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




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


For Downton Abbey Devotees

Sunday nights just aren’t the same. There’s just a big, gaping hole in my TV-watching heart without William and Mary, Lord Grantham, and the dowager countess et. al. to curl up with after supper. And I am a wreck about poor–and surely innocent!–Mr. Bates languishing in a wretched jail, excuse me gaol, even as I… Continue reading For Downton Abbey Devotees



How Hunt Slonem Celebrates

When all else fails, looking at something beautiful can put things right again. Or if not to put right, to remind. To remind us that there is beauty in abundance in this sometimes-ugly world, and that it is often created by people who are talented, disciplined, and devoted to using and celebrating their God-given gifts.… Continue reading How Hunt Slonem Celebrates


One Little Thing: an Inspired Invitation

This is the cutest thing. Why not turn an ordinary supper with a girlfriend into an occasion? Doesn’t have to be the Moulin Rouge–just one little thing that’s special. That is all you need to create a sense of occasion in everyday life. If not now, when?! So here’s what my friend Nina Griscom did… Continue reading One Little Thing: an Inspired Invitation


Eden is that old-fashioned House

A poem by Emily Dickinson with a lovely thought of home found its way to me recently: Eden is that old-fashioned House We dwell in every day Without suspecting our abode Until we drive away I daresay there are many unsuspected “Edens” in our lives. Our children, the little devils. Our husbands, the rascals. Our… Continue reading Eden is that old-fashioned House