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Praise Dolly! The sun came out in a glorious way today! Not in that wintry, deceptive, incapable-of-penetrating-the-chill way, but in an honest-to-God Springtime sort of way. It was lovely. To be completely honest, I’ve been wearing this dress around the house like a muumuu or house dress, or a hearty old slip, so when it was time to put on proper clothes, I just tossed on the leggings and jacket and scooped my hair into a ponytail. Voila! It felt sinful and fantastic.

When we stepped out onto our little street to take these photos (M is really coming into her own as a style photographer), the kittens were out, the trees were green, bumblebees buzzed, I sipped my whiskey sour and reapplied my very red Besame lipstick with very red nails. Spring and I went at it hot and heavy. Alas, I fear the cold will come and go until it warms back up in earnest, but that’s OK. Today was wonderful.

So, spit it out! What are your big Valentine’s Day plans? We’re going to be lazy bears until the early evening, with small bites and cocktails at Annabelle’s and then to a “Share The Love” party being thrown by a friend of hers and her loverbird. It should be dreamy!

Of course, FFAF wouldn’t even be worth if not for y’all, so here’s a big wet lipstick-y femme kiss from me to you! XO!

CONFESSION: I had a very full, very festive weekend. The last before Christmas! On Friday night, the tomboy and I bundled up (a bit too much – it was wonderfully pleasant out!) and headed downtown with the petite to follow the longtime tradition of peeking in at the puppies and kittens up for adoption, adorably displayed in Macy’s whimsical holiday window displays. (M threatened to physically remove me if I didn’t stop tearing up! I can’t help it! One little creamsicle kitten was hugging herself to sleep!) It was so much fun! We came home and had Mexican hot chocolate and cookies fresh out of the oven, and watched Valentino: The Last Emperor (which really made me cry).

We celebrated my best friend’s birthday at a lovely French bistro on Saturday night (that’s where these fancy photos are from – this H&M top is so FUN with a built-in petticoat underneath the peplum, but I pinned the flower to the waist for a little extra something) – I had a wonderful pear cocktail and ordered the Coq au Vin, which was fantastic. The BFF was thrilled to bits with everything and we laughed heartily through the entire dinner. All were loathe to end the night so soon!

On Sunday, we celebrated my Grandmother’s 90th birthday. Festivities began promptly at a 10AM mass and didn’t stop until we tore ourselves away from her charming stories and copious amounts of her favorite brandy, in order to make it to a dinner on time at Will Blog For Food’s house. She roasted her very first chicken for us, paired with a gorgeous salad with persimmons and endives, a toasty loaf of bread and roasted vegetables (which became quite caramelized and which M could not get enough of). A happy and lovely evening to complete a very busy weekend!

After catching up with my beauty sleep this morning, I have to tidy up the flat, queue up the baking parade, wrap gifts and take care of those inevitable last-minute errands the holidays bring. I can’t wait until Christmas Eve and I hope y’all are ready for whatever wonderful plans await you! XOXO!

Some fancy photos of the tomboy and I, for fun:

CONFESSION: I love this dress so. It’s easy and comfortable, but pretty. It looks better without the white tights (points to anyone who gets the lyrical reference), and I’ll post it that way someday but it is COLD here, so tights you are. (Get it? Tights you are! Right you are! Ha!) My little kitty friend came to take pictures with me, she’s very affectionate; she’ll jump up and paw at me like a puppy might. It’s adorable. I love her!

SCENT: Let’s not dilly-dally, I’ve got a different Victoria’s Secret perfume on either arm just waiting to be scrubbed off, ach so:

God, just look at that packaging. Cue involuntary sneer! OK, OK. Super Model out of the vial makes me think of soft vanilla and citrus, orange, actually, like a creamsicle. (M’s favorite!) It’s terrible. She likes it, which concerns me, but she is sick after all. On the drydown, it becomes something like stale, matted cotton candy.

Dream Angels Heavenly (America’s No. 1 fragrance, according to the VS website) shows some promise right away – quince, cardamom, white peony – but fades into boring, stuffy mediocrity. I will definitely have to hold this up against Dream Angels Desire to compare the two.

Y’all? I only have one more of these crap vials to test and report, and the epic experiment is final. To celebrate this, I have a very special fragrance post in the works. All I can say is that it involves intimate peeks into the cologne closets of two roguish tomboys, and you will want to go to there. Just in time for the holidays, too! I can’t wait, and I bet neither can you. Until then, kittens!

XOXO,

SBJ

PS. This chair had a cold puddle. I sat in it. Bugger.

CONFESSION: Last night one of M’s old college friends from MIT, who now lives in Brooklyn, came to visit. We discussed the latest book he’s reading (Velvet Rage) over Pimm’s No. 1 Cup cocktails and debated his decision to pass on a bright pink Marc Jacobs polo on sale, while I cooked our chicken fettucine alfredo dinner, nibbling on bread with Loretta Lynn singing softly in the background. It was a fantastic visit, and we ended the night with Mexican hot chocolate and fresh, delicious homemade churros. You’d think that’d do away with my sweet tooth, but by the time M came home from work today I was itching to pop into Anthony’s for a big box of cookies. She promised last night that we could! I’m a happy kitten.

(more…)

Awhile ago, AYL requested photos of my closet. Spring hadn’t quite sprung yet, and my closet was a disaster. Full of lovely things, yes, but a disaster. I wanted to mine it, sift through it, tear the weeds out of it and let the sartorial soil begin anew.

Alright, alright – let’s just be honest and cut the bullshit. M made me get rid of things, basically. We are moving in June, after all. Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnneeee.

By then it was okay, because Spring HAD sprung and buoyed me along with it, and while they’re still in bags waiting to be sold or donated, I got rid of three very stuffed large paper bags worth of stuff (say that with a maximum amt. of disdain, like Miranda Priestley in The Devil Wears Prada). Which means y’all, at long ever-lovin’ last, get pics of my closet. A moment of silence, please, for what only has a few more months to live:

God bless the walk-in.
God bless the square footage.
God bless the lighting, which was just repaired.

I WILL NOT FIND THIS IN SAN FRANCISCO, KITTENS. No sirree. I really have no bloody fucking idea what I am going to do, because M wants me to also get rid of The Beast (I am still fighting her on that – “We must wait!” I cry, “We must wait until we see where we will be living because what if we need it? What if it serves as a divider betwixt living and dining? Home office and living? Or maybe…in the room, for my shoes. By God, woman, let’s don’t argue – just WAIT!”).

Before I go off to cry broken, heaving sobs of defeat, here’s a little bit more. We like it up close and personal here at FFAF.

When: Wed., January 14th, 2008.

What: Black satin cocktail dress by Jenna. Black suede/patent cutout pumps, Calvin Klein. Feathered headband, Target.

Confession: My friend made this dress awhile back and it landed it my hot little hands. It’s got an asymmetrical  hem with an awesome little tuxedo panel and the satin has a real heft to it. I took the neck, which is sort of drape-y, and pinned it to the side with a vintage brooch. I really like the result and I love the hem – it borders on saloon in the first photo, from that angle – but otherwise quite demure. Not bad, kittens!

Also, just for funsies:

When: Wednesday, Jan. 7th, 2009.

What: Blue satin Kenneth Cole dress, Donald J. Pliner boots, vintage hand-me-down fur coat.

Scent: Perfect Veil by Creative Sensualizations. With notes of lemon, bergamot, musk, vanilla and sandalwood, this perfume is described as follows:

This was created to smell like clean, naked skin, but honestly, we have yet to meet anyone whose skin smelled this good all on its own. Maybe the skin of an angel? Maybe the skin of a fallen angel, looking for a little trouble? Warm, soft, subtle and extremely sexy, this very wearable fragrance is wonderful on its own and perfect for layering under other scents, as well, to make them warmer and more enduring. A staple on many Hollywood vanities.

While it is pleasant, it’s also a little bit creepy. It’s almost Stepford-y, you know? I sniff and I’m like, “Oh, that’s nice…and soft” but then I almost immediately visualize blank stares and shiny 50s hair and perfectly painted, mild-mannered smiles. It’s got so-so staying power and is actually pretty consistent throughout the wear, I think.

Maybe I’ll just spray it on a pillow and hug it next time. Mommy!

Confession: My iPod put me in a really silly mood yesterday. It was playing Bronski Beat, for crying out loud! It never fails in its divine, insanely gay glory, to make me dance. I threatened to do nothing more than pout, smoke cigarettes and dance around in my fur coats. For a little while, I did (except the smoking part, that’s not allowed indoors and M would beat me). I also tried on these long gloves with the dress, but as you can see, it’s not working. It’s goofy. In fact, I kind of look like I’m trying to woo the Cookie Monster.

C is for cookie, that’s good enough for me.

Disclaimer: My entire fur wardrobe (hold the lesbian jokes, please) are vintage, purchased secondhand or given to me as hand-me-downs. Like this one. Thanks, Jenna! I would never ever buy NEW fur, unless of course I were filthy stinking rich, and then I would simply replace whatever PETA drenched in red paintwith another. Made out of precious little snow leopard kittens. Nom-nom-nom. ???