Arboretum in Peril
Egads, The U.S. National Arboretum is in peril and has lost most of its federal funding for 2009! I love this place. It’s where I find a lot of inspiration for drawing nature and gardening ideas. I’ve been taking my boys here since they were wee tots. It would be a shame if this gem of a 446-acre botanical park was to quietly close its gates. Presently, a lot of people don’t know about this natural wonder. It only receives 480,000 visitors a year while other arboretums and the more popular U.S. Botanical Gardens (on the Mall) attract upwards of 750,000 visitors. However, it is pristine and the largest track…
Artini
Hurry and vote! This fun contest is ending on April 30th. Vote for your favorite artistic + martini = artini at these hot spots around DC. The event culminates with a party at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Darn that I didn’t know about this until now. I would have had one more excuse to visit all these restaurants and sample their artini versions, for I think there is an art to making a good martini. I hope they’ll still be offered after the fact.
Housing Market
Who would guess you’d find art while looking at the real estate section? It’s not surprising since a lot of the art that I do is for the home, but this art is about architecture. The Slayton House is for sale in DC. It’s one of the few (only three) residential homes designed by the famous architect, I. M. Pei, back in 1958. It’s currently owned by Dan Snyder, the owner of the Redskins football team, but it can be yours for a cool $4 + million. I find its modern architecture has stood the test of time, even with the unusual triple barrel-vaulted arches, but take a virtual tour…
