thanks[to you]giving.

winter white blooms - napa, ca

thank you, thanksgiving, it was a delicious day.  and though i love stuffing and all things pumpkin-flavored, i can't wait to invite the christmas spirit into my life.  eggnog=my favorite.  and lights.  and christmas trees.  and cozy sweaters and gift-buying.  can't wait.  

in the spirit of today, i'm thankful for:

1. you

2. my family

3. my friends

4. my ultra-comfortable bed

5. my art wall and its contributors 

6. my job

7. my dogs 

8. and all of the things that make my day-to-day worth an f-ing hurray. 

can you believe that one brain can carry and contain it all?

cranes, big ones - from the ferry - vallejo, ca

five things:

1. when i pass a person with an ipod, i want to know what they're listening to.  

2. it pisses me off that all san francisco parking signs contain a grammatical error: no parking from 2am-6am everyday.  every space day, people.  every. space. day. i've been told that i need to relax about it.  i think the city should consider hiring a copyeditor.  hell, hire me.

3. i'm going to start asking people to guess my name.  i feel like the answers would be interesting.  and for the record, i tell creepy guys that my name is holly.  i've never been questioned.

4. when walking through the stockton tunnel on my way home from work, i choose a person far ahead of me to secretly race to the end.  i normally win.  i have considerable stride advantage. 

5. yesterday while at trader joe's i overheard a man and a woman discussing how unripe the avocados were.  terribly so.  he then said to his curly-haired companion, we'll just put them in a brown paper bag with an apple.  magic!  i totally need to eavesdrop more often.

oh vinni, everything about you is positively glowing.

beams - Qs - santa barbara, ca

i've always classified myself as an overthinker. i toil with ideas until they are so tired, so exhausted in my head. take now for instance. i just sat in front of this screen for at least ten minutes with the featured photo just staring at me, thinking, what the hell should i write? what have i been thinking about lately that is at all relevant to this picture? when really, all i want to discuss is my favorite little neighborhood man. first, he wears strictly khaki-colored clothing. normally chinos with a beige golf shirt and tan loafers. second, he jogs while crossing the street. and i use the term 'jog' to convey his bodily movements. the word is not meant to imply that his pace is anything quicker than glacial. it is a most absurd scene--the arm-pumping, the unnecessary lifting of the knees. third, i've named him vinni. he's totally someone's round, smily uncle--the kind of man who tells the chubby girl how pretty she looks. he is what i've coined, human sunshine.

a message to my mama.

hoodies - my closet - sf, ca

my mom recently began reading my blog.  hi mom.  i love you.  

bak dau. bak dau. step dow.

washed up - dp beach - isla vista, ca

i have a pretty substantial fear of face planting on muni.  the following scenario is one that i play in my mind each time i flash my monthly pass: i climb onto the thirty, both hands gripping shopping bags.  i anticipate the bus's acceleration, but underestimate the driver's pent up rage.  i take ginger steps toward the glossy, burnt orange seats.  the driver guns it.  my small-turned-giant, stomping steps can't compensate for the zero to thirty in two seconds.  so i take a dive face-first, into the sticky, trodden, rubber flooring.  and all of the little chinamen laugh at once. "beeg laydee faal daun." the horror.  i've never seen it happen, but i'm sure it has.

women in menswear and the power of it all.

beauty and the (bow tie) beast - MAiSONRY - yountville, ca

for the past two weeks, fashionistas san francisco-wide have been gushing over the yves saint laurent retrospective being featured at the deyoung museum.  without question, the man was a genius--a visionary and creator of an empowered female silhouette.  i had the opportunity to see several of the looks featured in the collection, and i was shocked that my ysl knowledge was so lacking.  i've only been familiar with the late-eighties, early-nineties collections.  the iconic power suit and brilliant colors that are still most present in what has become of the house.  but there was a time when the label was a brilliant combination of boho and glamour. of carefree and polish.  let's just say mr. laurent has a knack for remaining relevant.  cheers to that.  and cheers to cheersing all weekend long!

imagine if those were your rights denied.

two in one - my garden - napa, ca

pretty bummed about the passing of prop eight.  i just don't get what people are so averse to.  love is love is love is love.  and to say otherwise is all kinds of ignorant.  f that.

congratulations america. thank you, obama.

a little sacrilege never hurt anyone - yountville, ca

i woke up this morning three hours before having to go to work.  not because i'm an early riser--many can attest that i'm quite the opposite-- but because i've never felt so invested in a single election.  when i drew that black, felt-tipped line to complete the arrow pointing to obama, i closed my eyes wanting to remember that very moment for the rest of my life.  and i think i will--voting in someone's garage has such an unbelievable charm.  and the camaraderie among voters waiting in line is quite strong in a place like san francisco where many people uphold my love for my man barack.  so thank you everyone for voting today.  

let me have an AMEN.  hell, i'd like a HALLELUJAH as well.  tomorrow is today is our future right away.  yes we can.

the storm before the storm.

droplets - peju winery - oakville, ca

what better to do on a rainy--i'm talking pouring--day than take a trip to cheap pete's for a little framing assistance?  come november 19th i'll have three new additions to my ever-growing art wall.  

more importantly, tomorrow will be one for the books.  one that i'm quite positive will be a topic of conversation well into our eighties.  i'm going to wait as long as i have to in order to cast my vote for obama.  and i might even be listening to john legend's if you're out there on repeat while waiting in line.  

why yes, i would love a glass of wine.

giant olive oil jug - MAiSONRY - yountville, ca

i believe in bringing reusable bags to the grocery store.  okay, you do it too.  practically everyone does.  but do you write "for a good time" in place of your name on the trader joe's raffle ticket?  i didn't think so.  in any case, i'm still waiting for the call.  i'm beginning to think that the whole fifty dollar gift certificate deal is a huge fraud.  

other than that, i had an interesting weekend.  made most enjoyable thanks to my personal sommelier slash conversationalist extraordinaire, evan.  his sitch over at coit liquor is pretty great--tons of foot traffic which grants me plenty of opportunity to talk to strangers.  or at least observe them from a friendly distance.  take tonight for instance.  i met a couple from italy--paolo (a serious wine connoisseur)and enza (a computer science professor)--and after talking for a while, they asked when i was coming to lake como.  i said, "soon" (lie).  which led to an open invitation to visit.  if only i had more dollars in my life.  then came luke, a waiter from boston who just so happens to work at de lucci's restaurant directly across the street from my house.  p.s. the place serves the best bloody mary i've ever found--perfectly spicy, a celery-salted rim, and a shrimp, celery, and olive garnish to boot.  oh, and then there was the douchbag who literally rolled into the store on his skateboard.  dude, you're not cool.  we're not impressed.  get the fuck out.  he felt the wrath and decided to "buy [his] beer elsewhere."  good riddance, bro.