"I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best."

With a recent trip to Tokyo postponed (sadly) for obvious reasons, Mr. H and I decided to embark on an adventure to Japantown in San Francisco instead. There was rain mixed with pockets of sunshine, cocktails in hidden bars disguised as detective agencies, a mall straight out of Shibuya, too much shochu, a trip to a Galaxy Far Far Away, insanely good coffee, and a rumble with a gang of mice pretending to be Hamlet. Here are a few photos...

Souvenirs (from left): poetry by Rainer Maria Rilke and futuristic folkflore by Jasper Fforde from City Lights Books, French Star Wars t-shirt courtesy of Skywalker Ranch, Souplove recipe book and Fort Standard Merit Badge necklace from General Store, and borrowed Green Tea from Hotel Tomo, all atop a vintage scarf from an unnamed store next to Four Barrel coffee in the Mission district.

The mall in Japantown.

Hamlet mice at Paxton Gate.

Mission district restaurant, Commonwealth.

Luchador masks on the way to Humphry Slocombe.

Hayes Valley store Lavish wants you to put a bird on it!

The enchanting Muir Woods, or "Ewok Village" as Mr. H called it.

Not the cherry blossoms we hoped to see in Tokyo, but close enough. These brightened the Presidio, and after days of rain, the sun finally made a triumphant appearance in beautiful San Francisco. Still, as always, Japan remains in our hearts and minds. If you haven't already, please donate to relief efforts here.

I was up at 5am this morning for the Nike Liberty 2011 Collection launch hoping to get my quick-typing fingers on a pair before they sold out. Success! Liberty will release some styles today and others (like my faves, the vintage plane pair above left) in the coming weeks, so follow them on Twitter for more info.

If you were to ask me what sparked my interest in style, I would tell you two things: a CNN news anchor named Elsa Klensch and a mismatched herd of dancing zebras. I wrote a li'l story about it over on my friend Bina's blog, Passionless Fashion. That's Elsa below in her stripes and scarf. Isn't she fantastic?

Please excuse my absence. Please blame Fashion Week[s].

"In Carnaby Street, you can't tell the assistants from the customers. Anybody addressed as 'Madam' would probably sue for defamation of character."

I went to a screening of Bill Cunningham New York at the MoMA a few months ago and had no idea it would affect me the way that it did. I couldn't stop thinking about it--or Bill--all night. Like the man himself, it is charming, heartfelt, tenacious, courageous, beautiful, subtle, and deep. A moving portrait of an individual as well as an ode to individualism, I urge you to go and see it.

All hail the ORIGINAL street style photographer!

"An atomic bomb in lipstick." --Bob Dylan

Feisty, ferocious, feral. Gravel-voiced and wink-eyed cantankerous. Today marks the triumphant return of Wanda Jackson, Queen of Rockabilly and First Lady of Rock and Roll. If you've never heard the early raucous ramblings of this septuagenarian sweetheart, you'll no doubt be hearing them now thanks to Mr. Jack White who is resurrecting her career with their new collaboration, The Party Ain't Over. Produced and arranged at his Nashville studio, it's a brash n' ballsy album of good ol' R&R, and I can't stop listening to it.

As an Oklahoma teenager, Wanda Jackson became the first female to write and perform straight-up rock. She influenced one-time boyfriend Elvis Presley and went on to carve her own DIY path complete with her trademark vocal grit and handmade, fringed costumes that she vowed would bring "glamour to country music." In addition to several top 40 hits and a plethora of albums, Jackson has also toured tirelessly (and been married to her manager) for 50 years.

I've been listening to Jackson's new album for weeks now; it has changed my life. Imbued with a whisky tinged spirit--and Jack White on lead guitar--the second her raspy voice rips through the first track, "Shakin' All Over," you're taken on a retro roller coaster ride which promises to, literally, do what it says it will do: "send shivers through your knee bone." Influenced by big band, blues, and country, featuring covers of Amy Winehouse's "You Know That I'm No Good" and Dylan's "Thunder On the Mountain," it's an AMAZING album, and easily my favorite of the new year. Officially out on iTunes today, I implore you to gift it to yourself then go and check out all that came before it.

Wanda Jackson, you are a most FANTASTIC WOMAN!

"I mean I can't be the saint people dream of now. People want a street angel. They want a saint but with a cowboy mouth."

The story of "Slim and Cavale"--or the birth of Sam Shepard and Patti Smith's play Cowboy Mouth--is yet another reason to read Smith's astonishing memoir, Just Kids.