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Howdy, kittens! This day was strange. It began shrouded in fog and sadly, a local tragedy. When we woke up this morning, we could hear the non-stop fog horns on all the cargo ships out in the bay, coming and going from the Port of Oakland, under the Golden Gate Bridge. We’re pretty far from the water, so it was kind of spooky and magical. M got the alert about the power being down as she dropped me off at the office (wearing a sweater!), and headed back home to wait it out while I worked.

Fast-forward four or so hours. 30 minutes south a town and company on the cusp of their IPO and surely the family of the crash victims began to pick up the pieces. The lethal fog had lifted completely, leaving the sweet, warm sun to shine down on the city. It lapped it up. M picked me up. We lapped it up! She and I decided a day this spectacular didn’t deserve squandering, and so we packed up and headed out into the world for a reading date. Our first thought was Atlas Cafe – they have such a great little back patio. Then, I remembered Pilsner Inn’s lovely little courtyard and we decided reading over beers at 3PM was far superior to reading over iced mochas. Alas, Pilsner Inn had workers toiling away back there, with loud machines and sawdust (and carting in, I think, a Creature from the Black Lagoon arcade game!), so we bid the bartender adieu and made our way down the street.

After snapping a few pics of intriguing local scenery (cherry blossoms, painted deer (above, being air-shot by M), scooters with giant wooden boxes affixed to the rear), I remembered Cafe Flore in the Castro! It was perfect. We quickly took up a carafe of margaritas and a small table. Nouvelle Vague played quietly in the back of my mind. The sky shone blue, blue, blue and it was heavenly.

Two more days until Flourish’s one-year anniversary party! It’s going to be fabulous. We can’t wait.

PS. I know. I pegged my jeans. I couldn’t help it. I felt a gripping need to show some ankle.

C’mon, folks, we’re taking a stroll. This outfit really isn’t anything special, but it’s been awhile since the sun has shone on a wintry Sunday here in San Francisco, so we’re going to wander through the Mission into the Castro for M’s haircut (it’s been about six weeks and she was starting to get all ornery about it), and you can enjoy the sights, sounds and tastes with us along the way.

We found this pink house around the corner from M’s barber shop on Market. It has a fantastic little mail slot for the post, above.

Unionmade is an incredible, incredible men’s store on Sanchez. I’ve been wanting to wander in for some time now, and I’m so glad we finally did. The boys at the counter were good-natured and adorable about M & I threatening to move in, joking that it was open concept and cheaper than our current flat. Everything they carry is gorgeous, from the heaviest, highest quality wool sweaters, handmade and signed for in Denmark, to tees so soft and wafer-thin they catch your breath, and lots and lots of leather goods and manly, officious nautical instruments and things to admire. See M peeking through their store window down there?

To the right of the store, the Victorian that M would like us to move into. Below left, the J heading out of Dolores Park, where hipsters were out in full effect, crawling out of their tobacco- and PBR-stained ratholes to undulate feverishly in the light of day, neon sunglasses at the ready. Sigh. Fortunately, the line at Bi-Rite Creamery wasn’t too bad (and I got to pop into Joy O Designs next door and drool at all the jewelry and clutches) and M & I both got single scoops with two flavors each: vanilla malt with peanut brittle and chocolate bits, roasted banana, honey lavender and mint chip. Everything was good except the honey lavender, which tasted like “eating a stick of laundry detergent” according to M, but Humphry’s still beats out Bi-Rite and Mitchell’s, we’ve decided. IT IS WHAT IT IS, KIDS. Deal with it. I will say that my ice cream cone lasted me from 18th & Dolores all the way to Paxton Gate, which is fairly impressive.

Clockwise from top left:

• The Smile, You’re In SF! hidden camera art in an abandoned gas station, with a homeless guy napping in a pile of trash next to it.
• Open House sign for a ridiculously overpriced flat in our neighborhood. See below for up close awesomeness.
• This lady was standing at the corner of 22nd & Valencia holding a sign that said “You Are Perfect” for no apparent reason.
• The Marsh doing some sort of weird taping – “What Is A Wife?” and “Faces, Feelings & Lies”.
• Try French Kiss! Don’t mind if I do! Thanks, bossy street graffiti!
• Bi-Rite’s flavor sign and ice cream tubs. Mm.

We walked over three miles! It was a lovely way to spend an afternoon, after sleeping in and dilly-dallying over coffee and Grey’s Anatomy for the Wii all morning. Tonight, M made her delicious secret recipe burgers and I made my fantastic homemade french fries, and we baked a batch of chocolate thumbprint cookies with a vanilla bean & chocolate ganache. They’re still setting, so the verdict is out still on their deliciousness!

Hope y’all had a fantastic weekend and HAPPY FEBRUARY! It’s the month of love, y’all. In eleven days we’ll mark the 5th year of our very first meeting, and February 2006 was the month we became real “girlfriends”, too, if you can believe it. Even if you haven’t got a loverbird, I believe firmly in loving on yourself, so you’d better! XOXO.

PS. If you like my shirt and / or want to see others like it, check out Lola Starr’s online boutique. I bought mine after attending one of her super amazing, outdoor, nighttime, themed roller skating parties on Coney Island in 2008.

PPS. Wanna live here?

HA! HA! HA!

Saturday began innocently enough. We woke up, put a batch of cinnamon rolls into the oven for breakfast, watched a bit of BBC’s Pride & Prejudice and set out for the East Bay to find M some skater shoes. While I found an excellent new jacket and an adorable ski cap with hearts on it, M ran into one dead end after another with the shoes. To add insult to injury, Buffalo Exchange sent her into a homo panic and some persnickety baby dyke with no manners and a lot of attitude looked me up and down obscenely (and repeatedly) enough to solicit M’s wrath. It wasn’t pretty, but no blows were exchanged. Having had it with Oakland, we returned to SF and freshened up for our date.

Contigo Kitchen + Cava, a cozy tapas restaurant in Noe Valley with a strangely appealing lime green and firewood motif, didn’t open until 5:30PM, so we popped into a few shops and grabbed a warm-up round of pleasant enough cocktails at Bliss bar. DINNER WAS AMAZING. We had the pork belly, lamb shoulder and patatas bravas, and M & I both tried hazelnuts for the first time. They were delicious, as well as the cheese plate and prosciutto (the sheep’s milk was my favorite). It began to rain and as we wrapped up dinner, a few friends invited us out for drinks at a lesbian party at a gay club in the Castro. Much debauchery ensued, and I almost immediately stripped off the cardigan, leggings and coat when we walked in, it was that hot.

Strangely, we seemed to know everyone there. It was like one big, unending jovial reunion of sorts, and boozy texts to have even more friends join us were successful, making everything that much more epic. We woke up in relatively little pain this morning, but were USELESS in our attempt to gather coffee and other supplies, and yet managed to procure M some skater shoes. FINALLY. They are Vox (and from an awesome skate shop called Cruz on Mission) and she is pleased, so I am pleased. As promised, after lunch (desert fries, yum) she took me to see Nine at the Castro Theater. Neither of us had ever been there before, so it was extra-dreamy and romantical. (I wish I could say the same for the movie!)

The storms kept us from a spontaneous trip to the snow, but hopefully y’all have had equally exciting holiday weekends. One more day to go! Whee!

CONFESSION I: Let’s start with this bit for a change! For weeks, I’ve been threatening to make some homemade simple syrup in delicious flavors using fresh produce. On Monday night, M & I took one of our lovely, meandering evening walks into the Mission to Mission Pie and a Mexican market and bakery for some goodies. We got peaches, nectarines, plums, strawberries, mangoes, oranges, lemons and limes. Because I found a set of three of these darling baby pitchers at the Community Thrift Store, I decided on the following three types of simple syrup: Peach, Strawberry and Citrus (made from the zest of lemons, oranges and limes). So far, I’ve just tackled the peach, but it’s delicious! We had sparkling strawberry lemonade cocktails last night, so I’ll do strawberry next, then citrus! It’s very exciting.

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When: Saturday, Jan. 10th, 2009.

What: Silk blouse by Chelsea Flowers, James Jeans Dry Aged Denim. Wool beret from H&M, black patent pumps by MaxStudio, metallic leather bag by Dolce Vita.

Confession: M & I had another San Francisco date today. It was superfun, and we went to Baghdad Cafe for brunch, which is where our first ‘real’ date was (see, we made out the night we met at a lesbian club called Hot Pants, and then I was super wily for a few weeks, and then she finally caught me and we had a date…and then happily ever after, la la la). We want to buy the handsome house in the alley this photo was taken in – exactly between the Mission and Castro off 16th.

The gays at Mr. S fawned all over my beret and the one guy made humping sex moves when explaining to us that the leather can gradually stretch over time and with normal use, so to make sure we come back if any adjustments need to be made, and by the way, “Nice heels!” AWESOME. Below are some photos from this awesome Cajun gingerbread restaurant in Oakland. My parents used to come here on special occasions ALL THE TIME when I was very, very wee, and it closed kind of abruptly last year, before M & I had the chance to try it. Sad. Still, I’m glad we got some photos before we move and it gets torn down and everyone forgets all about it, boo hoo hoo.

Also, here are my foul split ends and a photo of just how spectacularly pretty it was today:

When: Friday, Nov. 7th, 2008.

What: Skinny jeans from Zara, striped sweater by Split. Suede and patent boots by Restricted @ piperlime.com.

Confession: You would think this outfit wouldn’t be too bad for a Friday night protest, right? It’s relaxed, comfortable, but still stylish. Well, guess what? These are not 3.5″ heels, as noted on the website. These are 3.5″ heels on top of a covered 1″ platform, which means that I walked my happy ass up and down THREE WHOLE MILES of hilly San Francisco terrain in 4.5″ heels. Holy Jesus Christ. I got so hot, and the cotton/acrylic blend of this sweater did me no favors. I SWEATED THE INK OFF MY FUCKING BART TICKET, Y’ALL. (This is me afterward, by the way…well, a few blotting sheets later.)

Anyway, it was worth it. Nothing could dampen the sight of thousands of people streaming down the streets of the Castro, united in the fight for equality. Friends, lovers and families like ours. It felt so good to be there and part of an effort to not back down, not be silenced or defeated. It brought tears to my eyes and was exactly what I needed to shake off the depression I’ve been in since Tuesday night.

So, the other part of this confession is that when I ordered these boots, I consulted with M first, same as she consults with me before ordering new shoes. I wanted flat boots, ones in gray or dark red or blue to tuck my skinny cords into and stomp around in. But she kept vetoing all of them, freaking out at the “skin-like folds” or calling pair after pair of sexy, gorgeous riding boots “ugly,” insisting that they looked like galoshes. Finally, I found these ones, which to me felt like cheeky Little Lord Faunterloy-inspired boots, so I showed M and she loved them.

It wasn’t until I put them on after they’d arrived that I realized she totally tricked me! They weren’t flat at all! Drats! I still like them a whole bunch, though, and I’m glad they survived 3 miles of marching and a muddy Dolores Park.

PS. MAD PROPS TO BANGIEB, who logged into FB as me via cell to mobilize SF “Jezebels” since I was sitting in traffic and unable to do so myself. Thanks, B! We love you and you were right there with us tonight. We talked about you at least 84,000 times, and said “vulgar” and “I really just don’t know why ___” lots, too.

(Okay, so maybe that the gayest obscure Cure reference ever made in the history of life, but read on. Please.)

Here’s the thing, kittens. There will always be those who see life and those living it in a more black & white fashion, and then there are those who innately grasp at the grays and gradations. That’s important to remember before walking across the plains of anyone’s identity – we never know where potential landmines are buried until, well, until we know.

And, really, let’s face it – it’s not worth running your Yves Saint Laurent Volume Effet Faux Cils over, you know? So, please donate to the fight against Prop. 8 right now. Seriously. Your friends and lovers out here in California are fucking DAYS away from being stripped of their rights by a bunch of ignorant, fear-mongering bigots with deep pockets. Those fuckers just raised $3M. It’s insane.

DO NOT WANT.

HRC and EQCA and everybody else (the good guys) are trying to raise $3M to counter it by Friday night. Peep the Ugly Betty cast ad against Prop 8, then share it like crazy with everyone you know:

The Harvey Milk movie (starring Sean Penn) premiered in SF’s Castro last night (dude hotties abound in these pics, so have at it, all you peen-loving ladies).

Some POS motherfucker beat a gay with his YES ON PROP 8 sign whilst spitting out homophobic slurs in Torrance, CA.

Senator Dianne Feinstein has put out an ad urging Californians to vote No on Prop. 8, too:

Of course, the folks behind Prop. 8 are exploiting children to back their vile, hateful arguments. You may or may not have heard that some adorable (and deliriously happy) SF schoolchildren went on a field trip to see their lesbian teacher get married at City Hall in SF not long ago. Not only did Prop. 8 supporters stoop to terrible lows by attacking this otherwise wonderful and memorable learning experience to garner support, they went even lower by using video of the kids in their ads.

From the article:

In their letter to the Prop 8 campaign, the parents wrote: “We are absolutely outraged that you have chosen, without permission, to shamelessly hijack the images of our innocent children to promote a cause that we in no way, shape or form support. It is even more maddening that you have willfully and calculatingly edited the images of our children, with menacing music in the background, in a way that is completely contrary to their nature and harmful to them.”

Here’s a video about that (not the one w/ kids, I am NOT re-posting that awful shit):

Y’all? I am seriously, seriously, seriously freaking out and getting more tense and anxious with each passing day. I keep donating money I can’t really afford to donate to fight this shit. I have the feeling I will be spending lots of time at the field office downtown phone banking and stuff this weekend.

IF YOU LIVE IN CALIFORNIA, PLS. MAKE TIME TO VOLUNTEER AT A FIELD OFFICE NEAR YOU.

IF YOU CANNOT DONATE, AT LEAST CONSIDER SPREADING THE WORD.

Here is the list and contact info – if you don’t see anything near you or are having trouble, let me know and I’ll try and put you in touch with someone: