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Here it is, folks, the first official FFAF post of the year!

Picking out the first outfit of the year was a challenge – I felt like it had to be special, but at the same time the tomboy and I wanted to get ready in a jiffy for an afternoon playing around in San Francisco and at the beach (after a deliciously long morning in bed). Luckily, we spoiled Californians had lovely weather. All of these photos were taken at the Pacifica Pier, a quarter-mile long pier jutting out into the Pacific Ocean from the tiny coastal town of Pacifica, which is about a five-minute drive from our house.

Blue skies, just a hint of chill in the air, and a bit of haze around the edges to soften things up a bit. (I’m sure the hungover masses appreciated that last merciful touch.) If it’d been a touch cooler, I would have layered my lime green blouse under the sweater – how cute the pointed collar would have been against the black! Alas, t-shirt weather.

Even though in my world this is a pretty un-fussy, low-key outfit, I sure got some looks from the anglers on the pier in Pacifica! Good thing these tights are nearly as thick as pants, what with all the wind blowing around. I could never wear this skirt without super thick leggings underneath – in addition to being terribly sweet it’s also obscenely short.

Sometimes I see other style bloggers bare-legged in skirts this short (sometimes shorter still) and my mind is thoroughly blown. What about wind? What about sitting down? What if – God forbid – you drop your bloody lens cap? Are they outfits for blog purposes only and not IRL? If not, what’s their secret and must it exclude modesty? I NEED TO KNOW.

Daytime snuggles on the beach are kind of the best snuggles, no? I don’t ever do my hair this way, but I kind of love it, especially after seeing the pics. This is second day hair, teased a whole bunch at the crown with the top third or so pulled back and pinned into place, with a spritz or two of trusty Elnett to keep it all secure. I just used some shine serum on my brushed curls and heavy bangs (they’re growing out so quickly), and that’s it! Of course the sea breeze whipped things up, but it appears to be for the better.

I’m gonna talk about my nails, and then let y’all look at the rest of the pictures sans interruption. I saw an online tutorial for ombre nails, yes, just like the clothes or hair, but for nails. It was metallic and blue, but I wanted to do a girly pinkish gold version for NYE, so I picked out four colors (yes, four) and went to work. I layered a muted brown (Zoya Dea) over a pinkish nude (Who Comes Up with These Names? from OPI) over a creamy pink (Zoya Lo), and then blended it all together with a glittery layer of Butter London’s Tart with a Heart. Success!

Details

Skirt: Zara
Sweater: Target
Leggings: Silence + Noise
Studded Suede Ankle Boots: Trouvé
Patent Leather Clutch: Alice + Olivia for Payless

Silver Cuff Bracelet & Ring: BCBG
Silver Thorned Bangle: Made Her Think
Rhodium “bamboo” hoop earrings: Lauren Adams
Watch: Citizen

As good a way to start a new post as any, eh? Behold M and her Knob Creek flask. I have lost count of all our flasks. There are many. Some leather-bound, some traditional, some all aerodynamic, one bedazzled with skulls…I think the only addition ours needs is one vintage, slender and ladylike flask, for yours truly. I’d like it to be silver and embossed with an elegant design. Simple. 

Remember how I thought the Habitat for Humanity fiberglass incident would be the end of cargo pants for my beloved? Well, of course she ran out and got herself a new pair, and wore them tree-huntin’, naturally. She also wears them when she doesn’t feel like getting dressed. They’re like sweats or pajama pants, in her mind. Anytime she puts them on, it’s a silent act of defiance.

This saw was way more dangerous than it looks! Very sharp. Last night we met some friends of ours in Oakland at a place called Dogwood. It’s on the same block as the Fox Theater, just a lovely, dark little nook on a corner, and they specialize in cocktails and charcuterie. We loved the long, loose wooden community tables, and especially the big pheasants adorning the walls. Though the cocktail program could have used a bit of refinement, they were still pretty tasty, and their gin and bourbon selections extensive and pleasing. The grilled cheese I was fed was incredible. I daydreamed about it today! It was a fantastic night.

Here are the details:

Shirt, Calvin Klein
Puffer, Polo Ralph Lauren
Cargo Pants, Target
Boots, Mark Nason
Belt, H&M

Here are some lovey-dovey pic of the tomboy and I; she really wanted to take some by this plantbutchthingy plantbushthingy. Does anyone have any idea what it is? They’re not cattails and they’re not foxtails, I don’t think. They’re our favorite.

This morning I woke up (a bit fuzzy, I’ll admit) to the most wonderful early Christmas surprise – Eleven Objects, New York-based makers of exquisite, ultra-luxe detachable collars, picked me to win one of their special styles for Louis Exposure! It is easily the best thing I’ve ever won, I’m so honored and can’t wait to have it in my hot little hands!

Hope y’all are having delightful weekends, can you believe we’re already down to 12 days ’til Christmas? Bananas!

Love,

SBJ & M

We’re back with more travel posts, but still in London. Standing on the Millennium Bridge, happy as clams, with the charming and wonderful Cari Campbell behind the camera. We were so lucky to have a generous friend to show us all around and keep us company during our trip! It really is the best possible way to visit a new destination.

All sorts of post-London Pride shenanigans. We parted ways with the parade and hopped on the tube to the London Bridge station, where we planned to meet Cari at the nearby Borough Market. We hadn’t yet been bewitched by the streets of Edinburgh’s Old Town, so walking around little curved cobblestone beauties like Stoney was quite a treat! After stopping at a fancy chocolatier and to sample the most delicious Manchego outside of Spain, we meandered along the Queen’s Walk past Southwark Cathedral, The Golden Hinde and the Tate, toward our high-rise dinner on the Thames.

We ran into these lovely little white birch trees – just like in the Maximilian Hecker song, Birch! Speaking of swans, London has a great deal of them. SO MANY SWANS. (Cue the tomboy trilling “Swans are cunts!” I’m surprised there isn’t a t-shirt by now.) At top left is the Tate Modern, of course, and then on the lower right you’ve got the bridge guiding the eye toward St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Schrödinger’s Cat Lives? – the beach at Gabriel Wharf.

Have I discussed my outfit? The only full-length shot is way down at the end of this post, but it’s a kicky little Free People dress that I love, with its little Missoni-esque chevron pattern. I wore it with an antique necklace from India, a whole mess of bracelets, my Ray-Ban aviators and comfy, sky-high Seychelles wooden platforms. M paired some nice denim with her trusty grey Aldo lace-ups, an Izod shirt and her Anchors Away! bow tie from Me & Matilda. Her belt is from H&M and I got her this smart leather messenger bag from Target a few years ago.

After that wonderfully scenic walk in the sunshine and warm weather, we headed up to the 8th floor of OXO Tower. We were early and fortunate enough to be shown to a table in the lovely, airy bar while we waited for our dinner table to open up. After a sensational (no, truly, SENSATIONAL) round of cocktails and appetizers, we were led outside to the terraces where our corner table was set up overlooking the river.

It was gorgeous! The sun’s beams fell like glory through the sparse and silvery clouds, we ordered a bottle of Harvey Nic’s champagne, because how on earth could we not? and watched the people below on the tiny beach. The food was divine, the conversation lively – speaking fondly of San Francisco and excitedly about London – and the only thing that would have been more perfect is if Cari’s love had been there with us, too. (She was in New York for a wedding!) That concoction on the lower right is a clever twist on the classic English trifle – strawberry shortcake, Pimm’s gelatin with cucumber and mint, and vanilla ice cream.

We left OXO with the most pleasant buzz, the sun drifting down like molasses (have we talked about the fact that the last light of day doesn’t truly vanish until 10pm or 11pm at night – or how we miss it so?!), and walked over the Millennium Bridge into the mostly deserted area of Holburn, where we caught a taxi to get to a lesbian party I still don’t know the name of.

I can’t even recollect the neighborhood we were in or the street the club was on, but there was a big red glittery heart with CARWASH written on it in a 1950s script hanging outside, so there you go. There we met up with some of Cari’s friends, ran into the ones we’d made the night before at Candy Bar in SOHO, and spent the night hopping between the two dance floors, one with pop music and one with house music. I taught the bartenders how to make me a Tom Collins, bless their precious hearts.

Look at these two! So handsome, those smiles full of trouble. The sun was already starting to light up the sky again when we finally stumbled home to our hotel in Kensington. It was a really, tremendously brilliant day.

More to come, I promise! Next up shall be Sunday UpMarket, our turn on the London Eye and Buckingham Palace!

XOXO,

FFAF

PS. Nicolette, my darling, I’m not doing this to hurt you, I swear! ?

Guess who needs a haircut? OK, we both do, but Conor, Conor, Bird. My goodness. What an adorable young ruffian.

My hairstylist has zero availability for the rest of the month, so my hotshot plans to get a quick trim before the wedding in Boston at the end of the month are bullocks. Thank God I was able to squeeze in a facial next week. I’m doing that femme thing where I’m like bangs redux vs. growing out the bangs and it’s fucking HOMO PANIC ROOM CENTRAL. I mean, this is the dress I’m going to wear and wouldn’t it cause tectonic digressions in your psyche, too?

And yes, I’m hunting down the perfect moto and must collect a million fabulous rings to wear it with. Can’t I just get this in pink and white and oh, all of these while I’m at it? Can’t I?!

Y’all? It was my birthday yesterday. Tuesday birthdays are kind of ho-hum, I suppose, and I had to go to work on my birthday for the first time in I-can’t-remember-how-long. Sneaky M took the day off without my knowing and spent all day baking assorted cupcakes – rainbow chip, bunny-shaped cupcakes in pink, baby cupcakes with magical sprinkles – prepping for a delicious grilled filet mignon dinner, decking out every corner of the house with beautiful pale pink roses and bright pink tulips, and putting up birthday decorations.

The moment I walked through the door, she kissed me and plunked a MASSIVE strawberry daiquiri into my hands. I was so surprised to see how lovely everything looked, and I was content as a kitten to have a nice, low-key night. My family called and sang Happy Birthday in an impressive full three-part harmony, too, and my friends lavished well wishes on me all day long. I’m a lucky girl!

I’ve read both of Chris Cleave’s novels, Incendiary and Little Bee (The Other Hand) and we’re meeting with our book club on Friday night to discuss the latter. But later this weekend, in the spirit of celebrating my 31st birthday all month long, M is taking me shopping for Parisian lingerie, we’ll have dinner at Garçon! or maybe Restaurant Ducroix or Chez Papa and then take in a bit of theater at the American Conservatory Theater to see No Exit. Perhaps a spot of dancing will be had.

I’ll have riding lessons and we’ll check out some lighting equipment for my studio, which she’s promised to procure and build as soon as I commit to something (which is going to be so difficult – I’ve done hours of research and am not a lick closer to deciding).

Have I mentioned that I absolutely adore my thirties?

Dress, Cardigan: Target
Belt, D&B Bag, Sunglasses: Vintage
Pumps: BCBG
Necklaces, top to bottom:
Banana Republic, Mexico, Betsey Johnson
Wooden bangle: Pier One

The title of this post comes from one of my favorite miniseries, Angels In America, which I hope I’ll be able to see onstage someday. The exchange goes like this:

This is the outfit I wore on our date night on Friday. I love it. The tomboy cheered when I came downstairs. I pointed to my belt and said, “Guess who’s coming out with us tonight?” (I can’t remember the last time Sheeba circled my waist.) It’s just fun, the whole outfit, and shamelessly pretty. What makes it, I think, is the blazer from Asos. It was a steal, around 39 GBP, and it’s the perfect companion to these shoes. It’s also linen, so it was a foolish choice for a March night still being throttled by winter, but it’s going to be my BFF this Spring/Summer, I can tell.

Last night I discovered that, as far as I can tell, I cannot get Fifi Chachnil in the states. This was grave news as I’ve been desperate to get my hands on some since my decant ran out late last year. On the bright side, I’ll be able to visit their shop in London when we’re there this June! In the meantime, I ordered another 5ML to get me through, as well as a Frederic Malle decant sampler. I’m so excited. It’s been awhile since I’ve reviewed scents here, or even since I’ve gotten new ones, so I’m hoping it’ll kickstart that old habit!

Speaking of scents, I accidentally mashed these flowers into my hair when taking these, and my hair smelled weird the rest of the day. Since you readers are so swell at telling me which flowers are which, can anybody tell me what these are? I picked up four bouquets and made three lush, cheerful arrangements out of them. My nail polish is Caitlin from Zoya’s Spring Collection, Intimate.

Spring, won’t you hurry? Quit letting this dreadful, lingering winter bully you!

What Spring trends are you looking forward to most, and has Spring hit where you live yet?

Details on the outfit:
Dress, Target
Blazer, Asos
Pumps, Novela
Tights, Banana Republic
Bag, Freebird by The Sak
Belt, Vintage

Jewelry:
Bracelet: Lori’s Shoes
Necklace: Banana Republic
Rings: H&M

What’s new? I’ve realized that I must keep a list of the books I’m reading for my 2011 resolution of one book per week on average!

Currently reading: Super Sad True Love Story, The Help, Wild Girls, Vanity Fair (kind of), Revolutionary Road.

Read: Unbearable Lightness, Neverwhere, The End of Youth. I’m on track to finish SSTLS this week, and I am totally counting the first 21 chapters of The Help for the 4th week of the year. Phew!

In case you’re wondering about these snowy images and what on earth is on my feet in them: SNOW SHOES! I borrowed a pair from the gals who went snowshoeing while we skied/snowboarded during the day, and stomped around the meadow out back behind the black bear cabin, during our improv sledding off the back porch. I’m also wearing my Silence + Noise skinnies, a gorgeous corset sweater from Asos, and my Dolce Vita for Target boots and vintage fur coat. The necklace is very art deco and from Banana Republic.

What else, what else? We got tickets to see Bright Eyes. We’re in a HOMO PANIC about our Superbowl/Housewarming party on Sunday, which we agreed on Thanksgiving to throw for my family. We’re expecting anywhere from 20-24 people. It’s insane. What got into me/us? We discovered Portlandia – a really funny, super random sketch comedy thing about crunch Portland types featuring the talented, gorgeous Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney fame and many, many others. TSA appears to be poised to roll out new, more benign software for their invasive, vulgar full-body scanners, C A I R O, the White Stripes officially announced time of death.

Ski beanie! Ski pants by Volcom! Foxtail! Style Snaps!

WHAT A WEEK.

Jesus Christ. It’s like this wussy little 4-day work week was so slighted by how completely and totally amazing our magical holiday weekend was that it decided to be the biggest shit in the history of the universe. So.

When I think of the last weekend, a warm, cozy glow washes over me and I nearly wince against the memory of the sun hitting so much white, can almost hear and feel the slushy crunch of snow under my boots, can feel M’s big, warm, fingerless-gloved paws against my torso as she catches me when I slip on an unsteady swath of ice (and her smile when it happens), the delicious bite of big mountain wind in my hair as I soar float down a tree-lined, twisting run, trying to catch up with her. The work week is all but washed away, and my mind sets on plotting how long before we can go back (21 days exactly).

Here is a wood we came across. Tahoe City has some nifty little walking bridge, and that’s where we were trying to get but stumbled instead into a park-like area with a Gatekeeper’s Museum and a little red shack to show you where the Original Fire House once stood, with ominous black bear painted cut-outs from particle board placed here and there.

It was beautiful. Even though footsteps had worn a clear path out to the clearing of soft, untouched snow that had fallen over the rocks or sand or both of the Lake Tahoe shores, only a few imprints were visible past a certain point. First I ran and then trotted and then walked briskly out toward the water, turning back often to check on M, who kept snapping photos and gingerly stepped through the snow, laughing.

I found a snowman missing its face, and tried to give some of it back. A long, skinny finger of land or dock stretched way out into the freezing cold water, and I wanted to walk to the end of it, but M hollered at me not to. Too dangerous. I stopped and flopped down into the snow, sunk down half a foot, and began to flail around the way I imagine people do when making snow angels (which I have never done), to make a snow angel.

M caught up with me and doubled over like she was having a fit and then told me my snow angel was the worst one she’s ever seen, so I threw some snow at her and made a beeline for the trees.

Anyway, you can’t imagine how beautiful it was there, unspoiled and hushed and lovely. These pictures of the scenery hardly do it justice. If we weren’t expected back at the cabin, we probably would have found somewhere to nap like real bears.

When I woke up today and peered through my blurry Valentino glasses to search for my contact lens case, panic set in. I knew I only had one lens left, and if anything happened to my last pair, scarcely hanging on by a thread, I was screwed. I hate wearing glasses, I hate the loss of peripheral vision, I hate how wobbly and unsteady I feel in them. I ran my hands over the bathroom counter, over sticks of eyeliner and tubes of lipstick and sundry palettes, and gasped as they met the little cage that is supposed to sit immersed in some sort of fizzing disinfectant solution overnight, every night. It hit me.

WHILE TAKING MY CONTACTS OUT LAST NIGHT, I GOT DISTRACTED BY LASH SERUM AND GIDDILY APPLIED THE LASH SERUM AND ABANDONED THE PROCESS ENTIRELY.

My eyelashes might be longer and thicker and darker, but I was stuck in my glasses half the day today because by morning the contacts had shriveled and dried into a cloudy, brittle mess. I had to make an emergency eye exam appointment (as it turned out my old prescription expired last September) and sweet talk them into giving me a trial contact lens (to go with the orphan lens) on the spot, and praise Dolly they did.

So the rest of the day went. The free lunch at work was so-so, but a coworker gave me some Tcho chocolates. I ended up working very late, but scored $300 of Banana Republic goodies for less than $50 at their last chance sale. The sitter was late picking up the petite, but we had delicious Italian delivered and I carried my stinky fathead puppy around for awhile, like a baby. There might be two suns in 2012, but Mexican CNN has naked chicks, so it’s all evened itself out, hasn’t it?

Corduroys: Levi’s
Sweater: Target
Boots: Vintage
Foxtail: Dollywood
Bag: Freebird by The Sak
Cocktail Ring: Banana Republic