Annalise DeVries

life in the making

Trained as a historian, my mind constantly asks, where did this come from, how did it get this way, and why? I find myself applying those questions to all of the places I go and things I do. Whether it's a trip to a new place or a walk around the corner, an interview for a magazine story or preparing for a lecture, the ingredients in a recipe or a new arts and crafts project, my work is about the ongoing discovery of how the various facets of life are made. My curiosities lie with the processes that constitute our experiences. Here I have included my varied explorations into the how and why of my surroundings.

Grand Getaway: The Salamander Resort & Spa, Southern Lady Magazine, March/April 2015

May 20, 2015 by Annalise DeVries in Editorial writing, Travel Writing

As the road winds its way through Middleburg, Virginia to the Salamander Resort & Spa, the trees give way to grassy fields that have long attracted equestrians, wine connoisseurs, and avid golfers to the area. The resort, however, offers something new. Here plush sofas, cozy fireplaces and a carefully curated art collection send the message of freshly added luxury. It can be hard to imagine that a few years ago the property was a quaint farm. Yet when Sheila Johnson first set eyes on the site, she conceived of an alternative use for the space. “I immediately saw the opportunity to build something different—a luxury retreat for the Washington, D.C. area,” she says.

Richly Restored: The Inn at Little Washington, Southern Lady Magazine, March/April 2015

March 03, 2015 by Annalise DeVries in Travel Writing, Editorial writing

When Patrick O’Connell was growing up in Washington, D.C., his parents would take the family on excursions through central Virginia to the Shenandoah Valley. These were the days before interstate highways, when small towns littered with gas stations and restaurants served as important stopping points for travelers traversing the country. Though Patrick had no way of knowing it at the time, he would later make a tire shop in the small, drive-through town of Washington, Virginia, into his own special corner of the world.