What a Month! Part 1: CityKids Storm the Ranch!

Whew. And you wonder why I haven’t posted more. (Or maybe not.) And I wonder why I still haven’t finished my book. Here’s the answer. It starts with a rodeo. August 4: Yup, when I landed back here in Californee we went straight to the rodeo in Santa Barbara. I love me a rodeo for five… Continue reading What a Month! Part 1: CityKids Storm the Ranch!



Best Ever Brownies

Nothing suits casual summer entertaining better than an easy passable dessert, and it’s hard to beat a brownie in that department. It is a shame that some brownies have given brownies a bad name. So I’m just going to cut to the chase here. The reason these are so good is…



New Art Perks Up an Old Hamptons House – Artist Cole Sternberg and the “Arted House”

Let’s get the weird title out of the way. It’s “arted” (because it’s full of art) instead of “haunted” (because it’s full of ghosts), although owner Bryan Graybill thinks there might be a few arful spirits lurking about the charming Sagaponack cottage…


Loving Lotusland, a Garden (and a Gardener) Like No Other

Anybody with the stamina to marry six times is nothing if not energetic. Ganna Walksa was certainly that–and a visionary as well. Her beauty was legend, her voice sublime, her past a touch scandalous, and her portrait a gift from the czar of Russia. But her most fabulous legacy is Lotusland. Prepare to swoon.


How to be Charming

How to be charming? Oh I wish I knew. Sometimes I think I know. Sometimes I think I am. Definitely not always. Some days are better than others. Surely that is true of even the most effortlessly charming people on earth. Charm is a quality, but it’s also a skill…


Beautifully Handmade Wooden Jigsaw Puzzles, and What They Can Do for You

Here’s a fun summer activity that can be done in groups or alone, all ages, requires no athletic prowess or (mercifully) the wearing of a bathing suit, has no calories, does not need Wi-Fi, and… is soooooo good for you.