When my prom date Charlie Holtz arrived at the door in a white sports coat, I was waiting in the living room wearing a pink spaghetti strap formal, the most beautiful dress I had ever owned.
Read MoreAfter all the recent rains, the the Santa Ynez Valley never looked more beautiful.
Read MoreMy great aunts Marion and Kathryn left their home and family in Butte, Montana to move to Los Angeles in 1928. A radical relocation in those days and yet they remained in the city for more than 40 years
Read MoreAfter I moved back to Southern California from New York City, I took a quiz that said that my ideal car was a station wagon. Ridiculous, I thought—I was driving a racy red BMW sedan
Read MoreLike Santa he would always come at Christmas.
Read MoreWe have a guest blogger here at Practical Voodou. Archie Waters is finally ready to share his story of the stressful summer of 2021.
Read MoreWaiting for the "It's a Small World" ride at Disneyland a young man approached us. "You're Nancy Egan, aren't you?" I had no idea who he was.
Read MoreAt the gala celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the Society for Marketing Professional Services, our group of longtime members sat laughing and talking like children at the kids table on Thanksgiving.
Read MoreI have been spending a lot of time with the Guadalupe over the last few months.
Read MoreLast May when we returned to Santa Monica for a visit, we were greeted by the same weather that had welcomed me when I moved to Ocean Park 20 years ago.
Read MoreDella became a widow on her 35th wedding anniversary. At 58 she was not sure what she would do.
Read MoreMy Grandmother would entertain us with her stories. Some evenings, at our urging, she would recite
The Spell of the Yukon by Robert Service, the sad improbable tales of Sam McGee and Dan McGrew.
There were lessons in the lyrics.
Last December was the first month in over 30 years I did not send an invoice to a client.
Read MoreIt was the toughest job I have ever had and one of the most rewarding.
Read MoreWe were 1950's free range kids. Woolman Street was our playground—we ran down the sidewalk and clambered up the steps to our small yards and porches to play.
Read MoreJust outside my window the garden brings hope and solace. It has lessons if we pay attention.
Read MoreIt was the first Saturday of spring, March 23, and the conditions couldn't have been better — 70-degree temps and an offshore wind.
Read MoreIt's not quite dawn and I am standing at the top of a dune at White Sand National Park. Cold, anxious and mesmerized by the breaking light, I can't believe I am here.
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Coq au Vin is the signature dish in my culinary repertoire. I use Craig Claiborne's recipe from the tattered New Times Cookbook that was given to me by my sister for my first Christmas as a newlywed in 1975.
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He said his name was Leslie as he smiled and gestured to his collection of cowboy hats. "Visiting from out of town?" "New York City," we replied, which was no doubt our first mistake.
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