Free Days

What a couple of weeks it's been. Last week (I think it was last week, anyway) I had a last-minute work trip that took me out to the east coast, and this week I've been scrambling around trying to get everything caught up before I head off to France again. What's great is that I was able to stop in Manhattan just long enough to meet someone I'd long wanted to meet in person, Ally of Shybiker. What a delight! Ally is every bit as thoughtful, articulate, and interesting as you'd expect, and we chatted for hours over dinner about an incredible array of topics. I even coaxed a bit of the lawyer side out while discussing the constitutional aspects of the current battle for marriage equality, and how the Supreme Court has become increasingly politicized in recent years. I do so love a lively and intelligent conversationalist, and Ally really delivers.

As I mentioned, I'm off to France again for work on Saturday, and this time rather than spending my free days in Paris I'm heading to Aix-en-Provence. I was completely inspired after meeting up with Deja Pseu the last time I was in France, and this time of year should be just perfect weather-wise. I only have about 3 days there, but who can argue with 3 free days in Aix-en-Provence?

Cardigan: Cynthia Vincent
Top: Asos
Skirt: Anthropologie
Belt: Red Dress Shoppe
Shoes: Cydwoq
Bag: Boktier

Tourist

Today I thought I'd post a few photos of some of the fun stuff that we did when Sal and Mike came out to visit. This actually only covers a few of the highlights, which makes me realize just how much we packed into a few days!

First up, we visited Mission Dolores and its beautiful graveyard, which is the resting place of many prominent people from the early days of San Francisco.

As I mentioned before, we spent an afternoon downtown with LPC, and along the way we stopped to check out an interesting art installation called Manifest Destiny.

We attended BarBot 2012, where we drank cocktails made by robot bartenders.

We interacted with the wildlife in Sausalito...

...and went for a walk in the redwood forest at Muir Woods.

We enjoyed the great view of downtown from Dolores Park, followed by some shopping in nearby Noe Valley.

We also headed over to Treasure Island where the beautiful Bliss Dance, which was first displayed at Burning Man 2010, now has a permanent (or at least semi-permanent) home. I couldn't imagine a more fitting spot for her to end up.

Having out of town friends come and visit gives me a chance to play tourist in my own city, which is always such a treat.

Chance Comments

It got so warm a couple of weeks ago in SF that I got spring fever and wore cropped pants and sandals -- which was awesome in the early part of the day, but freezing and miserable by the time I left work. However, it was totally worth it to have my toes out there in the breeze for one glorious morning. And hey, it was still only February at that point, and not many people in the Northern hemisphere can boast of being able to wear sandals in February. I still love you SF, even though your late February evening almost gave my toes frostbite.

You may have already seen on Sal's blog that she and Husband Mike were out here visiting for several days, during which time we pretty much packed in as many events and sights as we could possibly pack in. After they arrived in town we had lunch at the always awesome Brenda's, hit 2 great local shops, Wonderland and Jeremy's, and finished with an evening at NightLife. And that was just the first day. More on their visit to come.

Have you noticed I'm growing my hair out lately? For now it's just the bangs, but who knows where it might go from here. In the last few months I've gotten used to seeing my face with my forehead exposed, and I'm finally to the point where it looks natural to me, and possibly better. I always fancied my face as being long, and thus the forehead was something to be covered, but looking at it now I think my face is in fact quite oval. It's interesting to make this observation for the first time at age 42, especially since my belief in the notion of needing bangs dates back to a thoughtless comment from a relative when I was about 8 years old. It occurs to me how ridiculous it was to have held onto that belief for so long simply because 34 years ago someone told me I had a long face.

How have chance comments from others shaped your self image? Have you overcome those impressions or do you still hang onto them?

Shirt: Michael Stars
Vest: Cotélac
Pants: Cynthia Steffe
Sandals: Michael Kors
Bag: Foley + Corinna

4TH and BLEEKER for CARMAR

You guessed it, Alexandra Spencer is the face of  LF STORES' CARMAR campaign. The 4th and Bleeker blogger/model has been on our radar for forever now it seems like. We were long overdue working with the look book veteran. One click of the camera and this chick turns on and really every shot was magical! I can not wait to share the finished product!!!! If you are one of those girls who lives in CARMAR denim you will appreciate the perspective we have for Spring and those of you are not familiar you will immediately be sucked into the world of which is the CARMAR girl! Want to check out more from Alex mozzy on over to her blog:

 4th and Bleeker

Images Via: 4th and Bleeker  

Fun Filled

Here's a skirt-based outfit that made the grade for the walk to work. The skirt is dense and holds its shape well; thus there's no need for a slip, either for opacity or to prevent the skirt from clinging to my legs. To me that makes a world of difference, because half slips make an outfit feel like they're in need of constant adjustment. You've got multiple waistbands to deal with, and then you have to make sure the slip isn't hanging out at the bottom of your skirt hem or twisting around in some awkward way. I want to start experimenting with full slips under a skirt and top, because I think that might be a better option. There are so many things you never notice about outfits until you have to walk a long way in them.

I've had a fun-filled couple of days. On Thursday night Mark and I attended the annual holiday party at Anchor Brewing Company, where we ate delicious food, sampled the new Christmas Ale, and even got some VIP access into the distillery and the rooftop bar (thanks to my fabulous inside connection). Reporters from the Celebrator and 7x7 Magazine were in attendance, so who knows, Mark and I might even end up in their pages.

On Friday I had the pleasure of finally meeting Lisa, aka LPC, in person for lunch downtown. She is vibrant and intelligent and a delight to talk to; I felt like I'd known her for years. For all her talk of being a Sturdy Gal, I suspect she has a big streak of Arty Cousin lurking just below the surface, so I'm looking forward to going shopping together and seeing how much of that comes out.

On Saturday Mark and I attended my company holiday party at Foreign Cinema here in the city. I wore my Valentino dress with Wolford tights and Miu Miu shoes, a combination I've been wanting to put together for quite awhile. And yes, I was too lazy to take photos.

I'm headed off on my trip to Germany and France today; see you next week!

Jacket: thrifted
Skirt: Marc by Marc Jacobs
Boots: Ecco
Necklace: Wendy Brandes