My dear friend and I celebrated milestone birthday this winter with a fun long weekend in Palm Springs. But why Palm Springs? Let me count the ways....
1. Sun, sun and more sun—354 days of sunshine each year.
2. The airport is 2-3 miles from hotels, which means I didn't have to give up my chauffeur taxi habit.
3. Elizabeth Taylor, Liberace, Eisenhower, Suzanne Somers, Trina Turk. All fabulous people go here.
4. Modernism galore: Neutra, Cody, Frey Lautner. Plus all that vintage shopping.
5. The hotels! Oh, the hotels! The Parker, The Ace, and our casa, The Desert Star.

Not a single guest at Desert Star didn't daydream about installing a deadbolt in their bungalow and moving in for good. The rooms were outfitted with Case Study-style furniture and iPod docks and fuzzy robes and cutting boards and decent knives and blenders (blenders!). All of which meant it wasn't at all challenging to slip into a bikini, pour a cocktail (with garnish!) and don the fuzzy robe to the pool (see pic).

We were told of the wonders of the San Jacinto trails and glory of Joshua Tree and about that "great vintage shop down the road where everything's just your size," but we are cold-climate dwellers and so we did this. Every day. For hours. Until the sun dipped past the mountains and were forced to find solid food (Cheeky's, El Mirasol highly recommended). I'll return to Palm Springs and I'll hit that vintage shop and I'll see those mountains, but probably only if it's raining.

Handsome father-son duo Tony and Freddy Victoria whirled me around their studio. A highlight: boxes of beautiful embellishments that add j ne sais quoi to French furniture. Also, lounging in a Louis XV voyeuse, which has a little shelf for resting your arm.

Check out my musings on Red Hook (which neighbors my neighborhood). Home to quiet bike-ride-able streets, killer street-scapes, charming shops and bars and, most importantly, creative people like my friends Amy and Matt—it's one of my fave spots in the world.