I swear, it feels like Thanksgiving happened back in late August.
Was it because Christmas and New Year’s Day were both on Thursdays? With a few exceptions, it felt like nearly everyone was off for basically the entire month of December.
At first, it was fun — there were plenty of gatherings, day drinking downtown, and long lunches that ran into Happy Hour. But by New Year’s Eve, I was so over cocktails rimmed with crushed candy cane and buying hostess gifts and wearing uncomfortable shoes — I was ready for life to return to normal. And yet… It seems I had at least one party left in me.
2026 or 1926 — Celebrating the old and the new
Before we get to New Year’s Day, New Year’s Eve gave me the second wind I needed, as I happily attended the Gatsby-themed New Year’s Eve celebration at a beautiful, circa 1926 home in a historic neighborhood off of McGregor — so, the sparkling soirée was not only a fun way to ring in 2026, it was also a festive birthday thrown by the home’s owners, Don Gurule and his wife Laura Wright. It was an exhilaratingly chilly night, but lots of guests wore glittering Gatsby garb, adding to the vintage vibe. There were so many friends who stopped by for some bubbly, including Hilde Goertz, Tom and Lourdes Smoot, Susy and Cory Mertz, Will and Maureen Prather, Greg Longenhagen, Jenny McWhinnie, Fran Fenning, and so many more.
One more meet-up with baby new year
Turns out I had one more party left in me, and it was at the absolutely gorgeous new — and newly renovated — condo of Pam Cronin. She and her lovely companion, Jim Wells, cooked New Year’s Brunch for a condo full of friends. It was delicious — picture an elaborate bagel bar, casseroles, sweets, and of course, mimosas flowing. Pam’s downtown riverfront condo is SO her — soft, feminine, luxurious, and sparkly — an oasis with a stunning view of the Caloosahatchee. It was the best way to start 2026 and a dry January. I must have had 4 ice-cold glasses of Diet Coke. Though I wasn’t the only one — lots of folks were having an alcohol-free good time. After what seemed like 17 weeks of holidays, parties, sugar, and booze, my liver seems grateful for the break. I think I made up for the bubbly calories with bagel calories, though. I was happy to run into Rob Dunmire, Bruce and Marcia Ross, Kimber and Charles Cook, Mitch and Toby Belding and Terry Tilley visiting from Jacksonville and lots more fabulous people…