the glory of a mid-fall sixty seven degree day in san francisco -

while it may be dipping to snow territory in chicago,
and new yorkers get to break out their fall raiment,
we here in san francisco,
well,
we get to walk the dogs in short sleeves.

'cause it's STILL sixty five degrees and sunny.  every day. 

calvin klein home (the way it SHOULD be) -

francisco costa,
calvin klein's lead designer,
has the whole "flawless warm modernism" thing down pat:

this also (trend alert coming . . .)
could fit nicely in GRIS MEANS GRAY
for the month.

RE-GROUPING : james tagliani, evelyn lee, timothy johnson, absinthe and me

just a night out at cafe absinthe,
where the best burger in town comes with
gruyere cheese, aioli, heirloom tomatoes,
and a healthy dose of humor.

i love these guys.

james and evie and i kept each other afloat at old navy,
and they have become touchstones for tim and i in this transition of ours.

plus, they FUNNY.

tim's new toy, the volvo c30 -

hey,
every boy needs a rocket.

and tim's is FAST.

in a good way.

never mind.

gris means gray -

no big trend appearing here,
i just LOVE gray.

it's a universal unifier:

from flawless burberry prorsum trench,
(can't you just FEEL this?),
to the finally seductive victoria's secret campaign:

there's finally some romance to the brand,
not so pussycat doll
as bardot lushness.
branding is weak, but photography is lovely . . .

which brings in the boys:

this is blake kutcha.
i've shot with him numerous times for old navy,
he's very all american, and as sweet as hell.
seriously, NICE with a big N.

this shoot of him in gray briefs,
well it's a whole 'Nother side o the boy.

and this gratuitous shot of the guy who plays kirby on lipstick jungle:

because he has gray shorts on,
that's why.

follow me, people, i won't steer you wrong.

let's travel a bit?

the four seasons hotel, i THINK milan,
with grisaille wallpaper,
literally screens of gray paint, printed in layers to create depth and shadow.

and the gray light of the four seasons lobby in prague:

i know,
HOME.

and the perfect violet gray hue
on a vespa in manhattan:

tim and i once painted a home entirely in this color, every room,
based on the vermeer galleries in the louvre.
it was one part violet,
one part gray,
one part camel,
and that made all the difference.

it was the ultimate neutral,
and it was called
eminence.

look it up.  it works.