still alive

I swear it, I am still alive.  I'm super busy working on a project that I hope to be sharing with you guys soon (so excited!), and I can only spend so many hours in front of the computer before my eyeballs start bleeding, so the blog has taken a bit of a back seat lately.  But I am alive and well, truly.  And if you need proof, follow me on Instagram, where I have finally set up an account and am chronicling life's little pleasures in a less wordy way.  See you over there?

postcards from the bay

Everyone knows that one of the best things about San Francisco is the food.  And everyone knows to go to the Mission for quick and delicious mexican.  But sometimes I worry when I see people going to the wrong ones.   Sure, you could go anywhere and get a delicious burrito, but if you want a taco that's out of this world, that will make you roll your eyes back into your head in ecstasy, you need to go to La Taquería at 25th and Mission.  And you need to order the carnitas taco, dorado, with everything on it.  Dorado means they lightly fry one of the two corn tortillas, melting the cheese into it and leaving it toasty and crisp while the other one remains soft and supple around it.  If that doesn't sound amazing to you, then feel free to order whatever you want, or go to whatever taco place catches your eye, but we cannot be friends.

I literally dream about these tacos when I'm in Madrid, and apart from seeing family and friends, La Taquería is my favorite thing about going back to SF.  It's not just me, this is award-winning stuff.  If you're in San Francisco try it for yourself, and let me know if I'm not right.

PS- nearby is Mitchell's ice cream.  Go there afterwards and stuff yourself even more with some of the crazy flavors they have - ube, macapuno, avocado, lucuma... or my absolute favorite: mexican chocolate (deep dark chocolate with a touch of cinnamon).  Yum.

litter

I often check in at Litter to see what those ladies are up to.   Sisters Rachael and Mackenzie make wild jewelry pieces for your head, your shoulders, your thighs and your shoes.  While some of their pieces can be harder to pull off, I absolutely love this metal collar.  It's such a nice twist on all the collar tips and collar necklaces we've been seeing this past year.  Also intrigued by this beautiful shoulder piece, though honestly I don't quite understand the engineering behind how it stays on.

entrapment

A break from my Vancouver posts to say, "Damn you, Madewell."

Seriously.  A few weeks ago in San Francisco I went in to browse and walked out with this blue striped sweater, but of course I tried everything on and fell in love with this shirt as well.  I was still pining over it a week later (which is always a sign that it's meant to be) so I ducked back into the store to pick it up.  But of course they had new things!  Which of course I had to try on.  Which of course I am now pining over, yet another week later.  Argh.  So, at the risk of boring you all (and myself) to death, in what will hopefully be my last madewell post for a long while, I present to you the pieces that caught my eye the second time around.

striped transmission tee - the perfect soft and comfy striped shirt with a bit of spunk in the pocket

biltmore felt fedoras - floppier and slightly rumpled in the store, like an old man's fishing hat

enticing jewelry - dangly earrings that are half elegance, half rock 'n roll, delicate neon rings for stacking*, and yes, again, the llama

*I know I saw a beautiful photo of someone who had slipped a thin neon ring in with her wedding and engagement ring, just a crazy pop of color in an otherwise very traditional elegant stack, and I absolutely loved the effect.  Can't now find it, of course, but if you've seen it let me know where!

couldn't resist

I know I was just talking about Madewell's current offerings a few days ago, so this post is highly inappropriate, but you're just going to have to deal with it.   What's new since then?  Well, I've been into the actual store, touching and ogling and trying on almost everything in there.  This sweater jumped into my bag (I gave them some money in exchange, don't worry), in blue of course, though now that I've seen the way they've styled this photo I want it in pink as well.  Because the main thing I am now coveting is that shirt she's got underneath.  I tried it on and man, in person, that is perfection.

Slightly sheer gauzy silk in this poppy red that reminds me of my favorite lipstick (Nars Heat Wave, in case you're looking for a good red lippie), it's masculine in shape but perfectly fitted and beautifully draped at the same time.  I have to have it.  And then we'll talk about whether or not I need the pink sweater to go over it...

i pity the fool

Today I picked up a little something that I'm in love with.  No, not this gentleman.  Just the shirt off his back.  Laugh all you want, I'm dead serious.  I came from hot Wisconsin summer days, so humid and pollen-filled that running was out of the question, and arrived in the sunset district of San Francisco, which might as well be Mordor.  It is foggy and wintery and cold, all the time.  Perfect for a jog really, but not in a tank top.  So we headed over to a nearby Sports Authority and found a women's department filled with teeny tiny skimpy tops and shorts.  Last thing I need is another excuse to not exercise, so I was determined to find something appropriate.  I headed to the men's section and found this.  I look way cuter than this guy, I swear.  And after running in it, I can honestly say that it is perfect.  I bough it a little large so I don't get all the "compression" effects that you're supposed to (I think maybe he's upset that he's being squeezed too tight?), but it was wonderfully breathable and dried in 5 seconds flat, kept me warm but didn't make me hot.  So, even though this guy is frowning at me like he wants to beat me to a pulp, I'm going to buy more.

Do ever shop men's?  In sporting goods stores?

continuing education

Well, some of you may have noticed that I'm not in London taking a ton of short courses at the London College of Fashion like I said I would be.  One of them got cancelled and I just couldn't justify going over there if it wasn't going to be a full-blown intensive immersion-type situation.  Probably for the best, the whole thing was pretty insane and rushed.  I will still be doing a 3-day course there in October, so stay tuned for more on that, but for now, I'm settling in to life at home in Madrid, and keeping my eye out for other enriching sources of education.  This workshop recently caught my eye here.

How fun does that look?  Learning photoshop in a course geared specifically towards bloggers, with tons of goodie bags and ridiculously good food?  With classes held in San Francisco, LA, New York, Boston, Paris and Berlin, it shouldn't be too hard to find myself near one of them eventually.  

Watch another cute Blogshop video after the jump...

a color celebration

I found this photo by Peter Funch on HonestlyWTF,  one of my favorite blogs of all time.  And then of course one thing leads to another, as always happens with these things, and I found myself riveted by the original videos on youtube.  You can watch the original commercial here or after the jump, but then please do watch the making of.  Amazing how frantic and chaotic and even violent the actual shoot was compared to the serene beauty of the final result.  When those balls shot out of the cannon I just about jumped out of my skin!  The magic of film making, it never ceases to amaze me.