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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!

I AM SO EXCITED. Why am I so excited? The delightfully lovely new posters / flyers for August’s Femme 2010: No Restrictions in Oakland have arrived and they are made of awesome. Of course they are, because they were designed by the talented Cristy Road. Curious about this magical sounding femme conference? Click on the image below to go straight to the Femme Collective website to learn more. I want to see as many of your amazing faces there as I can. You wouldn’t want to miss my special workshop, would you? That’s right, yours truly is presenting a workshop called TechFemme.

Without further ado, here’s your first look! Soak in the PRETTY.

God, I love these Levi’s. They’re as soft as a baby’s downy little cheek and quite flattering and they are so very comfortable. You’ll hate me less for saying that all matter-of-factly when I tell you that I got them at Costco for approximately $17.  All I need is a freaking pony. OK, and these boots:

Much better. I feel strongly that you’re not taking me seriously as a moody cowgirl. I’ll show you!

I’ve been informed by a dear, chic of mine that I absolutely cannot permit one more ray of sunshine to permeate my wardrobe without first securing a classic blue chambray shirt. The hunt has begun, my friends. Since Laia (also: buy her stuff!) immediately agreed and said she’s in need of one, too, I decided to see what y’all thought.

Clockwise from top left:

Juicy Couture Chambray Shrunken Western Shirt, $138
Rachel Comey “Agronomist” Chambray Dress, $260
Tory Burch Chambray Blouse, $210
J. Crew Japanese Selvedge Chambray Shirt, $78
Lauren by Ralph Lauren Nadelle Chambray Shirt, $48.65

Yeah, I know one of those is a dress and doesn’t count, but I got distracted and I’m a sucker for a playful twist on a keyhole back. For me, the clear winner is J. Crew, which shocks me. It just looks all kinds of soft and dreamy, and the perfect balance of structure and slouchy. Effortless! What’s your favorite – or better yet, have you got any links or pics to share of your own?!

We arrived by scooter – M drove! – to the southern tip of the island, where you’ll find El Garrafón – a national park, panoramic watchtower, sculpture gardens – as well as a small Mayan temple to Ixchel, the goddess of fertility and Cliff of the Dawn, which is the southeasternmost point of Mexico. If you’re there to watch the sun rise, you can say you were the very first person in Mexico to be kissed by the sun that day! The views, quite clearly, were stunning.

This was our first day, as evidenced by my relatively pasty gams. The wind did insane things to my hair. The sun did hurtful things to my poor arms, but every minute was worth it. The sculptures and statues were really incredible. I love these sandals.

STUD ALERT! STUD ALERT! STUD ALERT! Witness the tomboy, nestled so lovingly in the bosom of her motherland. (Ah, Mexico, land of lawlessness and splendor. You’re so damn pretty. Your babies are pretty. I’m so glad I married into you, Mexico.) M kept up with me in terms of wiliness that day, hopping down into restricted areas, leaning rebelliously against rickety railings perched on sea cliffs, climbing into the little crevices and caves, and peering into mysterious wells of water or curious nooks and crannies.

When I stood here gazing upon the sea, I had no idea that I – four days later – would be ziplining from an identical structure in a bikini, over the crystal blue waters in the hot, hot sun! (Twice!) When we paused in our adventures for some lunch, we ordered these margaritas, which were way bigger than our actual heads. I climbed into this super weird, sandy, vertical crater in the side of Cliff of the Dawn, and pretended I was on a moon. A hot, beachy moon.

I don’t believe the above needs a caption at all, but SCOOTERS! Rest assured that when we get one, our helmets will be much sexier than this. This next one is just for fun:

Greetings from San Francisco! It’s Friday! The weather’s lovely! What have you got planned? M’s arranged an afternoon soiree for birthday cocktails tomorrow, but we’ve got to be up extra early for a petite school competition, so no Flourish for us tonight, sadly. It looks likely that we’ll be laying low on Sunday (especially since kick-started the weekend early last night at Glam).

Femme2010: No Restrictions Update!

I’m super happy to report that the programming committee for August’s femme conference in Oakland has received so many amazing submissions, and we’re poring through them all diligently. It’s really exciting and if you haven’t done so yet, absolutely mark your calendars (or just take the plunge and REGISTER NOW for the early bird price of just $50) for what is sure to be one of the most amazing FemmeCons yet! While you’re at it, look them up on Facebook, too.

Last but not least, of course:

Yes, such a thing exists.
Yes, it is amazeballs.
Yes, we need your submissions ASAP!

This is my first year on the Planning Committee for Femme Collective’s Annual Femme Conference, Femme2010: No Restrictions – it’ll also be my first year attending. (I know, what took me so long?!) I couldn’t be more excited about it and from the look of submissions so far, it’s going to be incredible. From DJ workshops to roundtable discussions on body image, femmes aging gracefully to femmes starting up their own businesses, fashion, parenting, activism, self-defense and more, we’re building a space that embraces, celebrates and empowers femmes from all walks of life. Not only would I like to invite y’all to be there this August, I’d like to challenge you to be a part of the very fabric of this ultrafemme weekend.

If you’re femme and you have skills, big ideas, hot topics, talent or special knowledge, we need you! The deadline for submissions is April 15, so get on it – I know a ton of you out there who are too awesome not to get involved! We’re looking for workshops, panel presentations, performances, research presentations, skill shares, activist & organizational topics, visual art, video or film – and more. DO IT.

I’m pushing for a workshop on femme bloggers and femmes in social media, so I really hope to see some of you there! Here’s the skinny from the website:

Femme2010: No Restrictions
Oakland Marriott City Center
1001 Broadway
Oakland, California 94607
August 20th – 22nd, 2010
www.femmecollective.com

Femme2010: No Restrictions is a multi-threaded conference and forum for those who think about, talk about, and create Femme as a queer gender and identity.

Following our Femme2006 & 2008 conferences in San Francisco & Chicago, where hundreds of femmes and allies gathered for workshops, panels, films, visual art galleries and performances, we again invite community members, artists, academics, homemakers, geeks, techies, activists, femmes of all kinds, and their allies to continue the conversation by participating in Femme 2010 as presenters and participants.

We are invested in having Femme2010 continue to reflect the diversity and complexity of femme gender, identity and contributions. We hope for this conference to be a community building event, as well as an exploration and celebration of what it means to build and live queer femme identities.

Submissions of all kinds are welcome, particularly submissions by femmes. We encourage proposals by and for people of color, working-class people, fat folks, elders, youth and people with disabilities. We encourage submissions that work outside and alongside identity and gender, as well as those reflecting directly upon identity and gender. Femme2010 will continue the community dialogue from Femme2006 & 08. In particular, we hope that the intersections of femme with race, region, class, access, ability, privilege, and marginalization will be talked about, given space, meditated upon, constructed, and deconstructed. Finally, we also encourage submissions based on this year’s theme: No Restrictions.

We began this conference in 2006 out of a desire to see femme explored and discussed from a variety of perspectives. We wanted a conference that held the complexities of Queer Femme as its central focus, while building community. We feel we accomplished that in 2006 & 2008 and in 2010, we want to continue to build femme community and bridges, supporting each other across borders and differences.

We hope to draw participants from across disciplinary, medium, and social boundaries. We encourage submissions from anyone interested, regardless of gender or sexual identity. We do ask that you read our mission statement before submitting.

We are soliciting contributions from anyone interested, including (but not limited to):

> workshops
> panel presentations
> performances
> research presentations
> skill shares
> activist & organizational topics
> visual art
> video or film

Submission deadline is April 15, 2010. Please submit your proposal through the following links, located at www.femmecollective.com:

Program Submission click here

Performance Submission click here

Film Submission click here

**Please note that the more information we have on your submission, the more likely we will be able to accept your submission and include it in the conference schedule.***

To learn more about us, our mission and to contact us with any questions, comments or concerns, please find us at our website: http://www.femmecollective.com

HELLO, KITTENS!

How the hell are you? It’s been a week! A whole week!

Before anything else: Thank you for voting for Fit For A Femme, even if we didn’t win a Lezzy Award this year, we stood up there with the big dogs and it was totally awesomesauce, and I lovelovelove y’all for voting day in and day out with all your might.

So, I got this mini whilst thrifting for, like, $2, NWT. It makes for a great casual, relaxed look, but where the hell does The Gap get off charging $50 for a tiny denim miniskirt? Not that it isn’t great. It is. It’s just that I wouldn’t dream of wearing this without leggings on underneath. It’s SCANDALOUSLY short. And tiny. And not worth that crazy sticker price, which makes finding it for next to nothing that much sweeter. I went BANANAS thrifting last week. It was a month-end clearance sale, and I got 15 super awesome pieces – from a beautiful azure blue sunhat with the most dramatic brim to an armful of calico sundresses for Spring to a soft chestnut brown shrunken velvet blazer (it screams equestrian) – for just under $35 and in less than 1.25 hours. SCORE. Shopping = femme sports.

What else? Oh, you know, not much. I completed my utterly life-changing self-defense training on Sunday, and new bruises are STILL popping up all over my body. Badges of honor, my instructor calls them. I had the privilege of fighting FIVE fights at my graduation ceremony (with M and the petite there to support and cheer me on), instead of the standard three. DO NOT MESS, Y’ALL.

I was just named a member of the Femme Collective, which is gearing up for Femme2010: No Restrictions this August. Femmes, mark your calendars (and reserve your spot on the infamous Skinny + M sofabed now if you’re an out-of-towner)! Speaking of M, she and I are headed across the Bay Bridge next week for a meeting with other legally wed California couples to discuss next steps as powerful advocates for marriage equality, which I’m really excited about. Writing checks and being visible and all that is well and good, but I never feel like I’m doing enough unless I’m doing.

I will be a busy girl. A busy, happy, girly girl!

Also, we just ordered her a pair of these dapper new shoes: