Wait, You're Leaving?

One of my favorite topics to write about is pets. So I was thrilled when Eating Well magazine assigned me the topic of how to reduce pet separation anxiety as people return to work from lockdown. It's in the current March 2021 print issue.

Deck the Walls with Lush Florals, Patterns and a Whiff of Nostalgia

(Courtesy of Kim Nadel / Gaia Inspired Design and Consulting)

When I was growing up and my dad, a museum administrator, had to go out of town for meetings, my mom had two rituals: make breakfast for dinner, including waffles with strawberries and ice cream, and redecorate the house. She took advantage of her temporary insomnia by painting and wallpapering rooms through the night.

Sometimes, after we got home from school, Mom recruited us to help steam and scrape off layer upon layer of old paper. I still have olfactory memories of that distinctive aroma of wet paper and old paste.

And I have never approached wallpapering for my own home, as a result.

But I’m rethinking that now. According to Homes & Gardens, an interior design and garden design magazine, wallpaper is a key trend for 2021. So, I wrote a just-published piece for the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Home & Garden section on what’s new (temporary papers, a vast array of materials), and got some sage advice from designers on how to choose the perfect wall coverings.

Vista's 2020 WaterSmart Landscape Winner

Try using a saw and crowbar to cut and pull out six-inch squares of tired, concrete-like soil to create a new, low-water garden. That's what 65-year-old Robin Ziegler did--and was awarded the Vista Irrigation District's win in the 2020 WaterSmart Landscape Contest. Here's how she did it!

This is the last of a series of WaterSmart Landscape Contest Winners. Stay tuned for my next piece in the UT’s Home/Garden section next month!

Two WaterSmart Winners: Budget-Smart Beauty and Colorful Cottage

There are homeowners who love to garden--and those who have no interest at all. But you'd be surprised by how water issues can drive them equally to change up their landscape. Here are two 2020 WaterSmart Landscape Contest winners in my latest story for The San Diego Union-Tribune's Home and Garden section.

Pandemic Thanksgiving Advice for First-Time Cooks

I joined KPBS Midday Edition host Maureen Cavanaugh on November 16, 2020 to offer advice to Thanksgiving host newbies. The pandemic means that those of us who have long gathered for the meal at someone else’s house or at a restaurant now may be responsible for preparing our own meal for our household. That can be daunting if you’ve never done that before. The key is planning it all out so you aren’t standing in the kitchen at 5 p.m. freaked out because the turkey isn’t cooked but the pies need to go into the oven—and what happened to the stuffing?

If you’re the designated cook for Thanksgiving for the first time, take a listen.

Two WaterSmart winners: Botanical abundance and Craftsman charm

Sometimes it takes a pro to design and implement a beautiful landscape, but sometimes a thoughtful amateur can also turn a sad front yard into — literally — an award-winning landscape.

Laura Lisauskas, the Olivenhain Municipal Water District’s 2020 WaterSmart Landscape Contest winner, has been in the design world since 1999, transitioning from commercial interior architectural design to landscaping. She redid her family’s street-facing side yard as a professional milestone and got a check as winner for $250.

Leslie Rush, on the other hand, the winner of the city of Oceanside’s 2020 WaterSmart Landscape Contest, had no experience in landscaping but gave herself plenty of time over the years and, through a major home renovation, to research and plan her front-yard landscape.

If you’re interested in how to transform a water-gulping landscape into one more appropriate to our desert environment, learn how these two women worked their magic in my newest story for the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Home and Garden section.