At 30,000 feet while my flight takes me back to reality, I ponder the wonderful time I had for my 40th bday in the desert paradise: PALM SPRINGS, CA!

After the ahmahzing party that Keith threw for me last week with all my East Coast peeps in New York at the Lexington Candy Shop, I couldn’t believe it could get any better. Enter Palm Springs… Keith had gone there for Spring Break this year and knew that he wanted to take me there for my big 4-0! I’m so glad he did because it was magical! We stayed at the ACE Hotel, it was young and fun and had a very “Camp Fred” vibe. To continue our hotel obsession, we popped over to Kelly Wearstler’s very regent The Viceroy with its citrus stripes and clipped topiary and then to Jonathan Adler’s whacked out Parker Palm Springs. I loved them all! We had a taco party on Friday and our BFF Lulu totes showed up to surprise me!!! SPEECHLESS. How she & Keith kept a secret like that, I’ll never know. Our L.A. besties, Darin, Delza and Susan also trekked out to celebrate with us!

On Sat, my actual bday, we biked around the town in our vintage bikes oogling at all the Mid-Century modern masterpiece homes that make Palm Springs so famous. Um hello… Richard Neutra anyone? Google him, you’ll die! Then we took the tram up Mt. Jacinto to a embark in my ultimate Narnia fantasy. At 8,000 feet we quickly morphed from a blazing desert to a serene alpine terrain with ancient trees, rocky outcrops & views that’ll blow your mind!

Next on the agenda was my bday dinner at Mr. Parker’s, the psychedelic restaurant tucked behind a black velvet curtain in the lobby of the Parker Palm Springs. Um, Jonny… There’s nothin’ greater decorator! Mr. Parker’s is this rock n’ roll opera of a place that was so dark you had to read the menu with a flashlight and I LOVED it to pieces! After dinner, we sauntered to the fire pit where Keith & Lulu presented me with yet another dazzling surprise… A key to Room #1 of The Parker. Sizzle Zap! I don’t even have the words to describe how special and unforgettable this milestone was for me… And I owe it all to Keith and my wonderful friends. I love you all… Here’s to 40 more years of crazy cute! xoxo, CeeJ!

Wanna check our more photos from Palm Springs? Click here!