Innholdsfortegnelse for May - June 2013 i Victoria

These early summer days in the South are pure perfection. The grass has emerged vivid and green, flowers are perfuming the air, and the humidity has yet to reach the peak of seasonal sultriness. This is my favorite time for gardening. After waiting through the winter months, I find real pleasure in nurturing my flower beds and the vegetables that, I hope, will soon provide bounty for my culinary adventures. As I work among the plants, I often take snapshots to aid my memory when selecting seeds and choosing how to allocate my limited garden space for next year. I was reminded of my photo album when I received a book recently, written by Maryjo Koch, our 2012 Victoria Artist-in-Residence. Titled The Artist, the Cook, and the Gardener, the volume…

On foot is the ideal way to explore the tiny seaside village of St. Michaels, Maryland—a National Register of Historic Places site that preserves a collection of simple frame houses, now crisply painted, that line the narrow, picturesque streets. The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, located on the waterfront, offers an array of fascinating educational exhibits, as well as tours of vintage ships and a crabber’s shanty. Next door, The Crab Claw Restaurant serves up the area’s legendary blue crabs, steamed to a bright red hue with rock salt, cayenne, and other savory spices in dockside cauldrons. Seated at paper-covered picnic tables, locals and tourists roll up their sleeves and use wooden mallets to crack the crustaceans’ shells. An authentic Eastern Shore feast, the delicacy traditionally is accompanied by beer, a…

L’AVANT-COUR 23, rue Saint Paul 75004 PARIS T: +33 01 40 27 95 01 lavantcour.fr Brimming with a covetable selection of nineteenth-century antiques and decorative furnishings, L’Avant-Cour, opposite, and above, is an ownerdescribed “joyful mess,” where patrons can browse as they please. Uncover exquisite finds from around the world, including furniture—from armchairs and banquettes to tables and commodes— as well as fine china, crystal, chandeliers, paintings, and garden accessories. LES NEIGES D’ANTAN 31, rue Saint Paul 75004 PARIS T: +33 01 42 74 53 04 Passersby who stop to take a peek through the windows of this quaint little hideaway will quickly be tempted inside. Les Neiges D’Antan, above right, left, and far left, specializes in eighteenthand nineteenth-century furniture, compelling objets d’art, and one-of-a-kind curios. The hours quickly evaporate while…

What do you do for an encore when you’ve sold your wildly successful children’s clothing business, Bonpoint, you’re nowhere near ready to retire, and you’d like to say thank you? If you are Marie-France Cohen, you, along with your husband, Bernard, open another shop—one that allows you to have fun, to express your aesthetic vision in everything from clothes and interiors to books and flowers, and to give back (all profits go to a charity that benefits women and children in Madagascar). And you call your new store Merci. Visitors could happily spend the better part of a day browsing the 15,000 square feet of this artfully reconfigured nineteenth-century factory on the edge of Paris’s trendy Marais district. Everything can be found here—from stationery and housewares to a flower shop…

WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE Pages 13–14: To learn more about Laura Fraser and her work, visit laurafraser.com. ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE Page 15: Jessie Davidson Interiors, 847-482-1466, jessiedavidsoninteriors.com. SIMPLY NATURAL Page 17: Lands Downunder Blue Denim Assiro Herringbone Throw, $110; 800-790-0332, landsdownunder.com. Use the code victoria10 for our exclusive 10% discount. Pine Cone Hill Veena Blue Standard Sham, $75, Full/Queen Duvet Cover, $438, and Baja White European Sham, $88; 800- 556-4593, pineconehill.com. Legacy Home Antigua coverlet in Cork, $475; 703-830-6818, legacylinens.com for retailers. Stable Pillow, $132; from Bellewether, 205-637-5840, shopbelle wether.com. Page 18: Jonathan Adler by Johanne Fouta Wraps in Dor, Storm Blue, and Beige, $48 each; 800-963-0891, jonathanadler.com. Calypso St. Barth Packable Sunhat, $95; 866-422-5977, calypsostbarth.com. Pomegranate Inc. Poppy Beach Tote, $88, and Coco Clutch, $48; 800-948-5188, pomegranateinc.com. Hammam Bath Towel, $32; from Bellewether, 205-…

I was born in 1980, and my generation has witnessed two space-shuttle disasters, a computer revolution, the September 11 tragedy, and so much more. Yet, we also were raised with a heady sense of optimism that, as women, we could reach for the stars! I dreamed that when I graduated from high school, I would become a famous writer like TV’s Carrie Bradshaw, drive an iceblue Mustang convertible, live in a grand house, and jet around the world to places I had only read about in National Geographic. I graduated early and was ranked in the top 10 percent of my class. According to many people in my hometown, I was on the fast track to fame and fortune. My fantasies still centered around being a writer, but the reality…

Poised in tranquility, a blue and white oasis overlooking a koi pond quietly awaits a couple planning their move from downtown Manhattan. Borrowing color cues from the metro-clean look of their abode in the city, designer Jessie Davidson knew precisely what it would take to coordinate a seamless transition. “This couple has acquired a vibrant collection of artwork during their time in New York City,” she notes. “They wanted everything to meld when they moved in to their new home. The palette here is intentionally mild so that the artwork can be the statement.” Arranged on a wool-and-silk rug that gradates from gray to blue, like the surface of rippling water, the living room furniture floats in shades of vanilla, cream, and heavenly pale blue. Transparent elements, including a pair…

Blueberries as big as the end of your thumb, Real sky-blue, and heavy and ready to drum ….” —ROBERT FROST See Recipe Index, page 83, for recipe information.…

See Recipe Index, page 83, for recipe information.…

To inherit a piece of furniture is to inherit its history. The item that holds the most lasting memories for me is my parents’ old four-poster bed. Its long dust ruffle hid from view trunks full of outof- season clothing and made a perfect hiding place. Mother’s wedding dress was also stored under the bed, carefully wrapped in blue tissue paper and folded into a long, white box. When my sisters and I were young, we loved trying it on, helping each other fasten all the tiny buttons that marched up the long sleeves. We would twirl in front of the full-length mirror, imagining what it would be like to be a bride. Who would we marry? Would we wear this gown? When the time came for my own wedding,…

“Summer afternoon—to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language”. —Henry James The bluebird carries the sky on his back”. —Henry David Thoreau…

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D ebbie Jones based an entire business on an old grain sack she uncovered at a flea market. From her home in High Point, North Carolina—the venerated design destination for the home-furnishings industry—she tapped into resources within the textile trade that were able to reproduce what she describes as “that wonderfully tactile, original cloth.” At first selling only fabrics by the roll, Debbie’s new company, French Laundry Home, burst onto the scene in 2009. “It was one of the most difficult economic times, but it didn’t scare me,” she contends. “From our little booth at the fabric market, we gradually began showing finished goods—upholstered furniture, pillows, and tote bags. When we started getting as many calls about those products as the fabrics, I sensed a new direction for the company…

BLUEBERRY BLISS Begins on page 31 Blueberry Mint Juleps p.34 Makes 6 servings 3 cups frozen blueberries Ice cubes 3/4 cup Mint Simple Syrup (recipe follows) 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons bourbon 4 1/2 cups blueberry-juice cocktail Garnish: frozen blueberries and fresh mint leaves In a large pitcher, and using a muddler, muddle blueberries, ice cubes, Mint Simple Syrup, and bourbon. Add blueberry-juice cocktail, and more ice cubes, if needed. Garnish with blueberries and mint leaves, if desired. Mint Simple Syrup Makes 1 cup 1 cup water 1 cup sugar 1/3 cup mint leaves In a medium saucepan, combine water and sugar. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Remove from heat. Add mint leaves, and let cool completely before using. Syrup can be stored, refrigerated, in an airtight container…