Author Archives: JJD
Hanoi – Streets of the Old Quarter
Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam and has been continuously settled for more than a thousand years. Like any ancient city, it has its “old town” with its warrens of narrow, maze-like streets and bustling commercial activity. I was struck by how alive and, surprisingly, pretty the old city was. I loved the energy and […]
Hanoi – What we ate
In the past few weeks, as I’ve told people that I would be traveling to Vietnam, people asked me what I was going to do. My response? Eat food. Yeah, sure, there’s nature and Uncle Ho and some other stuff (like super-chaotic traffic — more on that later) but oh, the food! Each region in Vietnam is known […]
Vietnam – Getting there
Holy cow, 25 hours of travel is SUCH a long time! But I got where I needed to go (Hanoi!) with minimal hassle and stress (turns out the Koreans do air travel really well), and all those hours of travel did provide plenty of opportunities for amusement. For example, this: My friend Peggy has decided that this […]
Vietnam – It’s starting!
Okay folks, another round of international galavanting starts now! I’m off to Vietnam and Cambodia for 18 days of food, motorbikes, and other adventures. I’m flying Korean Air non-stop from Dulles to Seoul, where I’ll rendez-vous with Vanessa before continuing on to Hanoi. It’ll be my first time in Asia, and I can hardly wait […]
All packed up and ready to go!
Holy cow, it’s the last weekend before a major international vacation — I leave on Thursday for Vietnam! As you might expect, I devoted this weekend entirely to travel preparations. I made many lists: a packing list (in the form of a spreadsheet with items sorted into six columns and categories), a shopping list, a list […]
Container Gardens, Year 3 – Focus on color and texture
Spring and summer are my favorite seasons. The days are long and bright and warm, and I get to plant my balcony gardens. I finished all my planting about a month ago and have enjoyed watching them grow. Every morning I sit on the balcony to eat a piece of fruit and soak in the colors and […]
Things I love: Discovering how two things go together in a way I’d never thought of before
When I was in Morocco last summer, I bought several large ornamental plates. One of them, with its rich yellow and red pattern and silver latticework overlay, is a lovely piece but very different from the other blue and white ceramics I brought home. I didn’t know what to do with it. There was no obvious place on the […]
Things I love: Coming up with an idea before I see it in the magazines (and then seeing it in the magazines)
Last December I bought a giant blue Peruvian butterfly that caught my eye in an ecclectic Colorado shop. Now it hangs above a shelf in my bathroom. I love the richness of color and elegance of form that it brings to the space. Now, here we are six months later, and guess what shows up […]
Things I love: Trying out what I see in the magazines and having it work
If you read design magazines, you’ve probably noticed that nearly every photograph of a room will include fresh-cut flowers — more often than not, they’re peonies. The heavily petaled blossoms offer such rich color and texture that they bring life and interest to any room. I’ve been keeping fresh flowers in my bathroom for quite a while now, […]
Things I love: Old family photos
My Dad just sent me this wonderful historical snapshot. It must have been taken in 1958 (or earlier), so he would have been at most 6 years old at the time. He didn’t give any other background on the photo, other than the email subject line, which suggested that the snapshot was taken in connection […]
A More Gentlemanlike Manner 