Woman standing in front of bright pink bougainvillea bush wearing a floral skirt and oxford shirt looking into the distance.

Hi hi friends! Happy New Year! Wait, can I still say that? Larry David says you can’t say Happy New Year after January 7th. I may have missed my window. Haha. Per usual, I can’t really feel ready to start a new year without looking back at the previous one. So, today, I wanted to share a Year in Review: Highlights of 2021.

This was my mood around this time last year.

Let’s see if the year went how I hoped/anticipated…

 

January

Hallway Makeover
We kicked off the year with a hallway makeover.

Stopped Eating Meat
I stopped eating meat (other than the occasional fish). The reason? An adorable video on The Dodo of a duck befriending a dog…don’t ask, haha. Somehow it has continued until today.

New Job, Who Dis?
Fred Baby left his previous company in December…and got a job offer at a new one, which started in February. Which lead to…

Garage Makeover
Lots of home projects in his one month off, including giving our garage a total glow up! Just in time for…

We Bought a Dune Buggy!
This was by far our most fun pandemic purchase! I feel so much more alive and connected to the world cruising around town in Lula Mae the Dune Bugay. Plus, it puts a smile on everyone’s face that we pass. Instant mood lifter!

Salton Sea
We took a trip in Sally TomaTWO (our Sprinter Van) to the Salton Sea. Odor aside, Odee was enchanted. Fred Baby rescued two cars stuck in the sand and captured Bombay Beach beautifully…

February

Fred Baby started at his new company on Feb 1…

15th Wedding Anniversary
We celebrated Valentine’s Day and our 15th wedding anniversary! Lula Mae was our gift to each other…

Coco Turned 1
Time flies when you’re ADORABLE.

March

Got Vaccinated!
Took this as a good sign after… Felt my shoulders drop for the first time in a year.

Started Condo Hunting in LA
We vowed the past few summers that it would be our last summer in Palm Springs — especially when it hit 120 degrees. This time we really meant it. So the hunt began with our friends, realtors Ashley and Doug of DMF Realty.

April

Second Dose
Got my second dose and the world and life started to open up again.

Jon & Trish
Our friends from San Francisco rented a house in Palm Springs for a month so we got some quality hang time in.

Easter with The Chos!
Joy and Bob and Ruby and Coco AND Sticky visited us in Palm Springs for Easter. The return to some semblance of normalcy and spending quality time with friends felt WONDERFUL. Or, as the girls said in their adorable thank-you notes to us, “like Thanksgiving.” My heart…

My Birthday
Celebrated my birthday. Literally can’t remember it. Haha. Oh wait, it was right after my second dose, maybe that’s why. Best gift ever. I’m certain a Sweet Laurel chocolate cake and popovers made an appearance though…and some beautiful flowers!

Kaylee’s Movie!
Watched my darling KayleeBug in her first feature film The Tiny Life of Butcher Duke (Amazon Prime, Apple). Heart burst out of chest.

 

May

First Hotel Stay in a Year
Stayed at a hotel for the first time in a year.

Mother’s Day in San Antonio
Drove to Texas for Mother’s Day and to snuggle our sweet nieces.

Ice Skated with My Buggy!
Roller skating used to be our thing, now it’s become ice skating. Love seeing my Buggy grow into a real person. Also hit up Natural Bridge Caverns, another tradition with the girls.

Made New Friends & Ate OUT for the First Time in Years!
When Internet friends become real-life friends. 🙂 Thank you to The Pink Cabana at The Sands, my gateway back into safely eating out again…and the perfect Memorial Day Weekend at Escena and finally visiting our fave vintage shops again. Also tried Booze Hounds with Odee, a restaurant made for dogs and their humans!

June

LA Home Search
The search for a place in LA was on full steam. We made a few offers, but nothing was quite panning out… 

The Edition
While in LA searching for a place to buy, we made our home away from home at The Edition and had a few fun picnics in the park with friends. #picnicclub

Mary & Ben
Enjoyed cake & champagne under the strawberry moon at Ben & Mary’s Palm Springs House. Magical…

July

Fourth of July
Had the most memorable 4th of July weekend, beginning with Rebecca’s birthday dinner. The next day we headed to the Pacific Palisades and stumbled across a surprise parade while we picked up Sweet Laurel Bakery treats for a picnic with friends in Holmby Park. After, we drove home to Palm Springs where we saw hundreds of firework displays going off (literally drove under them the whole way home!).

Fred Baby’s Parents Came To Visit
Took them to The Pink Cabana at The Sands. 🙂

August

Bought a Condo in LA!
By far, our most exciting purchase of the year, thanks to our friends/realtors at DMF Realty. It’s good to be back…part-time! We almost bought a different place in June, but are glad it fell through. We bought our condo furnished so were able to enjoy it right away which was great (especially since it was 120 degrees in Palm Springs!). This is our first time as LA homeowners.

Field Trip to the Beverly Hills Hotel
This was the first timeI felt like I plugged back in to life. Back in LA, back to getting dressed for going somewhere, the first time I “did my hair” in ages. Back to “ladies lunches” with friends. The BHH did NOT disappoint. Inspiration galore!

All Up in the ‘Bu
Back to exploring Malibu and LA. It felt good.

Soho House
Dinner at Soho House with our friends Josh & Rebs. Feeling more “normal” by the day – er, outing.

September

Los Alamos/Santa Barbara
Took a long weekend roadtrip to Los Alamos and Santa Barbara. Still have to share those photos here on the blog!

Trousdale Estates
Returned to open-housing in LA, our favorite past-time.

Pacific Palisades
Discovering new-to-us spots in LA was a fun highlight of the year. Our typical tradition includes cruising down Sunset Blvd from West Hollywood to Sweet Laurel Bakery in Palisades Village and exploring the beautiful neighborhood and scenery.

The Britely & The Pendry Field Trip
Finally got to see Kristen again! And enjoyed a design-fueled ladies lunch.

The Parker
First time back to Norma’s at The Parker since before the pandemic. Happy tears! And another place I felt comfortable eating out at.

October

Friends Visited
Finally got to see friends in PS that we hadn’t seen in years. Filled my soul up! Fred Baby started traveling for work again too, which lead to a few girls gone mild nights with Alle and Kristen on the putt-putt course and…

Vintage Shopping In Person
I really made up for lost time at The Frippery, The Fine Art of Design and The Pink Cactus, among others with my gal pals!

Sunnylands!
After years of living in Palm Springs, I finally got to visit Sunnylands, thanks to another new friend I made this year (thanks Tara!). Making new friends and reconnecting with old ones was a huge highlight of 2021.

You’ve Got Mail
Got in the Halloween spirit by dressing up as Kathleen Kelly and Joe Fox…F-O-X. Will never un-see Fred Baby in that wig. haha. What a sport!

November

Katie Kime Holiday Lookbook
Had so much fun shooting the Katie Kime holiday lookbook…

And This for Pacaso Homes
Getting to be creative again with a group and “on set” was invigorating.

Odee’s Gotcha Day!
Celebrated my sweet baby’s 4th Gotcha Day.

Moorten Botanical Gardens
Visited Moorten Botanical Gardens for the first time (even though it’s only 5 minutes from home!) and fell in love. Along with the Lettuce Grow that Fred Baby got me earlier in the year, I love this new hobby of gardening. I feel like Oprah when I harvest! We also put in a lemon tree and lime tree!

Hosted Thanksgiving With Friends
Enjoyed hosting Thanksgiving in Palm Springs with our dear friends Kim and Andre. And got to shoot with them too!

Tablescaping
I also got back into entertaining and tablescaping. My friend Mary really inspires me to enjoy the art of hostessing.

“Adopted” Christmas Wishlists for AVIVA
My friend Jamie posted about a charity called Aviva that she has been involved with for years which helps underprivileged kids and families. During the holidays, you can “adopt” a child’s wishlist so I adopted several girls (all the same age as Kaylee) and it ended up being one of my favorite things I did all year — and it was nice to include Kaylee by asking for her help in picking things out. Looking forward to doing more in 2022.

December

Put Up the Christmas Tree
Andre and Fred Baby were kind enough to put up the Christmas tree for me after Thanksgivng. I had fun decorating it…and adding Frank SiNUTra, my four-foot tall pink nutcracker, to the family. 🙂

Fred Baby’s Birthday
Celebrated Fred Baby’s birthday apart for the first time ever (he had to go to Atlanta for work; upside: he got to see his parents!). I surprised him with a balloon bombing — covering his hotel room in balloons. 🙂

The Pendry With Sydne & Ashley
After SO long of not being able to do it, finally got to have happy hour with my girls Sydne and Ashley at The Pendry. It warmed my heart and put me in the holiday spirit. Followed that up with a cozy night in with Sal, where we FaceTimed FredBaby for his birthday.

Sal’s Surprise 40th Birthday Party
Sal’s boyfriend arranged a surprise birthday dinner celebration and it was great to see him surrounded by so much love. I also enjoyed writing Sal a fun poem about our memories together (couldn’t resit calling it And Just Like That). And I balloon bombed his hotel room too!

Celebrated Christmas in Texas
We drove to San Antonio again to celebrate Christmas with the girls and the Texas fam. We threw axes (yep!), went bowling, played arcade games (Kaylee won a huge prize!) and went on neighbood walks and mule rides. And pushed the baby on her tree swing.

NYE in Palm Springs
We arrived back at home in Palm Springs promptly in time to pass out on the bed before the ball dropped. Haha. And then Fred Baby’s parents came a few days later. A great way to end one year and start the new one!

THANK YOU

 

WHEW! Thanks for coming along on that trip down memory lane with me. I feel better able to move forward and to embrace the new year now that I’ve processed the past one, which by all accounts was a very good year. I am so grateful. For our health and for friendship, family, work that I love and so, so much more.

I also want to note that Fred Baby CRUSHED it at his new job. This was the year of working from 6am to 8pm every single day. That one’s a bit of an overachiever. 😉 Here’s to slowing down a bit and enjoying the fruits of that hard work in 2022.

Have you looked back at your 2021 yet? I highly recommend it for putting things into perspective. I know it always makes me feel much more gratitude and helps me see where and what I want to spend my time on in the coming year.

Cheers to a great 2022!

 

Top photo by the extraordinary Kim Genevieve

 

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