Palm Springs Style

After brunching with my gorgeous friend Christina today we wandered through Yaletown and into (wait for it.... where else?) The Cross, naturally. Knowing me as thoroughly as they do and being as thoughtful friends as they are, both Christina and my roommate Nicole bought me gift cards to my "happy place" for my 30th a few weeks ago. Now, normally gift cards of any kind burn a hole in my pocket so intensely that they need to be spent within days (the gift of shopping, what could be better?), but this time I wanted to select pieces that meant something to me, something of significance rather than an item I just thought was pretty (not that I suddenly have issues with pretty, no way). After three laps of the store I bought the 

very thing I knew I had to have.

 Since I was a little girl my favourite stories told to me my parents or my sweetest memories involve Palm Springs. Long before I was born my parents, aunt and uncle and grandparents would migrate to the desert two hours outside of Los Angeles to soak up the sun on vacation from drizzly, grey Vancouver. I was ten the first time I went and that trip still sticks out vividly in my memory. I had never seen such beauty in my life~ the ruddy San Jacinto mountains, thrilling palm trees and manicured lawns, sparkling swimming pools and, best of all, the air heavy with the scent of lemon and orange blossom from all the fruit trees everywhere. It was magical, and continues to be so for me and my family to this day. We can talk endlessly about "the desert" and where we will go, stay, dine the next time we visit. 

The book Palm Springs Style has been in my Amazon cart for ages but today I decided to snap it up in person. Even flipping through the glossy pages and admiring the beautiful photographs makes me giddily happy. Palm Springs was the most chic and decadent of getaways for the movie stars of the 40s and 50s (my parents pointed out Frank Sinatra's house to me on my first visit), yet it experienced a decline in popularity in the more recent decades. However, in the last few years its glory has been revived. Many iconic hotels have been renovated and redecorated and none more spectacularly than the Viceroy. Decorated by famed interior designer (and Vogue regular) Kelly Wearstler, it has been transformed into a quirkily glamourous resort and spa~ and has again become a playground for the young and beautiful Hollywood set. The book, for me, is one part childhood memory and two parts luxurious fantasy~ and I can't wait to one day soak up the desert heat from one of the Viceroy's poolside loungers!