Spruce up holiday cocktails with evergreen tips

Talk about having holiday spirit! Adding some spruce or Douglas fir-infused vodka to your cocktail lineup is a novel way to add a festive splash...

MoAD at 5 fete draws 500 fans of art and culture

Catherine Bigelow

Some 500 revelers turned out to toast MoAD - the Museum of the African Diaspora - at the Palace Hotel during the recent fifth anniversary...

'Sucre' cookbook for your favorite Francophile

As delicate and delightful a morsel as the celebrated Parisian patisserie itself, the new "Sucré" cookbook by famed Ladurée pastry chef Philippe...

Artecnica, Shanghai Tang, Jonathan Adler inspire

Zahid Sardar, Molly Glentzer

Lighting fit for royalty Artecnica, the Los Angeles lighting and home accessories company, recently sponsored one of its stars, Dutch designer...

New boutiques: All Saints, S.F.; Stella Carakasi

Nerissa Pacio Itchon, Sylvia Rubin

ALL SAINTS There's a conspicuous absence of color at the new All Saints store in Union Square. But a closer look at the sea of black, beige and...

Opera donors have reception with Placido Domingo

Carolyne Zinko

He may be approaching his golden years, but superstar tenor Placido Domingo, who sang in the San Francisco Opera's production of "Cyrano de...

Frederic Aranda's photography is picture perfect

Carolyne Zinko

One of London's most sought-after portrait photographers is one of its most unlikely: the Swiss-born Frederic Aranda, who wanted to be a rabbi...

Vicente Wolf creates warm spaces with cool design

Allison Bagley

"Chairs are like personalities," says designer Vicente Wolf, "and people usually gravitate to one that appeals to them." Such observations...

Jefferson Hayman at Stags' Leap Winery

Zahid Sardar

Artist program returns to Stags Stags' Leap Winery's artist-in-residence program, started in 1993 to celebrate the winery's 100th year, has been...

Vanessa Getty arranges fashionable fundraiser

Carolyne Zinko

When fashion-conscious Vanessa Getty calls, her girlfriends listen. Dozens of San Francisco's better-dressed women came to a trunk show at her...

Fall Antiques Show, Giants a perfect pair

Carolyne Zinko

What was red and orange and black all over? This year's Fall Antiques Show, which had a Chinoiserie theme that called for lots of red, but...

Prabal Gurung brings designs to San Francisco

Sylvia Rubin

He's been called a "game changer" and "the one to watch." Anna Wintour believes in him. Demi Moore and Michelle Obama wear his looks. Not even...

Designer Derek Lam lets us in on this world

Carolyne Zinko

As a child, San Francisco native Derek Lam liked making maps, and wanted to be an architect or a lawyer when he grew up. Instead, fashion...

Dom Perignon's vintage years

Carolyne Zinko

At holiday time, Richard Geoffroy, the chef de cave at Dom Perignon, is of the firm opinion that Champagne - the bubbly drink associated with...

Outside views set the tone for inside palette

Zahid Sardar

Artist and antiques dealer Candace Barnes' recent move to a tony high-rise happened as spontaneously as her decision nearly four decades ago, en...

St. Francis Wood show house: tradition with a twist

Elizabeth Hughes

Given the chance, Elle Decor Editor in Chief Michael Boodro knows exactly what he'd appropriate from the magazine's St. Francis Wood show house...

Wow factor: Luxury gifts for the holidays

How much is too much? When it comes to the joy of giving, there's no such thing. We decided it's time to bring back some glitter, to find the...