Category: Lifestyle

Wine Country shopping, fashion and interior design

Healdsburg Author Gives Christmas Trees Flight

To Carrie Brown, a Christmas tree is like a mannequin to a great designer — a naked shape just begging to be dressed. Every Christmas for more than 20 years, the owner of the rustic and retro Jimtown Store on the outskirts of Healdsburg “concocts new flights of fancy” with her own tree. “I love […]
Photography by Chris Hardy

A Kenwood House Worth the Wait

The 6,300-square-foot home, which is part Cape Cod and part American Craftsman, is nestled on a 5-acre parcel in Kenwood, in the heart of the Valley of the Moon.

Photography by Chris Hardy

Healdsburg Artist Creates Modern Decor with Candles

To Dundee Butcher, candlelight is as crucial to a party as great wine and food, especially during the holiday season. “Candles bring light and softness to a table,” said the Texas native who now calls Healdsburg home. “Just like a room without flowers feels dead, I feel the same way about candles. It’s warm. It’s […]

Petaluma’s Yuba Bicycles Creates Ultimate Bike

Who doesn’t want a new bike for Christmas — especially one outfitted with a 350-watt electric motor that kicks in for steep climbs and can carry up to 300 pounds of rider, kids and cargo? The Spicy Curry model from Petaluma’s Yuba Bicycles is such a machine, capable of carrying loads at speeds up to […]

Shopping: Holiday Wine Country Finds

Sonoma winter is more a state of mind than a time for bracing against snow and sleet. Sonomans are quick to nestle by the fire with a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon while waiting for Santa’s sleigh, even if the sun is shining and the temperature mild. With this in mind, Heather Irwin offers some great […]

From the Runway to Your Closet: Fall Fashion Inspiration

Everyone who watches Fashion Week lusts to have the audacity to pull off the outfits strutted on the runway.  The reality is we can all afford to pack our closets full of top designers, and the designs we see can be downright impractical. Here’s a couple of runway inspirations turned into obtainable, trendy fall fashion. […]
Leslie Boutell and Simon Purshouse, owners of Urban Refind, sit on a porch swing amongst many of their other wares at their shop in Sonoma, California on Thursday, October 15, 2015. (Alvin Jornada / The Press Democrat)

Urban Refind to the Rescue

If you have refined tastes, are conscious about recycling, prefer to shop local and take a liking to vintage, antique items with history and character, Urban Refind is just for you. Leslie Boutell and Simon Purshouse have spent the past six years sorting through unwanted stuff, which most people see as junk, and finding hidden treasures […]
The Guevaras renovated roughly half of the historic, 21,000-square-foot stable to be their home. (Photo by Chris Hardy)

Former Stable Gets a Leg Up

Rancho Wikiup, a 100-year-old stable where famous thoroughbreds once pranced, has been turned into a beautiful venue.