fitforafemme.com

As good a way to start a new post as any, eh? Behold M and her Knob Creek flask. I have lost count of all our flasks. There are many. Some leather-bound, some traditional, some all aerodynamic, one bedazzled with skulls…I think the only addition ours needs is one vintage, slender and ladylike flask, for yours truly. I’d like it to be silver and embossed with an elegant design. Simple. 

Remember how I thought the Habitat for Humanity fiberglass incident would be the end of cargo pants for my beloved? Well, of course she ran out and got herself a new pair, and wore them tree-huntin’, naturally. She also wears them when she doesn’t feel like getting dressed. They’re like sweats or pajama pants, in her mind. Anytime she puts them on, it’s a silent act of defiance.

This saw was way more dangerous than it looks! Very sharp. Last night we met some friends of ours in Oakland at a place called Dogwood. It’s on the same block as the Fox Theater, just a lovely, dark little nook on a corner, and they specialize in cocktails and charcuterie. We loved the long, loose wooden community tables, and especially the big pheasants adorning the walls. Though the cocktail program could have used a bit of refinement, they were still pretty tasty, and their gin and bourbon selections extensive and pleasing. The grilled cheese I was fed was incredible. I daydreamed about it today! It was a fantastic night.

Here are the details:

Shirt, Calvin Klein
Puffer, Polo Ralph Lauren
Cargo Pants, Target
Boots, Mark Nason
Belt, H&M

Here are some lovey-dovey pic of the tomboy and I; she really wanted to take some by this plantbutchthingy plantbushthingy. Does anyone have any idea what it is? They’re not cattails and they’re not foxtails, I don’t think. They’re our favorite.

This morning I woke up (a bit fuzzy, I’ll admit) to the most wonderful early Christmas surprise – Eleven Objects, New York-based makers of exquisite, ultra-luxe detachable collars, picked me to win one of their special styles for Louis Exposure! It is easily the best thing I’ve ever won, I’m so honored and can’t wait to have it in my hot little hands!

Hope y’all are having delightful weekends, can you believe we’re already down to 12 days ’til Christmas? Bananas!

Love,

SBJ & M

It seems we’ve all gone headfirst into December, with brash winds and orphan sunshine. Poor M’s been locked in a brutal two-day offsite brainstorming session for work the past few days, and is so sleepy she can’t even drink bourbon. It’s shocking, I know. Anyway, here she is standing in front of some sort of houseboat in a state of disrepair, in Sausalito. There are all sorts of boat lifts and such on either side of her, and despite the abandoned cooler in the front left, there wasn’t a soul around!

Boat, boat, we’re on a boat! This is pulling into Tiburon, on the ferry, of course. I love how it looks like she’s manning the corner/door, like she’s keeping watch almost. Side note: Did you know that watchcaps haven’t got anything to do with watches? I didn’t. I had to be told. I thought perhaps watches got so cold in extreme weather that there are wee tiny knit hats to keep them safe from the elements. Adorable, but WRONG.

This is the amazing, $300 Newkirk Down Vest she scored for $99 not long ago, by Polo Ralph Lauren. It’s pretty amazing, especially considering we’d been scouring the interwebs for puffers for weeks and she kept vetoing most of them as not awesome enough (even those with wildly outrageous price tags). She thinks this one is perfect, and now she’s got two and is satisfied – I think.

I like these photos so much, M all smashed up against the window (you can see how cold it is) and peering out with that dreamy, childlike curiosity. We saw all sorts of wildlife in the water that day – harbor porpoises who’ve been hanging out in the bay this time of year for the past few years (biologists are researching why, it’s fascinating), enormous pelicans dive-bombing for food, and sea lions. While the porpoises were super cool, my favorite, hands-down, are the pelicans. They’re so kamikaze! And clumsy! And the splash they make and the angle at which they plummet into the water, it’s a sight to behold.

This is where the very unsuccessful, wee crab-catching occurred. Hooray!

Corduroys: Kenneth Cole
Shirt: Izod
Sweater: Zara
Puffer: Polo Ralph Lauren
Boots: Mark Nason
Gloves:  H&M
Glasses: Dior Homme

Look how happy we are! We ought to live on a boat, like Conor says. (I love this song, I’d sing it over and over at the top of my lungs to and from my riding lessons all summer. Such a good album.)

We should move to Sausalito
Living’s easy on a houseboat
Let the ocean rock us back and forth to sleep

In the morning with the sunrise
Look in the water see the blue sky
As if heaven has been laid there at our feet

I’m sitting here writing up this old blog post and M is playing Red Dead Redemption, which has raised my eyebrow in a disapproving manner on more than one occasion, I’ll have you know. She is determined to beat one more game before the end of year, given the fact that she’ll have had her PS3 for six months and will only have beaten one measly game (with MY help, thank you very much also WE MISS YOU LOST PLANET II). Too bad all the tomboys who’d play with her live in such far-flung places as SLC and Boston.

Did I not tell you that this scarf matches my dress in a borderline creepy way? In case you missed it from my other post, her mama knitted all three of us a beautiful scarf, just because. The petite’s was bright red, mine was chartreuse, and this is M’s! I have the feeling we’ll all be playing musical scarves this winter. They’re all fabulous. I lucked out because Grandma Medina also knitted me a lovely burnt orange scarf as well, also chenille. Hooray!

I never would have pegged M to pluck a GOLDENROD wool sweater off the rack at H&M, but she sure did, and it ended up being absolutely perfect with this vintage Salvatore Ferragamo tie, with the little lions and regal bugles. She paired them with an Elie Tahari dress shirt, Zara slacks and her trusty Asos brogues. (The belt is also from H&M.)

We hope y’all liked these Turkey Day photos as much as we do, and that your leftovers lasted longer than ours did (they were all gone by Sunday). I am swinging by my little brother’s office tomorrow to drop off his phone – silly fool left it in my car on the way home Thursday night – and one of our pumpkin cheesecakes, because we do NOT need to eat all three by ourselves. In other news, I was tickled pink to find the latest issue of Horse Illustrated (I didn’t even know such a thing existed) in my mailbox, an early Christmas gift from my folks! So sweet!

I also think I’ve settled on some nice DIY gifts for folks come Christmastime: Grandma Jones’s fresh-baked shortbread, and homemade bourbon caramel sauce and spiced pear-infused vodka. One year the petite and I also made our own wrapping paper, with some rad shaped sponges, beautiful paints, plain brown wrapping paper – and glitter, of course! I’d love to do that again, too. Do you guys ever do homemade or DIY presents? I wanna hear all about ‘em!

Here’s a few more of the two of us goofin’ around:

Greetings from Mexico!

Kidding. Sort of. While the idea of floating in the perfect, crystalline waters off Isla Mujeres on a private chartered boat, sipping ice cold Mexican beer under a blistering hot sun, getting ready to leap overboard for some choice snorkeling sounds quite divine, these photos were unearthed from our trip there last year, for my 30th birthday. We’d never even been snorkeling before, but it was beckoning to us and we quickly realized we really, really, really loved snorkeling. So much so that we went back out a day or two later! It’s really cool.

Look, they totally let me drive unsupervised! I LOVE MEXICO!

Currently we’re home, it’s still raining, and the fireplace is ablaze with almond firewood (our favorite). We’re test-driving sparkling spiced pear cocktails – St. George’s Aqua Perfecta Poire Liqueur, co-starring a little brut and allspice dram, and bits of actual pear – for next week, since we’re off to my mother’s for Thanksgiving and (as usual) we’re in charge of cocktails and dessert. It was a perfectly lazy day. We were in bed until nearly 1pm, had brunch around 2pm, and set out for errands after M treated me to a pampering pedicure.

Obviously, it wasn’t the most glamorous boat we were on, but we had it all to ourselves and they let us do whatever we pleased. We shared our beer with them and they showed us around to all the best snorkeling spots, far away from the splashing herds of tourist snorkelers.

Sometimes I’d get so mesmerized by the fish and plant life that I’d hardly notice the waves and currents pushing me yards and yards from the boat – M & I lost each other a handful of times, and once I quieted the brief flash of panic, falling into the feeling of being totally alone and surrounded by an otherworldly underwater beauty was spectacular.

Look at this big guy! I’ll tell you what, though, we were out there for hours and it hardly felt like it. We could have stayed until the sun came down and they yanked us out of the water by our hair, but eventually snorkeling makes you absolutely ravenous, and we needed fresh fish tacos ASAP! We ended up eating at a place over the water, not too far from the above. Oh, just thinking about it makes me want to go back n o w. Sob!

Maybe next year we’ll be those New England types who jet off to the Caribbean during the holidays! What are your plans for Thanksgiving and (if you can stomach discussing it so early) and Christmas?

Saturday, November 12th. Even though we were five minutes late to our riding lesson, we still got to putz around the stables to say hello to some ponies, some puppies, and anything else adorable on four legs, while the instructors waited for the other scheduled pairs to arrive. I felt real sorry for the lady who showed up in an absolutely gorgeous pair of brown suede boots – since it’d been raining in the days just prior, the grounds were a muddy mess!

These little guys were totally photo bombing our jam! So cute. The big b/w guy’s name is Chimichanga, so we bonded with him especially. (Our dingo’s name is Chipotle, also Taco-Fiesta on some days.) Don’t you think he looks like a boxer, or at least a boxer mix? I think so, M thinks he needs to be bigger. Maybe he’s a youngun!

The lesson included some very basic care and grooming. I’m sure I’m in the minority here, but I love grooming horses. It’s very relaxing, and they are such grateful lovebugs about it – well, some of them are. I started out with this sweetheart Olivia, who was absolutely covered in mud, and by the end she was all shiny and gleaming and as clean as can be without an actual hose and bucket of soap. They had to switch me to a different horse in order to hand Olivia off to another rider, so I ended up giving Dance a good scrub, too. Dance was a hair bigger than Dakota, the horse I’ve been riding all year long, but a real prince.

M had Rocky, who HATES being groomed. He kicked the fence post, stomped around, mashed himself against the fence, bit M’s puffer vest, and would try to bite at the rope keeping him tethered to one spot. Naughty! He more than made up for it in the arena, though, M said he was super awesome in the arena. Hooray!

I wore my riding pants and boots (because I mean business), but it was chilly, so I threw on my Ralph Lauren wool turtleneck with the suede patches, and my H&M L.O.G.G. blazer over it. M had on her trusty Levi’s and vintage cowboy boots, paired with a super thin Zara sweater and her H&M puffer vest. She definitely was dressed to ride, unlike the poor dude who showed up in his sneakers (which were also completely trashed by the end of the day).

That’s about it, y’all! This post is 23 minutes late, so I’ll leave you with a few pictures of us actually riding and wish you a goodnight!

Hey girl. Check out our totally fantastic matching 100% Supima cotton tees in Muted Black from Everlane! They’re quite dreamy. M got the men’s V and I got the women’s. We have them in white as well, and we love them so much I’m tempted to pick up a pair in Muted Grey, too.

Are you scratching your head and wondering what the hell this Everlane business is all about? Basically, their goal is to bypass “all the middlemen to create beautiful designer goods, always under $100″ and they pledge to do so entirely online with monthly campaigns. This month happens to be t-shirts – the kind that easily go for $50 apiece at boutiques – perfectly soft, perfectly cut and perfectly affordable at $15 each. December’s theme is Bows + Ties! So excited!

Get into it now, y’all – here’s a link to sign up!

The bottle of champagne, Manchego cheese and Marcona almonds we picked up yesterday sure came handy today, since we woke up sore as hell from the riding lesson and didn’t want to do much but lick our wounds. (Heaven help me, I have two more this week!) A Sunday trifecta of laziness was obvious: movies, mimosas and manicures.

We watched Fried Green Tomatoes, I painted my nails a beautiful, creamy olive green (Zoya’s Shawn), and of course, there were mimosas. Hooray!

Hope y’all had a real nice weekend, too!

XOXO,

FFAF

Howdy! Remember when we went to the rodeo, and there was a real rodeo queen and everything? That fancy lady up there was the 2010 Grand National Rodeo Queen, and she was very, very sparkly. This photo doesn’t do her one bit of justice, but you get the idea. (You’ll have to forgive the somewhat sad quality of these pictures because the lighting at the Cow Palace is atrocious.)

This sweet pup was hanging out where all the horses are kept. Lest you think she’s all beauty and no brains, she was a clever girl named Allie who even knew how to sit and wave hello (or goodbye). Her coat was so gorgeous, she looked like the best possible ice cream – rich vanilla bean with peanut butter and chocolate!

The popular Clydesdale horses, getting the final touches on their grooming done before the start of the rodeo. They’re enormous draught horses with origins in Scotland, and their hairy feet are one of their best known features. Very pretty, sturdy beasts!

I must have stopped to say hello to nearly every horse in those stables. This one was friendly and very silly, and tried to stick his whole head through the bars to be petted. Both M & the petite are a bit weary of horses in general, and only M reluctantly reached out to pat one on its velvety soft nose! (After the two-hour lesson we have together this weekend on the beach in Half Moon Bay, I’m sure that’ll change.)

Someone had just left this little go-cart lookin’ thing all alone and my legs were tired, so I just sat down for a minute. (JK, I have a habit of clambering all over things that don’t belong to me.) You might remember this dress from the skateboard post, but this time I paired it with slouchy suede boots and a denim jacket. I added the big goldenrod flower from Ruche just for fun.

Let’s get started with the show!

In the future, I’m totally a mountie. They were handing out sticker badges for the kids and you know I grabbed a few.

I missed what this sweet old lady was all about, but she sure carried that big old American flag around the arena like a champ!

Clydesdale horses in action, carrying that big red wagon around. So cool!

The lady with the white sash is the new Rodeo Queen! The one in the black vest is the one in the very first picture here, and she helped get the new queen all sorted out. It takes a village, apparently! They both proceeded to keep things in check in the arena throughout the entire night’s events, chasing out the cheeky calves or stubborn steers who needed a little bossin’ toward the exit after each event.

I tried so hard to get action shots of the bucking broncs, the bull riding, barrel racing, and especially the cowboy mounted shooting (one of the only events where men and women compete against one another!), to no avail. But it was a really perfect night, it being M and the petite’s first time at the rodeo, and they both enjoyed themselves a great deal.

Plus, M turned me on to bull riding when we met, so it was neat to see her watch it live and up close for the first time! We even found tasty cocktails at a random little Duck Hunt-lookin’ bar.

Yee-haw!