Living

When Karen Laetare, owner of Brix Terrace Café, told us in January that she was planning to end her stint with the Café at Monticello come spring

It’s good to have a goal. When I read that biodynamic agriculture expert Maria Thun had published a calendar for wine drinkers,

 “I think coffee’s fun and let’s get this party started.” That’s what Mudhouse Director of Operations Dan Pabst told judges a few weeks ago when he participated in the South East Regional Barista Competition. The event gives baristas 15 minutes to create three cups of coffee for each of the four sensory judges—one espresso, one […]

All roads lead to the Virginia Vineyards Association annual meeting. Well, maybe not all roads

Some nights just feel right. You’re wearing a new pair of socks, the stars are out, and once that little Honda turns over, all the red lights turn green. Last Monday was such a night, when I went to the Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar to pick up some things I’d left there after playing a […]

Compost curriculum Attention, novice soil-makers: Are you mystified by the notion of putting vegetable scraps into a pile or container, and weeks or months later, taking out beautiful dark stuff that makes your garden grow? You now have a chance to get smart about compost, absolutely free. Blue Ridge Eco Shop will offer a free […]

Cutting board: The seasonal Cook, $89.95 Glass to glass The Green Glass Company in Richmond makes drinking glasses from reclaimed beer and soda bottles. We suggest pouring your favorite wine or beer, but a nice mango-peach nectar works too. Available at Sustain.             Looks like rain   Combination gadgets can […]

Eggs are in fashion, and in season   Eggs were a symbol of springtime, fertility, and rebirth long before Christianity sanctified the celebration of Easter. Our modern Easter Bunny is a hybridization of two older harbingers of spring—the notoriously prolific bunny and the neatly packaged egg, literal and figurative symbol of life. The yolk of […]

Cubbies beyond the classroom Problem: Curbing shoe and coat chaos Left to right, Meme Kattmann, 4, Finn Kattmann, 9, Oscar Kattmann, 7, family friend Jack Vigilante, 7, and Prentice Kattmann, 11, show off their personal cubbies in the entryway to their home. No matter what the size and shape of your home, if you have […]

SEE MORE Click here for a gallery of more photos from Cox and Galfione’s home.  “Our kids have left. Why are we doing this now?” That’s what local architect Giovanna Galfione says she and her husband, Maurice Cox, asked themselves repeatedly before embarking on a two-year, two-phase project to renovate their 100-year-old home in the […]