For our 30th birthday trip to Las Vegas a couple of years ago, we stayed at the Encore at Wynn and had the most memorable watermelon cocktail (served in a tiny watermelon half!) by the pool. I made a note on my phone of the listed ingredients on the menu and just recently attempted to […]

Several years ago, Nathan took a trip with his family to Hawaii, and they visited the Dole Plantation where he learned how to slice and serve a pineapple. He taught me how when he got home, and I’ve been cutting pineapples this way ever since. It’s a method we now refer to as ‘pineapple boats’ […]

If you’ve never made lemonade from real lemons, do give it a try. Add to that a touch of lavender syrup instead of sugar for sweetness, and it’s a classic American beverage with a French twist. Add to that a splash of good vodka, and now you’re on vacation in the south of France. For […]

I love May in the garden. Now that we’re past Memorial Day and just on the very cusp of summer, our gardens are coming into a beautiful swell of blooms. I made this arrangement which is a perfect distillation of what’s putting on a show in our yard right now. What’s in this arrangement? Clematis […]

Usually my chocolate cravings can be satisfied by a handful of bittersweet chocolate chips, but when not, this decadent recipe is the ultimate solution. A pot de crème in French loosely translates to ‘pot of custard.’ This chocolate version is richly scrumptious and best served chilled. I didn’t have multiple same-sized ramekins, so I used […]

I am delighted to present this post in partnership with Basic Invite, an online destination for most any paper wish you could dream of including bridal invitation suites, personalized thank you notes, graduation announcement cards, and my favorite of all: custom stationery. One of the marks of a stylish person is a set of bespoke stationery; graciousness, […]

Gift wrapping supplies are a home category that can easily spiral into excess. When I found myself pitching scads of soaking wet rolls of gift wrap and tissue paper after our basement flooded earlier this year, I decided to pare down what was salvageable to a thoughtful edit inspired by one of my favorite beauty […]

For Nathan’s birthday weekend, I wanted to make him a treat we have been dreaming about for a while. My sister and I made it last year for Thanksgiving (there were no leftovers the next day) after having tried it for the first time at the Milk Bar location in Las Vegas the year before. […]

We have a perfectly lovely and functional laundry room, but when we seek to remodel our combined kitchen and family room, the laundry room will echo the aesthetic of the kitchen finishes with the cabinetry, stone selections, and paint. We do not have a pantry, but I would like our laundry room/mud room to shoulder […]

I was happy to recently have a couple of rusted-out cast iron skillets, once belonging to my great-grandmother, come into my possession. Vintage cast iron is highly prized for its superb quality above cast iron cookware that is produced today. Wagner, in particular, is a highly sought-after brand that had much of the market share […]

We’ll be celebrating my birthday at home this year with takeout from one of my favorite restaurants and a good bottle of wine. An at-home celebration is made instantly more festive with the addition of party hats! You can create the classic cone with string, but I like to elevate mine with tinsel pom poms […]

Traveling to the Loire Valley of France is a magical experience, and one that offers a relaxing pace amid the beauty of open spaces, historical villages, charming outdoor markets, and the majesty of its châteaux. The region is about 150 miles stretching from Bourges, across the Sologne and down river to Angers. In the heart […]