Out and about in Houston: Public art and an artful home

Out and about in Houston: Public art and an artful home

August 11, 2016 Houston doesn’t always get a lot of love, especially from Austinites who invoke it as a negative example of soulless sprawl and traffic. True, Houston is a sprawling major city with congested highways (although I swear Austin may be its equal in traffic jams). But in-town you’ll ...
Modern gravel garden sips water, amps up architecture

Modern gravel garden sips water, amps up architecture

September 25, 2015 Succulent and cactus gardeners and fans of modern design, you’ll want to see this garden on the upcoming San Antonio Watersaver Landscape Tour on October 24. I recently enjoyed a preview visit, thanks to an invitation from Shirley of Rock-Oak-Deer and Heather of Xericstyle. This contemporary garden ...
Santa Barbara street painting festival, Old Mission, and jacarandas

Santa Barbara street painting festival, Old Mission, and jacarandas

June 13, 2013 Santa Barbara’s 23rd annual I Madonnari Italian Street Painting Festival was held Memorial Day weekend on the plaza in front of the Old Mission. We stopped by on that Monday to see both. A crowd was gathering under bright-blue skies to watch the artists — the madonnari ...
Visit to San Antonio's Japanese Tea Garden

Visit to San Antonio’s Japanese Tea Garden

March 13, 2013 Day-tripping in San Antonio last weekend, my family and I made time for a stroll through the Japanese Tea Garden, located near the zoo in Brackenridge Park. Constructed in an old limestone quarry, the gardens are framed and accessed by fascinating and unusual stonework, including a pagoda-like ...
Visit to San Antonio's Japanese Tea Garden

Visit to San Antonio's Japanese Tea Garden

March 13, 2013 Day-tripping in San Antonio last weekend, my family and I made time for a stroll through the Japanese Tea Garden, located near the zoo in Brackenridge Park. Constructed in an old limestone quarry, the gardens are framed and accessed by fascinating and unusual stonework, including a pagoda-like ...