Festive.

Today I am sporting my red Miu Miu slingbacks*:

and this little headband in my hair:

from Gracie Bella Butterfly

toting these for my lil' monster-students:

and with copies of this poem to share with them:

First Poem for You**

            Kim Addonizio

I like to touch your tattoos in complete

darkness, where I can't see them.  I'm sure of

where they are, know by heart the neat

lines of lightning pulsing just above

your nipple, can find, as if by instinct, the blue

swirls of water on your shoulder where a serpent

twists, facing a dragon.  When I pull you

to me, taking you until we're spent

and quiet on the sheets, I love to kiss

the pictures in your skin.  They'll last until

you're seared to ashes; whatever persists

or turns to pain between us, they will still

be there.  Such permanence is terrifying.

So I touch them in the dark; but touch them, trying.

***

Seriously: what's not to love about Valentine's Day?  However, my Valentine's Day promises to be quite untraditional, as instead of savoring a romantic dinner tonight, I will be teaching love poems at San Quentin State Prison.  What a hilarious place to spend the day of love!  It will certainly remind me that there are far worse positions to be in than dateless. ;)

What are y'all up to today??

*Let it be known that I will not be wearing said Miu Miu slingbacks to the prison tonight.
**Did you notice it's a perfect Shakespearean sonnet?

Friday I'm in Love!

Summergirl

It's Friday, and I'm exhausted.  But I'm wearily in love with these things:

1. All the Valentine's love  that's been pouring in my mailbox!  If you're struggling with making your own Valentines, check out Micaela's gorgeous, hand-crafted cards.  Hers put mine to shame!  And check out this loot--Faiza sent decorations for my all-girls V-Day sleepover, and my friend Linda sent hilarious chocolate.  So excited:

this is just the beginning!

2.  This blog's  layout and design.  I love it!  I came across it through Carrie's white denim in winter challenge, and I immediately emailed the sweet blogger, Kai, to ask who did her design.  Now, to spend $60 on a new blog layout or not to?  Isn't her blog perfect looking?  I'm smitten.

3. These Jeffreys:

cutttteeee

Normally I like super-feminine shoes, but something about these clunky, modern platforms has me all atwitter.  

Hope everyone's having a delightful Friday!  It sure is easier to get through the day knowing there is a weekend ahead of you.  Unfortunately, I will be hunkered down all weekend staring at my computer screen since I have an upcoming deadline for the Voice of Witness project I'm working on (transcribing the interviews I've done and turning them into first person narratives).  I love the project so dearly, and I'm so fortunate to be a part of it . . . but man, is it time-consuming!

XOXO

Friday I'm in Love!

Summergirl

I've got a new shoe crush and it's taken hold of me.  Evidently, Rihanna and I have the same taste in Louboutins.  The one pair I own, she owned first (damn her!).  And now, she's bested me again, cause she has the Christian Louboutin Misfit 150s!  Thus begins my Friday I'm in Love post with

1. These Loubs:

other things I love about this photo: Vogue, Rihanna, Annie Leibovitz

OMFG

Believe it or not, I think I like them best in the creamy khaki color.  They're perfectly dramatic in black, but maybe a little too goth for me.  But the lighter color?  HOLY MOTHER.  I've fallen hard.  They're only $1500, so I only need to take 862 more babysitting jobs to get my paws on them!

2. Snooki's book being on the New York Times best seller list.

Don't believe me?  Click here.  

Did I just order this book from amazon?  Why yes, yes I did.  What can I say, I love to read. ;)

(What I'm not in love with: that I have $80K of student loans and an MFA in Creative Writing and yet Snooki's book is on the best seller list).

3. FREE SNOOKI

That moments after Snooki was hauled off by the cops and taken to the slammer, JWOWW was sporting one of these:

In case you've forgotten some of Snooki's finer moments, here's a little reminder:

4. Jude + Tim Riggins

Jude is nobody's fool, and damn straight he's paying homage to the fact that Tim Riggins has been released from jail and is back in Dillon, Texas!  Let's just say my Wednesday nights have gotten a little brighter (uh--hotter) now that Timmy's back on Friday Night Lights.  

welcome home, baby.  

tell me, what kinds of things did you miss while you were in prison?

Hope the rest of you have had a lovely week and have fun weekend plans.  I finally have a day off on Sunday (!!!) so let's just say the world is my oyster.  Happy weekend!

Friday I'm in love with Central America

Summergirl

It is Friday and I am very much in love with three things:

1. These shoes

from

I first saw them on this blog and my heart skipped a beat . . . I looked them up immediately, and am now mustering all the justifications I can for spending $178 on a pair of shoes right before Christmas (when I should be saving my money for gifts!).  I cannot get these shoes outta my head!  Just imagine them with black tights and a gray ballerina-esque skirt!  They are perfect.  They are exquisite.  I have to find a way . . .

2. My students' reactions to the West Memphis Three case

In class we read Damien Echols's memoir, Almost Home, and then watched the HBO documentary, Paradise Lost, about the West Memphis Three case.  My students are so into it, and it makes me happy, because trust me . . . this case is worth getting to know.  It's crazy to think that blatant injustice is still happening in our "civilized" country.

click here

3. Leaving for Guatemala tonight!

 Freeman, his parents, and I are hittin' the road tonight and catching a flight to LA at 9:30, immediately followed by a flight to Guatemala City!  We'll head to Antigua bright & early tomorrow morning, and will stay there for the next few days.  We're all gonna be exhausted (hello, international red-eye with a toddler!), but it will be well worth it.  I've been battling wanderlust for quite some time now, and I think this trip might just take care of it.  For a while, anyway. :)  Check out these pics of Antigua, known for its volcanoes!

three images from

I'll be back Wednesday morning, so in the meantime, have a fantastic weekend!  

Have any of you been to Antigua, or Guatemala in general?

I'm throwin on my Louboutins . . .

Today, I'm redirecting you to Micaela's blog, as she's having a SHOE DATE! Check out all the pics of their shoes her readers sent in. Can you guess which ones are mine before you read the captions? :)

Here's my current shoe-crush. No big deal that the price tag is $895, right?

Tell me about your favorite pair of shoes.

All Things Pretty

Check out these gorgeous things I'm swooning over right now:

Karen Millen Extravagant Frill Satin Court Shoe, asos

So it's no secret that I love over-the-top stilettos. But these might just take the cake. I mean, they're like Mercury the messenger God (winged sandals) meets ballerina (pink satin). I don't know why I think it's such a good idea to browse shoe sites when I'm in no shape to purchase fancy footwear, but I just couldn't help falling a little bit in love with these beauts.

from Mae Chevrette's etsy

It's all thanks to Faiza that I found this print on Mae Chevrette's etsy. Faiza won it in a giveaway, and when she blogged about it, I had to pull a copycat move and go order the same print immediately. First, because art that incorporates text is my fave. Second, because this quote is like my dang motto! I was so excited when it came in the mail today. Can't wait to find the perfect frame + space on my wall.

A Literate Passion tank from Every Little Counts

Today I'm wearing this tank that Micaela sent me in honor of my love for Anais Nin (mine is flamingo pink, just couldn't find a pic I could snag!). Everything about Anais--her life, her writing, her ridiculous love affairs--is so captivating. Particularly her long and tumultuous romance with Henry Miller, around which this shirt was designed. LOVE IT!

Hope everyone's had a wonderful week. I've been sending out so many letters! Speaking of which, I'm a little obsessed with card-making and letter-writing, so if you want one, let me know!

The O.C.

You know, I've come to realize that the fact that one of my best friends lives in Orange County is not the only reason that I don't hate it. Sure, the parking lots are flooded with luxury SUVs, there are lots of chain stores, and let's just say they could use a little color up in the place. Buttttttt . . . there's also the Beachcomber, a perfect restaurant right on Newport Beach where you can sit and have a glass of white wine overlooking the waves. And there's Sprinkles cupcakes. And of course Amy and Dave's new baby doesn't hurt:

babysam

new wedges!

I'm kind of in love with my new black wedges. Plus, believe it or not, they're comfy! They were my sole O.C. purchase this time around . . . oh, and I must point out that Fashion Island in Newport Beach is teeming with overly tan women in rompers and tiny dogs. WHY BRING YOUR DOG SHOPPING? Seriously, people.

Sprinkles is a little bit of heaven

clockwise from top left: key lime, red velvet (my fave), lemon, peanut butter chocolate (Amy and Dave's favorite), vanilla, and milk chocolate. To the right? A pupcake for Amy & Dave's dog, Roxanne. :)

Auntie Claire and babysam!

Check out Sam rockin' his Juicy Couture duds I got him. I mean, he does live in Orange County after all. We can't have him being a baby pariah. :)

Notes from Cloud 9

You won't believe what happened tonight.

After work today, my friend Meagan and I went to a happy hour Sex and the City 2 promotion party at a club called Harlot in San Francisco. You know you're in for a good time when you walk in the door and are handed a raffle ticket and a cupcake. ;) Not even the pricey cosmos could keep us down! The party was thrown by a local radio station, and they were raffling off tickets to an early showing of Sex and the City 2 (this coming Monday night!), a spa package, a $500 gift certificate to Tiffany's, a pair of Manolo Blahniks, and a pair of Jimmy Choos.

This pic is almost too bad to post, but it's all I got:

yes, I'm shorter than Meagan even when I'm in heels and she's not

So we head to the bar and order up a pair of cosmopolitans, then find a seat at a swank table in the middle of things. The djs are snapping pictures, Meagan and I are chatting, people are mingling. Before we know it, boom! My name is called--2 tix to an advance screening of the movie! Then, boom! Meagan's name is called, 2 more tix! An hour later, we're heading out the door, figuring that since we've already won tickets, we can't win the big swag. But lo and behold . . .

"And the winner of the $500 gift certificate to Tiffany's . . . Claire Kiefer!!!"

Unreal! So I giddy-up to the front and claim my prize, only to be followed by the dude who won the Jimmy Choos (what?? a dude??). Immediately, a lightbulb! I chased him down and with one quick "excuse me, sir" had negotiated a fine, fine trade . . . and he left happily with the Tiffany gift certificate while I left with these perfectly-sized beauties in my paws:

OMG.

I'll get back to you on Monday about the movie . . . sans spoilers, of course!!

Day Drinking

(Recap of weekend which followed hellish, stressfest week):

Friday: Left school, went straight to the patio at El Rio for my amazing co-worker's AIDS Ride fundraiser happy hour. Had two (strong) vodka sodas, then went to the Small Desk Press reading at Adobe Books in the Mission. Great reading, folks. I always love hearing Marisa read her poems, and Matt was great, and Corry, and Michael, and Lizzy, and everyone. Long freakin' day.

Saturday: So what if you're 8 hours late to the party? That's what I was to my friends' Kentucky Derby party in San Francisco on Saturday . . . but I showed up and quickly joined the ranks of those holding old fashioned cocktails in their right hands. But before I could become properly intoxicated, I started to feel a little sick (sore throat, etc.), so I fell asleep on the futon.

Sunday: After getting a text from my Rug-Boy at 5 am (what??), I couldn't sleep, so drove back home, canceled my babysitting job, took an Ambien, and SLEPT. Upon waking, I chatted with my roommate on our back deck, and determined that my sore throat + the miraculous sunshine only meant one thing: day drinking in the sun! I put on a tank top and a short skirt, drove to BevMo, and bought the ingredients for my new favorite cocktail (which I also imbibed at Doro and Anahita's Kentucky Derby party last night). Here's how today is going so far:

*delicious* banana nut muffins I baked this morning

sweet tea vodka + lemonade = instant happiness

new summer sandals

Sometimes decadence is the way to go. Also, two other exciting/alarming pieces of news:

1. One of my bffs in the whole wide world, Amy Lazzaroni, is in labor! I just got a text from her husband saying that she is 10 cm dilated and Baby Boy Lazzaroni is on his way! I love these people, so I can't wait to meet their little squishball.

2. I just got the news that one of my other bffs, Lane, is dating someone who drives a Hummer. Now we all know that this is all kinds of unacceptable. Help me convince her that this is most definitely a deal-breaker!!

Happy sunshiney Sunday! (cough, cough)

Sunday with Freeman

So hard to believe that I started babysitting my sweet little buddy Freeman when he was only 6 weeks old, and now he's almost 2! He can run around and dance and laugh and say things like "Daddy's car" and "I love you Claire!" and "Hi Mama!" Or, most frequently, "More Gaga!" Here he is today watching Lady Gaga's Telephone video on my computer:

He's so delightful, and I love spending my Sundays with my little pal.

Last night, after a languorous day lying about my house, I made a beautiful summer salad (field greens, strawberries, toasted almonds, avocado, pomegranate seeds, light feta cheese, vinaigrette) and took it over to my friend Missy's house, where we sat on her back deck with some white wine and relaxed and chatted for hours. Nothing like girl time after a loooooong week. I'm so grateful for my friends. Speaking of whom, Happy 30th Birthday Tara!

On Friday night, Doro, Anahita, and I went to the Giants game, where we were rewarded for being among the first 20,000 fans into the stadium with these:

Giants snuggies!!! And since my friend Hauna snagged me an Oakland A's snuggie at last week's A's game, I am, as Doro so cleverly puts it, "[my] own Bay Area rivalry." Awesome. Come to my house anytime for some baseball snuggies and beer. There's even a pocket in the front for the remote.

Lastly, what do y'all think of these Prada chandelier shoes? The verdict's still out for me, but I'm leaning toward yesssssss . . .

Happy Sunday everyone . . . I hope it's as gorgeous wherever you are as it is in San Francisco today. ♥

truly madly deeply

Tuesday was a wretched day at school. It began with a long, tedious session of standardized testing (which is a whole 'nother bucket of worms), then came the news about our beloved former student dying in a freak accident (see previous blog entry), and culminated with a page: "Ms. Kiefer, please call the main office . . . ." When I called, the secretary told me that there was a former student here to visit me. She sent him to my office and . . .

It became immediately apparent that he is crazy. Truly off the deep end, and a little bit scary. He went on this whole rant about how he'd recently recovered from lung cancer, and if I didn't believe him, he could prove it because he had this absurd "radiation bodysuit" shoved in his backpack. (This is one of many excuses he's had for recently being in the hospital). I'm really sad for him, and it has me thinking about how terrifying it is to not be in total control of your own . . . self. You know?

In any case, my friend Meagan (a math teacher) and I had play tickets that night, but . . . we ditched school a little bit early, stopped by 21st Amendment for a couple beers, and then ultimately decided to forego the play altogether in favor of a night of wine & pizza on my couch. Ha! Perhaps not the most responsible choice, but certainly cathartic.

Between 21st Amendment and my apartment, however, we made a little stop at Jeremy's, home to racks and racks of gorgeous, discounted, designer clothes & shoes. I was a good little girl and didn't buy a single thing, but I did fall deeply in love with a pair of shoes. It's a love unlike any other, and I think you'll understand why:

Chanel

Check out that ridiculous, un-freaking-believable birdcage heel! I almost fainted when I saw them. They were on sale for $319, and I may have actually considered buying them had they not been a size 10.5. I was a little bit relieved that I didn't have the option of making a completely irresponsible purchase, but a little bit devastated that they wouldn't become a part of my collection . . . I'm pretty sure I haven't ever seen footwear so beautiful.

Today I've been running around like a madwoman preparing for my students' big event on Friday, May 7th. If you live in the Bay Area, please come! I teach kids who have been directly impacted by the prison system (they've been incarcerated, their parents have been incarcerated, etc.), and they've written incredibly brave, powerful personal narratives about their lives and experiences with arrest and incarceration.

I'm so proud of them! I'm sure that seeing them read their stories on stage will make all this frantic, feverish work well worth it. ♥

California

Sure, our cost of living is among the highest in the country. And yes, I am essentially as far away from my family in Georgia as I could be (while still living in the U.S.). But damn, it's pretty here . . . ladies and gentlemen, this is where I exercised today:

Lafayette Reservoir

It's only 10 minutes from my house (and 2 from my friend Missy's house, so she often joins me!), and I hike there regularly on the weekends. It's a short jaunt (only about 3 miles) but is hilly enough to get my heart rate up and pump me with endorphins. Or is that the gorgeous view??

The weather was essentially perfect this weekend. Sunny, breezy, splendid! This is what I did all weekend:

Girlshop:

Friday night my grad school girlies and I got together for some dinner/wine/poetry (btw: only 3 more weeks till my wine-fast is up!). Geri made a delicious southern meal (soup with greens, potatoes, veggie sausage, and cornbread croutons; macaroni & cheese), and it was great to laugh and talk and read with the girls.

Babies:

Saturday I got up bright and early and went to visit the sweet Freitags and their two adorable baby sons. Here's Milo holding his 10 day old baby brother Jude:

when Milo was over holding Jude he said, "bye bye baby!"

baby Jude at 10 days old

Shopping:

I left the Freitags' at noon, but it was too gorgeous to go home, so I drove up to Sonoma County and sauntered around the Petaluma Outlets. I ordered the prettiest BCBG Runway dress for prom!!! (I am so incredibly excited about prom, btw. I LOVE high school!). While the dress is very predictably Claire, the next thing I purchased was not . . .

I bought some flats, y'all.

Figuring it was time to acknowledge my chronic back pain, I purchased some cute little black moccasins. But don't expect to see them often! They're my "my-back-is-killing-me" shoes . . . don't for a second think I'm saying goodbye to my heels. But at least I have some comfy flats now! I'll spare you a picture of them (since they really are just black moccasins, which you can easily picture), and instead post a pic of the GORGEOUS gold Kate Spade flats I encountered at Off Saks 5th Avenue. Despite their discount, they were still way outta my price range:

but aren't they pretty?

Outdoorsing:

Sunday being equally beautiful, I met Anna and Stephen for an outdoor brunch (I was a little jealous of Anna's grapefruit-and-sparkling-wine concoction, but everything else was delicious nonetheless) and then did the aforementioned pretty hike.

How was everyone else's weekend??

Hey, Jude!

Although I don't have too much luck with the grown boys these days (ugh), I sure am the luckiest girl in the world when it comes to baby boys! One of my favorite toddlers, Hurricane Milo, is officially a big brother! Jude Bradley Freitag was born Wednesday at 7:50 pm, a perfect little 8 lb. 19 inch ball of cuteness:

baby Jude, not even 24 hours old yet :)

baby Jude and auntie Claire

He's lookin' just like Milo, so we'll see if he ends up with Milo's . . . "energy." haha. I'm so happy for all the Freitags--they're one of my favorite families in the world. Welcome, Jude!

Today started slow, and then sped up real quick when it came time for 5th period. Ay yay yay, the dreaded 1 o'clock in room 102. Seriously, the security guards at Balboa know to be on alert & nearby my classroom. In today's episode of "Monster High," I had to kick two of the little beasts out after they refused to cease with their 'yo mama' battle. I mean, hello 1992!! One of whom subsequently stormed out of the class screaming at me: "F@!% this weak a$$ class anyway! GET A MAN!"

HA! ZT, of "Toby" fame, told me to "get a man" . . . which although frustrating at the time, is admittedly freaking hilarious. In fact I'm kind of smirking thinking about it now.

Okay so in order to get me in a better mood before my girly dinner-and-a-movie date with Annie (ohhhhhh how I wish it was dinner-and-a-movie-and-cocktails . . . Lent, hurry up and be over already!!), I'm gonna post some Friday favorites:

Favorite Shoes:

the Dior Chacha

Favorite Photographer:

Sally Mann

Where I Wanna Be:

the Ritz Carlton Grand Cayman!!!

ha! but don't I deserve it??? :)