Sasha Darling & The BellJar Blog — Uncategorized

The comments section of my blog have been down, but they are working again.Yayy! People always talk about mercury retrograde in regards to lives getting thrusted in to chaos, and apparently it hit me hard this time around. Damn you constellations! But it's over and everything is pretty much back to normal. So time to focus on more important things. Like my social life, parties, highheels and boys. But first a quick stop up to see my family. I need a weekend in the country. I'm gonna drive up to see my Mom later today, go to the farmers market on Saturday do some thrifting, then drive up to Butterfly Valley to see my aunt and uncle. They live out in the middle of a lovely valley and have horses and llamas and a yurt on their property. It's so lovely up there, sometimes I think about running away and living with them. But when I get back, I'm ready for dinner parties, cocktails, picnics, running through  fields, bike rides with cute boys and all night soul dance parties. So start planning. Sasha Darling is ready to play. P.S. Yesterday the most dreamy, tall bearded and bespectacled guy came shopping at BellJar.  I've never seen him around, but he was totes my dream boy. I told him he had great style...but what I didn't say, is, "we should totally make-out and fall in love and be all silly and mushy." I mean he did have great style. He was dressed like a cute fashiony nerdy, professor. Dare I say he had the style of my dear Jarvis? Pretty close. I'm sure he was also madly in love with me and he was just being coy by not saying anything. SOOO when I get home I'm on a quest to find him. Or maybe he will just saunter back in to BellJar and sweep me away. We will probably move to Paris. Oh, and think of all the fun we will have this summer before we move. We will go to flea markets and take road trips through the desert. It's totally going to be amazing.

Photos by Olivia Malone

What a crazy month. It all started with my trip to LA to shop for fall, and it's been a nonstop whirlwind of insanity since then. Total complete meltdown mode. Everything that could possibly go wrong has gone wrong. For the past two weeks the store has been in total crisis. It all started with one frozen computer that set off a chain of events that I can't even talk about. I'm so sick of hearing myself talk about it. Lets just say, I have learned more about my business, how to set it up, what to and not to do in the past two weeks than I had in my entire three years open. I like to think this shakedown was needed to make me a better business woman. I will never again make the mistakes I made setting up my computer system, I also now know that I can exist without my computers and survive! Phew. Customers have been pretty into the whole hand writing and old school credit card processing that we have been doing. They say it fits the store. I kinda agree...but by the end of this week we should be up and running with our new pos system. After a month of stress and just going, going, going...I took a few days off. Friday had a day of indulging...Four Barrel, mani-pedi, Pizzeria Delfina and then Dolores park. Friday night went to dinner with some girlfriends and then to 111 Mina. It was so warm out I wore shorts out at night time...it made the boys kinda crazy, after the long winter I think everyone is getting excited by the exposure of skin. Saturday went on a crazy booze fueled bus with a bunch of boys and a small handful of girls to the pinball museum in Alameda for a pinball tournament, put on by Workshop. It was pretty hilarious and in the spirit of wild crazy parties I drank beer and whiskey and let people draw fake tattoos on me. Seriously felt like I was 25 again. When they bus rumbled back to SF I to hit up bars with pinball machines inside, I put back on my granny hat and hailed a cab. There only so much wild partying I can take. Saturday day we had a quick BellJar photoshoot with photographer Mark Likosky and my lovely friend Scarlett. Take a peek at the pics below! Sunday I spent the entire day alone. I have just been so overwhelmed by the mania at BellJar. I just wanted to go to the gym and then sit in my house and stare at the walls. I read and listened to music and then watched cheesy Hollywood romance films. But mostly I slept. I dozed on and off all day long. I know many people spend Sundays like this, but I never do. I'm always running around, doing something. I think I'm starting to burn out. We are just about back to normal at the store. New POS system, inventory almost all placed back in to the system. Lord. Now I need a vacation. London? Did I hear Scarlet say London! Isn't she sooo lovely! Thanks Scarlett and Mark

I’ve had this little feeling swirling inside me, a tiny voice inside my head, that’s been telling me that my time is coming. Something amazing is about to happen. I have been walking around with my head in the clouds for days, as I have had to deal with one emergency after another at the shop. Yet despite the obvious annoyance of things going terribly wrong, I have still had a secret smirk on my face keeping me calm, through the storm. Behind secret smile is the knowledge that after years of hard work, years of sacrificing, it’s about to pay off. On Thursday the BellJar server went down, leaving us virtually helpless at the store. I cannot believe how dependent I have let myself become on technology. After a frantic Thursday we found a way to process credit cards, but everything else halted. Inventory could not be put in; web site could not be updated. Access to vendors completely gone; information for my accountant complete lost. The week ended with the sad news that I would have to purchase a new computer, which I did yesterday. I spent the earlier part of my Friday night with IT trying to get everything up and running. Eek I’m pretty sure that is not part of my glamorous life. After dealing with all the drama down at the shop and you are only getting part of the story here, I firmly needed a stiff drink and some serious pampering, so I threw on my new favorite high heels, grabbed Scarlet and headed over to Absinthe in Hayes Valley. I really just have needed to get away from the Mission. Scarlet and I walked in after finding princess parking and managed to right away grab two seats at the bar. We both ordered a fancy cocktail and a few things to nibble on. After one cocktail we decided to switch it over to wine and we started our weekly girlie discussion catch up. What have yu purchased? What are the boys in our lives up to? Family updates and general conversation about all our aspirations and obtaining them. Photoshoots we need to plan, places we need to visit. Ahhh my crappy week just started to melt away. I hate hanging out in bars. I mean I haven’t always, but these days I hate being crammed in tight quarters with a ton of people clamoring for crappy drinks. I enjoy a nice seat and a beautifully created cocktail. But I still find it surprising that I can spend an entire night at a restaurant. Well that’s what we did; we sat at Absinthe all night. After a bit our friend Rob came to meet up and we started brainstorming world domination in the art scene and how we could incorporate traveling the world in our plans. I feel a seedling of something great blooming out of this discussion. We finally decided to skat and went to Robs pad downtown for a nightcap. I’m usually in by like 11 or even midnight. I’ve got dogs, and they are much like kids and I need to get home to take care of them. But last night was so fun and I really needed to blow off steam, so at three am I had to force myself to head home. Rob was tempting us with late night adventures and kept dragging Scarlet and I to his living room floor trying to make us dance, but we resisted, thinking about our poor sad people and pets waiting for us at home, and we ran off into the night.

Late night tom fooleries with CB's

Don't hate me Scarlet. Nothing is sacred.

Last night...Dinner at Bar Tartine for Jory Pants Birthday, Then stop in at Royal Cuckoo For Kelly Malones Birthday Bash where I picked up Caitlen for late night girl slumber party with the pooches. This AM up early for the gym, and a little me time. Tonight I plan to pop in to Maverick for dinner and hang with Miss Mandy Darling...also I left my curling iron at her house before I went to LA. Need to get that thing. My hair is a wreck. A wreck I tell you. Then meet up with kids at Mr. Lew's Win-Win Bar. Friday hanging with Scarlet. Hoping to get out of the Mission. Any recommendations? Then Saturday tagging along for some bands photo-shoot in Marin...weather pending. God it's terrible out there. My windows are so old on my house I'm afraid they will just bust out from the frames. The wind is beyond terrible. I want to stay home and watch old Liz Taylor movies. Sad... Oh right I'm off subject. Saturday night late night din din with a group of peeps at Bar Agricole. After this week of major eating out I swear I'm gonna go on a fast. The food at all the SF Eateries are so good but also totally rich. I have been working out like a maniac...yes a lot like the ladies in flashdance, but when paired with over indulging on 1200 calorie late night dinners I fear my progress is being halted. Bikini weather is just around the corner. Not to mention I just got THE CUTEST bikini last week with Mandy. Yesterday felt gloomy over the loss of miss Liz. Such a beauty and oh that waist? They don't make bodies like that anymore. She took on such amazing roles...riskee for the times but played them with such tenderness it was hard to see her as scandalous. Even in the likes of butterfield 8. To me she will always be Maggie the cat...just clinging on to that old, hot tin roof. Tried to chase my gloom away with one of my fancy new vintage dresses from my weekend shopping rampage. Brightened my spirits a bit. I felt pretty, but this rain does nothing to inspire. Rain, rain go away...