Today, I’m sharing the story of one of my friends and fellow Palisades Mom—someone who is walking through the very specific, deeply misunderstood hell of surviving the fire… and still losing her home. For insurance reasons, she has to publish this under a pen name. So for now, we’ll call her Ashlee Ember (because if we can’t laugh at the darkness, we’ll drown in it).

Her story is honest, funny, enraging, and important. And it’s exactly why I created The Palisades Mom in the first place.

I’m out of office, but never off duty. Whoever said being a SAHM is easy—HA. Temporarily stepping away from real estate while displaced is a different job, same full-time energy.

If you’re watching from the outside—maybe you didn’t lose your home, but you care, you’re curious, or even a little skeptical—this one’s for you.

When you’re suddenly starting from zero, even the most random purchases start to feel deeply personal. So here are five things I bought post-fire—some practical, some nostalgic, all of which I’m now completely obsessed with.

Jenni Kayne raised the bar on care packages—other brands, please take note. If there’s one thing I could tell you, directly donating to Palisades Moms might be the best investment you can make—we are your target market, and we will be loyal to the brands that stood by us.