I’m back! I certainly did miss you all but had a wonderful time on my California vacation. I promise to provide a full report next week with all my must-do’s in the Golden State.

While lounging on the beaches of Malibu (don’t mean to rub it in), I was able to catch up on some much-needed reading (and sleep). And I must say, I was excited to read about several exciting collaborations that have just launched. Let’s begin with one of my favorites… Rifle Paper and Garance Dore. If you don’t read Garance’s blog, you should. She lives a life I dream of… in Paris no less. A lover of the finer things, she has an incredible eye for all things street fashion. She, like me, is also a lover of all things paper and always dreamt of launching a paper line but knew she needed to find the right partner. Enter my all-time favorite paper designer Anna Bond and Rifle Paper. The two hit it off instantly and created a breathtaking line that launched in Paris last week and will be stateside soon enough. Can’t wait to add a few of these pieces to my ever-growing stationary collection.

Not only am I a lover of paper but beautiful shoes make me weak in the knees. Sarah Jessica Parker, a/k/a Carrie Bradshaw, partnered with Manolo Blahnik to create a beautiful shoe line fondly named SJP. Available at Nordstroms, her first collection is breathtaking. In honor of her mom, several pairs of shoes in the collection feature grosgrain ribbon the heel. What a special touch. I have my eyes on these and these.

And last but certainly not least, Gwyneth Paltrow has teamed up with Peter Dunham to offer an exclusive line of pillows on her site. And as I have said before, I have a thing for throw pillows. Aren’t they just beautiful?

My takeaway from all of these is that collaboration really does make everything better. An important lesson on this snowy Thursday. Stay warm!