Who: The Ferocious Few (who are amaaaaazing)
Where: Bottom of the Hill
When: Tomorrow, Saturday, September 4th @ 9:30pm
How Much: $10.00

(Photo Credit: Street Pepper)

Delving a bit deeper into our conversation we both agreed that San Franciscans are known for wearing a few things: lots of layers, quirky combinations, a lot of black and gray… not everyone, but this is our general observation (and a part of our personal style). Men tend to wear hats, scarves and carry messenger bags, or the often mocked “murse.”

(Photo Credit: The SF Style)

Most distinctively, our attire tends to be fitted and conceptual compared to the more relaxed/casual attire of those who visit from the suburbs, or other parts of the United States (I’m not naming names!). BUT, even when you see casual attire in our city, it still looks distinctly San Francisco. Why is that?

It got me thinking about how our little city is overflowing with unique style from person to person, yet we can still have a general idea of the average attire. Well-fitted, dark colors, utilitarian accessories, and seemingly pre-meditated outfit concepts. This can translate as the style for every metropolitan city, really, but it’s not. New York style, Seattle, Chicago, Los Angeles, and the list goes on. There are so many variables that factor into this equation that make each region unique: weather, lifestyle, social norms, socioeconomic status, etc. Each city’s style can be so so different, but in any of these cities, I’m sure the locals can point out the tourists. It can become a fun pastime. At the same time, this reminds me of the time I went to Rockford, Illinois with my super cute lady friends a few years ago. Me, the wannabe rockabilly gal, Shauna the glam goth queen, and Christina, the super cute indie chick. We got a surprising amount of attention, which I never really got at home… and we lived in Orange County at the time. So who knows. Do we dress the way we do because we want attention, or is it because we want to spice up our lives and wear things that make us happy? My honest answer is: a little bit of both. But I think that’s a topic for another entry!

Do you agree? Do you think I’m full of crap? What’s your take on “the tourist”? Do you think their attire is circumstantial to the fact that they’re on vacay? So many questions!

It wasn’t really a lovely day for a picnic at all… I just like quoting Little Women as much as I possibly can. Anyway! I have the kind of fun task of designing the t-shirt for our annual company picnic. We’re doing a one color print on a Kelly green shirt. Not my usual task, but it is a challenge I have accepted and I hope I can pretend to be an illustrator and do my best. In the meantime, I’ve been looking at pretty picnicing pictures for inspiration (even though the shirts will look nothing like these). Enjoy!

This last one is dedicated to my dear Janey. Cheers to our hopefully not too far into the future trip to the forest!

(Photo Credits: weheartit)

Everyone, meet Boo Yao, Boo Yao, this is everyone.

I’m currently house sitting, and have a new kitty “friend.” I use the term “friend” loosely as this kitty and I are still learning how to get along. Really, she’s a sweetheart, but she’s just always all up in my grill; see photo evidence above. Anyway, she loves attention, so everyone, send Boo Yao your blog love.

Aside from kitties, I’ve been working on my Babushka Etsy shop update for September 1st! I’m really excited about it. It always feels nice to dream up a big goal and actually accomplish it. I’m really close, and the 1st is only a few days away. Anyhoo, I’m off to brunch and have face time with some of my favorite people, and then more crocheting. Happy Sunday, everyone!

This past week in San Francisco has been a warm one… well, we had 3 days of highs in the 80s. Today we’re back to the 60s, but during those days of blissful heat, I really started to miss my hometown and my fam.

So! Homeward bound I must go! I decided to fly down mid-September, which oddly enough is the same time I moved to SF last year. Anyway, I’m excited to see my fam, Bri & Richard and to just feel the dry hot hot heat of the desert… basically, get my fix and promptly return to my naturally air-conditioned city.

Photo Credit: The New Yorker

Monday night, after waiting a few days in anticipation for my next Netflix movies to arrive, I finally received two fashion-related films that I’ve been anxious to see: Brüno (Larry Charles, 2009) and Coco Before Chanel (Anne Fontaine, 2009). Needless to say, I watched not even 5 minutes of Brüno and decided that it needed to be sent back immediately, if not sooner. Alas,  it was quickly resealed in its red envelope and I then popped in Coco Becoming Chanel… within the first 30 seconds the movie was already vastly superior… ok, enough about how bad Brüno was and onto the good stuff!

This was the story of a girl who was left at an orphanage by her father. Upon seeing Gabrielle Chanel as a young girl walking curiously through the halls of the orphanage, you immediately get the sense that she’s extraordinary. The director did an amazing job capturing this aura of a quiet and subtle genius in the making.

The story then moves on to Gabrielle and her sister striving to become performers, which is where she gets her nickname, “Coco.” She and her sister perform at bars at night, but work as seamstresses during the day… these scenes in the sewing rooms are incredibly exciting – she was doing something she saw as being beneath her while trying to pursue fame as an actress…

She finds herself at the home of a lover/acquaintance she came to know at the bar and it is here, miles outside of Paris that she begins to start really rebelling.

She decides that corsets inhibit women from being comfortable, and to stop wearing them. The ladies she is surrounded by question her choice – why would a woman want to wear a garment that looks shapeless? But in the end, as we know, Coco’s decision changes eveything.

Coco finds fame amongst her elite new friends with her unique style and most importantly her simple hats. She mocks the women around her with Arthur, also known as “Boy,” and observes how the women overly decorate themselves with feathers and jewelry, while she chooses to wear, and alter to her liking, Baltan’s suits.

Tragedy occurs (don’t worry, I won’t spoil it!) and we see Coco working voraciously at the dress form, which is a really powerful and emotional scene (for me at least – I think I cried around 4 times throughout the film). Coco finishes her collection and we watch along with her as her creations walk down the elegant staircase. From the orphanage to one of the most coveted names in fashion, Coco Chanel shook up the way women lived on a day to day basis. It is a cliche phrase, but in her case it was incredibly true: she was indeed before her time. My favorite scenes were those when Coco was surrounded by the “fashionable” Victorian women of the time, and she is in an immaculately tailored (for her body) men’s suit. Absolutely breathtaking and special.

Whew! Needless to say, I recommend this film. Where are my tissues…

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Refusing to let the HAND of the MAN hold them down.

Traci and Patrick made a stop in San Francisco and stayed at Casa Barker/Jimenez last night. It was really really great to see them. They’ve embarked on a journey from Orange County to Portland. I know, I’m jealous too. But we can live vicariously through them via the blog.

Patrick modeling the Mustard Crocheted Headphones

Kate and Jesse were also here and it was a lovely evening full of vegan-friendly dinner (fried gnocchi with amazing sauce) and chats about the food industry, our mutual loves of all things knit/crochet, and craft fairs. Big big plans always occur when I’m around my like-minded crafty people.

Friendly baristas, amazing coffee, live music AND amazing decor. DREAM COFFEE SHOP

About a month ago I went to Seattle for a wedding (which I will post about soon-ish). We stayed with our friends, and they live in the oh-so-hip Capitol Hill, where everyone looked fresh out of Urban Outfitters/Anthropology that weekend. The weather was beautiful, and so were the people. But not in the plastic-hipster Hollywood way, just in a laid back but still pretty polished way. ANY-WAY, moving along…

Marissa playing the community crossword puzzle while we waited for our order.

We walked to the wedding ceremony from our friends’ place because we could (which was awesome) and I was in desperate need of some caffeine, so we stopped at 15th Avenue Coffee & Tea, which we had passed on numerous occasions, but only ever peaked in to continue on down the street to take care of some much needed second-hand clothing shopping. (IMPORTANT SIDE NOTE: People. DO shop at Crossroads in Seattle. Not only is it more organized and smells better than the ones I’ve been to in SF, but everything is cheaper. The average price of a dress is $8. Just sayin’.)

That chandelier is made out of clothespins.

Ok, so where were we? Right, coffee. Basically, this shop is an independent coffee shop “inspired by Starbucks” according to their website (aka, owned by Starbucks). But don’t get me wrong. I love Starbucks, but I also love supporting independent coffee shops… regardless of who this place was affiliated with, that was the BEST iced vanilla latte I have ever consumed in my 26-year-old life. Do stop by if you are ever in the area.

In addition to the amazing latte, I think the most impressive aspect of this coffee shop on 15th and Thomas was the decor. Absolutely beautiful in an understated, just really cool way. From the clothespin chandelier, to the rustic and re-purposed water basin which now functions as the cream and sugar station, to my favorite (seen above), book pages on the walls. Genius? Yes, I think so.