It’s a Boozy Speaking of holiday beverages, I wanted to sign off with a recipe for my fellow eggnog lovers. It’s easy to make, lasts a long time, and tastes great. How good, you ask? It’s a snowy Christmas Eve in New York City. You just finished your day, and stepped into the elegant St….
Vamping in Hollywood If you haven’t strolled through Hollywood Cemetery, or if it’s been a while, October is the perfect month to get out and walk the grounds. Hollywood was established in 1849 during the Victorian trend of making urban cemeteries more park-like and a place for people to meet, play and remember their…
What to boo, what to boo Richmond has plenty of fun options if you want to celebrate the spooky this month, here are a few recommendations. Historic St. John’s is having their Fancy Me Mad event, where you can stroll through the graveyard and meet fascinating spirits telling fascinating stories. It’s a highly entertaining…
Make Room for the Heirloom Say what you will about August, it’s been a good growing summer in Virginia. I adore heirloom tomatoes and more varieties are showing up at markets each year. Heirlooms were once grown commercially, back when the total focus was on taste, and hundreds of varieties were available. That changed…
Prepare Us the Terrace If you do get a stretch of reasonable weather, a great DIY project is installing a patio area using pavers. It could be a small project like laying an area for the grill, trash cans, or a bench in the yard, or it could be for a larger patio project…
Some Like it Hot, Me Not Yesterday it was June, today it’s August. For the life of me I don’t know why it always takes me by surprise, but every summer it arrives on my doorstep like a family of out of town visitors that I insisted drop in for a visit at a…
Iris my Case One of my earliest memories is walking in a wooded area behind my house and stumbling across a bearded iris in full bloom. My first reaction was stunned awe and delight at its beauty. My second was to jank the whole plant from the ground and drag it inside the kitchen…
Know your H2O If you’re looking for things to do in the next two months, why not plan an adventure on or around the James River? Whether you want to be in it, on it, or near it, Richmond has a wide variety of river-based activities to welcome in the summer. First stop,…
Getting the Blues After the last issue of IORVA we received a request for an article on how to attract bluebirds. Happy to oblige, but attracting bluebirds is like dating. You can do your best to attract someone, but it all comes down to luck and chemistry. Bluebirds, like lonely hearts, are complicated critters. …
Painting a Wall As much as I look forward to April’s arrival, it is a month of many moods. Warm one day, chance of frost the next, clear and beautiful, quickly followed by days of rain. If the weather puts your outside plans on hold, you can tackle a decorating project that will…
