Palm Springs - New Year's Resolutions

 The Top Ten New Year’s Resolutions in Palm Springs 

(As Observed While Standing in Line for an Oat-Milk Latte at 7:14 a.m. at  Ernest Coffee on January 1st....)

Ernest Coffee - 1101 N Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs

Every January in Palm Springs, the desert briefly reinvents itself as a self-improvement retreat. The air is crisp, the mountains look faintly judgmental, and everyone is convinced this is the year they’ll become calmer, fitter, and more spiritually aligned—preferably before Coachella, but definitely before their friends arrive from Minneapolis for Presidents’ Day weekend.

These are the resolutions we make with confidence, revise with creativity, and quietly abandon by mid-February.

 1. “This Is the Year I’ll Walk Every Morning.” 

By January 3rd, everyone is power-walking the  Walk of Stars on Palm Canyon Drive  in coordinated athleisure, nodding knowingly at one another like members of a very polite cult.By January 10th, everyone is telling you they used to walk every morning.By January 21st, we’re back in the golf cart, driving two blocks to  Koffi , reassuring ourselves that hydration counts as wellness—and that 5,000 steps from walking the  Gardens of El Paseo  last week hunting for the perfect pair of sandals should really cover the month. 

Gardens of El Paseo - 73545 El Paseo, Palm Desert

 2. “I’m Doing Dry January.” 

This resolution arrives with enthusiasm and a surprising amount of moral superiority.By about January 7th, Dry January quietly becomes Dry Martini January.In a town built on cocktails, poolside happy hours, and “just one drink before sunset,” abstinence feels less like self-care and more like a personal insult.

By the third week, Dry January becomes “mostly dry,” which in Palm Springs means you’re drinking, just not telling people about it. You point out that hydration is important in the desert and you need to support local speakeasies like  Paul Bar  and  Seymours , and no one asks further questions, because everyone understands the rules. 

 Seymour's - at Lyon's Grill, 233 E. Palm Canyon Dr., Palm Springs 

 3. “I’m Going to Use the Pool More.” 

You live here.The pool is ten feet away.And yet you treat it like a destination requiring planning, emotional readiness, and possibly a waiver.The resolution collapses when you remember that getting wet ruins your hair and that heating the pool in winter costs roughly the same as a modest college education. 

 4. “I’m Finally Going to Declutter.” 

This starts strong. One drawer. Maybe two.You ask yourself, why do I own all these sweaters I brought from Winnipeg? I live in the desert now.You ask yourself why you own scarves. You briefly consider donating them to  Revivals, then remember you might go somewhere cold someday, like  Pappy and Harriet's  near Joshua Tree.

 Pappy and Harriet's - 53688 Pioneertown Rd, Pioneertown 

You decide laying out by the pool would be a much more productive use of your time.

 5. “I’ll Wear Less Black.” 

You moved to Palm Springs for color, optimism, and turquoise front doors.Yet your closet still resembles a tasteful funeral for joy.You attempt a reboot with a shopping spree at Trina Turk   in Downtown Palm Springs and  Lilly Pulitzer  on El Paseo.

 Trina Turk - 891 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs By mid-January, you’re back in black, explaining it’s “Palm Springs black,” which is lighter, breezier, slimming, and therefore entirely justified. Besides, those colorful kaftans required sunglasses just to survive the glare.

 6. “I’m Cutting Back on Amazon.” 

This lasts until you remember Amazon is how you receive validation, colorful throw pillows for the patio, and mildly unnecessary solar lights shaped like flamingos.The packages keep arriving like it's Christmas again, and you begin to worry about what the Canadian neighbors think about your excessive commitment to capitalism....  You stop opening them immediately, so it feels less like a problem and more like a lifestyle choice.  I should just shop at  Market Market  instead! 

Market Market 1555 S Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs

 7. “I’ll Cook More at Home.” 

You buy vegetables with confidence at the  Palm Springs Farmers Market —mostly for the social scene and to be seen by friends who admire your commitment to eating healthy.

 Certified Farmers Market-  2300 E Baristo Road, Palm SpringsThe veggies wilt quietly in the refrigerator while you eat out “just one more time” at  Tyler's , because why should you dirty the kitchen making lunch?  And you really can't beat their burgers and homemade coleslaw!Eventually, you accept the truth: your favorite thing to make for dinner is reservations at your favorite Palm Springs restaurants.

Tyler's Burgers - 149 S Indian Canyon Dr, Palm Springs 

 8. “I’m Going to Meet More Locals.” 

You announce this while surrounded exclusively by people from Toronto, Seattle, and Los Angeles who all insist they’re basically locals now since they've been coming here for two years in a row now.You agree to get together more—once the season slows down, which it never does. Who has time between pool days, happy hours, golf, pickleball, spa treatments at  The Spa at Séc-he , and complaining about traffic on the 111?

The Spa at Séc-he - 200 E Tahquitz Canyon Way, Palm Springs 

 9. “I’m Going to Get in Shape.” 

This practice involves joining  Steel Gym , signing up at  Pilates Palm Springs  for classes you will not attend, buying shoes you will wear once, and investing in Lululemon tights that promise to “hold everything in.”You claim to be prioritizing your health—yet you are holding a margarita from  El Mirasol as large as a birdbath. (But you justify it because it's a "skinny" margarita!)

El Mirasol Cocina Restaurant - 140 E Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs

 10. “I’m Going to Say No More Often.” 

This resolution collapses the first time someone texts, “Hey bestie! We were thinking of coming out for a long weekend…”

You say yes.You always say yes.You live in Palm Springs.Saying no feels ungrateful.Charging rent feels awkward.And yet somehow, every season, you’re fully booked.

Suddenly your house is full of guests who packed for summer, complain about the desert cold at night, and treat your home like a boutique resort with limited housekeeping. You feel bad for them—because it’s snowing where they’re from, and you are not a monster.

Still, they borrow your pool towels, insist that you heat the pool, and as they casually ask if you’re really using the guest room all winter, a thought crosses your mind:  CALL THE PAUL KAPLAN GROUP AND GET YOUR OWN CONDO!! 

By April, most resolutions have evaporated, like morning dew or ambition. But that’s fine. In Palm Springs, reinvention is seasonal. If January doesn’t work out, there’s always next January 2027—or at least the next happy hour.

And really, isn’t that growth?

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