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CONFESSION: Yesterday was the St. George Spirits (makers of the delicious Hangar One infused vodkas) Open House Holiday Party in Alameda, CA. The theme was Cheesy Prom and folks were out in all their awesome 80s glory. Since I was there working and wasn’t sure about how dressed up folks would get, I played it safe with this outfit, since it felt like a nice, balanced Pretty In Punk sort of getup, especially with the cheeky animal print tights. The Building A Mystery dress is from modcloth.com, as well as the super fierce Full Throttle heels.

Not so safe was the decision to wear these shoes out for the first time to an event where I knew I’d be on my feet for six hours straight, but surprisingly I had no discomfort with them at all! Phew. It was a perfect choice, and I can’t even begin to describe how gorgeous the old hangar is. All of the beautiful machinery and stacks and stacks of crates of alcohol, with an incredible view of the SF Bay and the city itself, plus all that wonderful natural light coming in through rows and rows of windows all around.

The main cocktail tastings were all named after classic 80s movies – Some Kind Of Wonderful, Pretty In Pink, Risky Business – and the plethora of appetizers being served were amazing, especially the Mexican nibbles from El Huarache Loco, chocolates from Rechiutti Confections and last but not least, the single malt sweet potato pies, which M merrily ate for breakfast this morning. (We slept in until 1PM and watched Breakfast At Tiffany’s over coffee and leftover nibbles from the party, having induced the most crippling food coma ever after an incredibly filling dinner at Emmy’s Spaghetti Shack in Bernal Heights.)

Thank heavens we only have a 2-day week this week! Hope y’all had lovely weekends. XOXO!

CONFESSION: Today was a day for the bank. I attended a private tasting of Dalmore’s 12, 15, Gran Reserva and King Alexander III single malt scotch whiskys, plus a very special bonus tasting, at the methodically handsome Laszlo in the Mission. The dear Scottish man who led the tasting said that I reminded him of a lovely, elegant Lowlands single malt scotch whisky, when he wasn’t spitting onto the floor at any mention of the French. (You can eventually read more about all that here, at my “other” blog. I don’t want to spoil it.) They were kind enough to let me pop upstairs before and after the tasting to take some super awesome FFAF photos, hurrah. Just a moment ago the UPS guy arrived with a very important package, and I was so excited that M said I made a big old ruckus of “kitten noises,” whatever those are. It contained a new dress (not-so-LBD) and super badass new shoes. I can’t wait to show y’all! M is well enough to drink a bottle of cava with me (finally!) and lasagna is baking in the oven with some fluffy garlic bread in hot pursuit. DREAMY.

SCENT: Tom Ford’s Black Orchid. I must confess something. I broke up with Tom awhile ago, but after reading about his directorial debut starring Colin Firth (and Julianne Moore) in A Single Man, I’ve realized something very, very important: My love for Colin is greater than my hate for Tom. Does that make sense? Of course it does. (He’s Mark-bloody-Darcy, after all.) I digress. Black Orchid is a hot, heady, stunning mess. The jury is out on whether or not that’s a good or bad thing. The opening is almost like scorched black licorice drizzled over jasmine and sundry florals, like in Absinthe or Drambuie. It does kind of smolder, all bared teeth, glossed lips and super dangerous bedroom eyes. This smells like the kind of woman you should stay away from – you know better, of course – but you can’t help yourself. I’m going to have to come back to this, because it’s too complex!

Here are some notes, FYI: Black Truffle, Ylang, Bergamot, Black Currant. Then the black orchid, dark florals, rich fruit, Lotus Wood. At last, there’s Patchouli, Incense, Vetiver and Vanilla Tears, Balsam and Sandalwood.

Watch this and tell me you don’t find it completely gorgeous. Seriously.

And since it was one of the most beautiful stills:

CONFESSION: We spent our Sunday yesterday at the first ever Eat Real Festival in Oakland’s Jack London Square, just a few blocks from where we lived a few months ago! It had me all wistful about the years I’ve spent living there, with and without my tomboy – so much happens over the course of an entire decade, and Oakland (as well as the many incredible folks who have lived or live there still) helped shape who I am today. Stay tuned for an upcoming blog post with my brand new Oaklandish t-shirt! You can read more about why the event was so totally fucking amazing here, where I blog for Drink Me Magazine.

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