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How was your holiday? I hope you had a good one (and if not, congrats for getting through it:) We just got back from a week in California, and here are a few photos, if you’d like to see…
We always meet Alex’s family in Palm Springs for the holidays (we stayed at this comfy spot), and my mom also joined us this year! For various reasons, she’s never been able to spend Christmas with us, so we were overjoyed to have her. This photo especially makes me laugh. Note the floating coffee!
We did a few Palm-Springs-y things, like taking the aerial tram up the mountain. The car slowly circulates as it rises, so you see a 360-degree view. The coolest part is that the weather is warm at the bottom and snowy at the top.
And my mom busted out with this pork ragù pasta on Christmas Eve. It’s very delicious, especially if you add extra parmesan while cooking.
We left cookies and carrots for Santa, and Anton got a couple books in his stocking, including this one about being a kid on the Titanic. (MEANWHILE HIS COWBOY BOOTS; I ALMOST DIED FROM THE CUTENESS. He got them for Halloween and hasn’t stopped wearing them since.)
Eight-year-old Toby’s presents centered around his current passion: rental cars. My mother-in-law wrapped up a Budget T-shirt, and my mom hunted down a real valet parking sign.
My brother-in-law designed these amazing checklists for a new company called “Tobias Rent-a-Car.” We all stood in line to rent one from him — I got a limo for a week for only $100! Honestly, something about these gifts from our relatives really moved me. They know and see him for exactly who he is.
Finally, one afternoon, Alex took Anton to Pioneertown. The town has 1880s-style false-front facades of stables, saloons and jails. A group of actors even did a mock gun fight on the main street. Have you ever been?
Anton was in heaven, and the views were bananas!
After Palm Springs, we went up to San Francisco for a few days to visit my dad, twin sister, niece and other relatives. The cousins all got pajamas in their favorite colors, and we all fell asleep by 9:30 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, which is my definition of a good time :)
Thank you for the great trip, California! What did you do for the holidays? How are you doing these days? xoxo
P.S. Our past California vacations (Toby was TINY), and the weirdest best part of trips.
(Tram photo via the Palm Springs Aerial Tram. Pasta photo by Ditte Isager. San Francisco view photo by One Fine Stay.)
