I Did This For You, America!

illesteva sunglasses, opening ceremony sweater, girl. by band of outsiders shorts

Rapid

We rounded up some friends to escape the erratic weather in San Francisco and headed up to Yuba River, three hours north in beautiful Grass Valley. It was 95 degrees and gorgeous.

Since we've had lots of rain this season, the water was quite high, ice cold and not ideal for swimming. We hiked about 15 minutes out to a spot where tons of city hipsters and old perverts like to hang out naked. The water was still cold, but the water was far less dangerous.

 We mostly sunbathed on hot rocks, got massacred by mosquitoes and watched while our crazy friend Kevin jumped into freezing mini rapids like it was a heated pool. He is out of his mind.

The cutest DJs in San Francisco.

me: illesteva sunglasses, aa bikini, gap flip flops, nars schiap lipstick. kat: lenny suit, vintage sunglasses, kelly: ray ban sunglasses, aa suit

Probably since we were listening to a lot of nostalgic old-school hip-hop on the way and back, I kept thinking about SWV, one of my favorite R&B girl groups from the 90s when I was a little kid (before I got into punk and Dischord Records). My friend Kat (in the middle) who promotes the best shows and dance nights in the city, said that she loved them too. This is us as AWV!

XOXO

Makeout not Takeout

image via sen mitsuji

So I've been back from what I call Spring Break 2011. Clearly I've been out of school for quite some time, but I went with a car full of single, horny DJs/musicians. It still applied.

The weekend went as thus:

ME: I hope they all got phone numbers. The girls Saturday were hot.

KAT: Josh had sex with a girl on the balcony we were sitting in.

ME: Hahahaha. Really? While everyone was gone or when we weren't looking? It has to be the hair. 

KAT: Yeah girls love him, it's crazy. He gets propositioned all the time by strangers.

ME: It's the bad boy thing he has going on.

KAT: A security guard flashed a light on them when his face was between her legs, then he asked for $10 to let them finish.

Guys would get so many more girls willing to sleep with them if they were just more generous. Josh gets laid because girls know he is. That and the long metal hair. I'm pretty sure half the guys we went with got laid immediately. There was evidence everywhere.

I went home with a bunch of gay men. Typical.

LA, I Like You, Part 1

I used to be one of those San Franciscans would would talk about how much I hate Los Angeles. Then I realized it's actually an awesome place to visit. And I mean visit.

Now this is no Blue Bottle Coffee or Four Barrel, but there is nothing better in LA to make me feel more welcome then perfect 80 degree weather, an iced soy latte and the Times.

On Saturday, I also got to be involved with a video collaboration with Flaunt Magazine and Sirocco Research Labs. This is director Jimmy Marble's inspiration board at his studio. He and his team are the nicest, most professional people I've ever come across.

Since we were nearby, I stopped by Thvm Atelier's new studio space. It is an unmarked warehouse space tucked away in what seems like the middle of nowhere. Michael said that head designer Brian has always had the ability of making a place that you would think was completely uninhabitable into something special and beautiful (this is a view from the "fitting room"). Too bad my camera was dying and Bianca had to close up shop when we got there. I would have taken more shots. I fortunately did walk away with the best pair of hi-rise black jeans I've ever had.

With what little time we had to shop, we decided to go to Mohawk General Store in Silverlake. This place is a favorite. All the clothing and jewelry (from lines like Rodebjer, APC Madras and Black Crane) were completely affordable and the housewares and home decor were exactly our taste (pristine vintage headphones, acid house prints and vintage guitar-picking stools). They were even playing one of my favorite songs from Mulatu Astatke while we were shopping.

Thank you Los Angeles for being so good to us.

Things That Make Me Happy

1. Acne Wannabe Dress

2. Acne Bay Silk T-Shirt

3. Helter Skelter Sunglasses

Going south to LA to work on a project. I was really excited, but then I realized what I got myself into.