News & Notes

Quail Hunting the Old-Fashioned Way

It was a first for all of us. All of us being Sister Duvall, Brother-in-Law Rex, His Grace (aka my husband Tom, for new readers) and me. Not the first quail hunting per se, but quail hunting the Southern old-fashioned way, on horseback and mule-drawn wagons like they do down around Thomasville and Tallahassee. I reckon… Continue reading Quail Hunting the Old-Fashioned Way

Stylish, Easy and Tropical Breezy – Design Weekend in Lyford Cay

As promised, more on the design weekend at Lyford Cay. What a treat to tour some of Lyford’s most stylish houses, and what a pity not to be able to show them all to you. But this is a private crowd, with a refreshing lack of desire to be photographed. Besides if you had us… Continue reading Stylish, Easy and Tropical Breezy – Design Weekend in Lyford Cay

White Columns and a Pink Convertible

Is this the cutest car you have ever seen? It was parked in front of the Lyford Cay Club in Nassau this past weekend as a harbinger of cuteness, yes; but more accurately perhaps to signal stylishness, great design, darlin’ people, and fantastic houses. It was the club’s first design seminar weekend and a smashing… Continue reading White Columns and a Pink Convertible

The Beautiful Old Houses of Alamos and a Rufous-Bellied Chachalaca – Mexico Part 3

The once-wealthy silver mining town of Alamos, Mexico,where we visited with friends recently, is now welcoming ex-pat Americans and Canadians drawn to the area in part for its old colonial charm, including its beautiful and historic 18th and 19th century houses. Splendid in their day but ultimately ravaged by early 20th-century banditos and revolucíonarios, many of the… Continue reading The Beautiful Old Houses of Alamos and a Rufous-Bellied Chachalaca – Mexico Part 3

Star of Wonder, Star of Night

January 6 marks the Epiphany and the 12th day of Christmas. I took this picture a few weeks ago at the ranch and it made me think of the Star of Bethlehem and the wise men following it. Matthew is the only one of the gospels to mention the wise men, but it’s a pretty… Continue reading Star of Wonder, Star of Night

Hacienda de los Santos – Mexico – Part 2

As promised, here is the exquisite Hacienda de los Santos in Alamos, Mexico, where we visited during New Year’s. In case you missed, here is Thursday’s Mexico Part 1. We did not stay at the Hacienda but the lovely owners are friends and we ate there every night. It does not hurt that playing at dinner is a very… Continue reading Hacienda de los Santos – Mexico – Part 2

Hola de Mexico! – Part 1

Prospero Año de Mexico! After a wonderful Christmas visit with family in Atlanta, we flew back west to Mexico to ring in the New Year–a little off the beaten path. Not Cabo or Cozumel, mind you, but an old Colonial city called Alamos, founded in the 17th century in the western Sierra Madre, following the… Continue reading Hola de Mexico! – Part 1

How Green Is Our Valley?

How green is our valley? Green. When the Santa Ynez Valley turns gloomy and rainy, which it does in winter though not often, everything turns green. It happens almost instantly. You go to sleep in oak savanna and wake up in Ireland. It’s a miracle. Nature is miraculous, of course, in all its heart-stopping beauty and staggering… Continue reading How Green Is Our Valley?

Nativity Scene No Place for a Peanut: Part II – I Take It Back

For not the first time, a reader has proven me wrong. Jewelry designer Sissy Watson wrote in response to Tuesday’s post, Nativity Scene No Place for a Peanut that I might want to reconsider that headline, because she in fact had a crêche with all the characters made from peanuts. I asked her please to send a… Continue reading Nativity Scene No Place for a Peanut: Part II – I Take It Back

The Hors d’Oeuvre of Your Dreams

Seriously. Simple. Classic. And just in time for the (alco)holidays. I’m talking about gougères, yum. Coming from a Southerner with the best cheese straws you ever ate, this is saying something. Gougères are just the right amount of crispy-gooey-crunchy-soft. Kind of a savory version of those gold-foil-wrapped Rocher chocolates. A girl could exist on gougères alone,… Continue reading The Hors d’Oeuvre of Your Dreams