Living

Gather a bunch of your friends, and sip your way through six different types of wine, at least one of which will be Virginia made.

Popular perception these days is that small music venues are under attack. At the end of a year that saw the imposition of a very, very quiet 55dB noise ordinance in some neighborhoods, and the shuttering of music operations at Random Row Books (which still hosts plenty of other events), the fear isn’t entirely out […]

Score me, baby Wouldn’t it be cool if your house came with a number that told you how energy-efficient it is? Charlottesville will soon be one of the first communities in the U.S. where such a thing is possible. We’ve been chosen by the federal Department of Energy to be one of 10 places to […]

 Pitch-perfect platters Clockwise from top left: $355 from Caspari (100 W. Main St., 817-7880); $133 from Creme de la Creme (North Wing, Barrack Road Shopping Center, 296-7018); $150 from The Happy Cook (Barracks Road Shopping Center, 977-2665); $51.95 from Seasonal Cook (416 W. Main St., 295-9355) Just as you yourself are more appealing when not […]

 Reach out for sprouts  Brussels sprouts are often overcooked and underseasoned, but with the right treatment, they can be certifiably delicious. Take the case of cranberry relish, traditionally consumed just once a year at Thanksgiving but so often purchased in the can, processed and gelatinous, already defeated. But the cranberry is native to the United […]

 Problem: Welcoming a baby into a small apartment From the northeastern window of the Sparling family’s fifth-floor Charlottesville apartment in the 90-year-old Altamont Circle building, you can see rooftops, steeples and the gray-blue edge of the mountains. The approximately 750-square-foot space is home to 7-month-old Arlie Pearl, her parents and two medium-sized dogs. What this […]

 The word “compound” has some strange connotations, but it can mean nothing more than a collection of structures united by a common language. Such is the case at Chris and Kara McLane Burke’s three-part home on the Mechums River in western Albemarle. One of the names the Burkes have for their property is “Three Bridges,” […]

 It seems like only yesterday that losing your job and missing a bunch of mortgage payments meant you were one step closer to homelessness. Not anymore.   Likely beginning this month, homeowners who have experienced a substantial loss of income due to layoffs and cut-backs, as well as those who’ve suffered a medical condition, and […]

 With Jack Frost nipping at your nose and the hustle and bustle of the holiday season upon us, the need for home as a comfortable, cozy escape is at the top of our wish list. We tend to focus a lot of our time, energy, and resources on communal spaces—those that are most seen and […]

 When Roulhac Toledano took over the vacant warehouse by the Downtown Mall nearly 30 years ago, she found abandoned tools, remnants of chicken coops (the site was once the Albemarle Grocery Co.), and a whole lot of pigeons. Armed with her experience as an architectural historian, artist, and former antique collector, Toledano also saw the […]