{san francisco} rue magazine party

There are so many amazing things about living in San Francisco, but one of the coolest is that I was able to go to RUE Magazine's anniversary party on Monday night! I think it's awesome that I actually live in a city where I can go to events like this. That just didn't happen back home in little old Martinsville.

But I won't lie: I was a little nervous. I'm shy and awkward and avoid parties like the plague. I hate being around lots of people that I don't know, I suck at making small talk, and I generally feel incredibly uncomfortable. But I'm in this amazing new place and it's a new chapter in my life, so I actually wanted to go. Pushing myself out of my comfort zone and making connections and all that... Plus, it meant that I got to finally meet Elizabeth who I've been "blog friends" with for about a year now! It was a relief to know at least one person there and not look like a loser walking around by myself.

Also, let me dork out for a bit:

I felt so cool dressed in my skinny jeans, tall cognac boots and pretty sweater, taking the bus across the city, arriving at the front entrance, having my name checked off the guest list, and wandering around the amazing space at H.D. Buttercup with (my very first) gin & tonic in hand! I know it might sound silly to those of you who consider it the norm, but it was a big deal to me. I felt pretty and somewhat stylish (despite my little freak-out of what to wear beforehand), like those girls you see in the movies, dressed to the nines and jetting around the city at night.

I might not have mingled as much as I was hoping for as it seemed that everyone else seemed to know each other: girls arriving in groups of three who happened to know other groups of three. But I would still consider it a success since I got to meet Elizabeth and Cassandra, the Market Editor of RUE. My favorite part of the night was having a poem written for me by Lynn Gentry who typed out poems on a typewriter, creating them in the spur of them moment on the topic of each guest's choosing (which reminded me of this part in Before Sunrise). I chose Astronomy and was incredibly impressed with what he wrote:

"Gazing into the depths I see
The movement of ancient energy
Shining in the infinite
Burning in my eyes
I look up to wonder
And hope someday
I realize
What stars of death
Now take form in sight
A requiem for the living
Celebration of light"

PS. For those of you who remember my gin & tonic post awhile back, here's what I thought of my first time: yum! Of course, it probably didn't hurt that it was made with No. 3 London Dry Gin, which I can only assume is super expensive.