Patience and Pink Suits

February came in fast and full - New York, Aspen, New York again, a kid on a mountaintop, a romantic getaway, and a house full of good people…. AND HOW IS IT ALMOST APRIL ALREADY?? The testing-my-patience thing was in there, too, somewhere between oysters and pink fluffy suits. But mostly it just felt like a really good month.

Elizabeth conquered her annual Highlands Bowl hike with her ski group in February. Steep, exposed, wind that will rearrange your face - and this year it was particularly brutal. But she didn't flinch. didn't complain, just put her head down and did it. I don't know where she gets it!

Zach also wrapped up basketball season last month - full commitment, every game. The kid just loves himself a sport!

Valentine's Day was Elizabeth's holiday this year. She had a specific vision - pink, fluffy, maximum volume - and lobbied hard for it. We gave her the reins, and she went full send, too. There was cooking, there were outfits, there were no half measures. Very on-brand for her.

Partytrick is planning or co-hosting fifty (5-0!) events this year, and February was the month it all became very real.

We've been pitching our ambassador program and community-led events product relentlessly. Enterprise conversations are happening, and the calendar is filling up faster than I can color-code it.

What's making it possible with such a lean team? Genuinely good people and systems, solid AI tools, and a willingness to get creative about how we operate. If you know me, you know I'm a sucker for a great SOP. 

We're off to the races!

I kicked off February in New York - the kind of trip where the meetings are great and the dinners are even better. Then back to Aspen, then back to New York at the end of the month for another round, this time riding out the tail end of the big snowstorm - funny that I found better snow in NYC than Colorado this year.

I had a whole running comeback arc planned, too. Shoes, playlist, the works, but my body's response was essentially a single raised eyebrow. So I walked. A lot. Around Aspen, around the West Village, around my own impatience - which, it turns out, is the longer loop. I've always been a hare, but February was a tortoise month.

The real gift of February was a weekend away with Chris at Bedford Post Inn in the Hudson Valley - such a beautiful property! I love a good hotel the way some people love a good book, and Bedford Post earns all the stars. If you've been white-knuckling your way through a long stretch and need somewhere to land softly, put it at the top of your list.

Oh! And John Herrigel of the Maine Oyster Company - longtime friend and quasi big brother - is staying with us in Aspen for the winter. There's something about having someone like that padding around your house, someone who's known you through every version of yourself, that just makes home that much homier.

"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience." 

– Ralph Waldo Emerson