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Did somebody order a party in a box? Booze, snacks, citrus, mixers, ice…anyone?

This is going to be a carefree, to-the-point post, considering the fact that I am on a plane to Boston from San Francisco and ever so slightly buzzed from a few friendly  mimosas. I guess you could call this a companion post, as it picks up with the tomboy where the last post left off – same day, same round of festivities with friends, a lot more masculine. Welcome to M’s “Did somebody say ‘brunch’?” ensemble.

She takes a pair of khakis from Men’s Express and makes them all kinds of handsome, and as far away from the dull, lazy Silicon Valley stereotype as a person could get, I think, by pairing them with an Elie Tahari dress shirt (a soft, bluish grey) and cardigan bought new from Crossroads – she can’t remember whatever obscure brand it is, but she found it at their College Ave. location and wishes she’d snagged the grey version as well!

All brought together by a haphazard, undone bow tie (of course, it didn’t start that way, but you know us…plus, a lovely member of our group felt under-dressed, so being a gentlemen, she graciously undid it on the spot to help her feel more at ease). No idea where this bow tie came from, btw. We’ve racked our brains and not much can be done about it, as we are 36,792 feet in the air. Whomp.

The shoes are from Aldo and this was their last hurrah, actually, she’s currently eyeing a pair from Mr. B’s Gentlemen’s Boutique, in case any of you dear readers have words on their quality and whatnot – apparently there are three shops in Boston where we can find them (compared to just two in SF). You’ll recognize her Dior Homme glasses, although soon I imagine you’ll be seeing her new prescription pair of Ray-Ban Cockpit sunglasses.

That’s it! And just for fun, some mushy loverbird photos at Jack London Square, taking by Autostraddle’s fearless leader herself, the incredibly talented Riese!

We’ll keep you posted on our New England house-hunting trip, kiddos! Hopefully, there will be time to sneak in a few shoots.

XOXO,
FFAF

Spring is here, or so I’m told. It doesn’t look it from where I am – there’s still quite a chill in the air and our skies have that diffused, bright grey overcast I have always found to be the most irritating of all our Bay Area weather quirks. We’ve had bits of unseasonable warmth here and there, and were hit with a great big walloping storm last weekend, but I think my thick black tights underneath the frothy, pleated pink of this sweet dress (despite the sunshine) tell the whole story!

I’ve definitely been quietly collecting Spring essentials, though – another pleated dress in a bold, sunny yellow, two pairs of skinny jeans in bright teal and magenta, a breezy, grass-green camp shirt, wedge sandals color-blocked with a soft dove grey suede and lemon chiffon patent leather (and a clutch to match), and a few preppy cotton shirt dresses – but I’m most excited about the necklace I’ve got on here – a punchy H&M steal at $12.95 – and some new additions to my makeup drawer from MAC.

Several years ago I took my BFF to one of her initial visits to Sephora, and one of the MUA grabbed a tube of Nars lipstick, popped it on the BFF, and the effect was amazing. It was a really simple color, just a dusty, rosy pink, but it was one of those transformative shades with my friend’s complexion. It looked so beautiful! Foolishly, I tried on the color immediately, and of course it wasn’t the same.

Well, last week I wandered into the MAC pro store in the Marina (please don’t ask me what I was doing in the Marina) and the MUA helping me came at me with this horrible, frightening orange lipstick. I was instantly suspicious, but I tried it on anyway.

EGADS! Glory, thy name is Korean Candy, and the perfect companion blusher is Optimistic Orange. 

The effect of either/both with my skin tone is kind of miraculous. The lipstick is a glossy, super lightweight and wearable orange-y red, and the blush is a creamy shock of bright coral. The latter requires a very light hand, but even when the MUA painted on two big, bratty stripes over my cheekbones, it was still kind of cool. I love both shades so much it makes me want to eschew the rest of my makeup for Spring! Just a little foundation mixed in with sunscreen, tons of mascara, and my orange-y babes right here.

I’m still on the hunt for the following – let me know if you’ve seen anything good lately:

• a full skirt in a deep tan shade
• grass-green pumps or wedge sandals
• a proper leather motorcycle jacket
• a sweet, girly blouse or tank in yellow

We should chat about this outfit! I got this dress on a whim from an odd little boutique in Emeryville called Lola. There are only about a half-dozen of them in the states, by the makers of BCBG. Between the swiss dots, pretty blush color and pleated skirt, I couldn’t resist. The bow belt, necklace and faux leather jacket are all H&M. The studded boots are Trouvé, the studded clutch Matt & Nat. My watch is Citizen, and the talon ring and thorned cuff are by Made Her Think. The faux bamboo shades are vintage!

I CAN’T WAIT TO WEAR THIS DRESS BARE-LEGGED WITH A PONYTAIL AND SWEET LITTLE BALLET FLATS. HINT, HINT. 

Also, I would just like to add that these photos were taken by M at Jack London Square in Oakland. We really love Oakland and were so happy to spend a breezy, carefree day there with friends recently. So many outstanding memories from when we lived there, and it’s kind of amazing how much of our history still seems to float and crackle in its air, still very much alive – we would look at one another and the remembering was almost a physical sensation between us! How is that possible?! We don’t know, but we are sure we’ll lay down roots there again someday.

Who else is counting down the days until The Hunger Games movie?! We have tickets to the midnight showing (I may have mentioned that before) and I cannot think of anything else.

XOXO,

FFAF

More and more and more sunshine. These were taken in a friend’s backyard. I’m standing in an empty fish pond and drinking a mocha from Martha & Bros., trying not to think about all the cocktails I foolishly consumed the night before, at both Mango and Cockblock, nor how I was still fighting a nasty summer cold.

M & I were waiting for them (“bcw” and Dr. Dyke, if you must know) to look after their kittens before we headed down to Jack London Square for the 2nd annual Eat Real Festival, an amazing weekend full of the greater SF Bay Area’s best street food carts, local beer and wine, entertainment and the most current, informative happenings in the world of slow food and sustainable eats.

This is FFAF’s 2nd year at the festival!

Wearing:

Levi’s Denim
Old Navy linen cami with pintucks
RVCA shirt w/ roll-up sleeves
Boots from Portland’s Rock n’ Rose
Bag by Emilie M.
Handmade necklace
Kenneth Cole sunglasses

It was a gorgeous day. We ate so much, we drank a lot, we all stripped down because it got so bloody hot, and we sat in the shade to watch the most incredible butcher contest I’ve ever seen before in my life (okay, so it was the only one I’ve ever seen). Another great year with the best friends at a superbly done event. GO OAKLAND!

Here are some fun pics from the day:

THE GOOD STUFF (brace yourselves, it’s PORK-O:

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!

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CONFESSION: Golden Glass at Fort Mason was incredible. I think I sampled three dozen wines at the very least, and there were none that weren’t delicious, just some more delicious or complex than others. It was an unbelievably beautiful day in San Francisco and I was thrilled to be on the water. M & I had been so busy with open houses on Saturday that I never was able to pick up some velvet ribbon for a trim on my vintage straw boater hat, but I was so committed to the idea of a hat that I decided to wear this one in a radically different way than I have in the past. I decided to set it atop a fancy updo and pin the veil over and under the twist of hair and love how well it turned out!

I was also adventurous in the culinary department; braised pork belly in a clam shell bun from Heaven’s Dog, incredible mortadella from Fra’mani, basil olive oil that changed my life from Stella Cadente, alfajores from Sabores del Sur, freshly zested lime truffles from NeoCocoa and (this is the true triumph of the day, as I usually abhor goat cheese) a fantastic chevre from Harley Farms.

The truly wonderful news, however, is that M & I are signing the lease on our new place on Wednesday night! Noe problem! Mission accomplished! We couldn’t be more thrilled with it. Everything’s happening so fast. We’re moving in 10 days and haven’t got a thing packed!

Confession: Seeking fresh air and the smell of new books, M & I took the petite to the bookstore in between bouts of late afternoon rain at Jack London Square. I settled on a copy of Mirage and Fashion Now 2, inwardly cringing at the neglected stack of books back at home (The Gift Of Fear, Infinite Jest, The Doors Of His Face, The Lamps Of His Mouth). We strolled through the bookshelves while the petite browsed the YA section (she ended up with Pretties, the 2nd book of the Uglies trilogy for all you YA fans), and after taking some FFAF photos we passed a display of little squishy baby toys. I instantly lunged for the Max doll, from Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.

Right then is when I learned that M has never read this book. M HAS NEVER READ WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE. “What is that little thing?” she asked, almost distrustful. “He’s Max! It’s Max! You know…Max is very, very naughty and gets sent to bed without supper and then he goes on WILD adventures with the wild, wild things,” here is where I grab the little monster wild thing doll and shove it right into M’s furrowed brows, “THIS is the wild thing,” I say, “Remember?” “No, she says, “I’ve never read that. That one looks like a wild thing, too,” she pointed at Max accusingly. I gasped and shook my head sadly. I was beside myself, flailing both dolls around and hissing about how is it even possible that she’s never read nor seen nor heard of the book because HELLO!?!?

The petite wandered over, probably to tell us to shut up as we were embarrassing her a great deal, but she was 100% Team Skinny on the matter once I informed her. She just rolled her eyes and sighed as if the burden of M’s lifelong deprivation of this tale was simply too much to bear and left us standing there. I put Max into my pocket and followed M into the travel section and tried to explain the significance of the beloved book to M.

It’s just that M, in so many ways, is Max. All dressed in wolf’s clothes, a stubborn, brooding little thing, wears a crown and makes mischief? Likes boats and a good rumpus and bossin’ folks? Good grief!