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How was your holiday? Hope you had a good, relaxing break. We got back to Brooklyn last night, after a week and a half of visiting relatives and getting a blast of that California sunshine. Here are a few photos, if you’d like to see…
First, we went to Palm Springs to meet up with our family — my dad and sister; all my sister’s in-laws and cousins, and Alex’s side of the family. It was a huge, noisy group, with someone invariably asleep on the sofa at all times. (I wish I’d gotten a photo of everyone!)
We lucked out with this beautiful Airbnb, which had a fireplace, pool and four bikes. (It’s crazy, though: Palm Springs rental houses all seem to be amazing with pools and views of the mountains.)
The cousins spent the days swimming, going to the playground, drinking date milkshakes, and generally acting like lunatics. (This moment cracked me up.)
Toby, who loves all things sartorial, wore his new goggles all day. In the evening, he turned to me and said, “Mama, DID YOU KNOW IT’S ME???” Hahaha, five-year-olds are such a funny mix of worldliness and innocence.
Finally, we went to the Ace, one of our favorite places, to have avocado toast and hang by the pool. It has become a Christmas tradition, ever since Toby was seven months old.
Next, we drove to L.A. for a couple nights. We hit up Venice Beach first thing, so the boys could splash around in that freezing cold water.
We stayed in a Kid & Coe rental house in Venice. They’re all family-friendly rentals, and the boys went crazy over all the toys. Meanwhile, Alex and I chilled out and drank wine and talked uninterrupted for an hour. It was a vacation miracle:)
Finally, after two nights in L.A., we flew back to the east coast, taking a detour to Florida to see my mom and her husband for the final long weekend.
My mom always plans the menu for our trip weeks before we arrive. It’s so endearing! On New Year’s Eve, she outdid herself and made salmon en croute, in which salmon, mushrooms, shallots and vermouth were all wrapped in puff pastry in the shape of a fish. She carved scales and added a peppercorn for an eye! We were freaking out, it was so delicious.
After a great few days of playgrounds and swimming, we headed home…
It was an exhausting week and a half (and Toby needed this flag for every flight), but overall it was one of those great trips where everything just clicked, and we felt so grateful for that.
Hope you had a good one! I’m looking forward to catching up and sharing some fun things this week. Sending lots of love your way. xoxo
