Tips

Mosquito Bites Treatment from the Farmers Market Today, we are focusing on how we can use herbs to reduce itching due to mosquito bites. Just like us, mosquito love summer, especially warm summer evenings when they come out in force! Did you know that parsley (persil), an herb widely utilized in the French diet can help […]

A Tip to Bake Madeleines with the Classic Hump Today, we are offering a baking tip to make sure that when we bake our madeleines, they come out with the traditional “bosse” (hump). Madeleines are a classic French treat — so delicious with tea or coffee and an all time favorite for many children (of all […]

As we discussed in our article, “French Country Decoration: 4 Ideas for an Improvised Vase“, anything that holds water can be a vase at Art of the Home. A favorite is to use vintage bottles to showcase single hydrangea stems — so country! The problem is that after you clean such narrow vases, there is always water […]

Today, we are offering a kitchen tip on how to defrost frozen scallops so they taste as if you just brought them back fresh from the fish market! During the scallop fishing season (fall-winter-early spring in France), our cook from the French kitchen load the freezer with fresh scallops from our favorite “poissonnerie” (fish market) at […]

Herbal Bath Ingredients: Rosemary Pure Essential Oil and Rosemary Leaves Today, we are offering a tip on how to give yourself a natural boost of energy with a favorite kitchen herb: rosemary. Rosemary is excellent as a culinary herb but it also has medicinal properties that can help us. One of rosemary’s many virtues is that […]

Today, we are offering a laundry tip on how to dry those delicate clothes that require hand-washing (cashmere sweater, hosiery, bras, etc). It’s quick, easy and more importantly reduces potential damage to the delicate fibers of garment needing special care. The first step is to find an old salad spinner that is not being used. For example, our […]

Laundry Day Joy! Laundry days are here again! In our article “Tips: How Do I Stop Pillows From Bunching Up In The Wash?”, we showed a picture of French women doing the laundry on the banks of a river — that was in 1902, those ladies were so brave! Now, we are blessed with washing […]

There are many ways to make your table inviting.  So far, we’ve learn the “flower napkin fold (lotus napkin fold)” and the “crown napkin fold“.  Today we are reviewing another napkin folding technique: the fan napkin fold (pliage de serviette éventail).   The fan napkin folding technique is simple and adds a chic touch to […]

Today, we are offering a kitchen tip on how to choose an asparagus bunch and keep your asparagus fresh. Asparagus (asperges) are often a sign of Spring and is typically in season through the end of June. Did you know that Louis XIV (le roi soleil – the sun king) had asparagus harvested in the château de Versailles? […]

Today, we are offering a cleaning tip on how to polish shoes and give them that sophisticated rich shine. Check out our Art of the Home tip below. Art of the Home Tip – when polishing your shoes, follow the steps below — especially Step. 5 for an extraordinary shine! Step 1: Place all your […]