New York’s Holiday Sights and Views
December isn’t complete for me without a visit to New York City for all its glorious sights, sounds and views. Each year there is a slightly different focus that catches… Read More
Author: Bettie Bearden Pardee
9 Inspiring Holiday Mantles
I may not start decorating for Christmas until mid-December, but early on I am gathering ideas from the beautiful sources available to us in Newport. Even I, who have seen… Read More
Spicing up your Holidays with Pomanders
Blithewold Gardens and Arboretum is an exceptional historic mansion in Bristol, Rhode Island. Overlooking the Narragansett Bay, it is of the same period as Newport’s Gilded Age “cottages” but with… Read More
‘Tis the Season!
When anticipating this glorious holiday season, one image lingered as I carried out the bittersweet ritual of “putting the garden to bed”…the brilliant cardinals that had seemed more ever present… Read More
The Private Newport Bar, at Home
As we head into the most festive of holiday seasons, invitations are being readied and entertaining accoutrements are being assembled. This is the time of the year when “the bar”… Read More
Happy Thanksgiving!
Over the years, celebrating this wonderful season… Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
The Tale of a Turkey
“Swiss Village has been a part of everybody’s life in Newport,” the late owner recalls. “The Arthur Curtiss Jameses were so generous. In summers, when I was a little girl,… Read More
Making Thanksgiving Memorable
Yet again, it was that stop by the pumpkin stand that inspired a Thanksgiving centerpiece which in turn inspired the look of the entire table. The mustard yellow pumpkin (“Tonda… Read More
A Fall Centerpiece: Intriguing Combinations with Garden Favorites
Even though Parterre’s gardens are formal in a design sense, I always find a few spots where I can include certain plant material that is not usually associated with French… Read More
All Around the House: Decorating with Pumpkins
Who doesn’t love driving past a farm stand packed with those jolly, fat fellows that always signal “it’s fall.” And I’ve noticed this year that more of the quirky, odd-colored… Read More