After a very wet winter (over 50″ of rainfall) it has been a beautiful spring at The Big Sur House. The poppies and wildflowers are blooming and there is a veritable small green field in front of our deck! Next spring I’m going to toss a bunch of wildflower seed and hope for even more flowers. Of course, lest you think it is perfect, poison oak and ticks are in great abundance and seem to have an affinity for me.…
It’s that time of year again. The blood oranges are in season here in California and that means blood orange cosmos! I’ve shared my friend Bart’s recipe before, but it definitely bears repeating for those of you new to my blog or Instagram. Please don’t drink and drive as these will knock you for a loop (or two)! Bart’s Sensational Blood Orange Cosmo Recipe Ingredients: • 2 cups vodka • 1 cup orange liqueur (I use Cointreau) • 1 ½…
A lot of bad things have happened to some good people I know lately. A decor post just didn’t feel right this week. I could go into a long list of sad and tragic events, but instead I just want to say live the moment for we don’t know what tomorrow (or even the next minute) will bring. It’s not always easy, but it’s worth the effort. I will continue to have faith and a positive attitude. Thank you for…
There are always a multitude of projects after buying a home, and The Big Sur House was no exception. If you read my original post, I shared the living and dining areas. The house also featured two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Just off the dining area was a nice sized guest room with a decent closet and a rustic wood planked ceiling. I loved the wood ceiling but wanted to brighten the rest of the room, so I painted the…
After visiting Big Sur for 15 years, and now a happy home owner, I am still in awe of the incredible scenery to be found just off of Highway 1. It’s been a wet and wild winter with over 10″ of rain at a time. Don’t get me wrong, California still needs the rain and we are appreciative of every drop…just not all at once. When we do get a few dry days, I head up to our home in…
It’s almost impossible for me to believe that we first laid eyes on The Big Sur House in late January of 2018. By March 1st it was ours and the work began. I thought it would be fun to look back to a year ago and see the changes and progress that we’ve made. There is still much to be done, but we’ve come a long way, baby! It was a sunny and unseasonably warm January day when we went…
I have an odd obsession with benches and stools. If they are old, I love them even more. I can almost always find a home for them someplace as they are so versatile and come in so many different shapes and sizes. I find them in antique shops, online, and locally. My two favorite local sources for vintage benches and stools are Porch and Diani Living. Tiny stools make great risers on furniture or are useful in the bathroom to…
Winter in California is when our citrus trees are bursting with fruit. One of my favorites is my small Meyer lemon tree that, despite it’s size, graces me with plenty of lemons for myself, family, and friends! In the past I’ve shared my lemon ricotta lasagne recipe, but this time I’m sharing a recipe for a lemon drop cocktail…something (until recently) I hadn’t had in about 10 years! It was an Instagram friend who gave me the idea and the…
A few months ago I was contacted by Country Home magazine to see if my parents would be interested in sharing their Vermont farmhouse for the Winter 2019 issue. They were on board, a date was set, and so I traveled to Vermont for the photo shoot. Vermont hadn’t had any snow since December but the day before the shoot, several inches of wet snow fell turning Vermont into a winter wonderland. While I tried to prepare my parents for…
There is so much beauty in Big Sur, it can hardly be contained in a single blog post! This is part 2 of a series of winter photos I took. Many of these were taken at Garrapata State Park. It is almost 3,000 acres and can be reached by numerous turnouts along Highway 1. The word ‘garrapata’ means tick in Spanish and the park is aptly named! Ticks are numerous in Big Sur and one should always check themselves carefully…