All the Elsie Green girls have been inspired by Austin Kleon's list of "100 Things That Made My Year (2022)" and we've started creating our own lists. It's a simple, but effective exercise in finding the joy in the every day.
2024 was a year that felt like a struggle, but as I was reflecting on the days, I realized it was a year full of big and small moments that filled my heart with joy.
Thank you Austin for the inspiration. And thank you to all the people who made this a damn good year.
- Starting the new year with a slumber party at the Claremont with Andie
- One impromptu and magical weekend in Hawaii with Clay and David, a nature walk before dinner, and candlelight at dusk.
- A Sound Bath at Grace Cathedral and a Christmas tree full of paper cranes.
- A subscription to Book of the Month. (Thanks mom)
- Dogwood branches and peonies.
- Exploring museums with Carolyn.
- Shopping for rugs in Turkey with all the kids while they tried to guess which rugs I’d take and which I’d pass on.
- Finding and re-reading a note that Jack wrote to me when he moved from San Francisco to Denver three years ago.
- Puppies and babies in the shop.
- A leaf found on the grounds of Sources de Cheverny when we finally started traveling again after COVID - framed and given to me as a gift.
- A pottery class with Andie with Bob Dinetz with the best soundtrack. A glass of wine appeared to have improved our results.
- A crazy concert at Davies Symphony Hall with Itzhak Perlman that had the audience dancing in the aisles.
- Spending a big birthday with my sister (almost at sea ranch).
- Seeing The Taste of Things, the most beautiful movie, on the big screen.
- One impromptu weekend in NYC with Christopher and Andie. Soho Grand, Noguchi Museum, Rolo’s, Amelie at the Angelika, La Mercerie.
- Ski weekend at Steamboat with Jack and Andie, trivia in the lodge, night skiing, and generally being a lodge bunny.
- Valentines from my dad.
- Rediscovering a slide show from my very first buying trip to France for Elsie Green with Philippine and Beth.
- A Critics at Large podcast episode “Can Slowness Save Us?”
- Hunting for heart shaped rocks on beaches.
- A quiet evening in the bar at Boulevard eating soup and talking about books, plays and movies with David.
- A weekend spent as tourists in San Francisco with Andie. Hotel Drisco, The Presidio, Fort Point, the Golden Gate Bridge.
- Taylor Swift with strings by candlelight with the Swifterhood.
- Philippine, Diego, two baguettes and cards.
- Architectural river tour in Chicago with Beth - it was raining, but there was a bar.
- A vintage St. Christopher medal found in a flea market in France.
- Alvin Ailey with mom and dad.
- A deconstructed potato salad at Tosca with Carolyn.
- Turtles, mojitos and free play on the rooftop at El Fenn.
- 18 hours in Athens and a magical moment on the rooftop viewing the Acropolis lit up at midnight.
- Visiting Barcelona as Katie’s city.
- Making Pasteis de Nata with Katie and Lisa in Lisbon.
- Re-visiting cities as a tourist where I’d only before traveled on business.
- Cappuccino in a rose garden in Cordoba.
- Roaming flea markets, brocantes, souks and bazaars in Europe.
- A surprisingly delicious dinner at La Cochera del Abuelo in Lisbon.
- A flair bartender at Rocco in Lisbon.
- Discovering Croatia for the first time. I can’t wait to go back.
- Wild Boar at Jurin Podum in Stari Grad. We felt like we were dining in the host’s kitchen.
- Kayaking in King’s Landing.
- Movie nights and the dessert balcony at The Blue Palace.
- Spinalonga.
- Exploring Ephesus with a guide.
- 36 hours in Stockholm.
- A lost weekend in Paris with Lisa.
- Three days in Nice.
- Surprising my dad with an 80th birthday party with the whole family.
- Making custom perfume in Brooklyn.
- The Talented Mr. Ripley under the stars at The Madrona.
- Shopping for groceries at Market Hall.
- A knife skills class with Kelsey at 18 Reasons.
- The Rocky Mountain Showdown, Buc-cees, and banana pudding in Denver.
- All three kids in NYC at once.
- Playing Eloise at The Plaza.
- Legos.
- Absinthe and Ottolenghi with Sepi.
- Celebrating Kelsey’s wedding with shots, dj and dancing at a bar we still don’t know the name of.
- Concerts at Little Saint.
- Long girls weekend in NYC - QC Spa, Cool Sips, Christmas markets and pedicabs.
- Christmas markets in general.
- A disco Christmas concert with Beth.
- Decking my halls with Christopher.
- Re-connecting with old friends.
- Mail in my mailbox.
- Wishes at the Virgin Mary’s house.
- Hunting for Goldsworthy in the Presidio.
- Buying myself flowers every Sunday.
- The Conservatory of Flowers with Philippine on a quiet Sunday.
- Working from hotel lobbies and airport concourses while traveling Europe for two months.
- Book-matched marble slabs at Barcelona Pavilion.
- Adopting Sarah for a weekend in Barcelona.
- Mercer Lab - what a trip.
- Law Roach at 92NY.
- Red and white stripes in Cordoba.
- Hunting for street art in Denver and Brooklyn.
- Shopping for sardines for dad in Portugal.
- Embaixada, Christ the Redeemer, Golden Gate Bridge, wine windows, Convento do Carmo and Pasteis de Nat-a in Lisbon.
- Sour Cherry Soda in Greece and Kofta in Turkey.
- Amarylis bulbs.
- Being reunited with my Christmas tree. I rented a live tree from a tree farm in Carmel last year, and I got the same one again this year.
- Making a beautiful custom journal at Louise Carmen in Paris.
- Junior’s, Little Cupcake Bakeshop, RubiRosa, Los Tacos No. 2, Freeman’s and Danté.
- A cinderella pumpkin on my dining table.
- Quiet mornings on the rooftop with my coffee.
- Books with no literary value: Stone Cold Fox, Wives Like Us, The Guncle, All Good People Here.
- Re-reading old favorites: Molokai, Memoirs of a Geisha, A Prayer for Owen Meany, Bel Canto, The Thornbirds.
- Surprising movies: The First Grader, 26 to Life, Made You Look.
- Listening to the Morning Meeting Podcast on Saturday mornings.
- Buying a new sofa and a new mattress that made my apartment feel a little bit more like home. Since I own a furniture store I never buy furniture, so investing in two big pieces was huge for me.
- Watching movies under a duvet on the new sofa with my favorite people.
- A sour cherry scented candle personalized with my favorite monogram: AJK.
- Tacos for dinner on Christmas.
- Collecting matchbooks from restaurants around the world.
- Ross Rayburn’s evening yoga flow and candlelight yin on sunday afternoons.
- My Music for Travel Days playlist.
- Cheering my people on as they accomplish big goals.
- BLTs and frozen greek yogurt with sour cherry syrup in the summer
- Home made soup and fresh baked bread in the winter.
- Finding a new piece for my collection of portraits - a 1950s drawing by Jean Cocteau - in a flea market in Paris.
- Getting the perfect photo of all three of my children in Athens.