Hello! I’m back from exploring a part of the world that is frankly otherworldly. Peru was so much more colorful, noisy, beautiful and demanding than I expected. I’ll share more over the next few weeks as I edit photos and compose my thoughts, but couldn’t wait to show you some of the gorgeous colors and [...]
At a recent gathering a friend mentioned how much she was anticipating Christmas and another responded that as a child she could hardly sleep because of the anticipation. I remember feeling that way as a kid, but as a grownup it’s easy to become more anxious than excited about Christmas. I still lose sleep, but [...]
All right. Time to stop getting distracted by stocking stuffers and get down to serious gift-buying. If you’re giving to someone who leans towards contemporary design on a less than stratospheric budget, consider the collection of well-edited designs presented in Remodelista: A Manual for the Considered Home (Artisan). The book culls ideas from the popular [...]
So then there’s the day your daughter’s work and name makes it into the New York Times and you marvel at life’s unexpected blessings.
This is the time of year when we often get the chance to talk about things we’re grateful for. Do you have a regular gratitude practice otherwise? Or is counting your blessings a seasonal novelty like cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie? Years ago I started a practice of writing down good things that had happened [...]
When we were young and broke it was a challenge to fill our empty walls with something more than inexpensive framed posters. We actually rented our first piece of original art through a rent-to-buy program at the Oakland Museum. That program has since been discontinued (though SFMOMA still runs one), but I’m grateful that it [...]
This week there was mischief afoot. On Tuesday I lost my keys for good, as best I can tell. I remember using them last when I came into my house after walking with a friend and threw them in the little pink tray on the shelf above my desk. But Wednesday morning the keys [...]
If you’re design-inclined and traveling to New York or Boston in the next two months, you’ll probably enjoy one or both of the shows I saw when I wasn’t ogling leaves in New England. The first is the beautiful John Singer Sargent Watercolors exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston which showcases ninety-two watercolors [...]
Our first home came with a high-ceilinged living room, lots of wavy glass windows and a big empty garden. I spent hours thinking about what to plant in that garden and consulted plant and seed catalogs for inspiration. One catalog was devoted to apples and taught me that you could grow something beyond the five [...]
If you’re still looking for some last minute Halloween decor ideas–simpler than this front yard fright fest I spotted in Virginia last week–consider combining seasonal votives and an exceptionally gnarled pumpkin with a black tablecloth. Or add a string of spooky black cat lights to an all black tablescape like the one Design Within Reach put [...]
