The Home Page | Holiday Lights and Colorful Sights

This edition of The Home Page was originally emailed to subscribers on December 11, 2022. To receive Sarah Sinclair’s real estate newsletter in your inbox each Sunday, sign up at independent.com/newsletters.

What’s your holiday decor philosophy? 🙂 More is better, à la Clark Griswold, as shown above? Or subtle and sweet, like my friend Ingrid’s house shown here?

Depending on your aesthetic, there’s a sparkling style for everyone. Capture a favorite holiday house — your own or someone else’s that you admire — and share it with me via email or Instagram, and I’ll share it here. Let’s spread the home-for-the-holidays cheer!

Simpler than stringing lights: Here’s a festive idea that’s edible … and healthy! This cute wreath idea came to me — as so many do these days — by following one link to another to another. An email from The Nester blog led me down a wormhole to a new-to-me website called Sugar and Charm that contains tons of recipes, food tips, and home ideas, including great holiday decor. The crudite wreath shown above is a healthy holiday-themed appetizer that’s so simple that it falls into the “Why didn’t I think of that sooner?” category. The details — not that you’ll need ’em — include veggie selections and multiple dip recipes. Just in time to combat the cookies-and-candy frenzy that can add a few pounds to the best-intentioned of us. Speaking of which, they also feature secrets for the perfect gingerbread house and tons of other delectable goodies.

The celebrity housing news that caught my eye this week includes this Beverly Hills estate owned by Marky Mark Wahlberg:

Featured in Entourage, the 13,000-square-foot main house has five bedrooms, six baths, with a hair salon and aromatic oil and steam showers in the primary suite, plus a fully equipped theater with a 136″ screen. The grounds include a 3,000-square-foot gym with a boxing ring, and the pool has waterfalls and an underwater grotto. All of this and more for only $28.5 million.

Last but definitely not least, make sure to read our cover story this week, as Roger Durling describes the colorful work — and home! — of local artist Jane Gottlieb. “Color makes me happy,” Gottlieb says, and so will the article and photos of her cheerful home. Cheers to a wonderful week!

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