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Welcome to Day 2 of World Peace, everyone! J/K.

Mixing blues is nothing new, I’ve done it here before, but I’m excited to share a bunch of newer stuff with y’all! Above is a lovely double-breasted wool coat from Laundry by Shelli Segal, it’s wonderfully heavy and skirted and has a great deal of personality for a basic camel trench. Of course, with this very mild winter we’ve had so far, I haven’t had the chance to wear it yet! Such a shame, but I’m sure it’ll get a ton of wear sooner or later.

These fantastic green leather gloves were a Christmas gift from M, and so was the Fossil leather wallet with the little keyhole. I’m in love with these gloves. The color is incredible, and they are so soft, and the fit is perfect. I’d been needing a new wallet for a little while and this one, even though it’s basic black, smells divine and looks great! I still have lots of feelings for my oversized scarf from H&M, but like the coat, it’s hardly been cool enough to wear it much. Grr!

Kicked up the outfit this time with my Adrienne Vittadini calf-hair leopard print wedge booties. The jeans are Ralph Lauren and I thrifted the belt – the stripes and vintage pearls brought a little East Coast prep to the table, too. The shirt is H&M’s L.O.G.G. brand, and the sweet little fox ring is from there as well. I kept the shirt half-untucked with the sleeves rolled up to keep things loose and breezy (like my hair). The crowning glory of this tomboy-influenced outfit is this new tortoiseshell watch. It was yet another gorgeous gift from the tomboy for Christmas – she knew I’d been lusting after an oversized watch to add to my collection, and she nailed it with this Michael Kors chronograph beauty. So good.

That’s it for now! I will say I just came back from a really magical clothing swap last Friday night, and have lots of new goodies to share with you. For now I’m focused on an exciting new opportunity to volunteer with an amazing organization (meeting with them tomorrow – more on that later) and a weekend for l’amour – we’ve got a date to celebrate the 7th anniversary of the night we met coming up, the BFF and I are going to sneak whiskey in to see The Vow, and of course Valentine’s Day is just around the corner! XO!

Goodness grief, has it been a whole week? It has. What can I say, y’all, it’s the holidays. Last Friday we took advantage of the chance to unwind before all of the prep before a casual fight party soiree – the first gathering we’ve hosted at our new place. In a sentimental twist, that unwinding included our watching Toy Story 3 while a fire snapped and crackled in the background, which left me bawling inconsolably and in a baking frenzy all night long. (So much more than I can say for Room In Rome, which was bullocks. You have been warned!)

Fortunately, our guests thoroughly enjoyed the home-baked goodies the next day. Unfortunately, I might have traumatized the petite. As the movie ended and Bonnie stood waving on those front steps, I clung to my not-so-wee one and wailed, “Take me to college with you! You don’t have to go very far, do you!? YOU CAN LIVE WITH US!!!” while M shook her head in disbelief and handed me tissues.

I am STILL tearing up just thinking about it. It’s too much.

The party went swimmingly! We all had a blast, and it turned into a late night slumber party that rolled into a delicious brunch and Glee reruns the next morning. The week sped past – we wrapped a ton of presents on Monday night, I ran errands Tuesday night, last night M had to work late and tonight we took my brother and his girlfriend out for a belated birthday at Restaurant Ducroix, an unassuming little traditional French place downtown with great food. We all had the coq au vin save the renegade tomboy, who ordered the seared scallops with risotto.

Tomorrow night, we’re going on a romantic date. We’re exhausted!

This was my work-to-dinner outfit. A heavy corduroy miniskirt from Old Navy, a soft, warm sweater from H&M and thick tights and my two-tone Novela pumps. I added some glitz with my old Laundry by Shelli Segal ring and this big, chunky necklace from Banana Republic.

The real glamour lies in my new nail polish – Bring on the Bling from the new Burlesque line from OPI. I got it from a colleague in our Secret Santa gift exchange! I’ve had ultra glittery nail polishes before, but this must be the holy grail because it looked incredible under the soft lights at dinnertime and walking along the twinkling, damp streets of SF at night. I can’t stop staring at it. It seemed like the longer I had it on, the more mesmerizing it became. (This has nothing to do with the respective number of glasses of champagne consumed over time, I swan.)

So, uh, G E T C H U S O M E.

Love and miss,

FFAF

PS. Soon, soon you will have holiday party photos. I won’t let y’all down!

PPS. I know my pony throw pillow is too epic for words, and we’ll discuss it, but not yet.

Sunbathing on a delightful Saturday, we watched little boys chasing around birds like wee tyrants while the little girls did the smart thing and frolicked in the fountains nearby. We could have dozed here forever.

Femme: H&M dress, Franco Sarto patent leather wingtip pumps, Alice + Olivia for Payless clutch, Elle sunglasses.

Tomboy: Seven for All Mankind jeans, Ben Sherman belt, Penguin tie, Macbeth shoes.

Petite: I LOVE her flats. I bought them for her and wish we could share ‘em. They’re a brand called Me Too. She’s wearing them with Zara jeans she inherited from me. She’s also inherited some old pairs of Blue Cult, H&M and Miss Me denim from me – lucky petite!

Look at all of that vivid, glorious blue! I’m beat after spending a happy morning and afternoon helping a dear friend get settled in her new Oakland flat. It’s gorgeous. Flooded with warm sunlight through windows on nearly every wall of every room (which her two adorable cats love), tray ceilings with crown molding, hardwood floors with pretty inlays and those charming old touches all over, and French doors separating the huge master bedroom from the even larger living room. Just lovely. I AM SO JEALOUS, but incredibly happy for them (her beau arrives in two short weeks, she’s a carpenter and can play a mean banjo).

I was also mere blocks from our old loft today, and I felt pangs, y’all. Pangs of yesterday. Pangs of concrete-sandwiched-between-multiple-layers-of-drywall “party walls.” Pangs of walk-in closets and his ‘n her sinks and well-lit showers and a DISHWASHER and stacked washer/dryer sets, le sigh. Of course, living in San Francisco has its perks and advantages over Oakland, but bang for your buck where square footage and amenities are concerned ain’t one of them.

Laundry by Shelli Segal pants, Chicks On Speed for H&M racerback tank, thrifted vest, vintage shoes and Gucci scarf.

Another day, another outfit. This was my “laundry day” outfit. Far more interesting is that Karen Elson was pretty incredible last night at Cafe Du Nord. Her voice is much prettier onstage than it is on her solo album, which already sounds lovely, but still. Live her voice is haunting, taut, taunting. She chatters on between songs and apologizes profusely for her incessant need to “explain everything,” and then she half-giggles, half-chuckles in an awkward, nerdy way I really loved.

It goes without saying that she looked stunning, but real. I didn’t expect real, approachable. She was wearing a very long peach dress that fit her poorly in some places, but it kind of only made it that much more fetching, and there she was, oscillating between an ethereal, singing (and guitar-playing) angel and a bashful geek! The crowd favorite seemed to be The Truth Is in the Dirt, but I found myself singing along to The Birds They Circle the most today.

I’d write more, my friends, but it’s my turn to make cocktails and I cannot think up ways to use this unopened bottle of Lillet Blanc, can you? Let me know in the comments.

PS. Yes, Jen, my jeggings had faux pockets. In some circles jeggings aren’t considered the real deal unless they have the faux pockets. I’m just torn between shame and comfort on the subject.

PPS. Here’s where you’ll find us this weekend. This time, baby, I’ll be Bieber-proof! (I know, you hate me, you can’t get it out of your head. Oop! Kylie! Sorry about that.)

Bonjour! It’s been awhile! We were very busy touring the tomboy’s niece around San Francisco over the weekend, and with exciting new goings-on, to be announced shortly.

Japantown in the rain!
Shopping at Bloomingdale’s downtown!
Introducing the young one to Thai food and soju cocktails for the very first time!
A gorgeous, light-filled break in the rain at one of the city’s prettiest, best kept secret vistas!
Hanging out with glamorous lesbians (and some much less glamorous) at a new girl party in SF’s Mission District!
Cocktails with chocolate pot de creme and an insanely good sheep’s milk cheese plate with fig cakes and walnut bread in Hayes Valley!

And that was only Friday! Phew!

Saturday was filled with shenanigans in the Castro and the obligatory drive up to Twin Peaks (since the skies had cleared but left a mean chill in the air), then onto Ocean Beach through Golden Gate Park’s incredible tulip gardens next to the old windmill, and a tour of the Presidio topped with an incredible Central-South American tapas dinner where the Mission meets Market Street.

Sunday brought a mellower pace, with walkabouts through North Beach on a gloriously sunny day for a late lunch, and through the Mission for the murals and, of course, Secret Breakfast ice cream.

Nouvelle Vague’s cover of Dancing With Myself came on while M snapped all these pictures, so I’ll play it here for you in case you haven’t seen it yet (for it is highly watchable and will make you feel like dancing or smoking or both!):

I love my city!

I’d talk about how abhorrent The Lovely Bones is, but I prefer to discuss pleasant things. Like the fact that we’ve all kicked off a three-day weekend. Like the fact that I came home to a cheeky tomboy with a gorgeous bouquet of blush roses just for me, and lasagna baking in the oven, and an array of tiny Haagen-Dazs cups of ice cream in the freezer, bottles of bubbly chilling in the fridge and fat, happy cinnamon rolls waiting to be baked in the morning for breakfast. Very pleasant things.

I’m going to curl up with my newest collection of locally penned shorts (Instant City, Issue No. 6, snagged at Gypsy Honeymoon in the Mission) in bed, with a brand new sparkling cocktail that is so, so good: splash of spiced pear vodka (ours is crafted by Hangar One, of course), splash of raspberry pink lemonade, topped with your sparkling beverage of choice. Not-too-sweet, perfectly crisp and refreshing!

CONFESSION: On our 5th consecutive day of blissful holiday PTO, M took me to see A Single Man (remember when I mentioned it here back in November?). Despite the dreariness of the day, we bravely set out on BART to catch it playing down by the water at the Embarcadero theater. I really, really enjoyed it. It was delicious. There’s an old L-Word actress cameo, model cameos, a Mad Men cameo, and one other that I cannot quite recall. It was a touch slow in places, but it’s so visually saturated that it really doesn’t matter, and it made me cry. On our way home we took these silly photos, and then it began to rain, so we hustled inside, made a big spaghetti dinner, opened a bottle of tasty red from Spain, and then FINALLY got around to the Johnnie Walker Black Label blending session we’ve been postponing forever. Dreamy.

Y’all can have special insider pics of the super elaborate scotch whisky blending set-up, because I love you like that:

CONFESSION: I finally, finally found a perfect little weekender bag. I’ve been searching forever. It’s simple and roomy and will be perfect for ski weekends or last-minute trips to Dollywood and so on. I’d been drooling over the Betsey Johnson rainbow snakeskin print bag for awhile, but M thought it gauche so eventually I just let it be. This one is admittedly more grown-up and I’m quite pleased with it and myself!

It’s otherwise been a lazy, drizzly Sunday of recuperation. We slept for 12 hours straight last night, and a little while after breakfast M suggested that we make beef stew, so I modified the recipe at chow.com with brisket and some extras like EVOO, whole cloves of garlic, thyme and oregano, red bell pepper, a bit of butter and – most importantly – Guinness. It turned out beautifully, especially with the soft loaf of french bread we bought just for dipping. We are positively stuffed, but there’s a mini-batch of homemade shortbread baking as I type this (another tomboy request), which we’ll have with some Mexican hot chocolate garnished with fresh, fluffy homemade almond marshmallows sent to us by a dear friend (and avid FFAF reader!).

In a perfect high / low mix, we’ll probably be watching the latest Jersey Shore episode while we nibble and sip, because Jersey Shore is AWESOME. If that isn’t quite your speed, feel free to,  drool over the foodie pics below!