John Danzer, longtime friend and the beauty and brains behind Munder-Skiles outdoor furniture, had a party for me on the occasion of my first book, Atlanta at Home. It was around 1994, and I was still living in Atlanta then. Well there I was in John’s chic upper east side atelier, and up I looked to… Continue reading Albert Hadley: In Memory and the Value of Sketching
News & Notes
Wild Sweet Peas in the Vineyard, and a Painting
As His Grace and I left the ranch last Friday for New York and parts East for a few weeks, I felt a twinge for the days of early spring I will miss there. Here’s an idea: Surely these wild sweet peas came last year, but dawg if I remember them. That’s the thing about… Continue reading Wild Sweet Peas in the Vineyard, and a Painting
Fabulous Rooms: Lyford Cay Club
The design blogosphere lit up like Times Square when Town & Country last spring unveiled the re-do of the Lyford Cay Club in Nassau, Bahamas. I lit up too when I first saw it on the drawing board two years ago and then nearbout swooned when I saw it in person last Easter. This living… Continue reading Fabulous Rooms: Lyford Cay Club
Possibly the Best Pasta Ever
I have eaten this pasta for 3 of the last 4 days and still want more. So dang good and not one of the same old recipes. This one, oh, this one will make you want to slap your grandma. It’s a smokey-sweet-savory mixture of sausage, caramelized onion and fennel, asparagus, artichoke hearts, spinach, olives, a… Continue reading Possibly the Best Pasta Ever
Beauty, Seduction, and Sex: a Stunning Video on Pollination
Beauty and seduction are nature’s tools for survival, says Louie Schwartzberg introducing his stunning short video on pollination at a TED conference last March, “because we will protect what we fall in love with.” Oh do we ever. And so do the birds and the bees. Yes it comes down to sex, but it is… Continue reading Beauty, Seduction, and Sex: a Stunning Video on Pollination
Last Taco Night–Recipe Included
Tragic. The end of an era. Along with the hiatus of Brothers Restaurant in the fabled Mattei’s Tavern in Los Olivos, comes the end of Taco Night. Gaining steadily in popularity since its instigation on Thursdays many moons ago, Taco Night had arguably become a center of social life in the Valley, right up there… Continue reading Last Taco Night–Recipe Included
First Growth
Back to the ranch after three days in Colorado. We had finally gotten some much needed rain in the Valley and as we left there was snow on the mountains around us. The countryside turns green in a minute when the rains come, so it was especially beautiful to come home to. Out in the… Continue reading First Growth
Happy First Day of Spring
His Grace was nice enough to pop us over to Aspen for a few days, and this beautiful bouquet is in our room at The Little Nell, which is tres swell. The reason we came, besides that it is just great to be here, is to attend a party for Africa Foundation, a cause dear… Continue reading Happy First Day of Spring
A Wedding at Lincoln Center
Well it’s a big day. Our friends Preacher and Partner have flown to New York for Partner to sing Mozart’s Requiem at Lincoln Center. Lincoln Center. And as if that weren’t enough, they are getting married in the lobby of Avery Fisher Hall at intermission. The ceremony will be a few minutes long, with champagne… Continue reading A Wedding at Lincoln Center
Great-Looking Green Rooms
The April issue of House Beautiful has landed, prompting me anxiously to complete the March issue which is all about green. Gosh it is hard to keep up, isn’t it? Anyway green is my favorite color without a doubt. The color of life and the color of harmony, as all greens go together. In the… Continue reading Great-Looking Green Rooms
Parisian Chic – Part 2 – Links to Other Posts
Well bless my Cowboy. Slave to fashion that he is, he liked yesterday’s post on Parisian Chic and Ines de la Fressange and sent it to a few of his friends. One of them was the journalist Jesse Kornebluth, who is huge. Also gracious, as it turns out, nice enough to write and say he liked… Continue reading Parisian Chic – Part 2 – Links to Other Posts
Find Your Personal Style With Parisian Chic — and Why it’s Important
With the New York and Paris fashion shows just behind us, it occurs to me that it is I who am behind the fashions. And that is fine. Looking good has always been more about style than fashion, but that is especially true as we enter what the French so gracefully refer to as un… Continue reading Find Your Personal Style With Parisian Chic — and Why it’s Important