One sleepy morning in Santa Barbara, a barista handed over my coffee with a cheerful “Have the greatest of days.” That small moment of kindness cracked something open for me when the world still felt so heavy.

Living in Santa Barbara was an absolute dream. Especially during 2021–22, it became a place where I found light again after what felt like a long stretch of gray. I practiced weekly at Santa Barbara Beach Yoga, communing with dolphins, seagulls, and seals while I worked to get centered and let go of the inner struggles that had been chasing me for months. I took a job with a local small business focused on gifting, which gave me a way to connect my creative muscles to my marketing background in new ways. I photographed clients who made me feel genuinely welcome in this new city.

Outside of work, my husband and I explored constantly through local breweries, coffee shops, restaurants, and venues all over town. I was endlessly inspired by the architecture and design of so many of the places we visited, inside and out. We walked everywhere, soaking in the sunny days (and even the rainy ones), diving in where it felt right. We joined a wine club at a wonderful little bar (hi Satellite, miss you) where we later celebrated our wedding after returning from Greece, became members at Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, and spent hours wandering through art museums, movie theaters, music venues, and bookstores that drip with charm. We were also lucky to spend plenty of time visiting my sister in Los Angeles.

We lived in a small cul-de-sac of renovated kit cottages, all clustered together so neighbors waved as they came and went. When we first moved in, our across-the-way neighbors greeted us with wine and flowers from the farmer’s market. I practically keeled over from the sheer kindness of it. After so much darkness, I know it’s cheesy AF, but it felt like a window had opened.

In our time there, I reconnected with old friends who lived nearby and made incredible new ones. In so many ways, that time in Santa Barbara felt like an extended working retreat. I was juggling consulting, a job, photography, and starting to imagine the next phase of life. I was finding my rhythm again and redefining what family, creativity, career, and community could look like.

The soundtrack to that season was full of brightness and optimism, songs that felt like sunlight through open windows. Artists like Washed Out, Poolside, Paco Versailles, and Brothertiger carried me through those mornings and afternoons that glowed with possibility. When I say glowed, I really mean it. I had disco balls and prisms all throughout our tiny home, and when the sun caught them, ahhh it was magic.

Let this playlist be my version of that barista’s laid-back and full-of-heart sign-off. No matter where you are, what you’re up to, how things are going, or what’s on your mind, I’m wishing you the greatest of days. As a friend of mine likes to say, catch a hug.