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It’s been a lovely, sunny 55 degrees or thereabouts here in San Francisco lately. While not quite as warm as, say, Puerto Rico (82-85, according to the awesome Geometric Sleep), it’s definitely warmer than Atlanta and certainly New York, so I shan’t complain at all. The light was so lovely that we decided to go shoot outside, even though this is really just a mostly plain and relaxed outfit (and so sorely needed after Saturday night’s shenanigans). The silver sequins strewn in heart form across loose-fitting, skin-tone silk is really the icing on the cake.

We weren’t the only ones out yesterday afternoon! Meet “Scab”, one of our neighborhood cats. He’s a surly-looking guy who likes to watch M out in the garden or hang out under cars, bossing Boots around. I scorned him thoroughly until a few days ago, when we realized he hasn’t got any tags and responded so enthusiastically to a little bit of attention, so I watered and fed him. Now we’re old pals!

Last but not least, M made an amazing panini from scratch yesterday.

Come back tomorrow, for I have a very pressing femme question to answer from a dear reader! XOXO!

CONFESSION: So much! (Such words.) The new hair! The new boots! The never-seen-before couch that so many beloved friends have slept upon! The under-appreciated brown suede tote bag from a Banana Republic sale years and years ago, and still it serves me well! Come in, sit down, have a drink. I’ve got so much news.

First things first, the holiday party I threw last night for work went swimmingly. (If you’re ever in town and want to grab a cocktail at a bar that perfectly melds art with liquor, please visit Madrone. Don’t forget to call me so that I can join you!)

On a whim, I popped into Buffalo Exchange and found not just one but two pairs of fantastical brown boots – a dark chocolate pair of riding boots ($16) in lovingly worn leather and these nutmeg suede, pointy-toed wonders. Love. I still have the gorgeous, supple, high-heeled Donald J. Pliners, but these are great for day-to-day traipsing around.

I wore them tonight to a very special scotch tasting, hosted by Glenrothes at Foreign Cinema (which had even MORE great art). It was great! In addition to the awesomely themed Blood & Sand cocktail, they had tastings of the 1991, 1985, 1975 and Special Reserve, and after a few brief and entertaining speeches and a few rounds of hip-hip-hooray, they cracked open an exceptional bottle of 1979 Single Cask (No. 3808, I think, but I could be wrong) and it was well worth the wait. M said she wouldn’t pay $1,000 (the asking price for one of the remaining 13 bottles left in the world – we drank the 14th tonight!), but could see how one very expensive bottle would last one a very long time. My search for the perfect Lowlands scotch marches on with just 29 days left in the year…

After saying goodbye to some fresh new friends, we popped into the adjacent Laszslo for a round of cocktails (M with her Bulleit on the rocks and me with my favorite, Grey Gardens), and I was suddenly STARVING despite an early dinner, so we popped into a taqueria on the way home for some much-needed Mexican fare.

By far the most incredible news of all is that I will be participating in the Impact Self-Defense Basics Course for Women this weekend. My friend is assisting the instructor and I couldn’t be more thrilled to finally, finally be taking this. (I believe an old therapist of mine suggested it way back in 2000-2001, I think, so it’s been a very long time coming.) Of course, y’all won’t judge me if my first thought upon confirmation was, “ZOMG, must go out and get new workout outfits ASAP!” It’s the one weak point in my entire wardrobe! So much to do before classes begin on Friday!

Hope y’all are surviving this freakishly long week after the long holiday weekend! XO!

Here are some pics from earlier tonight – look at that moon…

PS. Also?! THE CURE TRIBUTE AT NEW WAVE CITY THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! Most excellent. I can’t wait.

CONFESSION: I know the rainbow heart print is a bit twee, but the button-up backline sold me on this dress. It’s a fairly well-made H&M number that I scored at a local thrift store for $5. It’s sweet and comfortable, and I love that it can be belted or not, paired with sky high heels and a skinny, studded, layered belt to punk it up a bit. Or not. (In fact, I’ve got a pair of killer moto-chic heels headed my way that I can’t wait to pair with this dress.)

SCENT: ARE WE READY FOR THE LAST OF THE LAST? I can’t say how pleased I am to be done with this sad, trashy collection of Victoria’s Secret fragrances, I honestly can’t. A friend of mine tweeted today about the arduous task of finishing a book she disliked. She started reading it in March. I think she read a bit of it each day. That’s torture. It’s exactly how I feel about this little scent experiment. Thank heavens it’s over with and I can now return to reviewing sniffs worth their salt.

Victoria’s Secret Very Sexy: I spritzed a bit on, turned to M and said, “Sweet, sharp floral…” and she added “…with citrus!” and sure enough, it’s described as a “sultry blend of sensual vanilla orchid, sparkling clementine and juicy blackberry.” It still smells like shitty potpourri and continues to on the drydown. I fail to comprehend why all of their scents are pitched as hyper sexy, alluring, come-fuck-me irresistible when they couldn’t be further from it. It’s so bad I can scarcely take satisfaction in the fact that I was right – and I love being right – the quality and caliber of their fragrances parallel the quality and caliber of their lingerie. I was open to being proven wrong or humbled, alas.

In summary, it’s all very black and white, kids. Like so:

PS. ZOMG, someone hold me back before I ruin everything I’ve been working toward and DYE MY HAIR these 84,000 colors:

CONFESSION: Gah! Too busy, kittens, for a proper confession! So much excitement and busyness. Not only does FFAF have an exciting new partnership with a delicious new partner, I am party-planning for work and up to my ears in laundry. The latter is not so exciting, unless you consider that it contains FIVE NEW DRESSES I got earlier this week whilst thrifting, all for between $3-$8 apiece, all fabulous. Two remind me of French 1940s dresses, one is a ruffled black velvet number handmade of AWESOME, the Mad Men-esque sheath dress I keep teasing y’all about and one other that I can’t quite remember…hm. Basically, I’m assuring you that I’ll make up for this wan week very shortly.

Enjoy this entry and my soothing hallway in meantime, and have a fantastic weekend!

PS. Oh, and this song, which I am currently 84,000% obsessed with (as some of you may have noticed):

PPS. I got the name of this subject from a random book title generator, because I couldn’t think of one. Cheeky!

CONFESSION: Hurrah, hurrah for holiday weekends! Guess what?! WE ARE GOING TO DO SWEET AND BLISSFUL ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Having been going relatively non-stop since we moved in, I cannot even begin to express how delighted I am that we’re going to lounge about in our pajamas well after noon, take long, shuffling strolls through the park like old people, giggle through messy, langorous brunches and dig our hands deep into the dirt of our wee urban garden. It’s going to be wonderful. We’re starting by heading to one of our favorite places in the Mission for lunch, The Liberties, because their happy hour is to die for and they are friendly.

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CONFESSION: Yeah, so, I borrowed the petite’s thing. It’s freezing, and since wearing these soft flannel thingees that are all the rage (or were 9 mos. ago …9 mos. ago since the 90s, anyway) is the girly equivalent of wearing a Snuggie, I FEEL THAT IT IS PERFECTLY ALRIGHT. Besides, if the worst I can look is like some sad chaperone at an Avril Lavigne concert or a (cough, choke) Mission hipster, then so be it. It’s cold. Comfort first! When you start seeing Crocs and fleece, then come and beat my face in. Until then, I console myself with the fact I wore dresses for over a week straight in the delicious sunshine, while it lasted. Either our pretty visitor from NYC took the sun back with her or something heinous dragged the fog back in on Monday, but there it is. Sigh.

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Confession: Ta-da! New birdie dress. I love it. It’s comfortable and easy and a gorgeous cornflower blue I so love, even if I hated the actual crayon when I was little. Let bygones be bygones! Today my loverbird fed me breakfast in bed – freshly baked croissants and delicious Peerless coffee – and then we made fancy little fried chicken sandwiches and arranged sneaky booze and set out for Dolores Park in San Francisco, because it was a glorious day. The bay was choppy, a million sailboats and windsurfers were out and while the park was windy, it was deliciously warm whenever the breeze slowed down. We snuggled and read books and snacked and giggled a lot because…

DOLORES PARK IS FULL OF THE MOST AMUSING ATTENTION WHORES.

Our favorites were the hipsters pretending to play Scrabble, the guy rope-walking barefoot between a few palms and the guitar singalong Brazilians camped out a few yards away from us. At some point a young guy rode by on his bicycle with paper-wrapped flowers for some lucky lass, which was adorable. There was a tiny black puppy flopping all over himself next to us, and while we missed the creme brulee guy, we politely declined the pretty ganja truffles for sale.

I read this book, which I’m enjoying very much:

Now here is a little collection of some photos from our picnic. Clockwise from left:

1. Tomboy shoes, femme shoes.
2. My crazy Gap Kids sunglasses in electric blue.
3. Luna Park is one of our Mission favorites, with their delicious fancy baby corn dogs.
4. Fancy couple next to a scooter.
5. Skinneh!
6. Open your golden gates!
7. A cuddle.
8. A bashful cuddle.
9. A friendly cuddle.
10. Obnoxious Brazilians!
11. The essentials.
12. The high school. I think.
13. The palms.
14. The tomboy.
15. Young man with flowers.
16. HS.
17. Legs.
18. Ice cream!

Some Oakland love, clockwise from left:

1. Most handsome building on the block.
2. Tomboy face.
3. Oakland Waterfront Warehouse District has official trash cans, so why is this one beside it?
4. Paper company.
5. Headless house.
6. Korres kiss.
7. Fantasy and reality.
8. Brickhouse lofts.