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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!

I’m so sick of hearing about San Francisco’s wintry summers. I’m so sick of feeling them. I trek downtown each day, then float a few dozen stories up into the sky where I watch the dull gray tendrils lap lackadaisically against the other skyscrapers in the fleeting pauses of my work, watch it all come lumbering over the gentle slopes of Nob and Russian Hills and swirl and settle quietly in the tides of the bay. In the dead center of July.

The tomboy gets into her little car, ambles down the freeway into Silicon Valley, and bemoans having left the house in a blazer because it’s 20 degrees warmer there, and the sun is shining, and you can’t see a lick of fog anywhere, not even if you squint as hard as you can and picture me pouting mightily from where I sit.

Today, I had to wear this shirt with a cardigan and a brocade coat with a vintage fur collar. It was very dreadful.

I remember when I told loved ones I was planning to vacation in New Orleans in the dead center of July eight or more years ago. They thought I was out of my fucking mind. They were very wrong. I loved the heat, I was delighted that my ice cream melted faster than I could eat it at 10AM, giddy about the thunderstorms that swept briefly in to curse you and left just as quickly (and the river frothing), I couldn’t wait until it cooled down in the wee hours of the morning (and even then only by a few scarcely detectable degrees), when it was safe to sit outside with your beignets and Au Laits at Cafe Du Monde before stumbling back to the hotel.

That’s a goddamn summer. Don’t even get me started on summers in Barcelona.

Tomboy: Seven jeans, Vox shoes, Volcom shirt, Banana Republic blazer, H&M tie. Bulleit bourbon, of course.
Femme: Skirt from the Painted Bird, suspenders from Buffalo Exchange (and made in Germany, of all places), boots by Bandolino, Truly Madly Deeply v-neck. Leggings from The Rack.

I had to wear this dress again as soon as possible, even if it was cold and I had to layer like my life depended on it. (There was a black cardigan under this denim jacket, too.) Our special edition Pride 2010 Cockblock handkerchiefs came in the mail! M was so excited. I got one, too, and they each came with goodies from Good Vibes, too. Hotsauce.

Dress by Fire LA, boots from Buffalo Exchange, thrifted belt, Cockblock handkerchief, Old Navy denim jacket, leggings from The Rack, earrings from the Global Exchange store.

Today I scored an amazing vest of House of Hengst. Prepare yourselves!

We arrived by scooter – M drove! – to the southern tip of the island, where you’ll find El Garrafón – a national park, panoramic watchtower, sculpture gardens – as well as a small Mayan temple to Ixchel, the goddess of fertility and Cliff of the Dawn, which is the southeasternmost point of Mexico. If you’re there to watch the sun rise, you can say you were the very first person in Mexico to be kissed by the sun that day! The views, quite clearly, were stunning.

This was our first day, as evidenced by my relatively pasty gams. The wind did insane things to my hair. The sun did hurtful things to my poor arms, but every minute was worth it. The sculptures and statues were really incredible. I love these sandals.

STUD ALERT! STUD ALERT! STUD ALERT! Witness the tomboy, nestled so lovingly in the bosom of her motherland. (Ah, Mexico, land of lawlessness and splendor. You’re so damn pretty. Your babies are pretty. I’m so glad I married into you, Mexico.) M kept up with me in terms of wiliness that day, hopping down into restricted areas, leaning rebelliously against rickety railings perched on sea cliffs, climbing into the little crevices and caves, and peering into mysterious wells of water or curious nooks and crannies.

When I stood here gazing upon the sea, I had no idea that I – four days later – would be ziplining from an identical structure in a bikini, over the crystal blue waters in the hot, hot sun! (Twice!) When we paused in our adventures for some lunch, we ordered these margaritas, which were way bigger than our actual heads. I climbed into this super weird, sandy, vertical crater in the side of Cliff of the Dawn, and pretended I was on a moon. A hot, beachy moon.

I don’t believe the above needs a caption at all, but SCOOTERS! Rest assured that when we get one, our helmets will be much sexier than this. This next one is just for fun:

Greetings from San Francisco! It’s Friday! The weather’s lovely! What have you got planned? M’s arranged an afternoon soiree for birthday cocktails tomorrow, but we’ve got to be up extra early for a petite school competition, so no Flourish for us tonight, sadly. It looks likely that we’ll be laying low on Sunday (especially since kick-started the weekend early last night at Glam).

Femme2010: No Restrictions Update!

I’m super happy to report that the programming committee for August’s femme conference in Oakland has received so many amazing submissions, and we’re poring through them all diligently. It’s really exciting and if you haven’t done so yet, absolutely mark your calendars (or just take the plunge and REGISTER NOW for the early bird price of just $50) for what is sure to be one of the most amazing FemmeCons yet! While you’re at it, look them up on Facebook, too.

Last but not least, of course:

CONFESSION: Happy New Year, everyone! We hope that yours were as safe and silly and as full of love and joy as ours was. Cheers to a stylish and prosperous new year – welcome, 2010!

CONFESSION: Specifically, my tomboy. Is there anything hotter than a tomboy with a book? I think not. You lucky readers get a healthy dose of tomboy eye candy AND my must-have modcloth.com dresses of the moment, just for fun.

On Saturday, M & I were up and out the door by 10AM to head to Enoteca 100, an Italian wine tasting event with delicious nibbles, on a spectacularly lovely Fall day. There was so much goodness to sip, beautiful flower arrangements at every turn, super cute puppies and heavenly bites like ravioli stuffed with beef, pork and rabbit or juicy wild boar spread over crostini drizzled with olive oil, and so so so many wondrous cheeses, too. We tried to pace ourselves by starting with Prosecco, then to whites and reds, but after sampling about three dozen bottles, we had to call it a day!

PS. My leggings are DKNY and the lacy sweater is by Hazel, from Lounge in NYC.

CONFESSION | FEMME: I’ve got a neat little story about this dress. My dear friend, Trixie from Toronto, sent me a bunch of links to vintage dresses on ebay.com that she felt might suit me. I loved how serious and plaid this was (a dark sage green with black checks), the fact that it came with an adorable matching bolero and belt (to be pictured next time). It was only when I first put it on that I realized the fit was perfect! Trixie, it seems, has a real knack for this. Sizing a gal up and sizing a dress up and saying with certainty: This one. You need it. Get it. GET IT! A few things about tonight’s trip to Bourbon & Branch: I may or may not have been allowed behind the bar to mix things up a little. I may or may not have sampled at least a dozen odd cocktails in a two-hour length of time. I may or may not be in love! You’ll see when I post my favorites, because you will 100% absolutely want to try them.

CONFESSION | TOMBOY: I hate SF so much right now! $2K for an apartment with a bathroom smaller than our current liquor cabinet! WTF? The fog is making everyone demented in the city. 15-minute open houses! Yes, let me just drop everything, schlep during the busiest possible traffic hours to come see your miniature toilet! Fucking Polly Pocket couldn’t live there! Gah! (You do realize that B is just going to exploit this for her own gain, right? – SBJ)