News & Notes

My Sister the Tango Temptress, Dancing for Alzheimer’s

Did you ever wonder what would happen if you went on Dancing With the Stars? Me neither. Okay maybe a little. Well now I have a pretty good idea thanks to my baby sister who has been working her bo-hiney off in a local charity’s take-off on DWTS  called “Dancing Stars of Atlanta.” The purpose… Continue reading My Sister the Tango Temptress, Dancing for Alzheimer’s

East Hampton Memorial Day Highlights

If you’re in a small town and they have a parade, you must always go because you are guaranteed to feel good. Parades exist for the sole purpose of show, smiling and cheering. Memorial Day parades in particular honor our military and all who serve country and community. In East Hampton and small towns everywhere… Continue reading East Hampton Memorial Day Highlights

What’s Black and White and Red All Over? A Scalamandre Zebra Tote Bag

So I’m standing in the misty rain Thursday morning waiting for the bus to Long Island when I spy the distinctive silhouette of designer Steven Stolman,  currently president of the venerable textile manufacturer Scalamandré. And then I spy his tote bag. It’s a bit early in the morning for this kind of talk but I sidled… Continue reading What’s Black and White and Red All Over? A Scalamandre Zebra Tote Bag

‘Tis Iced Tea Season — Here’s the Best and Prettiest

It is always iced tea season at my house. After noon and sometimes before, there is a glass within reach. My mother was the same way. Genetic research supports this, particularly in the South. But have you been to Paris lately? Iced tea has become popular there as well. (I swear those French, always copying… Continue reading ‘Tis Iced Tea Season — Here’s the Best and Prettiest

Thoughts on High School Graduation and Growing up so Dang Fast

It was the most beautiful weekend in Atlanta, as our family watched two of my sister’s babies graduate high school. WTF? I remember like yesterday standing in her door holding John Rex in my arms and blowing on his forehead, which he seemed to like. I would not try this now if I were you.… Continue reading Thoughts on High School Graduation and Growing up so Dang Fast

The Wondrous Worldly Designs of Tom Britt – What the Magazine Won’t Show

The May/June issue of Veranda trumpeting “American Classics” is especially fab and I am tickled to have written about a house in the Hamptons designed by Tom Britt and Valentino Samsonadze because, well, Tom is an old friend and a HOOT. Britt’s work is famously infused with a fascinating array of influences from all over the… Continue reading The Wondrous Worldly Designs of Tom Britt – What the Magazine Won’t Show

(So Good You Want to) Slap Yo’ Mama

The last time I was in LA for meetings I spied this food truck parked along the street. It must be good. A hundred years ago when I was working for Style Weekly in Richmond, I laughed out loud reading a restaurant review by the brilliant and adorable George Stoddart – no longer with us,… Continue reading (So Good You Want to) Slap Yo’ Mama

Fabulous Rooms #2: Victorian Writing Room at the Greenbrier

This second Fabulous Rooms post is in response to the first (Living Room at Lyford Cay), wherein I solicited favorite rooms from readers. Paige Ward wins a nickel* for submitting the Victorian Writing Room at the Greenbrier Hotel in West Virginia. Originally decorated by the legendary Dorothy Draper and carried on today by her protege… Continue reading Fabulous Rooms #2: Victorian Writing Room at the Greenbrier

Desert Blooms, a Labyrinth, and a Little Dust-up

The last few weeks have got me discombobulated and now back in hectic New York, where workmen are hanging on a scaffold outside my office window and apparently in the process of drilling the building into kingdom come. So I’m calming myself–and you too, maybe–with a walk through the Sonoran desert in Arizona. Can it… Continue reading Desert Blooms, a Labyrinth, and a Little Dust-up

Now THIS is a tag sale… Nina Griscom’s gowns? Carolyne Roehm’s cast-offs?

Count me in. My only regret in attending the tag sale of the century–Elizabeth Taylor’s jewels and Albert Hadley’s One King’s Lane loot notwithstanding–is that most of the clothes will be of a size that would barely fit around my leg, let alone the rest of me. But hey, pocketbooks, scarves and shoes don’t care… Continue reading Now THIS is a tag sale… Nina Griscom’s gowns? Carolyne Roehm’s cast-offs?

Wisdom from Mae West

You only live once, but when you do it right, once is enough. And to this I would only add words from the great Austin Powers: “Yeah, baby.” Here’s to doing it right, right now. Happy weekend.