed  March 2013)

Shirt-Emery – Mesh Top Roback Black (Available @ faMESHed  March 2013)

Pants-Emery – Mesh High Waist Denim Short Hope Dark (Available @ faMESHed  March 2013)

Shoes-(LaRoo) Folded High Tops (Available @ faMESHed  March 2013)

Poses-Adorkable Poses (Available March 1st 2013 @ The Arcade)

Location: The Nest

The Arcade – March!

The Arcade is coming!  Are you ready?  Have you been saving your gacha money?  There is still time if you have not been tucking your Lindens away like I have!

I will have the privilege of bringing you a sneak peek of some of the items you will be striving for this great round of the Arcade.  So keep an eye out and in the meantime, check out the official sites for official information, the creator line-up and their amazing item advertisements!

Here is a sneak peek of the {what next} The Anywhere Lawn Chair (guys-red).  I love this lawn chair because it’s not the typical chair you place out in your yard or home, nope, this beauty goes WITH you.  Winter Thorn craftily created the Anywhere Lawn Chair so that you wear it and take it with you which is awesome for those no rez areas, and pretty much anywhere you want to go and sit.  When you fly it keeps you in the sit position and when you walk it puts you in a crouched like carrying your chair position which I must admit had me laughing.

Be sure to walk forward after attaching to engage the sit animation and walk/lift animation.  As always with an item such as this, turn off your AO so that it does not override the chairs animations.

You can get this great chair in many different colors at the Arcade when it opens March 1st!  Get ready, it is going to be one amazing ride!

Blog The Arcade Official Site

Flickr Photostream: TheArcadeSL

Flickr Group: The Arcade SL

Join our in-world group by clicking here

Waiting For The Arcade!

What I Am Wearing:

Skin-NIVARO Crow Skin summertone

Hair-Redgrave Jacob

Eyes-.ID. Warrior Mesh Aqua

Facial Hair-Sacred 2.0 Stubble – Light

*Shirt-[Exiled Inc.] Camo Black Open Vest w/ Shirt [MESH]

Pants-BlankLIne 011 PocketPants_M_Red

Shoes-Adjunct Volteen Hi-Top Sneaker – Red

*Lawn Chair-{what next} The Anywhere Lawn Chair (guys-red) (Available March 1st 2013 @ The Arcade)

*Promotional Copy-Thank You!

Man Space

The Men’s Department this round is a great place to get the guys in your life awesome Valentine’s Day gifts.  You know it can be hard to shop for dudes, especially if they are not very into clothes.  This is an aspect of The Men’s Department that I really like, it’s not all about clothes!  You have a wide array of decor and furnishings for your house.  In this case I made a small man space with all TMD items to give you an idea of the items you can put on your list for that special guy or gal in your life.  Again, another part of the TMD that I love, it’s not just for the dudes!

Isla Gaelach of Cheeky Pea created the amazing MapMe Antigue letters for this round and I gotta tell ya, mesh letters with map roads upon them, badass!  They also come in the non-antique.

floorplan has two items to offer this TMD and one is a must have for all Sci Fi and 80′s fans.  The Flux Capacitor!  It has beautiful detail and it flashes with subtle strobe light.  Also the oh deer wall decor, which I really like, the antlers are just perfect.

Grab a seat in the new Shell chairs from HANDverk, the detail is fabulous.

Not sure what to wear for Valentine’s day, go grab this great shirt/tie/cardigan ensemble from Pumpkin.  Two versions, one with hearts on the shirt and one in plain white.  Go for the hearts, that special someone will love them!

Don’t like to be perfectly shaved, me either, but clean up a bit more for Valentine’s day, especially around the mouth, makes that kiss a helluvalot better!  The jawline beards from bleak are perfect for this and come in dark and light.

Couple the cardigan with this modern looking metallic ring from KOSH, it has a matching necklace too.

Snatch up the new poses from POSEOLOGY, they work fabulously with mesh items!

Enjoy this round of TMD and have a great week!

Man Space

What I Am Wearing:

Skin-Belleza- Jacob Men’s Dept Feburay 2013 (Available @ The Mens Department February 5th 2013!)

Hair-Atro Patena Ray

Eyes-.ID. Warrior Mesh Aqua

Facial Hair-bleak .Jawline Hair-Dark (Available @ The Mens Department February 5th 2013!)

Shirt-[Pumpkin]The CardiganV1 (Available @ The Mens Department February 5th 2013!)

Pants-ISPACHI Mesh [Renwick Jeans]  - Blue (Available @ faMESHed February 2013)

Shoes-FIR & MNA The Ashford Brogue Mens Red Striped Patent

Decor-[HANDverk]Shell Chair.black & red, floorplan. oh deer wall decor & flux capacitor, :CP: MapMe Antique Letters  (ALL Available @ The Mens Department February 5th 2013!)

Structure-MESHWORX – Westside Loft

Pose-Poseology – Donovan 1 Available @ The Mens Department February 5th 2013!)

Sanctuary

HANDverk released two beautiful skyboxes that I am thoroughly impressed with.

The  Longchamp skybox is HANDverk’s first store release of 2013 available in the single and double.  The Longchamp is a simple, elegant, all mesh skybox for either residential or commercial use. It is ultra low prim and the single size can fit on as small as a 512 sq.m. parcel.

What immediately came to mind when I rezzed the skyboxes on our sim was that it could be so many different things! I will be using it for a library/study as well as a vacation apartment.  You can utilize it in so many ways and at the low prim count it is sure to appeal to many different needs.

Going with the study first, I packed it full of Dutchie furniture, wanting to highlight the elegant spaciousness of the skybox itself and to focus on the mesh version of the maledom chair that Dutchie has packed full of animations to enjoy.

As many of you already know, this weekend was GOS Boutique’s first release of this exceptional open toed line.  I dubbed it GOStastic Saturday, and sent Mrs. Raynier to buy all the fatpacks!  It was worth every single penny.  The shoes are exquisite but the added convenience of GOS’s fluid and fast new ONEtime skin matching hud makes it so the frustration is gone from wearing beautiful shoes.

Mrs. Raynier has always had a hard time matching her skin to her shoes, something always seeming off and her grumbling and cursing can be heard throughout our sim!  But those days are gone.  She loaded the hud up, hit configure, picked her Belleza skin, hit sync and wallah she was matched to perfection.

The photo below has absolutely NO Photoshopping done to the ankles or shoes.  The only place I used PS was to smooth out a line in the library stack and by the ceiling.  The shoes are that damn good!

For in depth coverage of the new GOS Boutique line, please check out the official blog and the great posts from my fellow lady bloggers Harlow Heslop & Strawberry Singh.

Now if you will excuse me, I need to get my lovely wife stripped naked save for the shoes!

Sanctuary

Sanctuary

What I Am Wearing:

Skin-NIVARO Crow Skin summertone

Hair-Atro Patena Ray

Eyes-.ID. Warrior Mesh Aqua

Facial Hair-Entente Facial Hair B – Goatee Un – Black  & NIVARO Beards – chopburns_black

Glasses-Adjunct Eyewear – New Browline Readers – Black

Suit-FATEwear Suit – Christopher

Shoes-Kauna Brogues: Black

What Gabriella Is Wearing:

Skin-Belleza Elle Dark Deep

Eyes-Mayfly- Deep Sky Mesh Eye (Red Mahogany)

Hair: TRUTH Dawson-espresso

Jewelry-EarthStones Nataliya Earrings & Necklace Spectrum

Dress: GizzA – Hankie Dress [Orient](Available @ Limited Bazaar)

Shoes-GOS Boutique Grace Sandal – Gold

Decor-Dutchie side table, Persian rug, standing library lamp, library wide part 1 no shadow,cast iron fireplace, Dutchie maledom chair 2.0

Scotch-Kitchen Korner Scotch Whiskey (not available)

Structure-*[HANDverk.architecture]Longchamp Skybox.single (only 16 land impact!)

*Promotional Copies-Thank you!