Innholdsfortegnelse for November - December 2012 i Victoria

I always enjoy the letters our readers send us to consider for the Reader to Reader department. In the early history of Victoria, it was one of the first sections I turned to after my subscriber copy arrived in the mail. When Hoffman Media began publication of the magazine, I wanted to keep this vital opportunity for your communication. In every issue, we pose a specific topic, and we are always overwhelmed by your thoughtful responses. The question we asked for our holiday edition was simple: What was the best Christmas present you ever received? Can you still recall the utter joy and wonder you experienced upon realizing this spectacular gift was yours? As I read your letters, the stories of love and generosity touched my heart. Several, I admit,…

The garden outside crunches underfoot. And it’s bound to go from a bad case of brown to a worse expanse of solid snow white. But I don’t mind. Indoors, there are terrariums just about everywhere I turn. Early in the morning, my eyes half open, the first thing in focus is my bedside cloche. Inside its crystal kingdom dwells a maidenhair fern draping its delicate fronds over a tableau of treasures from bygone growing seasons. No matter what’s going wrong in the world, trouble slips into the background. No matter how many feet of snow are predicted, it doesn’t faze me. I’m immersed in a microcosm of nature cosseted blissfully within glass. For more years than I can count, terrariums have served as my little “exhale” moments. A variety of…

A Christmas Memory, by Truman Capote with illustrations by Beth Peck (Alfred A. Knopf). Truman Capote’s frank holiday memoir recounts the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas spent with an eccentric elderly cousin when the author was 7 years old. This odd couple dedicates the year to collecting spare change and depositing it into an ancient beaded purse hidden beneath a loose floorboard under a bed. When a certain chill in the air signifies the coming of winter—dubbed “fruitcake weather” by the pair—a number of unusual adventures and the ritual of baking begin. The evocative narrative is woven with themes of joyous giving, as well as loneliness and loss. Included in this special fiftieth-anniversary edition is an audio CD narrated by Academy Award winner and Broadway star Celeste Holm. The Night…

Towering alabaster pillars may be the closest thing Madison, Georgia, gets to a white Christmas, but even without snow, the town transforms into a picture-perfect holiday card. With the community’s 3,900 citizens intent on merrymaking, cookie baking, and decorating every nook and cranny of the village, the Yuletide season draws people here from near and far. After a ceremonial flip of a switch to open the festivities, thousands of lights illuminate the town center’s imposing Morgan County Courthouse, built in 1905. Trees line its broad balcony, and wreaths and bows adorn the heavy doors. Nearby shops are decorated lavishly, as if Scarlett O’Hara herself might appear at any moment, dressed in layers of petticoats and twirling a red parasol. The old-fashioned gazebo hosts choirs performing traditional carols. It is not…

Each October I begin to listen, once again, to the music that opens my heart. My husband smiles. My sisters and my mother, if they happen to visit while a carol is playing, roll their eyes and exclaim, “Too soon!” My children understand. They let the music carry their imaginations into the snow-sparkling month of December With each note, my memories swell, one growing into another—like the branches of a noble fir. The bottom ones are densest, for the early years of Christmas are thick with excitement and mystery Bing Crosby sings, and I am transported to my fifth Christmas, the year I heard the drumming of reindeer hooves atop our house. Later, I learned it was only pecan percussion, the nuts gathered and tossed onto the roof by my…

It was 1964, and my army officer father was overseas, stationed in South Korea. It was strange not to have him here, and I’m sure that with four small children under the age of 8, my mother really missed him. He was gone at Christmas, but the package he sent arrived in time—no small feat in those days, when packages were transported via cargo ships that took weeks to arrive at their destinations. The contents consisted of a veritable treasure trove for us! We received chopsticks, kimonos, and Korean dolls dressed in beautifully colored silk costumes. For me there was a black lacquered jewelry box painted gold and embossed with bits of rainbow-tinted abalone shells. It was the most gorgeous thing I had ever seen. These gifts from Dad, so…

FAVORITE THINGS FAVORITE THINGS FAVORITE THINGS FAVORITE THINGS…

I love natural materials and can’t stand skimpy garlands,” jokes interior decorator D.A. Tynes (a.k.a. Dawn Ann). “You really need to honor the scale and proportion of your rooms and work to create that perfect balance, even with holiday décor,” she adds. A spot-on visionary with a trained eye for design, D.A. has been practicing her skills on a broad level for more than twenty years. Her repertoire includes full-service commercial and residential jobs, as well as top-to-bottom show-house projects. D.A.’s sense of style is cleverly articulated throughout her own home, where the expansive spaces command embellishments of significant magnitude. “I’ve been dabbling in decorating my whole life,” notes this former economics graduate, who later returned to college to study interior design. “I’ve watched my tastes evolve over the years,…

TIMELESS TRADITION: THE HOLIDAY ROAST Begins on page 28 Pear Cakes p. 32 Makes 6 (4-inch) mini cakes 1 1/2 cups water 2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided 4 red pears, divided 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon cardamom 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 1/2 cup pear preserves, divided 6 tablespoons pear nectar* 1/4 cup mashed banana 1/4 cup honey 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon maple extract 1. Preheat oven to 350°. Spray 6 (4x2- inch) tartlet pans with collapsible bottoms with baking spray; set aside. 2. In a medium bowl, whisk together water and 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Set aside. 3. Peel 3 pears. Slice each pear in half lengthwise, and core. Slice…

COOKING AND ENTERTAINING HOOOTKELINS GW AEN LDO EVNE TERTAINING…

While retracing the steps of her formative years, Heidi Brooks describes the time she and her grandmother—a well-respected antiquarian in Ellsworth, Maine—delivered an extraordinary handcrafted desk to the home of Theodore Roosevelt III, a grandson of Teddy Roosevelt. “It was a fascinating house that was chiseled into the rocks on Mount Desert Island,” she recalls. “I will never forget that experience. Exposure is everything. I was always studying where furniture was placed, how things were arranged on tabletops, where paintings were hung.” Destined at a young age to become, like her grandmother, a devotee of antiques, as well as an interior designer like her mother and great-grandfather, Heidi remains deeply rooted in a family legacy immersed in exquisite furnishings, enduring elegance, and impeccable taste. She refined her skills at the…

WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE AND ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE Pages 14–15: To learn more about Tovah and her latest book, The Unexpected Houseplant: 220 Extraordinary Choices for Every Spot in Your Home, visit tovahmartin.com To see more of Maryjo’s work, visit kochstudios.com Also look for her new book, The Artist, the Cook, and the Gardener: Recipes Inspired by Painting from the Garden (Andrews McMeel Publishing), available February 2013 RHAPSODY IN RED Page 16: Dear Hancock The Sled Christmas card and Tree on a Flatbed Christmas card, $4 each; dearhancock.com diptyque Tubéreuse Rouge 300g candle in Red, $90; 212-684- 3140, diptyqueparis.com Mr. Boddington’s Studio Aunt Nellie’s Pecan Pie Recipe Cards, $22 for 12, The Socialite Set Wine Tags, $20 for 12, and Golden Fete Boxed Stationery Set in Cherry Linen Box, $60 for 12; 212-686-5953, mrboddington.com Twig…