I heart Coco de Mer

Yesterday I walked over to Coco de Mer in West Hollywood and was wowed by the gorgeous, gorgeous outside and inside. It is truly "erotic luxury" (its tagline). I signed copies of Yes, Sir and She's on Top, so you can get those there, and am looking into doing a reading in their beautiful garden. I snapped these photos:






I bought a greeting card and was given this giant purple penis shopping bag, a perfect gift for me!


This is part of a larger James Joyce quote.

Signed copies of my books at Skylight Books plus Grilled Cheese Truck food porn

I walked (!!!!) to Skylight Books today and got a little tour and signed some of my books, so check out their erotica section. I also bought the memoir Cheesemonger: A Life on the Wedge by Gordon Edgar (Chelsea Green), which I'd never heard of but found in their food section. Just before I hit up the Grilled Cheese Truck for the first time. Looking forward to reading about punk rock cheesemaking. I did link to Amazon, because I get a little kickback, but I also love indie bookstores, hence this post. Click here to find Cheesemonger at your local indie bookstore via IndieBound.



Grilled Cheese Truck goodness (Ms. PacMan machine at Golden Gopher) and they also had sweet potato tater tots!!

Snapshots from Seattle

No way to fully capture the trip (or rather, trips), plus I have less than 48 hours at home before going to Minneapolis (NOT a smart move in any way on my part, and I'd cancel if I weren't doing a fantabulous book party on Tuesday night that better be crowded for the free music/sex toys/cupcakes). I just don't travel that well, not for such extended periods. I had fun, but ate too much and was a bit mopey and didn't write. Working on changing that, starting now.



You can now get autographed copies of Best Sex Writing 2010 at Powell's in Portland by mail order or in the store, and at Elliott Bay in Seattle.

Saw this on my way to Elliott Bay on Tuesday:



After a day full of cupcakes, I ate at Barrio in Capitol Hill and it was AMAZING:


Taquitos


Queso fundido


Calamari


Goofing off (with a little help from iPhone app The Best Camera) with Carrie of Bella Cupcake Couture, who was my tour guide, and Jody Hall, owner of Cupcake Royale, who's done, you know, a few little things like be invited to the White House to talk about health care. Such amazing people and if I lived in Seattle, you'd see me with my laptop at Cupcake Royale's Capitol Hill outpost A LOT.

They gave me a t-shirt that says "Rock out with your cupcake out." Then I bought one for my baby cousin.


Trophy Cupcakes not only made the amazing cupcakes with my face on them but also hosted a cupcake meetup yesterday that was well-attended, fun, and gave us some insider scoop on running a Seattle cupcake business. And fed us with s'mores cupcakes that had a graham cracker bottom! This frosting was seriously to die for. Marshmallowtastic.

At Bluebottle Art Gallery, to be owned April 1st by my friend Jessie Oleson of Cakespy, I not only got some Matthew Porter monkey magnets but lusted after this painting called "Miss Petits Gâteaux" of a topless girl with cupcakes by Julie West, whose work I now covet.


There was a lot of being tired/nauseous/emotionally overwhelmed/missing people in hotel rooms, thinking about the past and the present and the future, thinking about both the book A Spy in the House of Love and the reality.


The view around 6 am looked like this from my room at the Westin.


I pack heavy stuff.


You might've heard...it's snowing in New York. My friend Heidi likened it to powdered sugar. I'm so thrilled to be back.