News & Notes

“I Just Say Thank You”

The other night I went to a reception–a salon, really–hosted by The Silver Pen‘s Hollye Jacobs for journalist Lisa Ling, who was speaking later that evening as part of the wonderful arts and lecture series at UC Santa Barbara. Hollye, who is a friend and amazing person, held an informal discussion with Lisa, and invited… Continue reading “I Just Say Thank You”

Double Rainbow Delight

We don’t get that much rain in the Sant Ynez Valley, so when we do it’s great. Everything turns green and stays that way for a while, generally between December and March. Some days when the showers taper off in late afternoon and the sun’s rays slant across the hills, it’s like they’re shining through honey. When the light is magical like that you know there’s a rainbow about to happen somewhere. Maybe even two.

The Best Jambalaya Ever–and Great for a Crowd

This is one of those perfect dishes to make when you don’t know what to make, and it’s a huge crowd pleaser. With the Super Bowl in New Orleans and Mardi Gras coming, a little Cajun comfort food seems just right. Full of shrimp, sausage, chicken, and sumptuously savory rice, this jambalaya is fool-proof and… Continue reading The Best Jambalaya Ever–and Great for a Crowd

The Shooting Box – Plantation House, Hunting Lodge, and a Piece of History

When people think of Southern plantation houses they may think of big big white columns and broad verandas, but the house we stayed in on a recent quail hunting trip down South was a far and charming cry from the ante-bellum architectural cliché. Nestled among the pines and surrounded by camellias and blossoming redbuds, the house… Continue reading The Shooting Box – Plantation House, Hunting Lodge, and a Piece of History

Do Not Spit…

Some things just need no explanation. When we were in South Georgia last week quail hunting (see post here), we stopped at a convenience store for a cup of coffee. This sign was posted above the waste basket. A simple and direct request, followed by “Please.” Very genteel. Now you don’t often see signs like this… Continue reading Do Not Spit…

Quail Hunting the Old-Fashioned Way

It was a first for all of us. All of us being Sister Duvall, Brother-in-Law Rex, His Grace (aka my husband Tom, for new readers) and me. Not the first quail hunting per se, but quail hunting the Southern old-fashioned way, on horseback and mule-drawn wagons like they do down around Thomasville and Tallahassee. I reckon… Continue reading Quail Hunting the Old-Fashioned Way

Stylish, Easy and Tropical Breezy – Design Weekend in Lyford Cay

As promised, more on the design weekend at Lyford Cay. What a treat to tour some of Lyford’s most stylish houses, and what a pity not to be able to show them all to you. But this is a private crowd, with a refreshing lack of desire to be photographed. Besides if you had us… Continue reading Stylish, Easy and Tropical Breezy – Design Weekend in Lyford Cay

White Columns and a Pink Convertible

Is this the cutest car you have ever seen? It was parked in front of the Lyford Cay Club in Nassau this past weekend as a harbinger of cuteness, yes; but more accurately perhaps to signal stylishness, great design, darlin’ people, and fantastic houses. It was the club’s first design seminar weekend and a smashing… Continue reading White Columns and a Pink Convertible

The Beautiful Old Houses of Alamos and a Rufous-Bellied Chachalaca – Mexico Part 3

The once-wealthy silver mining town of Alamos, Mexico,where we visited with friends recently, is now welcoming ex-pat Americans and Canadians drawn to the area in part for its old colonial charm, including its beautiful and historic 18th and 19th century houses. Splendid in their day but ultimately ravaged by early 20th-century banditos and revolucíonarios, many of the… Continue reading The Beautiful Old Houses of Alamos and a Rufous-Bellied Chachalaca – Mexico Part 3