Happy Hour.

Here in Oakland we have a monthly event downtown we all affectionately call First Friday. It's when all the galleries are open late to debut the new collections, and over the years it has become quite the place to be, especially for hipsters. We like to go for the people-watching as much as the art. Parking is a pain so we decided to ride down instead, and we were invited to my favorite local bar for happy hour beforehand by my dear friend Vanessa... Needless to say we never made it downtown. We spent the whole evening at the Heart & Dagger Saloon, munching on goodies form the nearby restaurants and having a super goofy time.

Dennis always makes me laugh so hard when he takes my photo. Actually, he always cracks me up. Anywho, this is one of my favorite outfits. I tried doing my hair up, but it just wasn't working so I let it be. The dress is old from Target, the belt was on sale at Urban Outfitters for three bucks, the scarf and sweater are from my mom, as well as the sweet tights that have a subtle herringbone pattern. And the shoes are the most comfortable heels ever made, from Chelsea Crew, but I don't think they make them anymore.

You know you've got a keeper when he knows to photograph your shoes without you prompting him to.

Everyone was having whiskey sours, until I ordered my usual bloody mary. They make delicious ones there and everyone is always so surprised to see me drinking them. I don't know if they think it's only supposed to be a breakfast drink or an old lady drink but I love them. Always ask for extra green olives.

The Heart and Dagger is one of those rare bars. It's walkable from our house, they have the friendliest bartenders, great music, they let you bring in outside food and your dog (or rather, Vanessa's cutie pie Carlton), and they have a wonderful patio out back.

The bar used to be called The Serenader, and they still have the old signage on the back patio and it lights up at night. Plus they have an amazing lemon tree and I assume they use the lemons in the drinks.

 Much of the discussions that night centered around giant jellyfish. Oh, and the Hello Kitty photo app. Good times.

Vanessa and Willie. Willie is quite possibly one of my favorite people to photograph; his face is so animated! There's a billion more photos on my flickr, here, if you'd like to have a look.