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Did somebody order a party in a box? Booze, snacks, citrus, mixers, ice…anyone?

This is going to be a carefree, to-the-point post, considering the fact that I am on a plane to Boston from San Francisco and ever so slightly buzzed from a few friendly  mimosas. I guess you could call this a companion post, as it picks up with the tomboy where the last post left off – same day, same round of festivities with friends, a lot more masculine. Welcome to M’s “Did somebody say ‘brunch’?” ensemble.

She takes a pair of khakis from Men’s Express and makes them all kinds of handsome, and as far away from the dull, lazy Silicon Valley stereotype as a person could get, I think, by pairing them with an Elie Tahari dress shirt (a soft, bluish grey) and cardigan bought new from Crossroads – she can’t remember whatever obscure brand it is, but she found it at their College Ave. location and wishes she’d snagged the grey version as well!

All brought together by a haphazard, undone bow tie (of course, it didn’t start that way, but you know us…plus, a lovely member of our group felt under-dressed, so being a gentlemen, she graciously undid it on the spot to help her feel more at ease). No idea where this bow tie came from, btw. We’ve racked our brains and not much can be done about it, as we are 36,792 feet in the air. Whomp.

The shoes are from Aldo and this was their last hurrah, actually, she’s currently eyeing a pair from Mr. B’s Gentlemen’s Boutique, in case any of you dear readers have words on their quality and whatnot – apparently there are three shops in Boston where we can find them (compared to just two in SF). You’ll recognize her Dior Homme glasses, although soon I imagine you’ll be seeing her new prescription pair of Ray-Ban Cockpit sunglasses.

That’s it! And just for fun, some mushy loverbird photos at Jack London Square, taking by Autostraddle’s fearless leader herself, the incredibly talented Riese!

We’ll keep you posted on our New England house-hunting trip, kiddos! Hopefully, there will be time to sneak in a few shoots.

XOXO,
FFAF

Spring is here, or so I’m told. It doesn’t look it from where I am – there’s still quite a chill in the air and our skies have that diffused, bright grey overcast I have always found to be the most irritating of all our Bay Area weather quirks. We’ve had bits of unseasonable warmth here and there, and were hit with a great big walloping storm last weekend, but I think my thick black tights underneath the frothy, pleated pink of this sweet dress (despite the sunshine) tell the whole story!

I’ve definitely been quietly collecting Spring essentials, though – another pleated dress in a bold, sunny yellow, two pairs of skinny jeans in bright teal and magenta, a breezy, grass-green camp shirt, wedge sandals color-blocked with a soft dove grey suede and lemon chiffon patent leather (and a clutch to match), and a few preppy cotton shirt dresses – but I’m most excited about the necklace I’ve got on here – a punchy H&M steal at $12.95 – and some new additions to my makeup drawer from MAC.

Several years ago I took my BFF to one of her initial visits to Sephora, and one of the MUA grabbed a tube of Nars lipstick, popped it on the BFF, and the effect was amazing. It was a really simple color, just a dusty, rosy pink, but it was one of those transformative shades with my friend’s complexion. It looked so beautiful! Foolishly, I tried on the color immediately, and of course it wasn’t the same.

Well, last week I wandered into the MAC pro store in the Marina (please don’t ask me what I was doing in the Marina) and the MUA helping me came at me with this horrible, frightening orange lipstick. I was instantly suspicious, but I tried it on anyway.

EGADS! Glory, thy name is Korean Candy, and the perfect companion blusher is Optimistic Orange. 

The effect of either/both with my skin tone is kind of miraculous. The lipstick is a glossy, super lightweight and wearable orange-y red, and the blush is a creamy shock of bright coral. The latter requires a very light hand, but even when the MUA painted on two big, bratty stripes over my cheekbones, it was still kind of cool. I love both shades so much it makes me want to eschew the rest of my makeup for Spring! Just a little foundation mixed in with sunscreen, tons of mascara, and my orange-y babes right here.

I’m still on the hunt for the following – let me know if you’ve seen anything good lately:

• a full skirt in a deep tan shade
• grass-green pumps or wedge sandals
• a proper leather motorcycle jacket
• a sweet, girly blouse or tank in yellow

We should chat about this outfit! I got this dress on a whim from an odd little boutique in Emeryville called Lola. There are only about a half-dozen of them in the states, by the makers of BCBG. Between the swiss dots, pretty blush color and pleated skirt, I couldn’t resist. The bow belt, necklace and faux leather jacket are all H&M. The studded boots are Trouvé, the studded clutch Matt & Nat. My watch is Citizen, and the talon ring and thorned cuff are by Made Her Think. The faux bamboo shades are vintage!

I CAN’T WAIT TO WEAR THIS DRESS BARE-LEGGED WITH A PONYTAIL AND SWEET LITTLE BALLET FLATS. HINT, HINT. 

Also, I would just like to add that these photos were taken by M at Jack London Square in Oakland. We really love Oakland and were so happy to spend a breezy, carefree day there with friends recently. So many outstanding memories from when we lived there, and it’s kind of amazing how much of our history still seems to float and crackle in its air, still very much alive – we would look at one another and the remembering was almost a physical sensation between us! How is that possible?! We don’t know, but we are sure we’ll lay down roots there again someday.

Who else is counting down the days until The Hunger Games movie?! We have tickets to the midnight showing (I may have mentioned that before) and I cannot think of anything else.

XOXO,

FFAF

Hey, remember when that was the hugest lesbian anthem ever and I refused to engage until that one time at the Lex when just the right amount of bourbon and peer pressure collided and suddenly I was stomping and singing and flailing along with the rest of ‘em, verse for verse? Yeah.

Remember that month I posted every single day and then it was February 2012 and I dropped off the face of the earth?! ACK!

Well, I’m back. If things look a little bit strange, it’s because almost a week ago I became the smug owner of a brand new Macbook Air laptop, forever altering the course of my strictly-PC home machine existence, giving my wife a perpetual excuse to be irritated with me, and the petite endless opportunity to ridicule me (just last night she tucked $25 into my faux-leather oversized envelope, which is where my new baby sleeps at night, because, as she said, “I didn’t want to leave it on the table because you might not notice it, and I knew if I left it there you’d find it right away,” to which I snort – Kids!) It’s called attachment parenting for a reason, guys.

Anyway, I am mostly smitten. It’s gorgeous, light as a feather, speedier than a femme on a shopping spree and great big barrels of fun. I was and remain highly annoyed that the incredible Photoscape is Windows-only, and has royally screwed with my photo editing rhythm, particularly with FFAF material. I’ve test-driven around a dozen different Mac-specific photo editors and related tools (a combination of free trials and apps I’ve paid for), but none suit me as well as Photoscape did. It’s nothing against Mac apps or programs, some of them are pretty and have great features, they just aren’t as tailored to my process as Photoscape is (which is another way of saying I grew very dependent upon it). It’s been trial and error! Every time I curse aloud because one app let me down and I have to pay to try another M is on her side of the couch, snickering about “Apple money pits” and such.

If worse comes to worst (or worst to worse – I can never remember which it is), I’ll just run Windows and that’ll be that!

Enough tech talk. Yesterday was International Women’s Day! Hopefully you’ve had your fun looking at this amazing collection of GIFs, and have paid very close attention to the sobering and inspiring data wonderfully captured in this Miss Representation video + infographic. I thanked my lucky stars that I get to be involved with such an incredible and life-changing organization, and am happy to say that I’ll be volunteering there a solid 3 days a week (at least until we move). I’ve worked for many nonprofits in my life and I have to say, none have felt as purposeful and impinging as this! I also feel that they are as grateful for me as I for them, and that’s lovely, too.

Let’s see, what other updates have I got for y’all?

• we saw some dear friends off on their move from the Bay Area to Savannah, GA – bacon-wrapped meatballs were involved, and they were delicious
• celebrated my mother’s birthday in fancy box seats at the Golden Gate Fields race track, where we placed bets, sipped bourbon, and successfully smuggled in a decadent birthday cake – layers of vanilla chiffon with a fresh raspberry and cream filling, and cream cheese frosting!
• enjoyed a delicious Brazilian supper at a post-holiday work party for M’s company the night of the Oscars
• finished reading The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, which we both hated immensely (and get to say as much at tonight’s book club meeting!)

This weekend is full of fun stuff with out-of-towners! Tomorrow morning we’re brunching with a group of dear friends in Jack London Square (remember when we used to live there?), and in the evening meeting up with a different set in the Mission for Humphrey-Slocombe ice cream, a bluegrass show and dinner at Tacolicious. We can’t wait! Sunday will be spent, I’m sure, recovering from said shenanigans and lazily catching up on our real estate literature.

The clothes! Let’s chat about that. I adore this sweater and it slipped right in with the whole tomboy femme thing I was going for. (This is as tomboy as I get, people, just go with it.) I snagged it at last month’s clothing swap! Also, there are no words for how much I love my new Dooney & Bourke bag.

Sweater: Sag Harbor
Private School Blazer: Thrifted
Denim: Denim & Supply by Ralph Lauren
Riding Boots: Etienne Aigner
Bag / Scarf: Dooney & Bourke / Gucci
Pony Belt: Urban Outfitters
Sunglasses: Vintage
Watch: Michael Kors
Necklace: Mariele Ivy

Have a fantastic weekend, everyone! XOXO!

Another day, another fancy hairdo! I don’t know what’s gotten into me, but I suppose I figure with so many easy, quick, beautiful styles out there, why get stuck in a rut? This is a twist on a tutorial I saw somewhere online, but it’s basically a teased and gussied-up take on a plain Jane ponytail.

I’ve had this dress for a little while. It’s probably quite ancient Banana Republic (as I can’t remember ever being able to squeeze into a Size 0 with them). I found it at a thrift store, loved the length, loved the industrial sheen on the grey silk, loved the drama of the neckline, which is clearly covered up here with a plain sweater in a darker grey shade (it was either thrifted or from a clothing swap, I can’t quite remember). I wanted to take something terribly fancy and make it a bit more casual!

Those soft pink cherry blossoms are in bloom right out in our front yard! I’ve already clipped down a few branches to brighten things up indoors, too. They were very key in my deliciously sweet Valentine’s Day spread earlier this week!

The late afternoon sun was too tempting not to take advantage of. So soft and dreamy.

The accessories definitely stole the show in this ensemble, from the hair to the Eleven Objects collar to the sweet-in-the-front, deadly-in-the-back heels. I can’t remember where I got this hair comb, but it’s terribly old. The black floral ring (which I love) was stolen from the tomboy’s things, and she thinks it was from Urban Outfitters. The silver and crystal stunner is from Made Her Think. I’m very excited for the newest addition to my jewelry cabinet, a silver stingray claw ring with druzy agate by Lauren Wolf, which I first admired in its case at San Francisco’s delightful Paxton Gate well over a year ago. So glad it’ll finally be mine!

The earrings and shoes (which you’ll see in just a bit) were a Christmas gift from M, and we both love that they are a bit creepy, like metallic fish skeletons. Both shoes and earrings are BCBG. The thornedcuff resting in a crook is also Made Her Think, and the sunglasses are Tommy Hilfiger. The collar is exquisite - white and black satin stripe with lace overlay and crystal embroidery. I’m still figuring out how to wear it – I know that dear Laia’s answer to this would be “With everything, you foolish girl!” and I can only hope to get there one day!

The shoes are amazing. I mean, M couldn’t have picked a more perfect pair. In the back, from the top of the ankle to the very bottom of the heel, the supple black leather is covered in a spine of extremely shark spikes and studs, very femme fatale. I’ve heard it told that one gets the impression I oughtn’t be messed with, and I imagine it’s doubly true when I’m wearing these babies! Even I’m afraid of someone getting hurt when they’re on.

What’s happened since I’ve posted last? So much exciting stuff! I started volunteering with an incredible organization you might have heard of – Miss Representation! I’m loving the work, and it’s been refreshing to spend time in their offices so close to the ocean! I cannot even begin to describe how lucky I am that they’re based here. It’s such an honor and everyone is amazing; whip-smart, positive and so friendly.

I’m also an unofficial official femme camp counselor of sorts for the extremely thrilling Best Lesbian Almost-Summer Camp Ever: Camp Autostraddle in April 2012! Registration opened on Valentine’s Day and as of this morning, was fully booked up! It’s going to be fantastic. I’ll be speaking on panels and encouraging femme skill-sharing and can’t say too much else yet but I am hoping to meet some of you there because we’re going to have a blast.

What else? A few new books on the reading list:

• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (for a new book club I’m in – yes, I’m in two now!)
• The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz (our original book club)
• A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway (M & I are reading it together for fun)
• After Claude by Iris Owens

This is a departure from my usual posts, but I’m so excited about this fancy new updo and wanted to share it with you as soon as possible! You can watch the original video for a how-to here (which is where I learned about it first), but I’ll break down the steps and add a few notes in case you want to try it out yourself.

I totally cheat when I make fishtail braids. For this style, I finger-combed and gathered my hair into a low side ponytail, and loosely secured it with a regular-sized hair band. I braided the fishtail, secured the end with a tiny elastic, then carefully slipped off the hair band from the base of the fishtail – it just makes it easier to braid! Also, I’m never too neat about braiding, since it tends to look better when it’s a little undone – you can always gently pull and tug at different sections of the braid once you’re done to get it just right.

Folks with shorter hair can probably just twist the braid under and tuck the ends away using pins. Mine’s on the longer side, so I twisted it over itself and then back under, tucking in the ends with pins – I use Bunheads pins because they are amazing at creating incredibly secure hairstyles while staying so well-hidden – they come in different colors to match your hair shade!

Another method, as shown in the video I linked to, uses a regular bobby pin – just bend the tips to make the pin look like a fishhook (or an IUD, whatever)! Slip it through the tiny elastic holding your braid together, and then twist the end up and under into the base of the braid. The modified bobby pin will anchor those ends and you can simply clean up and loose strands with a few more bobby pins.

I’ve tried both methods and they work equally well!

Voila, that’s it! Two quick steps to create a really effortless, elegant look (don’t forget to add a spritz or two of finishing or hair spray). Add a headband, like I did, or use a flower or sparkly clip to accent the updo. Just leave it plain if you want the focus elsewhere – on a pair of gorgeous, sparkly earrings or your neckline, etc.  Maybe it’s the perfect thing to accessorize with for Valentine’s Day!

Hope you try it out and love the results…

XOXO,

FFAF

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!

Hey, y’all! I wanted to trot out my new bag and a fabulously floppy hat for these crisp, sunny days we’ve been having lately, so I threw on a reliably pretty vintage dress in a neutral print, some tights and a pair of peep-toed shoes that took the look to a fun, sassy level. Also, we found a massive dead tree branch on our little walkabout! YAH!

You might find it amusing to know that I first tried to sit on that smaller branch I’m leaning on up there. It broke after about 2 seconds and I fell right on my ass in a big pile of dead leaves, while M had herself a good bellyaching laugh in the safety of the manicured green lawn you can’t see. You can see where it disappears below, leaving only a jagged stub behind. I managed to recover…

I’m trying to think of what’s new since I last posted!

• lovely visits from friends at home – one involved baking shortbread and another very in-depth lessons in eyeliner!
• football madness – since I was raised on the 49ers, the NFC Championship Game was a BFD – sadly, we lost
• finished reading Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex for book club (not for the faint-hearted)
• began reading The Faster I Walk, The Smaller I Get, written by a Norwegian author and given to me by M
• attended my sweet cousin’s delightful baby shower sans tomboy, only to find the soiree dotted with them after all!
• dove into a new bottle of perfume, Crystal Noir from Versace – but more on that later
• received copies of Luca Turin’s perfume guides as well as After Claude, which is deliciously mean (so I hear) – can’t wait!

So, I said I was going to get back into the business of discussing perfumes soon and here we are. This newest bottle of Versace Crystal Noir was a Christmas gift from the tomboy, more or less. (She originally bought me a bottle of Bright Crystal, which she’d already done before and somehow forgot. I’d been admiring it from afar and so handily swapped Bright for Noir and called it a day!)

First things first, I love the absurdly dark, heavy, gaudy bottle. It looks fantastic on my perfume tray, lurking moodily among slender Kenzo Amour or the austere Chanel No. 5  and Serge Lutens Chene, towering over a suddenly wan-looking bottle of Flowerbomb (which is of course shaped like a crystal grenade). Its contents are another story entirely.

Perfumes: The A-Z Guide, says that Donatella Versace provided creative direction for this scent, and proceeds to dismiss it as a “trashy white floral” (an improvement, believe it or not, upon Bright Crystal’s two-word assessment: “hideously screechy” – ouch!). The notes are gardenia and tuberose, as well as amber. Out of the bottle, I suppose the florals do exit the vehicle with a somewhat jarring crotch shot, teeter a bit, and then – at least with my skin – hit their stride on the drydown, which becomes a wonderfully creamy, soft dusty musk. A hint sweet. Folks are split on this – either it’s bug spray or bombshell mystique, but to me it’s like snuggling up to the tomboy in a fancy dress, murmuring dreamily while half-filled glasses of champagne sit neglected on the bedside table, sunrise teasing the sky lighter by the second. A cozy, familiar sort of ravishing. Lovely especially in cold weather.

Do tell me if you’ve got new loves in the fragrance world, I want to hear all about them!

Dress: Vintage
Tights: Hue
Shoes & Belt: Elie Tahari
Bag: Cynthia Rowley
Hat: Kathy Jeanne
Earrings: Silver Crane Sterling
Thorned Cuff: Made Her Think