Grace & Wit

Desert Blooms, a Labyrinth, and a Little Dust-up

The last few weeks have got me discombobulated and now back in hectic New York, where workmen are hanging on a scaffold outside my office window and apparently in the process of drilling the building into kingdom come. So I’m calming myself–and you too, maybe–with a walk through the Sonoran desert in Arizona. Can it… Continue reading Desert Blooms, a Labyrinth, and a Little Dust-up

Wisdom from Mae West

You only live once, but when you do it right, once is enough. And to this I would only add words from the great Austin Powers: “Yeah, baby.” Here’s to doing it right, right now. Happy weekend.

When a Friend Dies

Apologies for my absence. Regular posts will resume next week. The phone call came last Sunday. My sister, her voice broken, “Have you heard about Robert?” Not family, but same as. My throat constricts and my body fills with cold stones. Car accident. There was a memorial service in his hometown of Raleigh on Wednesday… Continue reading When a Friend Dies

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. I am not Catholic but… Continue reading Sunrise Service on the Beach

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 again next year. Happy Easter.… Continue reading Knock-Knock

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,  and up I looked to… Continue reading Albert Hadley: In Memory and the Value of Sketching

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 them. That’s the thing about… Continue reading Wild Sweet Peas in the Vineyard, and a Painting

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 to sex, but it is… Continue reading Beauty, Seduction, and Sex: a Stunning Video on Pollination

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 few minutes long, with champagne… Continue reading A Wedding at Lincoln Center

Parisian Chic – Part 2 – Links to Other Posts

Well bless my Cowboy. Slave to fashion that he is, he liked yesterday’s post on Parisian Chic and Ines de la Fressange and sent it to a few of his friends. One of them was the journalist Jesse Kornebluth, who is huge. Also gracious, as it turns out, nice enough to write and say he liked… Continue reading Parisian Chic – Part 2 – Links to Other Posts

Find Your Personal Style With Parisian Chic — and Why it’s Important

With the New York and Paris fashion shows just behind us, it occurs to me that it is I who am behind the fashions. And that is fine. Looking good has always been more about style than fashion, but that is especially true as we enter what the French so gracefully refer to as un… Continue reading Find Your Personal Style With Parisian Chic — and Why it’s Important