Jonas Wood
While in St. Barth’s over the holidays, we discovered an exhibition of some of Jonas Wood’s floral paintings at the gallery at Eden Roc. I wasn’t familiar with his work and instantly fell in love with his colorful depiction of flowers and plants. Roberta Smith of the New York Times says his work bears similarity to works […]
Garden of Eden in Anguilla
Alex and I have loved Anguilla (in the Caribbean), its people and its tranquil beaches since discovering this quiet island in 1994. No longer the quiet island it once was, it is still a special part of the world to us. Malliouhana, our favorite place to stay, was the first luxury hotel in Anguilla, built in the 1980s […]
Merry Christmas!
If you’re like me, you’ve been living in Christmas for – at least – the last month…buying, wrapping & delivering presents, planning and attending holiday parties, pulling together the best of the year’s pictures to create this year’s card (and then getting it printed and sent before it becomes irrelevant), decorating the house to make […]
A White Christmas in Sun Valley
When I think of Christmastime, I think of cold weather, snowflakes, snow capped mountains and evergreens, raging fires in a fireplace, bundling up to walk the dogs through the snowy roads and reading by a fire. And that’s precisely why we come to Ketchum/Sun Valley, Idaho right before the holidays – to have a little White Christmas. […]
High Camp Gardenias
I’ve received what I think may be the perfect gift of all time – a High Camp box of fresh-cut gardenias. The packaging is luxe, the gardenias (and orchids) are in perfect form and the idea is fabulous. High Camp offers several options on their site. They’re all so beautiful that it’s hard to know which […]
Olive Oil hot off the press!
My friend Ilaria Tosato sent me a much-anticipated care package from Tuscany – two tins of this year’s crop of olive oil from two different masserias! I’ve been eagerly awaiting her package ever since she told me it was en route. She sent one liter of extra virgin olive oil from her winery – Villa […]
Kissing Ball
Today I made mistletoe (kissing) balls to deliver to a couple of friends. My mother made these every Christmas when I was growing up. For a little history, mistletoe is a parasitic plant that grows from the branches of a host tree. In ancient times, mistletoe was regarded as magical and has long been a […]
The Christmas Flower
Walking through the San Francisco flower mart this morning immediately put me in the spirit of Christmas. The floor was covered in a sea of poinsettias wrapped in shiny red, gold and green potting paper. The association of poinsettias with Christmas started in Mexico when the flower was laid in a manger of the nativity […]
Holiday Wreaths
My great friend Laura Perry makes these beautiful wreaths. She is a very talented writer as well as a great gardener. Laura’s garden in spring is one of the most beautiful I have seen with the integration of beautiful stone walls, fountains and hard-scape softened by a variety of roses, bulbs, flowering plants and vegetable […]
Raccoons Invasion
About two months ago, I started noticing large indentations in my vegetable beds and knew something was marching around my beds at night, but I wasn’t sure what it was. There are also some footprints on the sides of the beds. It wasn’t until Brian, the guy who built my vegetable beds, came by and solved […]
The Garden Conservancy
The one organization I have been dying to get involved with is the Garden Conservancy and this year I finally have some time. Besides having many friends involved with this great organization, the Garden Conservancy is doing some really great work! “Preservation is the core of our mission to save and share outstanding American gardens for the […]
Happy Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving I drove up to the Napa Valley yesterday afternoon from San Francisco with the car loaded with flowers, groceries and activities for the long Thanksgiving weekend. It is one of my favorite holidays because it is simply about family, friends and food. No gifts required. Passing by the vineyards, with the vines of […]
Liberty puzzles
Both Vicki and I are crazy about puzzles – especially Liberty puzzles. This beautiful floral puzzle, which I just had to have, is from the Spring 2016 collection. Liberty Puzzles are old-fashioned wooden jigsaw puzzles, made with quarter-inch maple plywood and archival paper and inks. No two pieces in any puzzle are alike, and each puzzle features […]
Pear Butter
I have a very old Bartlett Pear tree on my property. The weather must have been perfect this year because my tree produced an abundance of pears. We ate pears all late summer and fall in many different dishes. I used them in salads, sliced as a snack, poached for dessert, and last weekend made […]
Ghee’s Health Benefits
My favorite discovery in the kitchen this year is ghee – a clarified butter that has many health benefits. It is now my go-to ingredient for sauteing everything. I used to use olive oil until I discovered that it should never be heated because at low to medium temperatures, its antioxidants convert to free radicals, which are detrimental to your […]