“Actually, the best gift you could have given her was a lifetime of adventures…”

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, always has me in a very evaluative state of mind. Where have I been and where am I going? It’s no secret that this past year was the hardest of my life. Everything felt so heavy emotionally. My depression was not helped by the anxiety of our impending move to Texas. Walking into the unknown can either feel horribly terrifying or like a fantastic adventure. With my mental strength wavering, I could only see the coming change through a lens of great fear—a deep, dark rabbit hole. It makes sense in retrospect. Life had certainly slapped me around with a series of undesirable and downright traumatic events which I could not control within a short amount of time.

I was still journeying down my spiral of negativity when I arrived to my new life in Dallas. Thankfully, over the past few months here my mindset has changed dramatically. Though my days have been as hectic as always, I have gradually shifted my focus back to the good. There have been countless moments that I have clearly felt G-d holding my hand and guiding my path. From the incredible friends I have made to the ease of the transition for the girls in school to Ira’s complete satisfaction with his career path, no blessing has gone unnoticed or unappreciated in our new chapter. My overarching goal for the coming year is to pursue and maintain a positive state of mind in the face of the many things I cannot control.

Because the joy I feel for this moment is so powerful, I wanted to visually reflect that in our home for the year. Initially I didn’t want to bother with fixing up a house we would be in so temporarily. Then I quickly came to the realization that surrounding myself and my family with artwork, decor, and colors that bring happiness to life has a very real impact on the psyche. This year should be filled with beautiful memories in a beautiful space.

For as challenging as the idea of the move was, not to mention the physical and emotional exhaustion of the actual process, settling into our home and decorating it could not have been easier or more pleasant. G-d put a few special angels in my path who have become very close to me. One of those people is Ari Mizell of Mizell & Moore Interiors. She and I met at the hottest kosher restaurant in Dallas (and home of the best babka on the planet) , The Market. As I was raving to the owner and chef, Jordona, about the flawless decor, an adorable, boldly dressed woman with one of the holiest auras I’ve ever encountered walked through the door. Jordona exclaimed, “You can meet the designer, Ari, now! She just arrived!” Talk about the laws of attraction! Ari and I hit it off immediately. Within two days I ran into her three times. At that point we knew it was our destiny to work together! Over the next few weeks, Ari completely transformed our home with effortless grace, utilizing her many resources and limitless talents.

We used the story of Alice in Wonderland as our inspiration—a playful little girl in what feels like a very big, serious house. (Let’s face it, this feels like a castle coming from our NYC apt!). First, we found the most exquisite mad-hatter inspired chairs from The Chair Market. For anyone who is moving or redecorating, this is your go-to for all your seating needs. They have the largest selection imaginable and have showrooms in both New York and Florida.

Very shortly into our decorating process, we discovered the luxury home decor shop, KASART, filled with the most fabulous of art pieces, gifts, and modern Judaica I’ve ever seen in one place! The owner Mariana is an absolute gem and helped Ari and me select the perfect accessories, from playful pink lamps to a sculptural hanging rope to a gorgeous acrylic challah board, to complete our fantasy vision.

We focused a lot of our efforts on the dining room (the room I am highlighting in this post), as it is the first room you see when entering the house and the place where we host meals for Shabbat and the holidays. This room is as “poppin’” as the candy art by my dear friend Robyn Blair which hangs on its wall. It radiates cheer and life and is a space to make lasting memories and take copious amounts of l’chaims. This is my dream place to bring in the new year for our new beginning!

My friend, Sasha, recently said to me, “G-d has a greater plan for you than you could ever imagine for yourself.” The past few months here have taught me to let go and let G-d and I’ve watched so many things unfold well beyond my expectations. Like Alice, in life, sometimes we have to fall down the rabbit hole and swim through a pool of our own tears in order to go on the most magical adventure.