Every year, I think of ways to make each year’s holiday dinner celebration extra special. I strategize, research and mull over new side dishes, decorations, place cards, linens…paying special attention… Read More
If you’ll be so generous as to allow me a somewhat obscure 80’s reference – I can completely identify with the Go-Go’s song “I am a girl of 100 lists.” I… Read More
This has been one of the most beautiful fall seasons in memory. And with it comes one of our favorite traditions – large pots of Portuguese Kale Soup simmering on… Read More
Autumn is my favorite season. So all the more reason to make a priority of designing our gardens and grounds with an eye to those fall trees that like to “step… Read More
“Leaf-Peeping,” as it’s affectionately called, is a New England fall tradition (October 10th is considered the peak color for the season). But that was really just an excuse to get… Read More
Dahlias, the iconic fall bloom, are truly a native flower of the Americas. With a histoire that goes back to the Aztecs (it was considered to be Montezuma’s favorite flower), … Read More
Image of Bettie taken mid-party by Maaike Bernstrom. This picture was featured in The Salonniere article, which commented, “With a surname like Pardee, you know she’s going to be our… Read More
September is truly the most beautiful month in Newport, a perfect outing for a small garden picnic. And under the canopy of grand old beech trees, Alice and Jim Ross… Read More
One of the many hats I’ve worn over the years is as a Contributing Editor to Bon Appetit, producing “Entertaining with Style.” Here, exactly twenty years later, is the first July… Read More
We all share special memories of our mother, some out-sized, others a snippet, some prompted by a song, another by an occasion… and still others by personal items that we… Read More