Many years ago, before the pandemic that is COVID-19, the poet Khalil Gibran wrote, “Let there be spaces in your togetherness, and let the winds of the heavens dance between you.” The title of the poem may have been On Marriage, but these exquisite words seemed fitting for 2020 and now, 2021.

From a year we felt robbed of and the beginning of another that does not look very much different from the last, may we take heart in knowing that the waiting does not last forever; whilst in the in-between, to “let the winds of heavens dance between [us]” and for those fortunate enough, to “let there be spaces in your togetherness.”

Tulips x Chanel. I cannot think of a better pairing.

A moment of respite after a game of Catch (he is still learning that the concept of the game is actually Fetch; for now, a ball tossed is a ball never returned, usually found tightly clenched between his adorable teeth).

Ever grateful to be home for Christmas, reunited with family and gathered around the table for home-cooked meals.

Pre-NYE dinner at one of our favourite restaurants in the city. In as much as I celebrate the joys of a table for one, the beauty of eating together - the privilege of sharing a meal with another, the intimacy of communion over food - was never lost on me. In this day and age, it is treasured all the more.

Sophie, Reginald, and Figaro are joined by Finley and Sienna. I am now a reformed plant liker. How the tables have turned - these two were my first purchases of 2021, breathing life into my living space.

7:00am morning glow. The stillness, as the city wipes the sleep from its eyes and before the house flurries with the day's demands, was gloriously savoured under fresh sheets.