When my hubby and I moved to Santa Barbara and bought a house six years ago, we knew we wanted to embrace the California outdoor lifestyle. This meant adding things like a hot tub, an outdoor shower, and a place to gather…a fire pit. While my husband has incredible faith in my ability to design gardens (as I did in Connecticut), I knew that with irrigation, electric, gas lines, and poured concrete hardscaping, I was in way over my head!…
For those of you who follow me, you know I moved to California from a traditional home in New England… a 1917 stone and stucco Connecticut cottage to be exact. I grew up in older homes with lots of character and even lived in a historic brownstone building in NYC when I was first married. “Modern” just wasn’t part of my vocabulary. When we decided to buy a house in Santa Barbara, I was at first drawn to the older Spanish homes that…
As a kid, I didn’t like blueberries. Come to think of it, I didn’t like much of anything when it came to food! But every summer my mom would pick fresh blueberries from our bushes and make something called a blueberry cougan. I have no idea where that name came from, but it’s what we always called it. Just the smell emanating from the kitchen while it was baking was enough to let me know that this would be something…
I’m not a floral designer and I wouldn’t exactly say I have a green thumb, but I love the beauty that plants and flowers bring to a space whether it’s the kitchen, living room, or even the bathroom. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to have a house full of blooms. I gather mine from my local grocery store, the Farmer’s Market, Home Depot, my backyard, and in one instance, the Internet.…
Big Sur has been the subject of many books and movies, as well as countless poems expounding on its beauty. To me it’s a place like no other. It’s a deeply personal and spiritual experience. It is nature at its most glorious and no matter how many times I go back, it takes my breath away as if seeing it for the first time. Big Sur is impossible to describe. The most incredible photograph can’t capture how small I feel…
Every home can benefit from having living plants. They add color and life to a room in a way that nothing else can. However, not everyone has a green thumb or the patience to care for plants. That’s where tillandsias can be a good solution. What on earth is a tillandsia? It’s common name is “air plant” because it grows without soil. Water and nutrients are absorbed through the leaves so they require little care. While I have my share…
It’s that time of year again- the time where movie lovers flock to our town for the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF). It began as a small event back in 1986 but has since grown into a juggernaut, attracting celebrities and folks from all over the country. It screens over 200 films from all over the world. There are films about everything from surfing (something near and dear to Santa Barbarians) to wine making. After the 11 day event, I feel…
