I was back on the Veterans Parkway Trail in Manhattan Beach yesterday. Wood-chipped path through a valley, thoroughly planted and lush on each side, blocks from the beach, meandering through one of SoCal's most gorgeous neighborhoods. One of my favorite places to think.

Thursday morning, 7:15 am. I step out onto my front porch, camera gear and a cup of coffee in my hand.

My buddy Josh was in his car, waiting outside to pick me up...

I have been pretty obsessed with Art Deco and 30's design for a while - it's the bridge between what we think of as traditional design and modernity.

We've been spending time at my parents' house this week. My kids are sleeping in my old room. My grandfather had this colonial-style house built in the 1960s for his growing family.

My wife started her day by falling into a huge thistle plant, so I spent much of this morning removing tiny needles from her hip.

I spent much of this week at Arrington Woods. Our beautiful stone and wood siding, both of which we agonized over, are finally going on, and it's starting to look incredible, or at least I think so.

My brother's been visiting this week, and he loves our sauna.

Our video shoot is done. Multiple weeks of prep getting everything dialed in—backyard, lawn, beds, baths, every single detail perfect. Our house has been 90% done for a long time, but that last 10% is where it goes from good to great, and that is the secret sauce.

Our home tour films this week, and life outside of that does not stop. I've been scrambling like a maniac to get everything right. We're so close to the finish line.

We have less than two weeks until our house goes on camera—the first time we'll publicly show it in its entirety. Stuccoing walls outside, aging brass faucets, and still finalizing a bunch of decisions at Arrington Woods.

We're getting our house ready for a video feature coming up in a few weeks.

It's going to be a short one; we are so busy with projects. Here are some things I've worked on and seen this week.

I keep hoping for life to slow down. Someday.

But on Monday, we returned from California, and I jumped right back into the mix with a special focus on our Arrington Woods development.

I spent the last couple of days in the desert. We were lucky enough to spend a night at the Reset hotel in Twentynine Palms, created by Ben Uyeda. It's a 65-key boutique hotel built from shipping containers with beautiful natural landscaping, set right against the mountains at the entrance to Joshua Tree National Park.

In SoCal for a couple of days. Whenever I am here, I love to go on walks; I can't really get enough. I'm pretty convinced that gardening is on easy mode in this part of the world.

This past week, I was in Vegas. I am not a casino guy; they are actually one of my least favorite things in the world.

The Sagrada Família completed its final height in Barcelona yesterday. The upper arm of the cross atop the central tower was lifted into place, bringing its total height to 566 feet, the tallest structure in Barcelona.

Most of this past week I was on a ski trip with my daughter in Jackson Hole. I had never been but have long wanted to go.

I recently watched Die Hard for the first time in a while, as one does. I love old movies - the way they feel, the sets. There's much to appreciate design-wise from the late 80's.

Last week, I opened this newsletter with "the snow is coming down hard and fast." Every year, we usually get one good snow. The kids can go sledding, there's some ice on the roads, the city kind of shuts down for a couple of days, and it's a nice little at-home winter vacation.