Innehållsförteckning för January - February 2016 från Victoria

WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE Poet, novelist, and food-and-travel writer Frances Mayes mines the fertile soil of her youth in her most recent book, Under Magnolia: A Southern Memoir (Broadway Books). The author, a native of Fitzgerald, Georgia, rose to prominence twenty years ago with the publication of Under the Tuscan Sun, a perennial best seller that inspired a cinematic adaptation of the same name. Among Frances’s subsequent works are several volumes produced in collaboration with her husband, Edward Kleinschmidt Mayes—projects that celebrate what she terms the “voluptuousness of Italian life.” The couple divide their time between Bramasole, the centuries-old villa they restored in Cortona, Italy, and Chatwood, a historic 30-acre estate in Hillsborough, North Carolina. ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE In a painting style that could be described as romantic photo-realism, Mary Shira captures the complex beauty…

Cultivating beautiful spaces comes so instinctively to Beth Claybourn that the Louisiana-based interior designer could never imagine following a different career path. “You give a lot of yourself to clients,” she says of the forty years she has dedicated to transforming American residences. “But I can always look back and say, ‘This has been such a rewarding day.’ ” Beth endeavors to highlight each family’s style while leaving no trace of her own preferences. But Ma Maison—the Baton Rouge manor she shares with her husband, Garrett—bears the entrepreneur’s imprint throughout. Natural stone imported from Europe gives a sense of timelessness, and resplendent furnishings reveal the couple’s affinity for French antiques. Amid wooden pieces adorned with intricate carvings, inlays, or ormolu, whisper-soft linens serve as delicate counterpoints. Beth christened one of…

The rush of the Ottauquechee River outside their studio in Quechee, Vermont, mimics the sound of a rousing percussion score. Glassblowers at the Simon Pearce Mill match that score with such precision, the movements flow like a dance. Artisans work quickly to inflate portions of molten glass white-hot and viscous from the heat of a blazing furnace. As long, cylindrical blowpipes change hands, the glowing orbs are shaped into an exquisite range of vessels, including drinkware, serving pieces, and home décor. Each step requires complete mental focus and accuracy to achieve the brilliant clarity that is the hallmark of the brand. “I searched until I found Ireland in Vermont,” entrepreneur Simon Pearce has said of the picturesque East Coast community that captured his imagination thirty-five years ago. Simon and his…

“The color of springtime is in the flowers; the color of winter is in the imagination”—TERRI GUILLEMETS…

Take a closer look at some of our favorite January/ February features: A Cozy Colorado Getaway Plan a wintertime escape to Breckenridge—an idyllic village of boutiques and cafés surrounded by majestic snowcapped mountain peaks. Connecting Threads An appreciation for beauty—passed on to Beth Claybourn during her childhood in the South—today inspires the decorator’s affinity for exquisite European linens. A Taste of Tradition Visit the Vermont workshop of glassblower Simon Pearce, where he and his wife, Pia, share a recipe for Ballymaloe Brown Bread from their popular on-site restaurant. Room to Breathe Awash in soothing shades of white and gray, the Netherlands home of designer Myriam Gräeve-Rutte features a haven of Gustavian treasures. We love your ideas! Do you have any suggestions about something you’d like to see in the magazine?…

ARBIE GOODFELLOW PARISXOX Milford, Michigan Employing artistry that for decades garnered her accolades on the ice, Arbie Goodfellow, of Milford, Michigan, glided into a new career as owner of the online bridal boutique Parisxox with the same unwavering dedication that made her a U.S. Figure Skating gold medalist. Once she turned professional, Arbie began a coaching career that spanned more than ten years. The work was arduous, with long hours passed at the rink giving individual and group instruction and on weekends guiding or judging students during competitions. Choreographing routines and bejeweling costumes utilized her talents, but travels abroad made Arbie yearn for a different lifestyle. As she strolled cobblestone streets in Europe, she recalled inspiring expeditions—climbing in the Swiss Alps, exploring storied castles, examining paintings by the old masters—and…

When a young lady is standing on the threshold of her teenage years and her sense of self-worth is forming, she is acutely aware of the opinions of others—especially those of her closest role model: her mother. Photographer Erika Masterson, of Melbourne, Florida, wanted to urge other women to actively encourage their female offspring during this crucial time. She came up with a concept that uses her skills behind the lens for a project she called “A Message for My Daughter.” “Having a 9-year-old, I could see the fragility of that age, when a girl starts to identify who she is,” Erika explains. “I wanted to find a way to inspire moms to give their daughters a positive and loving identity with words—and the appropriate flower.” To that end, Erika…

A BURST OF CITRUS Citrus-Herbed Chicken Makes 4 servings ½ cup unsalted butter, softened4 garlic cloves, minced2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint 2 tablespoons minced fresh basil 2 tablespoons minced fresh dill 1 tablespoon grapefruit zestSalt Ground pepper 1 (4-pound) whole chicken 1 sprig basil 1 sprig dill 2 ruby-red grapefruit, sectioned intoeighths, dividedRoasted Potatoes (recipe follows) 1. Position oven rack to lower third of oven, and preheat oven to 425°. Line a large roasting pan with foil. 2. In a small bowl, mix butter with garlic, mint, basil, dill, and grapefruit zest. Season with salt and pepper. 3. Discard giblets, and pat chicken dry. Gently loosen skin from bird, keeping skin intact. Rub butter mixture under skin and over meat. Place basil and dill sprigs under skin. Place bird, breast…

Oh, my! Where do I start? During my twenty-plus years of collecting the magazine (yes, I have them all!), my mind and soul have been touched by every single issue. The photos are like candy for the eye, and the stories and articles are nourishing to the soul. Reading the publication has enabled me to learn about different cultures, foods, and arts. My husband and I are big “antiquers.” You have introduced us to the Brimfield show in Massachusetts, as well as the one in Adamstown, Pennsylvania. We have tried the wonderful recipes, and when I was expecting, eighteen years ago, I decorated my baby’s room based on ideas I saw in your pages. Our family vacations usually result from Touring features. And our holidays always have a touch of…

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From the time she was a child growing up in a small village near Amsterdam, designer Myriam Gräeve-Rutte has nurtured an affinity for old houses and buildings—so much so that while walking to school each day, she detoured down streets lined with these venerable structures. She grew up and married Rob (“the love of my life”), and they raised their two children in northern Holland before he accepted a position at the Dutch Embassy in Paris, where the family relocated. “Those were our ‘golden years,’ ” Myriam recalls fondly. “We found a gorgeous old house close to the Seine, and I had the chance to explore antiques shops and flea markets, museums, and more—and of course, to find treasures every outing!” The six years spent in The City of Light…

Finding a French confectionery just outside Yellowstone National Park might seem as unlikely as discovering gold in one’s backyard. But La Châtelaine Chocolat Co., in Bozeman, Montana, is the brick-and-mortar realization of a dream for Wlady and Shannon Hughes Grochowski. Although this husband-and-wife team came from different backgrounds—she grew up on the Gulf Coast while he hails from Paris—their mutual enthusiasm for sweets bound them together. “I’m pretty sure we fell in love while sharing a piece of chocolate cake,” confesses Shannon. Both had experience in the culinary arts, with Shannon admitting to a “Julia Child impulse” and Wlady receiving his first livre de cuisine (French cookbook) at age 10. Because Bozeman’s only chocolate shop had closed several years earlier, the two seized the opportunity to fill the void while…

COVER Cake stand, call for availability; from Table Matters, 205-879-0125, table-matters.com. Linens, call for availability; from Chelsea Antique Mall, 205-678-2151, chelseaantiquemallal.com. ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE Pages 13–14 : To view more of Mary Shira’s work, visit maryshira.com. WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE Pages 15–16 : For more information about author Frances Mayes, visit her website, francesmayesbooks.com. Look for Frances’s latest book, Under Magnolia: A Southern Memoir (Broadway Books), on amazon.com. WHISPERS OF ALABASTER Page 17 : Fino Lino Tavola Organdy tablecloth set in white 64" x 100" includes 12 napkins, $220; 800-829-3466, finolino.com. L’Objet Perlée charger, $90, Aegean dinner plate, $40, Perlée dessert plate, $36, Aegean soup bowl, $54; 972-986-9575, l-objet.com. Williams-Sonoma Cirque Champagne Flutes, $51.95 set of 4, Cirque Wine Glasses, $51.95 set of 4; 877-812-6235, williams-sonoma.com. Wallace Venezia patterned flatware 5-piece dinner size setting, $569.95;…

My reclusive neighbor, Mamie Shock, invited me into her home only once. On a winter’s day, when I was shoveling snow off my sidewalk, she called across our white lawns that I needed to come in for a cup of tea. Unfortunately, she died soon after that, and another neighbor who had a key to her house gave me a tour. There was a butler’s pantry, a marble fireplace, and a bathroom with a claw-foot tub, but none of these amenities charmed me like the shelves in the study that were filled with black spiral-bound notebooks. I pulled one out at random and discovered they were Mamie’s diaries—nearly fifty years of the details of her life: “The plumber came about the water heater”; “Invited the Nelsons to dinner.” Writing down…