Leaf Magazine

…I’ve had a few careers. The Highlights (in no particular order):

• Mach 1.2 in the back seat of an F-14
• Launching Russia’s first commercial satellite
• Planting a giant Sequoia tree

Other Stuff: Love ‘Truck Songs’ – a super special mix tape heard only in my flare side Ford pick-up while on plant buying and flea market adventures. Still relish the day I was mistaken for Gwyneth Paltrow. I know that there is nothing better than Colorado roots, Montana blood and a rancher’s sensibility. If it is in the plant kingdom and its chartreuse, or grassy, or both – I want it. Can’t own enough pairs of Seven jeans. Thinks Rhinestone Cowboy and Grease were two of the best things about the 70s. Wears Sambas to garden and Hunters to work. Endless wanderlust will forever keep me in good supply of cocktail stories.

They say some people are born for sales. I guess that’s me – a chip off my dad’s block. Starting at eight with homemade cookies and stolen apples, I later graduated to magazine ad pages in the New York City media ‘jungle’. I love to debate, persuade and cajole. A foodie to the core, I’m addicted to gourmet meals, expensive champagne, far-flung travels and remote islands. (Hence the need for a job!) Love the color blue – turquoise is my favorite hue – Matta Dupatta scarves, Gustavian furniture, elegance, soccer, and copious amounts of iced tea. I never pass up dessert or anything French. A Wheaton Terrier named Zoey converted me to a crazy dog lover and I am the proud mom of two teenage boys. Noisily excited about and quietly proud of Leaf!

So…there are lots of places to find out about the official me, but here, I want to share what’s really important. I am a Jack-Russell owning, image addicted, avid reading, coffee drinking, workaholic design junkie with gypsy feet and a passion for outdoor spaces.There, I said it. If you can connect the dots between those things you have most of the pertinent information.If you need some facts…I am also a practicing residential landscape designer and a founder of Leaf who believes that great design should permeate everything we live with. I have an affinity for contemporary design but also love antiques and traditional design. I’m just full of contradictions and to make it worse I have ‘next shiny thing’ syndrome and flit from object to object. Oh, just one more thing…I love a good gin Martini.

My mother was right. I was destined to be a writer. Instead of heeding her advice, I set off on a career path that included a stint as a cocktail waitress in a country and western bar, a law practice, and a garden design business. In between, I dabbled in marketing, management, and merchandising for companies too numerous to recall. Restless, I returned to writing. And editing. I live a quiet life that includes a husband I am as crazy for as when I first met him singing to kids around a campfire. Together we, and our Golden Retriever, travel on Sundays through back roads to nowhere in a Jeep. We host magical parties with fabulous food and drinks and even bigger bonfires. I throw like a guy, bat like a champ, and play a mean left field. I think nature has all the answers.