It’s an Indian wedding with all the trimmings — drums, gongs, garlands of flowers, priestly blessings and flocks of women wearing gorgeous saris. I’m a Westerner. What do I wear? Read more.
A Case of the Human Condition
I’m Barbara Falconer Newhall and I’ve got an incurable Case of the Human Condition. And since you do too, I’m counting on you to laugh and cry along with me as I riff on life as we know it . . . Below you'll read about my creaky, old fifties house, my forays into home gardening, my shopping stories, my spectacularly low-fashion wardrobe -- and more.
The Windmills of Mason County — Blight or Art?
When I heard about the new windmills, I resolved to take a look the next time I was in Michigan. Were they a noisy, ugly, menacing blight on the landscape? Or could they be interesting — attractive even? Read more.
At the Sawtooth Building: Earrings for Thirty-Six Bucks . . . And Other Hand-Made Pleasures
Susan Brooks was in her studio selling handmade earrings priced in the three-figures category the other day. I was not tempted. I’m tightening my belt these days. Instead . . . Read more.
Shopping Stories: Arts and Crafts in Berkeley’s Labyrinthine Sawtooth Building
I caught the last minute of the last day of the annual San Francisco East Bay Open Studios on June 9. I didn’t go there intending to shop. My plan was to stop by painter Salma Arastu’s studio in the funky Sawtooth Building on Eighth Street in Berkeley to talk about my book. Read more.
At Point Reyes: Wild Flowers . . . and Animals Wild and Tame
A couple of weeks ago, I mourned the loss of little hill in Michigan called Eagle Top. This week I’d like to celebrate a place that — unlike Eagle Top — has been preserved in all its wild and pastoral beauty – the vast triangle of land along the California coast known as Point Reyes, and especially the narrow outcropping called Chimney Rock.
In the Garden: Look What Happened to My Front Yard Over the Weekend
I wasn’t looking. I was at the computer all weekend with my back to the world. When I finally took a bleary look out the window Monday morning, I saw a front yard crazy with life — poppies, blue-eyed grass, armeria, pansies and several lascivious stalks of lupine blossoms. Read more.
The Mother-of-the-Groom Diaries — Am I Too Old for Splashy Earrings?
The long dress I was planning to wear to my son’s wedding needed earrings. Not a necklace. Not a bracelet. Not a glitzy ring. My gown needed earrings. Big, attention-grabbing, dangle earrings. Read more.