This is how you celebrate Christmas in L.A.

While Jon is hard at work writing, Otis and I are exploring all the neighborhoods of LA together. We had been here a few times before, but with such a little one, you are always looking for different spots. Suddenly, I realized that there is hardly a changing table in any establishment here. That poor boy ends up in the strangest places, including on tiny little tables that were meant for plants and even once on the floor (of course on a changing mat and in good restaurants where everything is super clean…). But there is a huge plus: the playgrounds here are beautiful. Huge play equipment, giant sandboxes, and plenty of grass to run around on. I've never seen Otis fall asleep so quickly after a round at the playground.

This year, my birthday literally lasted twice as long: the night before (LA time), I received the first congratulations from home, where I was already celebrating my birthday. In the morning, my guys sang to me, and my day couldn't have started better. I secretly missed my annual dinner with girlfriends, but that was more than made up for in the evening at my favorite vegan restaurant, Crossroads (a must-try, even if you're not vegan). And that girls‘ dinner is just postponed to January.

Our suitcases were already packed to the brim on the way here, so Jon and I agreed not to buy too much here in LA. We are two weeks and three pairs of sneakers for Otis, two pairs of sneakers for Jon, one pair of sneakers, and one pair of pumps for me further: this is going completely wrong. But yes, you also go completely crazy from all those fantastic sneaker stores with editions that you can't find back home. On Fairfax Ave, you will find Flight Club and SoleStage, where all sneakers are sealed in plastic. Now it feels like you are buying a piece of gold, as all pairs are limited editions, or sold out everywhere else and only available here. So expect prices starting from 200 dollars to thousands of dollars… Don't worry, our purchases definitely don't come from here, but just looking is already fun!

On Christmas Day, we were already at the top of a mountain at ten in the morning, overlooking the whole city, for our morning hike. Jon and I looked at each other and thought the same thing: this is quite a special Christmas morning. Wonderful in nature, 18 degrees, and a bright sun on your head. In the afternoon, I started cooking with the neighbor (we rent our little house from a good friend) for the grand Christmas dinner. Half of the guests are vegan, so that was quite a challenge. In the end, the table was filled with delicious dishes: eggplants in miso, vegan turkey, and even a vegan cheese platter. In America, they don't celebrate Boxing Day, which is nice and relaxed. And now we have a few days of rest until all the New Year's preparations begin again.