To LA, with love

It’s taken me days to find the right words, and even now, I’m sure most of them fall short.

It’s taken me days to find the right words, and even now, I’m sure most of them fall short.

My family is safe, our home is still standing, and in the face of so much devastation, I feel overwhelmingly grateful, though much of that is tangled with guilt.

It’s a complicated new reality. To feel so much and yet wonder if you have any right to feel it at all. We didn’t lose anything, not really - not in the way others have. Our home is still here, and the only thing lost is the quiet certainty that it's where we'll always be safest.

And yet, one of the only ways I know how to move through something this heavy is to give voice to this strange, unspoken grief. To mourn for LA, for its diverse communities, and for all those who have lost so much. To write about it - about what I've learned in these last few days, about the raw reality of it all, and about how I’m trying to help those most in need. Because sometimes, the only way forward is to speak the weight of it out loud, to share the burden, and hope that it sparks something, anything, that makes a difference.

We are the lucky ones. But so many in our beautiful city have lost everything - their homes, their children’s schools, their sense of belonging. It’s a grief so vast, it’s hard to know where to begin, especially when the fires are still raging, and the loss feels almost too immense to comprehend.

But in the midst of this devastation, we can’t forget that we’re not alone. The firefighters, the first responders, the countless volunteers…they’re the ones holding the line, fighting back the flames with everything they have. We owe them our deepest gratitude.

Many of you have asked how you can help those affected by the LA fires, and I want to thank you for your generosity. If you’re feeling overwhelmed and unsure of where to start, G and I are coordinating efforts to pick up supplies and contribute to fire relief programs, as well as support underfunded GoFundMe campaigns. If you’re in a position to contribute, no matter the amount, we’re accepting donations via Venmo at @cupcakes-and-cashmere.

We’ll be matching donations up to $5,000 and for full transparency, I’ll be sharing receipts on my Instagram.

From our first batch of donations.

Here are some other places you can donate, if you’re able:

• World Central Kitchen: They’re distributing hot free meals to first responders and the public.

• Pasadena Humane Society: They’ve taken in 300 pets since the fires and are in need of monetary donations.

• California Fire Foundation: They’re providing immediate and long-term relief to communities and survivors of the fires.

• Altadena Girls: They aim to restore normalcy for the teenage victims affected by the Eaton Canyon Fire.

• Watch Duty App: This app is a non-profit and has been the main way we have been able to keep track of fires and evacuation notices.

Please stay safe, take care of one another, and thank you for showing up in such a meaningful way.

xE

P.S. Thank you for your patience this month with the newsletter. I’ll be making up last week’s missed paid post and returning to a regular cadence next week!