BEE COTTAGE-This will be my last weekend at Bee for a while, sorry to say. The Hamptons International Film Festival is in full swing here in East Hampton, and there are a lot of people walking around in all black. Bee Garden is still showing some color, happily, and the herbs will hang on to… Continue reading Using Herbs to Make Pretty Arrangements
Author: Frances
An Afternoon Walk – Garden Come to Gown
NEW YORK-Back in the city, reluctantly, on this beautiful Columbus Day, walking home from Midtown. Did you know Columbus came to the New World four times and never realized he was not in the Far East? And that that’s why our American Indians are called Indians – because he thought they were Indian Indians? This… Continue reading An Afternoon Walk – Garden Come to Gown
A Morning Walk
A beautiful fall day in East Hampton. My usual morning walk. Nothing special. Weeds, really. But it makes me wonder what else there is out there for us if we will just open our eyes-and our hearts-to it. Hmmm. I’ll leave you with that. Have a great weekend.
Have a Few Friends for Drinks – Recipes Included!
With la rentree, as the French call the “re-entry” period at fall’s beginning, just behind us, it’s also a good time to gather friends you may have missed over the summer. Catch up, re-connect, reach out. I was talking about just this on The Nate Berkus Show yesterday, (Monday, October 3). If you missed it… Continue reading Have a Few Friends for Drinks – Recipes Included!
Frances and Nate Berkus Invite you for Drinks
Today’s the day I’m on The Nate Berkus Show. There’s a whirlwind tour of Bee Cottage, and then Nate and I go about preparing for a drinks party. His crew were great to work with and really made it fun. He is adorable; his producers are adorable and also total pros; and my friend Chef… Continue reading Frances and Nate Berkus Invite you for Drinks
Sunflower Power
RANCHO LA ZACA–I’m not at the ranch now; I’m in New York, but it’s been gray and drizzly day here and I thought some California sunshine might be nice. California sunflowers, better still. We planted a patch of them in June and in August they were in full flower. Who knew a 20-pound bag of… Continue reading Sunflower Power
Follow Your Heart
BEE COTTAGE–Follow your heart in all things, and certainly in the things you surround yourself with at home. Collections, be they humble or grand, are created and pursued primarily because they bring joy to the collector. They may accrue value and have other benefits too, of course; but at the heart of it is, well,… Continue reading Follow Your Heart
Oct 3 – The Nate Berkus Show
Monday, Oct. 3, Frances will be on The Nate Berkus Show, following Jane Lynch(!). Check local listings for showtimes. In New York, it’s on NBC at 2pm.
Quick Update: Bee Cottage in House Beautiful and Hurricane Irene
Can it really be Labor Day? Here’s a quick update on the Bee Cottage series in House Beautiful: If you missed the first back in February, you can catch up: http://www.housebeautiful.com/decorating/home-makeovers/living-room-makeover-pictures-0211. Just now out in the September issue, page 68, is Part 7, “Front of the House.” And I should add “Before Irene!” Happily I… Continue reading Quick Update: Bee Cottage in House Beautiful and Hurricane Irene
Domestic Bliss and Cleaning Out the Basement
One of my favorite greeting cards features a cartoon drawing of a hippo in a tutu, her rotund bottom amply exposed. “I’ve got a little behind,” she says. Well so have I. That’s what 10 days of moving gets you: a little behind. There are elements of so-called domestic bliss that are not all that… Continue reading Domestic Bliss and Cleaning Out the Basement
Easy Summer Entertaining:When Merely Pretty Is Enough
19 July 2011, East Hampton–One of the joys of giving a dinner party is doing up the table; and one of the drags is not having time to do it. Of course you tell yourself it doesn’t matter because what’s important is getting your friends together, and the gracious setting of your home or garden… Continue reading Easy Summer Entertaining:When Merely Pretty Is Enough
Talk About Blooming Where You’re Planted
Some determined and optimistic urban gardeners have willed this wonderful little garden onto a patch of dirt beside red brick row houses just outside New York City–in Queens I reckon. I was on the bus riding out to East Hampton last week and just happen to look up and see it, flourishing there just across… Continue reading Talk About Blooming Where You’re Planted