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Palm Beach and Miami Social Diary

April 9, 2014, 6:57 am
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Sunday sunset at Beth Rudin DeWoody's residence where The Mounts Botanical Garden of Palm Beach County held its annual Spring Benefit.
Mounts Botanical Spring Benefit encore at DeWoody's waterfront compound
By Augustus Mayhew

Beth Rudin DeWoody's incomparable waterfront art park was the encore setting for The Mounts Botanical Garden of Palm Beach County’s annual Spring Benefit, supporting the county’s oldest and largest public garden.  More than 300 of the area’s most avid green thumbs gathered for an afternoon of cocktails, canapés, and irresistible sliders that kept the Great Lawn filled with smoke for most of the late afternoon event. 

Inspired by Lotusland, the garden near Santa Barbara once known as Tibetland, the palette of plants in DeWoody’s horticultural collection is as significant as the aesthetics of their design, credited to landscape architect Alan Stopek, principal of Effloresence Inc.

“The event was an overwhelming success last year, so we asked Beth if we could have it again at her incomparable estate,” said Polly Reed, president of the Friends of Mounts organization. “She said yes; we are especially grateful.”
Celebrating its 60th year at its present West Palm Beach location, the 14-acre The Mounts Botanical Garden of Palm Beach County is a picturesque and enlightening showcase for more than 2,000 species, including tropical and subtropical plants, plants native to Florida, exotic trees, tropical fruit, herbs, citrus, and palms. Affiliated with the University of Florida, The Mounts offers classes, workshops, and lecture programs with renowned horticulturist sand master gardeners.

“Funds from last year’s benefit went towards enhancing our visibility, funding significant foliage, palm plantings, and tree installations at The Mounts’ entrance,” said Allen Sistrunk, garden director. “This year’s proceeds will fund a national call to artists. In collaboration with a landscape architect, the winning artist will create a conceptual and construction plan for a new Tropical Wetlands Garden, to be sited on the existing Color and Shade Island."
Sunday afternoon at the DeWoody residence overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway.
Mounts Botanical Garden Spring Benefit, Principal Sponsors.
Polly Reed, party chairman and president of Friends of the Mounts.
Friends of the Mounts, Board of Directors.
Richard Crone, board member Jane Nugent, and Andre Manzi.
Biba St. Croix.Cathy Helowicz.
The pool fronts the Intracoastal Waterway with a view to the east of the Palm Beach Country Club.
The contoured plantings flank the south side of the pool, separating it from the Great Lawn.
A touch of art in a flower bed.
Many of the plants may have been drought-tolerant but guests withstood the mid-80s temperature at the open bar.
The silent auction tables were set up on the Great Lawn between the main house and the guest quarters.
Kit Pannill.Holly Breeden and Hawley Hilton McAuliffe.
Joel and Darcie Kassewitz.
Renny Reynolds and Mary Hilliard.
Lisa and John Cregan. Director and regional manager at Barclays Wealth, John Cregan and Barclays were one of the event's major sponsors.Peggy Moore.
Rabbi Michael Resnick and Roni Schneider.
Seph and Barbie Huber.
Lucy and Nat Day.
The geometric composition provides a focal point on the Great Lawn.
The two guest quarter residences at the DeWoody compound are separated by an artful courtyard with a pergola and lap pool.
From the pergola, a view towards the lap pool and topiaries.
Diana Barrett, Polly Reed, and Julia Hansen.
The embedded crystals added to the vibration.
Vladimir Kagan. The New York Times called Kagan "one of the most important furniture designers of the 20th century."
Nat Day, Barbie Huber, and Vladimir Kagan. Cheers!
A view towards the bar from the main residence's east terrace.
Night lights circle the trunk of a spectacular palm tree.
A late afternoon view of the main house.
The late afternoon sun spotlights a stand of palms along the north side of the main house.
7:45 pm, Sunday night.
Allen Sistrunk, director of The Mounts Botanical Garden, and Angela Budano.
The Mounts Botanical Garden of Palm Beach County
531 North Military Trail, West Palm Beach www.mounts.org
Gardening Questions: 561.233.1750
Mounts Botanical Garden. Butterfly Garden.
Mounts Botanical Garden. View to the southeast towards the Shade and Color Island.
Mounts Botanical Garden. Entrance trellis overlooking the Rose and Fragrance Garden.
Mounts Botanical Garden. The Light Shade Tropical Garden.
Mounts Botanical Garden, Garden of Extremes.
Mounts Botanical Garden. Garden of Extremes.
Mounts Botanical Garden. The bridge to the Shade and Color Island with Malay Palms.
Mounts Botanical Garden. Native to western India, the jackfruit tree has been cultivated in Florida for more than a century.
Mounts Botanical Garden. Afternoon shadows looking towards the Rainbow Garden.
Miami Social Diary

Faena Miami Beach + Miami’s Design District
A Billion Here & A Billion There

If traffic snarls along Alton Road don’t provide enough memorable moments, then you might try navigating the multi-block chaos during the construction of the Miami Beach version of the Faena District, where following last December’s annual Art Basel fiesta on Miami Beach, Bloomberg reported Lloyd Blankfein had inked a deal for one of its multi-million dollar residences. Having completed the mixed-use Faena District in Buenos Aires, former Argentine fashion designer turned real estate developer Allan Faena and Ukrainian-American uber-billionaire Leonard “Len” Blavatnik are recreating a starchitect sequel, called a Collaboratory, to five-blocks of oceanfront at Collins Avenue and 34th Street, having gained approvals for building/re-building more than 1 million square feet for a myriad of uses, including residential, commercial, a cultural facility, and a much-needed parking garage.

Helen Mar. 1937. Robert E. Collins, architect. The Helen Mar's classic historical profile that once defined the area may soon appear to be anomalous.
The Collaboratory’s formula for success includes noted Australians, designer Catherine Martin and Great Gatsby director Baz Luhrmann, crafting the designs for the hotel’s interiors and the staff’s uniforms; Rem Koolhaas has formulated the cultural arts facility (“Coming Soon”); and Norman Foster’s firm Foster + Partners is credited with the residences.

Meanwhile, across the Julia Tuttle Causeway at ever-evolving Miami’s Design District, another billion-dollar luxe development is underway, targeting the world’s One Percent.  Restricted by Bal Harbour Shops’ lease agreements, Paris-based L Real Estate equity fund, representing the development of LVMH luxury brands headed by Michael Burke and Bernard Arnault,  formed Miami Design District Associates with Craig Robins, CEO of Dacra Holdings, said to own 700,000-square-feet of existing commercial space, making for  70 % of the district’s existing buildings. What LVMH created at Shanghai’s L’Avenue Mall and Hong Kong, it hopes to recreate in Midtown Miami. With hard hats, tool belts, and construction gloves the district’s current must-have accessories,  beginning in Fall 2014 more than 50 luxury fashion brands, among them, Givenchy, Miu Miu, Tom Ford, Marc Jacobs, Valentino, Fendi, Dolce & Gabbana, Giorgio Armani, Tiffany & Co., Tod’s, Panerai, Tag Heur, Ermenegildo Zegna, and Van Cleef & Arpels will open in the redeveloped district, joining Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Berluti, Emilio Pucci, Maison Martin Margiela, Prada, Rick Owens, Celine, and CIE Financiére Richemont’s  Vacheron Constantin and Cartier, who already have existing boutiques. 

“Miami upstart stealing high-end stores from Bal Harbour,” read the headline at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, when the LVMH-Dacra deal was first announced. In an interview, Robins described Bal Harbour, the nation’s leading luxury shopping destination, as a “remote, inaccessible, beautiful mall.” In response, Matthew Whitman Lazenby, grandson of Bal Harbour Shops’ founder Stanley Whitman and president and chief executive of Whitman Family Development, defends his family’s radius clause as a prevailing industry standard. With a planned expansion not set to open until 2017, the Whitmans have reportedly entered into a partnership to develop Brickell CityCentre with more than 500,000 sq. ft. of retail space in Miami's financial district, only a few blocks south of the Design District.

Stay tuned as the battle of the billionaire brands heats up in the fall.

Here is a look at my Saturday expedition to Faena MiamiBeach and the Design District.
Faena Collaboratory, oceanfront sales pavilion. A view from the ocean side of the ongoing transformation of the former Saxony Hotel, recently infused with a $300 million line of credit. Faena promises "the highest level of luxurious service, enriched by the South American flair." Running at 500- feet per minute, the building's three passenger elevators will feature interiors in Bendheim glass and Japanese silk wallpaper. Penthouse master suites will accommodate morning kitchens. The Trapex door handles are designed by Foster+Partners.
"Faena is Community." The cement truck entrance view from Collins Avenue where across the street more than a dozen cement truck engines are idling, ready to pour. Norman Foster's Foster+Partners designed the residences, whose World Port Center I had recently visited in Rotterdam.
Faena House. Currently under construction, the project's first phase includes the 18-story Faena House, which will have 47 units priced at an average $3,000 a square foot ($3 million to $50 million). According to Faena's web site, residences will be equipped with Crestron TPMC-V15s units with in-wall touch screens installed in kitchens that allow residents to interact with all of the services. It also provides a control point to operate lighting, thermostats, motorized shades and act as a portal to the Techcierge system that provides biometric fingerprint readers.
Faena. The suites appear almost ready for occupancy.
The cranes add a kinetic sculptural aesthetic to the skyline.
The gutted Versailles is part of the Faena District; its Collins Avenue elevation adorned with a colorful mural.
Along the ocean side, hard to tell if the Versailles is being prepped for renovation or prepared for demolition.
Patio setting at the Faena Collaboratory sales pavilion.
A graphic mural adds some eyewash to the construction site.
A few blocks south of Faena, Ian Schrager's 26-unit Edition condominium, the former Seville Hotel, nears completion, designed by John Pawson. An on-premise "lifestyle manager" will handle residents' day-to-day needs, according to the website.
Edition condominium, a view from the ocean boardwalk. Dedicated to "The Good Life," unit owners may opt for Pawson-Schrager-designed linens, cookware, dishes, and towels.
Miami Design District + L Real Estate
The Paseo Ponti, a 30-foot wide pedestrian walkway, will connect the northern and southern points within the district.
JBL Building. K/R Architect.
The district's new development will include buildings by renowned architects Sou Fujimoto, Aranda/Lasch, K/R, Iwamoto Scott, and Leong Leong, as well as art installations by John Baldessari and The Buckminster Fuller Institute.
Not all cement trucks were line up along Indian Creek at the Faena project, as some were in the Design District.
Michael's Genuine still attracts the largest crowd in the design district.
The walkway between Michael's on 40th Street and 39th Street. Not quite yet the same ambiance found at Bal Harbour but within the next several months the developers are promising a complete transformation, "Where Luxury Happens."
Pucci. Sales associates take in a few moments of sunshine and fresh air.
Hermes. Several brands in boutique venues will be moving to more spacious flagship stores when construction is completed.
Christian Louboutin. Signs of 21st -century civilization.
Helen Mar. Reflections on Lake Pancoast.
Photographs by Augustus Mayhew.

Augustus Mayhew is the author ofLost in Wonderland – Reflections on Palm Beach.
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Washington Social Diary

April 14, 2014, 7:45 am
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Happy Easter, bunny.
A GEORGETOWN STATE OF MIND
by Carol Joynt

An acquaintance was saying he doesn’t come to Georgetown often because he doesn’t know what to do there. He said the shopping looks to be mostly mall stores. True, up to a point. There aren’t many restaurants and bars, he said. True, up to a point.

I explained the very simple solution to his problem: “you have to get away from Wisconsin Avenue and M Streets.” Judging Georgetown solely by those two heavily commercial strips misses the point of the neighborhood; the lure for those of us who love living here are the side streets, the residential areas, the parks, the upper reaches of the hilltop and the banks of the river down below. Once beyond Wisconsin and M, there are unique places to stop and eat, have a drink, and to shop.
Spring color on O Street.Georgetown's O Street has a succession of beautiful front gardens, making it worthwhile to walk the residential streets.
This is along O Street between 30th and 31st Streets.
Another view of the tulip garden.
I leave Georgetown only for work, a bit of social life, to try new restaurants, run the occasional “big box” errand and to get out of town altogether. Otherwise, I could live here day in and day out and find most of my needs met, and be very happy, too. I got up yesterday and took a walk and luckily brought my camera so I could capture some of what Georgetown feels like on a Sunday morning, especially when graced with perfect spring weather.

My friend and I were debating Georgetown versus the newest most fashionable neighborhood – 14th Street. He loves the scene there. What’s happened to 14th Street reminds me of when SoHo in New York City was born. It was an area transformed – one urban personality wiped out and replaced by another. And then they all came.
Also on O Street, blossoming trees.On 28th, where the blossoms fall like snow.
Looking up to 28th Street from an alley.
On Q Street, just off 28th.
Hiding in the ferns ... where only a few weeks ago there were inches of snow.
Everyone’s at 14th Street now and it can be a blast – a loud, crowded, youthful, ebullient party. But after a meal at Le Diplomate or Pearl Dive, or dinner at friends on P Street, as I walk home to Georgetown I notice how it gets quieter and quieter. I like returning to my peaceful village. We’re a fortunate small city that we have both – 14th Street and Georgetown – and that they relatively near to each other.

Georgetown has youth and noise and crowds too. That scene is concentrated on Wisconsin Avenue and M Streets, over to the west side of the neighborhood, near Georgetown University. If action is the goal, it’s there. But it can be avoided entirely too. Another friend has a hard rule that one should try to live on the east side of Wisconsin Avenue. She says it’s quieter and thus preferred rather than the west side. That may have been the measure a few decades ago, but with the boom in home prices both sides are obviously highly desirable and have become nearly unaffordable.
One of the most beautifully landscaped parts of Georgetown is Oak Hill Cemetery, which is open to the public.Oak Hill Cemetery, the final resting place for Washington's oldest families, the elite, and many notables.
Tullip Magnolia at Oak Hill.
The lovely spring weather got the young and the old out running in Georgetown's Montrose Park ...
The most expensive home sale in DC in a few years occurred in Georgetown last week. The Friendly Estate – for decades the home of The Washington Post’s Al Friendly, his wife Jean, and their children – sold for $16.1 million, fully renovated. The rumor mill says the buyers are a California family, but that’s the rumor mill. The property is on 31st Street, across from the historic Tudor Place house and gardens, on the east side of Wisconsin Avenue. That puts them close to Upper Georgetown, or Book Hill (Wisconsin Avenue between P Street and R Street), the best shopping and with bistros such as Patisserie Poupon and Café Bonaparte.

Last year, more than a half dozen Georgetown houses sold in the $6-9 million range. They included the Evangeline and David Bruce House, which Under Armour founder Kevin Plank bought for $8.9 million. It’s on the west side.
The Friendly Estate, on 31st Street at Avon Lane, just sold for $16.1 million, the highest price for a home in Washington in a few years.
Nantucket style charm in Georgetown.
Blossoms shading 31st Street.
A stop in Patisserie Poupon, up on the hilltop on Wisconsin Avenue, for coffee, pastries, candies, salads, soup, and sandwiches.Looking through the window to Poupon's hidden and charming nook of a back porch.
The pastry case at Patisserie Poupon, a regular hang out for Georgetown residents.
The best shopping in Georgetown is up the hill, especially Wisconsin Avenue above P Street. Here is the John Rosselli store.Across the street from Rosselli, and clustered with other antiques shops, is Café Bonaparte, open from breakfast to late night.
In Georgetown, every curbside is viewed as having potential. This is on Q Street near Wisconsin.
The real estate market is so robust that mere open houses no longer suffice for the launch of a premium property. In the last few months I’ve received invitations to full- blown cocktail parties at homes that are hitting the market, including one for the Friendly Estate. A publicist is usually part of the mix. The realtor, rather than the seller, hosts these private soirées, where the abode is fully staged, and Looky Lou’s are welcomed to poke around and kick the tires while waiters pass cocktails and canapés.

Life in Georgetown, at least for me, is simple, serene, and routine. Right now the gardens are waking up and need pruning and mulching. There are buds on the lilac bushes, the roses and the dogwood trees, and cherry and other blossoms fall like snow. The damage of the hard winter is revealing itself, too, and there are bits of wood and paint that need repair. I hope when I switch on the air conditioning, it works.
The lovely spring Just like that, we're out of the heavy winter clothing and into the pleasures of shorts, t-shirts and flip flops.
Dogs make the most of it, too.
I’m in a long block where most of the gardens back up to each other. There are about 50 houses in the full block. There is no alley. It’s a village of its own for wildlife, for better or worse, but mostly better. In the mornings and the evenings there are many birds. Several doves have nested at my house and it seems some cardinals are hanging out, too. They scatter in the morning when I come out with the dog and a cup of coffee. Late at night, with the windows open, there’s an owl, the occasional hum of aircraft, the far and near wail of sirens, distant laughter. Complete silence would probably creep me out. Georgetown is decidedly urban, but feels just rural enough.
Palm Sunday ornament at Georgetown's Chris Episcopal Church.
N Street Village held its 40th anniversary gala last week at the Ritz Carlton West End hotel. Sweet Honey In The Rock performed, Senators Kelly Ayotte and Kay Hagan were honored, Senator Roy Blunt and his wife, Abby, were the honorary chairs, with many city officials in the audience. The event raised more than $760,000 for the organization that provides support and shelter for low income and homeless women in Washington. My table included Carol Wheeler, one of the gala’s organizers; Rick Stamberger, Catie Gilmore, who is working on the group’s capital campaign; I Ricchi restaurant owner Christine Ricchi, Barbara Stephenson of the British Embassy, and Gary Walker, who owns Ilo Salon, and his colleague and fiancé Aaron Lichtman. They are marrying in June followed by a honeymoon in China to walk the Great Wall.
Mayor Vincent Gray is interviewed before the N Street Village gala.
Sweet Honey in the Rock perform with N Street Village's Ambassadors of Praise gospel choir, which includes residents, clients and alumni of the organization.
Allison and Chris Putala.Soon to be newlyweds, Gary Walker and Aaron Lichtman.
Carol Wheeler, Rick Stamberger, and Barbara Stephenson.
Roy and Abby Blunt.Catie Gilmore.
N Street Village's executive director, Schroeder Stribling, gets the "OK" from Barbara Stephenson.
Schroeder Stribling and Carol Wheeler.
Chris Ricchi.
The N Street Village dinner in the ballroom of the Ritz Carlton West End hotel raised more than $760,000 for the group.
Follow Carol on twitter @caroljoynt
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San Francisco Social Diary

April 18, 2014, 6:33 am
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One of the stunning art-inspired floral displays of the de Young Museum’s Bouquets to Art exhibition, this aerial design by Waterlily Pond Studio’s Natasha Lisitsa, Daniel Schultz, and Carla Parkinson used 1,500 apple branches, 1,500 roses, 300 anthurium, and 120 feet of copper tubing.
MORE HAPPENINGS IN SAN FRANCISCO
by Jeanne Lawrence

SPRING HAS SPRUNG AT THE DE YOUNG MUSEUM
 
In March, the San Francisco de Young Museum celebrated its 30th annual Bouquets to Art exhibition—floral interpretations of art from its collections. The Bay Area florists chosen to participate once again delivered spectacular results.
The chandelier-like “Pirouette” was inspired by “Strontium,” Gerhard Richter’s oversized mural that hangs on the wall behind it. It was created for the de Young Museum from digitally manipulated photographs.
The annual five-day exhibition showcases the work of 130 innovative floral designers and raises more money than any other Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF) event. Of the 74,000-plus visitors who attended the show, more than 700 signed up for new museum memberships.
FAMSF Auxiliary President Judith HeuserandFAMSF Director Colin Bailey.Thomas Mitchell, Opening Night Gala Honorary Chair Lonna Wais, and Jack Mettler.
Opening Night Gala Co-Chairs Nancy Noakes and Patty McCrary.
FAMSF Auxiliary President Judith Heuser andBouquets to Art Chair Maggie Krill.
GREEN COUTURE

Seven students from the Environmental Horticulture/Floristry department at City College of San Francisco were invited to create “Floral Fashions”—wearable flower art. To everyone’s delight, students also modeled the green couture.
SF City College students Hee Joo, Paula Lam, Marlana Malerich, Paloma Martinez, Rachel Ermatinger, and Takhmina Akramova.
Paula Lam.FAMSF Board ChairDede Wilsey, Hee Joo, and Young Pak.
LAVISH BUFFET

The organizing committee of the Opening Night Gala and Preview went all out for the 1,200 guests.

Friends and I enjoyed early (5:30 p.m.) entry for Patron-level members. The spread was something to behold—and even better to sample! I hope no one had planned to go out for dinner afterward!

“The best chocolate mousse I’ve ever tasted,” said Heidi Betz. “Like an old-fashioned chocolate pudding.” I was told to try the chocolate bacon—and was I glad when I did!
Since the event fell on St. Patrick’s Day, there were special green items on the menu.
Dim sum was artfully arranged in a flower-like presentation—with colored dumpling skins used to carry out the green theme.
I was especially impressed by the station offering risotto made to order—no easy feat!
It wouldn’t be a proper San Francisco event without McCall Catering’s famous lamb chops!
FACES & FLOWERS

The floral arrangements were ingenious, and the entire evening was a rare pleasure. In the following week, the museum featured lectures by prestigious floral designers, lunches and teas, and floral demonstrations.
Premier Circle member Gretchen Kimball with family members Jeffrey, Julie, Steve, and Annie Kimball.
Jeanne Lawrence, FAMSF Deputy Director Richard Benefield, Bouquets to Art Committee Chair Alex Leitstein, and Sandra Swanson, last year’s Chair.
Lorre Erlick, Hilary Steinberg, and Alan Choy.
David Birka-White, Erica Fuller, Julia Birka-White, Elizabeth Birka-White, and Walter Fuller.
Pat Hanson Thompson, Klaus Murer, and Barbara Traisman.
Jason Goldman and Susie Meyer.Heidi Betz and Maria Pitcairn.
Patty McCrary and Dale Fehringer.
Bonnie Biorn and Sarah Kozel.
This extravagant display was influenced by the oversized David Hockney piece behind it, who was featured in a de Young exhibit that ended in January.
I can hardly keep up with the de Young’s wonderful 2014 exhibition schedule: David Hockney: A Bigger Exhibition (which included a painting of fellow NYSD diarist Charlie Scheips, who once worked for Hockney in LA) just closed in January, Modern Nature: Georgia O’Keeffe and Lake George runs through May, and Modernism from the National Gallery of Art: The Robert & Jane Meyerhoff Collection opens in June.

At its sister museum, the Legion of Honor, Intimate Impressionism just opened, featuring more than 70 works from the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, and Masters of Fire: The Copper Age in the Holy Land will open in June.

CALDWELL SNYDER GALLERY 30TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

Caldwell Snyder Gallery, the contemporary San Francisco art gallery founded by Oliver Caldwell and Susan Snyder in 1983, observed its 30th anniversary this past year. In celebration, they presented a collection of original 30x30-inch paintings and drawings, in a special exhibition at the gallery’s Union Square location.
Caldwell Snyder Gallery focuses on innovative painting and sculpture.30x30: A 30th Anniversary Exhibition & Celebration featured original works by some of the gallery’s artists.
The gallery represents more than 50 artists from Europe, Latin America, and the U.S., including major American post-war and emerging contemporary artists. It specializes in 21st-century American and European paintings, drawings, sculpture, and limited-edition prints.
Karen and Oliver Caldwell, Wilkes Bashford, Susan Snyder, and Steve Sockolov.
The exhibition opening—on January 30 (of course!)—was an invitation-only event for gallery clients, artists, and supporters.
Works by Matt Rogers and Paul Baumer.
Boaz Vaadia’s “Menasheshe” statue, with Doug Smith’s paintings on the wall behind it.Brad Howe’s stainless steel and polyurethane “Sombrero” sculpture.
Oliver Caldwell and Susan Snyder purchased their flagship Sutter Street gallery in the late ’90s and transformed the building from a restaurant into a light-filled, 9,000-square-foot exhibition space.

The gallery has satellites in New York and St. Helena, Napa Valley, where its Main Street turn-of-the-century Star Building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Susan Snyder, Deladier Almeida, Melissa Chandon, and Oliver Caldwell.
Liz Lopez, Lisa Archambeau, Oliver Caldwell, Susan Snyder, Christina Maybaum, and Nicole Lemon.
Amy Rogers and artist Matt Rogers.Jay Jeffers and Michael Purdy.
Karen Hirsch, Susan Snyder, Barbara Eason, and Shirley Berman.
Steve Sockolov, Michelle Chandon, Susan Snyder, Audrey Sockolov, and Bob Sockolov.
Nicholas Wilton and Laila Rezai.
Fashion designer Karen Caldwell (wife of gallerist Oliver)demonstrated a variety of ways to wear a simple sash—a reminder that fashion is an art form, too!Karen showed us how to use a sash as an obi belt, a scarf, a neck accessory, and in myriad other ways.
Works by David Buckingham and Charles Arnoldi.
ARCHITECT ALLAN GREENBERG SPEAKS

In January, architect Allan Greenberg spoke at the Northern California Chapter of Classical Architects for the launch of his book, Classical Architect, featuring a forward by author and tastemaker Carolyne Roehm.
Prominent architect Allan Greenberg with his new book, Classical Architect.
FOSTER-GWIN ANTIQUES GALLERY

The evening began with cocktails and a book signing at Collier Gwin’s antiques gallery at Hotaling Place, Foster-Gwin Art & Antiques. It’s in a historic mid-19th-century stable tucked into an alley in the Jackson Square neighborhood.
The charming alley in which Foster-Gwin Antiques is located.
Foster-Gwin specializes in 17th and 18th-century Continental furniture, Mediterranean antiquities, and Bay Area Abstract Expressionist art from the 1950s.
Having survived the 1906 earthquake, Jackson Square is one of the oldest neighborhoods in San Francisco. Once home to art and antiques stores, law offices, and design firms, the historic area is fast becoming the equivalent of New York’s Silicon Alley.

THE RECEPTION
Collier Gwin and his son Spencer Gwin.
Guests who came to hear architect Allan Greenberg’s talk also enjoyed browsing the antiques at Foster-Gwin.
When I saw that one of the featured buildings in Classical Architect was Carolyne Roehm’s Connecticut country home, which I had visited, I bought the book at once and   had Greenberg autograph it. The home is an exquisite testimony to the duo’s collaborative brilliance.
Greenberg signing my copy of Classical Architect.
Jeanne Lawrence and Collier Gwin.
Foster-Gwin exhibits regularly at the Winter Antiques Show in New York and the San Francisco Fall Antiques Show.
After cocktails, the group moved on to the private club Villa Taverna, directly across the alley from the gallery, where Greenberg discussed his work and we had an opportunity to admire his masterpieces.
As I departed, I noticed the iconic Transamerica Pyramid (1972) and wondered what Greenberg thought of the design.
Photos by Jeanne Lawrence and Drew Altizer.

*Urbanite Jeanne Lawrence reports on lifestyle and travel from her homes in San Francisco, Shanghai, and New York, and wherever else she finds a good story.
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Washington Social Diary

April 21, 2014, 7:54 am
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Happy Easter! How about the grumpy face on the Easter Bunny?
A Reality Check
by Carol Joynt

The New York Times Sunday Style section cast some light on the Bravo channel reality TV rookie Southern Charm and I, for one, was glad to see it. I get a kick out of the show. It’s my new TV guilty pleasure, because it’s funny, has great period house porn; the cast dress well, eat and drink well, they are “real” in a way that practically never happens with the Real Housewives franchises. The appeal may be, too, that the cast members, mostly men, seem to have been raised with manners, there’s no signs of breast, lip or cheek implants and no one on the show would appear to have to crash to be included at a party. Still, it manages its fair share of dramatically bizarre moments.
The cast of Southern Charm, Whitney Sudler-Smith, Thomas Ravenel, Craig Conover, Cameron Eubanks, Jenna King, and Shepard "Shep" Rose.
That said, Southern Charm is controversial (not a bad thing in this genre) and openly loathed by some of the good people of Charleston, including NYSD’s own Charleston correspondent, Ned Brown, as well as some DC friends who hail from the Palmetto state. Fair enough. Their gripes are consistent with what’s said in the Times piece. When Bravo attempted a Real Housewives of Washington DC franchise in 2010 the locals generally loathed it, too — ditto the viewers, as it was cancelled after one season. White House “gatecrashers” Michaele and Tareq Salahi got blamed for the show’s demise, but in truth they may have been the draw. They possessed the required cartoony components — instincts for loopy personal drama, smoke and mirrors antics — which guaranty realty stardom.
When they were a pair: Michaele Salahi and Tareq Salahi, stars of the only season of Real Housewives of Washington DC.
Michaele and Tareq — together and apart — may have had long-term reality potential had it not been for their legal issues — basically, his penchant for lawsuits — relating to his family’s Virginia winery and their divorce and her romance and eventual marriage to musician Neal Schon of Journey. Michaele and Neal did take a bite out of the reality apple; their wedding was available on pay-per-view.

Here’s the thing about Bravo’s attempt at a Washington Housewives franchise. First of all, it was well meaning but had a nearly impossible mandate: to embrace Washington as the nation’s capital. The women who are DC’s power housewives, and who most likely are married to men who depend on the government dollar, are way too careful and ambitious to risk reality TV humiliation. They care what people think and in reality TV that is death. There’s also this: the only reality TV that appeals to real Washington are the Sunday morning chat shows, which are more guided missile performance art than reality.
Thomas Ravenel, ex-con, new father, new reality TV star and possible U.S. Senate candidate.Ravenel's foil on Southern Charm is Whitney Sudler-Smith, who is also one of the show's producers. The cast's dandy, his disposition is often Jason Bateman with a bad hangover.
Kathryn Calhoun Dennis.
The mandate to do “Washington” was too wide a swatch. If Bravo had attempted instead to produce something more niche, for example, Real Housewives of Potomac, Maryland (comparable to Orange County) or Real Housewives of Crestwood (DC’s so-called Gold Coast), they might have had a success. A reality TV show about Georgetown could be pulled together in a nanosecond, but it would be more Southern Charm than Real Housewives, because Georgetown as a village has more in common with Charleston than it has with the city of Washington, and, like Charleston, it’s the boys who are the less guarded and more colorful characters.
Southern Charm: it's a men's club that includes some women.
It’s worth mentioning the brief life six years ago of a mostly-Georgetown based reality TV series, Blonde Charity Mafia, which was possibly ahead of its time. BCM followed three young women, Katherine Kennedy, Sophie Pyle and Krista Johnson, as they navigated their private lives and the DC social scene — tagline: “In DC, politics can be a real bitch, and in this crowd staying on top will be a lot tougher than it looks.” They shot six episodes, according to IMDB, before the show got mired in ownership and programming travails.

Blonde Charity Mafia was barely seen in the US but did make it to Australia and the UK. There were more similarities to Southern Charm than RHODC — for example, the Georgetown factor — but needed a colorful character like SC’s Thomas Ravenel, whose career may be politics (he’s a former state treasurer) but who was born for reality TV (his career got shutdown by drug charges and a short prison term).
The stars of Blonde Charity Mafia stars Sophie Pyle, Katherine Kennedy and Krista Johnson strike a pose.
The secret to reality TV success is to have self-promotion in the DNA, keen self-awareness and to not care what may happen to one’s reputation. A gift for performance helps, too. Real Housewives of New York’s Bethany Frankel, who peed in a champagne bucket on camera at the Four Seasons restaurant before her Pool Room wedding, became a breakout reality star.

Ditto Teresa Giudice, who up-ended dinner tables in her first season of Real Housewives of New Jersey, and Nene Leakes, who got parts of her body re-crafted as the cameras rolled for Real Housewives of Atlanta.  Who would have thought one day Lee Radziwill’s daughter-in-law, writer Carole Radziwill, would become a Real Housewives of New York cast member and fan favorite, who gleefully talks on camera about blow jobs and her “great ass.” We like to think she gets the joke.
Carole Radziwill, a cast member on Real Housewives of New York who is not shy about her "great ass."
Seriously, the Housewives or Southerm Charm are a challenge if you can't appreciate the joke. To see what I mean, check out the season finale of Southern Charm tonight. You may appreciate how it gets the joke and adds some fresh spin. In a mid-season episode, Ravenel had the cast over to his home for a dinner party where he lectured them on life lessons. One of the regulars, Shep Rose (an adorable floppy puppy of a man), assessed the dynamic this way: "All these idiots sitting around the table and the head idiot is telling us how to behave."

Ravenel has the potential to be another breakout reality star. He and his 29 years younger girlfriend, Kathryn Calhoun Dennis, just became parents of a baby girl. No mention yet of a wedding, but what could be better for a second season? On one of the funniest episodes yet of Bravo impresario Andy Cohen’sWatch What Happens Live, Ravenel said he may run as an Independent candidate against incumbent South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham. Here’s hoping it happens and he wins because we could use “T-Rav” in Washington. In addition to all the other potential goofball goings on, maybe he’d bring his cameras with him and DC could get another chance at reality TV success.

I can hear the good people of Charleston right now. “The horror. The shame.” Exactly!
Andy Cohen hosts Watch What Happens Live on Bravo with Southern Charm cast members Shep Rose, Cameron Eubanks, and Thomas Ravenel.
This past week was the anniversary of Emancipation Day, an official public holiday in DC. On April 16, 1862 President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Act that granted freedom to the city’s enslaved. The occasion was marked with a parade, a wreath-laying, a concert and other events.

Starting off the week, the Washington Performing Arts Society produced a concert at DAR Constitution Hall to honor Marian Anderson on the 75th anniversary of her Lincoln Memorial concert before 75,000 people, which is considered a landmark event of the Civil Rights movement.
Dionne Warwick and American Idol winner Candice Glover perform at DAR Constitution Hall.
Dionne Warwick.
The Winans Brothers in performance at Constitution Hall.
Alyson Cambridge, paying musical tribute to Marian Anderson.Candice Glover won the 12th season of American Idol.
Jessye Norman welcomes guests to the "Of Thee We Sing" concert, where she was the host.
According to the WPAS, their concert, which was called “Of Thee We Sing,” was notable for its venue, because the Daughters of the American Revolution “denied Ms. Anderson permission to use its stage in 1939, eventually leading to her recital outdoors.”

After the concert there was a cocktail reception next door at the handsome American Red Cross headquarters building in its Board of Governors Hall that features a triptych of windows designed by Tiffany and dedicated in 1923. The guests included the performers as well as members of Anderson’s family.
The American Red Cross headquarters building, where the WPAS held its reception.
The elegant marble stairs that lead up to the second floor Board of Governors Hall
Ready for the guests to arrive in the American Red Cross Board of Governors Hall, with the Tiffany windows in the background.
The Tiffany windows that adorn the Board of Governors Hall at the American Red Cross headquarters.
Framed posters on the wall at American Red Cross headquarters.
Dionne Warwick with members of Marian Anderson's family: Amber Anderson Almezy, little Isabella Anderson and Jasmine Anderson.
Candice Glover with Dionne Warwick and Paxton K. Baker, a BET executive.
Dionne Warwick and Jenny Belfield.
WPAS board member Patricia Howell.WPAS board chair Reggie Van Lee with Adrienne Arsht.
MC Hammer and Murray Horwitz.
Barbara Gordon, a founder of the WPAS Women's Committee, with and Jenny Bilfield, WPAS president.
Veronica Jones, Malcolm Jamal Warner, and Jake Jones of Daimler.
Jay Haddock, Alyson Cambridge, and Hector Torres.
Charlotte Cameron Mitchell with Malcolm Jamal Warner.
Photographs by Carol Joynt and Chris Burch.

Follow Carol on twitter @caroljoynt
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San Francisco Social Diary

April 23, 2014, 6:02 am
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Performer Amber Riley sang against a lovely backdrop of the San Francisco Bay at sunset during the star-studded benefit for UCSF Medical Center, a highlight of the city’s spring social season.
SAN FRANCISCO'S SOCIAL SEASON 2014
by Jeanne Lawrence

San Francisco seems to be the center of the world right now, and here are just a few more of the events happening around the booming city.

UCSF BENIOFF CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL BENEFIT

This spring, San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall played host to an evening of star-studded entertainment to raise money for both The Painted Turtle camp for chronically ill children and UCSF Medical Center, whose Benioff Children’s Hospital is ranked one of the top children’s hospitals in the nation by U.S. World News & World Report.
Mark Laret, CEO of UCSF Medical Center, with award-winning actress Renée Zellweger.
Titled “A Starry Evening of Music, Comedy, and Surprises,” the ambitious event was attended by such celebrities as Annette Bening, Danny DeVito, Kathy Griffin, Josh Groban, Randy Newman, Bonnie Raitt, Amber Riley, and Renée Zellweger.

Anyone who has chaired this kind of event knows how difficult it can be to get the stars to travel the distance and show up. Those who attended the benefit showed a true commitment to the cause.
Singer and actress Amber Riley, comedienne Kathy Griffin, record producer and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Lou Adler, and actress Renée Zellweger.
Actor and director Danny DeVito.Oakland Raider Taiwan Jones.
Pro Football Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott with his wife Karen Lott.
Baseball player Barry Zito.Philanthropist and reality star Kiptyn Locke.
Teressa Morgan and her husband, Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Morgan.Kimberly Scurr, Executive Director of the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital.
THE PAINTED TURTLE & BENIOFF CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL

The evening was to support The Painted Turtle, in Lake Hills, CA, one of Paul Newman’s renowned SeriousFun Camps. Founded by the Hollywood legend in 1988, SeriousFun is a network of free year-round camps that provide a joyful haven for children with chronic and life-threatening illnesses.

The Painted Turtle works in partnership with UCSF’s Benioff Children’s Hospital, named after Salesforce.com founder and CEO Marc Benioff, who in 2010 donated $100 million to help build the facility. Subsequently, Barron’s named him one of the Top 25 Most Effective Philanthropists.
The late Paul Newman with a group of SeriousFun campers.
SeriousFun camps have touched the lives of more than 440,000 people in the U.S., Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa since 1988.
For children unable to attend Painted Turtle Camp, its outreach program brings the fun and spirit of the program to hospitals and community events throughout California.
AN ENTERTAINMENT-FILLED EVENING

What a clever idea for a charity event! Instead of same old salmon/chicken sit-down dinner, participants could enjoy a musical show and meet friends for a private dinner before or after.

My friends and I dined at Jardinière, across the street from the symphony hall, and it was packed with a lively and glamorous crowd headed to the performance afterward.
Jeanne Lawrence, Dick Kramlich, Stephanie Lawrence, and Pam Kramlich.
The entertainment was sentimental and emotional at Davies Symphony Hall. Tears were shed as speakers talked about the UCSF Medical Center and Benioff Children’s Hospital and the stories of its young patients. In the end, the event raised more than $1 million.
Comedienne Kathy Griffin opened the show and walked amid the audience, interviewing the professional athletes and celebrities in attendance.
A big surprise was a moving performance by children currently receiving treatment at the hospital.
We were astounded by the incredible talent of the young patients; it was a night none of them or us will soon forget.
Singer-songwriterJosh Groban.
The audience was wowed by Josh Groban’s duet of “You Raise Me Up” with a camper from The Painted Turtle, who showed so much talent he may have found his future career.
Randy Newman performed “You’ve Got a Friend in Me,” the theme song he wrote for the 1995 movie Toy Story.
Newman and Grammy Award-winning blues singer Bonnie Raitt jammed together on “Guilty” and “Feels Like Home.” Newman told the audience, “These kids are a tough act to follow.”
Raitt and Newman first performed together 25 years ago, and this was the first time since. “Isn’t it something to bring all these people together?” Raitt exclaimed on stage.With actor Danny DeVito’s help, a UCSF patient thanked the audience for its support.
One especially touching moment was the story of Monica and Rachel, two Benoiff patients who became close friends in the hospital: Monica sang a song she had written for Rachel, who responded with heartfelt thanks to her “sister.” “What would I do without you?” she asked.
Actress Annette Bening introduced inspiring patients Monica and Rachel.
Much of the audience was in tears when Monica performed the song she wrote for her friend and fellow patient Rachel.
Amber Riley’s final song was a moving rendition of “River Deep, Mountain High,” for which she was joined onstage by the kids, who despite their illnesses displayed great spirit.
The evening finished with “fireworks” on stage and smiles all around.
FISHER WEISMAN’S NEW CASA ACANTO STORE

One evening, friends and I stopped by Casa Acanto, the recently launched showroom of San Francisco-based interior design partners Jeffry Weisman and Andrew Fisher.

The showroom is at 1760 Stockton in the colorful North Beach neighborhood known as Little Italy, across from Washington Square Park. Once the primary hangout for beatniks, today it’s one of the city’s nightlife districts and a fun place to visit.
Interior designers Jeffry Weisman and Andrew Fisher recently opened their Casa Acanto showroom in San Francisco’s North Beach Little Italy district, where beatniks once roamed.
Next door is the historic Liguria Bakery (est. 1911), run by the third-generation Soracco family, which some say produces the best focaccia in town.
Weisman and Fisher also have a second gallery and studio (and a second home) in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
The Casa Acanto showroom is an intimate tent-like space with burlap-draped walls, leopard-print carpet, and a profusion of pieces from the furnishings collection.
ARTFUL DECORATION BOOK

A stack of the design duo’s book, Artful Decoration: Interiors by Fisher Weisman (Monacelli Press, 2013), was on display at the store’s entrance. The lavish tome showcases 13 design projects, including a Nob Hill apartment, a Napa Valley stone winery transformed into a contemporary living space, a Sonoma County tree house, and a Moroccan-inspired retreat in Palm Springs.
Artful Decoration: Interiors by Fisher Weisman (Monacelli Press, 2013), which illustrates Fisher Weisman’s flair for exquisite design, was placed next to objects crafted by Andrew Fisher.
Artful Decoration features projects around the U.S. as well as an intimate look at the designers’ home in Mexico, Casa Acanto, for which the store is named.The store’s framed wall art includes tapestries made by Fisher from unorthodox materials such as burlap, paper, brass wire, and 24-karat gold leaf.
GUESTS
Andrew Fisher, Jeanne Lawrence, and Jeffry Weisman.
Interior designer Paul Wiseman, Joy Venturini Bianchi, Eric Petsinger, and event designer Riccardo Benavides, of Ideas Events.
Pamela Babey and Paul Weaver.
Guests enjoyed snacks set up on the store’s furniture, suggesting how the pieces can be used. In keeping with the Mexican theme, we sipped single-estate, small-batch Tequila Ocho.
George Jewett, Leslie Schemel, and David Schemel.
Pedro Carriedo and Ian Stallings.
Amelia Ross, author Nelson Bloncourt (holding his latest book, Fanny the Flying French Bulldog), and Dawn Ruggeroli.
Rolando Beramendi, Jeanne Lawrence, and Jeffry Weisman.
CASA ACANTO – IN SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE

Casa Acanto—Spanish for “House of Acanthus”—is the name of the design duo’s second home in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, a 16th-century Spanish colonial town. Located in the city center, the sprawling home is an 18th-century tannery they transformed into a stunning residence.

Inspired by their home, the Casa Acanto collection featuresunique, handcrafted furnishing and accessories, from burl-wood desks and outdoor dining tables to objets d’art and artwork. Naturally, the acanthus (acanto) leaf motif is used often.
The designers maintained the indigenous architectural style when they transformed historic Casa Acanto into a spectacular home.
Often used for entertaining, Casa Acanto’s outdoor living room, with its wood-burning fireplace, is filled with comfortable seating from the designers’ Arcadia Collection for Michael Taylor Designs.
The dining terrace, under the jacaranda trees, showcases the cleverly designed Veracruz outdoor dining tables, which come in different interlocking shapes.
The Veracruz dining tables can be arranged as a single, double, or triple-width table, or in any combination. Shown here is the triple size for larger dinner parties.
I like a desk in every room in my home, so I particularly liked the stunning Acanthus Major Desk; its sculptural legs are hand-cast from recycled aluminum.
The delightful home, offering a perfect spot to watch the sun set over the Mexican village, is available for a vacation rental.
INSPIRED BY TONY DUQUETTE

The influence of the late legendary designer Tony Duquette can be found in Fisher’s whimsical, baroque designs and the use of various metals and exotic wood.

Fisher’s whimsy is complemented by Weisman’s more classical approach, which he developed during stints at architectural firms Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Gensler before founding his own firm.
In the Casa Acanto showroom,hand-decorated Midas table lamps were placed alongside a candelabrum and handmade jewelry.
Weisman explained that the collection reflects a “unique, artistic, and decorative sensibility informed by world travel, a keen appreciation of nature, and a love for both whimsy and structure.”

Casa Acanto products are available online at casaacanto.com; by appointment at 1706 Stockton Street, San Francisco; and at Sollano 16 in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, sollano16.com.
This elaborate Midas Plank Chandelier is handcrafted with steel, papier mâché, and Dutch metal leaf with clear lacquer.
At five feet tall and four feet in diameter, theMidas Grand Tier Chandelier requires a room matching it in scale and opulence.A candelabrum made of hand-cast recycled aluminum with bronze patina.
The Golden Toad Talisman, made of cast rubber coated in 22-karat gold leaf, watched over us.
ARTIST AND ICON IRA YEAGER

On a balmy day in the city, some friends and I attended a talk by Bay Area artist and icon Ira Yeager as he discussed his involvement as part of theBay Area Figurative (BAF) Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

BAF marked a return to figurative imagery after the Abstract Expressionist movement. Practitioners included famed Bay Area painters such as Elmer Bischoff, Nathan Oliveira, and Richard Diebenkorn, who were not only Yeager’s teachers but counted among his personal friends as well.
Artist Ira Yeager in his San Francisco Powell Street studio in 1976.
Yeager in 1982, in his San Francisco Shotwell Street studio.
IRA YEAGER-THE ARTIST

Yeager is one of the special characters for which San Francisco is renowned. Born in Washington State, he began painting in his teens. In 1957, he moved to the Bay Area to attend the famed California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, and later did a stint at what is now the San Francisco Art Institute.
Painter Ira Yeager discussed his life and work at the Antiques & Art Exchange (AAE), on Vermont Street in what’s known as San Francisco’s Design District.
The peripatetic artist has set up studios in England, Greece, France, Italy, New Mexico, Morocco, New York, and San Francisco, Since the 1990s, he has had one in the hills of Calistoga, in Napa Valley wine country, where he says he feels the most creative.
Artist Ira Yeager in his Calistoga studio in 2013.
IRA YEAGER LECTURE

Yeager’s good friend Gail Glasser organized the outing. “I’m an only child,” she told us, “but Ira, a good friend of 35 years, is like a brother.”

We attended two lectures by Yeager: “A Decade in Corfu: The Art & Life of Ira Yeager” in the morning, and “Life of a Bay Area Figurative Painter: Studies with Bischoff, Diebenkorn, and Oliveira” in the afternoon.
A BAF-themed window featuring Yeager’s work at the AAE.
Owned by Keith Dieterich and Howard Settle, AAE specializes in continental 18th and 19th-century furniture, paintings, and decorative objects.
Gail Glasser and Jeanne Lawrence in the Antiques & Art Exchange.
More Yeager admirers: Ellen Ungermann Coleman, Lucretia Carney, and Gail Glasser, wearing a jacket hand-painted by Yeager influenced by his Indian chief portrait series.
The artist recounted interesting stories about fellow Bay Area artists during the 1950s and '60s.
Yeager also showed the crowd his collection of letters from Bohemian author Paul Bowles, with whom he socialized while living in Morocco.
THE ART

The prolific Yeager has produced works ranging from landscapes and abstractions to portraits of Native Americans and 18th-century subjects. His “Wine Vendor Series” remains a permanent exhibit at Swanson Vineyards and Winery in Oakville, California, open for public viewing.
An example of Yeager’s contemporary, highly abstract landscapes.
Some of Yeager’s more traditional landscapes, among which California features prominently.
INDIAN CHIEF SERIES

During Yeager’s childhood, his sportsman father led hunting trips, sometimes accompanied by Native Americans. The artist produced his “Indian Chief” series of paintings after a sojourn in New Mexico in the 1960s.
A sampling of Yeager’s “Indian Chief” series, from a 2012 exhibit at the Napa Valley Museum.
SWANSON VINEYARDS
The Swanson Vineyards “Sip Shoppe” features a jaguar painting by Yeager.
The winery’s charming salon is home to a variety of Yeager’s paintings.
Swanson Vineyards’ 2013 exhibition, Cirque a la Swanson, included smaller paintings and art objects by Yeager.
NAPA VALLEY MUSEUM
In 2012, the Napa Valley Museum hosted Ira Yeager: Modern, a solo show of the artist’s work.
Said AAE owner Howard Settle,“Ira was born with an innate ability to create. Some of his drawings are done while half-asleep/dreaming! He considers himself lucky to have not become as famous as Bischoff or Diebenkorn because he was always able to do what he wanted.”

This summer I hope to visit Yeager in his Napa Valley studio, to get his unique perspective on living in wine country. This man has led a most fascinating life and continues to do so!
The Napa Valley Museum exhibit showed a variety of Yeager’s pieces, including landscapes, watercolors, and painted furniture.
The show also displayed some lesser-seen drawings and watercolors by the artist.
Photos by Jeanne Lawrence, Steve Jennings/WireImage for The Painted Turtle, SeriousFun Network, Casa Acanto, Emily Lubahn, Brian Fuller, and Ira Schrank.

*Urbanite Jeanne Lawrence reports on lifestyle and travel from her homes in San Francisco, Shanghai, and New York, and wherever else she finds a good story.
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Washington Social Diary

April 28, 2014, 2:32 pm
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It was a secret, and will be kept. DC chef Dan O’Brien, CJ, and Patrick O’Connell, chef and owner of The Inn at Little Washington.
PARTIES AND THEIR PHOTOS
by Carol Joynt

The best party photos invite the viewer into the party. It may be an illusion but they almost seem to have sound effects — the laughter, the tinkling of ice, the din of the room, THE music, the punch line to the jokes. Just as with a good party, a good party photo has vibrancy, and spontaneity. For the photographer, the trick is to go as unnoticed as possible, or to get people to forget there’s a camera. Occasionally, though, the photographer must cajole the a shy one into a moment that cracks the shell. Whatever else, avoid posey-posey, because it risks turning out like a mug shot.

Party photos are on my mind because of the theme of this column but also the nearly out of control trend of selfies. Selfies are fun but their very premise excludes the observant photographer. The selfie is a celebration of self, with a total awareness of the camera, literally staring into it at arm’s length.

The famous Oscars selfie wasn’t the first of the genre, but it made these self-portraits as ubiquitous as the golden arches. I respect the cultural significance of the selfie. From time to time I indulge like a 16-year-old on prom night, and also enjoy the selfie playground that is Instagram, but the key with selfies, as with life, is self-control. I mean you, James Franco.

The past week stands out for parties that were different in form and location but lent themselves to the spirit of capturing the moment.
Luke Ives Pontifell welcomes his guests.
The first was last Thursday at the St. Regis Hotel and hosted by Thornwillow Press publisher Luke Ives Pontifell, who gives good parties. A full room but not crowded, a din of conversation but no need to shout, and delicious cocktails. I’ve only been to two of Luke’s parties, both in Washington, and both delightful. He appears to craft his soirées with the same measures used in his profession of creating handmade books, stationery, calling cards and other beautiful paper items.

The party was to promote Thornwillow’s new edition of Lewis Carroll’s poem “The Walrus and the Carpenter,” and to thank Adam Gopnik, who wrote the book’s foreword. The photo I loved best happened the moment after Pontifell introduced Gopnik, who said something that was insider funny to both of them, and Pontifell cracked up. It’s attractive when men make other men laugh. I wish I could remember the joke, but I can’t and it doesn’t matter.
Men making other men laugh — Adam Gopnik reads, Luke Ives Pontifell cracks up.
They are listening to Gopnik read from "The Walrus and the Carpenter."
Luke’s got Harvard written all over him, and appropriately because he went to school there, but he’s not a stuffed shirt. He’s jovial and at ease. We talked about an off the wall idea, using his ancient, artisan methods to make a dictionary of modern urban slang (see “selfie”) which allowed me to try to explain the meaning of “throwing shade.” My unprintable definition made him laugh. “Ah, I get it,” he said.

This topic carried on when we sat down to talk with Gopnik and his wife, Martha Parker. They were slightly perplexed but also intrigued by the idea of “shade” and a Thornwillow version of Urban Dictionary. But they also wanted to say hey, wassup? with their friend Jill Krementz, New York Social Diary’s associate editor. And, so, hey, a shout-out to you, dear Jill. No shade thrown. Next week we’ll explore ratchet.
Adam Gopnik and his wife, Martha Parker.
Martha Parker accepts a gift for her and her husband, Adam Gopnik, from Luke Pontifell.
A signature of a Thornwillow cocktail party — great drinks.
Late evening sun streams into the St. Regis hotel bar.
The new fully handmade Thornwillow Press edition of "The Walrus and the Carpenter." Limited edition, $40.
Who needs a flag lapel pin when Thornwillow offers beautiful engraved flag calling cards?
Friday evening brought a retreat to one of my favorite getaways, the serene town of Little Washington in Rappahannock County, Virginia, though getting there involved anything but serenity — ninety minutes of highway gridlock followed by thirty minutes of blinding thunderstorms. I knew that friends, food, wine and merriment waited at the end of the stressful journey.
After the rain, Main Street in Little Washington, VA.
The main event was a dinner party at the home of “Big Washington” developers Jim and Mai Abdo. They invited one of their favorite DC chefs, Dan O’Brien, owner of DC’s Seasonal Pantry restaurant and market, to prepare the dinner and to also be a guest. Rounding out our group was John Fox Sullivan, into his second career as mayor of Little Washington, and his always elegant and always smart wife, Beverly Sullivan; and, last but not least, Henry Harris, a contractor who is involved in various Abdo projects.
Smokey clouds on the mountains as we arrived at Mai and Jim Abdo's for dinner.
Table for six.
Chef Dan O'Brien, ready to rock and roll.
Henry Harris and Jim Abdo.
Henry Harris, in the kitchen with Dan O'Brien.
Mayor John Sullivan and Dan O'Brien. In the foreground is dessert: doughnut bread pudding. Beverly Sullivan.
Delicious salads to accompany Dan's delicious roasted chicken.
Mai Abdo and Dan as he explains some of the particulars of the dinner menu.
Chocolate sauce — the finishing touch on dessert. The Abdo's dog, Buddy, stayed close to the dinner table.
The Abdo’s also are innkeepers and I stayed at their just-opened White Moose Inn, which is on Main Street and only a short walk from the town’s famous Inn at Little Washington. The two inns are quite compatible — the Inn at Little Washington being the grand dame and the White Moose the hipster boutique B&B. Room rates are always negotiable in this emerging-from-recession era, but The Inn is more expensive, the Moose less expensive. While the Moose has a cook’s kitchen and does offer daily breakfast and occasional chef dinners, it is not a restaurant. The Inn, of course, is built upon one of the best restaurants in the United States. The chef and owner, Patrick O’Connell, is a close friend of more than 30 years.
The warm welcome of the front room at The White Moose Inn.
... and manager Christina Luke.
... and in the bedroom.
The lush view from room 3 of the Moose.
Haute design in the bathroom, which also featured a shower built for two ( or more).
At the Moose, the shower head has a bluetooth-enabled insert (see it?) that means you can play music off your smartphone. (You can't take a call because there's no cell reception in Rappahannock County).
Throughout The White Moose Inn there are classic photographs, black and white and color, by renowned photographers.
Next door to the White Moose main house is the cozy and romantic one-bedroom Ice House.
The breakfast table also becomes a dinner table for the White Moose's occasional guest chef evenings.
Design and comfort at The White Moose ...
After midnight, it's bedtime in room 3.
The White Moose in the morning, after the storm clouds passed.
Where it all began, the Inn at Little Washington, which is a short walk from the White Moose.
In the Inn's garden on a sunny Saturday morning. Do you see the tricycle?
The Inn at Little Washington is as pleasant outdoors as in.
Little Washington is a good town for walking and exploring the food venues, including restaurants and markets. A sign for Tula's, a new restaurant, and the White Moose in the distance.
One more new food stop, Wine Loves Chocolate.
After a delicious roasted chicken dinner at the Abdo’s, (and a never exhausted supply of fine wine) we piled into cars and drove twisty country roads through milk thick fog to bring chef Dan to meet chef Patrick. In the “living room” at The Inn our group of 6 quickly expanded to 12 as Joe and Lizanne Reger, who were staying at The Inn; and another young couple who were staying at the Moose; and then chef O’Connell, joined us.
The scene of our indulgence, a close up of the table and boxes of popcorn with shaved black truffle.
Patrick can’t help himself; he is a naturally generous host. He treated us to nightcaps as well as an assortment of cookies and other sweets plus his signature red and white striped boxes of fresh popcorn adorned with shaved black truffle. I swooned over the popcorn as those who had just finished in the dining room gushed about their dinners, in particular a quintessential Patrick creation – “Hot and Cold Foie Gras.” Dan got a private tour from Patrick of the major motion picture that is The Inn’s kitchen. And then more drinks.

All the photos from the evening are festive and tell a story. My favorite is one shot at the very end of the night, at midnight, of the whole crew of us. It was a rollicking good time. Lots of affection and laughter, and I hope that shows.
Lizanne and Patrick.
Men making men laugh! Whatever it was it had to be a good one.
Unmoved by our antics, but keeping a watchful eye from sideboard and the wall.
Chris Castle, the Inn's "ringmaster," who thought that at close to midnight the day's work was done. Nope.
Lizanne and Joe.
Dan and Henry.
Jim and Mai.
John and Lizanne.
Dan and Patrick.
Left to right in the "living room" of The Inn at Little Washington: Joe and Lizanne Reger, Jim and Mai Abdo, Rob and Ariel, CJ, Beverly Sullivan, Dan O'Brien, Henry Harris, and Mayor John Fox Sullivan.
Photographs by Carol Joynt.

Follow Carol on twitter @caroljoynt
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Washington Social Diary

May 5, 2014, 6:17 am
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The best view in town: the nation's capitol on Sunday afternoon, May 4, from the rooftop of the Hay Adams Hotel at a party hosted by Thomson Reuters, with the White House and Washington Monument in the foreground, the Jefferson Memorial in the background, and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building to the right.
IN A WEEKEND OF PARTIES, A STANDOUT
by Carol Joynt

The fits and starts by which it came to life gave no indication that a party co-hosted by Dom Perignon would turn out to be the best of the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner weekend. But it was. Any one of the lucky few guests would likely back me in singing the praises of its charms. It was small, only about 50 people; it was a groovy mix of New York and L.A., heavy on the handsome young men, with just enough Washington to keep it real for the occasion; there was great music; and the location, the new Fiola Mare restaurant, was ideal on a beautiful night with all the doors open to the balmy air and shimmering Potomac river outside.
Yes, this was late in the evening: CJ, Brad Ellis and Myra Moffett.
It was such a rollicking party that anybody who thought they may just “drop by” ended up scrapping other plans and staying for the evening. What an interesting result, given that on Thursday it looked like a party without a home. Literally.

When the invitations went out a while back they were for a reception and dinner at the Georgetown home of Greg Connors. But he bailed on it at the 11th hour. The public reason given was the guest list had grown too big. The organizers, the PR firm Sunshine Sachs, were put in the challenging position of having to scramble for a new location, and only a day before the busiest party weekend of the year. They tried here and there with no luck, until Fiola Mare owners Maria and Fabio Trabocchi said “yes,” and made their handsome back room available.
Just some of the treats from the Trabocchi kitchen. Eric Podwall, Renee Puente, and Matthew Morrison.
The co-host of the evening was talent manager Eric Podwall, who shot to success on the boy band phenomenon and whose notable client list is called “Camp Podwall.” Some of those clients were at the party, in particular Matthew Morrison of “Glee,” who was with his fiancée, Renee Puente. Also there: actors Will Poulter, Jeremy Irvine and Patrick Stewart, with his wife, Sunny Ozell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, with his husband, Justin Mikita; and music producer and former ‘N Sync star JC Chasez. But the group was a good mix beyond actors. Hanging at the bar and looking like a matinee idol was Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, with his beauty queen wife, Candice Crawford. Her brother, Chace Crawford (a Podwall client) was expected but didn’t make it because he wasn’t feeling well, she said. Chace has become a regular at the WHCA dinner over the years.
Tony Romo and Tom McMillan.Maria Trabocchi, keeping on top of things.
A must-have photo for the NFL superfans: CJ, Tony Romo and Myra Moffett.Celebrity chef Jose Andres, spooked by the camera, but otherwise a smiling fella.
The L.A. and New York guests seemed particularly at ease and that may be because the groupie factor that defines this weekend was not apparent. Sure, there was some posing for photos (as an NFL superfan I wasn’t going to miss a shot with Romo) but there was none of the grabbing and fawning that has become a staple of the way Washington greets people who are in show business, especially at most of the routine parties that occur on this particular weekend. Though, again guilty as charged, I did enjoy luring former congressman and NBA superstar Tom McMillan across the room to meet Romo. They “huddled” in conversation for a long time, McMillan being the only man in the room who loomed over the Cowboy.
Mayor Philip Levine of Miami, Daniel Benedict, Andrew Saffir, and Jason Binn.
Maria Trabocchi, Tom Quinn, and Lynly Boor.
Lyndon Boozer, Lynly Boor, and Luke Russert.
The Washington contingent was not too much of any one category – a diplomat, some lobbyists, a politician or two and as far as I could tell, precious few media people, the standout being NBC’s Luke Russert, who, appropriately, looked dressed for party in Malibu. Arriving later, with chef Jose Andres, was Richard Wolffe of MSNBC. There was the attractive new ambassador from Qatar, Mohammed Jaham Al Kuwari, who chatted with Stewart; lobbyists Tom Quinn, with Lynly Boor, and Lyndon Boozer, who arrived with Tonya N. Williams of Vice President Biden’s staff, and Hilary Rosen; also Judge Ann Williams of the U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit (Illinois and Wisconsin).

Yes, the Dom Perignon flowed. No one’s glass was left to go empty. Servers passed oysters, crudo and clams, later followed by platters of rib eye. Tables were hauled in and set up on the outdoor terraces overlooking the river. Everyone was accessible. In an era when many star athletes can’t go out without handlers, Romo was on his own. After standing at the bar for a while, he and Candice sat with Morrison and Puente.
Tony Romo in conversation with Matthew Morrison.
As the evening went on, tables were brought in, guests took at seat, and food followed. On the left is Will Poulter, listening to Jeremy Irvine.
Some guests sat on the terrace, overlooking the Potomac.
Justin Mikita, his hand on Hilary Rosen's chair, with Jesse Tyler Ferguson over his shoulder.
Myra Moffett and Daren Thomas spent some of the time gathered round the piano, and that was because of the man at the keyboard: Brad Ellis. You see him on “Glee” as the show’s piano player, but he’s also that in real life, as well as a composer and orchestrator. He’s part of Glee’s production team. His resume is deep and includes “Forbidden Broadway,” collaborating with Billy Joel, working with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Oscars, and work on other TV shows and films, including on one of my favorite scores, the Cole Porter biopic “De-Lovely.”

For the party Friday night he played standards, and took requests, and several of us gathered round and sang along – just like at a New York or Hollywood party in the movies. During a break, Myra, Daren and I took a table in the main dining room to have dinner, and asked Brad to join us. He told us a little about his own incredible story as a heart transplant recipient almost 17 years ago. Without betraying any trust, he also had affectionate praise for his friend and cast mate Cory Monteith, who died of a drug overdose last year. While this was a sobering moment for a rollicking party, it felt right, gave it some balance, and contributed to the quality of the evening. People connected, and that isn’t always a given.
Maria Trabocchi and Lyndon Boozer.Pamela Sorensen and Eric Podwall.
Washington always likes to cut Tony Romo down to size. Here, Tom McMillan does his part.
Back inside the party and at the piano, Myra and I sat on the bench with Brad. He urged us to sing. I can’t sing and I told him so. But he cajoled. I said, “Okay, I know the words to ‘Where Is Love’ from Oliver.’” He played while my voice tortured the lovely lyrics. He smiled. “See, you’re singing. Singing is telling a story.”  That was nice and I’ll take his word for it, but will still leave the music making to the musicians.

Here are others who were spotted at the party: Adam Garber, Alyse Nelson,Andrew Saffir, Aureta Thomollari, Bradley Jakeman, Charles Ortner, Christian Angermeyer, Daniel Benedict, Danielle Zapotoczny, Darnell Strom, Diana Barone, Dwayne Brice, Eric Kuhn, Erik Maza, Grant Allen, Greg Calejo, Hunter Biden, Jason Binn, Kate Kennedy Allen, Marshall Heyman, Mayor Philip Levine of Miami, Michael Tammaro, Pamela Sorensen, Phil Daman, Aba Kwawu, Rene Jones.
Brad Ellis at the piano with his new DC fan club.
Brad Ellis with Greg Calejo of AMPLIFY.
A trio of sorts: Daren Thomas, Brad Ellis and Myra Moffett.
I spent February and March reporting and writing a comprehensive report on the challenges that define efforts to create a Washington memorial to Dwight D. Eisenhower. It's been an epic struggle, mired in disputes that mostly center on the design by Frank Gehry. The article, "Tug of War," which appears in the May issue of Washingtonian magazine, is now also online, here.
Photographs by Carol Joynt.

Follow Carol on twitter @caroljoynt
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San Francisco Social Diary

May 9, 2014, 6:54 am
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AtSan Francisco’s recent FOG Design+Art Fair, some of the nation’s top artists, designers, and galleries were represented. SF’sJohn Berggruen Gallery, shown here, showcased pieces by such famed artists as Chuck Close, Tom Otterness, and Richard Serra.
SAN FRANCISCO FOG DESIGN+ART FAIR
by Jeanne Lawrence

FOG rolled in—and this time, San Francisco cheered!

The opening night and inauguration of the FOG Design+Art Fair in San Francisco was one of the chicest and most vibrant evenings I attended recently in the city—an ideal prelude to the glorious Fair itself.

More than 40 of the nation’s top artists, designers, architects, gallerists, and dealers of 20th-century and contemporary design were represented, and the four-day Fair attracted more than 4,000 visitors.
FOG’s organizing committee:Roth Martin, Cathy Topham, Stanlee Gatti, Katie Schwab Paige, Allison Speer, and Douglas Durkin, who spent two years creating the event.
During theFOG Design+Art Fair at the Fort Mason Center Festival Pavilion, celebrated style-makers participated in exhibits, presentations, and demonstrations.
THE VISIONARIES

FOG Design+Art 2014 was the vision of event designer Stanlee Gatti and the late Elaine McKeon, the powerhouse who led the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) as president, chairwoman of the board, and chairwoman emeritus.

The Honorary Co-Chairs for the evening included Eileen and Peter Michael and Cathy and Ned Topham. “Anything the Tophams do, they do well,”one guest declared. It’s in their genes, of course: Cathy is the daughter ofElaine McKeon, and granddaughter of late philanthropic and fashion icon Dodie Rosekrans, who taught us how to live stylishly at any age.
Stanlee Gatti, Cathy Topham, Helen Schwab, and Charles Schwab.Honorary Co-Chairs Eileen Michael and Cathy Topham.
Kudos are also in order for Steering Committee members Gatti, designer Douglas Durkin, SFMOMA board member Katie Schwab Paige, and PR maven Allison Speer, along with Dealers Committee Chair Roth Martin.
Art dealer Jeffrey Fraenkel, with Steering Committee members  Katie Schwab Paige, Matt Paige, and Douglas Durkin.
“21POP KITCHEN” & TUSK FRESH PASTA DEBUT

When I entered the doors of Ft. Mason and saw a display of homemade pasta, I was momentarily confused. Wasn’t I here for a design and art event?

Then I realized that Gatti, known for his inventive event designs, had created a special installation, “21POP: In the Kitchen,” to celebrate the relationship between design and the culinary arts.

Restaurateurs Lindsay and Michael Tusk, who have begun a gastronomic empire with their much-lauded restaurants Quince and Cotogna, were on hand to launch their new line of dry and fresh handmade pasta.
Brenna Sanders, Evan Ingram, Michael Tusk, and Tim Caspare in the 21Pop Pavilion, the purpose of which was to link design and the culinary arts, so important in this food-obsessed city.
The Tusks debuted their handmade “Tusk Pasta,” a line of fresh and dried pasta. Here, the freshly made tagliatelle and tagliolini were hung to dry.
Maria Manetti Shrem with Michael and Lindsay Tusk. A native of Florence, Shrem knows her pasta—and she gave a thumbs up to the Tusks’ new line.
Lexie Fisher, Michael Tusk, Tessa Perliss, Zander Lehmann, and Emma Fisher.
FOG DESIGN+ART FAIR HIGHLIGHTS

Among the international design and art world leaders who gave lectures and appeared in panel discussions were Craig Dykers, a principal at Snøhetta, the architectural firm in charge of the SFMOMA expansion, and Ron Arad, the London-based architect and designer.

“The show was well curated; it was about quality, not quantity,” said Dealers Committee Chair Roth Martin. He continued, “San Francisco is having its moment like never before: it’s tops in food, technology, and green sensibility.”
Hedge Gallery featured the U.S. debut of Israeli artist Ron Arad, whose sculpturePressed Flower (Baby You Can)is crafted from a crushed Fiat.
Hedge Gallery co-owners Roth Martin (left) and Steve Volpe with Artist Ron Arad (center).
Industry GallerypresentedBenjamin Rollins Caldwell’sBinary Room, composed entirely of outdated computer parts. The installation had previously been exhibited in New York at Lady Gaga’s artRAVE party in 2013.
New York’sFriedman Benda gallery presented pieces by designer Paul Cocksedge.
Christopher Anthony Ltd., Inc. showcased furniture and art from the 1960s through today.
Gray Gallery presented one-of-a-kind artistic pieces that emphasize a tactile experience.
San Francisco’s Crown Point Press displayed a range of printed work from their artists.
THE GRAND BUFFET
Chef Lucas Shoemaker of McCall’s Catering served the firm’s always crowd-pleasing mini lamb chops, tacos, dim sum, and signature cocktails.
Winslow & Associates (W&A), an event company that puts on large-scale events and fairs, helped produce FOG Design+Art.
A-LISTERS

The inaugural gala attracted quite a fashionable crowd—a cross section of San Franciscans that included seasoned collectors, younger hobbyists, design world leaders, and SFMOMA patrons, friends, and board members.
Former US Secretary of State George Shultz and his wife, SF Chief of Protocol Charlotte Shultz.Jennifer Montana and her husband, retired Hall of Fame football player Joe Montana.
SFMOMA trustees Norah and Norman Stone.Lisa Pritzker and Douglas Durkin.
Alison Carlson, Victoire Brown, and Penny Coulter.
SFMOMA Director Neal Benezra and Maria Makela.Fashion designer Karen Caldwell and Joni Binder Shwarts.
George and Dolly Chammas with Maria Manetti Shrem and Jan Shrem.
Sobia Shaikh, Lindsay Bolton, and Jenny Emerson.Kate Clammer and Vanessa Getty.
Shannon Bavaro, Anna Weinberg, and Shirley Robinson.
Ned Mobley and Brenda Mickel.Ricky Serbin and Mitchell Benjamin.
Cameron  Phleger and George Cogan.
Emily and Roth Martin.
Kenneth and Dorothy Paige with Joel Goodrich.
Joshua Duthie and Randi Fisher.Hedge Gallery co-owner Steven Volpe, interior design partners Andrew Fisher and Jeffry Weisman, and visiting New Yorker Ken Moore.
Ravin Agrawal, Frannie Allen, George Cogan, Alka Agrawal, and Cameron Phleger.
Matt Paige, Diana Nelson, and Gary Garrels, SFMOMA senior curator of painting and sculpture.Leight Matthes, Preston and Carolyn Butcher, and Bill Matthes.
Sara Hills, Bob Hill, and Dede Wilsey.Nion McEvoy with Victoire and Owsley Brown.
Joachim Bechtle, Alka Agrawal, Nancy Bechtle, and Ravin Agrawal.
Seasoned collectorsRandi and Bob Fisher.Allison Speer and interior designer Kendall Wilkinson.
Steven Dinkelspiel and Clara Shayevich.Shirley Parks, James Smith, and Christine Suppes.
Jason, Doug, Lisa, and Matthew Goldman.
Joe and Sherry Felson, Chris Watson, Camilla and Shahan Soghikian, and Maria Watson.
Ellanor Notides and Nion McEvoy.Carla Emil and Rich Silverstein.
Carissa Barrett and Mattia Verzella.Mario Roghiero and Candace Cavanaugh.
Becca Prowda and Daniel Lurie.Mimi Haas and Ari Lurie.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR JANUARY 15, 2015

The FOG Design+Art fair was successful beyond all expectations, according to Steering Committee member Douglas Durkin. “We very much hope FOG inspires in our community a deeper interest in design, fine art, and photography,” he continued.

FOG Design+Art will return to the Fort Mason Center Festival Pavilion on January 16 to 18, 2015, with a special Preview Gala on January 15, so put it on your calendar now.
Photos by Jeanne Lawrence and Drew Altizer.

*Urbanite Jeanne Lawrence reports on lifestyle and travel from her homes in San Francisco, Shanghai, and New York, and wherever else she finds a good story.
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Washington Social Diary

May 12, 2014, 6:38 am
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Monica Lewinsky and William Ginsburg, her attorney at the time. (Dan Loh, The Associated Press)
Everyone Has a Monica Story. Here’s One More
by Carol Joynt

There was a media riot of conspiracy theories this week as Graydon Carter and his Vanity Fair magazine returned Monica Lewinsky to front pages and the top of the trending cycle. Everyone had an opinion. All I have is a letter, and an anecdote.

Monica Lewinsky, photographed by Herb Ritts for the December 1998 issue of Vanity Fair.
Monica at 40, photographed by Mark Seliger exclusively for Vanity Fair.
The date was April Fool’s Day 1998 and so I was certain it was a joke when the manager at my restaurant, Nathans, phoned me at home at 7 p.m. and said “Monica Lewinsky and her lawyer are on their way here and they want you to join them for dinner.” But my instinct of being punk’d gave way to a memory. Monica, her then-lawyer Bill Ginsburg and I had met recently at a cocktail party and I made the invitation. This could be real.

I fast-walked the few blocks from my home to Nathans at the corner of Wisconsin and M Streets, and it was very real. I arrived to quite a sight; paparazzi and TV cameras crowded the large windows of the pub. It was frenzy. Inside, in the quiet back back dining room, at cozy table 26, opposite each other in the booth, were Monica and her then-lawyer Ginsburg. She had her back to the windows, meaning to the faces of the media plastered against the glass, gaping at her. I slid onto the red leather banquette beside her.

I was the owner of the business that was hosting the most notorious celebrity in the world, and I was a television producer, but I was a mother, and I viewed her with that lens. Due to the aggressive scene outside, the sensational circumstances of her life at the moment (it was the early height of the scandal) and her very young age, my feelings toward her were protective and sympathetic.

She seemed happy to be out. She talked about Nathans and seemed flattered to be there as my guest. Her hair was a rich dark chestnut, wavy on her shoulders, and she wore a short-sleeved fuzzy pink sweater. She was beautiful and fresh, but in her eyes was quandary. I wanted to wrap my arms around her, tell her it “would all be okay.”

We had as normal a dinner as possible under the circumstances. Ginsburg was garrulous, entertaining me – the “big game” producer for Larry King Live– with background details of the pursuits of other network stars who were after him, namely Diane Sawyer and Barbara Walters. “Diane wants to spend some time with me. She calls me so often.” I wanted to say, “that may be, but I have you right here.” I didn’t.
Monica Lewinsky, in a news photo dated April 1 1998, wearing the same pink sweater and pearls she wore to dinner at Nathans.
I urged him to order as he wished off the wine list and he chose a grand cru Bordeaux, telling me he had a passion for wine. Monica, though, had a different obsession. Her mother had just called on her cell to tell her daughter she looked “fat” on the nightly news, as cameras caught her walking from her Watergate apartment to a black sedan. This caved her already fragile spirits. Ginsburg tried to buck her up. I did, too. Someone needed to say, “Mom, I know you love me, but this isn’t the right criticism for this moment.” But she didn’t. She took it and slumped.

Did we talk about Bill Clinton? Yes, we did. Not specifically, not in detail, but he was on Monica’s mind. She was still in love with him and clearly didn’t know what to do with the tug in her heart. Hate him? Protect him? My hunch was the latter. They were in this scandal together, their names forever tied to a piece of history that would be dark or light, depending on your agenda. So much was happening so fast and, again, any time she stepped out of her door she was stalked by an insatiable pack of hounds.
This official White House photo of Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton, taken Nov. 17, 1995. AP.
Because I had a responsibility to my show, I had an agenda of my own. As the clock ticked toward our live broadcast at 9 p.m., I had to ask: would Ginsburg phone in and chat with Larry King? “Of course,” he said. Monica seemed fine with it. Looking back, it’s possible she hadn’t yet learned that she could object. I suggested we head down to my basement office where it would be quiet and there was a landline.

Ginsburg sat at my desk as I dialed into the control room and handed him the receiver. Monica browsed the cluttered office and, at a bulletin board of photos of my then 7-year-old son, Spencer, she stopped still and stared. That’s where her head went while her lawyer talked about her on global television. As if that other conversation wasn’t happening, she asked me questions about Spencer. I randomly mentioned that his school class would be coming to the restaurant in a few days to learn about restaurant work. She thought that would be a blast for them.
The Clintons and their loyalists were scorched earth toward Monica Lewinsky's reputation.
“May I write him a note?” she asked. Having spent an hour and a half with her, talking about life and love and the mess she was in, this didn’t seem odd. She’d connected with someone, even if only in a photograph. She was a child in turmoil and was moved by my child, who had his own turmoil because his father had recently died and now it was just the two of us alone in the world. She felt alone in the world, too. She took the piece of Nathans stationery I got for her and sat at the manager’s desk. Ginsburg, across the small room, yakked about her to Larry King. She put her head down to focus on writing to my son. Done, she folded the letter and handed it to me.

“Can we give you a ride home?” she asked. “We have a car outside.” I accepted the offer. “Can I ask you a favor, though,” she said. “May I wear your jacket?” She understood the drill ahead, that she had to walk a gauntlet of cameras to cover the short distance from Nathans front door to the security of the sedan. She thought my Navy Armani blazer would look slimming over her pink sweater, and possibly calm her mother. I took off the jacket and helped her slip it on. “There. You look just fine,” I said.
Ginsburg, finished with his call, escorted us up the back stairs and into the bar where he organized our move out the door and into the car. “We’ll put her between us,” he said. Roger that. It was a crush, blinding flashes in our faces, shouting, and then just as quickly leather seats, closed doors, quiet, smoky windows sealed tight, hitting the gas. The driver shot up Wisconsin Avenue but we weren’t alone. There was a loud motorcycle inches from the rear bumper, and it wasn’t a police escort. “They do that,” she said of the paparazzi.  “He let’s the others know where we’ve gone and they follow.”

I directed the driver to my street and my house. Inside the car, in the dark of the back seat, Monica removed my jacket, and handed it back to me with a sigh that spoke volumes of understanding about how absurd her life had become. It would become more absurd soon enough, as the Clinton loyalists ramped up their scorched earth treatment of her; otherwise sane adults who were politically programmed to not accept that it took the two of them, Bill and Monica, to have the love affair, both equal in guilt and glory. “Thank you,” she said, sharing a hug. I stepped out on to my street, empty but for the Town Car and, a few feet away, the anonymous, helmeted rider on the idling motorcycle. Both zoomed off into the night.
Monica Lewinsky making her getaway with her then lawyer, Bill Ginsburg.
Aba Kwawu’s Celebration

Aba Kwawu thought she would follow in the footsteps of her late father, Dr. George Bonney, and make her career in medicine. “He was the director of the Human Genome Center and a world class cancer researcher,” she said. Instead she decided to follow her own passion. “I moved to London to do an MA in marketing for fashion and design.” She moved back to DC for what she thought would be a few months before heading to Paris, however fate had another plan. “I met my husband on M Street. We got married in a year and I’m still here."

Still here, and booming. The other night, with 50 or so of her friends, clients and staff, Aba celebrated a dozen years in business in Washington and the rebranding of her company as TAA Public Relations. She’s not the only PR czarina in DC, but she’s the only one to recently host a splashy dinner party. The girl knows how to celebrate. We sat at a beautifully done yards long table on the terrace at the most talked about restaurant in town, (and TAA client), Fiola Mare. (If it seems like there’s a party there every week, it’s because there is a party there every week).
Very good friends: Jimmy Lynn, Aba Kwau and Winston Bao Lord.
They are at type of gang, too: Jimmy Lynn, Aba Kwawu and Winston Bao Lord at Fiola Mare.
Aba’s other clients include Cirque du Soleil, chef Jose Andres, Rag & Bone, All Saints, Fashion Week Miami, Celebrity Cruises, Mercedes Benz and a couple of high end shopping malls, just to name a handful. At our little piece of the table we were good company: sports marketing expert Jimmy Lynn, Winston Bao Lord of Venga, architect and photographer Theo Adamstein, lawyer William Shawn and his equestrian wife, Glenna Shawn, and TAA’s Krystal Yoseph.

Aba and I do business from time to time, but more than that I relate to her story. As a woman who also thought she was making a pit stop in Washington before exploring the world, and also met her husband on M Street, and also is “still here,” I say hats off. They made a movie about this scenario. It’s called “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
Shirley Gordon and Aba Kwawu.
Glenna Shawn and Winston Bao Lord.
Krystal Yoseph of TAA, CJ and Theo Adamstein, architect-realtor-photographer.
The crew at TAA Public Relations: Nicole Schade, Isobel Kuchinsky, Mia DeSimone, Aba Kwawu, Robyn Dixon, Krystal Yoseph, and Ashley Arias.
The table for 50, just before Aba Kwawu's dinner.
The menu celebrating TAA Public Relations.
My view at dinner, to the right, lawyer and Aston Martin dealer William Shawn.
Deep in convo across the table, Winston Lord, with Jimmy Lynn beside him, and CJ.
This went on all night at Aba's party - In part because it was beautiful and also because that's the world we live in.
A serene moment between courses.
Gotta check out and check in.
Oil poached Spanish Branzino with butter lettuce, radish and shaved onion.
Maine lobster ravioli with ginger and chives
Dessert.
Bloomin’ Georgetown

A favorite moment on New York Social Diary is when DPC posts photos taken from his apartment, usually depicting the street below in the grip of extreme weather – blizzards, nor’easters, and hurricanes. They show a slice of life of the UES. The storm-less photos here aren’t from my front window, but from out back, showing my favorite slice of life in Georgetown: my garden, my sanctuary. May is when Georgetown blooms, as you can see from the dogwood, azaleas, rhododendron, ferns and lilac. Also, note the “mint julep” mint, an essential for the herb garden and delicious summer cocktails.
Photographs by Carol Joynt.

Follow Carol on twitter @caroljoynt
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Palm Beach & Miami Social Diary

May 15, 2014, 6:00 am
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Sunday night fireworks over Palm Beach, view from corner of Peruvian and Cocoanut. On Palm Beach, the political fireworks have been non-stop since the Royal Poinciana Way zoning referendum was voted down and the Town Council purged the Zoning and Landmarks Commission. Sunday night's aerial shells of chrysanthemums, spiders and waterfalls marked the end of West Palm Beach's annual SunFest along Flagler Drive.
Palm Beach + Miami Social Diary
Night life + Wild life + Luxe life
By Augustus Mayhew

"If only a scandalous divorce had captivated everyone, the PUD-5 zoning might have passed," observed a seasoned Palm Beacher, commenting about the uncommon public rancor during the street fight over accommodating a zoning overlay along Royal Poinciana Way. The proposed enhancement was relatively harmless, especially when compared with the anomalous plate-glass and asphalt Royal Poinciana shopping center and the nearby super-sized 40,000 square-foot Publix.

Since it is Palm Beach, those who supported the big-box chain grocer were among the opposition to any shot-in-the-arm that might have allowed a mixed-use complex like Joseph Urban's Paramount Theater or Addison Mizner's Via Mizner. For weeks, residents denounced each other, resorting to fear tactics, even though the late Whitney Cushing decreed during the early 1970s that the final nail was driven in Palm Beach's coffin when the zoning was changed on Royal Palm Way.
Kaboom!
In an unprecedented shakeup, extreme even by Palm Beach's yardstick, though perhaps mild by Tang Dynasty standards, the Town Council dismissed twenty resident members from its volunteer advisory boards. ARCOM members were advised to muzzle extraneous asides and derogatory observations as to whether someone's new mansion looked like an airplane hangar or might be more appropriate in Boca Raton. Or else, they too would be ousted, their microphones unplugged, and forced to spend more time with their nine-irons than their gavels. Testa's applied for a demolition permit.

The Shiny Sheet proclaimed the "Season of Division." And as much as beach erosion, the Flagler Bridge closing, and the projected inlet expansion threaten the unearthly composure of Happy Valley, there are those who have expressed doubt about the future effectiveness of the venerable Palm Beach Civic Association. With as many as 20 board members being appointed to the Planning and Zoning Board and the Landmarks Preservation Commission at the Town Council's next meeting, either things settle down for the off-season or its back to battle stations.
Barbara "Binny" Joseph Jolly (1955-2014)

"Oh, my watch stopped …" I imagine this might be how my friend Binny Jolly would have described her own death this past week following complications from a tragic misadventure.

Binny Jolly. She painted clouds, vegetables, portraits, faux murals, bridges, and gates, but her great art might have been her simply sensational sense of style.
Binny was an original, a Californian who brought her understated unorthodox Pacific hip to Palm Beach and Gulf Stream. I met Binny 30 years ago. There were years when I think we spoke almost every day, and times, like at the end of her life, when we grew apart.

Content with her paintbrush and sketch pad, and maybe a Joni Mitchell song playing in her heart, she would probably be most proud of her children, Caroline Kling and Putnam Kling, who spoke admirably about her last Sunday at a gathering of family and friends.

Remarkable in presence, I sensed her casual nature might have masked the unsettling push and pull of past lives. So that now, I picture her on an island of calm in an easy chair on a beautiful stretch of sunlit beach. Binny's life was filled with so many things to do, problems to solve, family and friends to help, that I hope the wind, the water and the waves give her peace of mind. Adios Binny!
South of the Border Do at the Zoo
Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society

On Friday night, resident animals at the Palm Beach Zoo's Tropic of Americas habitat must have been buzzing about what was going on in their backyard, ablaze with tiki torches, clouds of smoke wafting from fired-up grills, and the sounds of DJ Vlad and mariachi music filling the air, during the Zoo's annual spring fundraiser held "South of the Border." There were more than 200 guests, nine participating restaurants, fiesta-themed cocktails, a silent auction with a stay-cation theme, and the life of any party, sloths, snakes, parrots, bears, and a jaguar. The Malayan tiger is pregnant and sent regrets.
Friday night's annual spring fundraiser at the Palm Beach Zoo was staged among the Mayan ruins recreated as part of the Tropic of Americas habitat.
The evening event was headed by Whitney Bylin, Thomas C. Quick and Samantha Storkerson. The sponsors were Michele and Howard Kessler, Thomas C. Quick, Christie's, Palm Beach Kennel Club, Whitney and Eric Bylin, Maura Ziska Christu and Eric Christu, Lillian and Luis Fernandez, Susanna Hager, Samantha and Chris Storkerson, John and Eddy Taylor, Rod and Carole Hartless/The Hartless Foundation and Lucia Musso. The host committee members were H. Loy Anderson, Mary and Kane Baker, Fletcher Baker, Lori Bernstein, James Berwind, Amanda Boalt, Mary Cheatham, Maura Ziska Christu and Eric Christu, Kevin Clark, Alex Coleman, Lillian and Luis Fernandez, Susanna Hager, Ashley and Scott Harcourt, Debbie Dunkin, Lourdes Fanjul, Mary Freitas, Annabelle Garrett, Mei Sze and Jeff Greene, Michele Kessler, Patrick Killian, Lilly Leas, Emily Mateer, Minnie and Kevin McCluskey, Jeremy Myers, Ashley Schiff Ramos, Lauriston and Richard Segerson, Maura Smith, Lizzi and Trey Sned, Linda Soper, and Kellie Stenzel.

Along with Echo, Imoto, Nick & Johnnie's, Paneterie, PDQ food truck, Rooney's Public House, Table 26, Table 427 and the Palm Beach Zoo's Tropics Café, BACARDÍ provided the full bar with specialty cocktails, made by BACARDÍ's own bartenders, and served by BACARDÍ models.
Robin Azqueta and Whitney Bylin.
A local mariachi ensemble provided the evening's entertainment.
Kim K. Campbell, right, admires one of the Zoo's colorful parrots.
Eric Christu, Maura Ziska Christu, Susan Malloy, and Tim Malloy.
Some guests secured tables.
Tables were set up on the bridge overlooking several habitats.
Elizabeth, one of the Zoo's expert curators, with a feathered friend.
Two of the evening's honored guests.
Guy Bevilacqua and Chef Clay Conley, representing Imoto at būccan, Palm Beach.
Pam and Ted Rauch. Pam Rauch is chairman of the Zoological Society of the Palm Beaches board of directors.
Leslie Diver and Laurie Bernstein.
Jack Hufty and Kendall Wheeler.
Bacardi provided an array of beverages.
Guests enjoyed a variety of cuisine.
Tom Quick, one of the evening's sponsors.
The Mayan pyramid is part of George and Harriet Cornell's Tropics of the Americas exhibit.
The smoke from tiki torches and grills soon filled the air.
The zoo's tropical landscape is spectacular.
Angela Cruz Ledford, the zoo's media relations manager.
Linda and Jared Soper.
Dr. Joseph Costello and Rena Petrunova.
Robin and Norberto Azqueta.
Palm Beach After Dark

When the sun sets and Worth Avenue shops shut their doors and stash away their charms, the street's shadowy labyrinth of courtyards and cul de sacs, some as illusionary as a de Chirico, transforms into tableaus appreciated as much for their relaxed ambience and mood as venues to admire handbags and shoes. Entered along stone walkways, brick paths, and tiled staircases lit with overhead lanterns and ground lights, the iconic runway's various asides offer a kaleidoscopic palette of white stucco walls, wrought-iron gates and grilles, pecky cypress ceilings, projecting balconies, evoking centuries past in faraway places.

If you linger long enough, whether a candle-lit dinner or a fountain's bench seat, these secluded settings become passageways between the past and the present, the real and the imaginary, places to remember the incomparable personalities and their innumerable follies that have given Palm Beach a cachet far beyond anything found inside a shop window.
Via Mizner, courtyard.
Via Mizner, courtyard.
Peruvian Avenue.
Peruvian Avenue.
Renato's courtyard.
Garden fountain.
Courtyard garden.Courtyard statue.
Courtyard garden.
Entrance doors.Entrance gate.
Courtyard staircase.Courtyard staircase.
Arcade.
Courtyard entrance.Arcade.
Via Parigi, courtyard.
Via, tableau.
Storefront display. "Diamonds Are Forever."
Window display.
Window display.
Sculpture.
Via Parigi, courtyard.
Via Mizner, courtyard.
Worth Avenue façade.
Mizner Memorial Park at Town Square.
Miami Social Diary

Every other day, local headlines announce the arrival on Miami’s Monopoly board of the latest NYC developer, at play on South Beach, the Design District, or the Brickell Avenue corridor. That is, when they don’t have another David Beckham  soccer stadium story. Tommy Hilfiger closed on The Raleigh; if only he’d bring back the key lime meringue tarts that were once served numerous owners ago. With a new batch of City Commissioners,  Rem Koolhaas is out at the designer for the $1 billion remake of the Miami Beach Convention Center home to Art Basel; Denver-based Fentress Architects is in for a more modest $500 million redo. Construction on the Apple Store is finally underway on Lincoln Road. Oleg Baybakov is still buying. The Faena penthouse has reportedly sold at a record price; asking was $50 million. And then, there is the development of the legendary Surf Club by Miami-based developer Nadim Ashi, along with architect Richard Meier and the Four Seasons Hotel management team, known as “the world’s leading luxury hospitality company.”

The Surf Club: 1930 + 2014
9011 Collins Avenue, Surfside (Miami Beach)

Although financier Walter Scott Hammons, the Surf Club’s president from 1930 until 1951, established what he decreed as “a stronghold in which our privacy could not be invaded,” in 2012 members changed their tune when Fort Capital Management’s developer Nadim Ashi offered them a reported $116 million to transform the property into a 21st century Four Seasons complex while allowing members continued access to the club’s oceanfront facilities.  

Following acquisition of the designated-historic landmark, a bastion of social history dubbed “General Motors South,” Ashi spent the next two years gaining a maze of governmental approvals and putting together a unique plan, restoring the original Russell Pancoast-designed oceanfront Mediterranean building while introducing two modernistic 12-story buildings designed by starchitect Richard Meier.

With the Four Seasons on board to manage the 80-room hotel in the South Tower and Meier’s visually exhilarating plan for the North Tower approved, construction is now ongoing with a 2016 completion date. With nearly 1,000 feet of oceanfront on a nine-acre site, the Surf Club Four Seasons will incorporate the hotel, two residential towers, a private membership club, two restaurants, four swimming pools, a state-of-the-art spa and fitness center, beach cabanas, and an expansive park and oceanside gardens.
The Surf Club, aerial, looking west towards Miami. c. 1950s. The Surf Club was the first building in what would become the Town of Surfside. With the membership filled at The Bath Club, sixty blocks south, the Surf Club was conceived during the late 1920s and opened in 1930. In March 1930, the Surf Club's 100 founding members announced the club's opening with Alfred Barton as secretary and general manager. Located opposite the entrance to Indian Creek Golf Club and sited on a near nine-acre stretch of beach, the facility was built for a cost of $600,000. The club's main building included an entrance lounge, an enclosed loggia surrounding the open patio adjoining swimming pool, an oceanfront terrace, patio and loggia for luncheon and dinner dancing, and a cabana for every member. The club owned two blocks on the west side of Collins Avenue, reserved for tennis and parking. Courtesy State of Florida Archives.
The Surf Club, staff. The Four Seasons development will provide hotel access to The Surf Club's facilities, a private enclave for more than 80 years, while retaining the standards of service and luxury the club once provided its members. Courtesy The Surf Club.
Surf Club, aerial. The Surf Club's legendary cabanas are being rebuilt.
Last week, Fort Capital Management, the Surf Club's developer, acquired The Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach.
2014. The Surf Club, aerial projection. The new Surf Club as it will appear when construction is completed, inappropriate additions removed, and the original club restored, along with a Four Seasons Hotel in the 12-story South Tower and Private residences in the North Tower, conceived and designed by Richard Meier. "The Surf Club offers a unique opportunity to create an important addition to the built environment, one which affects a balance between the natural beauty of the expansive oceanfront site, and the desire for a new definition of luxury," commented Meier. "Incorporating the historic structure; remaining sensitive to the gracious, low-rise context of Surfside, Florida; and further exploring the relationship between structure and sea has been a wonderful project for the firm. With the addition of the Four Seasons, I feel confident that the homes and penthouses we have created will be enjoyed to their fullest," Meier added. Courtesy Richard Meier & Partners Architects LLP.
The Surf Club, Collins Avenue original entrance. C. 1930. Courtesy The Surf Club.
The Surf Club, projected façade entrance on Collins Avenue with Four Seasons Hotel and residences addition. The project's design team is headed by architects Richard Meier and Bernhard Karpf; project architects Jerome Engelking and Amalia Rusconi-Clerici; associate architect, Kobi Karp Architecture and Interior Design (KKAID); and landscape designer Fernando Wong/Outdoor Living Design. Courtesy Richard Meier & Partners Architects LLP.
May 2014. The Surf Club, façade entrance on Collins Avenue under construction. Designated by the Miami-Dade Historic Preservation Board on 19 May 2010, the Surf Club's original floor is being restored that features a central entrance lobby and corridor, now called Peacock Alley, that runs completely through the building, Peacock Alley bisected the building with the dining and ball rooms to the north, and the pool and loggias to the south. This central corridor leads to the building's oceanfront where a grand staircase extends onto the beach sand. To the east of the pool, a simple loggia was all that existed between the pool and the beach. Two inappropriate additions covered the original east elevation of the Surf Club, on both the north and south side of the exterior grand staircase. A long restaurant space was added to the beach side of the lounge and main dining room to the north. The simple loggia to the south was enclosed and made into significant meeting and ballroom space.
May 2014, under construction. The Surf Club, façade wall stabilization.
May 2014. The Surf Club's entrance leads into the Peacock Alley loggia that opens onto the various courtyards, patios, pool, dining room, leading directly east to the Grand Staircase overlooking the ocean.
2012. Surf Club, original dining room. Courtesy Miami-Dade Historic Preservation.
May 2014. Surf Club, dining room. The dining room's terrazzo floor will be restored.
May 2014. From Peacock Alley looking south through the French doors that once led to the swimming pool that will now accommodate the South Tower Four Seasons Hotel. "The main challenge of the project is to balance the relationship between the existing courtyard of the historic Surf Club and the new vertical buildings of the residential and hotel complex surrounding the Surf Club. This is achieved through the careful calibration of architectural proportions and of functional requirements," commented Bernhard Karpf, associate partner at Richard Meier & Partners.
The Surf Club, courtyard. Fashion show luncheons were a popular diversion during the 1930s and 1940s. Courtesy The Surf Club.
The Surf Club, courtyard dancing-in-the-daylight. Courtesy Surf Club.
The Surf Club's circus gala featured live elephants on the patio and its carnival planted a ferris wheel in the courtyard. Between 1932 and 1942, Alfred Barton's visions were facilitated by the club's noted art director Granville Fisher. The Magnolia Ball reflected the social restraints of the 1930s, followed by an "air of spontaneous gaiety" at the Mother Goose Ball. The 1936 Satin Ball was followed by variously themed parties, including The Midnight Sun, Bal Musette, Arabian Nights, Saratoga, County Fair, and Waikiki. During the Eisenhower Era, members gathered in the Bonanza suite for cocktails followed by dancing in the Nightcap Room. In 1954, the club hosted Miami's first official debutante ball where debs were turned out in layers of "Gone-with-the-Wind crinolines." Courtesy Surf Club.
The Surf Club, January-March 1946. Winston Churchill painting a Surf Club cabana. Churchill's residence at The Surf Club made international headlines. Before departing, Churchill attended one of the club's gala events and personally greeted all 300 guests, thanking them for allowing him his privacy. Courtesy State of Florida Archives.
The Surf Club, aerial model showing additions to the original. Courtesy Miami-Dade Historic Preservation.
May 2014. The Surf Club, east elevation oceanfront with additions removed and restoration underway. Fernando Wong, pictured above, the project's landscape designer, collaborated with Meier on the landscape composition of the project's most significant architectural elevation with its Grand Staircase and arched rows of openings overlooking the sea. They devised a simple blend of coconuts, sea grapes, pigeon plum trees and zoysia grass to create a relaxed resort like atmosphere.
The Surf Club, projected landscape plan. Courtesy Fernando Wong/Outdoor Living Design.
The Surf Club, projected landscape plan. Detail. Courtesy Fernando Wong/Outdoor Living Design.
Pencil sketch, Fernando Wong/ Outdoor Living Design.
Pencil sketch, east elevation oceanfront. Fernando Wong/Outdoor Living Design.
May 2014. The Surf Club, east elevation. Grand Staircase, under reconstruction. The original east elevation also featured a two-story tower with gabled-roof, and a large arch trimmed with engaged columns and a metal screen with radiating spokes in the fan light.
2012. The Surf Club, model, looking south to north. The inappropriate additions have been removed. Courtesy Miami-Dade Historic Preservation.
May 2014. The Surf Club, looking south to north, under construction. "The unifying strategy for the whole project is the consistent introduction of natural light, and the establishment of visual corridors both of which will connect the old with the new buildings," stated Richard Meier.
May 2014. The Surf Club, looking from north to south towards Peacock Alley. The North Tower will float four stories above this existing courtyard.
Richard Meier
Cornell - Naples – Palm Beach -Surfside

The Four Seasons at the Surf Club is not architect Richard Meier's first building in Florida, but it will probably become his most visible, as his previous projects were either unbuilt or secluded private residences — the Alfred and Judy Taubman House in Palm Beach's North End, and two decades later, the Klaus and Ursula Neugebauer House in Naples' exclusive Port Royal.
October 2008. Weill Hall & Institute, Cornell University. Richard Meier, architect. The Surf Club's architect Russell Pancoast was a Cornell graduate, as was Meier ('57). Because of car trouble on the road to Ithaca, we arrived at Cornell shortly after the dedication of Weill Hall during the fall of 2008.
1977-1979. 958 North Lake Way, east and west elevations. Palm Beach. Framed by a thick wall of hedges, the A. Alfred Taubman House was one of Richard Meier's earliest residential designs. For the Taubman's and their art collection, Meier designed a functional interplay of opaque building materials and reflective enameled metal and glass panels expressed in linear and curvilinear forms. As much as the Taubman house is a collage of space and light structured by functional organizational logic, its harmonious simple cubic forms transform the interior into an ethereal architectural experience. Separated from the street by a stone motor court, the east elevation is composed with segmented white panels divided by a recessed central entrance. Designed for more dramatic impact, the lake side elevation features a pavilion and an open pool sheltered by immense hedges.
1995-1998. Neugebauer House. Port Royal, Naples. Set on a wedge-shaped waterfront lot, the Neugebauer House is as functional as it is architecturally dazzling. Several years ago, I spent an afternoon at the house, making for a remarkable experience. The inverted wing-like cantilevered roof, laminated glass curtain walls, and skylights are the house's state-of-the-art features. From Doubloon Bay, the wing-like roof appears to float above the house, bringing together the interior spaces that open onto the pool's podium that frames the reflecting pond and lap pool.
2004. Beach House, Surfside. Several years ago at an oceanfront location five blocks north of The Surf Club on Collins Avenue, Meier designed the Beach House, a 12-story condominium featuring ground-floor triplexes fitted with infinity-edge whirlpools, private elevators, and access to a beachfront sunrise pool. Slated for completion in 2009, the Beach House featured a cathedral-height lobby with a grand staircase, reflecting pools and a waterfall, a health club, a wine-and-cigar lounge, and an additional rooftop pool.
2014, conceptual rendering. Four Seasons Residences at the Surf Club. Courtesy Richard Meier & Partners Architects LLP.
2014, conceptual rendering, Four Seasons residences at the Surf Club. "The design for the buildings utilize Richard Meier's clear and iconic visual vocabulary —transparency, capacious volumes of space, a sensitivity to the movement of natural light throughout the day, and sumptuous yet elemental materials." Courtesy Richard Meier & Partners Architects LLP.
Bal Harbour Shops
Bal Harbour

After touring the Surf Club, I dashed five blocks north to La Goulue for lunch with landscape designer Fernando Wong and his business partner Tim Johnson, who also have an office on Palm Beach.

Bal Harbour Shops. Dolce & Gabbana.
Having studied architecture and design in his native Panama, Fernando Wong has been an established landscape designer for more than a decade, bestowed the 2011 Design Center of the Americas Star of Design Award for Landscape Architecture. Last year, he completed the only LEED Certified landscape in Palm Beach County and one of the few Platinum LEED Certified houses in the country. His firm has completed more than 150 public and private gardens for private homes and estates, as well as hotel and condominium master plans and LEED Platinum Certified landscapes.

“We met Nadim Ashi after his wife Marlene saw a magazine article on our firm that led to designing the landscape for their home. Soon after, I was tapped to design the landscape for two of Ashi’s highly-structured condominium projects.” 

“Fast forward a few years, Nadim called to discuss working on the Surf Club with Richard Meier. We met with Meier in New York, discussed the project’s unique mix of a historic landmark with a 21st century modernistic newbuilds, and realized we all shared the same pared-down vision of what would make this Four Seasons an ultimate destination.”

“My palette is very restrained because I only use two colors for each project and one of them is a shade of green. Having that aesthetic was a good fit to Richard Meier’s’ spare, elegant genius.”
Bal Harbour Shops, second level.
Birdland

Recently, I spent a week motoring every morning at dawn to the closest wetlands in search of a last seasonal glimpse of the snowbirds that, for the most part, have already migrated back North. Each day I arrived minutes before the sun rise, thinking I was early although I usually found more than a dozen photographers already positioned. By 8 a.m., the golden light was gone, turned into a glare. Here is a composite of my week with some images of wet feathery coats drenched by early morning deluges.
Minutes before the sunrise.
"Quick! Wood storks mating, right center island," a spotter calls out … "click-click-click-click-whirr-whirr-flash-flash-click-click-flash …" With the rapt frenzy of red carpet paparazzi at the Oscars, every morning a flock of birdographers claim their prime positions; in some cases, several spots with tripods controlled by remotes.
The main attraction.
Red-winged blackbird.
Double-crested cormorant.
Penthouse living.
Life at the top.
Red-shouldered hawk.
Purple gallinule.
Egrets Nesting
8 a.m. Time to go ...
Photographs by Augustus Mayhew.

Augustus Mayhew is the author ofLost in Wonderland – Reflections on Palm Beach.
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San Francisco Social Diary

May 23, 2014, 8:11 am
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At the San Francisco Opera Guild’s fundraiser, POPera!, famed drag queen Kotya Smirnoff Skyy and award-winning soprano Deborah Voigt performed for the glamorous, nostalgic evening.
SAN FRANCISCO OPERA GUILD’S 75TH ANNIVERSARY
by Jeanne Lawrence

This spring, the San Francisco Opera Guild presented POPera!, a dazzling evening of cabaret and surprises celebrating the Opera Guild’s 75th anniversary.

Held at the historic Fairmont Hotel, the event referenced the city’s glamorous past in many ways, from the invitation itself to the cocktail party in the Cirque Room, to the entertainment in the Venetian Room, where Tony Bennett debuted his iconic “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.”
The invitation featured this vintage photo, a General Motors advertisement from the 1950s discovered in the commemorative book, The Fairmont: The First Century of a San Francisco Landmark.
In keeping with the historical theme, some of the former chairs were present, including associate auxiliary member Barbara Henry, Auxiliary President Karen Kubin, former Fol de Rol Chair Donna Casey, 2014 Opera Ball Co-Chair Teresa Medearis, former Fol de Rol Chair Beverly Coughlin, associate auxiliary member Anne Kasanin, Education Fund founder Jane Hartley; former auxiliary presidents Ann Girard, Diane Rubin, and Marilyn Timoney; and former Fol de Rol Chair Sarah Duryea.
Barbara Henry, Karen Kubin, Donna Casey, Teresa Medearis, Beverly Coughlin, Anne Kasanin, Jane Hartley, Ann Girard, Diane Rubin, Marilyn Timoney, Sarah Duryea.
COCKTAILS FOR VIPS IN THE CIRQUE ROOM

The VIP cocktail party took place in the famed Cirque room, a popular watering hole from the ’30s to the ’50s. With its circus-themed murals, it reminded some of New York City’s Monkey Bar.

Guests were greeted by POPera Chairs Romana Bracco and Marsha Monro, 75th Anniversary Opera Guild Chair Katie Jarman, Opera Guild President Karen Kubin, VP of Fundraising Jane Mudge, and Honorary Chairs Jack Calhoun and Trent Norris.
POPera committee members Jane Mudge, Karen Kubin, Katie Jarman, Romana Bracco, and Marsha Monro.
Jack Calhoun, Daniel Girard, Ann Girard, Deborah Voigt, Jeanne Lawrence, and Trent Norris.
San Francisco-based jazz singer Paula West entertained while guests enjoyed martinis and lobster hors d’oeuvres.
Cynthia Schreuder and Teresa Medearis, co-chairs of the 2014 SF Opera Opening Gala, with Riccardo Benavides of Ideas Design, event stylist for the Opening Gala.Daniel Girard and his wife Ann, the past SF Opera Guild President.
Dixon and Carol Doll with Haig and Connie Mardikian.
Italian Consul General Mauro Battocchi (second from right) with Romanza singers Ken Lavigne, Philip Grant, and Paul Ouellette.
Burt Inch with his mother Arlene Inch.Chair Romana Bracco, here with Asher Berry and Mauro Battocchi, wore Armani, of course. She’s Italian!
CABARET CHIC

Complying with the suggested dress code, “Cabaret Chic,” guests sported boas, sequins, and top hats.

Some attendees picked up fashions at Torso Vintages on Sutter Street, which supplied a Galanos gown and an Yves St. Laurent cape, among other finds. Others found their vintage frocks on the web.
Chair Marsha Monro wore her own ’70s-era Bill Blass cropped white tuxedo jacket and pleated black sequined chiffon skirt from the famed, now shuttered I. Magnin store. (Classics never go out of style!)SF Opera Association Board Member Karen Richardson, in Dolce & Gabbana, and her husband John Rubenstein; both are Silicon Valley execs.
Pamala and Ted Deikel.Karen Kubin was in Marc Jacobs, serendipitously; one of the auction items later that night was a Jacobs prize package.
Karl and Nafiseh Lindberg.Maria Pitcairn with POPera Honorary Chairs Trent Norris and Jack Calhoun, president of Banana Republic.
Alisa Burgess-Blajwas.Marybeth LaMotte, Doug Waggener, and Natalia Urrutia.
Jane Inch, Lisa Grotts, and Schuyler Hudak.Mike Milstein and Sandra Farris.
Deborah Sagues, Marilyn Cabak, and Chandra Friese.Theodore Brown and Ellie Killebrew Brown.
Joe Murray and Barbara Henry.Opera Guild Directors Ginny Ziegler, Stephanie Tuttle, and Linda Zider.
BUFFET IN THE GOLD ROOM

Since the Venetian Room couldn’t hold the crowd of more than 300 guests for a sit-down dinner, some partiers instead enjoyed table-hopping and mingling at the jazzy cocktail party and buffet spread in the Gold Room.
The Gold Room—where President Truman signed the United Nations Charter in 1945—was transformed into a dinner lounge with plush banquet-style seating.
Guests were treated to a martini bar (another vintage touch) in addition to a full bar at center stage, where you could order up anything your heart desired.
Stations scattered around the room offered a bounty of pasta, salads, hand-carved beef tenderloin, and planks of whole salmon.There was something to please everyone’s taste buds.
SF Opera Guild Director Anne Marie Massocca and Lois Lehrman, publisher of the Nob Hill Gazette.
Gavin Delgado, Doug Waggener, and Carlos Benavides.
Chandra and Bob Friese.Susie McBaine and Gail Anderson.
Wilkes Bashford and Christine Hughes.
Oversized photos of past opera chairs, taken from the opera’s old Fol de Rol programs, were placed around the room. Fol de Rol was the Opera Guild’s principal fundraiser from 1950–1992. The premier black tie fundraiser of its day, it featured opera stars such as Beverly Sills, Leontyne Price, Plácido Domingo, Marilyn Horne, Birgit Nilsson, and Luciano Pavarotti, plus ballet dancers, a full orchestra, and MC’s that included Frank Sinatra and Joel Grey. Many would love to see Fol de Rol return.
Charlotte Maillard Shultz liked her photo so much she asked to take it home.
Sara Duryea with her glamor-shot blow-up.Claire Skall struck a pose matching her poster image.
Wilkes Bashford and Donna Miller Casey, who was also featured on a vintage photo.
Along with her poster, Beverly Coughlin herself was present (third from left) along with family members Beverly Dow, Jim Coughlin, Hugh Coughlin, Chuck Dow, Linda Mussallem, Genine Lind Coughlin, and Christopher Coughlin.
IN THE CROWD

Thanks go out to Union Bank President and CEO Dennis Mooradian, whose wife Susan is a SF Opera Guild Director, for his role in Union Bank’s generous appearance as Presenting Sponsor.
Romana Bracco with Luis Cortes and Joann Calonico of Marc Jacobs.
Bulgari’s Daniel Diaz with Barbara Brown.Cathie Johnson and SF Opera Chairman Emeritus Franklin “Pitch” Johnson.
Long-time Guild supporters David and Jane Hartley with Robert Girard and Phoebe Cowles.
Robert Arnold-Kraft of Saks Fifth Avenue, Jeanne Lawrence, and Alan Morrell of Neiman-Marcus. The competitors say they get along quite well.
James Froeb, Stephanie Tuttle, Ramsey Walker, and Linle Froeb.
Cince and Paul Pringle with Nina Carroll.
Adrienne Mally, Lee Gregory, and Diane Rubin.
Quincy Firth and Robert Arnold-Kraft.
Ginny Ziegler, Natalia Urrutia, Michelle Ritchie, Guillaume Orliac, Linda Zider, and Annie Calonico.
Jeff Garelick, GM of San Francisco retail institution Wilkes Bashford, Victoria Kornblum, John Fleming, Shari Fleming, and the Wilkes Bashford.
Roberta and Rusty Holden.Tracy and Melissa Boxer Zill.
Shannon Cronan, Chandra Rudd, and France Szeto.Marybeth LaMotte and Olivia Decker.
Gail deMartini and Ronald Haan.Charles and Nina Belle.
CABARET PERFORMANCE IN THE VENETIAN ROOM

After dessert, the bells chimed at 8 p.m. and the POPera guests paraded downFairmont’s “Hall of Fame” into the legendary Venetian Room, which from 1947 to 1989 was considered the city’s premiere nightclub.

Show business legends like Ella Fitzgerald, Marlene Dietrich, Tina Turner, Peggy Lee, and Nat King Cole were among the regular performers in The Venetian Room.

Among singers I’ve heard in this venue were Leona Horne and Barbie Benton, andmy dinner partner, haberdasher Wilkes Bashford, recalled being in the audience here for Sammy Davis Jr.Afterward, Davis invited Bashford’s group, which included Willie Brown and the late Herb Caen, to his suite, where he personally cooked an Italian dinner for them.
CroonerTony Bennett debuted his song “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” in the Venetian Room on December 27, 1961.
In February 2012, Bennett returned to the Venetian Room to perform his ode to the City by the Bay in a charity benefit for UCSF Medical Center.
Grammy Award-winning soprano Deborah Voigt hosted the evening, which combined classical, popular, and Broadway musical performances. Everyone on the bill knocked it out of the park.
In addition to hosting, Deborah Voigt performed a selection of opera songs.
Tony Award-winner Lillias Whitestepped in to replaceLaura Benanti, who had to cancel due to the flu.
The audience welcomed Jonathan Groff of the Tony Award-winning musical Spring Awakening and the smash Fox series Glee, now starring in HBO’s new series, Looking.Guests enjoyed the risqué Bay Area drag queen Countess Katya Smirnoff-Skyy, who presented her unique blend of opera and comedy.
The Canadian tenor trio Romanza is known for its harmony, humor, and charm.
Romanza showed its sense of humor in a trio of Tex-Mex costumes.
The crowd rose to its feet for the grand finale.
Event stylist Riccardo Benavides designed the Venetian Room with silver silk slipcovers and tablecloths as well as vintage-style table lamps.
The cabaret-style seating was ideal for an evening of entertainment.
The clever show was produced and directed by Marilyn Levinson of Bay Area Cabaret, now celebrating 10 years in the Venetian Room. Her uncle, James Schwabacher, was one of the founders of the Merola Opera in SF. I was happy to learn that Bay Area Cabaret is continuing the tradition of live performances in this classic venue with its  “Venetian Evenings” series. We applaud that too.
Katie Jarman with Marilyn Levinson, founding executive producer of Bay Area Cabaret, and Aaron Levinson.Deborah Voight and Katya Smirnoff-Skyy hammed it up after their performances.
FABULOUS AUCTION ITEMS

What’s a benefit without a live auction? Paddles went up quickly for the very competitive auction featuring irresistible packages.

This evening achieved its goal: to recreate the elegance of another era and set the tone for the annual SF Opera Opening Night Gala in September—one of the most glamorous of the city’s events.
The auctioneer, Lenny Broberg, whose day job is as a youth guidance counselor for the SF Police Department, led fast-paced and energetic bidding. He could certainly measure up to any at the big auction houses.
The New York package included a trip to the Big Apple with airfare, hotel, and front row tickets to a Marc Jacobs runway show during Fashion Week in September.
The NY prize also included a Marc Jacobs outfit and a 1984 Marc Jacobs crocodile handbag worth $26,000.
The winners of the bid on the Grand Italian Escape got business-class airfare and two nights at Villa d’Este plus a one-week stay at Villa Laura, where Under the Tuscan Sun was filmed.
The auction prize of Grand Benefactor tickets to the 2014 Opera Opening Night Extravaganza also included a Wilkes Bashford-exclusive Donald Deal gown for her and an Ermenegildo Zegna made-to-measure tuxedo for him.
In addition to the auction prizes, there was a raffle for a Serpentine Collection watch from Bulgari jewelry house.
Daniel Diaz of Rome-based Bulgari placed the prize on the wrist of the winner. It happened to be an Italian patron, which prompted us to jokingly cry out, “It’s fixed!” 
Photos byDrew Altizer.

*Urbanite Jeanne Lawrence reports on lifestyle and travel from her homes in San Francisco, Shanghai, and New York, and wherever else she finds a good story.
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Washington Social Diary

May 28, 2014, 6:12 am
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Luci Baines Johnson Turpin, Lyndon Boozer and Lynda Bird Johnson Robb at a Washington reception for the Lady Bird Johnson Environmental Award.
THE LADY BIRD JOHNSON WILDFLOWER CENTER (and a graduation)
by Carol Joynt

We start with what has been hinted at here before and said often to friends: if there were a gentleman rancher, on bended knee with an 8 carat diamond in one hand and a bouquet of bluebonnets in the other, I would pack up the essential possessions, plus the dog and the parrot, put us all in a Conestoga wagon and move to Austin, Texas. Failing that, a job would suffice, too.

Apart from being 21st Century New York, booming with employment and development, Austin is a pleasant and livable place, where people are friendly, ask “how can I help you,” and go about living their lives at a pace that feels human and uncrowded (with the exception of rush hour), and notably not neurotic.

There’s vibrancy in the communities of food, music, the arts, technology, education, outdoor life, intellect, media, and fun.  And, much like New York (but not Washington), there’s no apparent ageism; in sophisticated cultures age takes a back seat to smarts, talent and style. Austin may be weird and casual, but it’s also sophisticated.
The nearly desert like weather is excellent, less turbulent than Dallas, and not the Houston steam bath. Is it hot?  In the summer, yes, but much of the time it’s a bearable dry heat. The winters are mild.
What getting it done looks like on graduation day.
I’m often asked about the politics, because its Texas, after all, and Rick Perryis governor (and George W. Bushwas governor) and Austin is the capital. It’s this simple: Austin is to Texas what New York is to the United States. Also, the overall state voting population is growing brighter shades of purple by the day, with blue forecast to be just around the corner.

I returned to Austin last week for a special occasion, my son Spencer’s graduation from the University of Texas, where he got a Bachelor’s Degree in creative advertising from the Moody College of Communication, where alums include Walter Cronkite, Liz Smith, Bill Moyers, Matthew McConaughey, Berke Breathed, Robert Rodriquez and Adm. William H. McRaven, who was this year’s university commencement speaker.
The graduation feast, hosted by Jean Perin, at Fonda San Miguel (left to right): Spencer Joynt, Kate Davis, Harry Shearer, Martha Kumar, CJ, Cameron Kumar, and Perin. When Harry Shearer (my son's godparent) and I met for breakfast, who should be seated behind us but Adm. McRaven and retired admiral, and national intelligence expert, Bobby Ray Inman. I wish I could say we picked up intel, but the only phrases that wafted over were "battle hardened" and "national security."
McRaven, head of the U.S. Special Forces Command, as well as the Navy SEALs raid that got Osama bin Laden, gives excellent speeches, and in this one he imparted ten tips for making a difference, beginning with a personal favorite: “If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.”
What this trip also had that was special was the opportunity to visit the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Lady Bird’s legacy as a horticulturist is epic – she “beautified” America, and Washington in particular. The environment that nurtured her knowledge and vision comes to fine focus in the 279 acres that are the grounds of the Center, which is only a 20 minute drive from downtown Austin.
At the Wildflower Center Visitor's Center, an image of Lady Bird in her natural habitat.
At the visitors center, a living guide to some of the flowers that will be spotted while wandering the gardens of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
For a while now my friend Lyndon Boozer had been urging me to visit this beautiful place, which is important to him, as are all things related to President Lyndon Baines Johnson, his namesake. He grew up in Austin and Washington, where his mother was personal assistant to LBJ. He’s also close with Johnson daughters Linda Byrd Johnson Robb and Luci Baines Johnson. Luci and her husband, Ian Turpin, were instrumental in creating the new Luci and Ian Family Garden at the Center. Lyndon was there for the opening a few weeks ago and talked about it nonstop. He set up my visit.
Damon Waitt, Jean Perin, Jesse Greendyk, and Lee Clippard.
Early on sunny, dry and fresh Friday morning, I arrived at the Wildflower Center with Jean Perin, a noted Upperville, VA, horticulturist and also one of my son’s godparents who had come to Austin for graduation. For almost two hours we toured the grounds with senior director Damon Waitt, Jesse Greendyk of the development office, and communications director Lee Clippard. They were wonderful guides, especially for Jeannie, who talks the talk. While the four of them deeply discussed plants, I wandered with my camera.
The splendid courtyard, a natural gathering place and also a popular spot for weddings.
In the spaces around the courtyard are the visitors center, the library, a cafe, an auditorium and a cafe. Offices are also nearby.
This mesmerizing and crystal clear spring is near the visitors center.
The main entrance to the Luci and Ian Family Garden, which opened at the beginning of May.
There are five trails at the Wildflower Center, each with their own themes and seasonal plants and flowers.
The arbor in the theme gardens, which include an Inspiration Garden, Wetland Pond, Woodland Garden and Family Garden.
Jean Perin and Lee Clippard stroll through the theme gardens, discussing the details.
A wetland pond.
A garden wall that would be typical to the landscaping of an Austin ranch.
The view through the wall.
Lee Clippard and Jean Perin cross a dry creek. A week before it was roaring with water, Clippard said.
Everything I saw spoke to why I adore Austin and its terrain – the play of limestone against wildflowers, Adobe-colored pathways, roughhewn wood, natural springs, water lilies and cactus, and of course the oak trees. As we rode a golf cart through the back 200 acres – at times so similar to the African Savannah I half expected to see zebras and lions – Jesse pointed out the many oak trees. “We’re very rich in oak diversity. We want to have every species in Texas,” he said. “If you’re an oak nut, you can come here and look at them.”

Well, I’m an Austin nut and can’t wait to get back.
My view from the back of a golf cart as we toured the other 200 acres of the Wildflower Center. Zebras and lions would not have looked out of place.
Look closely — a dozen or so varieties of wildflowers carpet the ground.
"If you're an oak nut," says Jesse Greendyk, "you can come here and look at them."
Many layers of native Texas grasses, wildflowers, scrub and trees. We may have missed the Bluebonnets but a view like this did not disappoint.
Jesse Greendyk and Jean Perin, talking horticulture.Lee Clippard zooms in on an unsuspecting beetle.
The new Luci and Ian Family Garden.
The fish were hiding during our visit, but this pond is stocked.
Jean, Damon and Lee as seen through the Hill Country Grotto.
Little ones delight inside the HIll Country Grotto.
To grown ups this may look like only a mess of stumps, but to children it is a fascinating play area.
A large piece of Calcite Crystal from Marble Falls, Texas.
Bird nests big enough for a class of children are a fun feature of the Family Garden.
The beauty of a Texas landscape at almost high noon. The sun can't be denied. This is a part of a family play lawn.
These bronze coyotes keep watch over the play lawn.
It's easy to feel at home at the Wildflower Center, where the architecture feels like a well done ranch with indigenous desert plants looking happy to be there, too.
Cactus flowers.
Natural desert plants.
One of the greenhouses at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
As with any great garden, the behind the scenes is active with young future plantings.
If you find yourself with an Austin trip on the calendar, consider the wonderful Four Seasons Hotel for the old world glam of its lobby lounge, and its pool by the lake, or the Stephen F. Austin Hotel for a central location and a fine breakfast buffet, and make reservations at Lamberts, La Condesa, Uchiko and Qui, and sit outside at Clive Bar on Rainey Street for after dinner drinks, and then be sure to hit the food trucks for pizza and what all before slipping between the sheets. Needless to say, put the Lady Bird Wildflower Center on the “must do” list, too.
Flowering cactus on the grounds of the Four Seasons Hotel.
Photographs by Carol Joynt.

Follow Carol on twitter @caroljoynt
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Washington Social Diary

June 2, 2014, 6:32 am
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Intermittent rain made the bar on the lawn a sometimes lonely spot at the Tudor Place garden party, but what lovely green grass.
SPRING’S BIG BANGS
by Carol Joynt

The spring social season is winding down as both official and private Washington move toward a more laid back warm weather agenda. But it goes out with a bang. Just look at the White House, where on Friday, President Obama shed not one but two high level appointees: press secretary Jay Carney (it was time), and Veterans Administration Secretary Eric Shinseki (it was a scandal). Who could be next up for a Friday media dump as the Administration gears up for the mid-term elections? Obama may be a lame duck but no president wants his last referendum to include deep losses in the House and Senate.
President Obama as he announces the resignation of press secretary Jay Carney.
Embattled Veterans Administration Secretary Eric Shinseki, who resigned on Friday.
You may be surprised that it gets that personal here, because its an industry town with “survival” detachment, but people often ask each other what they think of Obama. When I’m asked I’m honest: I’m just fine with him. As a person, as a husband and father, he represents a lot that I admire. As chief executive, he’s made me proud more often than not, and I can't say that about other recent presidents. I’m ashamed of the hatred and racism that has hounded the First Family since they moved into the White House, but I know it comes from principally only one side of the spectrum, driven by ignorance and agenda, and I do my best to tune it out.
If I have any criticism it would be aimed at some White House staff. The press operation is controlling to the point of being a negative. There’s an almost Nixonian cynicism toward the role of journalism and journalists. You won’t hear this from the White House press corps, because that relationship – press corps/press office – is usually too cozy. But if you come in to observe an event, well, you are herded. I don’t believe it comes from him, and that’s been confirmed by friends who are close to the seat of power.

The prize for handling the needs of print and broadcast journalists in an affable and effective way still remains with the White House press team of President George Bush, #41. Shout out to Marlin Fitzwater and Laura Melillo Barnum. And, even with what they were up against (Whitewater, Monica, etc), President Bill Clinton’s front guard were surprisingly open and considerate. Shout out to Mike McCurry. It sets a tone. It matters.
President George Bush with his affable and effective press secretary, Marlin Fitzwater.
President Bill Clinton with press secretary Mike McCurry in 1998, on the day McCurry's resignation was announced.
But back to the subject at hand: what are the big bangs to round out the social season? This past Saturday night was the “unveiling” first gala hosted by Sachiko Kuno and her husband, Dr. Ryuji Ueno, at Halycon House, one of their two grand Georgetown mansions.

Sachiko and Ryuji’s S&R Foundation handed out awards for musical excellence at a dinner prepared by Eric Zeibold, the extraordinary chef of the restaurant CityZen. The menu was crafted to match the music of the honorees, and four of the five performed. There was also, at the start of the evening, a lovely pas de deux from Swan Lake danced by Maki Onuki and Tamas Krizsa of The Washington Ballet.
Guests enjoy a beautiful last-day-of-May evening on the Halcyon House lawn.
Cocktails before dinner. Halycon House in the background.
The award winners were pianist Tanya Gabrielian, cellist Tim Park, guitarist Soichi Muraji and Michael Djupstrom, a pianist and composer. Honoree Ryu Goto, a violinist, was out of the country.

Halcyon House, now S&R’s headquarters, was always a party house, but this was the first soiree held there by Kuno and Ueno since they bought it for a reported $12.5 million in late 2011. It’s been under renovation since. It is to be an incubator for arts, sciences and cultural pursuits, but it performed beautifully as a gala venue, too. Former owner, and sculptor, John Dreyfuss, used the large lower level “garage” as a studio. It has been transformed into a splendid ballroom. Bravo.
Before the dinner, a good look at Halcyon's newly renovated ballroom. Previously it was a garage space used as a studio by the mansion's former owner, sculptor John Dreyfuss.
Sachiko Kuno welcomes guests to the first S&R Foundation gala: "I'm so excited to be able to say this next sentence — welcome to Halycon House!"
Japanese Ambassador Kenichiro Sasae with S&R Foundation's Sachiko Kuno. They will be in the gala mode again Saturday night, when Sasae hosts the Opera Ball. Kuno is co-chair. Almus and Elizabeth Thorp, enjoying a Saturday night date night at the Halcyon gala.
The new ballroom of Halcyon House. (That bit of red in the background is a Ferrari, one of the auction items.)
The Washington Ballet's Maki Onuki and Tamas Krizsa perform a taste of Swan Lake.Later, after performing, ballet dancers Onuki and Krizsa joined the party.
David Cooper and Cliftine Jones break for a smile during dinner conversation at S&R Foundation's first gala.
Katie Macko and Thomas Hardy.
Coming up this week are two “musts” of the June calendar. Tomorrow evening, Ellen MacNeille Charles will preside over the annual gala at Hillwood Museum & Gardens, the former home of her grandmother, Marjorie Merriweather Post. (Ellen, who lives in Georgetown, will also get a profile in the morning’s Washington Post. Synergy!) 

Here’s a sign of better times: this year Hillwood upped the ticket price and changed the dress to black-tie, and the gala sold out. Booyah. It is one of the prettiest parties – under a tent, with gorgeous flowers on the tables and ringing the green lawn, delicious food and drink – and this year it salutes Cartier and Mrs. Post’s passion for their baubles, and the guests include the handsome French Ambassador, Francois Delattre, and his smart wife, Sophie. Booyah squared.
Ellen Charles and her family at the 2013 Hillwood gala (this year the men will be in black tie). l. to r. Sam and George Iverson, Ellen, Ellie Rose Iverson, Anna Rose and Andrew Iverson, and Nedenia C. and Stanley H. Rumbough.
Beautiful flowers, and remembrances of Marjorie Merriweather Post, are staples of the Hillwood gala each year.
Next Saturday is the big exclamation point at the end of the gala calendar: the Opera Ball. This year’s host is Japan, and after dinners around town, the guests will sweep into the Japanese Ambassador’s residence on Nebraska Avenue for more eating, drinking and dancing. Amb. Kenichiro Sasae and his wife, Nobuko will be in the spotlight, along with the ball’s co-chair (and more synergy), S&R’s Sachiko Kuno, who clearly is having a gala week.

Here’s an interesting detail about Nobuko: she’s a professional translator, and while she’s worked globally, due to her husband’s post she now typically is assigned to high level events in Washington or New York. So I would advise: if you think you are getting anything by her, as you whisper in one language or another, think again.
The glamorous scene at last year's Opera Ball.
A few weeks back was Georgetown’s own big spring splash: the 22nd annual garden party hosted by the Tudor Place Museum. It was an evening of intermittent downpours but everyone was well sheltered under the tent, where half the real estate was occupied by a massive square-shaped bar. Thus, they were also well served. The crush of bodies and the rain did not disrupt the typically festive spirit of this seasonal ritual that draws Georgetown’s cave dwellers and newer residents who want membership in the club. That’s easy, it takes only about 50 years.

Hair that is inclined to frizz, frizzed, boots were the smart footwear, and the secret was to time one’s arrival and departure for between the cloudbursts. The storms were brief in duration, and besides, they are why the grass was a brilliant green.
The sheltering tent at the Tudor Place garden party.
Each year Tudor Place honors a member of the community who has generously exceeded the lifetime quota of good works, and this year it was Niente Ingersoll Smith, whose passion is preservation of historic architecture and American and English decorative arts. That’s the sweet spot of Tudor Place, the 19th century home of Martha Washington’s daughter, Martha Custis Peter, and her husband, Thomas. Smith has served on numerous museum committees. She also lives only a couple streets down, on P, with her husband, Robert Bland Smith. (We call him “Bob.”)
A massive bar was the central feature of the Tudor Place Garden party, occupying prime real estate in the middle of the tent.
Cocktails in one hand, buffet plates in the other — all part of the annual Tudor Place garden party.
The garden party's honoree, Niente Ingersoll Smith.Former next door neighbors, still friends, Jeffrey Powell and Marcia Carter.
Garden party co-chair Page Evans, Russell Firestone and Eileen McGrath, one of the party's patrons.
Here's a trip who could tell some stories: John Firestone, Amanda Downes and Len Bickwit, Jr.
New Georgetown residents (they moved from Bethesda), Nancy and Marc Duber.
Besties: Niente Smith and Marcia Mayo have been friends since their school days.
Beside "grand dame" in the dictionary is a picture of Ruth Buchanan, here in bright blue, talking with friends.
Dressed for a rain washed garden party — it's all about the boots — Alison Schafer and Kate Davis.A festively attired Susan Rappaport.
Some of the Georgetown braintrust: Advisory Neighborhood Commission vice chair Ed Solomon, Ed's wife, Gerry Solomon, and ANC vice chair Bill Starrels.
Alan Bubes and Bill James.
These ladies are comparing wrist wear: Susan Rappaport, Alison Schafer and Myra Moffett.
Bringing the mean age of the garden party down substantially: Kate Davis, Spencer Joynt, Mary Moffett Keany and Dr. Terrence Keany.
After sunset, as the garden party wound down, a couple depart Tudor Place mansion.
And one more: while not technically a garden party, that is precisely where most guests sipped their drinks at a British Embassy party hosted by Amb. Peter Westmacott and his wife for a new book, The Architecture of Diplomacy, which is not to be confused with an earlier tome, TheArchitecture of Diplomacy. This was a very proper party; no one mentioned both books in the same breath.

The Architecture of Diplomacy: The British Ambassador’s Residence in Washington is just out and the co-authors are Anthony Seldon and Daniel Collings, who were at the party. The Architecture of Diplomacy, from historian Jane Loeffler, was published in 1998 and 2010, and she was not at the party. In fact, she apparently asked for a title change and Ambassador Westmacott refused. Whatever.
The British Embassy's back side, if you will, facing an expanse of lawn and gardens.
The residence's drawing room is inside those windows. Outside, of course, gardens everywhere.
A bronze horse relaxes on the British Embassy's lawn.
The Seldon and Collings book is filled with history, design, famous names, gossip and loads of photos and illustrations about what is Washington’s grandest ambassadorial residence, and, noted by Westmacott, “the only house in the entire Western Hemisphere built by Sir Edwin Lutyens.”

The party wrapped with a stirring performance by the Pipes and Drums of The 1st Battalion Scots Guards.
British Ambassador Peter Westmacott does what he does so well: some wit, some charm and an invitation for his guests to have a good time.
The book with the controversial title. Click to order.
Guests watch the slide show as Anthony Seldon tells the embassy's architectural story.
The British Embassy under construction on Massachusetts Avenue.
A big crystal bath of a classic summer British beverage: Pimm's Cup.
The canapés served at the British Embassy almost always are irresistible.
It wouldn't be a British afternoon fete without a pile of gorgeous strawberries and a silver sauce boat filled with cream.
Joann Mason, looking like a spring garden, snaps a pic of the pipe and drum entertainment.
Enchanting: The Pipes and Drums of The 1st Battalion Scots Guards.
Photographs by Carol Joynt.

Follow Carol on twitter @caroljoynt
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Washington Social Diary

June 9, 2014, 7:15 am
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Having a good time at the Hillwood gala: Gabrielle Bekink, Rudolf Bekink, and Sophie Delattre.
A HORSE, A BALL, A GALA, A BARBECUE, AND A CAFTAN
by Carol Joynt

From the top I want to say something I’ve not had the privilege to say before to friends: congratulations Shell and Susan Evans for your big win at Belmont on Saturday. The popular choice, as everyone knows, was California Chrome, who with a Belmont Stakes win would have scored the elusive Triple Crown. But Shell and Susan’s Tonalist dashed that dream. Sweet.
Tonalist by a hair!
Robert "Shell" Evans with the Belmont Stakes trophy.
Shell’s passion is thoroughbred racing and it’s in his blood. His late father, Thomas Mellon Evans, and brother, Ned Evans, were in the game, too, and legendary. I met Shell and Susan through Susan’s sister, Sally Hosta, who lives in Middleburg, and who traveled north to join the family at Belmont. Again, bravo. Next year: the Triple Crown.
Susan Evans, CJ and Sally Hosta in October 2011.
In Washington, the spring social season closed out on a sweet and generous note on Saturday night, when the Opera Ball brought together the one percenters for a relatively subdued gala at the sprawling yet minimalist residence of Kenichiro and Nobuko Sasae, the Japanese ambassador and his wife.

David Rubenstein with Sachiko Kuno, co-chair of the 2014 Washington Opera Ball
It was beautiful, and the early tranquil mood settled on the guests, who grazed at a dessert buffet of pretty confections and who gazed at the calming interior pool, the decorations of flowers and origami, or each other.

In Washington life is good for the upper stratum, and they should be proud of themselves. Kennedy Center board chairman David Rubenstein announced the ball tickets they bought raised more than $1 million for the Washington National Opera.

The Carlyle Group co-founder also responded to people wondering whether Washington Opera board chair Jacqueline Mars would attend. There was a table reserved with her name on it, but no sign of her among the crowd of friends.

Rubenstein explained, “She’s a little under the weather.”

Pause.

“What actually happened is she went to an ethnic food restaurant the other night – it was not Japanese, though – and maybe the food wasn’t as good as it should have been. But she’ll be fine.” He described her as “indefatigable in her support” of the WNO. Mars has been seldom seen since pleading guilty to a misdemeanor reckless driving charge in a fatal car accident that happened in Aldie, Virginia last October.
Arriving at the Opera Ball at twilight.
The tranquil interior pool.
Serenity in a hallway at the Japanese ambassador's residence.
Rubenstein was his usual master emcee with easy off-the-cuff remarks about the 40-year-old tradition of the ball. Standing on the bandstand between sets, he asked, “How many people have never been to an Opera Ball? Some of you are wondering where the opera is and where the ball is.” There is no ball at the ball, he acknowledged. “We don’t really have any big balls, and we don’t really have a lot of opera ... but this is really designed to make sure the diplomatic community, and friends of the opera, and friends of the Kennedy Center, have a chance to gather together at the end of the season.” Done and done and done.
Ambassador Sasae presents the prize of a trip to Tokyo to Opera Ball raffle winner David Espinosa.
Rina Haruki and Azusa Veno perform in a private room at the Opera Ball.
There was some opera, though, and chamber music, as the evening included performances by four separate groups of artists. Their stage was in a separate room where patrons could slip in, sit down and enjoy the classical music behind drawn doors and then slip back into the party. There were bars set up in different spaces and as the clock struck 10:30 PM sushi and tempura were brought out for a late snack. Most of the guests earlier had dined at various embassies around town.
Nobuko Sasae.Mark and Lyn McFadden.
Grace and Morton Bender.Robert and Capricia Marshall.
Michael Kaiser, who is moving on as president of the Kennedy Center, with his husband, John Roberts.
Fan cookies created by Susan Gage Caterers.
Jim Spellman and I opted out of the embassy dinner ritual and went instead to a deservedly popular Japanese restaurant, Kaz Sushi Bistro, for a pre-ball meal at the sushi bar. When we sat down in our evening wear a couple to Jim’s left said, “we’ve never seen anyone in black-tie at a sushi bar before. Is this a new thing?” Hmmm. Yes, for one night. We ate an assortment of nigiri, including salmon with mango, blue crab with celery, red pepper and Old Bay, foie gras with plum wine gelée, and scallops; also, crispy Brussels sprouts and soft shell crab, our local delicacy at the height of its season.
Jim Spellman in black tie at Kaz Sushi bistro.
Nigiri at Kaz Sushi Bistro.
Yum. Soft shell crab at Kaz.
Throughout this column also are pictures from two other events of the last week. The annual gala of Hillwood Museum and Gardens, which launched a new exhibition curated from the vast possessions of the home’s former owner. “Cartier: Marjorie Merriweather Post’s Dazzling Gems,” runs from now until the end of the year and is a good reason to visit this museum, where they are also having a changing of the guard as Post’s granddaughter, Ellen Charles, steps down as chair of the board, the last family member to fill that role.
This was the first year the Hillwood gala was black-tie, and the guests made the most of it.
This is a young annual gala that gets better every year as it draws more of the established A-list party animals. The diplomatic patrons were the French ambassador and his wife, Francois and Sophie Delattre. Also there, Netherlands Ambassador Rudolf Bekink and Gabrielle.
Ellen Charles, celebrating her birthday, surrounded by men: grandson Geordie Iverson, son George Iverson, and French Ambassador Francois Delattre.
Ellen Charles has a laugh with friends and family at the Hillwood gala.
Ellen Charles with Kate Markert, the executive director of Hillwood Musem and Gardens.
Ann Close and George Floyd.
Dinner is served: the menu was Coquille Saint Jacques, Onglet de Beouf, and Orange Souffle.
Washington philanthropist Adrienne Arsht, who in the Post tradition has her own trove of notable gowns and jewels, and who is not shy about sharing them for photographs, responded to the evening’s theme in diamond tiara, earrings and a striking pair of Cartier cuffs. She showed them off with gusto, and why not? If you’ve got it, flaunt it, eh? It was, given the theme and the formal dress, a night for wearing the good stuff.
Adrienne Arsht with her jewels, including Cartier cuffs.Adrienne Arsht greets Sophie Delattre.
Arsht greets Amb. Delattre, with Penny Peacock in the foreground.Arsht shows her cuffs to Delattre and Peacock.
Arsht poses with Ellen Charles and Delattre.
If you've got it, flaunt it.
A look book of another sort was the style at the annual Country Barbecue on the lawn of the Italian ambassador’s residence, Villa Firenze, where more than $100,000 was raised for The Children’s Hearing and Speech Center. The patrons are the younger social set. One party photographer said he likes to be there because “these people are the next wave of who will be big and I want to know them.”

The guests dress up but with a preppy tone – Nantucket reds, colorful dresses and this year a surge of the “tiny suit” trend. It’s a look to be weighed in the eyes of the beholder. I’ve spotted some successes, but more fails.
Arriving for the Country Barbecue.
An organ grinder and Bellini bar greeted guests as they arrived at Villa Firenze for the Country Barbecue.
The annual "Country Barbecue" on the lawn of Villa Firenze, the Italian ambassador's residence.
A view across the lawn to the Tudor-style residence.
The food for the Country Barbecue is from Rocklands Barbecue, a DC favorite.John Snedden, Rocklands owner.
The Country Barbecue featured several bars, including this one, ready to serve shots.
Courtney Toomey.Ben Brown and Susan Dowhower.
Ian O'Neill with David Steinberg.Jeffrey Diquette and Reg Godin.
Heather Florance, Marilyn Baker, and Allison and Kurt Newman
Autumn English and John Allen.Andrew Travers with his sister, Reg Stettinius.
Jeffrey Gullo (left) and Ben Brown (right) and friends wearing their looks.
Wearing his look: Mar. Stefano Bergonzini of the Italian Carabinieri.Photographer Ben Droz.
Pretty in pink.Barbecue committee members John and Stephanie Polis.
Thomas Anderson, president of Washington Fine Properties, with Kerry Fortune Carlsen, a member of the Children's Hearing and Speech Center board.
We didn't get their names because we were too dazzled by their matching looks. The Country Barbecue is, above all, a blazer occasion.KC Fonzi and Sarah Sadid.
Ready to join the party: the volunteers who ran the check-in desk.
After two hours of cocktails guests at the Country Barbecue moved to this tent to eat ribs and dance to the music of The Black and Blue Experience.
Which brings me to the caftan part of this story. For better or worse, I go to a lot of parties. A lot. My soirée uniform has to be as unmemorable and affordable as possible so that I get mileage out of my closet but don’t go broke fitting in among the swells.

Black, black and more black is the staple color of my after 6 PM attire. I have three long dresses, including a nice, draped silk Halston found in 2007 for $200 at a vintage shop in SoHo.

The caftan on an initial wearing out in early May, at a party with Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and Myra Moffett during the weekend of the White House Correspondents Association dinner.
For cocktail, another bit of vintage is a jersey LBD from the Jax boutique in Beverly Hills, bought eons ago, and a workhorse DVF, that holds up despite so many outings, and for when I’m feeling a little “So there, in your eye, social life,” a short, fun, fringy Norma Kamali bought in 2010. 

I wear color rarely, because it risks being memorable. Last year, on last call, I got a slinky green sequins gown from Calypso. It's gorgeous and thus memorable and a liability; I can wear it once a year, maybe twice. Three times if I wear it to clean house.

A vital accessory is the handbag. It has to be small, on a strap or chain, but big enough to fit the “wonder” camera, my Sony RX100.  The faves are two Chanels that I got for barely a breath at a sample sale the house hosted in New York. Thank you, Chanel.

Bottom line is that what I’m wearing goes largely unnoticed, and that’s fine. That’s the objective. I leave the statement dressing – see Adrienne Arsht above - to the other guests.

Elizabeth Locke is not known for selling dresses. She is a well known jewelry designer with a home in rural Millwood, Virginia and an enchanting “flagship” boutique nearby in Boyce. When I did a story on her a few years ago I discovered in the the back of the store a rack of beautiful caftans in shades of mauve, moss green, rose and blue. I had to have one but, staying on course, chose the version that was black. I put it in my closet and left it there until this spring, when one night I had to go out but wanted to wear practically nothing. The caftan was the ideal solution.
At the Country Barbecue: CJ in her Elizabeth Locke Italian-made caftan with Italian Ambassador Claudio Bisogniero and Laura Denise, his wife.
But guess what? It got noticed. There were compliments from men and especially women, who wanted to know where I got it. I wore it again a few weeks later, and again this week, to Villa Firenze. The same thing happened.

I reached out to Elizabeth, asking whether she still sells the caftans. “We absolutely do,” she replied. “They come in cotton and silk.” She said they are available only in the store in Boyce. “The fabric was designed by a friend in Italy and made for me by the Jim Thompson Thai Silk Co. in Bangkok.  I think they’re very C.Z. Guest in Jamaica circa 1964, not a bad look! Quantities are limited. If people really want them then I would be thrilled to sell.” She said to call (540) 837-3088 “or contact us through our website.”

That’s the point of this story and the end of it, too. And guess what? I wore a caftan to the opera ball, and it was pink, which means it now rests in the closet indefinitely.
The caftans, on display at the Elizabeth Locke boutique in Boyce, Virginia.
Photographs by Carol Joynt.

Follow Carol on twitter @caroljoynt
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Washington Social Diary

June 9, 2014, 7:17 am
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Having a good time at the Hillwood gala: Gabrielle Bekink, Rudolf Bekink, and Sophie Delattre.
A HORSE, A BALL, A GALA, A BARBECUE, AND A CAFTAN
by Carol Joynt

From the top I want to say something I’ve not had the privilege to say before to friends: congratulations Shell and Susan Evans for your big win at Belmont on Saturday. The popular choice, as everyone knows, was California Chrome, who with a Belmont Stakes win would have scored the elusive Triple Crown. But Shell and Susan’s Tonalist dashed that dream. Sweet.
Tonalist by a hair!
Robert "Shell" Evans with the Belmont Stakes trophy.
Shell’s passion is thoroughbred racing and it’s in his blood. His late father, Thomas Mellon Evans, and brother, Ned Evans, were in the game, too, and legendary. I met Shell and Susan through Susan’s sister, Sally Hosta, who lives in Middleburg, and who traveled north to join the family at Belmont. Again, bravo. Next year: the Triple Crown.
Susan Evans, CJ and Sally Hosta in October 2011.
In Washington, the spring social season closed out on a sweet and generous note on Saturday night, when the Opera Ball brought together the one percenters for a relatively subdued gala at the sprawling yet minimalist residence of Kenichiro and Nobuko Sasae, the Japanese ambassador and his wife.

David Rubenstein with Sachiko Kuno, co-chair of the 2014 Washington Opera Ball
It was beautiful, and the early tranquil mood settled on the guests, who grazed at a dessert buffet of pretty confections and who gazed at the calming interior pool, the decorations of flowers and origami, or each other.

In Washington life is good for the upper stratum, and they should be proud of themselves. Kennedy Center board chairman David Rubenstein announced the ball tickets they bought raised more than $1 million for the Washington National Opera.

The Carlyle Group co-founder also responded to people wondering whether Washington Opera board chair Jacqueline Mars would attend. There was a table reserved with her name on it, but no sign of her among the crowd of friends.

Rubenstein explained, “She’s a little under the weather.”

Pause.

“What actually happened is she went to an ethnic food restaurant the other night – it was not Japanese, though – and maybe the food wasn’t as good as it should have been. But she’ll be fine.” He described her as “indefatigable in her support” of the WNO. Mars has been seldom seen since pleading guilty to a misdemeanor reckless driving charge in a fatal car accident that happened in Aldie, Virginia last October.
Arriving at the Opera Ball at twilight.
The tranquil interior pool.
Serenity in a hallway at the Japanese ambassador's residence.
Rubenstein was his usual master emcee with easy off-the-cuff remarks about the 40-year-old tradition of the ball. Standing on the bandstand between sets, he asked, “How many people have never been to an Opera Ball? Some of you are wondering where the opera is and where the ball is.” There is no ball at the ball, he acknowledged. “We don’t really have any big balls, and we don’t really have a lot of opera ... but this is really designed to make sure the diplomatic community, and friends of the opera, and friends of the Kennedy Center, have a chance to gather together at the end of the season.” Done and done and done.
Ambassador Sasae presents the prize of a trip to Tokyo to Opera Ball raffle winner David Espinosa.
Rina Haruki and Azusa Veno perform in a private room at the Opera Ball.
There was some opera, though, and chamber music, as the evening included performances by four separate groups of artists. Their stage was in a separate room where patrons could slip in, sit down and enjoy the classical music behind drawn doors and then slip back into the party. There were bars set up in different spaces and as the clock struck 10:30 PM sushi and tempura were brought out for a late snack. Most of the guests earlier had dined at various embassies around town.
Nobuko Sasae.Mark and Lyn McFadden.
Grace and Morton Bender.Robert and Capricia Marshall.
Michael Kaiser, who is moving on as president of the Kennedy Center, with his husband, John Roberts.
Fan cookies created by Susan Gage Caterers.
Jim Spellman and I opted out of the embassy dinner ritual and went instead to a deservedly popular Japanese restaurant, Kaz Sushi Bistro, for a pre-ball meal at the sushi bar. When we sat down in our evening wear a couple to Jim’s left said, “we’ve never seen anyone in black-tie at a sushi bar before. Is this a new thing?” Hmmm. Yes, for one night. We ate an assortment of nigiri, including salmon with mango, blue crab with celery, red pepper and Old Bay, foie gras with plum wine gelée, and scallops; also, crispy Brussels sprouts and soft shell crab, our local delicacy at the height of its season.
Jim Spellman in black tie at Kaz Sushi bistro.
Nigiri at Kaz Sushi Bistro.
Yum. Soft shell crab at Kaz.
Throughout this column also are pictures from two other events of the last week. The annual gala of Hillwood Museum and Gardens, which launched a new exhibition curated from the vast possessions of the home’s former owner. “Cartier: Marjorie Merriweather Post’s Dazzling Gems,” runs from now until the end of the year and is a good reason to visit this museum, where they are also having a changing of the guard as Post’s granddaughter, Ellen Charles, steps down as chair of the board, the last family member to fill that role.
This was the first year the Hillwood gala was black-tie, and the guests made the most of it.
This is a young annual gala that gets better every year as it draws more of the established A-list party animals. The diplomatic patrons were the French ambassador and his wife, Francois and Sophie Delattre. Also there, Netherlands Ambassador Rudolf Bekink and Gabrielle.
Ellen Charles, celebrating her birthday, surrounded by men: grandson Geordie Iverson, son George Iverson, and French Ambassador Francois Delattre.
Ellen Charles has a laugh with friends and family at the Hillwood gala.
Ellen Charles with Kate Markert, the executive director of Hillwood Musem and Gardens.
Ann Close and George Floyd.
Dinner is served: the menu was Coquille Saint Jacques, Onglet de Beouf, and Orange Souffle.
Washington philanthropist Adrienne Arsht, who in the Post tradition has her own trove of notable gowns and jewels, and who is not shy about sharing them for photographs, responded to the evening’s theme in diamond tiara, earrings and a striking pair of Cartier cuffs. She showed them off with gusto, and why not? If you’ve got it, flaunt it, eh? It was, given the theme and the formal dress, a night for wearing the good stuff.
Adrienne Arsht with her jewels, including Cartier cuffs.Adrienne Arsht greets Sophie Delattre.
Arsht greets Amb. Delattre, with Penny Peacock in the foreground.Arsht shows her cuffs to Delattre and Peacock.
Arsht poses with Ellen Charles and Delattre.
If you've got it, flaunt it.
A look book of another sort was the style at the annual Country Barbecue on the lawn of the Italian ambassador’s residence, Villa Firenze, where more than $100,000 was raised for The Children’s Hearing and Speech Center. The patrons are the younger social set. One party photographer said he likes to be there because “these people are the next wave of who will be big and I want to know them.”

The guests dress up but with a preppy tone – Nantucket reds, colorful dresses and this year a surge of the “tiny suit” trend. It’s a look to be weighed in the eyes of the beholder. I’ve spotted some successes, but more fails.
Arriving for the Country Barbecue.
An organ grinder and Bellini bar greeted guests as they arrived at Villa Firenze for the Country Barbecue.
The annual "Country Barbecue" on the lawn of Villa Firenze, the Italian ambassador's residence.
A view across the lawn to the Tudor-style residence.
The food for the Country Barbecue is from Rocklands Barbecue, a DC favorite.John Snedden, Rocklands owner.
The Country Barbecue featured several bars, including this one, ready to serve shots.
Courtney Toomey.Ben Brown and Susan Dowhower.
Ian O'Neill with David Steinberg.Jeffrey Diquette and Reg Godin.
Heather Florance, Marilyn Baker, and Allison and Kurt Newman
Autumn English and John Allen.Andrew Travers with his sister, Reg Stettinius.
Jeffrey Gullo (left) and Ben Brown (right) and friends wearing their looks.
Wearing his look: Mar. Stefano Bergonzini of the Italian Carabinieri.Photographer Ben Droz.
Pretty in pink.Barbecue committee members John and Stephanie Polis.
Thomas Anderson, president of Washington Fine Properties, with Kerry Fortune Carlsen, a member of the Children's Hearing and Speech Center board.
We didn't get their names because we were too dazzled by their matching looks. The Country Barbecue is, above all, a blazer occasion.KC Fonzi and Sarah Sadid.
Ready to join the party: the volunteers who ran the check-in desk.
After two hours of cocktails guests at the Country Barbecue moved to this tent to eat ribs and dance to the music of The Black and Blue Experience.
Which brings me to the caftan part of this story. For better or worse, I go to a lot of parties. A lot. My soirée uniform has to be as unmemorable and affordable as possible so that I get mileage out of my closet but don’t go broke fitting in among the swells.

Black, black and more black is the staple color of my after 6 PM attire. I have three long dresses, including a nice, draped silk Halston found in 2007 for $200 at a vintage shop in SoHo.

The caftan on an initial wearing out in early May, at a party with Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and Myra Moffett during the weekend of the White House Correspondents Association dinner.
For cocktail, another bit of vintage is a jersey LBD from the Jax boutique in Beverly Hills, bought eons ago, and a workhorse DVF, that holds up despite so many outings, and for when I’m feeling a little “So there, in your eye, social life,” a short, fun, fringy Norma Kamali bought in 2010. 

I wear color rarely, because it risks being memorable. Last year, on last call, I got a slinky green sequins gown from Calypso. It's gorgeous and thus memorable and a liability; I can wear it once a year, maybe twice. Three times if I wear it to clean house.

A vital accessory is the handbag. It has to be small, on a strap or chain, but big enough to fit the “wonder” camera, my Sony RX100.  The faves are two Chanels that I got for barely a breath at a sample sale the house hosted in New York. Thank you, Chanel.

Bottom line is that what I’m wearing goes largely unnoticed, and that’s fine. That’s the objective. I leave the statement dressing – see Adrienne Arsht above - to the other guests.

Elizabeth Locke is not known for selling dresses. She is a well known jewelry designer with a home in rural Millwood, Virginia and an enchanting “flagship” boutique nearby in Boyce. When I did a story on her a few years ago I discovered in the the back of the store a rack of beautiful caftans in shades of mauve, moss green, rose and blue. I had to have one but, staying on course, chose the version that was black. I put it in my closet and left it there until this spring, when one night I had to go out but wanted to wear practically nothing. The caftan was the ideal solution.
At the Country Barbecue: CJ in her Elizabeth Locke Italian-made caftan with Italian Ambassador Claudio Bisogniero and Laura Denise, his wife.
But guess what? It got noticed. There were compliments from men and especially women, who wanted to know where I got it. I wore it again a few weeks later, and again this week, to Villa Firenze. The same thing happened.

I reached out to Elizabeth, asking whether she still sells the caftans. “We absolutely do,” she replied. “They come in cotton and silk.” She said they are available only in the store in Boyce. “The fabric was designed by a friend in Italy and made for me by the Jim Thompson Thai Silk Co. in Bangkok.  I think they’re very C.Z. Guest in Jamaica circa 1964, not a bad look! Quantities are limited. If people really want them then I would be thrilled to sell.” She said to call (540) 837-3088 “or contact us through our website.”

That’s the point of this story and the end of it, too. And guess what? I wore a caftan to the opera ball, and it was pink, which means it now rests in the closet indefinitely.
The caftans, on display at the Elizabeth Locke boutique in Boyce, Virginia.
Photographs by Carol Joynt.

Follow Carol on twitter @caroljoynt
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Search

South Florida Social Diary

June 11, 2014, 7:32 am
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Untitled Document
"Wisdom is better than Strength." Knowles Memorial Chapel, 1932. National Register of Historic Places. Ralph Adams Cram (1863-1942), architect. Rollins College, Winter Park.
Winter Park + Delray Beach
By Augustus Mayhew

Located almost equidistant north and south of Disneyopia, Rollins College and Florida Southern College are significant cultural destinations on the I-4 corridor, too often overlooked in the rush to monorail into a virtual Tomorrowland. During this past week, I was in Winter Park at Rollins, as captivated by the campus’ existing ensemble of  barrel tile-and-stucco buildings that remain from the original 1929 master plan designed by the firm of Kiehnel & Elliott as I was several years ago by the 1950s organic Frank Lloyd Wright campus at Florida Southern College. 

Rita Bornstein, president of Rollins College, left, with Harriet and George Cornell and their puppy. Photograph courtesy Rollins College Archives and Special Collections.
“At the time, Hamilton Holt, the president of Rollins, was impressed with the Miami-based Kiehnel & Elliott’s work at the Rolyat Hotel in Deland, built in 1925 and now part of Stetson College of Law. Holt commissioned the firm to formulate a new plan, designing a campus with understated picturesque Spanish-style buildings,” said Wenxian Zhang, head of archives and special collections at Rollins. 

“When Kiehnel died in 1942, associate architect George Spohn took over as campus architect,” Zhang added.  Added to Kiehnel & Elliott’s spirited Mediterranean adaptations, the ecclesiastical work of the renowned architect Ralph Adams Cram, as known for his various Manhattan churches and cathedrals as the campuses at Choate, Phillips Exeter, and Princeton, and the more recent work of James Gamble Rogers II, whose father and uncle with the same names were also architects, combine  to make Rollins College a masterwork, as distant in time and place as the archetypal ivory tower.

Along with a distinctive otherworldy setting, Rollins has been fortunate primary beneficiary of its alumni, especially the concentrated generosity of George and Harriet Cornell, of Delray Beach.  Two of the most delightful people you would ever want to meet, the Cornells’ contributions over a three decade totaled more than $105 million, not only to the advancement of academic endeavors with scholarships and endowed chairs but also to the bricks and mortars, providing the funds that facilitated several significant buildings.  I have mentioned the Cornells before, in regard to the Morikami Museum,  Palm Beach Zoo, Old School Square, and perhaps utmost for George Cornell, a local dog park named in their honor.  After Harriet died, “Don’t call an ambulance!” I always saw him driving around with his beloved dog.

And then, I motored to Delray Beach where I stopped in at Arts Garage for the opening of Rene von Richthofen's latest exhibition of auto-erotica.
Rollins College panorama. A view of what many consider Florida's most idyllic college campus from the fifth-floor of the nearby college-owned Alfond Inn.
Rollins College, gateway. Fairbanks Avenue.
George & Harriet Cornell: Alumni - Friends - Philanthropists
George Cornell, Rollins'35, and Harriet Cornell, Rollins '35. Portraits, Mills Memorial Building. Afflicted with polio as a child, Harriet spent her life in a wheelchair but you would have never known it from her warm genial personality. Their first $1 million gift to the school made possible the Cornell Fine Arts Museum, opened in 1978.
Cornell Fine Arts Museum.
Cornell Fine Arts Museum. The Phipps family's Bessemer Trust underwrites the museum's entrance fees.
Cornell Fine Arts Museum.
Cornell Fine Arts Museum. Gesture and Pose.
Cornell Fine Arts Museum.
Ena Heller, director of the Cornell Fine Arts Museum.
Cornell Fine Arts Museum. Conversations.
Cornell Fine Arts Museum. History and Myth.
Cornell Fine Arts Museum. Stained glass windows, English, c. 1870-1880.
Cornell Fine Arts Center.
Cornell Fine Arts Center. Mackenzie Moon Ryan, PhD, assistant professor of art history.
Cornell Fine Arts Center. Dr. Ryan's posters describe her classes in Global Art, African Art, and African Art & Colonialism.
Cornell Social Science Center, courtyard.
Cornell Campus Center.
The dining room at the Cornell Campus Center.
Walk of Fame.
The Alfond Inn
300 East New England Avenue, Winter Park
www.thealfondinn.com

Built with a $12.5 million grant from the Harold Alfond Foundation, The Alfond Inn is owned by Rollins College and operated by the Portland, Maine-based The Olympia Companies, headed by Kevin Mahaney. Founder of the Dexter Shoe Company, philanthropist Harold Alfond (1914-2007) is recognized as having originated the factory outlet store. Two short blocks north of the campus, the Inn is also steps from Park Avenue's parade of shops and restaurants and where an Amtrak station is still in operation.
Artfully designed by Baker Barrios Architects, The Alfond Inn is simply sensational, however sentimental I may have been about the Mid-Century Modern charms of the Langford Hotel, now supplanted since last August by this newly opened 21st-century venue
To the left, the inn's central reception area opens into the solarium; to the right, the library-lounge leads to the restaurant. Both areas open onto the courtyard.
The concierge station is across from the front desk.
Deanne Gabel, general manager at The Alfond Inn. We reminisced about Hawaii where Deanne lived for 18 years. Having previously been associated with the Four Seasons Maui and the Millennium Broadway Hotel/NYC, Gabel mentioned the hotel's net revenues benefit the Alfond Scholars program.
The lobby's interactive touch-and-go screen is at every guest's fingertips.
Along with soothing interiors and a considerable art collection, the Alfond is pet-friendly, offering water bowls, pet gift baskets, and doggy treats at turn down.
The Alfond Inn's five floors accomodate112 rooms
Courtyard dining at Hamilton's Table located below the second-level pool deck.
Nightfall at The Alfond Inn.
7 am for breakfast at Hamilton's Table.
The Alfond Inn, a welcoming urbane outpost where I never noticed any of the staff updating their Facebook pages or checking for the latest tweet.
Located mid-block between The Alfond Inn and Rollins College, the historic Woman's Club was the setting for an event as I walked over to the campus.
Rollins College … the old and the new
Robin Cusmano, assistant director of communications, kindly escorted me around the campus.
Pinehurst Cottage, 1886. The college's oldest existing building.
Built in 1938, Woolson House was a gift of Clare A. Benedict in memory of her aunt, author Constance Fenimore Woolson. The plaque on the door reads: "The Constance Fenimore Woolson English House." A decade later, when Orlando Hall was constructed to the west of Woolson House, an arcade was built to connect the two buildings.
Woolson House, courtyard.
Woolson House, east elevation.
Knowles Memorial Chapel. Ralph Adams Cram, architect.
Knowles Memorial Chapel and rose garden. The arcade leads to the Annie Russell Theater.
Knowles Memorial Chapel.
Knowles Memorial Chapel. In honor of Rev. Charles Atwood Campbell, dean of this chapel.
Knowles Memorial Chapel, looking east toward the pulpit.
Knowles Memorial Chapel. The pipe organ above the balcony.
Knowles Memorial Chapel. A view from the pulpit with a passage from Psalms at the ready, looking west toward the pipe organ.
Knowles Memorial Chapel. Ceiling detail.
Knowles Memorial Chapel. Ceiling detail.
Knowles Memorial Chapel. Let there be light!
Knowles Memorial Chapel. A series of add-ons has updated the chapel's east elevation.
Knowles Memorial Chapel. Front entrance, detail.
Annie Russell Theater
Annie Russell Theater, Architectural Model and Drawing. Kiehnel & Elliott, architect. Historical image Rollins College Archives.
The Annie Russell is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, along with the Knowles Memorial Chapel. The cornerstone was positioned in 1931.
As soon as Olivia Haine, marketing-communications director and box office manager, checked that the New York Social Diary does indeed exist, the auditorium light was turned on.
The main auditorium with colorfully designed beams. While a student at Rollins College (1951-1953), the late actor Anthony Perkins (1932-1992) appeared in several theater productions, receiving the Theta Alpha Phi Award in 1951.
Dedication plaque.Stage left entrance to backstage.
From the lobby, a view of the main auditorium.
The theater's eclectic lobby has retained some of its period flavor.
Archibald Granville Bush Science Center. Named for a prominent 3M executive, the facility opened in 1969. Werner von Braun was the guest speaker at the dedication ceremony. Winter Park architect James Gamble Rogers II, with Rogers, Lovelock & Fritz, architects and engineers, designed the Bush Science Center as well as the Cornell Social Science Center.
Bush Science Center, view from Knowles Memorial Chapel across the rose garden.
Bush Science Center.
Bush Science Center, interior.
Bush Science Center.
Rollins College's business school rated #1 MBA in Florida, according to Forbes.
Olin Library, façade after dark.
Having studied engineering at Cornell and having made his fortune as a munitions manufacturer, Franklin W. Olin (1860-1951) acquired the Winchester Rife Company in 1931. From 1938 to 1997, the Olin Foundation distributed grants for 78 buildings at 58 institutions before shutting down in 2007, according to an online website.
At the Olin Library, Wenxian Zhang is director of archives and special collections.
Olin Library, archives and special collections.
Olin Library.
Funded by the Davela Mills Foundation, the Mills Memorial Building houses the college post office and administrative offices. Before the Olin was built, it served as the campus library.
The Mills Memorial Building faces Mills Lawn.
Rice Building, entrance. Bookstore and Café.
Arcade
Pugsley Hall. President of the New York State Banker's Association, The Honorable Cornelius Amory Pugsley (1850-1936) founded the college's Institute of Statesmanship.
Pugsley Hall, plaque.
Pugsley Hall, fireplace.
Pugsley Hall. Living room, ceiling molding trim, detail.
Pugsley Hall. Stairway, riser detail.
Pugsley Hall. Front entrance.
Andrew Carnegie Hall.
Plaques & Stones
Frederick Lyman Hall. Kiehnel & Elliott's residence halls appear at times to be an uncommon hybrid of a residential and commercial building, albeit as elusive to categorize as they are picturesque.
Rollins Hall, 1938. Rollins College Archives.
Rollins Hall, 2014.
Cross Hall, 1936.
Magnificent trees.
Marshall and Vera Lea Rinker Building. The office of admissions and student financial aid is named for Marshall Rinker Jr. (1926-2006), Rollins '49.
Passageways and Gateways.
For further historical and architectural information about Rollins College, refer to Rollins Digital Collections: http://archives.rollins.edu/cdm/

Winter Park Ramble
Park Avenue. The Colony Theater has long since gone, replaced by Pottery Barn.
Park Avenue. Park Plaza Gardens Hotel & Restaurant.
Park Avenue. Peterbrooke Chocolatier. 5:15 pm, time to go …
Delray Beach

Shifting Gears: New works by Rene von Richthofen
The Arts Garage, 180 NE 1st Street

For the past several years, automobilist Rene von Richthofen has been transforming his interest in cars into fascinating mixed-media objets d'art. Here is a look at a few of his latest.
Tell me about it! Mixed media. $5,500. Rene von Richthofen, right.
Shifting Gears, text.
The Arts Garage gallery was apropos for von Richthofen's eclectic work with a Morgan three-wheeler as a centerpiece from Chariots of Palm Beach.
Give me a Hub. Mixed media. $1,700. Rene von Richthofen. This piece had a supernatural sci-fi sense to it.
Sculptor Jane Manus. Manus and von Richthofen met and married in Palm Beach during the mid-1980s.
Skyward, a sculpture by Jane Manus was installed at the Marilyn and Stanley Katz Campus at MorseLife in West Palm Beach.
Coin slot. Mixed media. $1,200. Rene von Richthofen.
Nascar. Mixed media/Video. $2,000. Rene von Richthofen. Hot wheels.
Wave Goodbye. Mixed media. $1,100. Rene von Richthofen. A detailed view of a work conveying an expressway's twists and turns.
Fan Happy. Mixed media. $1,800. Rene von Richthofen.
Linda Marx.
The Arts Garage is in the center of Delray Beach's Old School Square Historic District. Across the street, the recently opened El Camino Tequila Bar offers Mexican "soul food."
El Camino Tequila Bar. The popular cantina is located in a 1920s automobile showroom designed by the Palm Beach architectural firm of Volk & Maass.
Photographs by Augustus Mayhew.

Augustus Mayhew is the author ofLost in Wonderland – Reflections on Palm Beach.
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San Francisco Social Diary

June 12, 2014, 7:55 am
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Among the Bay City’s many recent charitable events was the fashion show/lunch benefit for the San Francisco Ballet, sponsored by Neiman-Marcus at the Fairmont Hotel.
SPRING IN THE CITY: CHARITABLE EVENTS IN SAN FRANCISCO
by Jeanne Lawrence

Civic-minded, cosmopolitan San Francisco offers cultural activities for every age and interest. Here are highlights from some philanthropic events I attended recently.

SAN FRANCISCO BALLET FASHION SHOW AT THE FAIRMONT HOTEL

The San Francisco Ballet Auxiliary held its annual spring fashion show fundraiser at the Fairmont Hotel, this year in partnership with Neiman Marcus, the Dallas-based luxury department store.

BEACH BLANKET BABYLON’S 40th ANNIVERSARY

In a nice coincidence, displayed in the Fairmont lobby on the day of the Ballet benefit was one of the outrageous costumes from San Francisco’s Beach Blanket Babylon, the world’s longest-running musical revue.
Perched atop Nob Hill, the luxurious Fairmont Hotel was the perfect venue for the San Francisco Ballet fundraiser.
In celebration of its 40th year, the pop culture-spoofing show Beach Blanket Babylon is displaying costumes around the city.
One of theover-the-top hats that are hallmarks of the show, this one features such iconic San Francisco sights as the Transamerica Pyramid, City Hall, and the “Painted Ladies” houses across from Alamo Square Park.
COCKTAILS AND LUNCHEON BEFORE THE FASHION SHOW

A late morning cocktail reception preceded the runway fashion show, where the nearly 500 guests, many dressed to the nines, put on a fashion show of their own.

I noticed lots of booties, peep-toe shoes, and sky-high heeled sandals to complement spring pastel and print dresses that had come out of the closets early, thanks to our unusually warm spring.
Fashion ShowDécor Chair Dara Rosenfeld, 2014 SF Ballet Auxiliary Gala Chair Tanya Powell, Luncheon Chair Patty Rock, and Fashion Show Chair Beatrice Wood.Shonaree Michael and Caroline Dixon.
2013 Ballet Fashion Show Chair Claire Kostic, SF Ballet Auxiliary President Jennifer Brandenburg, and Décor Chair Dara Rosenfeld.
Giselle Farris, Samantha Duvall, and Sydene Kober.
Rosemary Baker, Karen Caldwell, and Dr. Janice Zakin.Christine Suppes and Yurie Pascarella.
After cocktails, lunch was served in the Grand Ballroom, followed by the runway show plus a live auction and raffle. The event, chaired by Beatrice Wood, raised nearly $350,000 for the Ballet’s artistic and educational programs.
Vanessa Getty, Stephanie Tuttle, and Susan Dunlevy.
Katie Simpson, Lisa Goldman, and Karen Sonneborn.
Sarah Somberg and Lorre Erlick.Mary Jo Kovacevich and Yurie Pascarella.
Komal Shah, Paula Carano, and Deepa Pakianathan.
SF Ballet Board Member O.J. Shansby was this year’s Fashion Show Honoree in appreciation of her long-time commitment to the Ballet and her help enticing Neiman- Marcus to underwrite this year’s show.
Roberta Sherman, Lois Lehrman, O.J. Shansby, and Ann Paolini, a former Neiman’s senior vp in Dallas, who has moved back here as executive vp at luxury e-tailer TheRealReal.com.
THE RUNWAY SHOW

The show was curated by Dallas-based Ken Downing, Neiman’s fashion director and senior vp. It’s his responsibility to know what customers want, so he visits all the fashion shows in New York, London, Paris, and Milan, curates each season’s trend list, and sorts through millions of apparel options. (What a job!)

When I’m in Dallas, I always go downtown to shop at the original Neiman’s, where the selections are so much more colorful than what I see in New York or San Francisco. Founded in 1907, the store has spawned 41 retail outlets and online and catalog businesses, along with a New York subsidiary, Bergdorf Goodman.
Neiman Marcus Senior VP and Fashion Show Curator Ken Downing with the runway models.
Downing, who shines in the spotlight, opened the show with a Texas swagger, but he told me he’s originally from Seattle. Obviously, he’s a quick study.
SPRING TRENDS: PINK, PRINTS, TRIBAL, AND BLACK & WHITE

Usually the show features just one designer, but Downing curated a show of many brands and focused on key trends for spring: pink, prints, graphic black and white, and tribal looks.
Downing says pink is flattering on every woman.
According to Downing, pink was the most important color message on every runway this year.A new way to wear the color is to mix different shades, such as blush and shocking pink.Downing said he likes “the artistic prints, the brush strokes, where often the flowers look like a Monet painting.”
Another trend for the season is prints—the bolder, the better!The tribal trend, he explained, is not to dress in national costume, “but to incorporate an element from another culture into your wardrobe in a modern way.”
Global influences have inspired the multicultural fashion mix, which next season includes elements from the American Southwest, Japan, China, and Africa.“Everyone understands the idea of an LBD—little black dress,” Downing added. “I’m all about an LWD—a little white dress.”
Combining white and black is a major story this year, said Downing. “White is accented with black, and they come together in a graphic style.”Once considered classic, black is the new cool. Accessories like a studded clutch or leather jacket are now equally appropriate for day and night.Bold black and white patterns can be tempered when worn with a solid color jacket, for a “rocker romance” look.
AFTER-SHOW SHOPPING AND SIPPING CHAMPAGNE AT NEIMAN’S  

The fashion show sparked a frenzy, inspiring many to rush off to Neiman’s Couture Salon at Union Square to put first dibs on a favorite—those who hadn’t already texted a request to their personal shopper, that is! I was told it was like a cocktail party at the store, with Champagne flowing and jewelry and dresses (especially evening dresses, for the city’s many black tie events) flying out the door.
The finale, with all the models strutting together, showed how this season’s trends can work together to create one bold look.
SAN FRANCISCO TASTE OF THE NATION 2014

On the way to an opening at the de Young Museum, I dropped by to support Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation, the nation’s premier culinary benefit dedicated to ending childhood hunger.

Held at San Francisco’s Metreon Center, the “Evening of Sips and Bites” allowed guests to enjoy nibbles from the Bay Area’s best chefs, while mixologists served libations from local wineries and breweries.

We all know that San Franciscans are food-lovers: According to Bloomberg News, the San Francisco-Oakland-Freemont region has the most eateries per capita in the United States and the highest ratio of real restaurants to fast food joints. With all the young people, dot-commers, and tourists, it’s as difficult to get a reservation here as it is in Manhattan—the two U.S. food capitals, in my opinion.
Taste of the Nation hosts culinary events all across the U.S. and Canada, benefitting starving children the world over.
The stunning City View space at Metreon Center features views of the San Francisco cityscape from the Bay Bridge all the way to the Yerba Buena Gardens.
Guests enjoyed mingling and dining among the city’s skyscrapers.
CHEFS AND MIXOLOGISTS

Fifty-eight restaurants participated in the evening, Regrettably, I couldn’t get a photo of each and every chef and their crews, but here are a few of my favorites. With Napa Valley so close by, there was no shortage of wineries either: 28 were there, plus 8 distilleries and breweries. This added up to a very jolly night for everyone.

These chefs work long, long hours from morning to night, so it’s very charitable of them to contribute their time, skills, energy, and money to events like this. Hats off (toques off?) to them!
Serving as chef chair for the third consecutive year, Chef Michael Tusk of Quince and Cotogna restaurants served veal sausage sliders.Chefs Nancy Oakes and Dana Younkin of Boulevard Restaurant prepared polenta with scallops and Dungeness crab.
Acquerello restaurant co-owner and Executive Chef Suzette Greshmam-Tognetti shared her tempura-fried mussels topped with citrus foam.
Hakkasan’s Sous Chef Jason Xu served up Peking duck dumplings.
A16 SF’s Chef Christopher Thompson presented bresaola with local asparagus and sheep’s milk cheese.
Chef Brian Gremilon of Delfina offered a sweet pea sformatino (similar to a soufflé).
Chefs Anjan Mitra and Denish Kumar from Indian eatery Dosa prepared Papadi Chaat (“Street Food”) with smoked duck, pickled vegetables, and raita.
Wine Country’s Redd Wood restaurant served classic meatballs with tomato sauce.
Chef Mark Liberman, center, of AQ restaurant, presented artichokes with fig leaf and buckwheat.
The award-winning Suerte Tequila, based in Boulder, CO, offered tastings and lessons on the difference between blanco, reposado, and anejo tequila.
Craft distiller St. George Spirits, based out of Alameda, CA, had a mixologist creating cocktails to order.
Aspiring chef Stephanie Lawrence, Acquerello Chef Suzette Greshmam-Tognetti, and Jeanne Lawrence.
B. Patisserie’s Chefs Michel Suas and Belinda Leong with b. Patisserie manager Candice Ng; the trio offered triple chocolate cake with coffee and mint.
Marlowe restaurant’s Chef Jennifer Puccio.
Steak tartare from Marlowe.
Chef Adam Tortosa of 1760 (Polk), an offshoot of Acquerello, with Stephanie Lawrence and Isabella Paterlini, daughter of Acquerello owner Giancarlo Paterlini.
Pork belly arancini, courtesy of Pizza Antica’s Chef Bradley Ceynowa.
Quince restaurant paired a yogurt, strawberry-rhubarb, and almond verrine with mini black forest cakes.
The crowd was eager to try one of everything!
Guests could bid on unique culinary experiences––such as private dinners and Wine Country tours—from some of the participating chefs.
As you can see, there was no Prohibition at the event—local bewery Speakeasy Ales & Lagers was on hand to represent San Francisco’s craft beer scene.
“DEAR ABBY” SPEAKS AT COMPASSION & CHOICES LUNCHEON

This spring, Compassion & Choices (C&C) held its annual Empowerment Luncheon at San Francisco’s Westin St. Francis in Union Square. Mistress of Ceremonies Jeanne Phillips (aka “Dear Abby”) served as keynote speaker. The event raised money and awareness for patients’ rights and end-of-life decision-making.

Chaired by Lucie Weissman and Merla Zellerbach, with Honorary Chair, California Senator Dianne Feinstein, the event was overall upbeat despite the serious concerns of the cause.

Zellerbach has been a leader in addressing end-of-life issues and bringing them to the attention of Californians. “No terminally ill patient needs to suffer a prolonged, painful death,” she told the crowd. “We had no say about how we entered the world, but we can certainly plan how we exit.”
Chair Lucie Weissman, Dear Abby (aka Dear Abby), and Chair Merla Zellerbach.
Mary Poland, Deborah Hannah, and Jane Inch.
Helen Hilton Raiser, Barbara Brown, and Jennifer Raiser.
Former San Francisco Superior Court Judge Katherine Feinstein discussed the heartbreak of making end-of-life decisions for children who are wards of the court.
Radio host Ray Taliaferro.
Johanna Spielman, Marsha Munro, Merla Zellerbach, Pat Dodson, and Nan McDowell.
Maya Cooper, C&C President Barbara Coombs Lee, and Agnes Chen Brown.
Katy Butler, author of Knocking on Heaven’s Door: The Path to a Better Way of Death, with Judy Johnston and Alka Agrawal.
Kate Chung, Kate Harbin, Claire Spaht, Victoria Raiser, and Katie Page.
Jill Toff, Sharon Kaufman, and Joan Vinson.
Pamala Deikel, Pat Brown, and Donna Huggins.
Merla Zellerbach and Lois Lehrman.
Joanne Hayes White and Jeanne Phillips.
Nicole Lenihan, Brooke Read, and Jenny Riedy.Linda Cannon and Joan Vinson.
Debra Dooley and Deann Spaulding.Karen Kubin, Susan Mooradian, and Carol Doll.
Bixby Jamison, his mother Lucie Weissman, Jerry Weissman, and Natalie Jamison.
COMPASSION & CHOICES DINNER AT HAKKASAN

The same evening, Lisa and John Grotts hosted a dinner in honor of Jeanne Phillips at the upscale and glamorous Hakkasan, a world-renowned and Michelin-starred restaurant that offers a modern take on Chinese cuisine.

Jeanne’s mother Pauline Phillips founded and started the “Dear Abby” advice column in 1956 under the pen name Abigail Van Buren. Jeanne has been unofficially writing for the column since her teenage years, and in 2000 she took over the column officially.

“Dear Abby” receives 10,000 requests for advice each week, is syndicated in about 1,400 newspapers, and reaches 110 million readers every day. That’s some success story!
Host Lisa Grotts and Jeanne Phillips in front of a poster of Jeanne and her mother Pauline, the original Dear Abby.Event stylist Riccardo Benavides, of Ideas events, and Jeanne Lawrence.
Jeanne Lawrence, Jeanne Phillips, and Lisa Grotts.
Lisa and John Grotts with Jeanne Phillips.Venus and Narsai David.
Riccardo Benavides, columnist Leah Garchik, Jerry Garchik, and host John Grotts.
Haberdasher Wilkes Bashford and Jeanne Phillips.Leah Garchik, Jeanne Phillips, and Dagmar Dolby.
During the intimate dinner, guests at the round table questioned and talked with Jeanne. We learned how seriously she takes her advice-giving. To get good answers, she researches and consults with various medical, psychiatric, legal, ethical, and religious experts as necessary.

She answers many letters personally, and she occasionally responds directly and seeks professional help for someone whose situation seems particularly dire. Through this column, she has found her calling and has helped many individuals to lead better lives.

What I couldn’t pry out of her, though, was how many people work for her.  (Seems that all those activities would take a village!)
Naturally, event designer Riccardo Benavides helped with the table settings.
Appropriately, we dined on healthy but flavorful dishes like this steamed dim sum platter of scallop shumai, har gau, Chinese chive dumpling, and black pepper duck dumpling.
The settings included old ribbon, found by Lisa Grotts, from San Francisco’s City of Paris department store (open from 1850 to 1976).
The legacy from mother to daughter seemed to be the theme of the night.
Photos byJeanne Lawrence,Drew Altizer, and Moanalani Jeffrey.

*Urbanite Jeanne Lawrence reports on lifestyle and travel from her homes in San Francisco, Shanghai, and New York, and wherever else she finds a good story.
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Washington Social Diary

June 16, 2014, 7:34 am
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Soon-to-be Ambassador to the United Nations Francois Delattre, with his wife Sophie.
French Ambassador Francois Delattre Is Reassigned to the United Nations
by Carol Joynt

Ambassadors to Washington come and go and, apart from the formal welcoming ceremony at the White House, there’s not much fanfare. The function of diplomatic relations has changed in a world where technology makes country-to-country communications fast, easy and personal. One thing doesn't change: America has dollars, defense and a big stick.

In the heyday of Embassy Row, ambassadors had two principal roles: to be a key conduit with the White House, the State Department and Congress, and an active social host. It’s still a prime, even career-capping post, but the social responsibilities — luncheons, cocktail parties, dinners, handing out medals — now rest a lot on lobbying and match or exceed opportunities for serious, old-school diplomacy. Often, an embassy's spending on entertaining is on a par with the host country's reliance on our $$$$ and our defense industry — government and private.
The entrance to La Maison Française the French diplomatic compound on Reservoir Road just outside Georgetown in northwest Washington.
It's worthy of note, though, when France makes a change at the Maison Française, their contemporary-style embassy on Reservoir Road. After months of whispers and rumors, a change of command was announced last week. The Elysée Palace confirmed that Francois Delattre, the French ambassador to the United States since 2011, would become Ambassador to the United Nations. It’s expected he and Sophie, and their two (college age and high school age) children, will pack up and move to New York after Bastille Day. Delattre had previously been posted to New York as Consul General and later to Canada as ambassador.

The new assignment is regarded here, in New York, and in Paris as a good fit and comes with a wave of musical chairs among appointees of the administration of French president Francois Hollande, who is midway through his term.
At the recent Hillwood gala, where Ambassador Delattre and Sophie were the guests of honor, here he is with Ellen Charles and Adrienne Arsht.
Sophie Delattre at the 2013 Hillwood Gala with Amy Bondurant and David Dunn.
Delattre was a low key but popular emissary and it’s clear he will be missed in Washington. Jim Hoagland, the Pulitzer Prize winning columnist and a regular at French embassy events, sent a message from Venice: “I can't pretend to be objective about Francois Delattre. The qualities that make him a good friend also made him a highly effective ambassador. He is an enthusiastic, warm, tireless and honest representative of his country, which has raised diplomacy to a high art.” Hoagland concurred that he will be missed, “but at least he will be nearby.”

Writer Michael Mosettig, the former foreign affairs senior producer for the NewsHour on PBS, is also a Delattre admirer. He said he would “miss a good pal here since his days as press counselor.” Noting Delattre’s modesty, Mosettig said, “he would not take credit for this — circumstances were critically important — but he has been a key player in elevating Franco-American relations over his career.”
At the Wolf Trap Ball the Delattres were patrons. Here, on stage, Delattre, second from left, is being introduced by Arvind Manocha.
At The Wolf Trap Ball, left to right, Deborah Warren, Karen Schaufeld and Sophie Delattre.
The French ambassador oversees one of the largest embassy staffs, including ranking representatives of the military, the French treasury, other economic, commercial and political counselors, and media and culture departments. It’s not a coincidence that International Monetary Fund director Christine Legarde, who is French, is a regular dinner guest.

Making the French Embassy popular in Washington has never been a hard task, even back in the controversial moment of “freedom fries.” Embassies in Washington attract groupies and the French always have the biggest flock, (though Italy is gaining on them due to the popularity of Ambassador Claudio Bisogniero and wife Laura Denise.) But France is France — the food, the fashion, the manners, the style, the history - and the diplo groupies crave invitations to the ambassador’s residence on Kalorama Road, though currently it is closed and under renovation.
The Italian ambassador, Claudio Bisogniero raises a glass – the dinner parties he hosts with his wife, Laura, are stand outs.
In the interim, the Delattre family moved to a leased home on Foxhall Road and entertained there, but it doesn’t compare to the grand circa 1910 estate, which is described as Tudor and Jacobean and has been home to every French ambassador since 1936. It’s a draw all on its own. The appeal is the look of the public rooms, among them a sumptuous parlor with rose silk walls bearing the Napoleonic bee, and a dining room of such a lovely pale green it feels like a sanctuary, an entry-making grand staircase. There’s a contemporary sunroom, and out the back French doors a vast terrace, overlooking a lawn that includes a swimming pool and mature trees.

When Vanity Fair hosted its annual  White House Correspondents Association party there they painted the trees with light and to great effect. When France hosted the Opera Ball the spirit of the “city of light” was transported to Kalorama, including chandeliers hanging from the trees. It was a sight to see.
The French ambassador's residence on Kalorama Road, before renovation work began.
The rose parlor.
The French ambassador's dining room, here, several years ago, at a luncheon hosted by then-Ambassador Pierre Vimont.
During a Dior fashion show at the French ambassador's a model makes good use of the entry-making grand staircase.
Robert Higdon, Bob Colacello and David Deckelbaum on the driveway at the French ambassador's residence.
Out back, the scene on the terraces of the residence during the Vanity Fair party.
What about Delattre’s possible replacement? Again, the rumor mill. What’s been said since the beginning of the year was that it would be the current French Ambassador to the U.N., Gérard Araud, a native of Marseille, a former director general in the minister of foreign affairs, one time first secretary at the embassy in Tel Aviv, and also once posted to Washington as the counselor for Middle East issues. He’s openly gay and lives with his partner, who we were told is an interior designer. What’s also said is that if he gets the post, Araud wants to wait and move to Washington only after the Kalorama residence is complete, which could be fall or the end of the year.
All smiles: Marie-Monique Steckel and Gérard Araud.
Whether the new ambassador is Araud or someone else, here’s hoping a decision is made to re-instate the popular Kalorama Lecture series that was begun by Delattre’s predecessor, Ambassador Pierre Vimont, who is now in Brussels with the EU as Secretary-General of the European External Action Service. In a town that loves the sound of its own voice, the dinners were a stand-out, featuring remarks and a Q&A with a visiting French notable followed by a seated dinner. They occurred every other month or so, were more intellectual than social, but social just enough, and spread goodwill.
Francois Delattre with his predecessor, Ambassador Pierre Vimont. Who will be next?
Photographs by Carol Joynt.

Follow Carol on twitter @caroljoynt
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Washington Social Diary

June 23, 2014, 6:12 am
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The Inn at Little Washington — ranked #1 for the Washington DC area by Washingtonian magazine, Zagat, and The Washington Post. Open almost 40 years, it attracts patrons from all over the world.
LITTLE WASHINGTON, VA: PEYTON PLACE WITHOUT THE SEX*
by Carol Joynt

A story I wrote for New York Social Diary in April backfired this past week on a group of friends. It didn't get them in hot water — they were already there — but it inadvertently became a piece of evidence against them as, collectively, the "bad guys" in a dispute with angry townsfolk over development plans in the small village of Washington, Virginia. At nearly the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains, it is a quaint, lovely and peaceful town I've known with affection for decades, including four years owning a home on Main Street. In the last week, though, its public face changed from charming to Peyton Place — without the sex.  

The three "bad guys": Jim Abdo, Mayor John Fox Sullivan, and Patrick O'Connell.
In the eyes of their haters, the crimes of my friends — a sprightly developer, an affable mayor, and a celebrated chef — are ripped from the headlines of every attractive and promising burg, city and town across America as the nation tries to find its way back to solidity after the Great Recession.

The story of this economic recovery is found in new development, and developers are, depending on many factors, heroes or villains, and sometimes both. The heightened attention from the media is so new to the developer class that, with virtually no communications skills, they have to be the public voice of their vision. That's not simple. It can go wrong. It did in "Little" Washington.

The three "bad guys," if you will, are developer Jim Abdo, Mayor John Fox Sullivan, and Patrick O'Connell, owner and chef of The Inn at Little Washington.

The supporting cast includes the mayor's wife, Beverly; a self-described "redneck" former TV star, Ben "Cooter" Jones; the town's Episcopal rector, Jennings "Jenks" Hobson III; the newspaper editor, Roger Piantadosi; and several hundred county residents who subscribe to the list serve, Rappnet (reading that would have had Grace Metalious hiding under her bed).  

Abdo made his fortune developing sections of "big" Washington (as in DC) and is a developer of only recent vintage in "Little" Washington, as many know it. Jim and his wife, Mai, were weekenders in Rappahannock County, where Washington is the county seat.

Over the last few years, Jim, along with some friends and partners, began to buy up "for sale" buildings along Main Street. The current count is 10, at a cost of approximately $2.6 million.
Ben "Cooter" Jones, back in the day, as a star of the hit
TV series, "The Dukes of Hazzard."		Jennings "Jenks" Hobson III, rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Washington, VA.
The vision is to fix them up and install businesses that might bolster the town's appeal to visitors, and its economy, and also be useful for the community — principally food and home goods. Mayor Sullivan made it his business to get to know Abdo and his plans, and viewed his objectives as a positive for the town, which had significant losses of population (26 percent) after the recession hit. Also, he says, 10 percent of the town's buildings were empty. Something had to be done. The opponents, though, say don't change a thing.

The story that came back to haunt, and be used as a cudgel, was one I wrote about The White Moose Inn, a contemporary B&B just opened by Abdo. I stayed there one Friday night, and had dinner at the Abdo's home, along with Mayor Sullivan and Beverly. After dinner our group went for drinks at The Inn, joined by DC chef Daniel O'Brien, who Abdo hopes will open a food market on Main Street, and chef O'Connell. We enjoyed drinks and a laugh in the lounge. Chaste party photos were taken. Innocent enough, right? Well, read on …
Innocent party photo at the time, later incriminating: chefs Dan O'Brien and Patrick O'Connell in the "living room" lounge of O'Connell's Inn at Little Washington.
Dinner at the Abdo's Rappahannock County home. The meal was prepared by DC chef Dan O'Brien, standing on the right.
Washington, Virginia's First Lady and the Mayor: Beverly and John Sullivan. She's involved in many charitable causes in Rappahannock County and he was re-elected unopposed.
When that gathering happened in April Jim already was involved up to his eyebrows in a piece being written for The Washington Post about him and his plans for Little Washington. He considered the reporter a friend, which can be dangerous. No fault of the reporter, Jim was unguarded with him. He felt he was in sympathetic hands and spoke freely. My two-cents were that I hoped the story included the locals and their opinions.

When it ran two weeks ago on the front page of the Sunday paper it was all Jim Abdo, with traces of Sullivan and O'Connell. Whatever good Abdo intended, regardless of how many column inches were devoted to his "positive" plans, the townsfolk locked into a handful of incendiary words. "Hollow,""vacant" and "empty," is how he described Little Washington, adding that it had no "pulse." And this: "I've gone into corridors that didn't have a catalyst like the Inn at Little Washington. And why isn't that properly being leveraged?"
Jim and Mai Abdo, enjoying a night out with friends in Little Washington, VA.
Might as well put them in pulsing neon: Corridors! Catalyst! Leveraged!

That's developer speak, words that are absorbed without a batted eye by other developers, politicians, boards of supervisors and bank loan officers. But regular folk who love their town don't talk like that and don't want to hear words like that from anyone else, especially a developer — even if they may, to some extent, agree.

The Post piece landed in Little Washington with the destructive force of an IED. The community list serve, Rappnet, sped up to warp speed with contempt toward Abdo, and Sullivan, and O'Connell. The NYSD "Moose" story got dragged into it. Just about the kindest word aimed at Abdo was that he was a "bigfoot." Sullivan became a strutting "Boss Hogg." O'Connell, who was out of the country on a long-planned trip, was smeared, too, as a "coward" and there were calls for organizing a boycott of The Inn.
Jim Abdo's first Washington, VA., project: The White Moose Inn. There's local controversy about the yellow door, too.
In addition to my NYSD story about the White Moose and a dinner at the Abdo's home, someone found another NYSD/Little Washington story I wrote that was essentially a love letter to the town. It got posted on Rappnet with this intro: "If you haven't seen it I've provided the URL for a nauseating article by Carol Joynt about the 'delighted' mayor of Little Washington, Patrick O'Connell, Jim Abdo, of course, and other charming and eclectic features of Washington, VA."

It hasn't yet been held up as incriminating evidence, but there's another one, too, about spending Christmas Eve in Little Washington and at the Inn. I can't deny I swoon for the Inn and the town and put those feelings in words.
The Rappahannock County courthouse in Little Washington, VA.
My first foray to Little Washington was in 1975, coming back from hiking some of the Appalachian Trail. In 1978, when The Inn opened, my husband, Howard, and I became regulars. We lived in Upperville, an hour's drive north, and dinner at The Inn was our big thrill. The owners, Patrick O'Connell and Rinehardt Lynch, became besties. It turned out I had deeper roots with Patrick than I knew.

One late night he revealed to me that he sat at the desk behind my big sister, Susan Ross, at Surattsville High School in Prince Georges County, MD — ("admiring her beehive.") Patrick and Rinehardt were the witnesses at our wedding, and Patrick is a godparent to our son, Spencer. They have since split, but Patrick remains close to Spencer and me. He's family.
Godson and godparent ... Spencer Joynt with Patrick O'Connell at Spencer's 21st birthday party.
But it's because I owned and renovated a house on Main Street — from '99 to '04 — that I can speak also about the pleasures of living there, and what the town meant to me as a sanctuary. When we got the house my son was 9 and we were still both finding our footing after the sudden death of my husband a couple years earlier.  Little Washington was our weekend retreat, in the most superlative ways, where we could kick back together, and we felt so welcomed by all the neighbors from one end of town to the other.

A good place to have a meal and meet the locals: the Country Cafe on Main Street.
There wasn't much to do, but we liked breakfast at the Country Café, picking up basics at the Mini Mart, morning walks, picnics by nearby streams, dreaming under the blanket of stars at night.

I met John and Beverly Sullivan after Howard died. They lived down the street from us in Georgetown, but they also owned a beautiful small farm in Rappahannock County, where Spencer and I were often overnight guests. We had many bonds, but one of the strongest was our common affection for Rappahannock in general and Little Washington in particular. Beverly was the one who told me about the little house on Main Street, and after I bought it and moved in she and John hosted a "welcome to Rappahannock County" party for us and invited the locals, a lot of the same people who are now at odds with John Sullivan over Jim Abdo.

Jim and Mai Abdo and I met several years ago at a dinner party in DC that included the then-French ambassador Pierre Vimont and the late James Oberstar, who was a Minnesota congressman and devout Francophile, and his wife, Jean. Jim, who was on my left, was a bundle of enthusiasm about development projects he had underway in the District. I know a lot of developers. They come in many flavors. Some are quite frankly just about the profit and could give a rat's ass about architectural design and community impact.

Others care about the whole picture and the legacy of the project, and Jim struck me as being of those flavors. It appeared to me that he really loved DC and wanted to see it become a vital 21st century city, and he has played a role in the transformation that is the local Washington story of the last decade.
Classic Rappahannock County — a field in the town of Little Washington.
A pond in Little Washington.
The town of Little Washington has a few central streets but it is also rural.
One of several authentic log cabins in Little Washington.
Main Street, after a spring rain shower.
All development is controversial. People get displaced. Changes are made. There's confusion and fear. The street where I live in Georgetown, now dense with houses, was once farmland.

The Georgetown waterfront was once a port, but today is a wonderful and popular park and a complex  (albeit ugly) of offices, apartments and restaurants. A dozen blocks over we have 14th Street, which became blocks of blight after the '68 riots and remained that way until several years ago, when developers began the gradual (and now speedy) makeover. It's the hottest scene in town.
Beverly and John Sullivan at a party in "big" Washington when he was still president and group publisher of Atlantic Media. A graduate of Yale and the Columbia Business School, he has served on the boards of the National Archives and Arena Stage.
In 2010, John Fox Sullivan, center, hosted a tasting of Virginia wines at the Sullivan's Georgetown home. Long before becoming Washington, VA's mayor, he was a town, county and state booster.
This rebirth has happened, too, at the old Navy Yards near the Washington Nationals ballpark, and is just beginning along the long-fallow southwest waterfront. New residents are moving to Washington, DC, at a rate of 1,000 per month. A lot of credit for this boom goes to mayors, in particular Anthony Williams, but also his successors, Adrian Fenty and Vincent Gray. The thing is, though, they worked with the developers. Williams and Abdo are personal friends.

Roger Piantadosi, editor of the Rappahannock News, organized last week's town meeting to bring the debate about Little Washington development into one room.
Mayor John Sullivan — who, not incidentally, is semi-retired from a long career as a respected publishing executive in big Washington — considers himself to be doing what mayors do: "I've been trying to make things happen. It is my job as mayor to strengthen the town and attract more businesses and people." He was recently re-elected unopposed. Also, John and Beverly sold their farm and bought a smaller but still splendid spread right in the heart of town.

Sullivan and Abdo both are regretful about the Post story, and how it surprised and upset the community, and have tried to make peace with the residents who want to know, and have every right to know, the details of development plans and what these plans will mean to the town and the county and to them.

Rappahannock News editor Piantadosi hastily organized the town meeting last week, where all sides — pro, con and just plain curious — came together. The meeting had it all — too many people packed in a small and stuffy theater, a lot of talk, raw emotions, and attempts to defuse the bomb. Abdo and Sullivan gave their mea culpas, but later on Rappnet, at least, tempers remained at fever pitch.
The Washington Theatre, where the Rappahannock News town meeting was held.
A photo taken of the Rappahannock News-sponsored town meeting of last week, shot by Dennis Brack. Sitting at the foot of the stage are Hobson, Sullivan, Abdo and representatives of Rappahannock County.
One of the most vocal opponents of the Abdo plan is former Georgia congressman Ben Jones, aka "Cooter" of 70s hit TV show The Dukes of Hazzard, and who lives just outside the town. After the meeting, I asked him how he thought it went. "The whole deal was surrealistic, for after about five minutes we realized that the whole thing was moot, the development was going to happen and we were wasting our breath complaining about it. We had been beaten before we had begun." He added that "Abdo has won" and the meeting was his "coronation" and then he called Abdo an expletive.

Ben "Cooter" Jones in a 2011 photograph from the Rappahannock News.
Incriminating, at least among opponents of development in Washington, Virgina — the truffled popcorn at The Inn at Little Washington, which is viewed as being too high on the hog for the rural Rappahannock County seat.
About my NYSD stories, he was unequivocal: "I fear your Washington Social Diary may be the smoking gun that some folks are looking for. To tell you the truth, I found it sickening. I've been in those rooms many times, in even higher cotton. And that is exactly what I came here to get away from. A little bit of that goes a long way, and a town reflecting those sensibilities will indeed destroy the traditional culture here."

Referring to my friends, Jones said, they "could do us all a favor by moving back to Kalorama or weekending in the Hamptons or Bucks County." But a day later his tone softened.

"First let me apologize for my presumptuousness, my anger, and my weariness," he wrote. "Right now I am 'running on fumes' and that piece about the joys of The White Moose Inn, rankled my Southern pride. It was stupid and mean-spirited of me." He also let me know that he has lunch every week with Mayor Sullivan as part of a mostly-male, mostly-codger group known as the "lunch bunch."

Jones words are tame among much of the vitriol. This email from a woman is representative of several: "The horse is out of the barn. Sully is a compromised corrupt two-faced liar, and Abdo is just a rich, arrogant ex-camel herder and flying carpet merchant.  O'Connell — you know what you got there — ask any local person that ever worked for him."

In another message, someone came to his defense: "I know Patrick and I certainly don't believe he is anything like he has been portrayed on Rappnet. You all seem to forget how much he has and does donate and contribute to this county constantly throughout the year." 

In other messages, neighbors debated, even attacked, each other while a few praised Sullivan and defended Abdo. A woman shared that she wrote to Abdo, asking him to "rethink his method of communicating" and she included his response, in which he thanked her and said, "we agree with each other more than you know." That was quickly slapped down by another woman, "I seriously doubt that Abdo has the time or wherewithal to answer his own emails. Nice try. He Does NOT care." (He does and he does.)
A cozy bedroom at The Inn at Little Washington.
This ruckus will go on, and it will be colorful and emotional, but Little Washington will survive it and may even come to appreciate Abdo's investment. Or not. That part of the story is yet to play out. At the very least it will be compelling. There's talk of frequent town meetings, in addition to routine town council sessions. In its own way it is a reflection of our times and our growing pains — whether big city or small town. At a later lunch with Abdo I suggested that the whole town-vs-developer controversy become a reality TV show, and I wasn't kidding. Coincidentally, someone else see's that, too. The former TV star himself, Ben Jones wrote: "Abdo could do a hell of a reality show right now."

Okay, Ben. You write the check and I'll get together the production team and start shooting ... video tape, that is.

*Since I know I'll get slammed for suggesting there's no sex in LW, let me make clear — there's sex and lots of it (but possibly most of it among lovers shacked up at The Inn).
Sunset in Little Washington, Virginia, with the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance.
Photographs by Carol Joynt.

Follow Carol on twitter @caroljoynt
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Shanghai Social Diary

June 26, 2014, 6:28 am
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When in Shanghai, I love trying foods both new and traditional. One of my favorites is Beggar’s Chicken, one of the famous dishes of China.
SHANGHAI SOCIAL DIARY: CULINARY ADVENTURES IN SHANGHAI
by Jeanne Lawrence

One of the many reasons I travel is to taste the various cuisines of the world. In Shanghai, I’ve had the opportunity to entertain and dine with my friends in a variety of venues. In this dispatch, I’ve picked a few dining experiences that were special.

LUNCH WITH FASHION DESIGNER HAN FENG

On a lovely Saturday afternoon, I met up with my friend Han Feng, the peripatetic designer of fashions, opera sets and costumes, who spends alternating months in New York City and Shanghai.
Han Feng and I had lunch at the luxury Andaz Hotel in Shanghai’s Xintiandi neighborhood in the former French Concession.
ANDAZ HOTEL

I was introduced to the Andaz Hotel chain when it moved into my Xintiandi neighborhood—a landmark entertainment area filled with stylish restaurants, bars, and boutiques. 
Andaz Shanghai was the first of Hyatt’s new collection of contemporary, boutique-inspired hotels in Asia.  It’s in the heart of downtown Shanghai near the Huai Hai Zhong Road, one of Shanghai’s premier shopping areas.
The hotel features a lounge in the main lobby and Éclair, an all-day patisserie, off the lobby. I often stop by with friends for European coffee and pastries after our morning walks.
HAI PAI RESTAURANT

At lunchtime, I met Han Feng and her parents, who were visiting from Hangzhou (an hour’s trip on the bullet train).

Not only is Han Feng a talented designer, she’s also a fabulous cook. At her home I’ve eaten some of the most inventive and healthy Chinese food—all prepared by her.
Han Feng, her parents and I dined in Andaz Hotel’s casual restaurant Hai Pai—meaning “modern Shanghainese spirit”—a combination French bistro and Shanghainese brasserie.
Jeanne Lawrence with Han Feng.
Jeanne Lawrence, Han Feng, her mother Han Jin Wen and stepfather Yu Qun, and Hai Pai Executive Chef Jacqueline Qiu.
Andaz GM Wilson Lee, Han Feng, and Jacqueline Qiu.
As Han Feng has great taste in food, I was happy to leave the ordering to her. I’ve eaten some of my favorite restaurant meals with her and enjoyed of her home-cooked meals as well.
BEGGAR’S CHICKEN LEGEND

It was only a casual Saturday afternoon lunch, but it was memorable. Han Feng chose one of my favorite dishes:  Beggar’s Chicken, whose name, like that of many Chinese dishes, comes from folklore.

Legend has it that during the Qing dynasty, a starving beggar stole a chicken and buried it in the mud of a riverbank before escaping.

Later, he returned and threw the mud-soaked chicken directly on an open fire, which hardened the clay-rich crust around the bird. When cracked open, it yielded an aromatic and succulent roast chicken.

A perfectly cooked beggar’s chicken is a Chinese delicacy that every visitor should experience, and I dream of it when I’m back in the U.S.
Chef de Cuisine Johnny Xiang brought out the Beggar’s Chicken dish, a masterpiece of Chinese haute cuisine.
The Chef prepared Beggar’s Chicken following a traditional Chinese recipe: A marinated whole chicken is wrapped in lotus leaves, sealed tight with layers of parchment paper, and encased in clay.
The chicken is then roasted so the clay hardens around it. Han Feng got the first crack at the rock-like shell, using a mallet.
Then it was my turn. With some effort I cracked it open, revealing the mud casing and the parchment paper and releasing a mouthwatering fragrance.
This unique cooking technique produces the most tender, moist, intensely flavored chicken.
After hours of baking, the meat takes on the fragrance of the lotus leaves and falls right off the bones.
Afterward, the remains of the chicken are made into a soup and served later.
MORE DISHES ON THE MENU

What I most enjoy in China is dining with a group and sampling a variety of foods. A Chinese tour guide once confessed to me that he found Western-style dining –with a single main entrée—very boring compared to Chinese style, where many dishes are offered at once.

As you can see, it’s always a banquet in China. Hao Chur! (“Taste good!”), as they say in Chinese.
In addition to the chicken, our lunch menu included river shrimp, smoked fish bathed in soy sauce with yellow rice wine, beef with pickled vegetables, bamboo shoots and local green vegetables, and a dish of tofu and salty pork.
A Shanghai specialty: tiny river shrimp, native to the area.
One of Han Feng’s favorites is the deep-fried carp, exceedingly crispy on the outside and soaked in a sauce of soy, dark raw sugar, scallions, and ginger.
Hanging honey glazed roasted ducks and pork.
The meal was accompanied by a selection of Chinese condiments, such as ginger, scallions, cilantro, peanuts, and seaweed.
At the end of the meal, Chef Johnny Xiang came over so we could show him our appreciation. Good food is very important to the Chinese.
HAN FENG’S NEWEST DESIGN PROJECT

Attention shoppers! I recently had the pleasure of visiting Han Feng’s New York City studio, where I got a sneak peek at her fall collection of rugs for Tai Ping luxury carpets, which has a showroom in Shanghai. The colorful silk and wool rugs were truly works of art.

FOOD & WINE PAIRING DINNER AT THE HISTORIC PEACE HOTEL

As I always want to learn more about Chinese cuisine, I jumped at the chance to attend a special food and wine pairing evening at the invitation of my friend, wine connoisseur Andrea Mingfai Chu.

Hosted by Chu with YesMyWine.com (China’s largest online wine retailer) the event celebrated the publication of the Chinese-language edition of Jeannie Cho Lee’s book,Asian Palate.
Jeanne Lawrence, Andrea Mingfai Chu, and Jeannie Cho Lee, one of only 366 people in the world to have become a certified Master of Wine, and the first Asian to do so.
PEACE HOTEL

At Shanghai’s historic Peace Hotel, now operated by Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, I was thrilled to taste distinctive Chinese dishes and sample Lee’s thoughtful wine pairings in the company of some serious oenophiles.
The Shanghai Peace Hotel on the Bund is a popular venue for parties and special events, known also for its formal English tea and a nighttime jazz club.
Built in the 1920s by bon vivant Victor Sassoon, the Peace Hotel was renovated to its former glory by architectural firm Hirsch-Bedner in 2010.
ORGANIZER ANDREA MINGFAI CHU

Andrea Mingfai Chu published the Chinese language version of Lee’s book. Andrea herself is also an author of several books about the design and architecture of historic Shanghai houses, among them Modern Shanghai Vintage Houses (Shuyi Publishing)and Shanghai Interiors (Structure Books Ltd).
Andrea Mingfai Chu and Jeannie Cho Lee.
Andrea Mingfai Chu.
Andrea’s book Modern Shanghai Vintage Houses.
JEANNIE CHO LEE, THE FIRST ASIAN MASTER OF WINE

Lee, born in South Korea and raised in the United States, earned an undergraduate degree from Smith College and a Masters in public policy from Harvard. Before transitioning to wine, she began her career in business journalism in Asia.
An award-winning author, journalist, consultant, judge, and wine critic and educator, Jeannie Cho Lee is considered one of the most influential people in the wine world.
LEE’S BOOK: ASIAN PALATE

To research her book, Lee spent a year dining on five to six meals a day in major Asian cities including Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, Seoul, Beijing, Taipei, Mumbai, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur. Her goal was to experience first-hand the popular regional dishes and select the wines to pair with them.
Based in Hong Kong, Lee’s Asian Palate explores Asian food and wine pairings in ten Asian culinary capitals.
Asian Palate won a Gourmand Award for Best Food and Wine Pairing Book in the World.
I would have loved to follow Lee around on the research tour—provided I could have kept up with her schedule. A mother of four daughters, she is constantly on the road. 

Friends and fans can visit her website www.AsianPalate.com to keep abreast of her travels and enjoy nuggets of information from her research.

THE DINNER MENU

The dinner party I attended in honor of Jeannie Cho Lee included the best of the best: superb Asian dishes from around the content and spectacular French wines from several regions.
We began with assorted Chinese appetizers paired with a NV Bollinger Special Cuvee Brut from Champagne.
The opening dish was deep-fried fresh river shrimps with spring onion, braised fish tail with soy sauce, and poached asparagus with light soy sauce, accompanied by a 2007 F, E, Trimbach Pinot Gris Reserve from Alsace.
Dish 2 was braised crab and shrimp meat with egg white, with a 2009 Louis Jadot, Pouilly-Fuisse AOC, Maconnais, from Burgundy.
Served together with Dish 2 was the famous “Peace Hotel” Eight Treasure Stew.
Dish 3 was river croaker fish with sweet and sour sauce and deep-fried spring rolls stuffed with shredded chicken, The wine was a 2007 Francois Martenot Les Griottines, Gevrey-Chambertin AOC.
A Burgundy red, the 2007 Francois Martenot Les Griottines, Gevrey-Chambertin AOC paired well with the fried croaker fish and spring rolls because its acidity cuts through oil.
Dish 4, our last course, was braised pork belly with soy sauce, and wok-fried choy sum with shiitake mushrooms, served with a 2007 La Lagune, Haut-Medoc, and a 2007 Pichon Lalande, Pauillace, both from Bordeaux.
This 2007 La Lagune, Haut-Medoc Bordeaux was a good match with the braised pork belly with soy sauce, since its tannin and oak flavors complement fatty and rich foods.
Dessert was red date with taro paste. Good as it was, I confess to preferring French and Austrian pastries. (Flourless chocolate cake?  Yum!)
WINE AFICIONADOS
The newly minted wine aficionados gathered at one of the four tables in the Peace Hotel’s private dining room.
Jeannie Cho Lee (right) with friends Riana and Savio Chow.
Andrea Mingfai Chu with Chauteau Margaux Brand Ambassador Fang Yuan Zheng.
Hong Kong-based Alan Yu, former executive chef at 8 ½ Otto E Mezzo Bombana, with Dong Fu, owner of the House of Blues & Jazz on the Bund.
Lee’s friendsRiana and Savio Chow flew in for the event from Hong Kong.
JEANNIE CHO LEE’S SUGGESTIONS

Lee’s website offers a great guide for pairing wines with Asian foods.

Choose a cuisine region, a food category, and a specific dish, and the site comes up with a long list of suggested wines.

Or, if you have a bottle of wine with particular characteristics (it’s sweet, acidic, or tannin-flavored, for example), the website will suggest dishes to accompany it.

Lee also offers a basic view of “pairing concepts”: sweet foods go with sweet wines, sour foods with wines that are highly acidic, salty foods with fruity wines, bitter foods with full-bodied choices, and umami flavors with delicate, savory, mature wines.

ANOTHER EVENT AT THE PEACE HOTEL

After the dinner, I poked my nose into other rooms at the Peace Hotel to see what was happening. The historic ballroom was packed with animated guests in gowns and black tie for a charity dinner and auction.

I was happy to see that this storied hotel was continuing the Peace Hotel’s long tradition of hosting glamorous society parties. Victor Sassoon would be very pleased.
The famedPeace Ballroom is once again one of the city’s premier event spaces.
With the country’s newfound wealth, the Chinese are hosting more and more philanthropic events such this recent one for Noblesse, a children’s charity.
As we left the hotel, we admired the creative lighting highlighting the colonial architecture of the Swatch Art Hotel across the street, formerly part of old Peace Hotel.
OKTOBERFEST AT PAULANER BRAUHAUS

As Shanghai is such an international city, it offers a tremendous variety of dining establishments, from regional Chinese food to French, Italian, Thai, Korean, Japanese, and more, catering to the locals and also the many foreigners living and vacationing here.

I especially enjoy Shanghai’s German bräuhaus (“brew houses”). They conjure up fond memories of my college year abroad in Heidelberg. I celebrated the authentic Oktoberfest holiday in Munich and clearly recall the joyous gemütlich (“cozy”) spirit and the skill with which Fräuleins in bustiers and dirndls carried six to eight pints of beer at a time!
Paulaner Bräuhaus at Fen Yang Road is Shanghai’s largest beer house.
The Bräuhaus is located in a massive 1930s three-story building, set back from Fen Yang Road away from the traffic noise and featuring a lovely summer beer garden.
Oktoberfest is a celebration of the fall season and German culture and food (especially beer!).
GERMANS IN SHANGHAI

According to a 2012 Shanghai Daily article, Shanghai has the largest German population in East Asia, with 8,000 registered German residents and 11,000 in the consular jurisdiction. Dr. Wolfgang Röhr, German Consul General to Shanghai, was quoted as saying that bilateral trade had reached US$170 billion in 2011, and nearly 50% of European exports to China come from Germany.
Thousands of Germans of all ages make Shanghai their home.
PAULANER BRAUHAUS

Aside from Germany itself, there’s no better place to celebrate authentic Oktoberfest than in Shanghai, at one of the city’s many bräuhaus.
Paulaner Bräuhaus features authentic Bavarian-style décor, copper beer kettles, and a stage for live music.
All four of the city’s branches of the Paulaner Bräuhaus are popular family restaurants and great spots for celebrating
Paulaner offers heaps of German food and drink, including pork knuckles, bratwurst and other types of sausage, wiener schnitzel, potatoes, mushroom soup, and cabbage (very healthy, of course!).
The brew house has a small stage for live music.
The house band plays a mix of popular songs and traditional German tunes.
MY OKTOBERFEST DINNER GUESTS

The casual and fun brew house was the perfect place to celebrate Oktoberfest with friends.

As you can see, it was an evening full of gemütlichkeit!
Enjoying Paulaner’s three in-house brews: financier Christopher Loeffler with the dark beer, Jeanne Lawrence with wheat beer, and entrepreneur Stewart Beck with the lager.
Gallerist Rebecca Catching.
Jeanne Lawrence and interior designer Luke Van Dyke.
Art Consultant Maya Kramer and artist Jin Shan.
Author and journalist Lisa Movius.
Jigsaw marketing research CEO Kim Beck with Luke Van Dyke.
We ordered the deluxe dinner—a gigantic platter of grilled chicken shanks, roasted pork neck, Nürnberger bratwurst, roasted duckling, pork knuckle, bread dumplings, spätzle, sauerkraut, and cabbage.
The evening was filled with music­­––beer-drinking songs and dancing accompanied by the spirited German umpapa (oompah) band.
Photos byJeanne Lawrence

*Urbanite Jeanne Lawrence reports on lifestyle and travel from her homes in San Francisco, Shanghai, and New York, and wherever else she finds a good story.
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