In the spirit of bringing the outside, the theme of garlands over the past few years has been Califas Chirstmas. What began in December 2023 continued into year three this month.

In 2023, Juliette and I decorated the front banister of her apartment with a standard garland enhanced with clippings from her prolific Acacia Mimosa backyard tree. The tree pushed up against her bedroom window supplying her endless sunshine when bloomed through the winter time. To blend the blue-green leaves with the deep evergreens, we used Spanish moss, which had its 15 minutes the past few years. Come December 2024, we moved to the inside balcony ledge and added movement to the design with a swoop.

We said au revoir to Juliette, on these same stairs, in May 2025 before taking her to LAX one more time as a CA resident. She was off to Paris!

This year, I had to keep the tradition alive even in her absence </3. There was no better place to put the creative energy than magical Topanga. I will forever credit Jooj and Sarah for sharing the gift that is the canyon with me so many times. She introduced me to Sarah, the fair lady of the home the garland was put up. Magnolia leaves were subbed for Spanish Moss and they perfectly played off the distant Santa Monica mountain peak while still incorporating Sarah’s front yard Mimosa, which has yet to pop to yellow, I added White Sage from the front to blend the colors and add additional texture.