Just 40 minutes or so North on the 101 freeway in Los Angeles is the home of Joel and Rebecca Miller. Rebecca has been a life long friend. We met when were young woman, just starting our careers in NYC. We found each other because we were both living in Greenwich, CT enduring the Metro North train strike. Unlike France, where a strike is carefully curated and lasts for a short time, this went on and on and on. So, Rebecca and I bonded over the need to find a carpool situation and share the costs of NYC day rates for car parking. But Rebecca became more than just a “buddy” to drive into NYC with. She became a dear friend. It’s a friendship that has endured the test of time and several geographic relocations.

Somehow, we both landed in California and now live a short distance from each other. There is a conversation that I have with Rebecca no matter where we are living -- Salt Lake City, Paris, Poway, Los Angeles -- that is a continuing, intimate dialogue about life. The older we get, the more experiences we have, the deeper and more profound our dialogue becomes. I can be myself with Rebecca. That is truly a gift because I lost myself at some point in my marriage and my former career. But Rebecca, with her x-ray eyes, always knew I was there. She can see right through me.

I spent the 4th of July weekend with Rebecca and her lovely family -- Joel, her husband, and Anna and Molly their 2 beautiful girls. I always feel peaceful when I spend time with their children. They are like all sisters and get on each other’s nerves and fight sometimes. But they are also smart, independent and each distinctly different and charming. I love getting to know them and being “Auntie Nancy” or sometimes “Auntie Mame”.

This entry in my blog is not about the perfect wine bar or shopping experience, it’s about the perfect moment in life where you can share your deepest joy and pain with a friend you’ve known forever. It’s about the place in life where you can “let your hair down” and the love is unconditional. It’s about trust. It’s also about seeing life through the beautiful lens of a child’s eye. I had a remarkable time with Anna and Molly this past weekend. And Rebecca and Joel, as always, open their home and hearts to me, taking me in as a family member.

And, come January 2009, as we enter the spring/summer buying season in home decor, look for my new dinnerware line that is based on photographs I took at the Miller home, derived from the ripples and colors that were created in their pool by the shared jubilation and unabashed enthusiasm from Anna and Molly when they were given the “greenlight” to play in the grown up pool.

I’ve always been fascinated by pools as photographic subjects. I was particularly mesmerized this time by the pool vacuum floating around the Miller’s pool, self-cleaning the bottom. At night, it was like a creature from outer space. That’s why there are mostly pictures of their vacuum and not them. Rebecca is also VERY camera shy. So was Anna this trip. It’s a girl thing. I understand. I am also VERY camera shy and hate having the lens pointed at me. I’m much better about being behind the lens than in front of it.