Like I was saying, August posts have been a little light because August days have been a little busy. What I want to know is what happened to the “lazy days of summer”? Am I just a girl who can’t say no, or are we all just doing 72,000 more things than we used to do? What’s going on?
Author: Frances
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!
12 Home Offices to Inspire
As we all have back to school on the brain, whether we are going or not, the end of summer is a good time to think about getting aesthetically organized for fall. This isn’t about arranging your pens and pencils but about creative ways to enliven your work space. Think outside the desk.
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…
A Great Trick for Hanging Belts
For those of us not sunning in the South of France this August, we can always enjoy staying home and organizing something. Nothing gives greater satisfaction for so little expense.
Well maybe a few things, but you won’t find those at the Container Store. This you will.
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.
Just Another Night at the Ranch… Starring Shirley Jones and the Cassidy Brothers
How often do you have in your living room an Academy Award-winning actress, a Tony Award-winning costume designer, an Emmy-winning composer, and a Grammy-nominated bona-fide teen idol all at once?
We did when we hosted a singalong with Shirley Jones and Shaun Cassidy and decided to make an evening of it. Rancho La Zaca was filled with music, laughter, and a tear or two.
The Best Lemon Pie in Your Life (Not Exaggerating)
A while ago I heard about a lemon pie, a North Carolina lemon pie, that changed my life.Well not really but I wanted to get your attention. It is that good. “A North Carolina Pie That Elicits an ‘Oh My God’ Response” ran on NPR’s All Things Considered’s Found Recipes series courtesy of Katie Workman, who is fab…
500 Square Feet of Style, by Mary Douglas Drysdale
I admit I always fall a little in love with every single project I write about for magazines, and Mary Douglas Drysdale’s work in a tiny-ish Georgetown townhouse was no exception, except that it is exceptionally charming. Like her.