you've got to climb mt. everest to reach the valley of the dolls

Spent Halloween in a slowly increasing state of dishevelment as Anne Welles from Valley of the Dolls (which was a terrible book before it was a terrible movie...I highly recommend reading it). For work I played the more put-together polished version, and by nightfall I was a smeared mess, 'dolls' in hand.

The day before Halloween we had the world-famous pumpkin carver Shawn Feeney in our office to work his magic on a pumpkin, which we streamed live. This guy is seriously talented. Check out more of his work here.

More hot mess action. It rained really hard on my way to the party, which added to the overall affect:

The party was a 'Hotel California' theme, complete with a creepy butler (hired on Craigslist), a reception desk, and room keys as souvenirs:

The bathroom was delightfully reminiscent of a murder scene:

And finally, we all know it's not a real holiday without pictures of dogs looking distressed in adorable costumes. L to R: Quasi as the horse + headless horseman, Kobe as a mod, and Gus as a dinosaur (begging for cheese cubes):

Hope you all had a fun and fantastic Hallow's Eve!

life, generally

ASOS dress, Derek Lam shoes, Colorblock Shop earring, vintage ring and necklace

My summer so far has been defined by frequent trips into Marin to avoid the fog, more online shopping than shopping at actual stores, Wardell's growing afro that elicits comments almost wherever we go, hanging with Kobe, finding sunny spots to read, a constant smell of self tanner hanging around my apartment, planning a trip to Tulum and Playa Del Carmen in July, and vowing not to spend any more money now that said travel has been planned and paid for. Restraint is key.

bared

wearing vintage skirt, madewell denim shirt, no-name sunglasses, earrings from Morocco, vintage and thrifted jewelry, and Derek Lam shoes

Hangin' on street corners with Kobes the other weekend, enjoying a brief stint of warm weather, which has now of course been replaced with typical "summer" weather in SF--blisteringly cold and windy with thick fog that only dissipates sometime around midday and then comes roaring back in the early evening. Kind of like this. 

Don't know if you can tell, but I flirted, ever so briefly, with the idea of a crop top and high waisted skirt with this outfit. I think I've decided that one can avoid unpleasant mid-90's references as long as the belly button is covered. What say you?

who wore it better?

On the left, me doing my best "hipster with a feather" impression, and on the right, Kobe throwing a casual glance over his shoulder in the same mongolian lamb vest from Topshop. In fact, if you blur your eyes a little bit, he just looks like he gained a lot of weight and got a weird haircut. When I see this vest sitting in a chair, I have to resist the urge to pet it and feed it fortune cookies (Kobe's fave).

SO WHO WORE IT BETTER?

cleanse

wearing Madewell shirt and scarf, Zara coated jeans, Balenciaga heels, Timex watch, vintage ring

I clearly have no intention of ever taking this shirt off or posing for a picture without Kobe by my side. I can't help it!! He's so cute with his little flipper feet.

In more serious news, I am about to embark on a 3-day juice cleanse for the first time ever. Since I'm one who usually gets hangry (hungry angry) if I don't eat every 2 1/2 hours, this is going to be an exercise in emotional and physical self-control that probably won't be any more pleasant for friends, family, and co-workers than it will be for me. Already kicked off the "pre-cleanse" by cutting out caffeine (ouch), white flours (double ouch) and red meat. Wednesday is the day it all begins, so I'll be dragging each and every one of you along on this ill-advised adventure. Get ready.

non denominational gift giving

wearing Madewell shirt and sweater, Zara jeans, Made by Elves booties, vintage Tibetan bracelet and silver ring (gifts from my sister!) and Commes Des garcons wallet (gift from my parents)

For a heeb, I made out pretty well this Christmas. My sister (pictured above in some kind of graceless arabesque) brought me back some real goodies from her trip to India earlier this year, and my mom made my dreams come true by giving me the CDG wallet I'd been ogling/begging for. Plus, I was privileged to get to spend the holiday with this handsome devil:







Yep, that's Kobe wearing his elf costume, an indignity he suffers quite well when given the chance to snarf down treats. Love that little bugger.

Hope everyone's Christmas/Hanukkah/long weekend was wonderful!

like buttahhh

wearing Leith leather leggings from Nordstrom Rack, Tucker blouse, mom's sweater vest, Urban Outfitters shoes, vintage necklace and bracelets, DIY tassel earrings

Thanksgiving outfit, take 2. Decided that elastic waistband buttery soft leather leggings would do less to impede consumption and digestion than my wool trousers in the previous post. It was a wise decision.

These are my first pair of leather leggings and I had to buy them in a medium because the only other size was an xs. Reeeeaaallly hoping they don't stretch out and become leather hammer pants. Does anyone know how much leather leggings tend to stretch?

saturdays in the sun

Still savoring the last few days of an Indian Summer. This weekend I went to San Francisco's favorite drum circle/burner hangout/dog watcher's paradise Dolores Park with my friend Kelli and her daughter Isabella. We claimed a spot long before most of the hipsters woke up and were out before 3pm. Not my normal schedule, but sort of nice and different.

Also found a knee-length A-line leather skirt at Goodwill that has completely changed my attitude about Fall. Bring it on.

suede

vintage suede shorts, H&M knit top

The suede shorts from this post in action. They have this genius fit--nice and roomy through the thigh so that when I sit down my legs don't look like sausages oozing out of their skins. Very important. I'll be wearing these all winter with tights, boots, and secretary blouses.

Oh, and I'm having a Kobe sleepover weekend! Yay!