Country Living articles from January 2007

Country Living archives from January 2007

Editor's journal.
January 1, 2007... The beginning of every new year, I reflect on and appreciate everything my family and I have. And every month in Country Living, we celebrate living with the things we love. I cherish antiques and collections and old buildings because they tell...

I loved Andrea King Collier's essay.(your letters)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2007... I loved Andrea King Collier's essay (My Countryside, November 2006) about her grandmother's iron skillet. I tried various types of pans. They're just not the same. My daddy's crusty, cracked-on-top cornbread came back to me when I used his very...

Grandma's lace.(your letters)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2007... I am glad to have purchased your September 2006 issue. The reason is, I am interested in learning to crochet. Seeing the lace that was shown on the pages of your Idea Notebook brings back lovely memories of my grandmother who made a lot of...

Picture perfect.(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2007... My daughter and I (below) loved making your Pumpkin-Spice Cake from the October 2006 bonus cookbook! The cakes were very moist and attractive, and we had a wonderful time baking and decorating them together. They turned out so cute, I plan to...

Simple joys.(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2007... For many years I have enjoyed Country Living, especially the last page (Simple Country Pleasures). I take my favorite quotes and put them between the pages of a large cookbook. They give me comfort, and make me daydream while cooking. we...

Finding freedom and fun.(your letters)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2007... I was so enchanted by your recent article on the Springfield Antique Show & Flea Market (Antiques Across America, September 2006) that my husband and I planned our first kids-free getaway just to go there. It was well worth the eight-hour...

Taking deep breaths.(your letters)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2007... After struggling for days to get ready for a trip--dealing with my house, my cat, and the packing--I was tired and cranky by the time we headed for the airport. Finally, strapped into my plane seat after going through seemingly interminable...

Skillet sensations.(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2007... I remember all the cooking Mom did with her cast-iron skillets--the best fried chicken, cornbread--and waking up on Saturday morning to the smell of bacon sizzling in those pans. The November My Countryside essay touched me so much, I brought...

Thanksgiving wishes.(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2007... I don't care to fly, but if I could spend Thanksgiving at the house featured in your article "House Above" (November 2006), I would fly there in a heartbeat. we love hearing from you IF YOU HAVE COMMENTS ABOUT OUR FEATURES, PLEASE...

This month on the web: tell us your stories, learn more about Spode China, and meet Alexandra Stoddard at countryliving.com.(on the web)
January 1, 2007... Let us hear from you WHAT TREASURES did you discover on your last flea-market escapade? Have you mastered a new craft project or recently finished a fabulous quilt? Do you have a beautiful home? Send us your stories and pictures and we'll...

In the kitchen.
January 1, 2007... For many of you, the kitchen is the most important room of the home. It's where your family gathers for early mornings, late nights, and everything in between. That's why we'd like your help choosing the kitchen for our House of the Year. We've...

Inside look.(transferware)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... THE HISTORY OF TRANSFERWARE comes alive on our pages ("The Art of Spode," page 88) and also on our website. Log on to countryliving.com/collect to see more pictures from this fascinating story and also to hear an exclusive audio interview with...

In her own words.
January 1, 2007... Designer and author Alexandra Stoddard shares advice on creating a happy home (Idea Notebook, page 29) and speaks about her design philosophies and her latest book (left) in our online interview. Visit countryliving.com/decorate. ...

Websites with style and purpose.(on the web)
January 1, 2007... Looking for something a little more unusual--perhaps even one-of-a-kind? Consider buying handmade goods. You'll be purchasing a product that was specially made, while lending support to the artisan who made it. One of our favorite sites is...

Jewel tones.(country classics)(Buyers guide)
January 1, 2007... "Add richness and dramatic effect to a room with jewel tones," says Sarah Cole, director of Farrow & Ball. Sapphire, amber, ruby--it's easy to introduce these vibrant hues into your home with furniture, wallpaper, and accessories. blues in...

Tea time: treat your linens and lace to a tea bath that imparts an antique look, then enjoy them on display in your home.(simple projects)(tea staining )
January 1, 2007... Textile artist Robin Brown lends age to fabrics with the easy art of tea staining. ABOVE: Hung out to dry, these bedspreads and tablecloths exhibit the color variations that can be achieved. Robin used them to cover an entire couch. For how-tos...

Creating a happy home.(interior design)
January 1, 2007... "I love quilts because the designs are so fresh, exuberant, and playful," says interior designer and author Alexandra Stoddard. "Quilts bring emotional comfort to your home, and they make you smile." For more of Alexandra's ideas on how to...

Love & Live Happy.(interior design)
January 1, 2007... Peter gave me a small blue antique enamel box with love-birds resting on red hearts on either side of the inscription, "Love & Live Happy," now my mantra. I keep this precious treasure on my writing table as a daily reminder that love sustains...

Get the look.(interior design)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Flowers I arrange hydrangeas in tight bunches in a blue vase--blue hydrangea blue--to echo the flowers. Then I find other ways to experience the joy of this flower: in blue-painted chairs at the kitchen table, for example. If you can't...

Order precedes beauty.(interior design)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Organization is very important to a happy, functional home. By taking care of the details of our spaces, we live with more beauty, grace, and pleasure. My approach to order is counter-intuitive. I don't put things away. I don't hide beauty in a...

Vintage evening bags.
January 1, 2007... Two examples of French Art Deco (right, top and bottom): a green silk moire clutch (c. 1920; $225) and a chain-handled frame bag of woven gilt metal (c. 1930; $125). A faux jade-stoned clasp and frame (left) dress up an embroidered satin bag...

Vintage New Year's hats: professional appraiser Helaine Fendelman identifies and evaluates your collectibles and antiques.
January 1, 2007... valued at: $5 each These festive New Year's party hats--checkerboards and stripes--were manufactured c. 1960 by the Clever Idea Co. of Brooklyn, N.Y. The cone-shaped cardboard hats feature ruffled crepe-paper fringe. [ILLUSTRATION...

Maximizing a small kitchen.(Renee Fleming's kitchen design)
January 1, 2007... When opera star Renee Fleming downsized from a spacious home to a city apartment, she was determined to keep all the comforts of her former kitchen. A clever redesign allowed for a dining area and an efficient work space. THE HOMEOWNER:...

House plans you can buy.(house plans)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... THE BLUEGRASS: a 2-level country home The exterior of this charming home features a mix of sidings and a covered front porch. A dining room, immediately to the left of the entry, has easy access to a galley kitchen with an eating bar. The...

The home stretch: yoga is balancing; so is time spent with a pet. Unwind together for maximum wellness benefits!(you & your pet)
January 1, 2007... Meditating and practicing the postures and breathing exercises of yoga is more effective with a dog or cat by your side, says yoga expert Bruce Eric Van Horn: "The ancient yogis observed that animals have levels of emotional intelligence we can...

Brickworks: here, a look this month at houses with patterned brick exteriors that are for sale around the country.(real estate sampler)
January 1, 2007... Built in 1886 by Michael Poeschel, who is credited with founding the Missouri wine industry, this 3-story, 6,000-square-foot house is in historic Hermann, Mo. In 1976, the current owners began converting the home into a bed-and-breakfast with 9...

Returning to New Orleans.(antique dealers)
January 1, 2007... Sixteen months after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the Big Easy is getting back on its feet and once again welcoming tourists. Come along as we join Casey Hale and Steven Schwartz, the owners of Urban Country in Venice. Calif., during...

Top picks for January: our monthly listing of antiques shows, crafts fairs, food festivals, garden events, and other notable happenings.(calendar)
January 1, 2007... mark your calendar Jan. 6 Learn how to snowshoe and cross-country ski for free during Winter Trails Day. Part of the Winter Feels Good fitness campaign, the event will offer children and adults new to snow sports complimentary...

Inn of the month: Farmer's Daughter, Los Angeles, Calif.(out & about)
January 1, 2007... Should you have the urge to hoe a garden plot on Sunset Boulevard, the tools can be found by the pool at the Farmer's Daughter Hotel in Los Angeles. Once a tawdry hangout across from the city's Farmers' Market, the kitschy 1960s motel was...

Saving time: Rick and Virginia LaChance began with an 1807 Missouri house, to which they keep adding buildings about to be demolished. Old buildings and old ways of life renew their own lives.
January 1, 2007... A surface that once held sundry things in an old dry goods store is now a dining table. To make it fit the room, the LaChances cut it down from 15 feet to 12, but used the leftover wood as bracing. "This is the kind of people we are," says...

History in the making: Marie Moss is a self-proclaimed "vintage girl." When she finds vintage bedding or stuffed animals, antique charms or silver flatware, she "rescues" the items and brings them into her life. So, when she and her husband built a house in suburban Chicago, she wanted it to look a hundred years old.
January 1, 2007... Marie Moss and her then four-year-old daughter, Maisy, used to play a game of pretend. "We decided to call Lake Michigan, which was at the edge of our property, an ocean," says Marie, coauthor of numerous books about vintage finds and co-owner...

The art of Spode: even before glazing and patterning, elegant shapes, such as these Marlborough cups, distinguish Spode's attention to detail. The company has been making beautiful history for over 200 years.
January 1, 2007... For more than 200 years, Spode has produced fine ceramic wares at its factory in England. THIS PAGE: An 1838 green sauce tureen in a pattern called Byron Views, with scenes from poet Lord Byron's life; an 1845 brown soup plate in the Antique...

Country in the city: designer Hillary Wallace uses country charm to soften the hard edges of a contemporary New York City loft.
January 1, 2007... She may be a partner in a prestigious New York City law firm, just in her thirties, who's earned the prize of a spacious loft in TriBeCa. But she's also a girl from Oklahoma who loves flea markets and vintage furniture, collects old watering...

Dresser up: a custom-color dresser, suitable for use in any room in the house, is only a paintbrush away.
January 1, 2007... Boutiques that specialize in decor and home goods always have at least one: a fetching hand-painted dresser, its drawers pulled open and brimming with charming linens, or another set at an angle, its top laden with countless treasures, such as...

Comfort: you'll find it in these reader favorites.(home cooking)
January 1, 2007... Home cooking is less about fancy ingredients and techniques, and more about the love with which it's prepared. That's why Country Living turns to the simple, satisfying dishes that can be trusted to turn out right time and again. Since...

A simple celebration: usher in the new year with an at-home party featuring easy-to-make snacks and small plates.(word of mouth)
January 1, 2007... GOAT CHEESE In minutes, create impressive hors d'oeuvres by customizing plain, store-bought goat cheese. Shape the cheese into a log or ball, then roll gently in spices or herbs, such as crushed peppercorns, whole mustard seeds, and fresh...

Shopping guide.(reader's resource)
January 1, 2007... Page 13: Wallpaper circles: (top to bottom) Farrow & Ball: Blue: BP849. Yellow: BP830. Red: BP814. All from the Silvergate Collection. $250/double roll. (888) 511-1121; farrow-ball.com. Paint samples: (clockwise from top right) India Yellow 66,...

Simple country pleasures.
January 1, 2007... Teach us delight in simple things...