When I was little, I was absolutely transfixed with this picture of my mom. I thought the person in this picture was the most glamorous, elegant and impossibly beautiful creature I had ever seen and I couldn’t believe she was my mom. As I grew up, I realized that was all true - but she was also one of the smartest, kindest, slyly funny, welcoming people I have ever known. And even when I didn’t make it easy, she always supported me without question and without doubt. I learned so much from her. She taught me about taste and style and how you didn’t have to spend a lot of money to surround yourself with beauty (though sometimes, of course, it helps). She taught me about manners and the importance of making a great impression. She drilled into me the importance of thank you notes, how if you can read you can cook, and how to properly raise a pug. But most of all, she taught me that there was good in all people and that no one deserves to be treated differently because of who they are. She believed that everyone was worth just as much as the next person. She taught me about positivity and kindness and that the world is a beautiful, fun, wonderful place even when it didn’t always feel that way. I’ll think of her every time I listen to beach music (not the Beach Boys, like actual beach music). I’ll think of her every time I watch a Jane Austen movie. I’ll think of her every time I see a statement necklace or a freshly blooming peony. I’ll think of her every time I smell toffee or hear a choir sing. I’ll think of her every time I bake something or read a cooking magazine or eat lobster or walk the streets of Charleston. I’ll think of her every time I see a little boy wearing a costume in public or who would rather pretend to be a princess than a prince. I’ll think of her every second of every day. I miss her so much already. 💔