Guy Stuff: Orvis catalog

I was a menswear buyer and merchandiser for many years early in my career and I have a love for men's clothing.  I never designed a single piece of women's wear nor did I consider myself a very...

Carmens Best Guacamole: foodie friday recipe #1

With all of the new citrus trees just planted including a Bearss Lime and Haas Avocado it really got me thinking about what to cook this weekend. I have a little journal, actually a couple of them...

Lovin my Oven: Bertazzoni; Direct from Italy

Back home today in Newport and already knee deep into another project.  I have so many things going on right now I feel a little dizzy!  We are doing some construction to fix a...

Eat what you grow: Sustainable Gardening & Biodiversity

In the process of designing our landscape and more specifically our garden and Orchard we are thinking hard about sustainability and biodiversity:   plants that will last and will not require an...

Strawberry flavored Cactus

Only in California do you get succulents in strawberry boxes.  I thought this was such an interesting juxtaposition.  Yes, I hate to admit it but we are still getting some local berries...

Garden Design Element #1: Gravel Driveway

A major design element in our front garden area at our little Ojai house is the long circular driveway.  This is the house before. This driveway was probably original to the home and was...