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Welcome to Sunday afternoon on our little balcony! It’s wee – just 6′x10′ or so – but plenty big for a cozy bistro table set and a few big potted plants. Perhaps a bird-feeder or two. It is currently quite flooded on account of the passing storms this weekend, but I can’t wait until it’s all ready for morning coffee or early evening cocktails as the sun sets.

Confession: It almost makes me wish I still smoked those devil Blacks, but not quite. A good balcony always does that to me. I have no idea why.

I love this bag. It’s another Freebird by The Sak. It’s got mesh like my mini crossbody, but I adore the dark, tawny shade and texture of this one. Even the mesh is the color of aged, dirty pennies (though it’s hard to tell from the photos).

I’m still loving my new necklace from Banana Republic – I’ve worn it four days in a row, in totally different ways. This outfit, however, is my neutral, friendly, we’re-hosting-a-birthday-party-for-thirteen-year-olds outfit. Especially since we were meeting all of the parents for the first time, and I didn’t want to scare anyone off with one of my ultra-femme getups.

There’s technically still a lot of giggling floating up from the party downstairs, but M & I are staying out of their hair since the party has died down and we want to let the girls do their own thing. We made pizzas, held a gingerbread man decorating contest and gave out awesome prizes, played a few rounds of Scene-It: The Twilight Edition, and had a Bring It On marathon.

We’re getting ready for the holidays and for M’s mama – she’s flying up this week and we can’t wait for her week-long stay here with us! Plus, she’ll get to meet my family and that’s exciting, too. We’re still hunting down those last few perfect Christmas gifts, but I think after a few more presents are wrapped and a few batches of shortbread are baked, it’ll be some kind of wonderful! I am looking forward to taking some time off and being home with my girls.

Why, then it’ll be New Years Eve, and we’ve still no clue what’s in store for us. We had a small soiree last year and wish that someone we knew was throwing an amazing house party to greet 2011. On the other hand, maybe we can ring it in someplace plush, coastal and remote, just the two of us.

What are y’all doing to ring in the New Year? Do you have a favorite New Year’s memory?

Leggings: Romeo & Juliet Couture
Tunic: Kensie
Cardigan: Kersh Essentials
Bag: Freebird by The Sak
Necklace: Banana Republic
Earrings: El Mexico
Shoes: VANELi

Here’s a gratuitous loverbird shot of M & I on our couch, enjoying our toasty fire! (In which M shows off her fingerless gloves from H&M and the big new butch boots from Lounge by Mark Nason. The living room and study show off fresh tulips, the prettiest birdie coasters – courtesy of my very thoughtful BFF, and my little ponies.)

There is only one day left in this year’s femme conference and I can scarcely believe it.

I am exhausted, I am inspired, I am giddy with all of the magical, wondrous, truly life-changing things that can and have occurred when you get a bunch of femmes together to do thangs. It’s as humbling as it is empowering, and I almost feel outside of my own involvement and contributions in helping to make it happen by being a committee member and presenter, as well as an enthusiastic participant. It’s surreal! Of course, I can’t say that every single moment of every day thus far has spoken to me or been poignant for me, but nobody promised me it would, and the bottom line is that the benefits have easily outweighed any of that.

I shan’t say anymore! The fine folks at Autostraddle have asked me to do a little FemmeCon recap and I need to cull my resources and reflections for that guest post. I will say that I wore this pretty little outfit today, and it was a smash. The ladies practically needed fainting couches when I told them it was a find at Buffalo Exchange on Valencia, and the dress itself is from a little Australian designer called Runaway Pony.

For those who are curious, my TechFemme workshop yesterday morning went very smoothly. There was a very special attendee present: keynote speaker, author and bona fide femme Jesus (and freshly crowned Miss Femme America) Kate Bornstein.

Y’all should follow the official Femme2010: No Restrictions hashtag on Twitter, if you want to. It’s #femme2010 and it’s pretty damn inspiring on its own.

I think over the past 72 hours I’ve only seen my girls for maybe 5-6 of those, and that’s been surprisingly hard on me! As a result, I decided to sit out tonight’s amazing Glitterati and Hella Gay events, since I went to Femmes On Fire and Friday Night Lights last night and there’s an incredible femme short film festival bright and early tomorrow morning that I cannot bear to miss. Chances are high I’ll regret this, but cuddling on the handsome one and telling the petite all about the conference has been really, really perfect.

Dress: Runaway Pony
Belt, Clutch: Vintage
Earrings: El Mexico
Boots: Rock n’ Rose
Watch: Guess

Here are just a few of the incredible individuals I’ve had the pleasure of meeting at the conference over the past few days. Really wonderful folks, all of them. I’m a lucky femme!

When: Thanksgiving Day, 2008.

Femme What: Sweater dress by Dolce, green belted trench by Do & Be, brown chevron tights from Old Navy. Skinny brown belt by Elie Tahari, olive green knit socks by some fancy Italians (I can’t remember the brand, sob) and Donald J. Pliner boots. For the trek to the actual river, I wore my awesome “hiking” boots from El Mexico. They are the only boots, aside from my Noconas, that haven’t got a 4″ min. heel!

Femme Scent: Serge Lutens Chêne, of course.

Femme Confession: I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend. My top three thanks, for the record: My precious girls. My resilient health, while it lasts. The dearest, most clever, loyal and affectionate friends a girl could wish for.

Tomboy What: Awesome bear sweater from Express, shirt from Banana Republic (with vintage fleur-de-lys cuff links – a bit much, I KNOW), brown label jeans from Lounge, and brown boots from Harley-Davidson.

Tomboy Confession: I started the day with a completely different outfit: black slacks, a black blazer and the same green shirt (silver and black griffin cuff links from Ben Sherman instead of gold fleur-de-lys ones) and black boots. I only changed because my black boots are too faggy, they provide absolutely no traction! Since the trek down to the river is the absolute highlight of my dogs’ lives, I changed into something more “outdoorsy.”

Second Tomboy Confession: I ate about 100 grapes from the vines to and from the river!