// the mood & vibes this week
— hi, friends :) wow, i can't believe i'm writing this to you on the very last day of july. the moment before we tip into august - and the summer deepens, ripens, changes. where has this month gone!?! a sun-soaked, glimmering blur-that's always how this season moves for me.
— i'm beginning my annual rewatch of “the summer i turned pretty,” and one of belly's first lines - about how everything good, everything magical happens between the months of june and august - always rings so true. i feel like many of the most pivotal life experiences i've had - blissful travels, irreplaceable evenings, core-shaking love affairs - have happened in the summertime. the kinds of things you dwell on in november and december - the memories that light a candle and you stay close to for warmth. especially since the beginning flickers of my transition five years ago, summers have taken on this new, deeper meaning + significance. and summer '26 is definitely shaping up to its own wonderful place in the library of my mind.
— i've already told you about the oregon trip in the first two weeks of july - that certainly was mystical. i got five rolls of film back, and the shots are everything. i'm still very much a beginner when it comes to analog photography and even editing pics in a more advanced manner than the iphone photos app. but it's a skill i've so loved deepening over the past few years. i'm thinking of finally getting a lightroom subscription to really learn editing, but first, i'll need to replace my film camera! maybe it's just my experience, but i've had two olympus stylus epic's / mju ii's break on me. and this most recent one gave out right when i touched down from PDX. so, i'm currently on the hunt. if you can recommend a film camera under like $500, please hit me with an email response!
— anyways, aside from camera shenanigans, the weeks since coming back from oregon have been full and delicious and scalding in that way LA summer uniquely is. probably the biggest update - the tenant in unit 2 of my triplex is finishing out her lease this fall, so i listed the unit last week to get ahead of things. it absolutely FLEW off the shelves - my phone rang off the hook for days. i have an incredible tenant moving in come september and i'm so happy. and it's like the universe was waiting for me to be done with that, because after the lease was signed, i opened an escrow & began prepping a listing! thankfully, i still have time to steal a few moments at socal's infamous beaches - and am heading to laguna this weekend.
— my friends and i aim to get down south a few times in the summer, and normally we'd have gone by now. laguna is absolutely my favorite place to beach in socal, aside from some fabulous spots in san diego. why, you ask? well if you're a mermaid/ocean siren like me, i cannot think of a better place to swim…crystalline blue/green/gold water, perfect temp..caverns and pools to explore and make like you're indeed aquamarine…wildlife and craggy cliffs and the like.
— there's something about swimming here - and i mean, really anywhere - that calls up the divine feminine in me. i feel most alive, centered, and grounded when i'm in a body of water, period. maybe it's my astrological chart - capricorn sun, libra moon, scorpio rising. i mean an earth / air / water big three is definitely ~of nature~ although you 1000% already knew that about me ;).
— aside from beaches, i've been trying to be a little ~out on the town~ this summer (aka, leave my apartment after 8pm!). a few highlights -
— threw a summer dinner party with some friends last sunday, my first proper dinner event at the silver laurel! folks brought fresh salads, we made paninis, played games, & soaked up the good juju + connection. i was honestly worried about the dinner component - as my friends know that most of my fridge is trader joe's meals - but things went smoothly and no one went hungry!
— a group of homies in the design/home world gathered for our bestie kirsten's birthday, and it was such a perfect evening - dinner at my namesake restaurant (sam's!) in highland park, ice cream, strolling. the same gaggle got together for our bestie molly's husband's show - john is such an incredible musician. if you're into indie/folk,
you gotta listen to this album (my faves are “she is on my mind” & “new world order"). the venue was also equally fabulous + incredibly designed -
nico's bottle shop in atwater. y'all it was literally underground!!!! too cool.
— i went out to stud country last night - queer line dancing - and it was FABULOUS. a joyful evening of gays & country music - pretty punk rock to reclaim a space and a genre that has historically been very norm-core, and make it queer as all get out. i went last summer a few times, but only recently procured cowboy boots this month, which made it so much more fun.
— also, tomorrow i'm going to see the odyssey in 70mm at the vista in los feliz.
— and that's a wrap on evening activities, lolll. next weekend, i'm heading to the bay for a weekend trip to the russian river! i am SO BEYOND EXCITED. i try and make this a yearly tradition - i've gone the last three summers without fail.
— if you don't know the russian river, it's a fabulous stretch of norcal wine country, near where i'm from in marin. picture a gorgeous stunning alpine river with redwoods all around, wineries dotted throughout, organic farms and that jazz. we always go to this place there called guerneville (which i've def talked to you about before) - it's a queer mountain town. with literal queer bars on the main drag (i think they even have bear week, LOL). probably one of the safest remote/outdoor locales i've ever been to. i can't wait to have a little glimmer of august sun in the trees-dive into the river and basically not get out except for turkey/tomato/mozzarella sandwiches and caramel ice cream…taking a shower in the late afternoon and getting ready for dinner with the perfect sun flush on my cheeks…i can't think of anything better. a little recharge before the busy fall season of real estate / freelance projects / and the like.
— in terms of what’s coming up … continually on the hunt with my slew of buyers. prepping houses to launch. always searching for the best houses in CA. below you’ll find a collection of listings i love on the market - the houses today are actually so insane.
— if you’re considering buying or selling in LA or NorCal in 2026, message me here.
— if you’re looking to buy a wood house elsewhere in CA + the US, there’s a good chance i can refer you to an agent in your city. referrals are a great way to support me. whenever i send a client to one of my cool out-of-area agent friends, i actually receive a portion of that commission! and like most things in life, a recommendation from a friend is the way to go. if that’s you, respond to this email and i’d be happy to connect you.
— talk to you soon, and sending love.
xx,
sam
