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CONFESSION: It’s been too long! Two weeks and then some too long, to be specific. You know what happened? The fog rolled in, bringing with it a traditionally chilly SF summer, sending my preexisting  nesting state into a disoriented cocoon of warmth and quiet and respite. (Translation: I wore a lot of jeans and hoodies. I spent a lot of time searching for the perfect down comforter – Calvin Klein, for the record – to stop the chattering of my teeth in bed at night and so that we snuggle each other out of free will like we used to, instead of clinging together desperately just for warmth. I fussed with all of the bottles and things at my new vanity and begged the Gods for motivation to put my curlers in. When no motivation came, I watched Season 2 of Grey’s Anatomy.) I hope y’all forgive me and that we can all just MOVE ON from this terrible, awful stagnation.

So, the vanity! Isn’t it darling? I really am in love it. It brings me tremendous joy and pride to sit on my little padded bench, with everything so easy to get to, and with it so prettily displayed, it’s a highly effective way to stop wanting to buy every last shiny new cosmetic I see out and about. (This principle is the same reason I had the beast and have the new mini-beast for my shoes and bags.) Plus, it’s very fancy. This is a little sneak peek at my side of the bedroom, but M & I are still working on it, so you’ll see more very soon.

I’ll also be sharing the kitchen and dining next, followed by the living and sun rooms. We are so, so close to being done and able to just be in our space and enjoy it without that little nudge to tinker with things until they are just so. It’s so wonderful when life is just so, and I’m closer than ever.

Fill me in on your goings-on in the comments! What have I missed!?

CONFESSION: One of my favorite San Francisco quotes is this one, One day if I do go to heaven I’ll look around and say, ‘It ain’t bad, but it ain’t San Francisco’. Oh, to be here. Quotes about San Francisco are always love letters, lavish or gritty, meandering or ravenous, but that’s one of my favorites. On Saturday night, after a very long day of chauffeuring one of M’s old MIT classmates and his lovely wife around our fair and fickle city for their new home, we discovered we were bring sprinkled upon. It was, well…spittle from the sky, basically, but in July. It brought with it a double rainbow (like the ice cream!) and the sweetest fresh rain smell on our sweet little block, which is greener than most.

I am happy to report that they got the flat they wanted best – they sign the lease tonight and are making a cross-country move from New York City to San Francisco this August. It was actually super fun to check out some of the places we had to pass up that wouldn’t take pets! As a thanks, they took us to dinner at Sinbad’s, an old-fashioned, super romantic seafood restaurant situated right on Pier II, adjacent to The Slanted Door. Watching night tuck the last bit of twilight away was gorgeous, especially with the Bay Bridge looking right over our shoulders. I got lost in wistfulness just looking at it…I knew I’d miss that drive over the water, heading into San Francisco, in some ways just as special as being a part of it.

Also, we bought a very dreamy couch from Pier 1. Praise Dolly.

Here’s another bit about San Francisco-as-heaven, one of the best parts from HBO’s Angels In America (though I’d do very bad things in order to see it onstage, in a heartbeat):

Roy Cohn: [under the impression that Belize is the Angel of Death] Can I ask you something, sir?
Belize: [going along with it] “Sir”?
Roy Cohn: What’s it like? After?
Belize: After…?
Roy Cohn: This misery ends?
Belize: Hell or heaven?
Roy Cohn: …heh…
Belize: Like San Francisco.
Roy Cohn: A city! Good! I was worried… it’d be a garden. I hate that shit.
Belize: Mmmm. Big city. Overgrown with weeds, but flowering weeds. On every corner a wrecking crew and something new and crooked going up catty corner to that. Windows missing in every edifice like broken teeth, gritty wind, and a gray high sky full of ravens.
Roy Cohn: Isaiah.
Belize: Prophet birds, Roy. Piles of trash, but lapidary like rubies and obsidian, and diamond-colored cowspit streamers in the wind. And voting booths. And everyone in Balenciaga gowns with red corsages, and big dance palaces full of music and lights and racial impurity and gender confusion. And all the deities are creole, mulatto, brown as the mouths of rivers. Race, taste and history finally overcome. And you ain’t there.
Roy Cohn: And Heaven?
Belize: That was Heaven, Roy.
Roy Cohn: The fuck it was!

CONFESSION: Oh, oh, oh. Where to begin? We’ve moved, the dust settles slowly but surely, work is thrilling but overwhelming at times, the tomboy is happy, the petite is happy, the pups are happy. I am happy! The sunroom has turned into storage and an awesome little puppy pen but I have designs on it for more. The built-ins hold all of the books (we purged 2/3 of them, after all), so the big handsome black bookcase has become The Beast Redux. We also somehow found me a matching shabby chic dresser and vanity and I’ll post pics once the bedroom no longer looks like perhaps a small Canadian band just moved in or something. We also found the creepiest, most fantastic black birdcage lamp, a mug tree, old-fashioned hand mixer and the best, best, best part about ALL OF IT? Under $80. All of it, y’all, including the dresser and vanity, which are in pristine condition.

There has got to be some way for me to make a living doing this.

In the meantime, M & I are thoroughly enjoying her much shortened commute and talking walks to explore our fantastic neighborhood(s). Just yesterday I bought freshly made ravioli and mushroom marinara from Lucca’s, down the street. We’ve yet to decide which of the 84,000 Mexican markets we like best. We’ve had excellent tapas, pizza, Chinese. There are two places to let the dogs romp around in within walking distance. We’re totally getting fucking mopeds. The birds sing, butterflies literally fly all around me whenever I’m in the park and everywhere I look I’m inspired to grow flowers and things. There are a few other little girls who play out on our block. It’s brilliant, every last bit of it. Life is very good indeed in FFAF-land!

CONFESSION: Although this outfit is from Monday, technically, it’s been a fantastic Wednesday. I had a great meeting this morning, all of my moving errands were a breeze (pleasant, really) – the move, by the by, is on schedule and going well – and there are bottles of cava chilling in the fridge, waiting for my baby to come home from work. By this time next week, she’ll be home a whole hour earlier than usual! This, my friends, is why we’re making the jump across the bay. New Wave City is having Brit Night this Saturday, the weather is still gorgeous and my heart is happy and cheerful and full of gratitude.

Oh, and the new issue of Drink Me is back from the printer and looks super sharp. I’m especially fond of the article all about the original Sazerac and the history bitters and New Orleans! (M & I will be attending Tales of the Cocktail next year, trust. It was just too chaotic for us to accept the invite this year. In fact, all y’all bitches should plan to attend and we can make a reunion of it, of sorts. Yes? Yes. Let’s.)