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Ladies of Manhattan and nearby boroughs: the LAC wants you! One of our favorite San Francisco members recently moved east and is looking to get the NY LAC up and running. Our loss is your gain, as she’s an amazing girl who will be a lot of fun as the club lead. If you’re interested,…

I’ve been having such fun rediscovering old books with my Kindle and the Project Gutenberg library. My latest was the complete Anne of Green Gables series. I hadn’t read it since childhood and didn’t really remember anything about the books aside from “Canadian,” “coastal” and “girl.” They’re quite fun. Light and easy, with lots of…

I love Chinese New Year – it seems to be exactly the right holiday at the right point in winter. Just when things seem bleak, there are flowers, dragons and fireworks! This year, I got two “auspicious” plants at the flower market: Peach blossoms – Symbols of growth, prosperity, long life and romance. I learned…

I tried to rest-up this weekend after last weekend’s Scottish epic. But, as always with me, I don’t slow down very successfully. On Friday night, the temperature dropped so Rob and I cancelled our plans for the evening to stay home instead. On Saturday, I spent the morning exercising, washing laundry, baking and cleaning house.…

Those lovely Edwardian costumes in Downton Abbey have me so ready for spring. It’s fun to translate the period’s fashion to today with silks, beads, lovely colors, a little lace, a lot of feminine elegance. I could see wearing this to a shower, afternoon opera or a fancy lunch. Slip – Start strong with a…

I’ve watched 4 and half hours of Downton Abbey online and am completely hooked. Not as much with the plot – which is SO gossipy and some of the characters are SO mean – but with sets and costumes. I’m ready to go completely gossamer, lace and beading for spring. This site has tons of…

If I didn’t already have so many annual parties this time of year – I would add a Burns supper to the rotation in a heartbeat. We really outdid ourselves with this event! Decorations: A plaid scarf as a runner on a white tablecloth, potted ferns, artichokes, red candles, thistle stamped napkins. Guests decked out…

One of my favorite things in Point Reyes was wind-swept pines absolutely covered with lichen and ferns. The weather is usually so harsh out there that the trees grow sideways and the damp air covers everything with moss. My plant-biologist sister would have got absolutely nuts with all the succulents, wild irises, ferns and reedy…

This was a non-stop fun weekend – the Burns supper was just one highlight in a weekend-long celebration of Shane and Scottish culture. Our house guests – Sarah, Chris, Jamie and Shane – arrived around 10:30 pm on Friday night. We unpacked, toasted the weekend with a bit of scotch and set-up four beds downstairs.…

Our highland weekend was a roaring success! Whales, whiskey, archery…lots and lots of lamb. Isn’t Point Reyes just gorgeous? Our last guests left at 9:30 last night, I need a day off to fully gather the story of this fantastic Scottish party. Not to mention, to wash dishes and linens and put the furniture back…