Erika Howsare

We’re lucky to have Richmond. As a mid-size city, it can offer certain things that Charlottesville doesn’t, but it’s small enough that it’s simple to navigate. And when I took my kids there recently, I was surprised—as I often am—at how easy it is to get there. That’s not even counting I-64, which might be […]

Cool drinks: This summer, we’re looking through rosé-colored glasses (and then some!)

Summer is a lighthearted time. While in colder months we may enjoy ruminating on deep thoughts while swirling something weighty in our glass—like port, or a full-bodied Sangiovese—summer calls for beverages that are pure fun, just like our pastimes. But is it as simple as just switching from red to white when sunny days arrive? […]

Griddle me this: Venezuelan arepas come to Charlottesville

Looking for a quick, tasty meal? Here’s an option that might not be on your radar—arepas from the Latin grocery La Guadalupana. What’s an arepa, you ask? It’s somewhere between a sandwich and a taco, it’s a staple of Venezuelan cooking and it’s delicious. The Carlton Road business has been around for almost two decades, […]

Up on the Hill: Picturesque gardens feed a winery kitchen

Diane Burns’ journey has taken her to some pretty interesting places—but it’s a good bet that her current place of work, Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards, is one of the most beautiful. Burns is the on-site horticulturist, and she tends neat garden beds that hug the perimeter of the tasting room and spill down the […]

An American farmhouse in the 1740s was often a one- or two-room log cabin built by family members. Husband-and-wife teams used crosscut saws to clear the forest where they intended to live and grow crops. Courtesy Frontier Culture Museum

Day trip: The Frontier Culture Museum brings history home

Just like America, the Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton is big, complicated and beautiful. It’s one of my favorite places to take my two girls—a museum where almost anything can be touched and very little is written down. Creative writing professors often exhort students to “show, don’t tell,” and this museum nails that concept, presenting […]

The Quarry Gardens at Schuyler were active soapstone mining sites in the 1950s, ‘60s and ’70s, and then the property served as a community dumpsite for about a decade. Current owners Armand and Bernice Thieblot bought the 600 acres in 1991, and have spent decades cleaning them up and creating a public garden, which features more than 30 galleries of native plants. Photo by Stephen Barling

The Quarry Gardens at Schuyler are living proof that something old can be made new again

There’s a sardine can in Schuyler that holds decades of history. Imagine, sometime in the mid-20th century, a worker sitting down to eat lunch on the ground. He unrolls the top from a can of sardines and eats the fish, then maybe stretches out for a brief nap in the sun. When it’s time to […]

The layout of the National Zoo (admission is free!) with a main walkway and themed side loops like the Asia Trail allows visitors to hit all the high points without consulting a map. Photos courtesy Smithsonian’s National Zoo

Day trip: Adventuring with kids in our nation’s capital

Before I tell you all about taking your kids on a day trip to Washington, D.C.—one of the best destinations there is—I’ll admit right upfront that such a trip is exhausting. But here’s my secret for making it exhilarating too: Leave your car outside the city and ride the Metro in. It’ll break up the […]

Kitchen, in color: Light and palette enhance a room redo

The house that Stacey Evans and John Grant share has been his home for 35 years; hers, for 10. It’s a pleasant, unpretentious place with a private backyard where the couple enjoys growing flowers and watching birds. For a long time they’d been living with a small, traditional kitchen that, while it overlooked the gardens, […]

Addition and subtraction: Edited collections furnish a city house

The first time she saw her house, no one lived there and the doors were not even locked. For years, its previous owner had held onto it, not yet ready to sell. But in a stroke of good timing, just when the current owner got interested, the house became available—something of a rarity in this […]

In a world of widespread development by humans, “There’s a huge difference in the amount of wild places for wild critters—a lot less space for them to live and less food for them to eat,” says Hummingbird Hill Native Plant Nursery co-owner Tim SanJule. Native plants are the basis of the food chain. Photos: Wikimedia Commons

The plants of our place: Native gardens are a boon to the environment

There are as many ways to garden as there are ways to cook. Some folks plant neat rows of vegetables; others create geometric arrangements of herbs. Traditional ornamental gardens in our part of the world might feature forsythia, crepe myrtle and daffodils—plants that originate in Asia, Europe and other faraway places. But for gardeners sensitive […]

Outdoor living spaces include a screened porch that opens onto a bluestone patio and pool. The area is defined by a black metal fence on which clematis and other climbing vines grow. Photo: Shawn Mulligan/DGP Architects

Framing a view: A county house blends with the land

When your property overlooks the Moorman’s River, miles of verdant fields and finally the Blue Ridge Mountains, it seems obvious that the view is a primary attraction. Yet when one couple bought a Western Albemarle house in 2000, its siting and design didn’t do as much as they could have to connect occupants to the […]

The great room—which comprises a sitting area, dining area and generous kitchen ("I like to spread out when I cook," says Carolyn Frazier), situates near the master suite and informal den. Photo: Andrea Hubbell

Farmhouse fresh: A couple goes minimal in Nelson County

Three decades in one house makes some people set in their ways, but, for others, it ends with an abrupt change. Tom and Carolyn Frazier had lived in Northern Virginia in a “typical, traditional D.C. house,” says Carolyn, and when they reached retirement they were ready for something “totally different. We wanted something modern and […]

Living Earth School co-owner Kate Knott says wild edibles pack more nutrients than the greens you get at the grocery store. Photo: John Robinson

Into the wild: Learn to eat from the garden that grows itself

Unbound | Erika Howsare

Some folks think of “greens” as the contents of a plastic bag in the produce section; others grow lettuce and spinach in their home gardens. There’s another vegetable paradigm, though, and it’s lurking right outside your back door. Welcome to the world of wild edibles. To walk through an ordinary backyard with Kate Knott or […]

Well-rooted: Winemaker Gabriele Rausse has made Virginia home

When Gabriele Rausse was a boy in northern Italy, he had a Saturday routine. Along with his family, he’d visit two small local farms and pick up shares of vegetables, fruits, eggs and chickens. It was an experience of connection. “There was a very precise schedule during the week on the use of everything that […]

A few dozen reasons to love strawberries (according to Daniel Perry)

It’s hard to choose the best thing about spring, but strawberries are certainly a strong contender. We asked Daniel Perry, the brains and hands behind Jam According to Daniel, to give us his two cents about this delectable fruit. Are strawberries a relatively versatile fruit? The great thing about strawberries is their juicy acidity. They’re […]

Custom country: Bushman Dreyfus takes on the contemporary farmhouse

Coming from Chicago, Albemarle County can seem like a different world. When Rebekah and Adam Goldberg were hunting for a local house to buy in 2014, they were trying to strike a balance between rural bliss and the neighborhood feel they were used to. “Adam wanted land and privacy,” says Rebekah. “I also like to […]

An intimate space: Using a garden to soften a vast view

The house enjoys an extraordinary location, overlooking miles of Albemarle countryside from a high mountainside perch. Throughout the day the sun makes its crossing from east to west across a wide expanse of sky, while fields and woods unroll below for what seems like forever. When the present owners came here in 1996, they loved […]

Commercial update: After a five-year search for a new space, design firm Convoy finds a mixed-use home

It’s a sign of a Charlottesville that’s growing and changing. On a site on East High Street, where once stood two small single-family houses, architect and developer Richard Price is creating a cluster of modern buildings to provide “medium-density” working and living space. At the moment, much of the project is yet to be built—but […]

From business to casual: While maintaining some of its original appeal, a downtown office becomes an eclectic family home

Finding a house in downtown Charlottesville isn’t easy, but Kate Stephenson managed to do it when she spotted a commercial space for sale just north of the Downtown Mall. Like many onetime residences, the brick building had been serving for decades as offices. When she first walked in, Stephenson definitely noticed a “law-office” look—acoustic tile […]

Sylvanaqua Farms owners Chris and Annie Newman hope to be an example to young farmers interested in permaculture. Photo: Melody Robbins

The new ag: Sylvanaqua models the next wave of local farming

C-BIZ | Erika Howsare

Talking with Chris Newman about the farm he runs with his wife, Annie, you get the feeling you’re glimpsing the future. Newman likes to think ahead; he was still in his 20s when he and Annie began planning to become farmers after retirement, which was decades away. They lived in Washington, D.C., then; he worked […]

Before you start your own business in Charlottesville, you’ll want to visit business development manager Jason Ness, who helps entrepreneurs start from a position of strength. Photo: John Robinson

How to pass ‘go’: City office lends business owners a hand

C-BIZ | Erika Howsare

Thinking of making the leap to entrepreneurship in Charlottesville? Your first stop ought to be the Office of Economic Development, which offers a broad menu of services to would-be business owners. We spoke with Jason Ness, business development manager, about what he and his colleagues can do to nudge your startup dream closer to reality. […]

Wedding greens: For a fresh take on arrangements, try trees

Longing for a breath of fresh air at your wedding site? Potted plants, trees and shrubs are a trend that can delight your guests and bring an all-natural vibe to a space. There are lots of ways to use greenery at your wedding. One of the most common: “Making a space more intimate,” says Luke […]

Danielle and Ryan were married at Raven's Roost Outlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway with less than 10 people present. Photo: Eze Amos

Simple pleasures: How to have a small Charlottesville wedding

What’s that you say? You actually don’t want the big ol’ wedding involving three days of catered meals, bagpipers on parade, engraved nameplates to mark which boutonniere goes on which groomsman? You’re not alone. Plenty of folks opt for a smaller, simpler wedding. There are many reasons why—and cost is only the most obvious. Fewer details […]

Mixed metals: Locally, wedding rings are going nontraditional

It’s a detail few guests will get a good look at, but it’ll stay with you, up close and personal, for as long as you’re married. Wedding bands deserve some attention as you do your planning—and don’t leave this decision to the last minute, since rings can take one to four weeks to arrive once […]

To top it off: Hip, fresh rental option Emerson James enters the scene

Planning a wedding means thinking about how best to represent the two of you as a couple, down to the very last cup. But how do you set your wedding apart when you’re pulling from the same resources as everyone else? That was a question local industry vets Mallory Joyce, a wedding planner and florist, […]

Make it work: One home’s kitchen is another home’s…kitchen