The City Sage

Get In My Belly: Black Jet Baking Co.

My number one weakness? Other than kittens, shoes, and kittens in shoes? It's sweets. Cookies, cakes, really anything that combines sugar, flour, butter, and cream into a delectable confection. The best bakery in San Francisco is Black Jet Baking Co., and I'm so excited to announce that they're the official food sponsor of the Rue, Photobooth and mira mira party on Wednesday!

I first discovered Black Jet Baking Co. last summer when I was styling the fashion shoot for Rue's Anniversary Issue. We needed some treats as props for our models, and I wanted something that matched our lazy weekend vibe. Enter Gillian from Black Jet, with her rustic, down-home take on baking. Think hand-held pies, tarts with freeform crusts, Bundt cakes, peanut butter sandwich cookies...drool...

After our photographers Chris and Sarah Rhoads of We Are The Rhoads shot all these tasty goodies, you can imagine that the talent and crew were bummed that we had to help dispose of them--by devouring them in one fell swoop. Join us on Wednesday at the party, or if you're ever in town, visit Black Jet at the Ferry Terminal. These edibles are not to be missed!

Photos: We Are The Roads for Rue Magazine

Giveaway: Best of Borghese Gift Set

Amongst my many fantasies (I have an active imagination; in my line of work you kinda hafta) is a Tuscan spa vacation. How amazing would it be to jet off to Italy at the drop of a hat and spend a week being pampered at a crumbling Renaissance villa? Soaking in lavender oil baths, receiving grape seed rub-downs, letting a muscled Adonis brush my hair until it gleams?

In lieu of such a dreamy offering, I do have a 'Best of Borghese' gift set to give to one fortunate reader! The Borghese label was born of 600 years of spa tradition dating back to the fourteenth century. They merge aromatic essential oils with mineralized waters for the ultimate in Italian luxury--and this 12 piece kit is everything you need to take a load off this season (muscled Adonis not included.)

How to win? It's the standard routine--just leave a comment on this post and I'll randomly select someone next week! If you get lucky, you can certainly choose to be generous and gift it to a harried loved one in your life. But something tells me that you're probably just as deserving yourself of some TLC this time of year. So what are you waiting for? Enter away!

P.S. This Best of Borghese set is a $300 value, available for $100 only at QVC.

Party Down with Photobooth, Mira Mira and Rue!

First, Thursday was the new Friday. And now, Wednesday is the new Thursday. So come out and get your hump day sparkle on with us next week at Photobooth! We're going to be shooting fashion portraits in a brand new Polaroid format, shopping Mira Mira faves, and tossing back Piscos. EVERYONE is invited, and there is NO excuse to stay home. Would love to see you there!  

Photos: Vince Donovan of Photobooth.

 

French Fashion to Love: Gat Rimon

Ever happened across a fashion label that just gets you? One that seems to have taken up residence in your brain and started designing clothing that is basically your entire life philosophy in sartorial form? I have a few of those, and the latest is the French line Gat Rimon. I discovered it at my fave boutique mira mira (a store that just gets me) and ever since I've been hooked.

Let's go down the list, shall we? Unexpectedly flattering silhouettes? Check. That perfect combination of androgynous yet still ladylike? Check. Romantic colors like blush and coral combined with basics such as navy, cream, and grey? Check, check, double check. The only thing missing is my current obsession with the 1970's and...oh wait...they've got that too. I'm looking at you, maxi skirts.

Another thing that I absolutely adore about Gat Rimon--and probably the thing that impresses me the most--is that I've finally been able to work a little pattern into my wardrobe rotation. And I'm not talking my usual sailor stripes here, but a terrific Morrocan tile-inspired flirty mini skirt that goes from work to play with the greatest of ease. Sumptuous silks, Parisian flair. Oui, oui, s'il vous plait!

P.S. If you don't feel like ordering from France, I'll bet you can phone mira mira and she'll ship to you. 

Vintage Props and Furnishings: Meet Disregarden!

Know how your mom taught you that eavesdropping is rude? Recently rudeness paid off for me big time. Right before we shot Bri's apartment for Rue, I was scouring the Melrose flea market in LA, hunting for last minute treasures. I happened across an amazing booth called Disregarden, where the proprietors were deep in conversation with a customer. I hovered, ears open and eyes askance. 

As soon as the pesky customer ahead of me left, I nabbed the husband and wife owners of the vintage casegoods, refurbished frames, and mini succulent gardens. 'Oh hey,' I said, and stuck out my hand in greeting. 'I love what you're doing here. We have a photo shoot coming up, and we'd be thrilled to borrow some pieces.' Cause when you're in a pinch, it helps to be straightforward like that.

And that's how I found myself in Bri's loft, two days later, with Jessica and Jonathan Taylor, the founders of Disregarden. These guys are amazing. Not only do they have an incredible company that sells and rents the coolest found objects around, they're tons of fun and full of positive energy. I mean really, I picked them up at a flea market and now we're practically family!

Check out the video from the shoot--Jess and Jonathan helped us build Bri's new bed and decorate her Christmas tree, and the armloads of props they brought from their trove really completed the loft. The best part? You can snag these goodies yourselves! The Disregarden site and Etsy shop is a feast, and the couple is a joy to work with (plus did you see those dance moves?) See? It pays to eavesdrop!

Images 1 and 2: Bonnie Tsang for Rue Magazine. Video: Son of Shark Pig for Rue Magazine.

It's Live! The Rue Holiday Issue 2011

Well. I've been wearing the same underwear for three days. My car looks like a sequin factory exploded in it. I ate Doritos for dinner last night. But none of that matters, because the Holiday Issue of Rue Magazine is live, and It. Is. Spectacular. There is so much good stuff jam-packed into those virtual pages, and we can't wait for you to check it out!

I'm especially fond of our cover shoot this time around. Shot for us by the incredible Lara Rossignol and styled by Emily Sistrunk, it was inspired by images of Dolly Parton from early in her career. The team did such an amazing job taking those Dolly photos and turning them into fresh, alluring, and fashion-forward looks that make me want to play hostess and play the guitar, all at the same time!

You can see more of Lara's Dolly Parton inspiration here, and of course read the full issue of Rue here. There are projects, home tours, gift guides, and unicorns gallore. Oh wait, did you read that right? Unicorns? Yes, yes you did. After all, the camel in Issue 6 was so exotic, we had to top ourselves somehow! Enjoy, and as always, thank you for your suppport :)

Images: Lara Rossignol for Rue Magazine. 

Selby-Inspired Engagement Shoot by Cooper Carras

This is, simply put, the most charming I've seen in quite some time. Meet San Francisco couple Neela and Marshall. These are photos of them, taken in their home, on the occasion of their engagement. And don't get me wrong--I adore me some highly styled engagement shoots, in fields, with balloons and props gallore. But this is such a lovely alternative to that trend. It's quiet, intimate, utterly perfect, no? 

The concept that Neela and Marshall came up with in partnership with their photographer Cooper Carras was an engagement shoot inspired by The Selby. Indeed, the feeling of that blog is present here. Moments in time are grabbed as the couple goes about their day; we see them preparing a snack, sharing a snuggle on the couch. This is just their life, captured through Cooper's lens. 

Not to mention that their house is pretty Selby-worthy itself! I've shared just a fraction of the details here with you, but it's full of amazing taxedermy details, vintage furniture finds, and nifty nooks and crannies. The light, the airy ceilings, and those two lounging fur babies make for one heck of an inviting and love-filled home. Best. Engagement. Shoot. Ever!

Photos courtesy of Cooper Carras Photography.

Spectacular Spectacles: Kilsgaard Eyewear

Do you have a signature piece you always wear? For me, of course, it's my glasses. I've arrived at the point where if I don't wear them to work and social events, people don't recognize me at first. (It's caused more than a few awkward encounters.) And while I love my oversized plastic frames, I'm on the hunt for the Next Big Thing. And I think i've found it at Kilsgaard Eyewear.

I still want to go big--we're talking signature look here, after all--but the more refined, haute-design sensibility of these pieces is a sophisticated step away from my current chunky tortoiseshell look. Plus I'm frankly obsessed with the shape of this girl's specs; it verges on cat eye without feeling too retro. I'm dying to see if they're right for me! Maybe this bearded gentleman can bring a pair by for me to try?

Images: Kilsgaard Eyewear 2011/2012 Campaign

Ski Lodge, Italian Style

Do you ski? Oh gosh, not me. When I was 5 my dad took me to the slopes at Tahoe. A few minutes into the 'adventure', I fell face first into the snow, burst into tears, and convinced him to spend the rest of the afternoon dragging me behind him on an innertube. But the art of après-ski? That I do very well. And this home from Marie Claire Maison Italia has my name all over it.

Here's how I play the après-ski game. It's very important to send the skiiers off with bellies full of a hot breakfast, ready to tackle the hills. So I happily provide that for them. Fresh-baked cinnamon rolls, dripping with gooey icing await them as they step out the door, skis over their shoulders. Then I laze about the place while they get wet and freezing cold in pursuit of 'fun'.

'Round about mid-afternoon, when the light starts dying and I know my hungry sportsfolks are heading home soon, it's time to hit the kitchen again. I do love to cook up a storm for a tired and hungry crowd. Tonight we'll do risotto, perhaps, with sauteed wild mushrooms and red wine? Roasted veggies like asparagus and brussels sprouts on the side, and something sinfully chocolate for dessert...

So while I may not be one for strapping my boots to two long, flat, narrow thingamajigs and skidding down an icy mountain, I do love winter sports. After all, someone has to hold down the fort while all those crazies who do like to ski, and it should be someone who understands that at the beginning and the end of the day, nothing is better than warm, comforting carbs and a toasty hug!

Images: Marie Claire Maison Italia, December 2011.