Tag Archive for 'The Backyard'

Creating a Garden Oasis

Published on July 23, 2010 in HAYNEEDLE and PATIO & GARDEN. 7 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

This summer has turned out to be extraordinarily busy for me!  Isn’t this when we’re all supposed to go on vacation?  Well, until I am able to really get away, I’ll practice what I preach and find the opportunities to relax any moment I can. As I say time and time again, in the words of my father, Eduardo Sr., “it’s all about balance!”

For me that balance includes taking care of my career, my family, my friends and myself, and deciding when to give each area the priority!  For others, especially those having to deal with any kind of health issue, finding balance can be daunting.

Ten years ago, my sister Monica was diagnosed with lupus.  It’s a strange condition that still remains a mystery to those who have to live with it as well as to the medical community at large.  Lucky for my sister, she has been dealing with what seems to be a somewhat “manageable” form of lupus. Similar to others afflicted with the disease, my sister’s lupus seems to be triggered by stress. People with lupus have what are called “flare ups” when the immune system seems to go on overdrive and starts to fight itself.  Sounds complicated, right?  Well, my sister was in the midst of a flare up prior to getting married. I wanted to assist her in her planning to ease the stress, so I helped with much of the coordination.  I also composed some original music for her ceremony.

Over the last decade I have become an advocate of lupus awareness and have been doing what I can to support The Lupus Foundation of America.  They have been a great resource of information for my family. This fall, I will be honored to serve as host for their annual Butterfly Gala in New York City.

Recently, I chose my sister’s backyard as the site for the webisode entitled, “Creating a Garden Oasis”.  But before we shot the webisode, I needed to do a bit of a makeover for her!  This is what the garden looked like before the makeover…

…and this is what it looked like after the makeover!

The changes were subtle and fairly inexpensive, but the difference was obvious!  It became the perfect garden oasis for our webisode and a place where my sister could relax!

My niece, Monet, makes a guest appearance in this webisode as my co-host!  Here we are walking Hazel in the park.

The whole experience made such a valuable impression on Monet, she decided to document it in a piece of art she made for me.  This is her artistic interpretation of being with me in front of the camera!

As I mentioned earlier, I composed music for my sister’s wedding.  One of the musical pieces is called “Velas”, which means candle in Spanish.  The piece of music is the background music for this webisode.  I hope you enjoy it!

Expanding Your Home’s Square Footage Outdoors

Published on July 13, 2010 in HAYNEEDLE and PATIO & GARDEN. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , , , , , .

The Fourth of July weekend was filled with family, friends, sun and fun.  I enjoyed a nice balance celebrating each day with a different group of people.  I was also celebrating having completed my eight-webisode series for “Hayneedle Your Home with Eduardo Xol.”

I also helped to celebrate the culmination of the census for 2010.  I was asked by the mayor’s office of Los Angeles to be one of the 100 voices of the city to educate the public on getting counted.  I taped a public service announcement in both English and Spanish, and as it turns out, Los Angeles is the number one major city to turn out in terms of participation.  I’m proud to have performed my civic duty.  Here I am with the executive Director of LA Counts 2010 at the culmination party in downtown Los Angeles.

There was another reason to celebrate with my family recently.  My nephew, Rodrigo, graduated from kindergarten!  My family has definitely grown to understand the importance and value of an education, so we try to encourage my niece and nephew by celebrating their accomplishments whenever possible.  My niece, Monet, is a year ahead of my nephew. Monet, along with my sister Monica, will be making a guest appearance in an upcoming webisode.  She was wonderful to work with!

In webisode #5, “Expanding Your Home’s Square Footage Outdoors,” we shot at the home of a newlywed couple who I’m doing on outdoor makeover for. Here is a picture of their back patio space shortly after purchasing their home, but before I started putting my hands on it.

Since they already had the frame for the perfect outdoor patio, I convinced them to pour a new floor of a charcoal grey concrete while removing the planters.  Here is a view of the new newly poured patio.

As part of the master plan, I convinced the couple to add a pergola to cover the area and make it a an outdoor lounge, but the timing for shooting the webisode wouldn’t allow us to complete it in time. In the end, we broke up the project in two phases to fit the client’s schedule as well as mine.  I’ll be documenting the process in a “behind the scenes” how-to webisode later in the summer, so stay tuned for that.

For “Expanding Your Home’s Square Footage Outdoors”,  Michael Anthony Clements, who co-produced my summer web series with me, convinced me to hang sheer curtains as a way to frame the room and complement the Tahara All Weather Wicker Conversation Patio Set we used on the patio.  The results are beautiful!  Take a look!

Outdoor Living Rooms- by Eduardo Xol

Published on June 9, 2010 in HAYNEEDLE and PATIO & GARDEN. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

My Memorial Day weekend was really nice.  I guess someone told Mother Nature to help us kick the summer off right because the weather in Southern California could not have been better.  I spent Saturday in my with friends.  We cooked out, ate, drank and caught up on life.  I try to do a bigger party about two to three times per year, usually during the summer months.  Memorial Day usually marks the first one.  Around thirty people from different points in my life showed up to say hello.  Here is a picture of my friends Dinah and Rob enjoying the holiday with me:

Everyone loved my outdoor furniture, but I did run out of seating.  If you’re planning a large party, a simple solution to this problem is to have extra pillows on hand in case you run out of chairs!

I hope that by now you have all seen the webisodes I’ve been working on.  If not, you can catch up here.  Planning and production has kept my team and me very busy.  Since the webisodes are about outdoor living, we have our production meetings outside in the area where we are going to shoot.  Here I am with my executive producer, Andy McEntee and the crew discussing the second webisode we produced in my backyard:

And here is the same area staged for the shoot.  Shown is the Cabos Collection conversation set.  It’s one of my favorites and apparently my dog, Hazel, likes it as well!

Combine colors to create your custom designed outdoor area.  That’s what I did by mixing the khaki upholstery that comes with the Cabos set and the accent pillows in sienna.  I completed the look by coordinating the colors of the flowers in the vase to match the colors in the furniture.

This outdoor room inspired me to create a drink I call the Cabos Cocktail using the same color scheme! I’m pleased to say it was good enough to share the recipe:

Eduardo’s Cabos Cocktail

  • 1 oz. vodka or tequila (spirits optional)
  • 2 parts of your favorite Bloody Mary Mix
  • 1 part fresh limejuice
  • 5 drops Worcestershire sauce
  • 3-5 drops habanero hot sauce
  • Sprinkle salt and fresh black pepper to taste
  • Serve in a martini glass with a salted rim
  • Garnish with an olive, pepper and onion
  • Enjoy the summer!