Local garden designer Adam Woodruff of Adam Woodruff + Associates recently won an award for best professional landscape from gardenista.com, an online gardening sourcebook. Woodruff was recognized for a prairie-inspired garden at a private residence in Girard, Ill.
Winter Opera St. Louis kicks off its eighth season Sept. 26 with a cocktail reception and five-course dinner at Dominic’s Trattoria on Brentwood Boulevard. Guests will be treated to performances by general director and founder Gina Galati, resident artists, and internationally renowned tenor Jorge Pita Carreras, who studied under Placido Domingo and has appeared with Rene Fleming and the late Luciano Pavarotti. Tickets are $125 per person and include dinner, wine and entertainment. For more information, visit winteroperastl.org.
The Ritz-Carlton ballroom, scene of dozens of charity galas and fashion shows annually, now has a new look. The transformation includes enhanced lighting capabilities and new carpeting, wall fabrics and furnishings. And, just in time for the fall social season, the hotel’s pre-function area, washrooms and guest corridors are also getting an upgrade.
Margaret Crane, senior writer and researcher at Jewish Federation of Saint Louis, has a new book out: The Kitchen Bible: Designing the Perfect Culinary Space. Co-authored with kitchen designer Jennifer Gilmer and former St. Louisan and Post-Dispatch writer Barbara Ballinger, it offers inspiration and advice for do-it-yourselfers, as well as for homeowners working with designers.
Muy caliente polo player and Ralph Lauren model Ignacio ‘Nacho’ Figueras competes at this year’s Glennon Gallop Sept. 13 at Kraftig Polo Club in Defiance, Mo. The event, presented by Fifth Third Bank, supports the Danis Pediatric Center at SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center. Handsome heartthrob Figueras, ranked one of the top 100 polo players in the world, plays professionally in his native Argentina and on the Black Watch team in the U.S.
That Endless Summer look will work for cooler seasons, too. See for yourself Sept. 19 at ‘Welcome Home, johnnie-O!’, an event at Crescent Coast, the Clayton shop that specializes in the sophisticated surf look. Guest of honor is St. Louis native John O’Donnell, founder of johnnie-O, a line of casual apparel with a ‘West Coast prep’ look favored by casually cool Hollywood insiders (including John’s brother, NCIS Los Angeles actor Chris O’Donnell).The event, sponsored by Town & Style, runs from 5–9 p.m. and features refreshments from Trattoria Marcella.
Photo: Garden on Jones Road by Adam Woodruff