Good Things by David

A few days ago a group of us experienced a magical weekend at a sprawling farm in Pennsylvania.  Unbeknownst to us at the time of booking, we ended up staying at chef Jose Garces' magnificent Bucks County estate.  The 40 acre compound included an antique Pennsylvania bank barn, the main house which was built in the middle part of the 1800s, a large greenhouse, some outbuildings, a pool, and acre after acre of lush meadows.  Really and truly, the estate was magnificent to say the least. I'm extremely fortunate to have gathered with several generous and loving individuals who live by the same principles that I do, who share common interests and have the same tastes that I do, and who love of all things Martha. It was a weekend filled with cooking, baking, wine tasting, gift giving, trampoline jumping and relaxing poolside on this verdant 40 acre property called, Luna Farm.  We also spent a day antiquing and shopping for some of our favorite collectibles near and ...

Visiting Los Angeles is fun and exciting for many different reasons.  Having lived and gone to school there, the L.A. area holds a special place in my heart because it is all familiar to me.  You can put me just about anywhere in that city and I can navigate my way through antique shops, cafes, bistros, restaurants, all the while visiting with some of my closest friends and my entire family.  I love it there.  With a milestone birthday under my belt, a small vacation with those whom I love most was definitely in order.  I had many family members visiting the area for a large reunion at the beginning of August, some of whom I hadn't seen in twenty years (gasp!), and let me assure you, the three day affair was worth every single minute.  Between the endless feasting, singing (yes, some of my aunts were in top form) and reminiscing, I don't think there was one moment without the cackle and laughter from one or all of us.  That's just the way we are....

While we were at the shore several weeks ago I decided to collect a few shells during one of my walks.  The long stretch of beach that I love so much is covered with seashells, stones and small pebbles locally known as Cape May diamonds.  Not really knowing what I would do with them or where I would display them, I filled a small bag with a few items as we made our way back to the car.  There was such a large variety that I could have filled an entire bucket with shells, to be honest, but I was mindful and gathered only a few.   Small, dark-colored shells were the first ones I picked up because they looked so beautiful against the damp sand.  These particular ebony-like shells were easy to spot.  They almost seemed to glimmer whenever we’d walk past them.   As you can imagine, many of the shells were either imperfect or broken, but every once in awhile we would come across some that we just had to pick up.  With a modest amount...