fitforafemme.com

Welcome to Roosevelt State Beach, sometimes also known as Naples Beach, just down the way from Princeton-by-the-Sea and the rather famous Mavericks. We are very fond of it due to the fact that it has a long stretch of beautiful dunes without the hikes required at Fort Funston and Devil’s Slide. On a sunny Wednesday afternoon, there was hardly another soul around. Isn’t it lovely?

We’re clearly still experiencing rather warm days even as New York City and Boston have flung themselves headlong into winter. (I’d mention Denver, but it’s always the Wild West over there, as far as weather’s concerned.) I’ve been dying to wear this H&M L.O.G.G. scarf since I bought it. It’s enormous and comprised entirely of toasty autumn shades, and it was just the thing to keep from getting chilly as the wind picked up and the waves soaked my jeans up to the knees!

We found so many perfect sand dollars and pretty shells. Not a single live crab, but there were dozens of carcasses that M fished out of the water with her bare hands. (Gross!) The heart-print blouse with a cheeky Peter Pan collar is also from H&M, but the waffle cardigan is from Hyden Yoo, a small menswear designer (who actually just last year launched a women’s line, too) based in New York. I found it at Gilt and fell in love with it, so I got it even though it’s made for the boys.

M snapped these and did a terrific job. She was very bossy, demanding that I make the scarf “as big as possible, flail it in the wind” which of course just cracked me up. Can you see the bits of hay in my hair? Well, we’d just been to the pumpkin patches where we had a little hay ride, and M tossed a handful into my ‘do. (I guess it was my fault, I’d complained that a photo we’d taken didn’t look like we were on a hay ride at all, and then you can guess what happened…)

Denim: James Jeans
Cardigan: Hyden Yoo
Top, Scarf: H&M, H&M L.O.G.G.
Cuffed Ankle Boots: Nine West
Necklace: Spoiled boutique in Oakland
Sunglasses: Ray-Ban
Earrings: House of Harlow
Gold Bracelet: Lori’s Shoes

What’s everyone got planned for the weekend? M & I are off to a romantic dinner at Elizabeth Falkner’s Orson tonight, as it’s closing its doors on their restaurant to move it into the next phase as a private events space. I wonder if the mood will be one that’s bittersweet, or business as usual!

We’re also hoping to ride some horses sometime this weekend with all this glorious weather. Giddyup!

Hope everyone has a happy and safe Halloween weekend! The petite is dressing up as a referee, and her friends are all going to be football players, which is kind of adorable (especially for thirteen-year-old girls). I am still trying to sell M on dressing up as Popeye and Olive Oyl – I think as long as I get her a fancy pipe, she’s in!

F A N C Y.

I had a lot of feelings about wearing this dress (100% raw vintage silk, can we talk?) to a filthy music festival in dusty old Golden Gate Park, let me tell you. Even M had feelings about it. But you know what? WHEN ELSE, DAMN IT? What myriad other days has this wanker San Francisco summer presented me with, days that scream “Go on, child, wear head-to-toe silk if you like, let this breeze ruffle the hem, it’s the summer of love, let your curls all fall down, I adore you”? That would be basically none. Carpe diem, kittens, and trust that I worked this in all my backstage glory.

Nevermind the girls sitting in the hut behind me, they were just taking refuge from the late morning breeze to roll some joints. “Wait, there’s people in there,” M whispered when I started to prance on over. “So what,” I sighed, and our friend was all, “They can leave if they don’t like it.” I was real sweet though, I warned them that I was just taking a few photos and made sure they didn’t mind. They had a lot of weed. I’m pretty sure I could have pissed on the side of it and they wouldn’t have noticed, anyway. KIDS THESE DAYS, and their substances.

Long story short, I felt that it was the third and final day of the festival, the sun was shining, and the dress and I would both survive. I was right! Did I tell you that Vanessa Hudgens (of HSM fame) was there on Saturday? We saw her during The Arctic Monkeys (I now own two of their albums, by the way), looking surly but cute, and wearing a spirit hood and a dress that definitely hadn’t survived the day. Fringe. Such a shame. We also saw a giddy, rugged-looking KAREV (Grey’s Anatomy, Justin Chambers, ringing any bells?) rushing out of the VIP area on Sunday night.

We started the day early with a round of coffees and fresh baked croissants courtesy of one kind Canadian, and got to the park in time to see Charles Bradley, who after sixty years of life is just now hitting his stride as an incredible soul singer. It was a wonderful, wonderful way to start off a glorious Sunday. We headed to Sutro to make sure we were nice and early for the tUnE-yArDs, who drew an insanely huge crowd for so early in the day, and didn’t disappoint fans (and certainly made new ones).

We meant to catch Latryx and Lyrics Born / Lateef, but somehow ended up taking a very long lunch (Korean tacos and pulled pork sandwiches from Maverick) with a detour back to VIP sanctuary, and didn’t end up back at Sutro until Julieta Venegas, who brought the lovely and talented Ana Tijoux onstage with her for a song or two. Determined to secure our excellent spot up close and stage left for Beirut, we ended up warding off a potential fence-climber during Little Dragon’s mostly yawn-worthy (yeah, I said it) set, and just relaxed and drank and told stories while I watched the clock for 6:50PM to roll around.

I don’t know how to describe the way I feel about Beirut’s music. It sounds the way love feels. To me. There are many ways to love, many kinds of love to love, there are myriad themes on love and there are love’s terrific and terrible highs and lows, and there they are, in every heartbreaking, beautiful note they play.

There was a moment, before they started but after Little Dragon ended, when the crowd surged something awful and nothing felt right, and I actually considered leaving. I’ve never seen Beirut live and if it wasn’t going to be perfect then I didn’t want it at all. Then something magical happened.

A backstage bracelet was slipped onto my wrist and I wandered away from our little group, was granted access to go behind the security guy policing the gate, and walked around the side of the stage and right smack into Beirut. They’d been forming some kind of pre-show circle, literally moments from taking the stage, and I turned a blind corner into the middle of them all huddled under the massive stage beams. For a split second they stood around me before some awkward shuffling around to let me through, and I stood there sort of dumbfounded but thankfully silent, and completely unable to believe my eyes. Sure, it’s a wee bit silly and kind of fangirl, but for a beat my little world stood serenely still.

Eventually I made my way backstage while they were playing, and I waved to M in the crowd (she saw me right away and I could see her grinning and waving back, pointing so our friends could see, too). How could the show be anything less than perfect after that?

I only stayed backstage for a few songs, because I couldn’t bear not having M right next to me for it, but I was able to snap some pics. Look at that sweet face singing his tender heart out! Lucky for us, they’ll be back in October, and I can’t wait to see them again.

Dress: Winter Kate
Leather: Elie Tahari
Bag: Freebird by The Sak
Necklace: Mariele Ivy
Silver Cuff: Made Her Think
Earrings: Asos
Shades: Ray-Bans
Boots: Nine West

Love,

FFAF

 Backstage awesomeness*! ZOMG!
*This is basically the only photo (and there are a few) from backstage where you can’t tell I’m all teary-eyed** and delirious.
**If you think that’s bad, you should see me at a Stars show. I am inconsolable.

Last night after tasty cocktails and fried chicken at Pican, we saw Bright Eyes perform at the beautiful old Fox Theater in downtown Oakland. It was our first time at the venue, though it’s been open for a year or more, at least. Maybe two, who can say? For all its opulence and lavish tucks and corners, the most striking thing for me was this immense wall of ancient switches and levers in the Den, the bar and lounge inside of the Fox, some lit up, most not. M was shocked that I didn’t fuss with them, but I was so completely in awe that I instantly backed away from it, distrustful of my ability to let them be.

Conor was beautiful, the set was incredible, I could have fallen asleep in my own tears and M’s arms with Road to Joy crashing all around me forever, I really could have. I don’t know how he manages to appear more fragile and delicate and marvelous with time, but bless his sweet, awful bleeding heart.

PS. The bangs are back. I couldn’t stand it and then there’s the Boston wedding and that dress which insists, insists, on one last go of it. Damn it. When something that good wants one last go of it, what are you going to do? You’re going to sigh in defeat, snatch the closest pair of scissors, shut your wide eyes and pray to Dolly. (And then the next day you will march your homo ass to the closest, most reputable salon and make them clean up the mess you’ve made of things.) That’s that, then, isn’t it?

I am really, really happy with all of the lovely comments from my last post! It was brilliant to hear who’s from where and what’s unique and rad about where you’re from. If you haven’t seen them, pop over and weigh in or just peruse. Since then we’ve had some ridiculous, short-lived rain and then it was back to the low 60s. We’re slowly but steadily creeping into Spring. It was chilly the night of the show, so I paired some heavy duty tights with this skirt and the vintage lace and sequin blouse, and topped the whole shebang off with my new leather jacket. Honestly, it wasn’t nearly enough to keep me warm enough on Oakland’s breezy streets – I should have had a chunky scarf on with a hat or some fingerless gloves or something.

Pleated Skirt: The Gap
Blouse: Vintage
Perforated Lambskin Leather Jacket: Elie Tahari
Leather Pouch: Modcloth
Necklace: Banana Republic
Ring: H&M
Suede + Gold Bracelet: Lori’s Shoes
Boots: Nine West
Watch: Citizen
Shades: Ray Bans

If maybe you feel like watching the video for Golden Brown by The Stranglers, you may do so here.

Blue Monday because these were taken on Valentine’s Day!

It’s now Thursday night. I am antsy, very antsy. Tomorrow we’re heading back out to Lake Tahoe for more snowy bliss on a long holiday weekend. Since there have been lots of storms in the past week, there will be plenty of fresh powder and it will probably be much cooler than last time. I’m pretty sure we won’t be skiing around in light sweaters – I’m actually worried I won’t be warm enough this time! I’m going to take a break from FFAF and just enjoy my girls and the beautiful surroundings. I hope y’all have wonderful plans to make the best of the holiday, too!

I’ve made no formal announcement about the fact that I’ve moved on to greener pastures, work-wise. This has been my first week and it’s been wonderful. It’s an ideal role – challenging, but there’s a pleasing balance of working freely and as part of a sharp, funny, creative team – and as resident Maven (that’s what my business cards say, I love it), I’m focused on wrangling data and paving new organizational paths at a small design company in the tech world!

Needless to say, I’m thrilled and things are off to a dreamy start. It’s an incredible place to be and I’m so deeply happy.

Now that all the new news is out of the way, what’s this I’ve got on here? It was a dreary Monday, so I abandoned all wispy notions of wearing something frothy and pink, and opted for this comfy cotton day dress in navy blue. I brought a coat but left it in the car, since I knew the museum would be warm indoors and carrying it around all the hours we whiled away in there would be cumbersome. I was perfectly comfortable the whole time. PHEW.

Dress: Banana Republic
Belt: Vintage
Boots: Nine West
Snaky Earrings: Gift from M!
Bag, Foxtail: Freebird by The Sak, Dollywood
Nail Polish: Jo by Zoya

Happy President’s Day weekend, kittens!

The bright and vivid hues you see here, my doves, are no more. Can you believe that blue sky or those magical yellow and purple flowered hillsides, all that full green grass? I long to be back in the balmy arms of this day! It was only Sunday last, on the drive out to my best friend’s house on a lovely late afternoon. After a little visit, we headed to a nearby path to take the rest of these photos. The light was incredible. We hope you enjoy them!

Lo! as the wind is, so is mortal life
A moan, a sigh, a sob, a storm, a strife.

-Sir Edwin Arnold, “The Deva’s Song”

Alas, we are having some major weather out here now. Hence this beautifully dreary quote. I suppose that’s what we get for boasting. How was everybody’s Valentine’s Day? Sweet, I hope, and full of love and light or perfectly executed snark on the Hallmark holiday du jour.

We had the day off and spent it at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. It was wonderful! We had a swanky lunch in the museum’s more elegant dining option, the Moss Room, complemented with classic cocktails. M had the Aviation and I tried a prosecco number with elder and Hangar One vodka. My lunch was divine: local, organic pork sugo with house made pappardelle, spinach, and grana padano. M went with lighter fare, the chilled soba noodles with sesame, cucumber, and a ginger chili vinaigrette. I am absolutely in love with the museum, and can’t wait to go back. We went from the humid, tropical 4-story rainforest to a faux-igloo, where we watched a short movie about the Aurora borealis, and then got faux-snowed on!

It started to drizzle just as we were leaving, so we started a fire back at home, all snuggled in and spent with a bottle of champagne, cooked an early dinner and exchanged treats. I’m sure you’ll see it here soon enough, but M gave me a gorgeous watch for Valentine’s Day! I adore it – it’s all sleek stainless steel and Swarovski around a stormy mother-of-pearl dial, and it complements my engagement ring perfectly (fun FFAF fact: I’m very much left-handed). I’m one lucky lady.

M was a VERY bossy photographer the day of this impromptu shoot! She rushed me down the path so that the train was in some of the shots (after the freight train passed, two Amtraks went by, but they’re not nearly as romantic). She made me stomp through all the tall, tall grass to a little pond. She demanded that I climb back up the hill and stated that I absolutely must roll down it, like in the Jack & Jill nursery rhyme. After that, she spied the little foot-long section of a tree trunk just in the water there, and she stood watching like a hawk until I was balanced atop it on one shaky foot.

By the time we finished, there were dozens of burrs trapped in my tights, the hem of my skirt, and on my long sweater vest! I made her pick them all out on the side of the road while I hopped from one foot to the other, scolding her. It was really, really hilarious.

I’m wearing:

Gap skirt
Converse One-Star shirt
Calvin Klein sweater vest
Nine West boots
Vintage purse
Le Tigre shades

with:

Tiered necklace from Banana Republic
Lipstick bullet by Culp Baubles
Earrings from Isla Mujeres, Mexico

What I wouldn’t do to have one of these little lakehouses, aren’t they darling? You can see right down into the bottom of it, too, when you look down into the still water. I was amazed at how these photos came out; the lake took on this incredible, painterly reflection of the trees and mountains rising around it all its own, without a shred of digital trickery or funny business! There was a Russian family with a lot of young children fishing on the dock that stretched out to the right of this one. It was adorable.

Well, y’all. It’s here. Superbowl Weekend. What do y’all have planned? Are some of you, I hope, partaking in the always delightful Puppy Bowl? If we weren’t having my whole family over I wouldn’t give two shits about it (the men heaving a ball around, not the precious puppies!), and I apologize if that sounds like an affront to some. It’s not. I’ve always enjoyed Superbowl Sundays with my family. It felt like a tradition as warm, jubilant and religious as Easter or Christmas. Well, rowdier, but you get the idea.

I’ve never hosted one before, but most of the family has yet to see our new place, so it seemed like a swell notion at the time. We’ve been preparing for a week. We’re juggling last-minute prep with book club and a birthday tomorrow, and I know we’re going to have a great time but right now I just want it to be OVER.

Besides, I’m very excited about Monday. I can’t tell you why, though. It’s a surprise.

This post is clearly a rugged one: M was dressed for our long drive home (and trudging through the snow playing photographer), nothing fancy. She’s wearing her RSQ jeans, some layered t-shirts – one long, one short, Spy sunglasses, and plain old snow boots pulled off a drugstore shelf in Tahoe. Still, I think she looks ready for whatever the mountain and lakes and mean river throws her way.

What is retail therapy called when you’re doing it as a reward instead of to console yourself? Well, whatever it’s called, I did it today. New boots from Nine West (although I was vexed that they wouldn’t price adjust for me when I realized – too late, apparently – that I could have gotten them online for 30% less + free shipping, G R R R !), a beautiful necklace from Banana Republic (yes, another one) and a Jane Iredale sampler kit perfect for my skin tone. So, I have a question for you, sweet readers. Two of them!

1. What’s the latest treat you’ve gotten for yourself?

2. What’s your favorite fast-dry nail polish spray? I’ve tried OPI and Essie, and I’m convinced there’s something getter out there. Especially for a gal as impatient as I am!

XOXO,

FFAF

Bonjour, kittens! How was your Cinco de Mayo? The week? I haven’t been here since Monday, and I honestly cannot tell you where the time went. I can tell you that I’ve had a delightful day and a perfectly festive albeit subdued holiday. I took a midday stroll earlier to run some errands in the neighborhood, the sun shone brightly and my entire block smelled of hot, sticky jasmine. I had a fantastic phone call with a prospective new employer, and in the late afternoon I stumbled into this truly dreamy community garden in San Francisco’s Potrero Hill. It’s got bees! And honey! You walk past the boxes and it smells divine. Fruits and vegetables grow side by side with the loveliest flowers, and it’s all perched atop a hill with a fantastic view of Twin Peaks and the city’s rolling hills to the southwest. After all of that, the petite and I snuck into one of SF’s best ice cream shops – an old-timey, state fair award-winning one – for a very indulgent pre-dinner treat!

The sky was blue. My hair was shiny. My girls are happy and well. Life is just right!

PS. I love this stupid linen tank so much. I got it for like $1 at a thrift shop, and it’s so soft and comfortable and breezy. I wish I had six more, at least.