Bye-bye Bahamas. On the way back to New York–and (ahem) more substantive posts. (Thank you for your patience.) Meanwhile, parting shot is a quickie study of the palm trees outside my door. I’ll miss them… Note to self: Resist the tendency to wimp out on the colors. Live and learn. […]
Author: Frances
Sunrise Service on the Beach
Every Easter in Lyford Cay, Bahamas, there is a sunrise service at 6 a.m., at the water’s edge. The service is sponsored by the Parish Church of St. Christopher and the Lyford Cay Club. The Venerable Keith Cartwright, archdeacon of the Turks & Caicos and the Southern Bahamas, is celebrant. […]
Knock-Knock
Just in case you have a lull in a conversation with a 5-year-old who has not heard it: Knock-Knock Who’s there? Eater. Eater who? Eater Bunny. Knock-knock. Who’s there? Cargo. Cargo who? Car go VARRROOOOOOOM! Run over Eater Bunny. Knock-knock. Who’s there? Boo. Boo who? Don’t cry, Eater Bunny come […]
Albert Hadley: In Memory and the Value of Sketching
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]