Abode Magazines

Dream room

Sleep over at this 8-year-old’s house, and you get the coolest bed in the place: Not only are guests given the top bunk, but thanks to a clever design from DGP Architects’ Roger Birle, they utilize a slide—an actual slide!—to get down.  “Initially we were planning on simply a ladder, but once we saw the […]

Caite Hamilton | February 1, 2023

434 Magazines

That’s a wrap

It’s the most wonderful time of year. Of course, for a lot of us, it’s also the most stressful, most exhausting time of year. It’s gift-giving season, and to take some of the pressure off, we’ve tapped local gifting gurus in varying arenas—like food, motherhood, drama, science—and asked them to pick a gift for the […]

Caite Hamilton | December 15, 2022

Magazines Weddings

In the style of us

Shannon O’Donnell & Jono McCusty June 12, 2021, at Montalto Photos by Jen Fariello Rather than dreaming up a theme for their wedding, Shannon and Jono wanted to focus on the future. They love to entertain, so the guiding principle when planning their wedding became, “Is this an item I would have in my home?” […]

Caite Hamilton | December 15, 2022

Magazines Weddings

My heart is yours

Lauren McBride & Reilly McDonnell April 30, 2022, at Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards Photography by Kylie Martin While Lauren is a big fan of Jane Austen and was craving a wedding with a 17th-century Britain aesthetic, Reilly wanted a more whimsical feel. But they both knew that, whatever they came up with, the central theme had to […]

Caite Hamilton | December 15, 2022

Magazines Weddings

Time-honored

Roxanne Irani & Bradford Manning May 5, 2022, at Bramblewood Farm Photography by Meredith Coe Roxanne and Brad had started planning an elaborate, multi-day Zoroastrian ceremony and reception in the Virgin Islands for January 2021. Then the pandemic hit. The couple pivoted, marrying in an intimate ceremony with their families at Bramblewood Farm in Keswick, where […]

Caite Hamilton | December 15, 2022

Magazines Weddings

Believe in love

Kelly Martin & Joshua King July 30, 2022, at The Market at Grelen Photos by Audra Jones Photography Kelly was getting something to eat at the UVA food court one day when a stranger walked up to her.  “He said he’d seen me around and asked for my phone number,” she says. “We went on two dates, […]

Caite Hamilton | December 15, 2022

Magazines Weddings

Choose your own adventure

Because they’d been to plenty of weddings where they’d shelled out money for travel and accommodations and only laid eyes on the bride and groom for a few minutes, Sophie Wolf and Brian McPherson wanted to make sure their wedding was different. They had only one criterion: The venue should accommodate all of their guests […]

Caite Hamilton | December 15, 2022

434 Magazines

Pumpkin spiced

Late last summer, four Crozet-based friends found themselves discussing the upcoming fall season—prepping for a new school year, planning autumnal activities, and cozying up their home décor. For Alexis Macias, Kristen Craig, Kathleen Ross, and Marilyn Speight, the latter always starts with the porch.  “We had seen on Instagram a mom out of Texas who […]

Caite Hamilton | September 21, 2022

Knife & Fork Magazines

Redefining authentic

Anna Gardner and Kelsey Naylor had been working in Charlottesville kitchens for years—Naylor at L’étoile, TEN, The Alley Light, Gardner at The Ivy Inn, Junction, Oakhurst Inn, and together at Public Fish & Oyster—when they started feeling a burn-out coming on. They decided to take a year off to explore Japan and, when they came […]

Caite Hamilton | September 21, 2022

Knife & Fork Magazines

For cake’s sake

You may know her as the former baker at Greenwood Grocery, or the woman who in 2020 penned Hot Cheese (aptly named—it’s a collection of recipes with hot cheese as the star), or even as the author of the Chesnok food blog, but Polina Chesnakova’s gunning for a new title: the cake lady. Her new […]

Caite Hamilton | September 21, 2022