I got home yesterday morning—desperately early, as I took the red eye from L.A., which is something I might actually be too old to do anymore. I’m happy to be home but we really did have a super-fun trip. Here I am in the lobby of the Parker Palm Springs, which was designed by Jonathan Adler and is an absolute delight. We stopped there for a drink before dinner one night, and Jenn talked our way onto the (restricted to visitors) grounds, which were pretty amazing.
We stayed at The Avalon, which was pleasant and chill, with a friendly and helpful staff. I’d stay there again happily. And we got some good poolside time, even though the weather was not especially warm.
At least one of you suggested I visit The Frippery, a stellar vintage boutique on the main drag. They had a couple of racks of the most amazing caftans, made of vintage fabrics, and I was in heaven.
I bought a red, white, and blue striped caftan made of the loveliest silk—you can see the top of it here—but I’m also still dreaming of this amazing one, which I left behind.
We also stopped by Elizabeth & Prince, a super well-edited boutique with a nice mix of brands I like and brands I’ve never heard of. It’s not an inexpensive store by any means, but is fun to browse for inspiration.
I did splurge on these amazing gold sandals there, which I think are actually a semi-practical purchase: metallics are amazingly versatile, and I feel like I’ll wear these every time it’s warm out and I want to dress things up a bit.
We rode bikes to Market Market, which is 40,000 square feet of some of the coolest vintage from various dealers (again, not cheap, but so fun).
We also pedaled around a couple of neighborhoods to check out the midcentury architecture, which is truly amazing—just house after beautifully preserved house. Afterwards, we had date shakes at a local spot, as one does.
Jenn made us a reservation at Melvyn’s, which is just my kind of old-school joint, with crusty waiters who assure you that you’re at Frank Sinatra’s old table even though it seems highly unlikely that Frank sat so close to the kitchen. No matter: it was a highlight.
We had a fantastic meal, which included this fairly epic seafood platter.
Finally, on Monday, Jenn and I spoke at Alt Summit, with the truly wonderful author Karen Walrond, on the topic of aging and ambition. I wish I had a picture of the event, because we got a great crowd and it went pretty well. Gabrielle Blair was so cool to invite us, and it was an opportunity to meet some of you, and for that reason it was truly great.
The sandals! The seafood tower! The caftans! The pool and the midcentury modern dream houses! The best vicarious trip to Palm Springs I have EVER had-
Thanks Kim and Jenn!!
You had me at 'caftans.'